B_yL£4

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR

OF

JOHN RICKMAN, Esq. F.R.S. &c. &c.
VviU^'avvi CKavles Ivids: *v>an

1841.

Having* at the request of the Editor of the Gentleman's Magazine, drawn up an
outline of my Father's Life, I am enabled to distribute among his friends a few copies of
the proof sheets ; the substance of which will appear in the forthconung number of that
Magazine for the month of April.
The nature and extent of Mr. Rickman's papers and correspondence must cause
some time to elapse before they can be so arranged as to do justice to his memory.
William Charles Rickman,
March, 1841.

BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR

JOHN RICKMAN, Esq. F.R.S. &c. &c.

John Rickjian, esq. Clerk Assistant
at the Table of the House of Com-
mons, died 11 Aug. 1840, at his resi
dence, in Duke Street, Westminster, in
bis sixty-ninth year.
Mr. Hickman was descended from an
ancient Hampshire family ; his grand
father, Mr. William Rickman, of Post-
brook, near Fareham, is honourably men
tioned by Ulloa,* who, in the course of his
scientific voyages, was captured, and de
tained a prisoner of war in Portsmouth
Harbour, a.d. 1745. Mr. W. Rick
man, as Commissary for the Spanish
prisoners, showed these voyagers a
kindness, " which," says UUoa, "I ac
knowledge he carried to a very great
height, and I had a large share of those
acts of goodness by which be has deserved
the universal acknowledgments of the
whole Spanish nation ; for, from the
beginning of the war, he exerted all possi
ble care for the comfort of the common
prisoners, and tbe chief officers be even
lodged at bis own seat:" indeed be

spared neither money nor influence to
alleviate their captivity. Ulloa's expe
dition was accompanied by a very clever
Spanish artist, who made numerous por
traits of Mr. Rickman's family, which
are still in fine preservation.
It is recorded that the Duke of Rich
mond and Mr. William Rickman were
the only magistrates, who ventured to
attend at the Chichester examinations,
and take evidence against the murder
ers of Galley and Chater in the year
1746 : such terror had been inspired by
that gang of cruel smugglers, who were
thus effectually exterminated.
The Rev. Thomas Rickman his eldest
son was the incumbent of Newbura
in Northumberland, from whence he
removed with his family in a few
years to the living of Compton, near
Winchester, in his native county of
Hampshire; which he afterwards ex
changed for the Rectory of Ash, midway
between Farnham and Guildford. In the
decline of life he retired from his Clerical

* Bookix. Ch. 9.

Duties, and went to reside at Christ
Church in the New Forest, in the midst
of his family connections, where he died
in 1809.

John Rickman, his only son, the sub
ject of the present memoir, was born at
Newburn on the 22nd August 1771 ; he
was placed at the Guildford Grammar
School, in 1781, of which the Rev. Sa
muel Cole was at that time head master,
and in 1788 he was entered at Magdalen
Hall, Oxford, from whence he removed
to Lincoln College. Having taken his
degree, he subsequently devoted himself
during several years to literary pursuits,
and enjoyed the society of many who have
since distinguished themselves as men of
letters or of science. One of his con
temporaries at CoUege was Mr. Southey,
who remained his most intimate friend,
and most frequent correspondent to the
last, — of this correspondence about one
thousand letters are preserved.
At this period of his life, Mr. Rick
man conducted a monthly periodical called
the Commercial, Agricultural, and Manu
facturer's Magazine, and he otherwise oc
cupied himself with his characteristic
eagerness upon investigations connected
with political economy, and also with
practical mechanics.
Among his intimate friends at that time
was Charles Lamb, who thus sketched his
character in a letter (since published) to
Mr. Manning, dated Nov. 8, 1800.
" I have made an acquisition latterly
of a pleasant band, one Rickman, to whom
I was introduced by George Dyer. George
brings all sorts of people together, setting
up a sort of Agrarian law, or common
property, in matter of society; but herein
he has done me a great pleasure, while he

was only pursuing a principle, as ignes
fatui may light you home.
" This Rickman lives in our buildings,
immediately opposite our house ; the
finest fellow to drop in a' nights about
nine or ten o'clock — cold bread and
cheese time— just in the wishing time of
the night, when you wish for somebody to
come in ; without a distinct idea of a pro
bable anybody : just in the nick, neither
too early to be tedious, nor too late to sit
a reasonable time. lie is a most pleasant
hand; a fine rattling fellow, has gone
through life laughing at solemn apes —
himself hugely literate, oppressively full
of information in all stuff of con
versation, from matter of fact to
Xenophon and Plato — can talk Greek
with Porson, politics with Thelwall,
conjecture with George Dyer, nonsense
with me, and anything with anybody ; a
great farmer, — somewhat concerned in the
Agricultural Magazine, — reads no poetry
but Shakspeare, — very intimate with
Southey, but never reads his poetry, —
relishes George Dyer, — thoroughly pene
trates into the ridiculous, wherever found,
— understands the first time, (a great de
sideratum in common minds) you need
never twice speak to him ; does not want
explanations, translations, limitations, as
Professor Godwin does when you make
an assertion; up to anything, down to
everything, whatever sapit hominem; a
perfect man. All this farrago which
must perplex you to read, and has put me
to a little trouble to select, only proves
how impossible it is to describe a plea
sant hand. You must see Rickman to
know him, for he is a species in one; a
new class. An exotic, any slip of which
I am proud to put in my garden pot. The
clearest-headed fellow. Fullest of matter
with least verbosity. If there be any

alloy in my fortune to have met with
such a man, it is that he commonly di
vides his time between town and country,
having some foolish family ties at Christ
church, by which means he can only glad
den our London hemisphere with returns
of light. He is now going for six weeks."
And again, writing to Mr. Manning,
3Jst Aug. 1801, he says, " I have just lost
Rickman, a faint idea of whose character
I sent you. He is gone to Ireland for a
year or two, to make his fortune ; and I
have lost, by his going, what it seems to
me I can never recover — a finished man.
His memory will be to me as the brazen
serpent to the Israelites, I shall look up
to it to keep me upright and honest. But
he may yet bring back his honest face to
England one day. I wish your affairs
with the Emperor of China had not been
so urgent, that you might have stayed in
Great Britain a year or two longer, to
have seen him ; for, judging from my
own experience, I almost dare pronounce
you never saw his equal. I never saw a
man that could be at all a second or sub
stitute for him in any sort."
In 1801 Mr. Rickman removed to
Dublin, having received tbe appointment
of Private Secretary to the Right Ho
nourable Charles Abbot, then made
Chief Secretary for Ireland, under Lord
Hardwicke, and Keeper of the Privy
Seal; Mr. Rickman being specially em
powered to act as Deputy Privy Seal.
Upon the subsequent election of Mr.
Abbot to be Speaker of the House of
Commons, Feb. 1802, Mr. Rickman
having declined an office of considerable
emolument, and one congenial to his
tastes, which he had been solicited to ac
cept at Dublin, preferred accompanying
Mr. Abbot to London, where he became

Speaker's Secretary, and continued in tbat
office for twelve years.
In July 1814 he was appointed second
Clerk Assistant at the Table of the
House of Commons, Mr. Dyson being
at that time deputy to Mr. Hatsell
the Clerk, and Mr. John Ley being
Clerk Assistant. Upon Mr. John Ley's
appointment to the office of Clerk in
1820, Mr. Rickman became Clerk As
sistant, which office he continued to hold
until his death.
The office of ' Clerk of the Commons
House of Parliament,' or perhaps still
more properly as it is styled in the patent,
' Under Clerk of the Parliaments to at
tend upon the Commons,' is an office
granted by the Crown for life, by letters
patent. Before the Clerk enters upon his
offices, he takes the following oath, kneel
ing upon his knees before the Lord Chan
cellor ; which oath is administered by the
Clerk of the Crown : —
' Ye shall be true and faithful, and
truth shall you bear to our Sovereign Lord
George the Third, by the grace of God
King of Great Britain, France, and Ire
land, and to his heirs and successors ; ye
shall nothing know that shall be prejudi
cial to his Highness, his crown, estate,
and dignity royal, but that you shall re
sist it to your power, and with all speed
ye shall advertize His Grace thereof, or
at least some of his Council in such wise
as the same may come to his knowledge.
Ye shall also well and truly serve his
Highness in the office of ' under Clerk of
his Parliaments to attend upon the Com
mons of this realm of Great Britain,'
making true entries, remembrances, and
journals ofthe. things done and passed in
the same ; ye shall keep secret all such
matters as shall be treated in his said

