The Press.
London, England, 1853-11-19 00:00:00

Friday. Nov. 18.

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NOVEMBER 19, 1853.

ittraturt.

nie Russian Shores of the Black Sea in the
Autumn of 1852. By Laurence Oliphant.
London: Blackwood and Sons.
Booxs,—that is, the great mtOority of them,—
are written, not for all time, but for the mo-
ment ; wherefore a timely appearance is well
understood by publishers to constitute the
secret of success. In this respect Mr. Oliphant
has been fortunate or skilful, perhaps both.
People want to learn all they can about Rus-
sia; and he comes forward to teach us exactly
at the right minute. How much of his infer
illation is absolutely new, how much derived
from earlier travellers, we neither know nor
care to inquire. Enough that. it is served up
in a readable form, illustrated by anecdote.
and interspersed with that judiciously small
admixture of personal ttarnttive which pro-
daces individuality without betraying ego
tismu.
_ _

Mr. Oliphant followed the usual track of
travellers from St. Petersburg to Moscow,
and thence to Nijni Novgorod, whenee he des-
cended the Volga in steamers, aintl, stopping
short of Astrachan, visited Taganrog, Sevasto-
pol, and Odessa, traversing on his way the
greater part of the Crimea. lie seems to have
made this journey without danger or serious
impediment, but at the cost of Considerable
personal distomfort, from diti, bad living, and
imperfect posting armaments. The details
and minutiae of travel he has wisely avoided,
" Murray " having made all mention of these
superfluous.
Corruption iu all ranks is the canker of
Russian administration, produced partly by
insufficient pay, partly by a low moral standard
among the people at large, partly also, no
doubt, by the total absence of anything resent
Ming public opinion. A colonel's rank, and
the command of a regiment, says Mr. Oliphant,
are worth 8,0001. or 4,0001. yearly beyond the
pay allowed, iu am army on active service. As
this is plundered from the men, it may be
easily conceived that these last are miserably
fed, lodged, and clothed. Their decimation
by disease matters little ; there are more
where they came from ; at population of fifty
millions, with at serf peasantry, eau be at no
loss to furnish recruits. So also with the
navy. At Sevastopol vast preparations are
made to rival Portannouth or Toulon. The
town is a fortress, bristling with artillery, and
containing little else than troops, magazines.
and stores. The sums expended on the Black
Sea fleet are enormous ; the results dispropor-
tionate. Eight or ten years is the average
duration of a Russian man-of-war of the first
class, after which time she beet ames worst•
eaten, and unfit for service. So at least say
the Russian officials ; but it is shrewdly sus
peeled that this worm which earn eat through
copper-bottomed vessels is made answerable
for destruction far beyond its powers. True,
the Baltic fleet escapes better; but then the
Baltic fleet lies near head quarters and is
often inspected by the Czar. In the south
the plunder system seems to be regularly or-
ganised : the contractor bribes the Naval
Board authorised to reeeive tenders for ship-
building ; his agents in turn bribe him for a
share of the profits ; green pines and firs are
substituted for seasoned oak ; and another
bribe to the inspecting fiftyr enables the
fraud to pass, and closes the transaction. Of
the thirteen ships of the line seen by our tra-
veller, only two were fit to undertake a voyage
round the Cape !
But peculation in Russia is not always safe.
Where an offender has only to deal with the
regular tribunals he can generally manage to
escape as regards his person, though not his
purse—that is, supposing that his depreda-
tions have been extensive enough to purchase
impunity. If he has stopped short of this
point, Siberia looms before him. But occa-
sionally his Imperial Majesty dispenses jus
tice with his own hands ; as witness the fol-
lowing:—
When we returned to Sevastopol, not long oft.-rwarda,
we heard that the Emperor had left the military portion of
the community a reminiscence that was calculated to pm-
duce a deep impression. lie had scarcely ten ss iss ated his
flying visit, sad the bravke of the steamer by which he re-

THE PRESS.

turned to I hlessit still hung upon the honzon when. in a
smothered whisper, one toddler confided to anothe► that
their ranks hail reeeiVeil 101 Addition lull We re-
turncil to st•vAstolsd it was •aid that the late go‘cruor. in
a signitiraill nhite eositillle. Nits ellifililyed with
the gang titsai the street. he had a fortnight 'whim rolled
pronaly tlnNoigli. with all the pomp and eirennistanee Ist-
fitting his high position. No dilatory trial had It•ehae•e•el
hull to the tsaidition in Milli+ he IIOW agga•ared la•1•ore the
ilihithitiotts of hi• late g.lteruun•ut. The tilt had gone
fovik 1111,1 the general VS. 1111 l 111.CUllie therilteriet
Mlerltilig. I was
tilt auali.•lls to tli,eot er what e•riule• had
I.e•ell devilled Northy of so se%ere a punish lit. hilt 111.011
110 Iwo o'l'l4,lolls Mots the toilik. Mason assigned, 540 it Nils
very clear that uol..ak knew and probably ino our tieuud
it li►.•r. II 'Heidi thau the .ittircrer iliul.e•lf Io winoe out the
particular inisdrineainair for which hr was disgraced.

