The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-07-07
The Folly or war-Is the World Growing
Wiser.


Another fearful carnage has taken place In
Italy. The great expected battle has been
! fought; We have not the details Of the numbers
slain, but the havoc must have been terrible.
Previous to this action some fifty thousand bad
fallen in the campaign. And now probably
fifty thousand more have been put hors de combat.
Yet this is but the beginning of the war;
Before the Crinean campaign It was supposed
that education, science ard civilization had at last
got the better of the clergy and the mlitary that
the arts Of peace and industry would prevail.
and that the nations would learn war no more.
that neither for religion nor to CRAFTY the ambl
ton of kings, would men in this enlightened era
lend themselves to the work of mutual destruc
ton. But it seems the world has as yet grown
but little better or WISER and all the great scien
tifc discoveries of the age, including steam and
the telegraph, are applied to war, to render il
more destructive than ever. For the last few
years the science of gunnery and the law Of PRO-
Jectiles have been studied with great diligence
and success. The result is the MIME rife and
rified cannon, aud other arms which cas-. former
weapons Of destruction into the shade. Even
the bayonet go long in use, is no longer
used in the former Inefficient manner the
bsyonet which has always been, as Napoleon
ILL calls 1t, "the terrible weapon of the French
army" is now rendered more terrible by iss
scientific use. The soldier ia taught not "a
rush on with it indiscriminately as in past tunes
but to WELD 1t as Q good fencer wielda his sworl
not only to thrust, but to parry the bayouet
OF the enemy, and kill him in despite OF
his superior strength or length Of arm. Thus
are the fruits Of scientific research and the mes.
tai activity of the age laid under contribution to
render war more destructive toan ever, and
Kings and enperors still pour out the blood OF
men like water to accoupls h their selfish aud
purposee- There seems to be 10 hope
for nations. The present is but the reorodue. :.
tion of the past, and but little wisdom is gained
by history. Wars come round in cycles every
thirty or forty years, or in other words, WITH
every new generation. The present generation,
who have had no experience of the past, look
only at the bright side Of the picture, aud they
will not rest satisfied or proceed with the WORK
Of civilization till they have destroyed a Ger
tain number of their fellow men. In the Christian
CIusades Of the Middle Ages against the Turks il
Is estimated that two millions of men persisted
In the religious wars since in which the Christian
sects butchered each. other, how many more mil
ions have fallen! And the world ia little better
r recent times.
To carry on the wars Of the past century ia
England the currency was deprecated, paper
money was increased, and the circulation, FROM
/ few millions of dollars in 1858, increased "a
$3.50 000, 900 ia 1915, besides inland bills and
totes for $2,500,000,000. By this meaus the
axes, of less than $lO0OO,0OO at the Eur.
ish revolution, were increased to $3.50, 600, 600
n 1915. and the annual public expense
rom S15o0o,O00 to S65O,OOO.OO0. Iu one
ingle year (lS15) the British government 40
dopriated to the prosecution of war to suA
ain despotism in Europe the unparalleled
mount Of five hundred and fifty millions of dol.
MS 50,oO0,OOo), to say nothing of the vas,
mount of property destroyed and the nombsr
human victims offered to the Unsuitable Mo-
'ch OF war. And now, after the lapse of FORTY.
'ur years, another war is waged. with
ast expenditures of money and humac nc,
complete the undoing Of what hen
as DONE The English government look
In armed neutrality, while the En-.
sh people ympathise and applaud. The
'peistluc'ure raised by the treaty of Vienna
ID cemented with so much blood and treasure
's ny degrees crumbled away, and scarcely one
one is lett upon another. The present war
III level it with the ground; but whether some.
Jog as bad or something better shall superscde
10 question which time alone can solves
'osmg rom the past, the Italians will probably
sasihaea with the same kind " government