How inconsistent the general mode of reasoning on these and' kindred topics! Public opinion has indignantly rebuked the example of the Christian slave-trader as a libel and outrage on our religion, as really a contradiction in terms as it would be to speak of a Christian murderer, while it still continues, with only here and there a protest, to eulogize the wrong example of the devout, conscientious warrior, and hold it up to general admiration as a model of Christian excellence! May the God of Peace wake his professed children to deeper, more earnest, more truly evangelical thought on this strangely neglected subject.

A CURIOUS WORK ON PEACE.

AT the last anniversary of the London Peace Society, Dr. Katchenoffsky Professor of International Law in the University of Karkoff, was introduced, who expressed his sympathy with our cause, and said, "there was but one opinion of its ultimate success. Fifty years ago, before the rise of Peace Societies, the principle was warmly advocated by an able Russian publicist." In a subsequent communication, Dr. Katchenoffsky gave some specimens of this work, and an abstract of its contents. It consists of two parts the Evils of War, and the Blessings of Peace. The first part is supposed to have been written so early as 1793, and the second in 1797, amid the general war then prevailing in Europe. It seems to have been published in 1803, at St. Petersburgh. It is entitled "Dissertation on War and Peace, by Basil Mahnofsky."

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Chapter first is on the practice of war, and the general opinion of its necessity:- Our short life is full of many necessary evils. Should we add to them the unnecessary evil of war? The habit of it makes us indifferent. We are short-sighted, and do not feel our cruelty. War is the brutal force of wild beasts, combined with the art of destroying the life and happiness of man. War is a monster whose footsteps are stained with blood. It deprives the nations of their repose, and shortens their life.

It is time now to abolish the practice of settling international disputes by the sword. We think to mitigate war by humanity and moderation; but this humanity is the humanity of an executioner, who makes choice of the instruments of death, not to spare the life of his victims, but to shorten it. Why so deceive ourselves by such ideas? Nothing but the opinion of the necessity of war makes war necessary. We think that we cannot live without war, because it has existed everywhere and in all ages. But man is free; he has reason and will; he has liberty of judgment and of action to change his habits. If we compare the Western nations with the ancient, we shall find many changes made not only in laws, usages and arts, but even in religion itself. The ancient world adored war; its gods were heroes and warriors. But our God is a God of peace and love. Christianity commands us to love our neighbors without distinction of nationality.'

So begins our author his work. We have not space for the complete

translation of this book; we will follow the general ideas, and give a few extracts, the most remarkable sentences, of Mr. Mahnofsky After the introductory remarks, he explains the historical causes of the existence of war in Europe. In his opinion, there were only two principal impediments to general peace-ignorance and superstition. 'Civilization,' says he, 'shall enlarge our views, and make us understand that the interest of every state or kingdom is bound with the general welfare of Europe. Europe is now sufficiently prepared for peace. Her inhabitants are united by science and commerce, by similar laws and manners; they profess the same religion; their languages have, more or less, a common origin. The name of European should be respected in all the parts of the earth.'

In the second and third chapters he refutes the common prejudice in respect of war, and proves that this practice can produce nothing but evil. We shall not repeat his words; they are familiar to peace men. He thinks that the glory of nations consists not in the conquests they make upon their neighbors, but in those peaceful conquests by which man subdues nature, and promotes civilization. The true force of a kingdom,' says he, is the happiness of the people, the mutual tie of the inhabitants, and their confidence in the government. Englishmen are respected in Europe, not for their wars, bnt because they have great statesmen, civil and social virtues, and public spirit.'

In the fourth chapter are expressed the opinions of our author about greatness and heroic virtues. He thinks that conquerors and generals do not promote the general improvement, but serve only as instruments of ruin and death. The true greatness is determined not by the numbers of fought victories, but by the number of useful services to mankind.

Chapter the fifth is the most eloquent and beautiful. It treats of the miseries of war. We pride ourselves,' says Mr. Mahnofsky, 'that we are humane in war, and spare the vanquished foe.' To refute this opinion, he gives a description of some remarkable sieges and battles. His remarks on the extent of pauperism, and the increase of taxes and of military budgets in modern Europe, are very interesting. He expresses the desire that regular armies may be diminished.

In the sixth chapter Mr. Mahnofsky compares the miseries of war with the advantages of peace. The governments,' says he, 'live now in constant fear of war, and have no leisure for the elaboration of laws, and for the improvement of society. The public money is employed, not for the real wants of the people, but for military purposes.'