Parliament; and not disclose the same
before they shall be published, but to
such as it ought to be disclosed unto.
And generally ye shall well and truly do
and execute all things belonging to you to
be done appertaining to the said office of
' Under Clerk of the Parliaments.'
It appears by this oath that it is the
duty of the Clerk to make true entries,
remembrances, and journal of the things
done and passed : formerly he used to write
a regular minute book, but since the ap
pointment of the second Clerk Assistant,
the minutes are taken by the Clerks
Assistant, and the Votes and proceedings
are compiled from them under the authority
of the Clerk. When the House resolves
itself into Committees of the whole House
the Chairman takes the chair of the Clerk,
and the Clerks Assistant are the Clerks
of those Committees. The Clerk and
Clerks Assistant daily meet the Speaker
in the forenoon, and advise with him upon
the current business.
Amongst Mr. Rickman's contribu
tions to the convenience of the House,
may be mentioned the arrangement
of the Index of Statutes which has
lain on the table since 1818, when
he originated it with considerable la
bour, and illustrated it with an apt pre
face ; and also the selection of the books
which form the library of the House of
Commons, as exhibited in his classified
catalogue, printed in 1830.
Mr. Rickman took a very active part in
bringing about the improved system of the
publication of the Votes and proceedings
of the House ; it will be remembered that
previously to the year 1817 the Votes
seldom were published till three or four

days after the transaction of the business
to which they referred. In 1812 Mr.
Ley, then Clerk Assistant, had turned
his attention to the great inconvenience
of this practice, and had devised a mea
sure of reform ; impediments however ex
isted at the time which prevented the ful
filment of his design.
In 1817 Mr. Rickman drew up a very
forcible representation of the advantages
to be gained by an alteration of the then
existing system, which he laid before Mr.
Speaker Abbot, with a plan for carrying
it into execution, and after it had re
ceived some improvement from the sug
gestions of Mr. Dyson and Mr. Ley, Mr.
Abbot recommended it for adoption by the
House. By this plan although the Votes
contain more information upon the de
tail of the business, yet by the entries
being shortened, and long petitions being
omitted, it has been found practicable to
publish them at an early hour of the
morning following the transaction of the
business. Members are thereby enabled
before they leave their homes to read an
oflicial account of the proceedings of the
preceding evening, and have also laid be
fore them the business which is to engage
the attention of the House at their next
meeting. The carrying out of this important
change was attended with considerable
personal fatigue to the Speaker Mr.
Manners Sutton, Mr. Dyson the Clerk,
and to Mr. Ley and Mr. Rickman the
Clerks Assistant ; Mr. Rickman particu
larly exerted himself in the examination
of the proof sheets, and was frequently
either detained for two or three hours at
the office after the adjournment of the
House, or returned thither from bis

home ; nor could this be avoided without
theabandonmentoftheimprovement which
was struggling into regularity during three
or four Sessions.
The concluding words of Mr. Rick
man's original suggestion on the subject
are these : —
" And in all its foreseen and unfore
seen consequences, publicity of the pro
ceedings of Parliament would produce
nothing but benefit ; supposing, (what
those who are near the House of Com
mons know to be true,) that Parliament
is ever working extensively but silently
for the public good. While debates on
minute distinctions and party politics oc
cupy the attention of the public so en
tirely, that the general opinion assigns to
Parliament itself no other business,
measures of indisputable propriety —
the very measures which ought to raise
high the reputation of the legislature,
being such as cannot be questioned or
debated by faction itself — for that very
reason pass in silence and obscurity utterly
unnoticed by the nation at large."
Mr Rickman's services were highly
valued by the House of Commons ;
on the 2d of Feb. 1841, the Speaker
called the attention of the House of
Commons to the great loss which they
had sustained since the last Session, by
the death of Mr. Rickman, and Lord
John Russell thereupon gave notice, that
upon the following evening he should
move a resolution of the House ' to express
their sense of the great services of the
late Mr. Rickman.' An account of the
tribute thus paid by the House to the
memory of their lamented officer, is in
troduced at the conclusion of this memoir.

Mr. Rickman had also in 1803 been
chosen Secretary to the two Commis
sions appointed by Act of Parliament, for
the making of Roads and Bridges in
Scotland, and for the construction of the
Caledonian Canal, and also to the Com
mission appointed in 1823, for building
Churches in the Highlands and Islands
of Scotland.
In addition to his never failing attend
ance at the House of Commons, he
filled these other laborious offices for
thirty years, and " never," says his suc
cessor, Mr. Samuel Smith, " was work
more energetically carried out by its effici
ent officer." The ability and the good
feeling with wbich he discharged these
duties, is shown by the following extract
from the ninth Report of the Commis
sioners of Highland Roads and Bridges,
dated 1821.

" In mentioning Mr. Rickman our Se
cretary, we cannot too highly appreciate
his services, which have been afforded to
the Board with no small personal incon
venience to himself, from his other offi
cial occupations during the sitting of Par
liament. Considering the great value of
the business of the Board being in the
hands of a person fully informed of all its
proceedings from the commencement, and
above all, in the hands of one so pecu
liarly fitted for the duties of that situation
from the variety of his knowledge, and
his unwearied diligence in the discharge
of those duties — we are persuaded the
greatest public benefits have been derived
from his labours, both in carrying the
views of the Board into execution, and in

10

preparing the materials for our successive
Reports to Parliament."
Melville. Wm. Smith.
W. Huskisson. W. Dundas.
C. M. Sutton. Cha. Grant.
M. Vansittart. Wm. Rae.
April 1821 .
To this testimonial might be added the
grateful acknowledgments publicly made
at general meetings in the Scotch coun
ties, and especially by the following tri
bute to his memory entered as a minute
at a general meeting in the county of
Caithness, subsequent to his decease,
dated 30 Sept. 1840.
Sir George Sinclair, Bart, in the chair.
" The attention of the Meeting having
been called by the Chairman to the re
cent death of John Rickman, esq. who
was so long the Secretary and Organ
of the Parliamentary Commissioners for
Highland Roads and Bridges, for the Ca
ledonian Canal, andfor Highland Churches ,
and who so efficiently discharged his du
ties as one of the Clerks of the House of
Commons, —
Resolved, nem. con. that this meeting
has learnt with regret the decease of a
gentleman to whose immediate exertions
the county of Caithness, in common with
the other northern counties, has been so
greatly indebted ; and who has for so
many years co-operated with uniform and
disinterested assiduity, in the promotion
of every object connected with the moral
improvement, and general prosperity of
the Highlands and Islands of Scotland,
and that this Resolution be published in
the London Times, and John O' Groats
Journal Newspapers, and entered in the
Records of the County Proceedings."

The work which chiefly occupied the
thoughts, and prompted the studies and
inquiries of Mr. Rickman from the com
mencement to the close of his career, was
the CENSUS of Great Britain.
The population, as well as the area of
the country had long been involved in
much obscurity. If any one thing could
evince more strikingly than another the
low state of geographical and statistical
science in this country, previous to Mr.
Rickman's inquiries, it would be the fact
that Mr. Pitt, who had every wish to be
accurate, and every means of obtaining the
best information at his command, adopted
an area of 46 instead of 37 millions of
acres in England and Wales as the basis
of his calculations respecting the income
tax. Dr. Price, inhis Essay on the Popu
lation of England and Wales, published
in 1779, contended that it had been pro
gressively decreasing since the revolution.
This Essay excited a good deal of atten
tion and controversy, and up to the begin
ning of the present century many had
continued to take a gloomy view of our
national resources.
In 1796 Mr. Rickman wrote a paper
entitled " Thoughts on the Utility and
Facility of a general Enumeration of the
People of the British Empire," from
which the following are extracts :
# * * #
" The arguments which tend to de
monstrate the advantages of an ascer
tained population, claim a superior atten
tion, from the reflection, that a wide dif
fusion of even a minute advantage, may
make a large sum total of public utility.
* * * *
" It will be intuitively granted that an
intimate knowledge of any country can be
the only foundation of the legislation of

11

that country, and also of its political rela
tions to other countries. If some know
ledge of a country be more than useful,
be absolutely necessary.it cannot be denied
that with the accuracy of such know
ledge, legislation, and politics, must make
proportional steps towards perfection, that
without the increase of it they must be
stationary, without its continuance pos
sibly even retrograde.
" In the pursuit of this knowledge let
us consider what may be said to form the
grand basis of the power and resources
of a nation: evidently not its extent,
witness the endless plains of Tartary —
not its fertility or mines, witness the
contemptible, tbe defenceless state of
Spanish America. The example of Hol
land first taught the astonished world
what the present power of Great Britain
still inculcates, ' that an industrious popu
lation is the first principle of the pros
perity of nations.' Is it fit that this all-
powerful cause should be permitted to
remain longer in obscurity? Imme
diately consequent to the conviction of
the immense operation of population,
naturally occurs the question, what is
that population ?
* * * *
Tbe sum total ofhuman happiness and in
creasing population (fated eternally to ac
company each other) might be ascertained
in a curious statement estimated from the
marriages at different places and various
times. The influence of the price of pro
visions in different years, of the price of
labour in different places, of war an

peace, would all be ascertained with pre
cision. On such a foundation, what
a glorious plan might be sketched by
some happy intellect, what a glorious
superstructure might be raised by a go
vernment anxious for the welfare of its
subjects !
'' To descend from general topics to
those particular considerations which per
suade the execution of our proposed
measure in England. We may venture
to believe that the real number of inhabit
ants in England is far beyond the usual
estimate. Our exertions in the last and
present wars, and our increased manu
facturing towns sufficiently prove that the
vulgar statement (never, I believe, taken
at above twelve millions in the three
kingdoms) is very much below the truth.
Even more than 100 years ago nine mil
lions and a half were supposed by Petty
to exist in Great Britain and Ireland,
exclusive ofthe plantations. Within that
space of time every exertion of shipping,
commerce, internal trade, and exported
manufactures has more than doubled.
Can we then avoid thinking that an accu-
rate statement of population would be a
most consoling consideration to every
lover of his country ?
* * * #
" Another argument (which to some
may appear too refined) I would deduce
from the probability that a specimen of
the kind proposed might tend to make
poUtical knowledge* a more general study
in England. Certain it is that at present

* Instead of " Political Knowledge," the expression " Political (Economy " was substituted by Mr. Rickman in
1800, with the following note :—" Political ceconomymay be defined to be the scientific application of statistical
survey ; the novelty of these phrases is only a proof of the novelty of any regular attempts to diffuse general hap
piness."