ltiit Slilll SlMMinty an►l signal visitations
can be of little avail. It has I►asse►l into an
anxiiim among us that in the certainty of
punishment, not in its severity, lies the ►leter-
ring I►ower. Now, punishment is never eel.-
Min in Russia, though it may be severe, for
the Czar cannot lie everywhere ; and who
among his lieutenants is trustworthy?
Like government.. like people. Ilene is the
history of a commercial company establishe►l
by Englishmen to navigate the Volga •

It was fitIIII4 that, %lido the affairs of Ihr eohilpittly teere
11111.111.14.4 by !Witte ItllShiall 14141011WD et Nairn,
there wits a heavy ooh ; Slut, notaith.puuluey the
ecrtaiti prospect sot' remittieratioon which the spo.ootilatiout
hail originally held soul, it appoirelit that, oink—. WI
entire change took ',lace in the elfelllllNialliers of the t 4.1)4.6
Stenlll Company, that reopeetalole assoviatious %odd.' .nun
lw inevitably liankritpt. Some Englisl is were coonse-
'Lucidly deputed to inquire into a state of matters is
tremely unsatisfactory. 'Elul at once ilisconercil that a
myatent of wholesale nolobery had been pillettSt.4l the
ligelda4, (II /Web an extent that the ileticioltries were easily
accounted fur. Among tither ingenious emirricalice,
sorted to for approptiating the company's funds, the most
highly appnoved was that. of sharing the .itge tub
hulled by the owners sot eIINO UlOOll those htlEgi'S Whi4.ll
were detained Iwyouil II certain a upon their ‘olyage.
It was easily arranged between the merel ts, the captains
of the steam-tugs, mid the ininingers st Ni iii, that these
delays should frequently .worm ; and, 104 the Nlll4Olllll sit &-
Moorage wows regulated loy the length of their &minion, the
company woos inidetcol of largo sums, and thews, worthy 1.-
s.willll•4 divided lilt. spoil. Since then the istlitim sit the
el.lllplitls' are managed by Eitgliml who, me rapidly
making sip the hisses stist • 41 ler the Ilussian admi-
nistration.

The question of serfdom is briefly treated
in this work—briefly. and with little novelty.
Russians defend it on the ground that without
serfs there could be no large estates, and with
out large estates no agricultural improvement.
But the first part of the argument is a i►etitio
prineipii. Free labourers would work better,
as having an interest in their labour. The
serf is maintained by a patch of land, on which
be raises crops when not employed for his
master, like the West Indian 'legroom in slave
tinu•s. But even this land is not his own, and,
if he improves it, it may be taken from him
and given to another, whereby all spontaneous
industry is discouraged, as it were with de-
sign. Crown serfs are better off than those in
private hands. lm►ying only a yearly tax of fif-
teen rubles (IcsA than three pounds English)
for every male—doubled, says Mr. Oliphant,
by the extortions of the tax-gatherer. A few
nobles allow their serfs to purchase an annual
freedom ; but as the rent, or tax, is not fixed,
but varies according to the supposed value of
the working-hand, the latter has no strong in-
centive to exertion.

One of the characteristics 4.1 Russia is the
Miscue° of anything like an urban population.
All the towns of the empire put together do
not eontain above live million of inhabitants.
while nearly three millions are eongregatt9l
within a ten-mile radius from St. Paul's. To
put it otherwise, eleven parts out of twelve of
the Russian people live scattered over mild
districts, separated from one another by the
very worst of roads. St. Petersburg. Mos-
cow, and Odessa alone exceed 1110,111141 inhabi-
tants ; four Oti11•1' towns have between 101000
and '441,000 ; and about twenty more contain
2 ,000 each. This state of things Government
affects to regret, but will do nothing to ob-
viate, fearing, most likely, the intellectual ex-
citement and energy which arises out of the
gathering together of men in masses.
Our author did not visit. the Caucasus; but
his remarks on the war still being waged there
are sensible. The reported victories of the
Russian army he regards as fictitious:—
Ace, to these veraeisms tee, wits, the Ittasttions have
wou opus au avvragv atsaut tavlve battlos a year [yr thy

