McCulloch economics

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Routledge Library Editions

J R McCULLOCH

ECONOMICS


Routledge Library Editions — Economics

HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT
In 23 Volumes
I

A Select Bibliography of Modern Economic Theory

II
III
IV
V

Early British Economics
Nassau Senior
The Theory of Marginal Value
Ricardo and the Theory of Value Distribution

VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
XV
XVI
XVII
XVIII
XIX
XX
XXI
XXII
XXIII

Productive Labour and Effective Demand
Coontz
London Essays in Economics
Gregory & Dalton
Capitalism and the Historians
Hayek
The Origins of Scientific Economics
Letwin
The Individual in Society
Macfie
Essays on Hayek
Machlup
The Economics of Physiocracy
Meek
Karl Marx
Mehring
Marx's Critique of Political Economy I
Oakley
Marx's Critique of Political Economy II
Oakley
J R McCulloch
O'Brien
A Key to Ricardo
St Clair
Roads to Freedom
Streissler
Economics in the Twentieth Century
Suranyi-Unger
Elements of Pure Economics
Walras

The Common Sense of Political Economy I Wicksteed
The Common Sense of Political Economy II Wicksteed
Social Economics
von Wieser

Batson

Beer
Bowley
Birck
and Growth

Caravale & Tosato


J R McCULLOCH
A Study in Classical Economics

D P O'BRIEN


First published in 1970
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J R McCulloch
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ISBN 978-1-134-55911-4 (ebk)

Miniset: History of Economic Thought
Series: Routledge Library Editions - Economics


. R. McCULLOCH
A Study in
Classical Economics
BY

D. P. O'BRIEN
Ph.D.
Reader in Economics
The Queen's University of Belfast

RRoutledge

Taylor & Francis Group

LONDON AND NEW YORK


FIRST

PUBLISHED

IN

I97O

This book is copyright under the Berne Convention. All rights
reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study,
research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act,
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Enquiries should be addressed to the Publishers.
© Routledge 1970
ISBN o 04 330158 4


CONTENTS

PREFACE

I. I N T R O D U C T I O N
II. J O H N R A M S A Y M c C U L L O C H 1 7 8 9 - 1 8 6 4

page 13

15
17

HI. M c C U L L O C H A N D T H E P R E S S
1. The Scotsman
2. The Edinburgh Review
3. Occasional Journalism

22
22

34
42

iv. M c C U L L O C H AS A T E A C H E R
1. The Edinburgh Lectures
2. The Ricardo Memorial Lectures
3. Attempts to Establish Chairs in Scotland
4. London University
5. Conclusion

45
45
48
57
61
68

v. M c C U L L O C H AS AN A U T H O R
1. The Political Economist
2. The Statistician
3. Conclusion

69
69
84
98

vi. M c C U L L O C H IN P U B L I C L I F E
1. The Political Economist
2. McCulloch and his Contemporaries

3. McCulloch's Official Career

100
100
104
115

vii. M c C U L L O C H ' S E C O N O M I C W R I T I N G S

121

VIII. V A L U E

126

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

126
I27
132
135
138

140
141
143
146

The Development of the Theory
The Debate to 1823
The Encyclopaedia
The Break with Ricardo and Bailey's Attack
The 1825 Principles
New Attacks and the Wealth of Nations
McCulloch's volte face
The Impact of Rival Thinkers
Conclusion

ix. T H E T H E O R Y OF M O N E Y A N D OF B A N K I N G
1. Preliminaries
2. Monetary Forces and the Level of Activity
3. Forced Saving and Inflation
A*

147
147
153
159


Contents
4. The Theory and Practice of Banking Control
(i) The Managed Currency

(ii) 'Metallic' Fluctuation
(iii) Acceptance of the Act of 1844
5. Conclusion
x. T H E
THEORY
AND
POLICY
NATIONAL TRADE
1. Introduction
2. The Basis of Trade
3. The Benefits of Trade
4. The Automatic Balance
5. The Transfer Problem
6. Trade Policy
(i) The Desirability of Freedom
(ii) The Exceptions
7. Conclusion
Appendix—The Cuba Case

