The Press.
London, England, 1855-08-11 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

vice in the Landwehr, the men belong to the second
levy of that force, which is only called out in case of
emergency, and then only employed in garrisoning
strong places ; so that in time of war Prussia would
have 350,000 men for aggressive operations, 350,000
more for defence, and some 200,000 or 300,000 in
case of emergency. This is no such trifling amount,
and brings me to another error of the Times, which
states that Prussia had proposed under certain cir-
cumstances to place a minimum of 10,000 men on
the Russian frontier, and under certain ulterior con-
tingencies a maximum of 200,000, intimating at the
same time a doubt of her being able to do so, as it
would have been her whcle disposable force. It
might be so until war had been declared, but from
that time, as I think I have shown, she has 350,000
men for aggressive operations. With regard, also,
to this frontier, the Times overlooks the fact that
Prussian-Poland is considered the most defensible
country in the kingdom, and contains the best Land-
wehr, as its inhabitants are both morally and physi-
cally the best of her soldiers. I think, then, if my
figures are correct (and I have no reason for doubt-
ing their correctness), that, notwithstanding the
discoveries of the Times correspondent, we must
still consider a country which can dispose of not less
than 300,000 men, at the same time that it retains
an ample force for the defence of its frontiers, as a
great military power, so far at least as the numbers
of its troops are concerned.
With regard to the financial resources of Prussia,
I doubt if the inferences of the Times correspondent
(for he does not state many facts) are more exact.
I am informed that the revenue of the country
averages sixty or seventy million thalers per annum,
of which, in time of peace, about thirty millions are
required for the army ; that out of this revenue
she has up to this time contrived to pay off about
two-thirds of her debt of 600 millions. She has, of
course, within tne last few years added somewhat to
her debt for the construction of railroads ; but these
are a source of revenue to the Government. Her
Three-and-a-Half per Cents. are at 84 or 86, which
shows that the country cannot be poor, or out of
credit with capitalists. In fact, no traveller who
remarks the iron and coal mines, the excellent farm-
ing, the productive soil in most parts, and the
numerous factories, can doubt that Prussia is a rich
and prosperous country. So that, in respect both of
her financial resources and her command of troops,
I think Prussia has a right to claim a place second
only to England and France. But when we consider
as a whole her capabilities of going to war, and her
readiness to wage it, I fear the case is altered. I
sin afraid we must acknowledge the correctness of
the assertion of the Times, that her military organi-
sation would in the event of war greatly interfere
with the productive power of the country, and, because
the burdens of war will press much more immediately
and evident:y on individuals than is the case with us,
the people are naturally much more disinclined to incur
the risk than even we are. The employers of labour
know that it would immediately have the effea of
withdrawing all their best labourers, and, of course,
the workmen would not like to be taken from their
ordinary occupations, unless it were ab.olutely for
the defence of their homes. There is also another
way in which the process of putting the whole force
of the country on a war footing would press heavily,
especially on the upper and middle classes ; because
in that event every horse in the country is liable to
be taken for military purposes at a fixed price.