In the seventh chapter he speaks about diplomacy. This art has retained till the present time its original features, and consists in lies and intrigues. Its instruments are official and secret spies. The mutual animosity and rivalry of nations is nourished by a certain class of publicists and pamphleteers; some of them are corrupted by the courts and by ambitious men, these are of the most dangerous class; the others are the fever-minded patriots who think that the love to country consists in the indiscriminate hatred of all foreigners; and the third pursue their occupation from the mere love of scandal. All these men forget their duty to society, and instead of promoting peace, inflame the passions of the communities. In the second part of the work, the author speaks of the means of a general pacification. These are: 1. Sanction of international law by the consent of all the civilized world. 2. The confederation and the convocation of an international congress. The principal duty of this congress is the prevention of war. The limits of nations shall be determined by the congress, and cannot be changed without its approval. All international disputes are to be settled before this tribunal.

In the last six chapters he develops his general ideas, and discusses the

principal questions that are to be determined by the congress. He thinks that its authority and attributes cannot prejudice the independence of nations. In resuming his principles, he concludes that universal peace is the consolidation of society. If the civilized nations could induce their governments to abolish war, they would remove by it all the obstacles now obstructing the progress of mankind.

THE EARTH'S POPULATION.

A distinguished Professor at Berlin, Prussia, Herr DIETRICH, has lately issued a very careful and reliable work, in which he reaches the conclusion that the present population of the world is about 1,283,000,000.

He estimates the population of Europe at 272,000,000, although the geographies only make it about 258,000,000; but he gives reasons that appear to be sound for his increased figures. According to a calculation made in 1787, by order of Louis XVI. of France, the population of Europe was 150,000,000, and in 1805, it was estimated at 200,000,000. Since the latter date, the population of Europe is supposed to have increased at an average rate of considerably more than a million a year. In reference to Asia, there are tolerably reliable data for China, India and the Islands of the Indian Archipelago. For Japan, Tartary, Persia, Affghanistan, Arabia, and other countries, it is necessary to trust to conjectures; but 720,000,000 is believed to be as nearly correct as can be ascertained. To the whole of the American continent, North and South, Herr Deitrich allows 200,000,000, which is quite liberal, and generally above most estimates. Australia and the adjacent islands, he estimates to have a population of about two millions. Africa is the most troublesome division of the globe to the Prussian statistician; for, except in some of the European colonies, there have been no enumerations made of the inhabitants. He, however, arrives, by some means, at the conclusion that Africa has about 89,000,000 inhabitants.

The whole population of the earth, then, may be stated as follows: Population of Europe,.

.272,000,000 ..720,000,000

There are now at work three causes that must steadily and largely augment the world's population.-1. Peace. Wars have become, for nearly half a century, much less frequent than for ages previous, not only in Christendom, but all over the earth; and from this cause alone we may safely calculate an increase every year, of one half per cent. in population. There are many reasons for expecting that this improvement will continue in the main.-2. A large and general increase of physical comforts. These meet us at every turn among nearly all classes, and cannot fail in the aggregate largely to preserve and prolong life. Our food, and clothes, and dwellings and a hundred like things, are, in the present state of society, contributing to increase the general population of the world, especially of Christendom.

3. Improvements in the healing art are now averting or curing diseases that once swept vast multitudes to the grave. Such causes are together extending in some countries the average length of human life one quarter or one third; and if they continue to increase, as they are likely to do, we may expect ere long to see the world's population exceed 2,000,000,000, and their general improvement and happiness advance in a much larger ratio. The importance, if not absolute necessity, of peace to such results, must be obvious to every one.

THE BRITISH SOLDIER :

A SKETCH OF HIS CONDITION AND PROSPECTS.

The British Government find it very difficult to obtain a sufficient number of recruits to supply the terrible consumption of life going on in India, and at the same time to replenish the army at home. In a late number of the Naval and Military Gazette we find these words: - "It is said that, greatly to the consternation of Government, the last mail from India brought an urgent demand for reinforcements, accompanied by a statement in detail, showing that while the number of regiments of the Royal army appeared great, the actual force under arms was small, and daily diminishing by the casualties of war, and the diseases incidental to service in the field in that climate. To meet this demand we are led to believe that the Government is in great difficulty, and that to obtain the means of filling up the regiments in India to their proper establishment, the Militia is to be again invited to volunteer. We have apparently a large army in India, but not so in reality. We have seen it, also, stated that there are, at the present time, 60,000 men wanting in the army at home to make up the number voted by Parliament. Some of the papers are treating these facts as something very marvellous, and starting elaborate theories to account for the backwardness of the people to enter into the army. The wonder is exactly the other way, that there are so many to be found who can be induced to accept the melancholy and miserable lot of a soldier's life.

