MR. SALA ON THE RUSSIANS.

Kumara Times, Issue 2662, 1 April 1885, Page 3

MR. SALA ON THE RUSSIANS.

To a Press interviewer in Sydney Mr Sala, when asked to give his ideas about Russian designs, said :—“ No, I cannot tell you my views about Russian

policy.”—“Why not?” he was asked. “Because,” he replied, “in my first lecture to be delivered in Mebourne I am going to deal fully with that matter. I know Russia intimately. I visited it twenty-five years ago, when I stopped there six months, and I have been there five times since then. Every opportunity has thus been afforded me of studying the . characteristics of the Russian nation, and I have formed the worst opinion of its abominable Government, and of the depth and terpitude of its designs. I hope without any undue exaggeration, to be able to warn not only Englishmen, but Australians, against Russia, and against the evil policy of its rulers.” “Do you think she will go to war with England ?” “ No,” said Mr Sala, “yon have only to singe the bear’s paws, and he will withdraw. She has no navy, and can’t fight at sea.” “What about her cruisers ?” I asked. “ I think,” he replied, they are all bogus, and her war-vessels are great unmanageable floating batteries. She may make an unwieldly attempt to fight on land, but confront her with a British array and she will withdraw. Why, the nation is thoroughly bankrupt, and the peojde do not know the extent of their own indebtedness. A third of her paper currency has been forged by the Nihilists. Tons of these forged notes are transported by them into her borders every month, and Government dare not make any outcry upon the subject, for fear of revealing the utterly rotten condition of affairs in the country. Russia means aggression simply so long as she is not molested in her onward march; but let British officials take a determined stand, as Lumsden has done, and then you will see her humbly retire. At the same time, however, you must watch her. She is treacherous and unscrupulous to a degree, and is not to be depended upon for an hour, or a minute, or for a second. Her Navy cannot be a formidable factor in any war except to do a little damage in the Black Sea.” “Do yon not think that Russian policy was very clearly outlined by Colonel Burnaby in his book ‘ A Ride to Khiva’?” “Yes,” answered Mr Sala, “ strikingly so. Colonel Burnaby exposed their intrigues to the light of world. He was a brave fellow, but I think he must have suffered under some great sorrow. He set no value on his life, and went where only difficulty and danger were to be met with. His claims to be ranked as a brilliant writer were considerable, and he certainly was one of the finest linguists that I ever met.”