Robert Torrens (economist): Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
Torrens was a strong advocate of state-sponsored emigration to relieve population pressure in [[United Kingdom|the United Kingdom]] (particularly in Ireland; he argued that Irish [[Standard of living|living standards]] could only be improved by making Irish agriculture more profitable, but that at the same time this would lead to massive short-term displacement of laborers who must somehow be supported during the transition period.) He took a prominent role in the foundation of [[South Australia]] as a colony, and chaired the first commissioners set up to oversee it; he was sacked in 1841 for [[financial mismanagement]] and [[conflict of interest]] (he had bought land in the colony). The [[River Torrens]], which runs through [[Adelaide]], is believed to have been named after him. |
Torrens was a strong advocate of state-sponsored emigration to relieve population pressure in [[United Kingdom|the United Kingdom]] (particularly in Ireland; he argued that Irish [[Standard of living|living standards]] could only be improved by making Irish agriculture more profitable, but that at the same time this would lead to massive short-term displacement of laborers who must somehow be supported during the transition period.) He took a prominent role in the foundation of [[South Australia]] as a colony, and chaired the first commissioners set up to oversee it; he was sacked in 1841 for [[financial mismanagement]] and [[conflict of interest]] (he had bought land in the colony). The [[River Torrens]], which runs through [[Adelaide]], is believed to have been named after him. |
||
He was elected a [[ |
He was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]] in December 1818. <ref> {{cite web | url=http://www2.royalsociety.org/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Persons&dsqPos=0&dsqSearch=%28Surname%3D%27torrens%27%29 | title = Library and Archive Catalogue | publisher = Royal Society | accessdate = 28 October 2010}} </ref> |
||
==Politics== |
==Politics== |
||
He represented [[Ipswich (UK Parliament constituency)|Ipswich, Essex]] as a Whig in the House of Commons in 1826, [[Ashburton (UK Parliament constituency)|Ashburton, Devon]] in 1831 and, as its first MP, the new constituency of [[Bolton (UK Parliament constituency)|Bolton, Lancashire]] from 1832 to 1835. |
|||
He served a number of terms in the House of Commons, representing a number of different constituencies.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} |
|||
==Writer== |
==Writer== |
||
| Line 44: | Line 44: | ||
==References== |
==References== |
||
{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
||
{{rayment-hc}} |
|||
== External links == |
== External links == |
||
Revision as of 11:30, 29 October 2010
Colonel Robert Torrens (1780, Ireland – 27 May 1864) was a British army officer, political economist, MP, owner of the influential Globe newspaper and prolific writer.
Born in Ireland, son of Protestant Robert Torrens of Hervey Hill.
Military career
Torrens entered the Royal Marines in 1797, and rising through the various grades became a colonel in 1837. He achieved renown in 1811 by overseeing the defence of the Baltic island of Anholt against superior Danish forces, and afterwards served in the Peninsula, where he was appointed colonel of a Spanish legion.[1]
Economist
He was an independent discoverer of the principle of comparative advantage in international trade, which principle is usually attributed to David Ricardo although Torrens wrote about it in 1815, two years before Ricardo's book On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation was first published. He was a strong advocate of Catholic Emancipation, publishing a tract and a novel on the subject.
Torrens was a founder member of the Political Economy Club. He was also one of the first to theorize about the optimal tariff, predating J. S. Mill's thoughts on the subject by 11 years. His advocacy of reciprocity rather than unconditional free trade in the 1840s was highly controversial, and he was later cited as a precursor by supporters of Joseph Chamberlain's tariff reform campaign.
Torrens was a strong advocate of state-sponsored emigration to relieve population pressure in the United Kingdom (particularly in Ireland; he argued that Irish living standards could only be improved by making Irish agriculture more profitable, but that at the same time this would lead to massive short-term displacement of laborers who must somehow be supported during the transition period.) He took a prominent role in the foundation of South Australia as a colony, and chaired the first commissioners set up to oversee it; he was sacked in 1841 for financial mismanagement and conflict of interest (he had bought land in the colony). The River Torrens, which runs through Adelaide, is believed to have been named after him.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in December 1818. [2]
Politics
He represented Ipswich, Essex as a Whig in the House of Commons in 1826, Ashburton, Devon in 1831 and, as its first MP, the new constituency of Bolton, Lancashire from 1832 to 1835.
Writer
The Annual Register says: "He was an indefatigable writer; the productions of his pen, which include a great variety of tracts on subjects of political economy, some able pamphlets on the currency, and some literary efforts of a lighter class, extend over a period of fifty years. For some time Colonel Torrens was a part proprietor and editor of the Globe newspaper. He was a skilful and lucid writer, and succeeded in throwing considerable light upon some of those abstruse questions connected with monetary science which are the stumbling-block of economical students."[1]
Family
He died 27th May 1864, aged 84.[1]
His son Robert Torrens, the colonial Premier of South Australia, invented the Torrens title system of registering land titles, which is widely used in the British Commonwealth and other states (e.g. Iowa) and countries. [3] [4]
Works of Robert Torrens
His works, numbering twenty-six in Allibone's list, are on divers subjects
- The Economists Refuted, 1808. ["Economists" in this context refers to supporters of the French Physiocratic theory that agriculture was the only real source of wealth.]
- Celibia Choosing a Husband (1809), a novel
- An Essay on Money and Paper Currency, 1812.
- An Essay on the External Corn Trade, 1815.
- An Essay on the Production of Wealth, 1821.
- Letters on Commercial Policy, 1833.
- On Wages and Combination, 1834.
- The Principles and Practical Operation of Sir Robert Peel's Bill of 1844, 1844.
- Tracts on Finance and Trade, 1852.
References
- ^ a b c Webb, Alfred (1878). A Compendium of Irish Biography. Dublin: M. H. Gill & son. pp. 534–35. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
- ^ "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
- ^ Colonel Robert Torrens, 1780-1864
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages [self-published source] [better source needed]
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
External links
