The Trade Of War. by Ernest Jones.
Nations, like men, too oft are given to roam,
And seek abroad, what they could find at home.
They send their armies out on ventures far;
[Their]
[1 word illegible] – havoc, and their journey – war;
Destruction’s
[traders]
! who, to start their trade,
[Steal, for the bayonet, ]
, metal from the spade.
The interest’s – blood; the capital is – life;
The debt is – vengeance; the instalment – strife;
The
[payment’s]
? –
[death]
; and the wounds are the receipt;
The market’s – battle; and the whole – a cheat.
Title:The Trade of War
Author:Ernest Jones
Publication:Ashton And Stalybridge Reporter
Published in:Ashton-under-Lyne
Date:July 5th 1862
Commentary
The print of this poem is very faded in parts of the newspaper version, hence the high number of supplied words. However, we are able to fill these in with great certainty as this short poem is an excerpt from Jones's anti-imperial epic 'The New World', published in Notes to the People in 1851. - RM