12

too small a portion of intellect is engaged
in patriotic speculations.
* * * »
" An additional argument may be drawn
from the great improvement, which would
be made in the life-insurance offices,
from the execution of this measure in the
mode hereafter proposed. The improve
ment of such useful institutions is no
contemptible consideration.
* # * *
He proceeds to notice the most fa
mous attempts of a similar nature.
" The manner in which the usual
census * of Roman citizens was formed
seems to have been by collecting them in
their respective municipia, and simply
enumerating all those who there made
their appearance. Tbe careful police of
Augustus seems first to have improved
this method into much utility, at the
well-known period of our Saviour's birth.
At that time he dispatched twenty com
missioners into the various provinces
(Cyrenius to Judea) and from their re
ports equalised all the tributes of his vast
empire. This measure of course included
an exact enumeration of his subjects.
The succeeding emperors seem to
have neglected this salutary measure,
since, in the decline of the empire the
tributes were again become extremely
unequal. This caused them to di
minish so much that the army and empire
went to ruin together.
" A man to whom the polite Romans
would bave given the appellation of bar

barian, seems next to have seen tbe ad
vantages of such an undertaking. With
a mixedt view to military and civil ar
rangements, Alfred caused the land and
inhabitants of his dominions to be en-
registered. The extensive crown-lands
reserved by William the Conqueror, re
lieved him from the necessity of taxing
his followers, but he thought it expedient
to enumerate the knights' fees with a mili
tary view only. This resolution produced
the Domesday Book. An idea has been
formed that some of our kings ( Ed. I. and
IV. and Hen. VIII.) undertook a similar
task, but of their attempts no trace re
mains. From that time to the present
day, nothing beyond conjecture has been
attempted. Mr. Rickman proceeds briefly to point
out the "facility" of obtaining the
population, chiefly by means of arith
metical deduction, from the extant pa
rish registers.
This MS. may be considered as the
origin of Mr. Rickman's future success in
life ; it was communicated by Mr. Rose,
then Member for Christchurch to Mr.
Abbot, who had turned his attention to
the subject of population ; and seeing
at a glance the great powers of Mr.
Rickman's mind, appointed him his Pri
vate Secretary in 1800, on his becoming
Chief Secretary and Privy Seal in Ire-
land. The Population inquiry was accord
ingly founded upon a Bill introduced by
Mr. Abbot, in the beginning of 1801,

* All the various enumerations of the censors yet extant, have been collected with great learning and industry by
Mr. Moyle ; but the mistakes constantly made in copying Roman numerals lessen the authority of the accounts.
t Since the Dane-gelt was collected at so much per hide of land, it is probable other contributions were levied in
the same manner.

13

and it was conducted by Mr. Rickman
at the several decennary periods of 1801 ,
1811, 1821, and 1831.
The results were comprised in one vo
lume, folio, at each of the three former
periods, but those of 1831 occupied three
volumes. The work is entitled
ABSTRACT OF THE
ANSWERS AND RETURNS
MADE PURSUANT TO AN ACT
FOR TAKING ACCOUNT OF THE
POPULATION OF GREAT BRITAIN,
AND OF THE
INCREASE OR DIMINUTION THEREOF.
These three volumes were preceded by
a volume, entitled,
A COMPARATIVE ACCOUNT
OF THE
POPULATION OF GREAT BRITAIN,
1801, 1811, 1821, 1831.
Also a Statement of Progress in the In
quiry respecting the Occupations of Fa
milies and Persons, and the duration of
Life : with tbe annual value of real pro
perty in the year 1815.
By this comparison it appeared tbat
an increase of nearly fifteen and a half per
cent, had taken place in each of the ten
intervals respectively. The early com
pletion of this preliminary work was un
expectedly and urgently required for the
classification of boroughs in the framing
of the Reform Bill, and as an instance
of the despatch used, it may be men
tioned that this volume of 400 pages,
containing the digested results of 28,000
returns which were not received until

August, was presented to Parliament
upon the following December of 1831.
Ofthe three main volumes of the census
of 1831, the first and second contain,
The Enumeration of Persons, .
and they supply twenty-three points of
information as to the inhabitants of every
parish in Great Britain, under the gen
eral heads of area, houses, occupations,
and persons.
The third volume contains an abstract
of the Parish Registers op England
and Wales. Under the head of every
Hundred in each County is presented,
1. A Table ofthe persons baptized,
buried, and married, from 1821 to 1830
inclusive, with a notice subjoined of
whatever more ancient registers may be
extant therein.
2. A Table of the Ages of those bu
ried, from 1813 to 1830 inclusive.
3. A Table of the proportion between
the burials and the population, from 1801
to 1830.
4. A Statement of the increase of po
pulation, 5. The comparative duration of ave
rage life in different divisions of the
county stated in figures, upon a li
thographed county map, as being the
best vehicle for this sort of information
as to the comparative salubrity of diffe
rent localities in England. The Counties
are thus severally treated in alphabetical
order. The substance of the answers made by
the clergy as to their parish registers, the
number of volumes, dates, and state of
preservation, is thus rendered accessible
in a compressed form in this volume ; but
the full abstract of their answers exceed
ing 14,000 in number, together with
nearly 4000 original letters from clergy- .

14

men and others in special explanation,
have been deposited by Mr. Rickman in
tbe British Museum, in two very large
volumes, entitled,
" Parish Registers, extant 1831."
Thus from the very complete and
searching character of Mr. Rickman's in.
vestigation, has a most valuable fund of
information been added to our National
Library, and a means of ready access
to a knowledge of those widely scattered
documents, for which England is distin
guished above aU other nations.
The second aim of the inquiry, as to
the positive Increase or Diminution of
the Population, would have been hope
less indeed has never been attempted in
any foreign nation from its obvious im
practicability ; but England, amongst her
records, possessed ancient registers of
baptisms, burials, and marriages : so that
an unquestionable decennary approxima
tion was obtained of the increase of po
pulation, which, from the year 1710,
never once retrogaded ; and from 1784
till 1801, increased at the rate of one per
cent, per annum ; since that time, peri
odical returns show an increase of one
and a half per cent, per annum.
In a letter to Mr. Rickman from Sir
Francis D'lvernois, who may be called
the common centre of knowledge of
this kind, dated Geneva, July, 1830,
he observes: — " Your three preceding
Reports at length begin to be understood,
though vaguely, upon the Continent ; and
1 assure you, Sir, that you have most un
doubtedly rendered a diplomatic service
to your country; I know, and from good
authority, that since certain Courts began
to comprehend, though imperfectly, tbe
result of your three Reports, as to the
constant decrease of mortality among

the inhabitants of your Island, they
have had much more just ideas of the
intrinsic and increasing force of your
national power, which more than one
Statesman regarded as artificial. The
measure of belief which they now accord
to your Reports is quite a thing of re
cent occurrence ; and can one be astonish
ed at this, seeing the extreme slowness
with which they obtained credit, even in
England, when in refutation of Mr.
Malthus, and Mr. Morgan.
" Their solemn recantations are not
yet understood on the Continent, where,
however, I undertake to make them
known and appreciated." — (Translation.)
Prefixed to the Census of 1831, is a pre
face, or rather an introductory treatise, in
which is embodied amass and a variety of
information, which shew the writer's
extensive learning, and the singular
adroitness with which he brought it to
bear upon the least promising subjects.
In a careful analysis of Mr. Rickman's
work given in the 53rd Vol. of the Quar
terly Review, the following passage oc
curs —
" Mr. Rickman's Preface is indeed a
curious document in more ways than one.
We once heard an eminent lawyer declare,
that a clause of an Act of Parliament in
which the arrangement of the words was
the best that could be, gave him as much
pleasure in the perusal as the finest
stanza of Spenser's. In the same way
every thing that is perfect of its kind, and
consummately contrived to answer its
purpose, may convey to one who under
stands its usefulness a pleasure similar
to that with which we contemplate what
is more distinctively denominated a work
of art. Such a sort of satisfaction have

