Europe A Vast Camp

A short essay, eutitled " The Qwstion ( of Moncy," lias been prepared by 31. de i Girordin, iu which it is made to appear i that all existing governments, except T tliose of America and England, aro fast ( hastening in the diroction of bankruptcy. ( Refemng to oue of the lcss great ( cal systems which in recent years have alternately found favor with mankind, , M. de Girardin says the resiüt is, 1 "Europe is one vast camp," the six powers alone spending close upon i 000,000 ammally npon soldiers. On tl i is subject he makes a minute cnlculation, which is well worth reproducing. A ; dier costs England, according to this calculation, $500.40, which, foranarmy of 106,000 men, makes her military oxpenditure $53,256,160 per aunum. A soldier costs the Freneh republic only sliglitly over $254, but theo bet army amounts to 480,000 men, and thus raises hor military expenses to $112,923,298. The Czar pays a little over $238 u head for his soldiers, but he lias 575,000 in the regular army to pay, and the total CÓat of the Russian army for a single year is estimatcd at the onorraous sum of $137,034,925. The Germán Government pays a little over $225. 14 for each of its soldiers, of whom it has not less tlvan 412,000, costing tlie empire $92,764,603. Itnly pays less than $181.58 a head for her sofdiers, who nuíñber in all 205,600, and cost the kingdom !$37, 176, 08(5. The Anstriiin irmy seems to bc instrinsicaliy the oheapeat of thoso kept up by the great powers. Each man in it is supposed to cost the public $174.30, which, for an army of 273,800, gives a total of 847,705,914. To üiese sums might have been added the animal amount expended by the great powers upon naval irmaments, which may be roughly statedat$60,000,000 for England, 5,000,000 f ar Trance, $24,000,000 for Russia, $7,500,000 apiece for Germany and Italy, and $5,000,000 for Austria, making a total of $135,000,000. The (langer of universal insolveney will never be removed till, in the words of Victor Hugo, miera shall have ceased tlu'ir search for the philosopher's stone of a definite and iuvincible annament ; and leave oft first spending millions on ships which no projectile can pierce, and then spending additional millions on the coustruction of projectiles to pierce the siime ships. Ouriously cnough, as M. de Girardin pointe out, the present situation of Europe can scarcely be better described than in the words of Montcsquieu, who wrote in 1748: " A new distemper has spread over Europe; it has seized our priuces, and has made them keep up an inordinate number of troops. The disease has its paroxysms, and necessnrily beoomes contagious; for as soon as one state hns increased the numbers of what it calis its ti'oops, the others immediatoly do the aame, bo that none of them gain anything, ëxoept a share in the cominon ruin. Every monarch keep on foot armies of such a size as might bc raised if his people wece iu danger of actual oxtermination; and they cali this state of struggle of all against all peace. True, it is this state of strugglc which chiefly keeps up the European equilibrium, beeause it weara out equally all the great powere. And, as a matter of fact, Europe is so oxliaustcd that private individuals who should tind themsclves in the condition in which are now placed the two Tvealtliiest powers of this part of the world would not know how to subsist. We are poor with the riches and commcrce of the whole world. Tlio necessary consequence of such a situation is the perpetual augmentation of taxes, and - what cuts us oft from all i-i -medies in the future - states no longer count ou their rcvenues, but make war with their capital. It is by no raeaus in OEfheard-of thing for statos to mortgage tlieir property in time of peace; cmploy, to ruin tliemselves, means whicli they c;dl extraordinary, and which, indeed. ure ko extraordlnarv that tho most extravagant sou and hcir in the world would scarco imagine them."