in England and Scotland, which in those countries has to a degree softened the tyranny of the feudal system, has never been extended to Ireland, and hence that tyranny has been there doubly felt.

Just let any American consider these facts: that there are in Ireland about twenty million acres of land, of which six and a half millions are owned by two hundred and ninety-two persons, nine million six hundred and twelve thousand acres by seven hundred and forty-four persons, and one million three hundred and ten thousand acres by twelve persons. That is to say, ten hundred and forty-eight persons own seventeen million four hundred and twenty-two acres out of the twenty million acres of land which constitute Ireland; and of these ten hundred and forty-eight persons, nearly all are non-residents.

For this unnatural state of affairs there is only one remedy, a remedy to be applied to England and Scotland as well as to Ireland, and that is to abolish the laws of primogeniture and of entails. By such a measure the number of landlords will be largely increased at each descent cast, until at length the lands will become the property of those who cultivate them. In this way would gradually be removed the domination of the British plutocracy, and the people be restored to power and the control of their own government. The immediate and natural remedy for Irishmen suffering those evils is to emigrate to North or South America, Australia, or to islands in the East or West Indies.

CHAPTER IX.

THE GERMAN EMPIRE.

With the downfall of the feudal inverted pyramid, there was for some time also hope that Germany would emerge from the rule of despotisms and rise to political freedom in the same degree as it had always successfully vindicated for itself intellectual liberty. The revolutionary movement of 1848 began brightly enough, and, indeed, was at one time on the eve of success; but that same deplorable lack of unity and that same local State pride which put so many hindrances in the way of establishing our own Union, defeated the

German when in its fullest glory. Since then the political history of Germany has been one of continual retrogression; so that now, through the natural results of the conflict between France and Germany, and the maintenance of a large standing army, it is enslaved, even worse than it has been for centuries, under imperial rule. The extinction of all local self-government under the supreme law of the Imperial code, and the terrible conscription system of the landwehr organization, multiplying taxes and servitudes, drives the despairing people by hundreds of thousands annually to seek refuge from tyranny by abandoning their native land.

It is one of the sarcasms of the spirit of history, that the victory of the Germans in the Franco-German war should have resulted in Germanizing France, as it were, and in Frenchifying Germany. With the close of that war France became one of the most industrious, frugal, economic, non-speculative nations of the continent; while Germany grew wild over speculative schemes of the most desperate character, grew extravagant, spendthrift, socialistic, and, above all, anti-American. France kept up her traditionary love for the United States; the second German Empire has treated us with contempt ever since its first erection, and impotently struggles to prevent her people from emigrating to our country to escape military, social, and aristocratic despotism.

The

France turned devout, and went on extraordinary pilgrimages; Germany dropped into skepticism of the worst kind, and published books in glorification of Strauss and others of the same ilk. French Republic tried to keep on good terms with both the Catholic and the Protestant Churches; the German Empire scowled on all Churches. Strange to say, however, within the very latest times, under its republican form of government, the best and freest that country has ever enjoyed, France, while remaining devout, has boldly faced the danger of priestcraft interference with government affairs and predominance in the State, therein following the example of Italy under the inspiration of Garibaldi; and Germany, while remaining indifferent to religion, has made efforts to renew the broken-off connection between Church and State. That this second German Empire will remain for a time a fixed factor of European politics admits of scarcely a doubt, but it is equally certain that the whole form of its government will have to undergo a change.

No

and

government that keeps a whole nation continually under arms,. expends yearly over one-third of its revenues for purely military purposes and warlike preparations, can maintain itself. The people will become exhausted by such hard riding, and will throw their riders.

CHAPTER X.

THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE.

- the Russian

While the German Empire pretends to be, and in some measure is a compromise between a popular and a despotic form of government, leaning more towards the latter, however, Empire presents the curious contrast of an unequivocally declared despotic form of government, and an equally unmistakenly outspoken opposition to all other forms of government in its social organization. That part of the Russian population which still submits blindly to the dictation of the emperor, calls him "Father;" the other part uses all sorts of means to send him, by dynamite or shot or shell, into another world, and are very properly termed Nihilists. In a subsequent chapter, on "Capital and Labor," I shall more at length discuss this anomaly; here it is sufficient to simply point it

out.