15

we derived from Mr. Rickman's Pre
face. It is not alone remarkable in
respect of its scientific merits, but is
also worthy to be studied as exhibiting
perhaps the most perfect example which
is any where to be found of practical
ability in setting on foot a statistical en
quiry of enormous extent.
"lt is curious to trace the devices, and
interesting to contemplate ' the success
with which a statistician sitting in his
closet could take order for the execution
of a project which required that twenty-
four millions of mankind should in the
course of one day render such an account
of themselves as these returns contain ;
and dry as the faculties are supposed
to be which minister to statistical re
search, when we see how much know
ledge of human nature, and what an ac
tive fancy . were required to conceive all
the crosses and hinderances, and provide
against all the errors which might have
attended this investigation — one is
tempted to think that more of that know
ledge, and more of imagination would
not be needed for the writer of a fiction
to figure to himself a succession of pro
bable incidents.
" Mr. Rickman's knowledge of human
nature seems to have taught him never
unnecessarily to trust to the common
sense of any man for doing in the best
way any act however simple and mecha
nical. " Thus the overseer who is to go from
house to house is furnished not only with
a schedule to be filled up, but with a for
mula of the scratches which he is to
make ' with a hard black lead pencil or
ink,' as the surest way of numbering the
inhabitants ; and he is ' to carry the print
ed formula papers in pasteboard or
other convenient cover,' and if ink is used

by the inquirer,^' let him also use blotting
paper.' 'Every body knows that,' would
be the remark of many people, but Mr.
Rickman was well aware that there is no
matter so plain and elementary of which
it can be safely predicted that ' every body
knows that;' and he was likewise
sensible that it was only by fore
casting the progress of such an enquiry at
every step and every stumble that its
multitudinous results could be brought
out with accuracy and completeness."
Upon the subject of the Population
Abstract, Coleridge remarked in a letter
to Mr. Rickman as early as 1814.
" In whatever part of Christendom a
genuine philosopher in Political Economy
shall arise, and establish a system includ
ing the laws and the disturbing forces of
that marvellous machine of living creatures,
the body politic, he will have been in no
small measure indebted to you for autho
rities and well guarded documents. The
preliminary observations interested me
much in, and for, themselves ; and as
grounds or limits for manifold reflections,
they are at least equally valuable."
Mr. Rickman gave his suggestions to
wards the extended mode of inquiry to be
adopted in 1831, in the form of evidence
' taken before the Committee oh the Bill,
and ordered to be printed May 11 and 25,
1830. This evidence has been reprinted
during the last year with •. view to the
present Census.
On the 21st of March, 1840, Mr.
Rickman addressed a letter to Sir Henry
Parnell, on the subject of the expected
census of 1841 , in which he gave a retro
spective sketch of the subject, and sub
mitted certain provisions for the future.
A Bill for taking Account of the Po
pulation of Great Britain, &c. having

16

been prepared by him, and brought in by
Sir Henry Parnell, Mr. Solicitor- Gene
ral, and Mr. Fox Maule, was ordered to
be printed, 1st June 1840.
But at this stage Mr. Rickman's la-
labours were interrupted by illness ;
since the previous Easter he had
been struggling against the rapid in
roads of a fatal disorder in the throat ;
and on the 2d of June he was induced
to desist from further attempts to at
tend to his duties at the House. On the
preceding day the Population Bill had
been brought in, and he was now
called upon by authority to take into con
sideration a series of anonymous strictures
upon that Bill; notwithstanding the
pressure of his fatal malady, he wrote an
admirable commentary of thirty-six para
graphs, in answer to these strictures, and
forwarded it to the Home Office, on the
llth of June ; this was his last effort in
the public service. The commentary
proved to be conclusive.
This may remain to prove how devoted
ly he laboured, and other documents'may
show that the idea of deriving emolument
from those labours was never present to
his mind. A Population Act was exe
cuted by Mr. Rickman four several
times, but the remuneration which he
received * was also considered as the re
ward of many intermediate labours, such
as the various Returns which he pro
cured, and put in readiness for the press
on the following subjects :
1816-1836. Abstract of Poor Rate
Return of 1748-49-50, for Mr. Stur
ges Bourne's Poor Law Committee,
carried on annually for 20 years : causing
3000 urgent letters annually at first, and
1000 afterwards.

1833-4-5. Education Returns for
Lord John Russell's Edueation Com
mittee. 3 vols.
1837. Education Return for Scot
land. 1831. Church Rate Return : on the
motion of Mr. Wilks.
1839. Local Taxation: on the mo
tion of Lord Eliot ; being a compendium
of his own Returns from the earliest to
the latest time, upon Poor Rates, County
Rates, Highway Rates, and Church
Rates, — the work of a whole year;
illustrated with numerous remarks cha-
racteristic of his research, and intimate
acquaintance with local history and fiscal
knowledge. Thus, if through the Population Acts
Mr. Rickman had acquired any remark
able facility in overcoming the multifa
rious obstacles which occur in obtaining
and digesting returns, it had been exten
sively applied in the public service and
never for his own profit.
Indeed, from the necessity of advanc
ing money rather than suffering delay,
or becoming accountable for public money
advanced, and for incidental expenses
which cannot be reckoned in account, he
was always a loser by his zeal in those
services. Mr. Rickman's Population researches
were by no means confined to the decen
nary periods, when he was actually em
ployed in executing the successive Acts
of Parliament. On 16 April, 1836, he
applied to the Home Office for leave to
obtain Returns of Ancient Parish Re
gisters ; the following is an extract from
his letter : —
" In case I had been successful in ob
taining from the Tower the Returns of

500 guineas for each on an average.

17

Parish Registers during the last cen
tury, I had purposed to address myself to
every clergyman of a parish where early
Registers were known to exist, asking
for the Returns of the number of bap
tisms, burials, and marriages in the years
1599, 1600, 1601; and afterwards to
make use of the average of those years
for estimating tbe then population, and
proceeding leisurely (county after county).
I could have done this without inconve
nience before the next census, (in 1841
probably) gave opportunity of laying the
result before the public.
" Nor is this prevented by the obstacle
pleaded at the Tower Record Office,
which only precludes revision of the Re
turns of the last century, and by extend.
ing my questions to the years 1700, 1750,
and 1800, I should be able to estimate
with sufficient accuracy the progress of
population in each county during that
space of time."
" But this will increase the labour of
inquiry somewhat beyond my competence
unless Lord John Russell should think
fit to suffer the letters of inquiry to be
forwarded from the Home Office, and to
authorise me to employ the King's
printer in furnishing circular letters and
return covers, such as I may prepare for
this purpose.
" Beyond this I do not ask for official
aid, as the further expense will not be
immoderate ; and I shall be well sa
tisfied with the pleasure of producing
pregnant proof of superior national
respectability, similar to that which
in private families renders ancestry
a personal gratification, and at the
same time an incentive to honourable
conduct. " Requesting you to submit this let

ter to Lord John Russell for his de
cision, " I have the honour to be, &c. &c.
" John Rickman.''
To S. M. Phillipps, esq.
&c. &c. &c.
Lord John Russell most readily ac
ceded to the above requests, 22nd Sept.
1836, and in prosecution of this object
Mr. Rickman drew up one of his admi
rable circular letters and a form of entry
which, in Oct. of that year he forwarded
under cover of the Home Office to all
such clergy as he knew possessed regis
ters from the year 1570 to 1800.
The returns were accordingly procured
and abstracted, and one of the results of
this inquiry, which was destined by Mr.
Rickman to have appeared in the next
census of 1841 is summed up in a tabular
sheet, entitled : —
POPULATION OF THE
SEVERAL COUNTIES

ENGLAND AND WALES

1570, 1600, 1630, 1670, 1700, and 1750,
calculated on the supposition that the
registered baptisms, burials, and marriages
in those years bore the same proportion to
the actual population as in the year 1801."
Mr. Rickman had good reason to in
dulge in honourable feelings of satisfac
tion when he had succeeded in accom
plishing this important work : he says in
his letter to Sir Henry Parnell, 21 March,
1840, " So that I am in possession of
documents whereby the population from
the reign of Elizabeth may be inferred C

