The Express.
London, England, 1855-02-27 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 27, 1855.

duct at Balaklava of a few raw levies, ill fed, ill used,
and ill supported, wee sufficient to obliterate the re-
milked= of Citate and Oltenitss. Those who had
been foremost in proclaiming the decrepitude of the
Turkish empire received almost with satisfaction this
corroboration of their views, which to their minds
appeared decisive.

This delusion has, unfortunately, been shared by
those who have had the management or misma-
nagement—for the terms are pretty well synony-
mous—of our Eastern campaign. The avowed
object for which we engaged in war was
to maintain the independence of the Ottoman
empire—to establish by means of Turkey a barrier
against Muscovite aggression. Whatever be the
success of our arms, we cannot always be fighting
the armies of the Cul. A day must come, sooner or
later, when we shall have to leave to the Porte the
defence of those safeguards of European liberty
which we may then have purchased at a cost Heaven
alone knows how terrible. We have, too, to contend
against an enemy whose chief, if not sole, supe-
riority consists in the fact that in the countless
hordes of his vast empire he possesses a never-
failing supply of fresh levies and fresh victims.
As a counterbalance to this advantage of Russia,
her frontiers are threatened on the south by warlike
tribes possessing that very requisite of numerical
power of which, by our position and distance from
the scene of action, we are necessarily deprived—and
friendly to the cause of the SULTAN from the commu-
nity of rata and faith, so powerful a bond among
Eastern nations—or united by that bond of danger
and injury which is common to all.

Under such circumstances and with such objects,
the true policy of the Western Powers was sufficiently
obvious. Every effort should have been made to
develop the vast latent resources of Turkey, to restore
the efficiency of her armies, and to raise her in her own
estimation, as well as in that of faithless friends and
open enemies. Every inducement should have been
offered to our natural allies, the tribes of the Cau-
casus, the warriors of SCIIAMYL, and the inhabitants of
the Principalities, weary of Russian protectorates—to
join us in our new crusade. Instead of this, what
has been the policy pursued ? While we have been
dallying with Austrian alliances, and waiting upon
Prussian diplomacy, we have ignored or rejected the
resources at our disposal. No opportunity has
been lost of showing how little store we place
upon Turkish assistance. Their troops have
been subjected by our generals to treatment of
which we have cause to be ashamed—and their
fleet has been condemned by our admirals to a forced
inactivity, which, considering the inefficiency of our
own blockade, we may, perhaps, have cause to regret.
The feeling of national independence has been im-
paired instead of fostered. The Turks have learnt,
to their cost, the truth of the old fable. Like the
horse who asked the man to mount upon his back to
assist him in his attack upon the stag, they have
leitnt, too late, the imprudence of their offer. The
consequences of this policy are clear. For the present,
our armies are floundering before Sebastopol in a
sort of "slough of despond," real as well as typical ;
while Russia, unasaailed in her vulnerable
points,• is at liberty to pour down fresh le-
gions on their devoted heads. For the future,
we have the consolation of knowing that,
if our most sanguine hopes could be realised to.
morrow, if every conceivable success should attend
our arms, we should leave Turkey less capable of
defending herself against new aggression than when
we advanced so gallantly to her relief.

The cause of this policy is as easily to be penetrated
as its consequence. To adopt a wiser and a bolder
course—to create new resources, as well u to make
the most of old ones—required a departure from the
ordinary rules of official routine. We recollect to
have once seen a French caricature of a Parisian
cockney out for a day's shooting. A bird has
perched upon the barrel of his fowling-piece.
Holding the gun at arm's length, our Nimrod
searches through the index of his sporting guide, and
then replaces it in his pocket, with the wads,
" Eventuality unprovided for by the Sportsman's
Manual." The story may, perhaps, be trivial, but it
appears to us to illustrate exactly our conduct with
regard to our Eastern Allies. What we wanted by
within our reach. But here, alas ! was an eventu-
ality unprovided for—no precedent was found in our
military traditions ; it was a use not regulated by
the golden roles of routine—an event that was not
written in the books of the Chronicles of the Wars of
England.
The war, however, has long since burst the leading-
strings of routine and respectability. We are begin-
ning to awaken, we trust not all too late, to the exi-
gencies of our position. The enrolment of a British
auxiliary corps of Turks is a step in the right direc-
tion. We cannot afford sow to disregard any source
of strength. We must have no more disbanding of
Albanian levies for the SULTAN because Austria may
disapprove of them—no more half measure.—no
more neutral occupations. The weapons of war lie
within our grasp. We have only to use them before
it is too late to do so with succas.—Daily News.

THE WAR.

THE GENERAL ARMING IN :RUSSIA.

The Invalid* Busse publishes the regulation pre-
pared by the Directing Senate, and ratified by the
Cur, for the organisation of the " Imperial Mobile
Militia," as the new corps decreed in the recent mani-
festo is to be called. The ordinance is divided into 9
sections and 97 paragraphs, and in the original fills
7 folio columns. The first clause of the document
declares that the corps is raised for temporary service,
in defence of the faith, the throne, and the fatherland.
It is enacted that exemptions from military service
hitherto permitted shall not apply in the present
case, but that whoever is liable to the capitation tax,
or its equivalent, shall be liable to be called upon to
serve in this corps. Merchants, Jews, and foreign co-
lonists, who have been encouraged to settle in Russia,
and received grants of laud from the crown, are ex-
cepted. The corps will be divided into battalions or
druschines, each consisting of four companies. Each
druschine is to be commanded by a staff officer, and
to have four captains and a staff captain, 1,000 sub-
officers and soldiers, and 18 musicians. In order to
hasten the formation of the corps, a gubernial militia
committee is to be formed in every government, aid
within 14 days after receipt of the manifesto the
nobles are to assemble and appoint the rendezvous
of the several battalions, and make arrangements for
their supply and equipment. To meet the expenses
of the new corps, special "voluntary" subscriptions
are to be made, for which the committees will open
lists, and to which all persons are summoned to con-
tribute. The subjects of the Emperor are abjured by
their love of their country to make sacrifices corre-
sponding to the occasion, and it is announced
that the names and subscriptions of all per-
sons will be published. The nobles, as soon
as they have deliberated according to the
directions foregoing, are to repair to their several
localities, and exert themselves in forwarding the
enrolment. The soldiers meat not be younger than
20, nor older than 45 yearsof age. In the formation
of companies, inhabitants of the same village are to
be kept together as far as possible. Those who have

no firearms of their own are to be furnished with a
musket and bayonet. The employment of the militia
is to be at the pleasure of the Czar, and upon the
termination of the war all persons serving in the
corps will be allowed to go back to their homes.
Should any fall in battle, their families will receive
a certificate absolving them from obligation to furnish
a recruit at the next levy.

ST. PETERSBURG, FIB. 13.

A regiment of Baskira has just passed through the
capital. Thu° troops hare not been seen in St. Petersburg
sines 1812, when they carried bows and arrows. They are
true Calcutta., with little eyes and flat noses, and eat horse.
flesh. They are now armed with amusket.

Advice. from Warsaw, of the 16th, are filled with
accounts of the immense deliveries of provisions at
the Polish fortresses. Vast magazines, we are told,
are formed at Ostroleaks. The writers mention,
with undisguised admiration, the great quantities of
spirituous liquor which the care of the Czar has pro-
vided for hie soldiery, and which are daily conveyed
to the central depots. From this it is inferred that
Poland is expected to become the theatre of a great
war. General Deka, inspector of fortresses, reports
that the three lines of defence, extending from Cron-
stadt to the Vistula, are in a complete and effective
state.