INTRODUCTION. XIX 



dispute that cannot be amicably adjusted by diplomatists and 

 statesmen. 



The colossal armaments, and the tremendous expenditure 

 which they involve, may well cause serious misgivings for the future, 

 for, at the present time, they are full of grave peril, not only to the 

 peace of Europe, and, to the prosperity of the nations, but to the 

 stability and the very existence of the governments and of the 

 rulers who organise and maintain them, whether they are imperial, 

 monarchical, or republican, as all alike are largely responsible for 

 them at the bar of public opinion. 



Twenty years ago, the eminent Hungarian Statesman, Herr 

 Francis Deak, referred to them in the following terms : — 



" The present condition of Europe, with its enormous armaments, 

 reminds me of the state of things in the Middle Ages, when men 

 wore coats of mail, which, in the supposed necessity of more 

 effectual self-defence, they went on increasing in weight, until at 

 last they became so crushingly heavy as to weigh down their wearers 

 altogether, and then, from sheer necessity, the custom was 

 abandoned." 



At that period, the combined armies of Europe stood at 

 12,454,867 men, and the annual expenditure of Europe was 

 ;^346,625,747, but at the present time, they have swollen to the 

 following enormous proportions : — The Standing Army and Reserves, 

 18,909,608 men; the Annual Expenditure, ;^847,so3,886 ; and 

 the total of the National Debts, _;^s,230,022,434 — a state of affairs 

 that is frightfully appalling. Now the question naturally arises, if 

 in twenty years the armaments and expenditure have swollen to this 

 terrible extent, what will be the ratio of speed in the same period of 

 time, and what must be the inevitable result in the years which are 

 to come? Truly, as the late Mr. Bright observed, "Europe is 

 marching towards some great catastrophe." 



To endeavour to justify this deplorable state of affairs on any 

 ground of justice or necessity, is an impossibility, and, if we seek for 

 any reason in state policy, the only explanation vouchsafed to Europe, 

 is that found in the remarkable speech delivered in the German 

 Reichstag, nth January, 1887, by the late German Chancellor, 

 Prince von Bismarck, wherein we find the following important 

 statements : — 



" I am convincerl we have to fear a war from an attack by France, but 

 whether in ten days or ten years, that is a question I cannot decide, depending 



B 2 