18

with sufficient approximation for insertion
in the preface of the future population
volume of 1841, and thus the superiority
of England in this as well as in all other
national records will be applied to the in
crease of useful knowledge." Mr. Rick
man left this work in complete readiness
for the press, and it has, together with his
other official papers on population, been
placed by his Son at the disposal of the
Registrar General.
These returns also afford materials for
ascertaining the rate of mortality and
scale of health among the laborious classes
of society, affording a solid basis for regu
lating the rate of stated payments to
Friendly Societies, and thus guarding
them from insolvency by the application
of science to well ascertained facts.
Mr. Rickman also privately circulated
a form of queries with the intention of
establishing a law of mortality in the case
of children, a point hitherto unsettled.
In similar pursuits he was continually
bestowing upon public business an amount
of energetic labour that can only be con
ceived by reviewing in detail the nume
rous services which he voluuteered to
render; although throughout the last
twenty-six years his duties had been de
taining him at the House of Commons
after every member had quitted it at night.
The sagacity with which Mr. Rick
man devised means for procuring the re
quisite answers in these complicated in
quiries, and the tact with which he con
ciliated the good will of his informants,
and also guarded against their errors,
must deserve and obtain the highest praise.
Mr. Rickman's works upon the Census
are so elaborate and yet so clear, so much
abounding in general views and particular

details, that it is not too much to say they
constitute an era in statistics ; as yet no
other country can furnish a parallel to
them, and should they ever be surpassed,
to him will be due the honour of having
formed the best model and groundwork
for the continuation of such inquiries.
Mr. Rickman interested himself dili
gently in the useful application ofthe facts
and numbers which he obtained, both as
they formed the basis of life annuity cal
culations, and also as they illustrated the
philosophy of health : with the latter
view, he contributed many elaborate arti
cles to the Medical Gazette in 1835,
1836, and 1837, and corresponded with
foreign statisticians, being well informed
of the progress of the science throughout
Europe, and ever prompt to combat the
errors, or to profit by the sagacity of his
continental neighbours.
In 1833 he received from Paris a di
ploma as honorary member of the So
ciety Francaise de Statistique Univer-
selle. In furtherance of this favourite study,
Mr. Rickman translated the French
work of 'Deparcieux on the Proba
bilities and Duration of Human Life,'
1746 — 1760, and also promoted the
translating from the Dutch of « Kers-
seboom on Political Arithmetic,' 1748,
and left them both in complete rea
diness for the press. His friend Mr.
Finlaison, whose talents he highly valued,
considers these two writers to be the
fathers of the science of vital statistics,
and the only men who had ever investi
gated the law of mortality from actually
recorded facts. The treatise of Kersse-
boom shews the rate of mortality which
prevailed in Europe as far back as the
time of James I., and thus yields an im
portant standard of comparison. These

19

works are exceedingly scarce, and Mr.
Rickman had resolved to make them ac
cessible to this country. The two works
in MS. amount together to one volume
of ordinary thickness.
While conducting the affairs of the
Highland Road and Bridge Commis
sioners, Mr. Rickman had frequent inter
course with their engineer, the celebrated
Mr. Telford, whose disinterested zeal and
sterling sense he highly prized. They con
tinued in intimate friendship ever after,
and Mr. Telford was encouraged, by Mr.
Rickman's suggestions, to occupy his lat
ter days in writing his own life. Owing
to the illustrations destined to accompany
it not having been completed during Mr.
Telford's lifetime, nor the MS. put in
order for the press, Mr. Rickman be
came the editor ofhis friend's posthumous
work, and published it in 1838, adding
much matter and antiquarian illustration
in the form of notes. The work consists
of a thick quarto volume with appendix,
entitled, Life of Thomas Telford,
accompanied by a folio Atlas of eighty-three
copper plate engravings, with a portrait.
From Mr. Rickman's intimacy with
Telford, and his taste for mechanical
science, he was well known to many in
the profession of Civil Engineers, and
in Feb. 1835, he was elected an honorary
member of their excellent institution.
In their Annual Report for the year
1841, a high encomium is passed upon
Mr. Rickman both for his talents, and
for the very essential services which he
rendered to the institution, whenever ap
plication was made to him in its behalf.
Mr. Rickman in early life had in com
mon with many of his distinguished co-
temporaries supported the then popular

doctrines of Republicanism, In this
respect, as well as in many other
marked traits of character, a close paral
lel might be drawn between Mr. Rick
man and Mr. Telford. When in afterlife
he sat down to review the character and
opinions of his friend Telford, he
seems to have reverted to the early fluc
tuations of his own political belief.
The following extract from the supple
mentary sketch of Telford's private life
by Mr. Rickman will be found to con
tain much that is no less applicable to
the character of the writer himself than
to that of the friend whom he is deline
ating. It is moreover curious as unfolding
the causes which produced in many highly
educated and soundly constituted minds
that remarkable flow and ebb of political
delusion. " Telford in his youth is known to have
been tinctured with the then fashionable
doctrines of democracy. In looking back
to the beginning of the French Revolu
tion, when democratic opinions were al
most universal, the source of an error
soon after eradicated by the horrors of the
guillotine, is not unworthy of investiga
tion. " The Greeks despised and abjured the
servile ceremonial of the Persian court,
preferring to it the incessant turbulence
of their own democracies ; and the Ro
mans held in a kind of superstitious ab
horrence the title of King, even after they
had bowed their necks with complacency
to despotic power, under the military
title of Emperor. These popular falla
cies of antiquity had not been detected
and exposed, while they seemed to pro-,
duce no bad effect, and the surface of
ancient history had not then been pe
netrated by inquirers who investigated
the state of human society contained un-

20

der it. When ancient republics became
sufficiently established to ensure the
safe custody of the captive by walls and
fetters, slavery came into use instead of
indiscriminate slaughter of the vanquished
enemy ; and slaves predial or domestic,
soon constituted the majority of mankind.
" Thus the high spirited patriots of an
tiquity, whom we assume as models of
noble conduct, were all slaveholders, na
tionally or individually, and their patri
otism, when closely examined, is found to
be little else than an effort to obtain si
milar command over their equals, by
violence or treachery. So incessant were
those attempts, that it is incidentally
said, in the time of Alexander the Great,
after he had humbled and pacified the
Greek republics, that he restored to their
homes 10,000 political exiles ; many a
one of whom no doubt had been whetting
the dagger by which he hoped to be re
stored to his native city, supported by do
mestic faction or foreign aid. Such were
the strenuous patriots of ancient Greece,
such the hideous state of society infested
by their cruelty and violence. Yet such
was the mighty influence of education, that
at the commencement of the French Re
volution, resistance against anysettled go
vernment was deemed laudable, because,
forsooth, government did not form an ex
ception to all other human arrangements,
by having attained to absolute perfection ;
and the experiment of bestowing power
without responsibility (the essence of all
democracies), aggravated by its limited
tenure, was tried in civilized France with
a result, which suffered by comparison
with the atrocity of ancient proscriptions ;
and dispelled tbe illusion of the ardent
spirits of the age.
" Till these scenes had passed before his
eyes, Telford was more than usually li

able to classic influence, from the imper
fect range of his reading, which seems to
have been much confined to Plutarch and
Rollin; the first tainted with the be
setting sin of biographers, in favoura
ble display of the motives and actions of
each successive hero, even to self-con
tradiction, when a rival is afterwards to be
introduced; — Rollin an agreeable histo
rian, doubly recommended to the favour
able attention of Telford by also treating
of the arts and sciences of antiquity; in
which dissertations our then aspirant in
architecture first beheld (in Rollin's
plates), the graceful forms of Grecian
temples, and read of the surprising excel
lence of their sculptors ; and how could
he permit himself to believe that the
countrymen of Pericles and of Phidias
were not equally perfect in their political
institutions? But after the horrors of
the French Revolution, Telford silently
abandoned politics to the care of those ac
tive citizens who spend their time in dis
cussing what they rarely understand ; and
during the remainder of his life he never
conversed on political topics ; uniformly
endeavouring to change the subject of
any conversation which had that tendency.
In this kind of silent evasion from former
error, we know, and some of us perhaps
feel, that he was far from being singular.
" Telford loved his profession, and was
so energetic in any task before him, that
all other motives became subordinate to
it. The acquisition and accumulation of
property had always been a secondary con
sideration with him ; he was even ingeni
ous in discovering arguments, why, in
certain cases he might act without reward.
* * * Telford's position both in public
and private life rendered him independent
of favour or patronage, and he enjoyed the
rare privilege of being his own master in

21

the exercise of perfect impartiality, and
of an undeviating adherence to what is
abstractedly just and proper. * * But the
most distinguishing trait of Telford's cha
racter was that facility Of benevolence
which made him accessible to all, espe
cially to foreigners, who resorted to him
for information or advice; the magnani
mity of communication without reserve
be thought befitted the character of Eng
land as well as his own : and he imparted
as much knowledge on all occasions, as he
deemed the applicant was capable of re
ceiving with advantage."
Mr. Rickman's acquaintance with Sir
Joseph Banks, had introduced him as a
fellow of the Royal Society in the year
1815, and although he was prevented by
his public duties from attending their
evening meetings, he was very well
known to their successive presidents,
Sir Humphry Davy and Mr. Davies
Gilbert. In tbe address of the Marquis of Nor
thampton read at their anniversary meet
ing, 30 Nov. 1840, the regret of the
Royal Society for the loss of Mr. Rickman
is accompanied by allusion to his Popu
lation returns, and the able analysis which
they contain of the general condition,
changes, and prospects of all classes ofthe
population ; the noble president adds that
Mr. Rickman was an excellent scholar, and
was, in addition to many other attain
ments, extremely well acquainted with
many branches of engineering and practi
cal mechanics, and that his edition of
Telford's autobiography is in every way
worthy of the fame of that great engi
neer. Mr. Rickman's periods of recreation
were spent mostly within doors, excepting
when he was engaged in making tours.
These were chiefly confined within