OF

167
167
177
183
188
INTER-

xi. P U B L I C F I N A N C E
1. Preliminaries

2. General Effects of Taxation—Nature of the Problem
3. General Analysis of Incidence
4. The Bases of Taxation
(i) Direct Taxation
(ii) Indirect Taxes
5. Debt Creation and Policy
6. Conclusion
xn. CAPITAL AND G R O W T H
1. The Process of Growth
2. The Role of Government
3. The Ricardian Elements
4. Productive and Unproductive Labour
5. The Machinery Problem
6. The Glut Controversy
7. Interest and Profit
8. Conclusion
XIII. P A U P E R I S M A N D E M I G R A T I O N
1. Population
2. The Poor Law; to 1826
3. The Poor Law; from 1826
4. Emigration
5. Colonies
6. Education

191
191
191
197
204
208

217
217
223
227
227
229
229
235
239
244
245
255
263
269
271
271
285
291
299
302
306
309
312
314
314
319
324
331
336
344

Contents
7. Irish Pauperism
8. Conclusion

347
353

xiv. WAGES, UNIONS, AND H O U R S
1. The Demand for Labour
2. The Supply of Labour
3. Combinations
4. Hours of Labour
5. Conclusion

355
355
360
366
370
373

xv. A G R I C U L T U R E AND RENT
1. Agricultural Development
2. The Corn Laws
3- Rent
4. Conclusion
XVI. C O N C L U S I O N

374
374
378
395
401
402

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Parliamentary Papers
Periodicals
Manuscript Collections and Archives
Publications by McCulloch
Encyclopaedia Britannica articles by McCulloch
Edinburgh Review articles by McCulloch
Articles in the Scotsman by McCulloch
Translations and Adaptations
Primary Works by other Authors
Secondary Works by other Authors
INDEX

406

406
406
406
409
411
413
415

425
426
435
443


To Eileen


PREFACE

M y chief debt in the preparation of this book is undoubtedly to Professor R . D. C. Black who has been my constant guide during the course
of its preparation. He first suggested that a study of McGulloch was long
overdue and the topic has indeed proved of absorbing interest. He has
been a constant source of help and guidance during its preparation
and, despite heavy commitments, has read all the material contained in
this book as it was prepared, and assisted greatly in clarifying the
analysis while deftly translating my clumsier phrases into English. I
was also greatly assisted by the suggestions of Professor Marian Bowley
who at an early stage read the chapter on McCulloch and the theory of
value and later read the work in its entirety. Professor T . W. Hutchison
has also read the work and made some most useful comments. I am also
deeply grateful for the encouragement which I received in the course of
this work from Lord Robbins. Needless to say, none of the above can be
held responsible for any mistakes the work may contain -mea culpa.
The task of anyone asked to read another's work can often enough be
thankless and I am grateful for their assistance without wishing to
shift any of the burden of responsibility.
I owe a debt also to the Inter Library Loan Service and in particular
to those responsible for its operation in Queen's University, Belfast.

Much of this work could not have been prepared without them. My
thanks are also due to the Research Fund of Queen's University which
has provided finance for frequent trips to the British Museum, Goldsmith's Library, Public Record Office, and other institutions, and for
photocopying without which the work could not have progressed. I
have also to thank the staff in the places visited for their help; in
particular the Goldsmith's Library was always a delight to work in. I
must also mention Derby Public Library (the Wilmot Horton papers),
Durham University (and the custodian of the Grey papers M r J. E.
Fagg), Edinburgh University and Public Libraries, the India Office
Library, Messrs Longmans (Miss B. M . Hurst), J. A . Murray, the
National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales, the
libraries of University College London and Reading University, the
Scottish General Registry Office, the Scottish Record Office, and
Somerset House. I am especially grateful to M r J. Munro of the
Scotsman for allowing me access to the Scotsman Mss; and I must also
thank most warmly those who allowed me to use material in their
private possession, especially the owners of the Overstone papers, the
Morrison papers (and their custodian M r Richard Gatty), the appeal

