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Show EFFEC1' OF WAIt Ol'ON A NA-. T10NS WEALTH. Tint firing of a 0 ihvb tlicil gnu, like those used On .most of our naval steamers, costs $9.31 at each difchurgo. Now, thes; burning of $9 worth of coal in one of our cotton, or carH.-t, or steam-cngiuc mnnn-: mnnn-: factories, gfiii-rlly rosnlls in the iiroduc-tiou iiroduc-tiou of from J 10 to $20 worth of vulue ju souie other-kind of property; its only products pro-ducts ure noise, mid smoke, mid ileatli, which ure UOt saleable in any market. Ol all modes of assuming wraith uuproduc-lively, uuproduc-lively, the most rapid arc conflagrations, 'and war. 1 It is frequently the case that the productive pro-ductive power of a. p'eoplc Is so great that the aggregate of individual savings more than counterbalances the public waste of wealth in war, tiud thns the national wealth may increase oven during the continuance con-tinuance of expensive war. Macanhiy says that this has been the Case with Hug-laud Hug-laud in all of her wars; and was most conspicuous in the most expensive one that she ever engaged in, the long contest against the Opinions of the French Revolution Re-volution which continued, with two brief Intervals, from f?2a to 1K15. In this gigantic struggle, England uot only slip-ported slip-ported her-owu armies, but the also contributed con-tributed vast sums to her allies tho Other governments of Europe to enable them to keep up the fight. It is true that a large portion of this money was raised by bnrrawlug.thc national debt having been increased in-creased during .the period about mo thousand thou-sand millions of dollars. Hut a government cannot borrow unless eoniebody has it to lend, and this whole Immense stim was saved by the' English ieople'itt the midst of the war, and loaned to the government. govern-ment. If we put aside the vail which tho Interposition In-terposition of money throws over' the transaction, we shall find that what really took place was this, It does not require the whole of the lubor in uuy community 'to produce the food mid clothing needed; una when a snQleieut number or laborers of these Drit neceisaricf, the remaining lubor of the community is directed to making sbch articles ns are most desired, (n times of peace, this surplus labor i 1 principally devoted to routing machinery, constructing steam-engines, building railroads, rail-roads, and, In short, in increasing thuvari- 'ous kinds of active capital which facilitate mdostrial op-ration undthusuugment the annual .production of wealth, lint in war, this labor is diverted to. the production of food, clothing, powder, muskets, cannon, ,cta, to bo worn opt, nud destroyed by the armies; and thus the oa-umnlutiou ol wealth is stopped, Or at least, checked. Jn some cotes, indeed, so largo a portion por-tion of tho community Is taken from pro-dnci''e pro-dnci''e labor and put to tbi work of des- 'troyinproperty iSJghtlng, that th? nd-. tional wealth Is rapidity dluifuishing When Frcd'erTcTf; ths 0 reftt or I'i-u,' was contending wltli , Auslria for Jh'c j!wi session; of Siaf,he j!atd he 'wo'uhl lilit as long as there was a potatd'a In the kingx doin, ami Macaulay says he did' fight bii-til bii-til the great mass of thu people Vad lioth-, log to eat: but potatoes, and every private fortune hi the vouiitry was destroyed? Louis XIV., too, kept Franco at war with combined Europe till the very nobles wqro reduced to a. diet of black lireiuldud bum bera of the people died of starv'atibny |