Great Britain, excepting in the case of
an excursion through Normandy in 1825,
his chief object being to examine the
Bayeux Tapestry; and another through
Holland in 1826, which he made in com
pany with Mr. Henry Taylor and Mr.
Southey. The notes which he made
when travelling were recorded either in
the form of letters, or of a subse
quent narrative, and with few excep
tions, are still preserved. On these oc
casions he generally went in pursuit of
some objects of antiquarian research,
especially church architecture and Ro
man remains ; and often to inspect some o
the public works of his friend Mr. Tel
ford. Although Mr. Rickman from the na
ture ofhis public business had necessarily
much to carry through the press, he was
very averse to publishing the productions
of his leisure pen ; among the works
which he had printed for 'private circula
tion was, in conjunction with the late Dr.
Smith, then Dean of Christ Church, a
volume, entitled " Military Thanks,"
being a collection of the speeches of his
deceased patron, the Rt. Hon. Charles
Abbot (the late Lord Colchester) in
communicating the thanks of the House
of Commons to military commanders in
1807 — 16, with an appendix of appro
priate extracts from the Gazettes Extra
ordinary, and a biographical sketch
of his Lordship's useful and honour
able career. He also printed a pam
phlet upon Poor Law Amendment in 1832,
on which subject he bestowed at all times
great pains and much correspondence. An
other, upon Poor Laws in Ireland followed
in 1833. On several other subjects he also
printed his treatises, but for private cir
culation only. The last work which has
appeared from Mr. Rickman'spen is a Trea-

22

Use on the Antiquity of Stone Henge and
Abury, communicated to the Society of
Antiquaries in the beginning of last year,
and published in their Transactions.
In Mr. Southey's work called Collo
quies on the Progress and Prospects of
Society, 1829, Mr. Rickman contributed
a large portion of the arguments and
illustrations, as the author's interlocutor.
From time to time he had written
a great number of lucubrations, evincing
a wide range of knowledge and a sin
gular readiness in bringing it to bear :
amongst them may be numbered eighty-
seven articles in the Commercial and
Agricultural Magazine inthe years 1799,
1800, and 1801. Of a similar, but
generally of a more antiquarian cast,
about 100 loose papers are preserved,
for the most part still in MS. A list
of the chief of these is subjoined at the
end of this memoir.
A large collection of letters address
ed to him has also been preserved, in
cluding many upon statistical, and many
upon literary subjects ; among the former
the most remarkable are from the late
Lord Colchester, Mr. Poole, Mr. Frend,
Sir Francis D'lvernois, and among the
latter from Lamb, Coleridge, and Southey.
These latter, together with George Dyer,
Manning, Admiral Burney, (the circum
navigator,) Sharon Turner, William
Smith, and Telford, formed the circle of
his early friends ; and by them his critical
judgment and solid information were
much sought and highly valued. For
the late Aaron Arrowsmith the hy-
drographer, and for the late Luke Han
sard the Paruamentary printer, he had
the highest esteem, and in 1828 vindi
cated the latter before a Committee of
the House with a timely and most cor
dial support,giving an admirable sketch of
his life, and interesting details of his in_

defatigable devotion to the interests of
the House of Commons.
All of Mr. Rickman's own letters are
remarkable for the abundance and the
novelty of tbe information which they
contain, as well as for a peculiar combi
nation of courtesy, and conciseness in tbeir
style ; some were penned in Latin, cur-
rente calamo during the tedium of a long
night's debate.
Mr. Rickman latterly amused his lei
sure hours with etymological inquiries,
for his habits of close reading had ter
minated with the commencement of his
public career ; he had previously en
joyed the advantage at home of a good
library of ancient folios, amongst which
his favourites were Raleigh's History of
the World, the Biographia Britannica,
Barnes's Edward III. the Venerable
Bede ; and among classics, Plutarch and
the two Plinies. He' was very conversant
with Domesday Book, having left copious
abstracts, and glossarial notes upon that
vast work ; he was also the purchaser of
Bishop Bennet's copy of Gough's Cam
den, enlarged, by addition of engraved
illustrations and notes by the hand of that
great antiquary, from three into thirty vo
lumes.

Mr. Rickman possessed a most reten
tive memory, its great natural powers
having been strengthened by his mental
habit of strict and appropriate arrange
ment. For, in addition to his vigorous in
tellect, he was gifted with an admirable
faculty of contrivance, which enabled him
so to digest and combine his stores of
knowledge, that he felt himself at home on
all topics, and seemed to possess an intui
tive familiarity with almost every subject.
His discerning, severe, and solid judg
ment may be estimated from the manner

23

in which he eliminated all extrinsic matter,
and seized upon the really important
topics of investigation, supporting them
by arguments and illustrations at once
exact, felicitous, and profound.
If he seemed to slight the distinctions
and minute propositions of modern sci
ence, it was because he had in early life
made his own selection of more available,
though perhaps less refined knowledge.
He possessed innate powers of method
which gave him a mastery of his subject,
unaccompanied by the outward display of
a systematic and philosophical course of
thought ; to this natural gift, aided by an
eager temperament, must be attributed
the decision with which he despatched
business, and the combination of bold
ness and accuracy with which he pro
secuted the main objects of his study.
That he was little disposed to mere
theoretical speculation, resulted from a
stern love of truth, which forbade him to
take up any insecure position, — from an
honesty of purpose which made him re
ject whatever might captivate and mislead,
— and from an extensive knowledge of
the mischievous effects which had arisen,
more especially in statistical subjects, from
the rash adoption of unfounded hypo
theses. His character has been sketched in
the following extract of a letter to Mr. W.
C. Rickman bis son, from Sharon Turner,
dated 20th Sept. 1840.
" My impression, whenever I saw
your father, was, that he had a strong and
resolute mind, very discursive, full of
varied but promiscuous knowledge, ready
to bring it out whenever called upon, and
always pleased to have a reason to do so,
and to talk with those who would be in
terested to hear him ; whoever did so,
could not fail to be both gratified and in

formed. For he had a large store of facts
and thoughts, and frequently viewed
things in an original though sometimes
also in a peculiar manner. He was fond
of intellectual labour as an exercise of his
mind as well as for the prosecution ofthe
object he undertook; and whatever he di
rected his attention to, he pursued with a
zeal and perseverance, and with an almost
insensibility of fatigue that can be seldom
paralleled. He once told us that he had
sat up for three weeks successively till
three in the morning when he was inspect
ing and arranging the population returns,
and making his calculations upon them.
He thought little of those who pursued
any object with indolence and indifference
and believed that mental activity always
did good to the health, and that the evils
ascribed to it arose from other causes.
" He was peculiarly a man of facts and
realities, and well adapted to all things
that required close attention, investiga
tion, and continued mental labour. He
was very anxious never to be deceived
himself, and never to deceive others. He
had not a philosophical cast of mind,
nor did he view his subjects with that
course and style of thought. But he
saw his main points quickly and adhered
tenaciously to them, and always threw
light upon them.
" I would not call him a man of genius,
but of it powerful and solid mind — quick,
ardent, penetrating. Self-confident from
experienced success in what he under
took, and not willing to yield his own
opinions to the opposing conclusions of
others — he was therefore rather peremp
tory, both from the strength of his own
convictions, and his earnest desire that
what he deemed right should be thought
or deemed so by others : but it was
always in good humour.

24.

" He had a very straightforward, up
right, and honest-meaning mind — with
nothing of the base or shabby in it. I
never saw anything like trick, or subter
fuge, or fraud, or hypocrisy, in him : nor
could he endure these in any other. He
liked to skirmish in conversation, and so
often attacked what he thought wrong in
all parties, and in their leaders, that it
was not easy to know what his settled
opinions were on many of our political
questions. He was at times a little im
patient and stern ; but whatever his man
ner might be, he was always a kind-
hearted and worthy man, — one of steady,
moral conduct, — and desirous that all
should be so.
" I think his public fame will rest
mainly and soundly on his labours, effi
ciency, and arrangement of our Popula
tion Census. His publications on this
great subject deserve the highest com
mendations for the labour, discrimination,
force of mind, patience of examination,
sound judgment, and varied knowledge
which they display. They seem to con
tain the substance of all that is most
necessary to be known on this great and
interesting subject."*

In private life Mr. Rickman was dis
tinguished for his many amiable qualities.
Amongst the numerous expressions of
regard tbat appear in Coleridge's letters to
him, the following may be instanced. —
" I have felt in your society a feeling
of confidence which I never felt on so
short an acquaintance even in my younger

days ; a feeling arising no doubt in great
part from the familiarity of your name to
my ears from Lamb and Southey; the
two men whom next to Wordsworth I
love the best in the world ; I have said
this even to you (fearless) : indeed, I ap
prehend that we seldom fear to say any
thing that we can say with the whole
heart." No man could be more unostentatious
than Mr. Rickman, not in outward
matters only, but in the very texture of
his mind. He was uniformly guided in
his intercourse with all by a scrupu
lous sense of justice and good faith.
It was his greatest pleasure to befriend
others as far as lay within his own
power, but he did not allow this to
lead him to making applications in their
behalf; indeed, he studiously evaded,
both for his friends and for himself, all
requital of the services which he was
ever rendering to men of influence and
power. He was in his domestic habits
frugal without being parsimonious, and he
was liberal in the distribution of his bounty,
but by no means indiscriminate ; sen
sitive himself, he showed a delicate consi
deration for the scruples of others, so that
sometimes he would not only relieve the
deserving from their difficulties, but he
would at the same time relieve them from
the sense of repeated obligations to him
self, by enabling some third person to
enact the part of their benefactor.
His considerate kindness towards those
whom he employed as clerks, secured at
once their attachment and their assiduity ;
while the influence of his precision gave

* Mr. Sharon Turner is more especially qualified to speak confidently of Mr. Rickman's labours on this subject,
from the frequent occasion which he has had to consult them in illustration of his third vol. of the Sacred History
ofthe World.

