146 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY
the contradictions of the leading moralists themselves. Most of the discrepancies can be accounted for on the ground that each moralist kept his eyes fixed almost exclu- sively upon himself, and failed to notice important elements in the life of the race. Bentham, driven by the necessities of his work as a reformer to the study of ethics, dog- matically stated his own opinions of its fundamental problems. Only one already in sympathy with his conclusions could accept them. Such was Mill, to whose broad altruism 'the happiness of the race appealed as a worthy end. But Wundt was moved by the same work almost to disgust, and defined morality as service of the "general will." Again, this is rejected by a reviewer as an inadequate end. Kant derives the commanding authority of morality from man's supersensible origin and freedom from taint of connection with the world of time and sense. But to Schopenhaure, Kant's sense of obligation meant simply fear of^punishment. To him sympathy is the only moral motive, while Kant and Spinoza do not regard sympathy as a virtue. To Kant the good will is the one good thing in life, while Sidgwick regards it as good only as a means to the production of good effects. If the position is taken that the experience of one moralist differs from that of another, these divergent statements are easily explained. When a person makes a systematic study of the moral life, following the common practice, some dominating motive of the society of which he is a member gets more than its share of attention, because it occupies a preeminent position among his own springs of action. Experiences different from his own are not recognized, because it is held that it is impossible to bring our ethical judgments into a system unless the grounds of approbation are reducible to a single one. His neighbors are supposed to confound non-moral impulses with the moral motive. If this is true, the student of ethics must make an exhaustive study of the moral judgments of examples of all types of human nature. Such an investigation will disclose the existence of a considerable number of moral motives. Among civilized men ot this century there are at least four. The first may be termed the Ideological, the second aesthetic, the third logical, and the fourth is unreasoned sentiment. If one imagines that the problem can be solved in the absence of a complete acquaintance with these judgments in all their varying forms, he deceives himself as to his relation to society and his own past. "The scientific man has, above all things, to aim at self-elimination in his judgments, to provide an argument which is true for each individual as for himself." Until this is done a science of ethics is impossible. F. C. SHARP in The Philosophical Review, May 1896. Ginn & Co.
The Agricultural Movement. At the meeting of the International Agricul tural Congress at Brussels last September, a paper was read by M. Parisel on the importance of forests. They have an influence upon temperature, rendering it more equable. They hold more vapor, and the rainfall is more abundant in wooded, than in bare countries. Observations made at Nancy from 1867 to 1888 showed that the rainfall in wooded districts was to that of unwooded as 100 to 79, and observations at the same place, from 1878 to 1888 showed that the evaporation in the former districts was to that in the latter as I to 3.22. Reports were also made on the organic debris of forests, the uses of the horse chestnut, and other subjects related to forestry. G. FOUQUET, Le Mouvement Agricole, in Journal des Economistes, May 1896. Paris: Librairie Guillaumin et Cie.
Banks of Emission in Switzerland. The first of these, the bank of Berne, was established in 1834, but the development of the system has been since 1860. By 1870 there were twenty-seven establishments issuing bank bills. This multiplicity of banks of issue was the natural consequence of the economic and political decentrali- zation which prevailed in Switzerland. The freedom of the banks is not limited by law ; and the greatest diversity exists among them. The banks were isolated and their bills could not circulate' beyond their own cantons. In 1869 the total emis- sion in Switzerland was 18,468,000 francs for a population of 2,500,000. This had increased to 25,000,000 francs in 1871, and to 65,000,000 francs in 1874. Many of the banks were unable to redeem their notes. In 1870 it was proposed to pass laws simi- lar to those of the United States; and the constitution of 1874 granted the federal
