a machine to-day than he was then. Courage given, it is
discipline, coolness under fire, self-reliance, all teachable
qualities, which makes the individual valuable. Has the American
soldier these qualities in perfection? I rather doubt it from the
little I saw. I have trained soldiers myself, and from rough
materials (I raised a cavalry regiment of Albanians during the
Crimean War, and previously served with the native army in India), so
I speak with experience.

While armies and navies of large dimensions are necessities for
nations to-day, is it always to be so? Because one nation, as
Germany, has bloated armaments, must others have the same? Is there
to be no limit to the fighting-power each nation must have on hand,
with the waste of labour, the misery, the poverty entailed on the
masses thereby? Cannot international arbitration supersede the roar
of the cannon, the brute force which now decides the differences of
nations? The Almighty has made man a reasoning animal, and yet in
spite thereof the ultimate resort is senseless slaughter. Shame to
the age that it should be so! Why cannot Cobden's great idea of an
international Court, to decide national disputes, be carried out? The
difficulties in its way are, I believe, more imaginary than real. I
have thought on this matter so long, and most willingly would I lay
down my life to-morrow to see the attempt made. Suppose two or three
powerful nations, say France, England, and one other, commenced it.
At the request of _either_ of two nations disputing, both
should be called on for the facts, and the judgment given. The
powers composing the Court should be bound by united action and
force of arms to compel obedience to their mandate. The Court once
formed would issue invitations to all other powers to join, that
is, to appoint members and delegate them to the said Council. Those
kingdoms that _did_ join would realize the advantage that their
representatives would form part of the deciding body in any case in
which they were directly or indirectly interested, while those that
held aloof would lack this benefit, and yet be amenable to the
decision, if the opponents in any quarrel asked for the judgment of
the said Court. What nation would eventually hold aloof? Verily none,
I believe, for though in any possible case it _might_ be that the
establishment of such a Court was not approved of, yet once
constituted, to keep out of it would necessarily be a losing game.
The o