The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-09-24
Nations as They Appeared to
Learned Men in Past.
EVERYTHING CHANGED But NAME
England Grown From Six milIiOn-Europe Com
rrises the World-France Led With 80
MiIons-Europe Now in Fifth Rank.
Personalities Of Historical Drama. Etc.

(By Jules Roche in the Paris Figaro
From one of the latest issues of the
Paris Figaro, we quote very interest
ing and ingenious article on the de-
cadence of France from the clever pen
of the Minister of Commerce, NJ
Jules Roche, who, in Cassandra like
lays, Iaments the past greatness OF
his nation
When we speak of nations, we
speak of them in that sense in which
they appeared in the past France,
England, Russia, Germany, all these
nations stand before our mind as per-
sonalities, which have through ages
remained the same. Their names not
having been altered, we look instinct
lively at them, as if they had not
changed in their expansion, their pow
er, their wealth and population in their
military and economic strength, and
in their manifold relations to each
other, and we almost feel inclined to
quote the words of Frederick the Great:
If / were King of France, not a cannon
shot should be fired in Europe without
my permission A hasty review of
our poor planet, which is both too large
and too small, shows, however, what
revolutions have taken place in the rel
ative positions of the nations in COM
paratively small space of time.
Taking as a criterion of the power
of the nations their population only,
we find France at about the end of
Louis XIV. undisputably at the head
of the civilized world, which was then
however, limited to Europe only. We
formed d nation of about twenty mil
lions of people, the most united and
best blended of all nations. England,
according to Macaulay had barely six
million inhabitants; Germany, consist
ing of 300 several states rivalling
among themselves, had no more popu-
lation than France, and all Austria
counted ten to twelve million inhabi- /
tants. Prussia had just been raised /
to a kingdom, and the Kurfurse of
Brandenburg (made King of Prussia) /
reigned over barely two million sub
jects. Russia was placed at the end /
of the world, outside of European pol
itics.. The Encyclopedia reported later
on in 1865 that the census taken in 4
1924 showed 100000 inhabitants of /
the masculine gender, that is about 4
twelve to thirteen millions of popula-
ton. Voltaire, however, raises this to .
twenty-four millions, and the Kingdom
of Poland stands at ten to eleven mil
lions; Spain at eight millions; and |
Italy-divided in 1000 pieces-finishes
the list with ten to eleven millions of
inhabitants.
All in all, Europe alone comprises
the world. The leading nations to-
gether count fifty to sixty millions,
and all Europe one hundred and TWEEN
ty to one hundred and thirty millions
oil toll ho
in population, in wealth, in power.
and in culture, and the relative posi-
tions of the nations were but little
at the beginning of the Revo-
luton, only the figures had become
larger with respect to each nation.
France had increased to twenty-five
millions, Germany the same, Russia to
six millions, Great Britain to twelve
millions. France, however, remained
the most numerous and most united
nation of all, not the least of the causes
which enabled us to resist all Europe
at the time.
Before the war in the year 1870. we
still had this pre-eminence in the world
excepting Russia, which all in all
counted in Europe and Asia IS mill
lions. France was still leading in Eu
rope with SO millions, AustriaHun
gary had not quite Sc millions, and all
the several little states which now
form the German Empire had barely
the same number of inhabitants as
France alone. The whole Of the Unit
ed Kingdom OF Great Britain and Ire
land contained little more than 80 mil
lion inhabitants. The population of
the United States was the same as
ours
But the times have greatly changed. ]
I,
rank, as we have hardly recovered
the 100000 inhabitants which the
loss of Alsace and Lorraine has taken !
from us TO bring the numbers again to
-hirty-eight millions. But we have
Russia with its one hundred millions 9
Of European inhabitants, Germany {
with a population which now will :
amount to fifty-two millions. Austria !
Hungary with more than forty-three
the United Kingdom of Great
Britain with forty millions, Italy fol- ;
ows us with thirty-one millions. We !
nave descended from the second 10 the
fifth rank.
But not only the personalities of the II
great historical drama have gone
through these changes; the place of S
lotion also has expanded to the ends a
# the globe. New hostile rivals have |
brown themselves into the heat of D
he battle, and new ones appear daily II
N the field. While we have only in Il
reased so per cent up to the end of b
his century, England has nearly quad c
upled itself, or, in comparison with r
urseIves, has become seven to eight 7
ines stronger. Russia has more than u
ripled itself; Germany more than CO
Dubbed land Prussia quintupled). and Il
tally nearly doubled its population. n
nd, besides these, there are the Unit T
i States of America, formerly several a,
'eeks distant from us, today our a;