13


Preface
by McCulloch to Poulett Thomson, and the lecture notes taken by J.
Gladstone (kindly loaned by Mr E. W. Gladstone). For permission to
use the material in Chapter V I I I I am grateful to the Scottish Journal of
Political Economy which published my original article 4J. R. McCulloch
and the Theory of Value'. Finally it is only just to thank my wife who
has had so much to contend with during the preparation of this study;
and to offer my deepest thanks to the Publications Fund of Queen's

University, Belfast, for a generous grant towards the cost of publication
of this book.
Belfast, October ig6g

14


II

Introduction

The career and writings of John Ramsay McCulloch are of interest
from two main standpoints. Firstly, he was probably the first professional
economist in the sense of one who lived by means of his learning on the
subject. In this respect his activities as a journalist, teacher, and author
are of particular interest, and they are examined in detail for the first
time, in Chapters I I I - V . As a professional economist McCulloch had an
acknowledged place in public life, and his political and social relationships with his contemporaries (and his work as a civil servant) are
examined in Chapter V I .
Secondly, McCulloch was one of the most prominent figures in the
heyday of Classical Economics. In this role he has been frequently misinterpreted, and even unintentionally caricatured. In particular, he has
often been regarded, on the basis of a painfully small sample of his
writings, as 'more Ricardian than Ricardo'. Yet his output was
enormous-far bigger, even allowing for frequent self-plagiarization,
than that of any of his contemporary economists. This is the first
complete survey of McCulloch's work, and it shows his thought to have
been far more complex and comprehensive than has previously been
realized.
Chapter V I I I examines his value theory, and demonstrates that
McCulloch was not only not propounding the same theory as Ricardo;

he was not even trying to answer the same question. This chapter also
shows how McCulloch's views on value theory changed and developed,
and how these changes and developments have been ignored by
commentators. Chapter I X is concerned with McCulloch's voluminous writings on money where he is identified as a writer in the
broad stream of Classical monetary thought stemming from Hume, and
owing little to Ricardo. In this connection it emerges that his theory of
monetary control passed through three phases, in the first of which he
stood Ricardo's bullion plan on its head to produce a theory of an
insulated economy. Chapter X surveys McCulloch's international

15


J . R. McCulloch
trade theory and demonstrates that his thought developed from the
basis of Smith's approach to the use of a model of absolute advantage
which assumed international factor mobility, in strong contrast to the
Torrens-Ricardo-Mill analysis. This chapter also establishes how
misleading is the picture of McCulloch as a crude free-trade writer.
Chapter X I examines McCulloch's views on public finance of which he
produced a far more comprehensive treatment than any of his predecessors, and in which he was fundamentally concerned in the Smithian
manner with fiscal policy in relation to growth. It is shown that McCulloch was an ability-to-pay theorist not, as has previously been
asserted by commentators, a benefit theorist, and this, together with his
international trade policy views, led him into strong opposition to
Gladstone's financial policy.
Chapter X I I discusses McCulloch's views on capital and growth. The
analysis was essentially Smithian in its framework and method of
approach, but into this were incorporated a number of Ricardian
features which were ultimately rejected as McCulloch's thought continued to evolve. Chapter X I I I examines McCulloch's approach to the
problems of pauperism and emigration and concludes that he was

