adds : “It might be made a safe deposit where
every military article may be kept in good rapair,
and an academy might be here instituted for in
struction in all the branches of the military art.”
Colonel Pickering wrote : “If anything
like a military academy in America be practica
ble at this time, it must be grounded on the per
manent military establishment for our frontier
posts and arsenals, and the wants of the States
separately, of officers to command the defenses on
their sea coasts. On this principle it might be ex
pedient to establish a military school or academy
at West Point. And that a competent number of
young gentlemen might become induced to be :
come students, it might be made a rule that va
cancies in the standing regiment should be sup
plied from them, those few instances excepted,
where it would be just to promote a very merito
rious sergeant.”
In May, 1792, a law to provide for a more
uniform militia was passed. With the first at
tempts to put this law .into operation, a realiza
tion of the difficulty of giving it practical
application began to appear. Washington
discovered at a glance that some other ex
pedient must be resorted to, to accomplish
the desired end In his message to Con
gress in December. 1793, he recommended tne
establishing of a military school, which might
“afford an opportunity for the study of those
branches of the art which can scarcely ever be
attained by practice alone."
Pending' the discussion which followed the
evident failure of the militia law, a bill was in
troduced and became a law in May, 1794, for
“raising and organizing a corps of artillerists and
engineers.” This bill provided for a new rank
—that of Cadet. The President’ was authorized
to require the services of this corps at such places
as was deemed consistent with the public service.
In 1802, the engineers were made a separate
corps. The corps was organized and stationed at
West Point, in the State of New York, and cor.-
itituted the military academy,
THE FREE LANCE.
There occurred at our national capital a few
days ago a happy event. It was the reception by
President Cleveland of the “Peace Commission”
from England.
This delegation of distinguished English
statesmen presented a memorial to the President
for Congress. In it they propose the establish
ment of a permanent tribunal to which all ques
tions of national dispute between the two coun
tries shall go for final solution To designate
this merely as a “happy event” is perhaps not
sufficiently expressive. Here we have the two
greatest nations of the earth in conference ; about
to determine that war shall not again be resorted
to as a means of vindicating national honor or
obtaining satisfaction for offended dignity, bat
that instead, all difficulties, however great and
perplexing, shall be decided by arbitration. The
importance of this step can scarcely be estimated.
Outside of the real benefit to the countries con
cerned their example may, and no doubt has al
ready influenced other nations. For instance, a
recent cablegram from Vienna discloses a triple
alliance just consummated by which Germany,
Austria and Italy pledge themselves to maintain
the peace of Europe on the basis of existing
treaties. It is not yet clear how permanent this
may become, since it may be, at present, but a
scheme of Bismarck to avert war until he can
better equip his forces with modern weapons.
But however this may be, it is fast coming to be
understood that the first and most important con
dition for the growth of any nation in peace—per
manent peace-—at home and abroad; We hear .a
great deal said about civilization and the blessings
it brings to mankind Now whatever else may
be included in the idea represented by the term
civilizing or civilization, it means first of all a
' state of peace. This change of a state of peace
for that of warfare must precede all' other im
provements, and is called a civilizing process.
THE PEACE COMMISSION..
BY PROF. JOHN W. HESTON, M. A