The Russian Empire is the great bugaboo of European civilization; it is at once the firmest colossus erected since the days of the Roman Empire, and yet the weakest, for the slightest shake may occasion its overthrow. It threatens not only Western Europe to the borders of the Rhine, but equally China to the coasts of the Pacific.

With an area of 8,270,759 square miles, Russia has a population of some 90,000,000 souls. From these 90,000,000, representing an average of 13,000,000 of male adults, Russia takes an army of 800,000 men; withdrawing thus these 800,000 from the revenue-producing population of the 13,000,000, and making them, moreover, a permanent burden on the remaining 12,200,000 men. This is the general effect of the military system of Europe.

Russia withdraws 800,000 of her best men from agricultural, in

dustrial, and commercial pursuits; Germany withdraws in the same manner some 500,000 men, France nearly the same number, Italy some 690,000. In short, the armies maintained by all the governments in Europe, on a peace footing, - ostensibly to defend each nation against some supposed aggressive neighbor, but in fact to keep their subjects in slavery by military power, number nearly four million men, as follows, using round numbers:

Germany (exclusive of all reserves, to about the same number).
France (exclusive of all reserves, to about the same number)
Italy. .

Austria-Hungary

Denmark

350,000

66

40,000

66

Great Britain (exclusive of some 240,000 militia and volunteers) 150,000 66 Greece.

The Netherlands

30,000 65,000 66

Switzerland (exclusive of the landwehr, which count some

And these are the most able-bodied men to be found in their respective countries, and are taken away from their proper pursuits in life and thrown as a burden upon the tax-paying citizens, - nay, not only a burden, but a constant threat and danger, for these armed soldiers lose all sense of a common fellowship with their fellow-citizens, and are ready at any moment to shoot them down like dogs. The financial burden which this system of standing armies imposes upon the people I shall discuss more at length in a subsequent article, on "Capital and Labor."

In many respects the United States and Russia present points of resemblance. We also have an absolute despot, but that despot is the law-making power. We have also individualistic tendencies of every description, but excepting the late upgrowth of corporations threatening our liberties - our people still practically have liberty under the law. But in one essential respect we are (and let us hope that we ever may remain so) utterly dissimilar to Russia, and this is,

that we do not maintain a standing army of soldiers, although our potiticians compose an army more expensive than our few thousand enlisted men, who constitute merely a nominal army, and even as such are always subordinate to the civil power.

CHAPTER XI.

THE IRREPRESSIBLE CONFLICT IN EUROPE.

From all the foregoing, it must appear clearly to every attentive reader that the continent of Europe is apparently on the eve of a world-historical conflict. It is hardly possible that the various nations named above can keep up their present armies; and not only that, but also endeavor to outrival each other in the building of shotproof navies, and the construction of fortifications, large and small arms, munitions of war and equipments, at an immense and mostly useless expenditure, without provoking war and bloodshed, and entering upon the conflict for which they are so well prepared.

And what is all this contest about? It sounds ridiculous, but in truth the prime cause of this general military status of Europe lies in Turkey, at present a comparatively insignificant part of the European continent, with a population in Europe of only nineteen millions, but with a magnificent debt to capitalists in Europe of some $800,000,000, to pay which she exhibits an annual deficit of $45,000,000.

This explains clearer than anything else the extraordinary interest the British Empire takes in the maintenance of Turkish rule in Europe; for no man of sense will, in these days of railroad communication, pretend to reëcho Napoleon's saying, that Constantinople is the key to the world. The Suez Canal of itself, not to speak of other systems of communication, broke down that Napoleonic view of the value of the golden horn of the Bosphorus.

What Great Britain wants is the $800,000,000 advanced to Turkey by the confiding British capitalists, through the agency of the Rothschilds and others. Now these $800,000,000, Turkey, with its annual deficit, is of course unable to pay. Russia? Well, Russia has not