Mr. William Morrison is a thorough optimist, not to call
him even a sanguine enthusiast. At the annual dinner of the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce the other day, he con- gratulated himself on the prospect of,—what do our readers think ?—a general reduction of armaments as the result of the German war in France. Mr. Morrison's amiable theory is that the Germans, headed by Count Bismarck, are such a sweetly pacific people, that now that we have them at the top of the universe, the golden age is about to return, and we may dis- miss our soldiers, store up our ships, and trust to the shadow of the great rock which has just been set up in this weary land. " The German nation was said to have been seized with a lust for conquest, but from what he bad heard and read, be considered them a peaceable and law- abiding race. Those men who had crushed the military power of France were not likely to be interested in any war of aggression. Not at any time since the battle of Waterloo had proposals for a general disarmament been so likely to be adopted as at present !" The gentlemen of Plymouth evidently like paradox, or, at least, a broad humour. Probably Mr. Morrison would think that at no time since last spring has there been a better prospect of hot suns and soft breezes than at the present moment.
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