THE rumors of war which have reached this country by every mail from Europe, have naturally led to a comparison of the armed strength of the various nations and the material resources which each has to depend upon in the event of a general war upon the continent. As our readers are aware, the difficulty exists between France and Austria, Sardinia playing the part not of a go-between but of a fomenter of the dispute. However, we do not propose here to go into the details of the question which has so occupied the thoughts of men, and which threatened the peace not of two or three nations, but of all Europe.
Up to the present time England, France, Austria and other countries, have been engaged in strengthening themselves and preparing for a contingency that was considered not only possible but highly probable. France and Austria were particularly active in developing to the highest point the efficiency of their armies and navies, and little Sardinia took advantage of the occasion not only to parade her military force before the world, but to recruit her finances by the negotiation of a loan, which, after considerable trouble and misgiving, she at last accomplished. The military genius of the old world, we are told, has produced inventions of the most marvellous character; inventions which, it is predicted, will create a complete revolution in our modern mode of warfare. Canons have been invented of such extraordinary range that they will strike an object at the distance of five or six miles, and other projectiles have been improved to such an extent that no city can possibly sustain a lengthened seige against such terrible engines of destruction. But it is the great display of armed men to which the attention of Christendom is drawn, for there are no less than five millions of disciplined soldiers in Europe ready if need be, to take the field. That is to say, the standing armies of the different countries of Europe amount in the aggregate to that number of men. Of these France alone has about six hundred thousand, Austria seven hundred thousand, Prussia five hundred and fifty thousand, England two hundred and thirty thousand, Russia over a million, Turkey about three hundred thousand, Spain eighty thousand, with a force of militia and reserves numbering half a million; Sardinia sixty thousand, Switzerland one hundred and fifty thousand, and so on in the other countries in proportion to their population and resources.
The naval forces of France and England are nearly equal, both in the number of guns and the efficiency of the two services. The two countries cannot, however, be considered as standing upon equal ground in regard to the availability of their forces, for while large draughts are made upon the standing army of England for the maintenance of her dominion in India and her scattered possessions all over the world, France, if necessary, could concentrate the great body of her army at any point within her limits in a few days. In this respect, she possesses a decided advantage over England. This remark is equally applicable to Austria, which despite of the prediction that she was rapidly sinking into the position of a second rate power, has shown herself to be deficient neither in national dignity and self-respect, nor in men and resources with which to support both the one and the other.
Now there are some who are of the opinion that all this great military parade on the part of France and England has another object in view, that they have, in fact, combined for no other purpose than the forced inauguration of their policy on this continent; that they have designs upon Central America, and that they are determined, if necessary to force our government into an abandonment of the Monroe doctrine. In proof of this, they refer to the movements which have been already made in Central America, and particularly to the recent conduct of the Nicaraguan government itself. A new and deeper interest is thus given to the hostile preparations with which the old world has resounded for months past. And it is under such circumstances that the relative military strength of both the old and new worlds will be compared as affording the means by which to judge of the probable issue of such a contest. At the first glance, we certainly have nothing to boast of in such a comparison. We have no standing army worth mentioning, that is, in point of numbers; we have not one national ship to every twenty of France and England; and our steam marine, in particular, is miserably deficient. Thus far, the war account is against it, but there are other things which tell greatly on our side, and which would give a large balance in our favor if we are ever forced into a contest with any or all of the great European powers combined. Our regular army is about eighteen thousand strong, but in the event of a foreign invasion there are at least four millions of men in the country who are acquainted with the use of arms, and who although but a portion belong to the various militia organizations throughout the different States, would in the course of a few months be as thoroughly drilled and as efficient as the regular troops. In fact, it is on our volunteers that we should be compelled to rely in such an emergency, under the skill and energy of our West Point graduates, whose military202education and discipline is considered second to none that is afforded by the best military institutions.
A successful conquest of the United States may well be regarded as an utter impossibility, unless indeed through hostile dissensions among our own people—a calamity which all true citizens should pray to have averted from the land. There never was a nation more secure in its own strength, and while we act justly towards all the world, and are united, we have no reason to be fearful as to the result of a contest with any or with all of the European nations.-Metropolitan Record.