25

them excellent habits of business, and
thereby qualified them for positions of
advancement. Since his connection with the House
of Commons for a period of 38 years,
his life may be best described as one
course of disinterested zeal in the service
of others. As the reward of so much
kindness and so much worth, he may be
said especially to have enjoyed the good
opinion and the deep respect of every
individual who knew him.
In 1805, be had married Susanna
daughter of Joseph Postlethwaite, esq.
of Harting, Sussex, whom on the 12th
of May, 1836, he lost — the most gentle
and affectionate of Wives, and the kindest
of parents. He has left one Son and two
Daughters.

Mr. Rickman continued to attend to
his duties in spite of every remonstrance,
until within two months of his death ;
which was caused by an ulcer in the larynx
that had for the preceding half year pro
duced an embarrassment in his breath
ing. His life terminated in great composure
of mind and of body, on the llth of
August, being the last day of the session
of 1840.
His body was interred beside that of
his beloved wife in St. Margaret's
Church, Westminster ; where they had
been most constant, and most con
scientious attendants for more than thirty
years.

THE LATE
JOHN RICKMAN, ESQ.

House of Commons. — Mercurii, 3° die Februarii, 1841;
Resolved, Nemine Contradicente,
" That this House entertains a just and high sense of the distin-
" guished and exemplary manner in which John Rickman, Esquire,
" late Clerk Assistant of this House, uniformly discharged the
" Duties of his situation during his long attendance at the Table
" of this House."

HOUSE OF COMMONS;
Tuesday, 2d February 1841.

THE LATE JOHN RICKMAN, ESQ.

THE SPEAKER.
The House is aware that at the close of the last Session the House sus
tained a great loss by the death of Mr. Rickman, who was an officer of the
House for thirty-eight years, and sat as a Clerk at the Table during twenty-
six years. I have received this morning a letter from his son, in which he
states that his lamented father had collected a number of Papers relating to
the Privileges, Practice and Precedents of Parliament, and that he is desirous
of placing them at the disposal of the House. i
LORD JOHN RUSSELL—
Thought the House should express their sense of the great services of
the late Mr. Rickman. As, however, there were not many Members then
present, he should take the liberty of giving notice that he would bring
forward a Resolution on the subject to-morrow.

HOUSE OF COMMONS;
Wednesday, 3d February 1841.

THE LATE JOHN RICKMAN, ESQ.

LORD JOHN RUSSELL.
Sir, — In rising to move the Resolution of the House of which I have
given notice with respect to the late Mr. Rickman, expressing its sense with
regard to the length and the meritorious nature of the services, I am sure it
is one which will call for the general concurrence ofthe House. — {Hear, hear.)
No man could have been more eligible or better fitted for the important
situation he so long occupied ; and no man was more eminent for a knowledge
of the privileges, precedents, and every thing which related to the practice
of the House.
I wish, Sir, I could, without violating any of the forms of the House,
add something to the Resolution, expressing the sense of the House of Mr.
Rickman's services to the country generally, by his labours in every thing
relating to all matters of public interest where statistical information could
be required. No one can feel more strongly than I do the value of his ser
vices in matters of that kind ; but it appears to me that we must confine our
a Resolution

Resolution to the services performed by Mr. Rickman to this House I there
fore move this Resolution,
" That this House entertains a just and high sense of the distinguished
and exemplary manner in which John Rickman, Esquire, late Clerk
Assistant of this House, uniformly discharged the duties of his situa
tion during his long attendance at the Table of this House."
MR. GOULBURN.
Sir, — I hope I may be permitted to mark my sense of the services of
Mr. Rickman by seconding the Motion of the noble Lord. It was my good
fortune to have been acquainted with Mr. Rickman at a very early period,
before he occupied a seat at that Table, where the manner in which he uni
formly discharged his duties calls upon the House now to express its great
regret at his loss.
Mr. Rickman was distinguished at that time by all those qualities which
have been enumerated by the noble Lord, and there was an universal feeling
of approbation and pleasure when Mr. Rickman was appointed to the office
he so long filled. I feel justified in saying he filled it not only with satis
faction to the House, but to every individual Member of it ; and in saying
that, I am not only expressing my individual sentiments, but the sentiments,
of .every one hearing me.- — {Hear, hear.)
I have often myself experienced the benefit of Mr. Rickman's know
ledge on subjects in general, for he was ever ready to impart to others the
information he had acquired, and to enable those who took part in the
debates of the House to make themselves masters of the subjects to which
their attention was directed, and without which knowledge they would have
been scarcely able to place their views clearly and accurately before the
House. For myself, therefore, I most cordially join in the sentiments which
have been expressed by the noble Lord in this tribute of respect to Mr.
Rickman :

Rickman; and I am sure that the country also is deeply indebted to him.
I have no doubt that there will be a general feeling among those who have
known the extent and value of his labours to express that opinion unani
mously, and thus to mark the sense of the House of his services.— {Hear,
hear.) MR. HUME.
Sir,— I am unwilling to allow this vote to pass without expressing my
humble approbation of the conduct of the late Mr. Rickman. I have never
known a public officer so modest, so unassuming, possessed of such varied
knowledge respecting the affairs of Parliament, and yet so ready to afford
every information to others. The labours of Mr. Rickman generally in
statistical matters, to which I have paid particular attention, have been
highly valuable ; and specially as regards the Preface to the Population
Returns, will stand unrivalled in the amount of information and in the
concise manner in which he brought it before this House. I therefore most
cordially concur in expressing my sense of the value of his services. I may
add, that I had frequently occasion to consult him on matters connected with
the rules of this House, and the documents before it, and I always found him
most friendly, and ready to afford ,every information in his power. I am
bound to say that I received the most valuable assistance from Mr. Rickman
in my various duties in this House ; and no man who saw the manner in
which he discharged his duties at the Table of this House, could doubt the
value of his services. I, therefore, most cordially support the Motion.
SIR ROBERT H. INGLIS.
Sir, — I desire to bear my part in this general testimony of respect to the
late Mr. Rickman, and to the value of his services to the House.
My noble friend has stated that it does not form any part ofhis Resolu
tion to express the sense of the House upon other parts of his conduct and
A 2 labour,

labour, because it did not appear to him that this was the proper tribunal to
pay the tribute of respect due to the general services rendered by him. Were
it not for this, Sir, there are many Members who would cordially bear their
testimony to the value of the assistance derived, not merely from the personal
services of Mr. Rickman in this place, but from his general knowledge and
deep and accurate information on every branch of statistics.
It was stated of Mr. Rickman by one of his earliest friends, that he was
a man of the most matter and the fewest words ; in fact, his voice was scarcely
ever heard, except for the purpose of affording general information ; and
when a question was put to him, he gave his answers in a manner unrivalled
for precision and accuracy, and which equally characterized all his com
munications. Sir, — The value of Mr. Rickman's services has been experienced in this
House in another department of great importance to the House, — I mean the
Library. It must be known to many Members that it was Mr. Rickman who
drew up a general sketch of the Library, intituled, " Catalogue of Books in
the Library at the House of Commons," a classical sketch of the books which
ought to form the basis of a Parliamentary Library.
To many gentlemen it is not necessary I should refer to his labours with
regard to the Population Returns ; but I would venture to say that, inde
pendently of its instructiveness, a more entertaining Preface than the one to
the last Census can scarcely be found to any work. — {Hear, hear.) For his
services in relation to the Population Returns, and the Abstracts furnished
of those Returns, he was allowed a certain sum ; but I believe it was never
more than sufficient to defray the necessary expenses incurred ; and I have
good reason to know that he also incurred considerable expense (though some
of those, in whose ^service it was incurred, might think it inconsiderable)
out of his own pocket. These are minor matters, which hardly deserve to
be mentioned when speaking of the value of his services as an officer of the
House.— (i?ear3 hear.) It is from the discharge of his graver duties, and the
important

important assistance which he has rendered to every man who has borne a
part in the public proceedings of the House, that his claim upon the gratitude
of the House and the country arises.
But, Sir, the predominant claim which he has to the attention of this
House in particular, is the facility with which we are now furnished with
information of what passes in the House, in consequence of the alterations
which he suggested. It will be recollected by many of my honourable
friends, that formerly the Votes were not delivered till four days after the
business had occurred, and that it was in the year 1817, in a paper which
Mr. Rickman sent to the Speaker, he suggested the alteration which was
adopted by the House, and which led to the present plan. The form of
recording the business of the House was so cumbrous, that four days were
necessary to produce the Votes ; and, in addition to the evil of that delay,
at that time Members had not the advantage of receiving notice of the
proceedings of the House on the following day. All these facilities emanated,
I may say, directly from Mr. Rickman ; they were of course the act of the
House; but it was upon the paper drawn up by him in 1817 that your
predecessor acted, and upon which the Report of the Committee was founded.
For all these reasons I most cordially concur in the Motion which has
been placed in your hands by my noble friend.
MR. BERNAL.
Sir,— I should be very sorry to allow this opportunity to pass without
adding my testimony to the value of the services of our late Clerk Assistant;
I have reason to speak of his merits, for I had good opportunity of testing
them. — {Hear, hear.)
Sir,— Mr. Rickman possessed stores of knowledge, deep, varied and
extensive, not only with regard to Parliamentary matters, but other subjects
connected with the history of the country generally. He was an excellent scholar ;

6
scholar; and I never applied to Mr. Rickman when he was not ready to
afford me the information required. He was not slow to impart his know
ledge to those who sought his assistance : he was solid in matter, though
brief in language. When I first had the honour of sitting at that Table as
Chairman of the Committees of the House of Commons, I derived constantly
the most valuable assistance from Mr. Rickman : he had the merit, and a
most valuable merit it was, of unwearying industry ; and if he possessed a
great and deep store of knowledge and learning, he day by day added to that
store of knowledge, and he was not slow in the communication of it to those
who needed it ; I can bear good testimony to that, because the little know
ledge I have derived, while sitting at that Table, is owing to the kindness
and amenity of our lamented friend.

