The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-02-28
sO1lN STUART HIsLa.
SECOND PAPER.
MR.. MILLS POLITICAL. VIEWS.

In politics, Mr.. Mil was a radical. His
father was great admircr of the French
socialists, and a worker with ". Benlham.
The leaders in the new school OF politics
were frequently at his house, and in short.
his son, from the first, breathed the atmos.
phcre of democracy and radicalism.
At sixteen he read the history of the
French revolution, Of which he writes as
| follows:
81 learnt with establishment that the
| principles of democracy, then apparently
IN so Insignificant ard hopeless a minority
everywhere in Europe, had borne all be-
fore them in France thirty years earlier,
and had been the creed of the nation. AS
may be supposed from this, | had previous
ly a very vague idea of that great commo-
ton. From this time, as was natural. the
subject took an immense hold of my feel
ings. 1t allied itself with all my juvenile
aspirations to the character of democratic
champion. What had happened so lately,
seemed as if it might easily happen again;
and the most transcendent glory was
CAPABLE of conceivng, was that Of figuring
successful OF unsuccessful as n Girondesi in
an English convention"
| About year later, we find him forming
little society Of young men. which adopt
ed as its political creed "thc greatest hap
piness" theory of Mr.. Bentham, and the
members of which, met once in two weeks
to read essays, and discuss various cues
tons connected with the furtherancc of
their views.
1t has already been stated that Mr.. Mill,
at an early age, made the acquaintance OF
st. Semion, the celebrated French socialist,
and that this acquaintance had very much
to do with the shaping of his future pollt-
cal opinions. He was an attentive reader
of the writings Of this philosopher, together
with those of his early disciples, including
Rodrigues, Enfantin, Bazard, Crelet and
Buchez and. from being at first
an admrer, he soon came to adopt, in the
main, these views.
The criticisms on the common doctrines
of liberalism seemed to me full of important
truth and it was partly by these writings
that my eyes were opened to the very lim-
ted and temporary value OF the old polit-
cal economy, which assumes private pro-
perty and in heritance as ndefeasible facts,
and freedom of production aud exchange as
the derhier mot of social improvement. The
scheme gradually unfolded by the st. Sin
| ,,-l,i laI,
of society would be managed for the gen.
eral account of the community, every indi-
vidual being required to take share Of Ia
| Dor, either rs thinker, teacher, artist, or
producer, all being classed according to
their work, appe AIRED to me far superior
| description of socialism to Ovens. | hon
ored them most of all for what they have
been most cried down for-the boldness
and freedom from prejudice with which
they treated the subject Of family, the most
important of any, and needing more funda-
mental alterations than remain to be made
in any other great social institution, but on
which scarcely any reformer has the cour-
age to touch.
In proclaiming the perfect equality of
men and women, and an entirely new or
der of things in regard to their relations
with one another, the st. Simonans, in
common with Owen and Fourier, have en-
titled themselves to the grateful remem-
brance of future generations.
Again, speaking for himself and Mrs.
Taylor, who afterwards became his wife,
he says:
"Our ideal of ultimate improvement went
far beyond democracy, and would class us
decidedly under the general designation of
socialists"
THE WESTMINSTER REVIEW.
At this time, the radical party had no
organ, through which to reach the public.
The Edinburg ReoieD was the organ of
the wing party, and though professedly
liberal, it was not sufficiently SO for Mr.
Mill and the Militarian reformcrs.
Accordingly, in 1924, it was determined
TO start the Westminster Reeie,o. and the
edtorship was first offered to the elder
Mill, and when he declined it was ac-
ceptcd by Mr. Bowring, afterwards Sir
John Bowring,
In the meantime, and before the first
number of the nascent Repiel0 had APP
peared, it was decided to form junction
with another project of purely literary
periodical to be edited by Mr.. Henry
Southern. The two editors agreed to
unite their corps, and divide the editor
ship, Mr. Bowring taking the political and
Mr. Southern the literary department.
And now commenced the war of the
magazines, the Westminster Regie,o led off
with review of the course of the Edn-
burg Rerieio from its commencement. 1t
showed that 1t had always been trimmer,
that it had cndeavored to keep in with the
party in power, and that in reality, it had
deserted the colors under which 1t COM
menced its career. This article was the
joint production of the two Mill father
and son, and produced almost as great
sensation as Byron's celebrated satire of
English Bards and Scotch Reviewers"
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