The Hastings Standard Published Daily WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 1897. WARS OF THE REIGN.

Hastings Standard, Issue 349, 16 June 1897, Page 2

The Hastings Standard Published Daily

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 1897. WARS OF THE REIGN.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrongs that need resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do,

The Record Reign has, afforded a splendid opportunity for those who delight in comparisons, and these have been made 011 all subjects that will admit of treatment. An interesting article on the wars of the reign appearing in the " Reformer for April, frirn the pe-n of Mrs Bradlaugh Bonner, while not really a comparison is valuable as showing how the Empire has been extended during the peaceful reign of the Queen. The list of wars shows that during the past sixty years the British have been engaged principally in nigger-shooting and annexing the lands of the blackman. The British Empire has grown to an extent almost unwieldy. Bits of it are to be seen in every sea, in every clime, and peopled by almost every species of the human race. It is this great and unwieldy Empire that the statesmen of England aie bent upon maintaining intact, and for that purpose the defence of the Empire is becoming an urgent question in which every portion of the British Dominions is interested. In this greater defence Ave take our share and pay our costs, and it is in this regard that Mr Seddon the other day gave a pledge in London on our behalf. Mrs Bonner sets forth in her article the details of the expansion of the Empire and the safe-guarding of the nation's honor with musket, sword, and lance. The list of wars are set forth as under 1887-43, Canada ; 1838-42, Afghanistan I. ; 1840-42, China *l. ; 1843-44, Scinde ; 1845-46, Sikh I.; 1816-48, Kaffir I. ; 1848-49, Sikh 11. ; 1849, Afghanistan 11. ; 1850-53, Burmah I. ; 1851-52, Kaffir II.; 1854-56, Crimea ; 1856-57, Persia ; 1857-58, Indian Mutiny ; 1856-60, China 11. ; 1860-61, Sikkim ; 1860, Maori I.; 1863 66, Maori 11. ; 1863-64, Kagosima .(Japan); 1864, As;iar.toe I.; 1 »•">, Jamaica ; 1867-68 Aby-flinia; 1838-69, Maori III.; 1871 LuaLai; 1878-74, Ashaotee II.; 1873

79, Zulu ; 1878-80, Afghanistan 111. ; 1879-81, Basuto ; 1879-80, Transvaal; 1882, Egypt; 1884-85, Bechuanaland; 1884-89, Soudan I. ; 1885-92, Burmah 11. ; 1889-90, Chin Lushai ; 1893-94, Matabele I. ; 1895, Chitral; 1898, Soudan 11., Matabele 11., Niger; 1897, Benin, Mediterranean, (?) Soudan. it is very difficult for an ordinary person to find out the cost of wars, but Mrs Bonner has, by turning over many Blue Books and many old papers, arrived at the cost of some of them :

Naval and Military operations (1886, details not specified) 9,451,000 The war in Europe and the BussoTurkish war are put in " quotes" because these are wars in which England is not supposed to have taken part, but together they cost the country nearly £7,500,000. In the year after the accession of Queen Victoria, Mrs Bonner also points out, the whole cost of the armaments of this country was under £13,000,000. This included, not only the cost of the army and navy, but also that of the militia and commissariat, which a few years later were charged separately, The following figures, taken from the Parliamentary Blue Books, show the increase of expenditure on armaments in each 10 years:—

These figures for 1897 are, of course, the original estimates ; these do not include the cost of naval works, -which last year was charged at £2,700,000. In the 10 years from 1886 to 1896 the naval estimates have nearly doubled. These facts and figures afford food for reflection, and while we are celebrating the Record Reign let us also realise that for the many benefits we derive from being citizens of the greatest Empiie the world has ever known and for the privileges we enjoy under the best and most liberal constitution of modern times we owe something in return. We must preserve that Empire and maintain that constitution for our children and their children, and to do this it is inevitable that we should make sacrifices, even to laying down our lives in defence, This is not jingoism or flimkeyism but the highest duties of citizenship. We venture to say that there will be a great change in opinion in this matter, and when the contingents now in London get back to their respective countries and the itinerant Premiers return to their homes they will carry away an ardent admiration for the Empire and zeal for maintaining its integrity, which means that the defence of the Empire will obtain a new and more practical shape.

Canada... ... .£2,096,04o Afghanistan I. ... ... 15,000,000 China 1 2,201,028 Kaffir I. and II 2,0S0,000 Crimea... ... ... ••• 69,277,694 (Directly and indirectly, £110,000.000). China II. ... ... ••• 0,114,589 Persia 900,000 Maori I. and II 764,829 Abyssinia ... ... ... 8,318,499 " War in Europe, 1870 " ... 1,850,000 Ashanti II. ... ... ... 925,000 Zulu ... ... ... ••• 1,979,000 " Russo-Turkish War" ... 6,124,968 South African Wars ... ... 2,772,720 Sikukuni Expedition... ... 250,000 Griqualand ... ... ... 2-22,200 Transvaal ... ... ... 2,459,500 Afghanistan III. ... ... 18,000,000 Egypt ... 4,197,250 Relief of Gordon ... ... 300,000 Kile 1,324,000 Soudan (part of) I. ... ... 984,000 Bechuanuland... ... ... 725,OOo

Army. Navy. Total. 1838— 7,869,049 4,811,990 12,681,039 1848— 9,723,408 7,922,287 17,645,695 1858—14,405,850 10,590,000 24,995,850 1868—15,418,582 11,168,949 26,587,531 1878—14,281.982 10,785,147 25,067,129 1$b8—18,433,330 12,825,357 30,758,677 1897—18,850,000 21,838,000 40,688,000