THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IX, Issue 127, 4 May 1885, Page 3

THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE.

The St. James' Gazette remarks: — " Responsible British officers —men who had mapped out the routes and measured them, who had calculated with the utmost nicety how many days it would take to remove certain Russian forces from point to point by land and water till they arrived at Herat, Chitral and Ca-bul-r-men like these had come to the following conclusions from what they already knew and saw: —' It is no use disguising the fact; the buttons are off the foils m this struggle between us and Russia? And 'Russia can m from 80 to 100 days (for the most part employed m secret) put 95,000 regular troops into positions from which we can hardly drive her, and from which she can undertake the invasion of India at her own convenience, and with the fair expectation of success.' The calculation was supposing Russia had to watch the German and Austrian frontiers with 900,000 troops of all arms, she could spare as many as 200,000 men. for operations m the direction of India. Of that number no small portion was known to occupy advantageous points of departure, if they had nob departed from them already; for it was believed that the process of advance and concentration haa already begun. Here are some particulars: — Russia can, m 77 days after issuing the orders, put about 23,000 men into Herat, and with a reserve of a like strength, which could arrive m forty or fiity days afterwards, with 12,000 more possibly available-within twenty days of Herat. She can m from 70 to a 100 days also after the order has been given put about 18,000 men into Cabul. with a similar strength m reserve, and her communications all strongly held. She can m 90 days put 7000 men into Ghitral, and 4000 men on to the Cashmere frontier.' This was her position some months ago. As we have said, it was strongly suspected then that all the necessary preparations for such an advance had already been made, if it had not been actually begun, and we decline to believe that m the interval, and though the Russians had determined to challenge war by an actual invasion of Afghanistan, they neglected to push their forces up m support of AHkhanoff."