outside the consensus of Classical opinion on these subjects. He was an
anti-Malthusian, an opponent of the New Poor Law, and an advocate of
poor-relief in Ireland. Chapter X I V deals with McCulloch's analysis of
wages and demonstrates that this again was far more complex than has
generally been thought. Although his treatment of the wage-fund as an
analysis of the demand for labour was less than entirely satisfactory, he
presented a varied analysis of the supply conditions, and an important
and influential defence of the role of trade unions. Finally Chapter X V
examines McCulloch's views on agriculture and rent. It shows that he
presented a varied and complex treatment, that his case against the
Corn Laws was balanced and comprehensive (and he did not approve of
Peel's total repeal of them in 1846), and that his analysis of rent improved substantially on the accepted one in its treatment of the effects
of technical change on rent.
Taken as a whole, McCulloch's work was very Scottish in its general
approach. He was firmly in the tradition of Hume and Smith with its
mixture of fact and analysis, of theoretical and empirical considerations.
Although he did not have the incisive analytical powers of Ricardo or
Torrens, he did have wide powers of synthesis, and an enormous
command of factual and institutional considerations. When his work is
viewed as a whole, which has never been done before, it becomes
apparent that these powers produced a comprehensive analysis far
superior to anything with which McCulloch has previously been
credited.
16


II

John Ramsay McCulloch
1 7 8 9 - 1 8 6 4

1

John Ramsay McCulloch was born on March 1, 1789, at Whithorn,
Wigtownshire, in that part of Scotland known as Galloway. 2 The
family were the owners of a small estate called Auchengool near
Kircudbright and of property in Kircudbright and Isle of Whithorn.a
McCulloch's father William died only five years after his eldest son's
birth* and his grandfather Edward not long after that. 5 McCulloch's
mother was Sarah, daughter of the Rev. James Laing, Minister of
Glasserton,* and the latter, though without legal authority, moved into
1 Although the most interesting aspects of McCulloch's career are dealt with in
detail below, it seems desirable to give a general outline of his life and work in order to
provide a frame of reference for the complete study that follows.
2 The parish records contain no entry for McCulloch's baptism cither at Whithorn
or at Kircudbright so there is no alternative but to accept the date of birth given by
H. G. Reid (in Biographical Notice of John Ramsay McCulloch, London, privately printed
1865, and appended in an extended form to the 1869 edition of McCulloch's Dictionary of Commerce) and by Thomas Murray (Autobiographical Notes also Reminiscences
of a Journey to London in 1840, Dumfries, 1911, of which the manuscript in the National
Library of Scotland has been studied). Reid was McCulloch's son-in-law, confidential
clerk, and assistant in later years on the Commercial Dictionary. Murray was a close
friend of McCulloch, as well as a contributor to his Statistical Account of the British
Empire (ibid., p. 65). T h e date of birth is also confirmed in a legal document of 1807 in
Reading University Library, State of the Process of Reduction, Removing, &c, at the
instance of John Ramsay McCulloch of Auchingool, in the Parish of Rerwick . . . against John
Rain and Alexander Rain residing in Auchingool aforesaid. T h e confirmation is p. 2 of a
latter part of this document entitled Answer.
3 Auchengool was of 278 acres of which, however, nearly 100 acres were bogs and
mosses - State of the Process, p. 43. T h e property in Whithorn was a house, garden, and
adjoining farm; that in Kircudbright (according to its deeds which the present author

has examined) was sold in 1795 to the Earl of Selkirk and did not pass to McCulloch.
4 No Record of Testament exists for William McCulloch. The year of his death is
given by Murray, op. cit., p. 72, and by State of the Process, Answer, p. 2.
5 Services of Heirs in the Scottish Record Office gives the date as July 5, 1795. See
also Answer, p. 2.
6 Answer, p. 2; Murray, op. cit., p. 72; see also the family tree given by Reid, op. cit.,
p. 23.

