It is a subject of sincere congratulation with the lovers
of sound views in commercial policy, that Mr. WCULLOCH has lent his aid It is a subject of sincere congratulation with the lovers of sound views in commercial policy, that Mr. WCULLOCH has lent his aid to the Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge, on the subject of Commerce. A late Number issued from their press contains the first part of a treatise, written, we have reason to believe, by that gentleman, on the elements of the wealth of nations : it is need- less to say, that when it is finished, the compendium will be an invaluable contribution to the library of general knowledge. Mr. M'CuLLoon commences his treatise with a definition, in- cluding an etymology, which, luckily, is the least sound part of the publication- " Commerce, from commutatio mercium, is the exchange of one sort of commodities for some other sort of commodities."
Now, we should be glad to find in what part of the word " commerce" Mr. M'CuLLoen finds mutatio, or exchange. That exchange is the ruling idea in his mind, will be conceded ; but it is not necessarily the root of every compound word in the lan- guage. Commercium is from cum and 211e1T02* or merces, and the formation of the word is of the most obvious description : the very shadow of mutatio does not appear on the word. Etymology is no part of the science of political economy, and it is a pity that the author should go out of his way to be wrong.
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