, 1877-12-19

ly most visible in Prussia, because while she
has manufactures like England, their profits
bear, owing to the poorness of her soil and the
smallness of her accumulated capital, a larger
proportion to her total profit receipts. The
fall in railway receipts must be due, in great
part, to lhe suspension of ordinary trade with
Russia and Poland owing-ato the yTar. tThe
Times points constantly to the pecnnidry loss
involved in the universal liability to service,
and We should be the la t to underrate that
injury to tho national labOur fund. The diver.
gence OF the whole labouring population from
eighteen TO twenty-One from productive to
reproductive labour, although compensated
ia part by the improved strength and
health of the people, and although
necessary tor national security. must
be q heavy tax upon the national reservoir of
wealth. 1t takes away, if We suppose man to
have only thirty years Of full adult energy,
perhaps a tenth Of the whole labour power,
and is equivalent to an income tax of Is. in
the pound upon the labour property OF the
country IAN immense deduction. But still,
since 1863 at all events, it has sIways been 80.
There is no rev drain upon labour except from
actual war, and population, in spite of a severe
emigration, is not declining. We see no rea-
son to believe that Prussia. as a producing
power, is permanently falling off, or sacrificing
10 cAOtSSlf0 (dA lNlOH Guy Va Nv III SPiAhS~
Of her industrial energy.
There is, however, one industrial loss which
Prussia is enduring, and which may. for aught
Wa know, be very serious, and that is the loss
Of econ onic contentm mt among The majority
Uf her population. There has been since the
war a change in the standard Of living which
produces more discomfort tbal any actual
decline of means. The m)neg taken from
France, aud as We still consider, 1~njustly
ta~kep-ffance being at sbs uxermOst, liable
only for the expenses Ct the var up tc Sedan
produced no economic good The Prussian
people followed the example Of its own typical
hero, Bluchrr, and gambled away it's gain.
The speculative fever and the fever OF expense
sci 10 together, and the whole money, or
probably much more, was lost in undertakings
and Improvements yielding a minimum Of
profit return. Ia the process the whole stan
dard Of thinking was altered, and when the
fever passed, the cities were filled, as they
always fill in such seasons, till rent had become
nnbearable. for if there are only ten houses
too few, the rent Of all houses is raised. not
in proportion, but 10 proportion to the fear Of
being houseIcss, just as fever-patien's would
give. not ten per cent. more, but anything. for
outline, and more comfort was wanted Of
every sort. We do not know that any indis.
pensable thing grew dearer except rent, but the
old incomes, studied by the light of the new
Id cas- and the new hopes, seemed intolerably
small. The result Of this change on industry
was in P. ussia temporarily Injurious. 1t could
not stimulate industry much, for Industry, espe.
clally among the peasants, was already as
thorough az could be, probably more tho.
rough than is good for the permanent welfare
of The population. Tbe German artisan or peas
ant works very hard. and through longer hours
than ar g. 10 English judgment at all events,
good for preserving strength. 1t could not
stimulate thrift, for the thrift of a Brandenburg
peasant, like that of a Provenqal or a Tuscan,
is already pushed quite as far as is profitable,
even in a pecuniary sense. All it could do
was to produce a depression unfavourable to
industry, TO develop discomfort till, for one
thing. every man with a demand on she State
insisted on getting q little more; and to pro-
Yoke an emigration, which 10 a country with
land to spare. is very nearly pure loss, loss
of labour, and loss by the diminution in tie
number of the specially energetic men. They
are not the :" STAY -at-homes' and "ne'er.do
weels" and "liying vegetables" who
are now ploughing the broad corn
fields of Ohio. Illinois, ard Minnesota. This
kind of spirit produces serious loss, both econo-
mically and socially, bnt it has not gone far
enough 70 weaken Prussia. and it may have one
very curious compensation. It keeps up. that
sense OF being poor among the people .Wbioh
1t is dif6cult to doubt has helped 10 strengthen
Frussihs which han made iil-paid work tofSfSbio