17


J. R. McCulloch
the house in Whithorn where his widowed daughter and grandchildren
were living, and took control of their legal affairs and possessions. His
daughter had apparently married without his consent but this hardly
explains the ill treatment which she and her two sons John Ramsay and
Edward received, nor his attempted misappropriation of McGulloch's
property, for both of which there is a fair amount of evidence.*
In November 1805, on formally inheriting Auchengool, 2 McCulloch
with his brother Edward left the Rev. Laing and went to live with their
mother who had married her first cousin, a Dr David Dempster.*
There followed litigation with the Rev. Laing which continued for some
while. 4
In October 1807 McCulloch moved to Edinburgh with his mother
and stepfather* and went to Edinburgh University.* He finally left in
1811, having studied a variety of subjects, without graduating. In
August of that year he returned to Whithorn? and there on November
12th he married Isabella Stewart* who bore him twelve children.9
Now with family responsibilities he became for a while a lawyer's
clerk 10 and in 1816 made his debut as an author with an Essay on the

1 See State of the Process and Answer, passim, especially pp. 2-3; Murray, op. cit., pp.
72-3 and passim.
2 General Record of Sasines, Scottish Record Office, G R 745, f. 235. The legal formalities do not seem to have been completed until January 22, 1806 (and not registered until February 13th) but Services of Heirs in the Scottish Record Office records
the property as being inherited on November 15, 1805.
3 Answer, p. 3; Murray, op. cit., pp. 73-4.
4 See especially State of the Process, Answer, and associated documents. The Rev.
Laing's appeal against the court's verdict was dismissed on July 11, 1809 - Scottish
Record Office Innes (2nd Division), Bundle 12, number 22. See also Murray, op.
cit., p. 75.
5 Murray, op. cit., p. 77. T h e flat in College Street was still in the possession of the
family at the time of McCulloch's death in 1 8 6 4 - Trust Disposition and Settlement of
John Ramsay McCulloch in Scottish Record Office. McCulloch's income was sufficient
at this time - Auchengool was worth £320 p.a. in 1807 even before the great wartime
rise in agricultural prices and he also had income from the Whithorn property.
« See the discussion of McCulloch as Author.
1 Murray, op. cit., p. 79.
• T h e marriage took place on November 12, 1811, in Whithorn - Parish Records
at General Registry Office, Edinburgh. McCulloch was married under the name of
Ramsey [sic] McCulloch of Auchenguile - he seems to have been known as Ramsay
rather than John at least when young; his maternal great grandfather is said to have
been Andrew Ramsay, Lord Provost of Glasgow - Murray, op. cit., p. 72.
9 There were ten surviving children but according to Murray there were two others
who did not survive - op cit., p. 91. T h e sons were William, John Ramsay, David, and
Alexander. T h e daughters were Margaret (the eldest child), Christina, Sarah,
Isabella, Robina, and Mary. All the sons went to India, and all the daughters seem
to have married.
10 According to Murray (op. cit., p. 77) he entered the office of a Writer to the Signet,
but there is no record of a petition, either by the James Greg mentioned by Murray,
or any other lawyer, to take an apprentice called J. R . McCulloch during the period.

18


John Ramsay McCulloch

iy8g-i86^

National Debt. * This he sent to Ricardo; and a (largely pen) friendship
started which has become well known. The following year he joined the
newly founded Scotsman and, as will be established below, was its
editor during the critical years of 1817-21. 2 He continued his contributions to the paper until 1827. This was advantageous to him in that it
was financially profitable and provided him with a literary outlet. On
the other hand it placed him in the forefront of opposition to the Tory
regime which controlled Edinburgh; he was involved in a politically
motivated libel suit and was the target for vicious attacks in Blackwood's
Magazine which regarded him as the main motive force behind the
Scotsman. Moreover his relationships with the founders and managers of
the paper, William Ritchie and Charles MacLaren, were not always
very harmonious.
In 1818, the year following McCulloch's joining the Scotsman, he
began writing for the Edinburgh Review with a review of Ricardo's
Principles, and his contributions to that august periodical (seventyeight in all) continued until 1837. 3 This was an association which was
to be of major importance to McCulloch as a source of income, and in
building a literary reputation, for he became the chief economic
writer for the Review although he had no monopoly of economic
articles.
It was during McCulloch's time with the Scotsman that he began his
contributions to the Encyclopaedia Britannica which continued until the
eighth edition. MacVey Napier, for many years editor of the Review
and the Encyclopaedia was a close friend of McCulloch; and another

