The term statistics naturally suggests the object to which the science applies. It is derived from the word state, or, according to others, the German word Staat, signifying a body of men living together in social union; and it comprehends all the details connected with their condition. There cannot be a more interesting subject of speculation than the structure of society; and if we are anxious to trace, by laborious research, the laws of the material world, no less important is it to ascertain the moral laws by which society is upheld, and on which depend the character, condition, and happiness of man. But neither this nor any other branch of philosophy can be explained without a suitable collection of facts. In those sciences which regard merely the properties of matter, experiments can be made at pleasure, and facts abundantly obtained. But we cannot make experiments on society; and we must therefore rely on observation for the facts by which principles are to be illustrated. As the astronomer, in deducing the laws which regulate the solar system, patiently surveys the structure and movements of the heavens, in like manner the political philosopher must watch the progress of society, under all its various aspects of prosperity and decay, of happiness and misery, from the stagnation of trade, from famine, from disease, or any other of the long catalogue of evils to which man is subject. We cannot expound by a priori reasonings the wonderful economy of human society; we cannot find our way through those intricate speculations without the light of facts; and hence the importance of this science, which does not consist in reasoning, but in collecting materials for reasoning, which it is the business of the philosopher to arrange under general principles, and thus to place every fact in its just place in the great system of knowledge. Facts are the only true foundation of philosophy. This is the true mode of philosophising by experiment recommended by Bacon, or by observation, which, to the political inquirer, must supply the place of experiment. Those sketches of society which are merely speculative, however ingenious and amusing, carry no conviction to the mind, and may be supported by other theories equally plausible. But no sophistry can shake the solid array of facts, and their legitimate conclusions, of which all valuable knowledge may be said to consist. Hence the importance of statistics, which supply the raw material, to be afterwards fabricated by the delicate hand of science into those fine but not flimsy speculations, which give importance to the most trifling circumstances, by shewing how they bear on great principles; and hence, by the unexpected analogies which they often disclose in the practice and policy of nations, a new light is reflected on the history of mankind.

It is not, however, from a mere barren collection of facts that instruction can be derived. The statistic must be so far trained in the school of philosophy, as to be able to cull out what is instructive, and cast aside what is useless. He must not be a mere collector of unconsidered trifles. There are many uninteresting facts from which no conclusion can ever spring. A collector of information is not in this view merely a pioneer to the philosopher. He must be qualified for his task by previous knowledge. He must know what questions to ask, into what useful channel to guide his researches, otherwise he would waste his labour in the vain accumulation of useless details, which would rather be an incumbrance than an aid to scientific inquiry. A brief enumeration of the chief facts connected with the different subjects of political science may serve more clearly to explain our views. Every subject to which the statistic directs his attention has its appropriate facts. Thus, the ratio in which population and subsistence respectively increase, and the condition of the people in different countries, can only be illustrated by an accurate census at different periods, by the proportion of marriages to the whole population, and of births to deaths; and the same facts will indicate the healthiness or unhealthiness of the different countries; the population slowly increasing where the deaths are few, and being renewed more rapidly by frequent marriages, where there is a greater mortality.

In giving an account of the commerce of a country, the facts sought after must chiefly be, the amount of its exports and imports; the general rate of wages; a copious list of prices; the state of the currency; of what it consists, whether of gold, silver, or of paper; and if of the latter, the number of banks, the amount of the circulation, the price of gold and silver, and such other facts as may throw light on the difficult subject of those mercantile convulsions, and of other causes, with which we are now unfortunately so familiar.

In an investigation of the revenue, its amount for a series of years must be ascertained; the different taxes, with the annual products of each; the time when they were imposed; their increasing or decreasing amount; by which a judgment may be formed of their productivity, and of the condition of the country in which they are imposed.

The state of a community in respect to crime is a subject of deep importance; and the facts naturally sought after must be the number of criminals tried, the nature of their offences, the number condemned, the punishment inflicted, the state of the prisons; whether there are any penitentiaries, and by what rules conducted; by which the inquirer, be he statesman or philosopher, will be able to appreciate the influence of the penal code on the morals of the country, and whether it tends to one of its great ends, namely, the reformation of the criminal, as well as his punishment.

The produce of the soil, in all its various departments, with the laws by which it is distributed among the other classes of the community, opens a wide field of inquiry; and the facts which throw light on these subjects are of great value, and must chiefly be, the amount of the produce in different years, whether scarce or abundant; the prices in these different years, and the amount of importation or exportation, with the fluctuations of price that may occur in different periods of the same season.

