Year: 1874

GRAFTON BY COL. vEAzEY.


Col. w. G. Veazey delivered an inter-
esting orution at the recent commence
ment of Norwich University. containing
many facts and statistics of that institu-
ton. We give it entire below as fol-
lows:


COL. vEAZEY's GRAFTON.


One of the great problems not yet
fully solved in our country, is to deter
mine how the republic may follow the
injunction, " in time of peace prepare
for war" with the least possible expense,
and the least danger to the integrity and
perpetuity of the nation. That the safe
ty of the republic demands that the in
junction be obeyed cannot be doubted
The history of our own country, and of
all other countries, establishes a strong
probability, if it is not conclusive, that
we must have war more or less in the
future. From the declaration OF inde-
pendence to this time, we have been en-
gagged in war about one sixth of the
whole period, exclusive of our almost
constant Indian warfare There is scarce
| ly contemporaneous nation which has
not suffered from this dread pestilence
even more than our own. II is sad
thought that one day in every six of our
future national life may be devoted to
war. We hope it may not be so. One
way to prevent it is to follow the wise
precept to be prepared for it. Another
way is to establish the principle among
nations for which our country has nobly
made the precedent, the principle of ar
as the nations of earth are now consti-
tuted, that grand idea will probably be
established if ever, only as the result of
perhaps, ages OF persistent effort. 1t
has not yet become sufficiently estab-
Injunction. The law of force has not
yet been supplanted among nations, and
we must recognize the fact While war
is the arbiter of national controversies,
there must be preparation for war. Both
our system of government being in the
main in antagonism with that of the Old
World, and the magnitude Of our coun-
try, will have tendency rather to invite
than avert war unless there is prepara-
ton to maintain the republic against
both external assaults and internal dis
sension, co-equal with its position and
importance in the scale Of nations. Our
distance from the great rival powers of
the world, that has largely contributed
to our safety and freedom from national
complications in the past, is rapidly be-
ing lessened in effect by improvements
in navigation. That We have succeeded
in our war in any instance without much
previous preparation, is no argument
against the importance of preparation.
The amount of life and treasure which
our final success cost, but which might
have been saved by reasonable regard
to the necessities of the republic, makes
our lack of preparation we'll nigh erimi-
nal To continue almost totally unpre-
pared for the emergency of war would
be an invitation to war which we can
scarcely expect other nations long to de-
cline, an exa mple Of folly unworthy the
craftsmanship which free, educated
people should produce. This prepsra-
ton cannot be in a large standing army
for standing armies are obnoxious to a
free people. They are regarded as aris-
tocratic in character and inauspIcious to
liberty. And in addition to other objec-
tions, the expense of a regular army is
a burden that the people will not bear
to the extent required to make the army
sufficient for the contingency of a great
war. 1t is now also pretty we'll demon
strated that our people will not maintain
an efficient militia of such magnitude as
would be required in the event of war.
The tendency is now against it. The
expense of maintaining militia is too
great also.


MILITARY EXPENSES OF VERMONT.


The military expenses of Vermont
from 1866 to 1873, inclusive, were as
follows:


1866, $1,000 50


1867, 1892 16