friend was the unfortunate publisher Archibald Constable.
Periodical and encyclopaedia contributions were by no means the
limit of McCulloch's literary activity before he left Edinburgh finally
in 1828. There were many other publications, most notably his Principles and his edition of the Wealth of Nations; and his work as an author
is discussed separately.
In 1820 McCulloch began in Edinburgh his career as a teacher of
economics, continuing his teaching there until 1827. There was an
attempt to establish a chair of political economy at Edinburgh University
on McCulloch's behalf in 1825 but it was foiled by the Tory establishment who were apprised of the plan by his supposed ally Francis
Jeffrey. But McCulloch's teaching was not confined to Edinburgh. In
1824 he was selected as the Ricardo Memorial Lecturer giving lectures
(and private classes) in London, at first with great success, until 1827.
(I am indebted for this information to the Clerk to the Signet.) McCulloch must
therefore have taken a clerkship.
» See the discussion of McCulloch as Author.
2 See the discussion of McCulloch and the Press.
3 Ibid.

19


J . R. McCulloch
He also lectured in Liverpool. It was during his time spent every spring
in London that he became friendly with such men as Joseph Hume,
Frankland Lewis, and George Villiers, later Earl of Clarendon.
He became recognized as something of an authority during this
period, and he appeared before the 1824 Select Committee on Artisans
and Machinery and the 1825 Committee on Ireland; it was before the
latter that he pronounced his celebrated views on absenteeism.
He attended the Political Economy Club from 1823 although he was

not a founder member as sometimes stated, and was not formally
elected until 1828, a few months prior to his appointment at London
University. He was professor of political economy there from 1828-37
(not 1832 as usually stated) but it was not a happy association. He
engaged in battle with the University both over the size and duration of
his guaranteed professorial income, and over the general conduct of the
University. It was during this stormy period that McCulloch ceased to
be friendly with Mill and his latent enmity towards Brougham really
developed. However, the period was productive of a considerable literary
output; above all there was the great Commercial Dictionary, but there
was also work commissioned by the S.D.U.K. notably the Statistical
Account of the British Empire.
While occupying his professorial chair McCulloch was in search of
official employment and it was his failure to achieve this, combined with
the belief that Brougham was largely responsible which led to his
attacks on the latter in 1834 in the Courier, a paper to which McCulloch
was a contributor although he refused its editorial chair. Eventually in
1838 Lord Melbourne bestowed on him the Comptrollership of the
Stationery Office which he retained until his death in 1864.
In this position he energetically and efficiently discharged his duties,
pursued a vendetta against the official printers, and greatly increased
the efficiency of the Office. He was also able to continue writing and
produced in particular an immense Geographical Dictionary, frequent
revisions of the Commercial Dictionary, and a Treatise on Taxation. A
book collector for many years he built up a very fine private library
(revealed to selected friends in two Catalogues) and produced for the
Political Economy Club and Lord Overstone six volumes of economic
tracts.
Overstone was a particular friend of McCulloch; another friend was
James Morrison the merchant and banker; and McCulloch was much

befriended by Peel who bestowed on him in 1846 a literary pension of
£200. But it was not only England which recognized his literary merit;
his works were translated into French, German, Portuguese, and Italian,
and he was elected a member of the Institute of France on January 21,
1843. Guizot wrote to him: *Je travaille d maintenir Mon pays dans cet
20