The mineral riches of a country, its fisheries, either on the shores or in the rivers, its climate, the diversity of its surface, and the variety of its vegetable produce on the mountains and in the plains, are all the legitimate subjects of statistics, which, it will be thus seen, has a wide range, and is connected with various sciences; 1st, with mineralogy, chemistry, and mechanics, because of the importance of those sciences in the extraction of metals from the earth, in refining the ore from the dross by the most economical modes, and in protecting those subterranean regions from the inun- dations of water, from the corruption of the air, or from the falling of the superincumbent masses under which the work is carried on; 2d, with meteorology, from the influence of the atmosphere on the soil; from the variation of the climate, according to the altitude, and the varieties of the vegetable tribes which are found at different heights, all which are important facts in the statistics of every country; and, 3d, with zoology, from the necessity of ascertaining the different breeds of the domestic animals, and their qualities, and how far they can be made subservient to the purposes of man. How curious it is to contemplate the varieties of these animals in different climates and countries: how in Asia the elephant, whose gigantic strength could crush its masters in the dust, is yet, by the ingenuity of man, reduced to one of the humblest of his drudges; the camel in like manner to be a pattern of patient service; and the swift dromedary, and the wild ass, with its indomitable spirit, broken to the yoke, though in the eastern countries still retaining its native fire; while in Europe man depends upon an entirely different class of animals, whose properties are of the highest importance in reference to the various duties to which they are appointed, and form, therefore, the proper subject of statistical inquiries, to which zoology contributes its aid.

The moral and religious condition of the people is a subject of still greater importance, which cannot be understood without knowing the nature and extent of the religious establishments and seminaries of education; the funds that are appropriated for these purposes, and their efficiency for their proposed ends; from what source they are derived; whether they are large or small; the number of churches and schools, as compared with the population; the nature of the different seminaries; what are the sciences taught; the pay of the teachers, civil as well as religious; the different sects; the number of each; the proportion of those teachers who are paid by the state to those who depend on the voluntary contributions of their flocks. All these facts are necessary to be known in order to decide on the great questions which will ever agitate the world on the subject of religion, namely, whether any particular form ought to be encouraged by the state; whether it is not the better policy to leave religion to its own native and divine strength; to give protection to all, but encouragement to none; a fair field and no favour; whether religion is more effectually promoted by a largely endowed ministry, or by one more humble and industrious, depending for their subsistence on the good will of their people; whether large pay may not be a source of corruption and a bribe to indolence; or whether such a class of luxurious priests may not be necessary to propagate religion among the rich. It is by inquiries into facts such as we have enumerated that these important questions can be best elucidated; and it is to these objects, therefore, of which we have given an imperfect enumeration, that the statistical inquirer ought to direct his attention, with a view of clearing away all obstructions from the paths of science.

The study of statistics has only been of late years systematically prosecuted. It makes no part of the early history of nations. The glare of battles, and of political commotions which fix the destiny of nations, alone attracts the notice of the historian; and for these, the more precious details of domestic history are thrown into the shade, and finally lost. It is only, therefore, that portion of human affairs, which, though more striking, is the least valuable, that history embalms, while it casts aside as useless those important facts which illustrate the progress of society, in arts, in literature, and in science; in wealth also, in population, and in commerce, by new and more ingenious modes of industry, which shew the changes of manners that follow increased wealth, the state of the public revenue, with various other topics equally interesting to the statesman as well as the philosopher. The ancient history of Greece and Rome is Statistics. eminently deficient in those details. The writers of those times appear to be extremely loose in their facts; and they very seldom refer to the authority of any original document. In the ancient republics of Greece and Rome, every thing was subservient to war; and the accounts that were from time to time taken of the male population, were with a view to ascertain the military strength of the state. But little reliance can even be placed on these accounts. The ancient historians were rather intent on general description, often vigorous and eloquent, than in any accurate appeal to facts. There was no accurate census of the Roman empire after it had attained to the height of its power; and the Roman historian, admitting that the number of subjects cannot now be fixed "with such a degree of accuracy as the importance of the object would deserve," is reduced to little better than conjecture, when he estimates the number of persons under the imperial sway at 120 millions; "a degree of populousness," he adds, "which possibly exceeds that of modern Europe;" the vague manner of his expression truly intimating the imperfect data with which he was furnished. In other departments the statistics of Rome are still more deficient in facts. The relative proportions of births, deaths, and marriages, are never so much as pointed at in any historical work; and the accounts that remain of the state of commerce and manufactures are meagre in the extreme. A list is no doubt given of articles of luxury imported into Rome, and of the trade to India and Arabia; in which Pliny complains of the unfavourable exchange, a modern complaint, also, in this country, and of the drain of gold which it occasioned, there being no other equivalent with which the rare luxuries of those countries could be purchased. (See the article Arabia.) But we have no account of the state of wages, of the value of the exports or imports, nor any very accurate account of the currency, or of the public revenue. The modern historians of Rome, gleaning a few scattered facts which shed an incidental light, from the works of the classical writers, are reduced, by the help of their own conjectures, to form them into a specious, but often doubtful hypothesis. What a meagre account, accordingly, does the illustrious Gibbon, not less noted for eloquence and fancy, than for accurate research, give of the revenues of Rome. He begins with lamenting the want of any authentic document. "History," he observes, "has never perhaps suffered a greater or more irreparable injury than in the loss of the curious register bequeathed by Augustus to the senate, in which that experienced prince so accurately balanced the revenues and expenses of the Roman empire." And when groping his way, by the imperfect light which history supplies, he estimates that 20,000 pounds weight of gold were annually received from the provinces of Austria, Galicia, and Lusatia, he adds, "we want both leisure and materials to pursue this curious inquiry through the many potent states that were annihilated in the Roman empire." After stating the incidental circumstance of Augustus having once received a petition from the inhabitants of Gyarus, a solitary and desolate isle, for a remission of their annual duties, which only amounted in value to L5 sterling, and naturally inferring, if such severe attention was directed to the abodes of sterility, that much larger contributions would be levied in the seats of population and of wealth, he adds, "from the faint glimmerings of such doubtful and scattered lights, we should be inclined to believe, that with every fair allowance of times and circumstances, the general income of the Roman provinces could seldom amount to less than L15,000,000 or L20,000,000 of our money." Such is all the information which the most diligent research could collect from any extant record concerning the revenues of Rome. What a contrast does this present to the enlightened science of modern times, and to the more accurate documents prepared by authority in the great states of Europe, Statistics, and in America, in which their respective revenues and expenditure are detailed with arithmetical accuracy; not only the general result, but also the amount of the duty on such separate articles for a series of years, from which we are enabled to draw important conclusions as to the nature and policy of different taxes, as to the general effect of taxation, and the condition of the country, whether, as indicated by the state of its revenue, it is advancing or going back.

