New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1873-02-27
Beck Notices.

The Unity of Law; as Exhibited in the
Relations of Physical, Social, Mental, and
Moral Science" BY II. c. Carey.
Henry Carey Baird, Industrial Publisher,
4OG Walnut street, Philadelphia, has recently
issued the above-entitled volume, in which
the author gives, as it were, summation OF
his views upon various questions affecting in
dyidual and national welfare. For the last
forty years, Mr.. Carey has been we'll known
as a writer upon themes that lie within the
province Of social science, and the reading
public are consequently familiar with the
points Of difference between him and the ma
iority of political economists. Originally
free trader, he has long been one of the most
powerful advocates of the American protect
i've system; for, although he still recognizes
free trade as the ideal towards which we
ought to tend, he is none the less fixed in his
opinion that protection is the Indispensable
means of arriving at it.
In this, his latest work, Mr.. Carey shows
clearly that, although he is now in his eigh.-
eth year, his powers, as reasoner, have
suffered no diminutiOn, and that his style as
a writer is as fOrciblc as ever. Taking as his
device the old proyerb, variety in unity is
perfection" he has certainly produced an
able argument in favor of the positions that
the social relations are as much subjected to
law, absolute and intiexible, as are the rela-
tons of inorganic matter; that in each Of
their departments, there is perfect unity and
that, running through physical, social, men
tai and moral science, there is unity of
law, the necessary complement Of the recently
developed, and vet universally accepted, idea
of unity Of force. The steps by which Mr..
Carey has been led to this discovery are to
be traced in his previous publications. A
starting point was afforded him by his theory
Of rdlae, first advanced in his Principles Of
Political Economy, in 1887, that its law is the
l.Eor sarsl, and that it is limited within TIE
cost of reproduction. Then followed his lac Of
distribution, proving that both capitalist and
laborer profted By every measure tending to
make labor more productive, while losing by
every one that tend TO render it less So
thus establishing perfect harmony Of inter-
ests. Next came the theory announced in
lsis, in his treatise entitled, The Past. TIE
Present, and the Fauye--that, just as from the
poorest axes to those Of steel, 80 man pro-
ceeds from the poorest soils to the richest
increase Of numbers being thus proved essen
tal TO increase in the supply OF food. As
Mr.. Carey remarks, Here was unity of
law leading to perfect harmony Of all real and
permanent human interests, and directly OPP
posed to the discords taught by Mr.. Nal
thus" Subsequently Our author was led 10
announce, in his Principles Of Social Science,
the idea that physical and social laws are in
accord, and, indeed, constitute one great, har-
monious system illustrating by the phenomena
of heat and motion, and their effective forces
in the physical world, corresponding facts
and forces in the SECRETARY one. Since then
the doctrine Of the correlation and eonserya-
ton of forces, taught by Youmans and other
scientists-that power can neither be created
nor destroyed; and that it is not limited TO
physical phenomena, but prevails equally in
the realm Of mind, has lent support TO this
view Of unity Of Law equally extensive; and,
under the operation of which, the interests of
capital and labor cease 10 be antagonistic,