John Ramsay McCulloch 1789-1864
itat de paix et de liberti bien reglie qui convient seul & Vapplication et d la
propagation de vos principes. Nous servons la mime cause.'1
McCulloch continued to write and to produce new editions of his
works up to the year of his d e a t h , 2 remaining in quite good health
despite the fact that though physically powerful he was afflicted throughout his life by respiratory troubles. 3 His literary earnings were substantial and when he finally died of bronchitis at the Stationery Office
on November 11, 1864, he left £16,000.
> Letter of April 12, 1843, Ms A L 187 in University of London Library.
* Only a few months before his death he began a new edition of his Commercial
Dictionary - see the preface to the 1869 edition of the work by H. G. Reid, p. v. Nevertheless in a letter of October 16, 1856, to G . C . Lewis (Ms C/1998 in Harpton Court
papers at the National Library of Wales), McCulloch did express doubt about the
continuation of his life span.
* As early as 1817 his health compelled him to spend much of the summer in the
country (McCulloch to M a c V e y Napier, M a y 10, 1817, Add. Mss 34612, f. 86) and a
few years later James Mill referred to McCulloch's lungs as about the only weak part
of h i m - l e t t e r of August 18, 1825, National Library of Scotland, Ms 673, f. 56.

21


Ill

McCulloch and the Press

During a long and active career as a writer on economic theory and
policy John Ramsay McCulloch was connected with a number of
publications. These connections were important in three ways; firstly
they provided him with outlets to expound his views; secondly, they
supplied him with an income; and thirdly, they affected his relationships with those in authority.
McCulloch's main periodical writings are to be found in the Scotsman and the Edinburgh Review, and his activities in connection with those
two publications will be examined in detail.
I. THE

'SCOTSMAN'

In 1817, two opponents of the then Edinburgh establishment, William
Ritchie, a solicitor, and Charles MacLaren, a civil servant, founded
the Scotsman. The founders were not Whigs-indeed Ritchie wrote:
'that paper was not commenced by the Whigs; it was not supported by
their money; and some of them were very tardy in becoming subscribers'. 1 But newspaper opposition of any sort to the Tory administration was both unusual and dangerous. 2 McCulloch himself was very
conscious of this. Some years later he wrote to Poulett Thomson: 'At the
time the Scotsman commenced there was not a single liberal Newspaper in Scotland; every one that had previously been tried had failed,
their Editors being sent to ruminate over their fool-hardiness in Jail or
in New Holland . . . the Dundases rode rough shod over S c o t l a n d ; . . . 3
* Unpublished memorandum (n.d.) amongst manuscripts in possession of the
Scotsman. M y very great thanks are due to the Secretary of The Scotsman Publications M r
J . Munro, for permission to examine William Ritchie's papers. Cited below as
'Scotsman Mss\ M y thanks are also due to the Keepers of Manuscripts in the British
Museum and the National Library of Scotland, and to the Goldsmith Librarian for
permission to refer to manuscripts in their care.
2 See Lord Cockburn's Memorials of His Time, Edinburgh, 1856, p. 308.
3 Indeed he told Thomson that 'to have the reputation of being Whiggishly inclined was all but ruin to any man'.

22


McCulloch and the Press
the Scotsman made its way in defiance of every obstacle and produced
the most extraordinary change in the public opinion of Edinburgh and
of Scotland generally, that I am bold to say, ever was produced by any
periodical in any age or Country. . . Lord Jeffrey, the present Lord
Advocate, the Speaker, and the whole people of Scotland1 knows that all I
have stated is true to the letter.'2
McCulloch joined the paper shortly after its commencement. * He
was for a time editor of the paper, and the accepted version of the story
is that he was editor for the years 1818 and 1819,4 being succeeded by
MacLaren. McCulloch himself took a different view. He told Poulett
Thomson, for instance, that he was editor for Nearly the first five
years', s It seems fairly clear that he was telling the truth, on three
grounds. Firstly there is the evidence of what was recognized in Edinburgh at the time, secondly that of the contributions to the paper, and
thirdly that of the payments received.
Firstly, it seems clear that he was recognized as editor up to 1821 at
least. In 1823 when the Scotsman was involved in a libel case with
political overtones,« McCulloch was sued as having been editor in 1821,
the time of the libel; and John Hope the Solicitor-General, told
Lord Melville that he understood from Francis Jeffrey that McCulloch
had been 'the principal writer in . . . and . . . the responsible Editor of,
the Scotsman newspaper for the first four or five years after its institution'. 1
Secondly, it was not until the third year of MacLaren's supposed
editorship that he equalled McCulloch as a general contributor, and it
was not until 1823 that he wrote as many leading articles as McCulloch.
The figures are as follows

