RUSSIAN AGGRANDISEMENT.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2566, 28 March 1877, Page 3

RUSSIAN AGGRANDISEMENT.

In the last number of the Contemporary Review is a paper by Mr Harrison on the Eastern Question. - He is no. partisan of Turkey, bub he sets himself vigorously to work to combat a good many popular delusions on the subject. It is a bit of theological rnaline," he says, which tries to pursuade us that all Musselmans arc wild beasts, and the Turkish Empire a hell upon earth." In reply to Mr Gladstone's flaming: diatribes, and, the hysterical declamation of St. James' Hall, Mr Harrison calmly reminds such such fanatical orators that, '' before the Porte is abolished, the Turks must be crushed in a bloody, lengthy, extended waR; lhat before such, a-war can be.successful, it must be a war of religion, of Cross against Crescent; and that when such a war is ended, the vast empire of the Ottoman can only be left as the spoil of some conqueror or conquerors, who in turn will be the danger and terror of Europe. These are the things which we refuse to join in—to extirpate, expel, or crush a race of some millions, to open a new war of religion, to abet a new era of conquest." Another view of ihe question is presented by Mr Bryce, who aims at showing that the .Russian passion for territorial aggrandisement is not so strong | as it is generally believed to be, that she is not particularly anxious to seiz"e upon European Turkey, and that the worst possible way of checking Russia is to try to maintain the status quo in the East. He asserts that Paaslavism is the theory of a party only in Russia, that it has absolutely no hold on the peasantry, and is repudiated by the socialistic democrats; and he pooh poohs the idea that the Russians want 10 get hold of Constantinople. He says:—" One may hear some irresponsible talk on the subject from private people; expressions of a belief that sooner or later the Czar will plant the cross on St. Sophia, and that all South-eastern Europe will own the Muscovite faith and rule, while England and Austria gnash their teeth, in the distance. Just such irresponsible talk one may hear from Germans about the necessity of annexing Holland, or even cf gathering England and Scandinavia into the great Pan-Teufcnic Empire Just' such idle hopes one may hear Spaniards express on the incorporation of Portugal.' Just such was formerly the vapouring language of Americans about Canada and Mexico. A boy when he looks at a map fancies thai ihe most powerful countries - are those which cover the htrgest space, and it is .wonderful hovsr muay of us remain boys in this regard. There are plcnfy*~6f" foolish persons in Russia as elsewhere, sensible men see not only that Russia afc Constantinople would be weaker and more exposed than she is now, but that she would run some risk of ceasing io be Russia at all, and would be led away into .new paths, whose end no one could see, and where the true interest-_of the old Eussian people would soon be lost sight