Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-04-23
GREAT SUMS.

John Bright ON Wars and War Debts
The following is the perOration of John
| BrghtS recent address at the University
/ of Glasgow: Would you believe that Il
you were to add up all the expenditure in
! the country since the beginning of the
century and during the lifetime of ssme
! thousands of people now living, the ey-
/ penditure upon war and war debts. the
( expenditure of military and naval war
KIND, what do you suppose it comes to?
L Ou could not guess, and l told you YOU
/ would he no wiser. 1t comes to the sum
OF t4,4l4, 100000 sterling of taxes. say
You would be no wiser. do not know
that we are any wiser from hear
ing that man is worth a million.
except that he is rich man. We
90 not know very we'll what a mil
lion is. But what are twenty Millions
and what are one hundred millions. or
( What are thousand millions or four
thousand millions? 1t is like sDeakino
OF those great astronomical distances Of
Whlch at lectures we hear so much and
know SO little. But if these military ey-
penses have come to f4,44,000 900. how
much has the real government, the civil
government of the country, cost during
the same time? 1t has cost fI.Ol2. .OOO2
900. Less than One-fifth of all our expend
lture has been in our civil government:
more than fOur-titths have been sDent in
wars past, orr wars prepared for in
future. | ask you, then. what of the neo-
pie, and what of the millions? We find
poverty and misery. What does it mean
When all these families are living in homes
OF one room, to us who have several rooms
and all the comforts of Iifes If means
more than l can describe, and more than
| VIII attempt to enter into; and, as need
DeSets need, so poverty and misery beget
poverty and misery. So, in all our great
towns, and not a little i'm some of Our
small towns, there are misery and help
lesSneSs so much as | have described. In
TACT, looking at the past, to me it is amel-
anchOly thing to look at There is much
OF II which eXcites i'm me not astoniSb-
ment only, but horror. The fact is, there
passes before my eyes a vision of millions
OF tamllles-nOt individuals, but families
IatnerS, mothers and children, CHASTITY
ana sorrow stricken, passing i'm a never
ending procession from their cradle TO
their grave. Now l have to put to YOU
question. A friend of ours in the corner
there was little stirred because some of
the subjects on which | treated seemed TO
take political aspect. Some one has
said that the two things of all others IN
the world that are worth considering,
worth talking about are the subjects of
religion and politics. | want to ask yOu
whether the future is to be no better than
the past. Do we march, or do we not. to
a brighter time? For myself. il will not
be possible for me to see it: but YOU have
before you, many of you, the prospect of
Witnessing the transactions of the public
pOllcy OF your country for forty or fifty. or
even 1t may be for more, years to came.
On you and such as you depends greatly
our future. What | want to ask Won is.
whether you will look back upon the past
ana examine it carefully; look round then
Ill me present, and see what exists; and
endeaNOr, If it be possible, to sget a better
ana hlgher tone to our national policy
Tor the future. TO me it appears that
during the last two centuries (I keep nv
sell TO that because, since that time. the
public opinion of the country has had
greatly increased infiuence) we trod in
the footsteps of Cesar and accepted the |
DarDarous policy of pagan Rome: while. |
at the same time, with vast and uncOn- |
scIOus hypocrisy, we have built thousands |
OF temples and have dedicated them to 1
the Prince OF Peace. | say with grief fand |
shame that they who have ministered |
at Ills affairs have, for the most |
part, on these matters, been absolutely |
dumb. Now, | ask YOU the 0ueS |
ton; shall we reverse this policy? Shall |
we contrive to build up the honor. the /
trle hOnor and happiness of our people. on |
Il OASIS OF justice, morality and peace? | |
plead not for the great and for the rich: | /
pIead lor the millions who live in homes |
Oh only one room. Can you answer me in |
Che words which quoted years ago on a /
somewhat like occasion, words which |
lell from the crowned minstrel who left |
US the Psalms: "The ueedy shall not |
always be forgotten; the expectation of |
THE NEXT SENATE.