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RIESBECK’S TRAVELS THROUGH GERMANY, 198
2
with greater magnanimity, and greater difiintereftednefs, than the King of Pruffia did
on this occafion.—Since the twenty years he has given himfelf to philofophy, he has let
feveral other occafions go by, which would not have been miffed by another monarch
who had had the fame powers of war in hand as te had, and the warlike difpofition
commonly attributed to him.
No prince can manifelt more regard for aed. than what is fhewn by the King of
Pruffia every day. He interefts himfelf.as much in the welfare of a common farmer, as
in the flourifhing of the greateft houfe of trade in his dominions. It is his greateft pride,
and his greateft ‘pleafure, to read in the yearly lifts, that the population of his country
has increafed. He has not been feen fo cheerful for many years, as he was upon fad
ing, by the lift given in Jalt Year, that the number of new-born children within the yea
far furpaffed the number of the dead. A king who has this way of thinking, is a ware
rior only when neceffity compels him to it. His Lacedemonian armies only ferve the
purpofe of enabling him to cultivate his country in peace, and to bring his law-fuits with:
his neighbours to a fpeedy conclufion. They are evidently not the end of his govern-
ment, but the means; andit is only thofe who are contented with viewing the outfide of
things, and do not look into the fprings of the Pruffian government, who think them the-
gr eat object.
Some of the Auftrian writers think the King could not keep up his armies, if he did
not, at certain periods, take a fhare in the difturbances of his neighbours, and raife out:
of them a fufficient revenue for the fervice of fome years; but tunis is one of thofe af-
fertions which it is impoffible to hear without laughing.
More than half the army, as I have already told you, are foreign troops. They fub-
fit on the produce of the country, the confumption of which is immediately connected»
with the progrefs of agriculture. ‘Their clothes and linen are made of materials which
grow in the country, fo that they promote induftry both by contributing to the raifing
the firft materials, and by the working of them. ‘Their pay likewife is iffued from the
treafury, in fuch a way as greatly to affift the general circulation. After their time of
fervice has expired, many hundreds of the foreign troops continue in the country, and
fo promote the purpofes of agriculture and commerce; but the greateft part of the na-
tives are always upon furlow, and work at home. Upon the whole both induftry and
agriculture rather gain than lofe by the army. Indeed you can call only the foreigners
a {tanding army ; for the nativesare, in time of peace, as Moore has obferved, a regular, -
well-behaved, and eafily raifed militia.
All the military regulations have thefe two ends in view; that of preventing the im-
provement of agriculture from fuffering by the number of troops; and that of making
them fubfervient to the circulation of money. For thefe purpofes the annual reviews al-
ways take place at the time of the year when feweft hands are wanted for the purpofes
of agriculture, &c. The troops are quartered in the feveral provinces in the exact pro-
portion of the revenue of thefe provinces, fo that no money can go this way from one
province to another. Every thing is precifely upon a par. Silefia-has juft as many troops
more as Brandenburgh, as it has more revenue; and the other provinces in the fame
proportion, As the army raifes near two-thirds of the revenue of the ftate, there re-
mains by this means more gold in the provinces than there is in any other country in
Europe, where commonly the gold flows to the middle, and the capital grows rich at the
expence of the country. Each regiment has a peculiar part of the country affigned it
for recruiting, and in this, or near it, are commonly its ftanding quarters. By this
means the troops are not only eafily got together when they are wanted, but the father
fo}
has always his fon in the neighbour hood to help him to improve his land, and at the a
nua
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