| dc.description.abstract | Gentlemen,?In addressing you this evening, I am anxious to
confine myself as much as possible to absenteeism considered as a
mere question of pounds, shillings, and pence, and as it affects the
transfer of wealth from one country to another. I propose to examine
the truth of the two conflicting theories, by which some economists
maintain that every pound sent away, in the shape of absentee
rent, is a complete loss or annihilation of that portion of the income
or capital of the country; and by which others assert that so far as
her wealth and prosperity are concerned, it is a matter of indifference
whether a few or the whole of her wealthy inhabitants
desert her shores, and reside abroad. But in treating of this question,
I find it almost impossible to confine myself within those
narrow bounds, and to do at the same time anything like justice
to the subject; for many other considerations purely economical
are involved in the question, in a manner that at first sight is apt
to escape our observation. For instance, in our calculations of
the losses a country sustains by absenteeism, we are entitled to
take into account its effects upon the progress of manufactures,
and to presume that peace and security for property exist, without
which manufactures cannot prosper; and if on examination it
appears that non-residence is a cause or promoter of insecurity,
we are entitled to take into account the evils that consequently
result, as well as the expense it entails upon the country, in the
support of additional military and police?in the enforcement of
justice, and the punishment of offenders. These subjects must be
examined before we can estimate the mere economic evils of
absenteeism; and to them and other similar circumstances it will
be necessary to allude occasionally in as brief a manner as possible,
for I feel that I should otherwise leave the portion of the
subject most important, even as an economic question, untouched;
and in doing so, I shall strictly observe the most salutary of all
our rules?that which prohibits the introduction of any sectarian
or political topic into this society. | en |
