Correspondence.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 210, 25 October 1859, Page 2

Correspondence.

To the Editor of ihejßploniat. " . Sm,r-AmoDg the miscellaneous topics iii your number of the 14th instant, your have an article headed "The Cost of War;" perhaps the follow-, ing extract from an article, entitled "The Decline and Fall of the j English System of; Finance," written in 1796, may prove not uninstruptive gr uninteresting to some :of your rea^-rpartfcjularljr your^te^pporaryj tfhpgs especial forte 'seems to be m calpul^ting'thg arithmetical progression v ;gf Jhe wealth' of nations—as ■ for -instance, his; late deductions;^ to the illimitable ext'eat of o^r Isupposed mineral resources. ' ■'' . . ."■;.••'"'.' ' ■•■". " . ;■; ;;v ...;_ The writer of the above mentioned essay observes :—-".There exists a common ratio that will aaeertajn arithmetically the amount of the National Debt at the end of each- war- in which it may bo engaged, as certainly as the fact is known to be j that that ratio will in like manner determine* what the amount of the debt will be in every future war—for he says the ratio I allude to is the ratio, which the nature of the thing has established for itself. Hitherto, no idea' has been entertained that, any such ratio existed, or could exist, that could; determine a problem of this kind—that is, could,; without having any knowledge of the fact, explain what the expense of any. former war has been, or what the expense of any future .war .would be.' Nevertheless, it is true that such a.ratio does exist.The ratio I aliudeto is not one in arithmetical progression, like the numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, &c, nor yet in geometrical progression of 2, 4, 8,12, &c.; but it is the series of one-half upon each preceding number—B, 12, 18, 27, &c f Thus, though the; difference between the two first numbers is but 4, the difference between the two next is 9. FironV thence will be seen with what immense rapidity the debt will increase until it exceeds the ordinary powers of calculation." ■ - ' He then takes the war ending 1697, which was the war in which the Funding system began, which cost 21^,000,000, and proceeds, to the American War in 1775, when the quotient was 108,000,000; and by the same rule he declared the result of the long war which ended in 1814 to be over 800,000,000;- which it appears was the ninth war between the- periods of 1697 and 1814, I remain, Sir, yours, &c, SENEXgAXBUS. To the Editor of the Colonitt. *'" Sin,—l have been much amused, and I confess, too, much disguste& rittireadhig the prentice specimen of legislation or "By-law," published by the Board of Works. Talk or- the. '"Prentice pillar": indeed! Xook at the following :—lf any cattle or beast of any kind be found depasturing, &c, the owner shall pay a penalty, <fee, and in case the owner is not- known, &c, the animal may be driven to the nearest pound, &c, &c. - But* Sir, in ■■all- this By-law there is not one' word as to whose duty it is to do so; all we know is, that a penalty shall be inflicted, and the animal \ may be driven to the nearest poiind< • "Very kind indeed! So theTßoafd~of Wdrks' intimates a plan , by which the rate-payer way become common inEbrmer upon his neighbour, and to do the work which he pays to have done for him, while those who are paid neglect their duty, or if lie dares to somplain, to be tauntingly told—"Oh: you have four remedy." I live, Sir, in one of the two principal streets, and "within the boundaries." One night last week during four hours wa3l prevented getting ■tny sleep by the tramp, trarap r on the footpath,, md champ, champ, of some persecuting devil of a tiorse. I suppose the Secretary of the Board night tell me that I might have got up, and, haying Iressed myself, I might have driven.him, I mean ;he horse,, to the pound, but I might have found that jadlocked, and, not knowing where thepouhdceeper lives, I might go, about one or two o'clock n the morning to inquire, and having succeeded [mighthave retured to find that he, the-horse, neanwhile had obsquatulated. But, Sir, I should have no right to complain, ih, no! for—/ have my remedy, especially as I . lon't know who owns the horse. ■ . ■, Now this by-law says, the owner of such horse hatttiax a breach of the said by-law, pay a pelalty; very well then, here wbb an infraction of it nd I require the Board to find out whose horse it. . ?as and impose the penalty. : -'"-'" : Joking apart, if it is the duty of the police Iq tnpound cattle found straying in the middle of the own, and do not do so for four consecutive hours ' uring the night, it is quite clear the alarm bell > very necessary, if only to keep them awake. GNAT*