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For what is that life? Some very instructive revelations have been made lately on this point. It appears that a Royal Commission has been conducting an inquiry into the Sanitary Condition of the British Army, the results of which afford a singular comment on the astonishment expressed by some at the tardiness of our working men in accepting the splendid shilling." It relates, be it observed, to the army at home during a time of peace. "The fact," says the Times, "is clearly ascertained; at home, in time of peace, with no casualties of the battle-field, march, or siege to reckon, twice as many men die year by year, out of every thousand in the ranks of the army, as in the same number of the classes from which the soldiers are drawn.'

The excess of mortality in the military over that in all the civil classes, is ascertained by several comparisons drawn between the army and the whole male population of England and Wales, with the population of the most healthy districts, where the mortality is something below that of the entire kingdom, and with that of the less healthy portions.

In the healthy districts, in every thousand of the male population of the same ages as the soldiers in service, the averages of deaths is 7.7 annually; throughout the country, without selection of districts, 9.2 per thousand. In the fifteen years closing in 1853, the deaths in a number of the male population equal to that of the British army of that period, at the

rate of 9.2 per thousand, were 16,211. If the army were liable to no special causes of disease, the mortality in its ranks ought not to have been greater than in the mass of men at the same age. But there are causes at work which, operating through those same fifteen years, increased the deaths in the army to a much higher relative number. In the same space of time in which 16,211 civilians died, no less than 58,139 soldiers were erase.l from the list of the living. The difference against the army is 41,928; the mere excess of mortality, not the usual rate, sweeps away nearly 42,000 men in fifteen years. That number is a very effective army in itself; historical battles, great victories, have been won with fewer troops than disappear every fifteen years under ever-active causes of disease, which the report states are not unavoidably incident to the soldier's calling, but may be brought under the head of 'preventible.' Each soldier, as often shown, is a very costly article ; every death tells in the Estimates; but every death that might have been prevented, is an unnecessary loss. The ranks must be filled up as they are thinned by this silent but untiring destroyer; and in every fifteen years the taxpayer has to purchase anew 42,000 soldiers."

But this by no means fully exhibits the case. Those of the nonmilitary classes, compared in the above estimates with the soldiers, are taken from the average male population, including every kind of constitution, and every gradation of health; while, on the other hand, the soldier's life, is, in the first place, a picked life, every recruit as he enters the ranks being subjected to rigid medical scrutiny, and the feeble and diseased carefully weeded out, and returned to the general population; and, in the second place, many soldiers, when their health fails, are discharged from the ranks, and fall into the civil class again, and their deaths go to swell the Registrar-General's bills of mortality, not those of the Minister of War. Or, in the language of the Times, "the army has indeed a double advantage in all the computations, tables and returns. First, it rejects as recruits the weak and sickly, or those in whom the seeds of disease are perceptibly latent-it has not these bad lives to account for; next, it dismisses those who sink in the race, thus again weeding out its first selection. The deaths in the ranks, therefore, occur among a picked class of men, in whom the average of health and strength might be thought higher tban in any other class of the population."

What occasions this frightful mortality? The causes are, also, stated by the Commissioners. In the first place, soldiers seem to be miserably lodged, exposed to "crowding and insufficient ventilation, and nuisances arising from latrines and defective sewerage in barracks." In the second place, their food, if not insufficient, is unwholesome, from its sameness and wretched method of preparation. "When a soldier," says the report, "enters the service, he has the prospect of diring on boiled meat every day for twenty-one years, if he is enabled to serve so long." In the third place, the idleness to which he is consigned, interrupted only by the dreary military drill, which, treating him as a mere machine, provides an exercise which, in its monotony and weariness, can excite no interest in the m nd, and affords no healthy stimulus to the body. "Perhaps no living individual," says Col. Lindsay, speaking of the soldier's daily life," suffers more than he from ennui. He has no employment, save his drill and his duties; and these are of a most monotonous and uninteresting description, so much so that you ca not increase their amount without wearying and disgusting him. All he has to do is under restraint; he is not like a working man or an artizan; a working man digs, and his mind is his own; an artizan is interested in the work on which he is engaged; but a soldier has to give you all his attention, and he has nothing to show for the work done."

And lastly, the " intemperate and debauched habits" to which the whole