WAR AND ITS EFFECTS ON TRADE.—We have seen it stated in a number of our exchanges, that if a war was to break out in Europe, it would prove disastrous to the American trade. We quote the following from one of our dailies :— " An European war would be accompanied by injuries to our trade, of a general and lasting nature. In the first place, cotton would receive a severe blow ; and all those concerned in the growth or traffic of the staple would suffer heavy loss. Our Mediterranean trade would be crippled. The panic which would reign on the London 'Change and the Paris Bourse, would react upon us. Money would rise in price, and financial operations would be straightened. English and French merchants, compelled to curtail their dealings, would buy less of us than they now do. Increased taxation—the necessary accompaniments of war—would have a very injurious effect on the manufacturing districts, and we should be compelled to pay more for the manufactured articles which we now import from England." How could any man of common "information come to such conclusions ? How could cotton receive a severe blow by war. England could manufacture as much as ever; the Mediterranean would still be open to her ships. There might be some confusion for a little time, but the fact is, that a war in Europe would compel both French and English," nnlftss thor wer opposed to one another, to buy more of us than they now do.