LOSS OF LIFE AND MONEY IN THE WARS OF THE LAST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS, 1832-77.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 199, 23 August 1877, Page 4

LOSS OF LIFE AND MONEY IN THE WARS OF THE LAST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS, 1832-77.

The following statement appears in a contemporary, aud is perhaps as near tbe truth as ie is possible to come on so large a subject: — The following tables are carefully compiled from the official statistics of the various nations concerned, and include, in addition to the troops slain, a portion of the deaths occasioned by the ravages of the wars amongst the civil population: — (1.) Lives Lost 1852-77. — Killed in Battle, or Died of Wounds and Disease. Persons. Crimean War..... 750,000 Italian War of 1850 45,000 War of Schleawig-Holstein ... 3,000 American Civil War — The North, 280,(100; The South 520,000 800,000 War between Prussia, Austria, and Italy, in 1866 45,000 Expeditions to Mexico, Cochin China, Morocco, Paraguay, etc. 65,000 Franco-German War of 1870---71—France, 154,000; Germany, 60,000 215,000 Turkish Massacres of Christians in Bulgaria, Armenia, etc., 1876-77 25,000 Total 1,948,000 (XI.) Cost, 1852-77. £ Crimean War 340,000,000 Italian War of 1859 50,000,000 American Civil War— The North. .£940,000,000; Tha South, £460,000--0-000 1,400,000,000 Schleawig-Holstein War... 7,000,000 Austrian and Prussian War, 1866 66,000,000 Expeditions to Mexico, Paraguay, etc. (say oniy) ...„ 40,000,000 Franco-Prussian War 600,000,000 LTotal £2,413,000,000 The loss of life is equal to about half tbe populstion of the whole metropolitan area; and we may vaguely imagine what would be the effect upon production and consumption of absolutely depopulating the whole of tbe West and North districts of London. The loss of £2,413,000,000 sterling of capital is equal to about eight or ten years' revenue of ail the Governments of Europe and North America. But a public revenue is applied in the payment of services and tbe promotion of public works which are to a large extent useful. The £2,413,000,000 of money destroyed in war have been been absolutely annihilated. Further, the fortresses, ships, artillery, &c, destroyed by war have to be replaced by capital taken, over a series of years, from productive purposes. The same remark applies to the pensions and rewards granted to maimed and disabled eoldiera and sailors. We quote from an American paper the following account of the Saored Banner : — " Wbat is tbis Flag of the Prophet, around which tbe turbaned, "the Faithful/ are called upon to rally ? Tbe best authorities state tbat it was originally of a white colour, and was composed of the turban of the Koreish captured by Mahommed. A black fla» was, however, soon substituted in its place, consisting of the curtain that liad hung before the door of Ayeaha, the favourite wife of the Prophet, whose affection for ber was so strong that he waa wont to say tbat she would be tbe firat of his wives to whom the gates of Paradise would be opened. The Sanjak-Serif is regarded by the M&bomeuans as their most sacred relic. lt first came into tbe possession of the followers of Omar, the second Caliph of the MoEslms, and generally regorded as the founder of the Mohammedan power, as from a mere sect he raised it to the rank of a conquering nation, and left to bis successor an Empire greater that that which Alexander of Macedou had made and ruled in the olden time. It was this Omar wbo assumed tbe title cf * Commander of the Faithful' (Emir-al-mumenia), by which, as the readers of the 'Arabian Nights' Entertainments' will remember, the Caliph Haioun-al-Kaschid, wno was contemporary with Charlemagne, was always addressed. The flay ol the Prophet passed from tbe followers of Omar, at Damascus, into the hands of the conquering Abbasides, iuto Lhe uiiddlu of the eighth century, uext in those pf the Caliphs of Bagdad and Katiira. It was brought iuto Europe toward;-* the close of the tha sixteenth coatury by Sultun Amuralb 111., with whom Queen Elizabeth made a treaty of commerce '

