zeal at the prospect of war—"Great is Mars!" Although it is true that they have "an anchor to the windward" in these storms that visit and desolate nations; although it is true that if these offences must come, they make a fortune if not a virtue out of necessity; still they have a larger pecuniary interest in Peace than many are disposed to believe. It is said, as one of the best axioms of wisdom and experience, that Peace has its victories as well as War: it also has its implements, tools, and tactics for the winning of its victories; and this, its implemental machinery, is almost infinite in extent and variety; and Birmingham must have £10 invested in its production where it has £1 in the direct service of war. Nor can it be said that, in their manufacture of these weapons of war, they have been indifferent to the cause in which they have been used at home or abroad; or that they have always supplied them to a friend or foe simply in reference to the best pay. In the struggle between Charles and the Parliament they sided with the people and furnished them with arms, which they refused to the King's forces either for love or money. Nor was this all: when Prince Rupert appeared before the town at the head of 2,000 men, the inhabitants encountered him boldly with their train-bands at Camp Hill, and fought against him with their own muskets, though they were worsted and the town punished for both its acts