687

la‘t tweniy•two C,11114, iu which the number .4 circamemns
Amin st far exeregl what the total p.pulation the
emtntry wits at the OMllllelleellield of the War.
The Cireassiatts loatttattet ttre their own am-
munition. Twenty-years of constant fighting
have trained the whole nth into all army :
it is rumoured that the ili%isions among tho
various tribes, mWA have hitherto hindered
their success, lire on the point of being reeon-
tiled ; nor is military skill wanting. fOr their
operations are directed 1•;% and as some
say by English, officers.
" The Caucasus." affirm Russian eulogists
" is it nursery for the imperial troopr—a
• tary penal settlement—a eonvenient place of
" exile for disgraced Akers ; in a word, the
war is useful tee ItlittKin, and therefilre Ile
• signedly protracted." Unluckily for this hypo-
thesis, it appears that the slllll5 expended on
Caueasian campaigns have well-nigh equalled
the revenue. of Poland, not to Illehtioll the
repeated overtures nook to. And always de-
dined by. the Circassian chiefs. Hui why is
the ream-6m of this petty province so impor-
tant '."the answer bears on European poli-
tics. do long as Cireassia holds out, the power
dd. Russia south of that country remains preett-
riollB. Perbhl, HMI Asiatic Turkey eannot be
diperitted upon until the communicatiena
through the Caucasus are established kind so.
cure. Hut let that be done, and to the south-
eastward Russia lots no effectual burlier to
stop her advance onwards, even to 'feint and
Cabal. In this sense the cause of Cireassia is
ulna of Europe and civilisation ugniuist the
Czar.

NI r. (giplimit, lii ever, carries hi:► appra-
!tensions of llussiiin aggression still fur-
ther. (thee possessed of the I birilimellem, anti
mistress of the I)*nttl►ian principalities, she
is, according to him, to exercise it dominant
influence ill Europe :
If tow 11•MI011111'1.$ ke., iu Estruite %I•n' available to
I {twain, the A list rano umpire, in it istilit ;try point uf ww,
would I wet tine 'milli ; wad, rwallxlq'd sit nu toasty
heterogeneous and /Al'll Inl.ulr could mart
wily as It &p•Illlent.) .f I:assist. And if, t bereft.' e, rho
spirit uf freedom were Ist kindle afresh its A sist na ur II aly,
Ii stabil' l's odd tll tll the settle 111 tin star tit desist' ism, an alas
Lax absently it,suite, I Wll'lll4l for sl vr any spark af liberty
still to tttttt Meting ies u s.s., unhappy euuntrich. It *ern
1.514 y for Sill4lll 10 CIIII 111 hl the support of oppro'siln► a
aim Haus force.

The nett revolution in Frsiive would kee Italy toectipied
by lIIINNUUI troops, reinforcing I hose. of iletsendent Allllll'lll
•-.4.4111111111 tire tiurdmiN ertisll,Yl, unit the Russians amain
(hiring the French engle• over the Alps. In et cry civil
ClO 11011 111111 11144111 occur the sibs we% of the M edit ens.
1111111 V 14411141 15. as I pill tIl 111% sosi..ii 115 the hanks of the
Willie, and rill would he lost. The mere knowleilga
that the whole in lit lay awl tun al is of Itinusiii. Turkel.
Kiel Aur.t 1114 141111/I be brought to henr in one united ono*
1115111 1111 Y point to which the will of rine 1111111 might direct
it would cluing.• the whole relllliuns of port 111, in Froth,
still iu et cr.% sit her el , and would giv c uu hie% it alrle
prep. mile' once to thud part house rinse he 41011111 PA
14411144'. 1 .1.11,,611. Llll4l 1114. 44l* /417111.01 Id' I i glumly cool.'
Iheo oiler no effect sisl rs.4i.tutive, either 111 the nrltiN or I Ise
influence of the I .ssiis ; mid if the Irvoltltiuti, of Ow
all. el of fot low - flue lottery voll focal elianges—shoishl
place a Cllllllll lif I{ol4hill I lir I of France, Eltr•
hind •
stone, of all I 111. Mitt illll% of 1.:m.11w, could hills, Is.
nulinUun list

In the practical mond deducible front these
reasonings— namely, that the lhismiatis should
be kept out of Turkey—we 1.111161111 y agree ;
lout the danger to Europe IN fir the rreseid.wi.
emiellide, fivers-Medi. 'VIM mate or the Itumsjiiii
FiCOllla alone sufficient to destroy
the anny's effieieney for distant
Nor can we readily believe that a nation whose
morale is 140 low 4'llll establish a in
European war. Seienee may do much fir'. the
modern soldier--iliseipliiie is not to lie des-
pio.ell ; but there yet remains need of the
mold part—the high spirit as well as the
strong ann ; and this, if walling else, is want-
ing to the Muscovite serf. 4 )111' opposition to
Itoissioin ambition rests on a broader basis.
The itivasi,ln of the principalities, without
shadow of reason or excuse, after a mission of
which the °NM, seance disguised, was simply
to pick a quarrel w its Turkey, is an net of ill •
ternlltionall piracy—nothing !more, !nothing
1e!,04. Snell arts 1111. 001111110 to public
Inora-
I ity, to the peace tif Europe, owl the pollee
of
tintiotim; mail their repression is net-ermitry,
lest Europe be govenied on an Asiatic pn .
eye, justice being set aside. and lower nub•
stauted for light.