* Underlined in the manuscript.
2 Letter of January 16, 1836. Manuscript in private possession. T o its owner I am
much indebted for informing me of the existence of the letter and supplying me with a
copy.
3 MacLaren says that McCulloch's first contribution was to the fourth issue. See
his Biographical Notice of William Ritchie, Edinburgh, 1831, p. 6.
4 T h e source of this story would seem to be the Scotsman obituary of McCulloch
(November 13, 1864) which was almost certainly either written by MacLaren or on
the basis of information supplied by him. The story gained widespread currency - see
e.g., H. R . Fox Bourne, English Newspapers (London, 1887), Vol. I, p. 386, where
MacLaren is even described as the founder of the paper.
5 See the letter in private possession referred to above.
« Often referred to as Aiton's case, see below, p. 28.
1 Letter of M a y 22, 1825, Mss 351, f. 112 in the National Library of Scotland.
• The figures of general contributions have been arrived at from William Ritchie's
financial notebook and from numerous jottings which he left. The figures for general
contributions are given as total of columns. General contributions for 1817 are not
available. The figures of leaders are given in a letter from Ritchie to a friend (a copy

23


J. R. McCulloch
Ritchie
General
1817
1818
1819
1820
1821

1822
1823

MacLaren

Leaders

General

21
25
24
27
21
17
«4

—

2665
2423
2769
296-7
235* 1
2695

—

6-2
7i-4

961J
109-1
1504
262*2

McCulloch

Leaders

General

11
9
13
8
13
»5
25

181-6
>45-3
124-1
153-2
1076
107-7

—

Leaders
14

14
13
13
18
19
25

Thirdly, McCulloch received a payment for editing, which continued
until 1821. 1 The general arrangement was that he received £2 per paper
for editing, but that payment for writing was arrived at by dividing up
the net revenue of the paper in proportion to the contributions of the
writers.2 The total payments and editorial allowance were:
McCulloch
Writing
1817
1818
1819
1820
1821
1822
1823

£ i 3 4 18 9
£165 17 11
£164 7 0
£ ' 3 5 14 0
£ 1 4 3 6 11
£126 6 0
£118 5 0

Ritchie

MacLaren
Editing

Writing

—

£104
£104
£104
£104
—
—

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

£130 18
£ 8 3 16
£108 1
£138 2

£i35 1
£142 3
£382 15

Editing
9
6
7
0
3
0
0

—
—
—
—
—

£104
£104

Writing
£i3>
£262
£282
£343
£302
£262
£345

>2 5
15 10
16 5
2 5
11 10
7 0
15 0

The only year up to 1821 about which there can be any doubt then
is 1817. Here it seems reasonable to deduce from a statement by Ritchie
that McCulloch became editor half-way through 1817,3 From 1817 till
of which was sent to MacLaren) of October 30, 1823, Scotsman Mss. This letter also
gives the number of reviews written by the three men. Presumably the occasional
contributors were responsible for the difference between the total leaders and fiftytwo, the annual number of issues to 1822.
1 Although it is noted amongst the Scotsman Mss that MacLaren deputized for
four weeks for McCulloch in 1820, while the latter was away.
2 This is clear from the method of arriving at the payment in the accounts, from a
letter of November 11, 1822, referred to above, and from a document beginning 'This
is written solely for the confidential perusal of Mr McCulloch' (all in Scotsman Mss).
The editor was allowed the opportunity of earning another £100 by writing, if the
net revenue amounted to £400. From 1824 onwards McCulloch was paid 30s per
column-see 'Terms given to Mr McCulloch from 1st January, 1824' in Scotsman
Mss.
3 In the letter of October 30, 1823, he says that MacLaren was editor for the first
half of 1817.

24