, 1868-10-30
COmparatIve strenrth Oh Frnnoe and pn..la.

0'S' eIenBth almost Deyond comparl-
son, which M. Mague's report, after allowing
for Ill deductions, showed to exist in France.
Napoleon, it is evident, wields power which
Count Won Bismarck, as thoughtful, though
darlng statesman, would hesitate 10 attack,
even II the resources at the disposal of the
Honenzollerns were greater than those of
France. And they are not greater. There
tis pogna ai->r----:-------1 Bsxii,hu,on
that Prussia, since the annexations' has h.
come a mighty State that Germany is, Tor
fighting purposes, the greatest power in the
world that the president of the Confedera>
| ton in hesltating to complete the work must
be influenced by motives other than dread of
war. He dtes not want, it is said, to include
the Reds of he South in Prussia, or to leave
his family abne in Germany, the mark for
every democrat, or to disable Austria for
her grand wrk, the civilization of the mag>
ni6cent valley of the Danube. all these
things are nc doubt in q measure true, and
all these considerations weigh but there is
one more Which has, we suspect, more iufu-
enoe than them all. 1t is not yet so clear as
Englishmer think that Prussia and France
are absolutely equal powers, that when the
facts are carefully tested the ancient super
iority of France to any single State on the
Continent will be found to have disappeared
1t is as essential, if we are to form judg,
ment on that question, and not what is usus
ally called al opinion, that we should disre-
gard all rhetorical hourishes, aud institute a
comparison between Germany and France,
but between the resources now controlled by
the Bonapartes and those of which the
Prussian Court can dispose. 1t is doubtless
pleasant, and may be useful, for excited rife
men to make speeches about the unity of all
German tribes but as a matter of fact, if
war begins Tomorrow, Count Won Moltke
cannot rely fully on a man from the South
Of the Main. Granting that the military
treaties must be observed in form, and that
majority of the South Germans are oppos-
ed to France, and might if time were granted
them rise.up against her, it is certain that
their rulers, the Is or 20 men who hold the
strings, and without whom nothing can be
done, are not heartily PrussiAns-that the
South, if it moves at all, will move slowly,
heavily, and with half heart Slowness
is fatal when you are resisting Zouaves, and
without entering into a tedious argument, it
may be held to be certain that if Prussia can
|
she VIII have accomplished as much as ner
statesmen expect. To gain even that much
they are making concessions to Russia as
painful to them as to the most liberal among
their opponents, concessions they would never
make except under decided pressure. Those
concessions may secure the end, especially if
Italy does not turn French but we may rely
on it that Count Bismarck expects no more,
that he regards the war, if it comes, as in all
essential respects, duel between Germany
North of the Main and France.
Well, Germany, north of the Main, when
reckoned up as generals reckon States, is not
yet the strongest power of the two. The
area is less by fifth, the figures being 1928
German square miles against O,85O, her
population by 1000, 900, or nearly million
and half of arms bearing men. France in
1866 had 100000, while North Germany
in 1864 had only 29,250,000 1t is true
that in very great wars area is not of much
importance, and that Berlin is 260 miles
from the French frontier, while Paris is only
1870 miles from that of Prussia. 1t is also
true that the population of Prussia augments
at the rate OF 23 per cent. per annum, doub,
ling in little more than forty years, while
that of France is stationary but we are not
speaking of the future, but the present
And finally, it is true that except in a war
like that between the North and South of
the Union, the ultimate resources in men are
never exhausted, and difference even of
millions may therefore never count; but, on
the other hand, the Hohenzollerns have not
above 100000 regular troops in the garrison
or reserve-in the strict military sense of
these words-while France has 100000. 1t
was the Kings knowledge of this disparity
which impaired such terrible importance to
the hours in the Luxembourg discussion. To
call out the Prussian national strength takes
days, and Frederic William dared not risk
being taken even for time by surprise. He
was compelled, therefore, at the risk of Scent
ing to challenge France, to fix an hour at
which negotiations must either be successful
or mobilization must commence. When
modified powers are tolerably equal, for there
are difficulties as to commissariat, convey
ance, and power of hauling which limit
the size Of armies, but it may be doubted if
the Hohenzollerns, without utterly disorgan-
izing society, could summon the 100000
men whom Napoleon, without anticipating
conscriptions, has the legal power to spend.
That matters very little if the war is to end
in Sadowa, but it matters very much if the
first battle is sanguinary but undecided
repetition of Magenta. AT sea the cOmpar-
ison is more unfavorable to North Germany.
She has splendid merchant service, COM
prising when the Free Towns are added
100000 tons against 1.O08,OO0 tons be-
longing to France, and owing to the charac
ter of her trade her ships are bigger, and
therefore better fitted for transports but she
has only $40 guns at sea altogether, and
only three iron clad frigates, and it would
take months to obtain any large new supply.
Doubtless, if the war lasted, she could OBJ
tain more, for North Germany, though her
Administration is expensive, the outlay be-
ing two millions larger than that of Great
Britain and Ireland-she spends 9S0,OOO
against e36,000 we usually spend, is only
half as much taxed as France, 27s. ahead
| aOainst 60 rs and has only onelslxth OF