The Inlelkotnal awl Moral Perelopntent of the
Peesent Aye. By Samuel Warren, Q.C.,
F.lt.s. Edinburgh: Blackwood and Sous.
Annuaire des !Max Monde.. 1452-Is )3. Lou.
don : Maniere.
WIIY not we see history with the
hassle impartiality as we read it?" was a quest
thin once asked by lioraee Walpole. But the
wit of Strawberry-hill might have paused be-
fore assuming that we peruse the reeords of
past events without 'prejudice. Do the des.
ecuplants of one Of the historieal families of
Franc.° and a Parisian shopkeeper mad the
records of their common country since the
time of Louis XV. without any bias, or one-
sided elass of emotion" Would an ordinary
" traveller " hailing from Manchester do et en
common justice to the character of the Cava-
liers in the days of Charles 1.. or is the real
nature of King George 111. at all appreeiated
by Our agitating Radicals? llut, whether per-
sons read history with impartiality, or the con-
trary, we aceept the iinestien of Iloraee Wal-
pole OS a testimony to the fact that. we do not
see it wills impartiality. It would impos-
sible in any mixed company to discuss the
moral features of " the age We live in " with-
out 'perceiving hi 1141Werfld is the part that
prejudiee plays in the I'l,l.llllllnm of
AVe need 1144 go beyond the two works at the
head of this review to seek for illustrations of
the difficulty of studying the Ammeter of our
times.

The ~f them. wiorlis is from the pen of
Nr.Warreit. the popular authoor,distinguished.
in more mental pursuits than line, by his
vivid eloquenee, and the peculiar blending in
his genius of the emotional and intellectual.
Before the Literary total Philosophieal Society
of Hull (of which he is the Recorder) Mr.
Warren read uu eliiiMpniti. essay 1m the diame-
ter of the age, which is here enlarged for gene-
ral circulation. It is it very interesting
retnarkable for its broad views, and
its perspienottm exposition of the itevoinplishell
essayist s conceptions. Resembling those tolt-
metttary discourses which proceeded from Lord
Brougham's Ism, it differs hum them by the
marked prominettee assigned to revealed reli-
gion, and by the sentimental utterance of the
lecturer's emotions 1111 contemplating the pro-
gress of science. While in Mr. Warren's lee
lure 'our minds are exercised On the spirit of
the times, in the Annuaire ilea Deice Aloades
we are introduced to a enill tttt m eXtgliplitieMl.
of " the prolifie energy " with which " the
.resitting principles" of the age are earric,l into
practice. l'he Annuaire in a valuable publica-
tion. It is more readable and protium(' than
our A tonna/ lieyister ; but, as may he expected,
the current history of the world is regarded
solely front it French point of view. Still it is
11 work that we can patrtieularly recommend to
the attention (of the potetical and speculative

Whatever may be the tone of former periods
of history, it is evident that 110 011 C epithet
will describe so " many-sided" an era as that
in which we are living. In the physical
tielellet`M 111111 in SOCiill growth the energy of the
age is wonderful. Civilisation is proceeding
with more rapid strides than at former periods,
and, owing to the influence of " the exodus,"
colonies are peopled with amazing rapidity.
The submarine telegraph, the Menai tubular
bridge, a British navy propelled by SWAM, are
achievements that cast into shade the exploits
4)f seieneu in tin' dart of the Smeatons and the
Brindleys. Corresponding with this advanee
is the ditilimion of elementary knowledge to a
degree without preeedent in former periods.
As to the beneficial results of this latter " de-
velopment " of our times, there exists amongst
thinking persons much ditterenee of o lillib►ll.
lennty in' questioned
whether much of %dolt arc
called " useful-knowledge " books for the peo-
ple at large are little better than Pa b nytoss pu
lications, full of crude thoughts rind flatulent
platitudes, fostering personal conceit, with a
show of mental independenee, and inducing
habits of superficial thinking on the gravest
questions. That cheap literature has (like
most other great social agents) its peculiar
evils must, we believe, be affirmed. The! late
American moralist, Doctor (11711111illg. was ecr•
tainly 11Qt an antipopular writer, anti yet he