Item 44 - Richard Jones to William Whewell

4 pp.

RJ accepts WW's offer to be a bystander and gives up all idea of writing anything himself [responding to John McCulloch's adverse review of RJ's book - 'Review of An Essay on the Distribution of Wealth and on the Sources of Taxation By the Rev. Richard Jones', Edinburgh Review, 1831]. However, RJ does think WW should see what he has written and he will send him a copy. He will also 'send back you Pryme's [George Pryme] letter. The professor's chemical illustration is so ingenious that it is almost a pity it is inapplicable - but though neither he nor McCulloch can comprehend it, yet the fact is (as you will see) that I have in tracing farmers rents made no such confusion as that which they complain of and I have asked pure rents and rejected returns to landlords improvements with a strictness of abstract analysis which ought to please them - but which has only puzzled them - as to the metayers - do turn to page 73 and 74 where I have stated nearly what Pryme states himself, as to the mixture of funds - I promised more. I am afraid his memory is not as good as might be wished for'. RJ is sorry WW is to be on the Council of the Royal Society. Does WW know that Charles Babbage is 'concocting some thunder to crush Daniel who preached against his Causes of Decline ['Reflections on the Decline of Science in England and on some of its Causes', 1830] in his inaugural lecture at King's College - B.'s murder of Sabine [Edward Sabine] has made him blood thirsty and adventurous - he will commit more slaughter very likely - but when a man runs amuck he always gets slain at last - this warlike project of his is a secret mind, pray do not let it escape or I shall have a taste of the create'. RJ is annoyed with WW over his decision to be on the Council of the Royal Society because 'I find to my infinite vexation that party feeling is still so high in turn that you will lose some of the good will of people not otherwise than estimable'. RJ's reviewer in the Quarterly Review 'is a man of fortune - a ministerialist - rather an ultra liberal and apparently so ashamed of writing in the Tory Journal that he makes a point of concealment which will not last long I dare say - even what I tell you however is to be a great secret' ['Review of An Essay on the Distribution of Wealth and the Sources of Taxation By Rev. Richard Jones, Quarterly Review, 1831].