Few English writers on political economy would however admit his to be an accurate statement of their opinions and of the objects of time science as they conceive them. They would also contend that the objects of the science as conceived by the Italian economists are too nutnerom and too vague to allow of any scientific treatment, and that subjects are blended together by the Italian writers which are capable of being separated and of being confined within distinct and definite limits. Such an objection to the system of the Italian economists is well founded ; and the objects of the English economists may be com pletely defended if their views are simply limited to investigating the elements on which depend the actual production, distribution, and accumulation of wealth in any given community at any given time. This is a field of inquiry sufficiently extensive, and when it has been adequately examined, and not before, wo can parr from the determi nation of what is to what ought to be any one of those elements on which national wealth depends. It would seem almost superfluous to observe that in determining what are the elements of the actual pro.
auction of a uation, all the element.' must be ascertained : the whole oudition of the people must therefore be ascertained,—that is, the whole political system must be examined, in order to ascertain what it is, and the state of all tho several classes of tho community must be ascertained ; every law that interferes with a man's actions must be examined, and every restraint that is laid on the disposal of his pro perty. But such an inquiry would be infinite, and yet such an inquiry is necessary in order to ascertain what is, and it is quite a distinct matter from determining what should be. It follows from these remarks, Oust the English writers have conceived the science in a way munch more limited, but better defined, than the Italian, and yet that even the English writers very Inadequately investigate any one branch of political economy, even se they conceive it. Still their inquiries on any given branch of the subject may terminate in a result approaching to the truth, and such a result may be capable of a practical appli cation.