Thank you for correcting the text in this article. Your corrections improve Papers Past searches for everyone. See the latest corrections.

This article contains searchable text which was automatically generated and may contain errors. Join the community and correct any errors you spot to help us improve Papers Past.

Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image

MORE UPON THE RUSSIAN QUESTION.

Perhaps the best mode of arriving at a rational •opinion as to the probability of a war with Russia is the consideration of such statistical information as the following. The North British Daily Mail thus estimates the relative strength of Russia and her opponents :-— An examination of the naval and military forces 'assembled in the East only increases our surprise at the extraordinary timidity displayed by Turkey ond her allies in their negotiations with Russia. The Russian fleet in the Black Sea under Admiral Burg consists of 40 vessels, of which 14 are ships of the line of from 80 to 120 guns each, eight are frigates of 50 to 60 guns, and the remainder are steamers, brigs, corvettes, and schooners, carrying not more than six or r eight guns each. The whole fleet comprises T942 guns. Such is the naval power which Russia is able to bring to the impending struggle. Turkey, on the other band, with the aid of the Egyptian fleet, has stationed at the entrance to the Black Sea, under Admiral Abmrt Pasha, nine line of battle ships of from 90 to 126 guns each, ten sailing frigates of '60 guns each, and forty vessels of war, including eight well mounted steamers. The whole number of guns in the Turkish fleet is 2102. While the navy of Turkey alone is thus fully a match iv point of strength for that of Russia, both England and France have larsje fleets on the spot ready to engage on the side of tbeir Ottoman ally. The French fleet, under Admiral la Sausse, at the Dardanelles, consists of nine ships of the line, four seam frigates, and three war steamers, with a total of 968 guns. The British fleet, under Vice Admiral Dundas, carries 918 guns ; but a reinforcement of 601 guns is daily expected, so that the total will be 1519 guns. We need hardly say that this immense naval force of France and England in the Turkish waters conld be greatly increased if need were. Russia is thus completely overpowered at sea, and it requires only^i word from France and England to anuibilate her maritime strength in the East, to -demoli.-h her forts, to raise the Circassian block--ade, to command the Danube, and take or destroy the whole of that navy which it has cost her so great an effort to construct. From one of the great powers, France and England could without doubt reduce Russia a once to one of the minor powers of Europe, for no power can be great in '^Europe without a navy. Yet this is the Russia which .France and England seem afraid to speak ' to except in honeyed words, and which they allow -not only to annex two of the finest provinces of • neighbouring -empire, but to disturb comroer- - cial operations, and to keep the whole of Europe -in suspense and excitement for months with impunity. We are not-surprised at the murmurs of the Turks, nor yet at the irritability of Louis "Napoleon. If the French Emperor had perpetrated one-half the aggressions, or exhibited onehalf the disregard of treaties which tbe^zar has done, in a few hours the armies and navies of would have been thundering at him. Such being the comparative naval forces of the various powers, bow do matters stand on land 1 -Russia bas-65,000 men in the Moldo-Wallachian provinces, which is twice as many as she is allowed by treaty to have, even in circumstances in which her interference there is legitimate. Though the army of Russia is immense, only a fraction of it can be sent into tbe principalities ; for attacked by Circassians in one place, by tbe Poles in another, menaced at Odessa, Sebastopol, Aid probably even at St. Petersburg, and terrified for revolution eveiy where, her land forces must be spread ever her immense end thinly peopled territory. It is improbable that the Russian troops in tbe pr>n ipalities can be greatly reinforced in the event of w»r and the movements which war would inevitably bring along with it. To oppose this army of occupation Turkey has 80,000 regular and 45,000 irregular troops in Roumelia, the noa'n body of which occupies an entrenched camp at SI urn's. This great army would be capable a* le;gto' stopping tbe way of Russia to Constantinople, while tbe allied fleets were carrying out their operations in the Black Sea. When Russia bad been bereft of her naval arm, bolder tactics might safely be adopted on land ; and with the military reinforcements which could be drawn from Asia and from Egypt, and the overwhelming nival resources at her command in the Black Sea tnd on the' Danube, Turkey would be in a position to attack the Russians in the principalities, at various points and with every cbabce of success. There is efery reason to believe that tbe troops of tbe Czar could thus be driven from Moldavia without tbe aid of a single French or English soldier. Tbe Presse rhus estimates the strength of the Turkish forces : — We have not received precise details respecting the state of the Turkish land forces, but the following, we are informed, are substantially to, be relied ou : — 60,000 men, regulars and Redif (Landwehr), are assembling in tbe fortresses on the line of the Danube, and at Shumla and Varna ; and 10,000 irregular Albanians are marching to occupy tbe passes of the Balkan. All these are under the command of Omer Pacha, a Ciotian by birth, a renegade who ran away from the Austrian army twentyfive, years ago. He is the only general in Turkey. „ IJe has been successful in civil war with the 'Kurds and the Albanians, but has never had regular troops oppose 1 ] lo him. He has the

merit of looking well after his men, by \rhora be is much beloved. la Asia, 40,000 men are being assembled, in the direction of Kars. The weak points of the Turkish army are the want of good officers and the absence of a commissariat. In the capital tbvre are about 25,000 men.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZSCSG18531207.2.8

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 871, 7 December 1853, Page 4

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,012

MORE UPON THE RUSSIAN QUESTION. New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 871, 7 December 1853, Page 4

MORE UPON THE RUSSIAN QUESTION. New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 871, 7 December 1853, Page 4

Help

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert