Part 30 (1/2)
After having examined the conduct of England, it may not be out of place to follow with a short sketch of Russian policy, which is daily becoming so closely connected with China, whilst the frontier of the great Muscovite Power is rapidly extending towards the Chinese and Indian empires in one direction, is peacefully established against Chinese territory in another, and is gradually annexing to herself vast portions of Chinese territory in the north.
Although the Manchoos have always been hostile to British intercourse, ”there is a system of European policy which they can and do appreciate,”
as the _Standard_, August 28, 1865, well said. The substance of the article referred to so thoroughly expresses what I would say, that I cannot refrain from using it:--
The Manchoos comprehend the spirit of Russia, and dwell at peace with that empire on her borders. Instead of a great wall, they are divided from their powerful neighbour by a wooden paling, and there has not been a shot fired between Russia and China, contiguous though they are, during the last fifty years. But what has been the course pursued by Russia with regard to that which is loosely and inaccurately termed the Ti-ping revolt? One of complete neutrality. We, however, from the coast, hoisted our flag in the war. We have taken an active and open part, declared against a tremendous national movement, and been virtually beaten off the Chinese soil and waters. Looking for results, it is impossible to find any, except that our name is hated by millions of people who desired to live and trade upon friendly terms with us. Our representative diplomacy at Pekin is a nullity, and there is every chance that, a change of dynasties intervening, we shall have to undo our Manchoo statesmans.h.i.+p, and comply with a very different set of political necessities in the East. Your Chinese are very intelligent fatalists; they rarely quarrel with facts; they are convinced, it may be, of the English fighting quality; but they can feel little respect for our wisdom when they see us standing in a baffled att.i.tude between both their great parties, blundering and bewildered, with an enormous trade to foster, with prodigious future interests to foresee, and yet with a diplomacy which means neither peace nor war, which binds us to no intelligible line of conduct, and which has brought us to a condition wherein, through any accident, whether of Imperial or insurrectionary success, we may be called upon to defend our rights by force of arms.
It is a fact no less singular than true, that the Russians, in contradistinction to all other Europeans, show a strong tendency to amalgamate with the higher races of Asia. In consequence of this, her rapid progress on the continent referred to partakes of the nature of absorption and not of conquest. The policy of Russia seems inseparable from continual increase of her already vast dominions. In every direction her frontier is determinately advanced, while thousands of strange people are submitting to her sway. In Europe she uses force to obtain any desirable locality; and although it is true that occasionally some obstinate or patriotic chief of Central Asia may dispute her advance, such obstructions would seem to form the exception to the general progress she is enabled to make rather by conciliation and clever seizure than by force of arms.
If people have the audacity to use their eyes, and the unparalleled hardihood to discover the extraordinary increase of the Russian empire, there is a clique of venerable wiseacres who always think to annihilate them by the crus.h.i.+ng denunciation, Russophobia! Now, these old gentlemen--it is presumed that they are rather decrepit--may call the knowledge of modern geography and the continual increase of Russia whatever gives them a little innocent amus.e.m.e.nt; but all the calling in the world cannot alter the fact.
There are two questions which particularly concern England: is she content to halt on the forward path of nations, while Russia, by reclaiming the people of Asia, bids fair to rival her in every duty a.s.sumed by great civilized Powers? Is the meeting of the frontier lines of Russia and India, which, according to the regular increase of the Russian possessions in Central Asia, might be calculated almost to the day, likely to prove disastrous to British empire in the latter country?
Other European Powers can afford to look on without being interested, for only England has so precious a jewel as Hindoostan. The first question may be pa.s.sed over as merely bearing upon the advancement of abstract principles, or the propagation of Christian doctrine, philanthropy, and civilization; but the second is very different, relating as it does exclusively to the material and commercial interests of Great Britain. Before explaining how these may be affected by the future movements of Russia, or describing the present position of that Power in Central Asia, it will not be out of place to give a short sketch of Russian progress.
At page 410, vol. ii., ”MacGregor's Commercial Statistics,” the following interesting calculations are given:--
”Russia contained--
At the accession of Peter I. in 1689 15,000,000 inhabitants.
At the accession of Catherine II. in 1762 25,000,000 ”
At her death in 1796 36,000,000 ”
At the death of Alexander in 1825 58,000,000 ”
”Her acquisitions from Sweden are greater than what remains of that kingdom.
”Her acquisitions from Poland are nearly equal to the Austrian empire.
”Her acquisitions from Turkey in Europe are of greater extent than the Prussian dominions, exclusive of the Rhenish provinces.
”Her acquisitions from Turkey in Asia are nearly equal in dimensions to the whole of the smaller states of Germany.
”Her acquisitions from Persia are equal in extent to England.
”Her acquisitions in Tartary have an area not inferior to that of Turkey in Europe, Greece, Italy, and Spain.”
The valuable work quoted from was published in the year 1844. It proceeds to state:--
”The acquisitions she has made within the last sixty-four years are equal in extent and importance to the whole empire she had in Europe before that time.
”The Russian frontier has been advanced towards--
Berlin, Dresden, Munich, Vienna, and Paris about 700 miles.
Constantinople ” 500 ”
Stockholm ” 630 ”
Teheran ” 1,000 ”
”It is to be borne in mind that the Russian tariff _of exclusion_ has been extended to all those acquisitions where formerly British merchandise was freely sent.”
To the above may be added the Russian acquisitions in North America, which are nearly five times the extent of the British Isles.