306 THE MILITARY AND FINANCIAL 



Peace ! implies rest, and in Europe there is no rest, but constant 

 unrest and alarm. Peace ! implies order, and in Europe there is 

 not order, but a fear of disorder, anarchy, and general disturbance. 



Europe is a vast armed camp ! Restless, suspicious, and 

 dangerous Armies are ranged side by side, ready, aye, many of 

 them, eager, for the bloody fray. 



The whole continent seems to be under the sinister influence of 

 some horrible enchantment, and this strange contradiction, an 

 Armed Peace ! hovers like a vampire over the hearths and homes of 

 the people, draining their life-blood to the very dregs. 



Under such circumstances, it must generally be admitted that 

 the vast and crushing armaments maintained, and the extensive mili- 

 tary and naval preparations organised especially by the Great Powers 

 of Russia, Austria, Germany, France and Italy, are an iniquity. 

 Nay, are they not a stupendous crime ? Because, in the first place, 

 they are dangerous instruments in the hands of despotic govern- 

 ments, for the oppression of their peoples, and no less dangerous in 

 the hands of' a despotic people, for the overthrow of govern- 

 ments, whether imperial, monarchical, or republican; and in the 

 second place, instead of preserving the peace, in accordance with the 

 old Latin proverb, " Si vis pacem parent bellum^' (to seek peace 

 through war, which was Cromwell's motto*) they are perpetual 

 provocatives of war, they are in fact, a declaration of war between 

 nation and nation, and that so long as they exist, peace is 

 impossible, and wars and rumours of war inevitable ; and the worst 

 part of this deplorable state of affairs is this, that it compels the 

 lesser Powers to follow the evil example of the greater Powers, and 

 to organise and maintain armies and navies, far beyond what they 

 actually require, for the preservation of peace and order within 

 their own frontiers, and far beyond what they can actually afford 

 to pay for. 



In confirmation of this alarming state of affairs, in regard to the 

 Military and Financial condition of Europe, we have taken con- 

 siderable trouble in the preparation of an authentic statement, show- 

 ing the numerical strength of the armies and navies, with their 

 annual cost, together with the amount of the National Debts, and 

 Annual Interest thereof, alphabetically arranged and followed by a 

 summary of the financial and military condition of each Europeai) 

 nation. 



* Pax <ju!Ei-it bello, 