in 1579. It was deposited in Constantinople, where, oovered with fiftytwo wrappings of silk, it was deposited in a chapel in the interior of tho Seraglio, where it is perpetually ; guarded by several Emirs with constant prayers. It is known, however, that the banner unfolded by the Moslems at the beginning of a war, and ', likewise carafully preserved, is not the sime as the identical flag which Mohammed had made cut of the white turban of the Koreisb. The Moslems believe that it is, and will fight bravely under it, thus verifying Mokanaa's famous declaration, that — Faith, fantastic Faith, once weddel fast , To one dear falsehood, huga it to tha lust. The Rev Mr Coffey in a sermon recently preached in Wellington made allusion to the Education Bill now before Parliament. He said it was a lamentable circumstance that iv a measure for the education of tbe peo- : pie no provision was made for religious • instruction. True the Bible was to but * read, but when the teacher's lips were closed, so far as imparting instruction went, that would be done in a perfunctory manner, and the children would ! soon see that the Book of God was dishonored. The effort could not be ; be prejudicial to the morals of the risiug generation. The Miaister in introducing the Bill had said education would not make men virtuous. He might have saved himself tha trouble of saying that : it was too apparent. In England, Mr Gladstone said, the tone of the upper classes of society had greatly deteriorated since the death of the Prince Consort, and by means of the Press they learned that though the social position of the lower classes had been improved, their morals were in no way changed. Iv the face of all this, the people of this colony were now to receive from the State an education of which religious teaching would from uo part. The differences between various sects had thrown difficulties in the way of the statesmen, so that Christians themselves were responsible for the sad condition of things. Ho hoped that the day would soon coma when differences would be ao far adjusted tbat the schoolmaster's mouth would no longer be closed in regard to religious matters ; but until that tima come, Christian men and women must carry the religion of the Cross into their homes, and truin up their families in the lear of the Lord. The Church must Bee that the truth was preached in the people's homes and must re-double itb efforts to make tbe Sunday-sohopl more effective by the introduction into it ofearnest capable men and woman to act the part of teachers. A Shumla despatch says: — 5000 waggon-loads of Turks — old men, women, and children are on the road trom Escjuma and Osman Bazar to "Shumla. Horrible massacres have beeu committed by the Russians and Bulgarians at Tirnova, Grahorra, andlbjuna. From all directions fugitives in large numbers are coming in, who state that iv districts occupied by Russians most terrible cruelties are perpetrated on the Mahometan population by Cossacks aud Bulgarians, Mahometan children and old men being slaughtered, and women violated and carried off. Official despatches sub 3 t aQ tially corroborate these statements. An extraordinary game of cribbage (fourhanded) is reported in a sporting paper of a recent date, from Victoria. A and B required 89 points to win the game, and their opponents C D but two points, which the latter were unable to get, [scoring but one point. A dealt the cards, with the following result: —A four aces and a five ; his partner, B, holds two eights, two sevens, and a five ; holds four, eight, ten, queen, king; and hia partner, D, holds four, seven, ten, knave, king. A six turns up, but not of the same suit as D's knave. Those interesed in the game will find no difiiculty in discovering how the cards were held aud played so as to give A and B 89 points on their two hands, crib and play. The order of play is C,B,D,A. The Wanganui Herald of the 23rd instant, referring to a recent Maori entertainment held iv that town says":— "The native performers, of whom there must have been nearly a hundred, have evidently been carefully well trained and rehearsed, and it is a pity that the energy and skill that must have beeu employed to assemble a number of Maoris together, and keep them so orderly and obedient, had not been applied to the minor details, in particular to the dress, or rather to the undress, iv which the principal warriors disported themselves. The hall was more crowded than perhaps it has ever been before, and towards the close of the entertain ment the excitement of the native audience was intense. However amusing the Maori dances may have proved to those, who for the firat time ou Saturday night witnessed anything of the sort, it is only right the ladies of Wanganui should be cautioned against unwittingly being present, as the rise of the curtain would certainly prove, as it did on Saturday night, the signal for their abrupt departure."

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