Kanawha Valley star. [volume] (Charleston, Va. [W. Va.]) 1856-1861, 1857-02-10
HKitierinai.s

~ {. q z ! Il I g =. (. 2 a'1s
AZ, iRssinence Of The II ps. Y !, =
ovitSsfllnd and Prussia Hts %uen
speculation q to the ~! g o ~.
~etland toafssise susngns ., eOn.
49, nas.,t s Which. rise, in the
g - ami bid defiance 70
4 - ss,,s "a 10 the stCut hearts
and stscs sns oftSu niiIliohs ot The
= 49, nj epeudence loving and
vsri,l people 10 the world. The
! ar,r,5f 6witzefland consists Of q hun
d,zandeight thgnsapd capitaltroope
ii tho whole nation arc more or less
Isoldiers. Two millions Of such q poo
Pile would Be 4 match for ten millions
which is not vsty iar from tie mum.
Der Of the whole population Of Prus.
sia. The Prussians, however, are
also military people, military pow
. e. being the corner Stone of the great
meas and secnrity ofthat country, and
eyen The civil government IL pefvRd.
ed hy military spirit, being carried
onby officers in regular gradations,
who execute the orders received from
their superiors. The population Of
Prussia is abont fifteen millions
Tho army consists Of $50, 0e0 men
two hundred thousand of which are
regular troops. The remainder are
Land,oshr, . national militia, COM
posed, however, Of men who have
served 10 the standing army, and can
be made quite an efficient as regular
soldiers. Every Prussian 50 Obliged
to serve three years in the zstanding
army, between his seventeenth and
twenty third year. fronfsthat time to
thirty, in the first class Of Landwehr,
which is frequently and thoroughly
drilled; from that time to. forty, IN
the second class Of Landwehr, which
lis only called uponi n war, and then
for local or provincial service. Prus.
sia ia therefore q great military pow
er, and it may be said with literal
truth that every man In it is Q sol
der. The discipline Of the Prussian
army Is. admitted to be unsurpassed,
ifequalled, by that Of any army Of En-.
rope.
' But the Swiss have their mountains
and freedom has been their biIthright
for many generations. The Roman
ic language Of a portion ofSwitzer-
land shows that the fierce masters Of
the old world ,once planted their con-
qnering eagles on the almost inacces-
-sible pinhacles Of that mountainous
land. The Northern and largest part
lofSwitzerland was Afterwards sub
iusated By the Franks, and the, whole
conatrY became q portion ofthe Frank
ish empire. Alter its subsequent
lrnion 20 Germany, the power which
tho house of Hapsburg acquired in
,Helvetla was SO abused by branch
of that house that the Swiss rose in
resistance, formed q confederacy> Of
Swiss cantons, and after q war of sew
cntcenyears, achieved an indepen-
dance which they ever since, for near
$50 years, preserved. Various at
4empts haye been made to copqner
these sturdy lnountaineers, but with
uniform failure. On ono occasion,
'fightingin one Of, their strongholds, |
1900 Swiss withstood %, 900 French.
They have furnished soldiers to all
Europe, mercenaries it is true, but
mereenaries who earned their. wages
,by snch Falor and devotion as. the
world has never seen surpassed
Tho Swiss furnished for the French
service alone, from Louis XI, to Lou
is KY, lilo, 1913 men.
Switzerland willhave the bestsympa.
thics Of America in any war which
may occur between Prussia and the
Mountain Republic on such an Issue
as the former has raised. She has
the right to try and punish the mon
archial conspirators Of Neufchatel,
Ind we trust she will assert it in the
teeth Of oil the despots Of the old
world Richmond Dispatch,
. ~ - - 4 i