Under the imperial government of Rome the land was accurately measured by surveyors, who reported its produce, whether arable or pasture, vineyards or woods, what was the number of slaves or cattle; and an average estimate was made of its produce for five years, on which a fixed proportion was exacted by the state. But nothing remains of the records to point out the state of property in this great empire, the chief seat of wealth and civilization in the ancient world; and it is lamentable to reflect, that most of those inquiries by government were instituted, not with any view of promoting science, or of benefiting the people, but rather of plundering them: their rulers inquired into their means that they might know how heavily they might be burdened. This was probably the origin of that exact survey of the lands of England which took place by order of William the Conqueror, which was finished in six years, and was entered into the register called Doomsday-Book; not only a relic of antiquity, but a statistical document equally valuable and curious, more especially considering the rude age in which it was produced. Neither in that early age, however, nor in much later times, are there any materials for domestic history; and accordingly the English historian, in describing the progress of manners, is reduced, like the historian of Rome, to draw his imperfect conclusions from the few facts which are scattered through the pages of the early writers.

When the progress of political science became more rapid, the facts on which that science was founded, were investigated with redoubled assiduity. Towards the close of the seventeenth century, several treatises were published on the subjects of commerce, manufactures, circulation, and finance, by Reynolds, Child, and Petty. But they were deficient in comprehensive views, and attracted comparatively little attention. The more recent works of Price, Arthur Young, and Playfair, on population, commerce, and agriculture, though evincing laborious research, are liable to the same objection. Dr. Smith was the first writer who laid open the philosophy of commerce, and the publication of his work was an era in the science. It attracted universal attention; and carried conviction wherever it was studied, by the force and the extreme simplicity of its reasonings. The far-reaching views of the author into all the complicated relations of society, are not more striking than the perfect plainness with which he lays open its hidden structure. There is a peculiar force and propriety in his style, which, repudiating the use of ornament, possesses a weight and brevity which is quite remarkable. It is the pure ore of expression, refined from all those inconvenient accessories of speech which encumber the modern languages. His argument often appears to consist of a series of insulated propositions, yet they are linked together into so fine a logical chain, that the mind is carried on step by step to the grand and striking conclusion. Since the publication of Dr. Smith's work, statistical knowledge has been more and more sought after, and many valuable works have been published on the subject. Among these may be mentioned the Statistical Account of Scotland, to which the clergymen throughout the country contributed each the account of his own parish. The design of the work, which was begun about the year 1791, and was suggested by Sir John Sinclair, to whom the accounts were sent, and who superintended the publication, is extremely judicious, and the execution is in general useful and accurate. In these volumes was accumulated, in respect to Scotland, a greater portion of correct information than had ever before appeared. The work is useful as a memorial of the condition of the country at that period, and as an illustration of domestic history. The great improvements which have taken place in the country, have now rendered obsolete most of the information which it contains; but a new work on the same plan is now in the course of publication at Edinburgh; and so far as it has proceeded, it appears to be executed with judgment and care, and to contain an ample store of statistical information.

