Hence it appears that to the Total Income during the present century, viz., something more than Five Thousand Six Hundred and Thirteen Millions, Customs and Exoise Duties contributed Three Thousand Five Hundred and Fifty Millions, being more than Three-Fifths of the whole amount, which includes Post Office, Crown Lands, and other receipts that cannot properly be called Taxes, whilst, on the other hand, upwards of Four Thousand Six Hundred and Sixty Millions, or more than Four-Fifths of the whole expenditure, went for Wars, War Debt, and preparations for War. Thus, to every pound of Income, Customs and Excise Duties contributed 12s. 7¾d., whilst of every pound of expenditure 16s. 1½d. went for War, War Debt, and preparations for War, leaving 3s. 10½d. in the pound for all other purposes whatsoever. Taking Taxes proper only (i.e., excluding Post Office, Telegraphs, Crown Lands, Interest, and Miscellaneous Receipts), the proportion borne by the produce of Customs and Excise Duties is very much greater than that stated. For example, deducting those items, the gross revenue from Taxes last year was £74,927,000 and towards that sum Customs and Excise contributed £44,294,000, i.e., almost exactly 11s. 10d. per £; and yet there are prominent statesmen who contend that there is now something like a fair proportion between Direct and Indirect Taxation; and there are multitudes of people, who ought to know better, simple enough to believe them.

Samples of War Expenditure.

In these figures are not included £3,196,875 for the Alabama Claims, nor the following special Military Votes:—£1,451,097 during the (1871-2) Franco-German War, £3,500,000 during the (1878) Russo-Turkish War, £5,000,000 to India towards the cost of the Beaconsfield-Salisbury-Lytton invasion of Afghanistan, £800,000 and much more squandered in the Soudan under Mr. Gladstone's Government, and the £9,451,000 for further preparations for bloodshed in 1886.

Tables

Showing the per cent, of Expenditure devotedly European Countries in 1881 to Interest of Debts, War Expenses, and Civil Government. Also the amount of debt, and of taxation per head, in the different States. The two last columns show the cost per man of land Armies, and proportion of Revenue for War, in 1868, for purposes of comparison.

The two last columns are taken from the "Oesteritsche Zellschrift, herausgegeben von N. R. Strenpfler" for 1868.

According to official returns published in 1881, the total War Expenditure incurred by Russia daring the lour years 1876-80 amounted to

• 1,076,896,653 roubles.
• =£163,628,093 English.

And the debt of Russia, 1st September, 1878, including £30,000,000 internal loan in 1877 after the war, and a second in August, 1878, = £42,857,142, was then estimated at £350,000,000. On the 1st January, 1880, the total debt had increased to

• 4,480,812,699 roubles.
• =£640,116,925 English.

Also a forced currency of paper roubles, circulation estimated at 1.500 million roubles = 210 million £, outstanding in January, 1880!

without including 210 mill, of forced paper currency, which, if added, would show an increase of 500 million £ English! to feed the levies of monstrous War.

Add to these 1,208 millions expenditure of the Northern States an American writer's estimate (say 800 millions) of the loss of the South, and we should find the cost of that war was 2,000 millions. But the American War did not—as do European dynastic wars—bequeath a legacy of armed hosts in millions, anxious and prepared, and perpetually trained for contest. American armies march from industry to war, but afterwards return again to their former industry. Russia arms as a menace to mankind; Germany, ostensibly, for the glory of the Empire, or perhaps as a menace to France. France arms, ostensibly, in self defence, and to repel aggression. But why should Britain join the mad rivalry of these unhappy nations?

Europe is at present at peace—Cannot its rulers learn wisdom, and find a way of some nobler arbitrament, when conflicts of interest arise, than that of War?

Loss of Life by War.

It has been estimated by Mulhall that the loss of life in the great war of 1793 to 1815 between England and France amounted to 1,900,000 men. Of these the vast proportion were wounded, who never recovered, or men who perished by sickness incident to the war; for instance, on the British side the actually killed only numbered 19,796, but the wounded were 79,900, and these figures include the naval and military battles only, and not straggling hostilities of various sorts, nor the fearful roll of "missing." Moreover we were upon foreign soil, and not defending our own territory, in which latter case our losses would have enormously increased.

As showing the enormous proportions of waste of life, we further extract a few figures from the "Dictionary of Statistics."