The Resolution was then put by the Speaker, and agreed to nemine
contradicente.

ORIGINAL PAPERS

BY

JOHN RICKMAN.

ARTICLES INSERTED IN THE COMMER
CIAL, AGRICULTURAL, AND MANU
FACTURES' MAGAZINE, 1779 — 1801.
1799.— Vol. I. Circulation of Money,
page 18.
1800.- Vol. II. Preface. Large
Farms, page 182. Public Brewery,
248—314. Corn Trade, 258. Popula-
tion, 391. Monopoly, answer to com
plaints against, 258. Bread Laws, 304.
Coal Trade, 325. Theory of Tides, 331.
Surrey Canal, 384. Public Shops, 386.
BlackwaU Docks, 388. Population, on
ascertaining, 391. On Walking in the
Streets, 399.
Vol. III. — Culture of Hops, page 13.
Tythes, 29. Large Farms, 44. Ferti
lity, 37. Price of Corn, 113. Inclo-
sure Bill, 164. Tinned Iron, 170. Agri
cultural Ledger, 180 and 244. Coal
Trade, 190. Coal Waggon, description
of, Waggon way, 241. 1801 — Glass In
vention, 247. Corn Monopoly, 208.
Condition of the Poor in England, 254.
Non -consumption Agreements, 259.
Sketch of General Inclosure Bill, 261,
Certain Ancient Measures, 335. Public
Clocks, and regulation of them, 354.
Pokers and Towels, 356. Counties of
England, admeasurement in acres, 358.

An Idle Letter, 360. Storing Corn
among the Ancients, 365. Inclosure of
Forest Lands, 409. Critique on Five-
masted Ship. 430.
Vol. IV. — Phenician Commerce, page
9. Salt as Manure, 30. Poor Laws,
15. Tyne Keels, 17. Cultivation' of
Clover, 75. Scale of Nutriment, 80.
Rendering Leather Waterproof, 90.
Woollen Trade in 1688, 107. Manners
and Luxury of the Age, 150. Expe
dience of a Maximum, 158. English
Weights and Measures, 164. Expensive
Experiments, 168. Agricultural Lexi
con, 171. Selling Corn by Weight, 175.
Prospect of Future Plenty, 178. Ship
Transit, 134. Pernicious effects of Pa
per Money, 195. Formation of the
Price of Corn, 242. Nature and advan
tages of Free Ports, 237. National pre
judice against the Scots, 244. Granaries
as Public Stores, 255. National Cha
racter. 265. New Method of Mensura
tion proposed, 329. Cottage Gardens,
263. Ventilated Granaries, 356, 434.
Metretes, 164.
Vol. V. — Map of Inland Navigation,
81. Various critical notices, by Mr. R.
are also scattered throughout.

ARTICLES INSERTED IN THE MEDICAL
GAZETTE, 1835—6—7.
Jan. 1835. Facts and Inferences
from Population Returns. Mortality in
Manufacturing Districts of Ireland.
Feb. Inland Mortality in large towns.
March. M. Villerme, do.
May. Effect of Increase of Popula
tion and Decrement of Life.
June. Table of Expectation of Life ;
Time of Mortality; Male and Female
Life ; with Remarks of Editor.
Nov. Improvement of tbe next Cen
sus. Dec. Defects in Parish Registers. —
Annual Mortality in Counties. — Domes
tic and Factory Labour.
Jan. 1836. Scale of coincidence of
the Vie probable and the Vie Moyenne
in the several Counties.
March. Non-effect of Marriage on
the Duration of Life.
Jan. 1837. Identity of the Vie Pro
bable and Vie Moyenne. — French Me
dical Periodicals. — Comparative Morta
lity of Rich and Poor. — Classification of
Annual Mortality.
N.B. This last very elaborate Ar
ticle was not printed, being too extensive
for the limits of the Gazette.

UNPUBLISHED PAPERS AND MEMO
RANDA BT J. RICKMAN, IN THE
ORDER OF DATE FROM 1800 TO 1840.
Excerpta Etymologica.
Thoughts and Maxims on the Consti
tution of Great Britain. 1. Natural ad
vantages. 2. Manners. 3. Religion.
4. Commerce. 5. War. 6. National
Debt. 7. Government.
Opera Navalia. — Inclination of Water
and Wind impinging on Rudder and
Sails. Three Keels; Anemometer; Pe

dometer; Tinned Iron Work; Substi
tute for Tar ; Augmented Rudder ; In
clination of Vessels ; Lateral Impulse ;
Boat Building ; Tides Calculated; Ton
nage ; Anchors, &c.
Public Granaries.
De Natura et Statu Faeminarum.
Notes on the Twelve Books of Para
dise Lost.
Notes upon Thompson's Seasons.
Richardi Corinensis Diaphragmata, —
Abstract of.
Coin and Paper Money.
Clergy Poor Rate.
Draft of an Act of Parliament for
Suppressing Poisonous Drugs.
Calculations on Militia Returns.
Sketch of a Commercial Gazetter.
On Good Principle and Bad Principle.
Return of the Cultivation of England
and Wales.
Area of Counties ; various authorities
for Measurement of.
Construction of Locks and Sluices.
Territorial Division of England and
Wales.
Six Territorial Jurisdictions, — Lin
colnshire, Lindsay, Holland, and Ke-
steven.
Tides of Christ Church Harbour and
the Solent. Printed.
Army of Reserve.
Stone Roofs.
Division of Hundreds in England and
Wales.
Ecclesiastical Map.
Bignor Roman Remains.
Etymology of Names of Places.
On French Prisoners of War.
Distress — Mobs — Universal Peace.
London Bridge, — two letters in the New
Times.
Profits of Farming, Arable and Pas
ture compared.

Map of Portsmouth and Portsea.
Irish Round Towers.
English Cathedrals, arranged in the order
of presumed regret if destroyed ; with
their principal admeasurements.
Spoleto Aqueduct.
De Barbaris Gaelis — Irroquois, Irish.
The Cooperator, No. 22. Printed.
St. Margaret's Church, Westminster.
Printed.
Pavement of the Metropolis and the ad
joining Turnpike Roads, eight letters.
Printed.
Proposed Improvement of Portsmouth
Harbour with a Map. Printed.
Westminster HaU, with engraved plan
and elevation. Printed.
Administration of the Poor Laws,
Printed.
Gaels and Cambro-Britons.
Liverpool and Birmingham Junction
Canal.
Nene Outfall; and the Fen Districts.
Burgh Castle, near Yarmouth.
Welsh Triads.
Lowestoft New Harbour.
Etymology. Alexandria and Constantinople.
Antiquity of Beer Licenses.
Irish Companile. — Celtic Chisel. — Tour
nament.
Verulamium.Construction of Arches.
Tudor Hostels.
Spina, modern Speen.
Clausentum Vetus.
Population of Spain, 1769—97 ; notes
upon.
Deparcieux on the Probabilities and Du

ration of Human Life, with Tables,—
1746—1760. Translated.
Kersseboom on Political Arithmetic,
with Tables._l748. Translated.
Civilization. Westminster Bridge.
Lord Bacon and the Edinburgh Re
viewer.
Gregorian Calendar.
Queen Victoria's Coronation Guide;
notes on.
Parish Accounts. — Registers  Rural
Police.
Abury and Stone Henge, communicated
to the Society of Antiquaries. Printed.
Pevensey Castle, April 24, 1840.
TOURS.
Narratives of nine different Tours at
home and abroad.

CORRESPONDENCE.
Letters from
The late Lord Colchester.
Sir Anthony Carlisle.
Admiral Burney.
Davies Gilbert.
Mr. Frend.
Mr. Poole.
George Dyer.
Charles Lamb.
Samuel T. Coleridge.
Alsofrom Sir Francis D'lvernois.
Mr. Austen.
Robert Southey.
Letters from J. Rickman to the above.

London : J. B. Nichols and Son, Printers, 25, Parliament Street.