But those publications, valuable as they are, fall short of the important documents which are now annually laid before the respective legislatures of different countries. Great Britain, France, and the United States, possess, in these public accounts and papers, a valuable mass of political information, and the most authentic details on all the important subjects of commerce, agriculture, finance, the moral instruction of the people, and on every other branch of domestic history. And the great advantage is, that we can appeal to these accounts with the most perfect confidence. They are the solid materials of philosophy, the original sources from which are drawn those unerring conclusions concerning the laws and structure of society which nothing can reverse; which equally survive the tempests of revolution, and the change of manners. On important subjects, the British Parliament often appoints a select committee of members to make inquiry, and to prepare a report. They have authority to summon witnesses, and to collect evidence from every quarter. The diligence and ability with which those committees have executed this task, is attested by the long and elaborate reports which are among the parliamentary papers on the revenue, on trade, on agriculture, on banks and paper currency, and on almost all the different manufactures which are carried on in the country; such as glass, soap, starch, paper, malt, the distillation of spirits, the brewing of beer, and others of less moment. It is of great importance that the accuracy of these, and the accounts which they contain, should be undisputed, or otherwise their effect would rather be to mislead than to inform. The information that is now called for by Parliament, is much more extensive than in former times, and relates to matters that were formerly thought to be of the most private nature. Prior to the suspension of cash payments by the Bank of England in 1797, nothing was known of its circulation or of its operations; and Dr. Smith, however justly he expounds the nature of money and of paper currency, had no knowledge whatever of the amount that circulated in the country. No accounts of this nature were published at that time. These were official secrets, which were to be rigidly kept from the eyes of the profane. The catastrophe which befell the bank in 1797, broke the spell of secrecy; the various committees which have been appointed to inquire into the affairs of the bank, namely, the Lords' committee of secrecy in 1797, in 1810, and in 1819, and the committee of Parliament which we have quoted. the Commons in 1832, have both laid open the transactions and policy of the bank; and a quarterly account is now ordered to be published in the Gazette of its circulation, its deposits, its liabilities, and the average amount of its stock of gold. Such information gives to the political inquiries of modern times an incalculable advantage. The progress of freedom in Europe also conduces to the extension of statistical knowledge. Where popular assemblies are established, with the right of free discussion, inquiries into all the branches of the public service will naturally follow. Papers and accounts will be called for; no longer will the transactions of statesmen be shrouded in darkness; they will be dragged into light; and the people formerly reprobated by the tyrant Henry VIII as brutes, who were no more judges of these high matters than a blind man of colours, will insist, in their boldness and presumption, to know how their money is spent. Thus will be obtained the financial accounts of the kingdom, and those of commerce, and other public matters will follow in due course. Publicity is the true corrective of corruption; and in the pure administration of free states, the ruler will rather court than shun inquiry, being conscious of nothing that will not bear the light. Accordingly, in 1832, a statistical office was established in the department of the board of trade, for the purpose of collecting, arranging, and publishing statements relating to the condition and the various interests of the British empire. The volumes to which this arrangement has given birth, are annually printed and laid before Parliament, and contain an ample store of the most satisfactory details. Several societies have since been formed for prosecuting statistical inquiries. In 1833, a statistical section was formed in the British Association for the advancement of Science during the period of its meeting at Cambridge; and, before the close of the year, the Manchester Statistical Society was established. The Statistical Society of London, which had been projected at Cambridge, was established in 1834, and has published a monthly journal, which contains much useful information. Statistical societies have been formed in other populous towns, in Liverpool, in Bristol, and in several towns in Ireland, and promise, by their industry, to add largely to the existing stock of useful knowledge. Many important publications have of late years issued from the press, on the condition and resources of the country; on its commerce, its agriculture, its currency, as well as on the state of education, which tend to promote, and greatly to aid statistical inquiries. The most important of these is Macculloch's Dictionary of Commerce, a work which combines extensive research, and the most copious details, with the spirit of philosophy. Other statistical works are, the Statistical Account of the British Empire, by the same author; Statistical Accounts of part of Ireland, by the Officers of the Irish Ordnance Survey; Milburn's Oriental Commerce; Macgregor's Statistics of Nations; Porter's Progress of the Nation; Martin's Colonial Magazine, and his British Colonial Library, an elaborate account of the colonies. An instructive and useful work has lately been published by Mr. A. Trotter on the Commerce and Banking System of the United States, which is a compendium of important statistical information. With all these aids, political science will undoubtedly advance, and may be expected in time to attain to more certain results in all those important inquiries which relate to the actual condition and moral improvement of mankind.