The Express.
London, England, 1853-11-04 00:00:00

Eht erpreiso.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.
8 de vied Edition of '•The Lapreee." containing the name evening's
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LONDON. FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 4.

A TELL011.11•111C despatch from Vienna states that
hostilities have already commenced between the
Turks and Ituesisns, on the Asiatic frontier. Tele-
graphic messages from Vienna do not bear at present
a vury• high character for accuracy ; and the one to
which we now allude avers that news had reached
Constantinople on the 2.ith ult. of a battle fought
on the 21st—four days being rather a brief period for
conveying intelligence from the vicinity of Erzrouns
to Stamboul. There can, however, be little doubt
that in the event of a serious and prolonged war be-
tween the two States, Russia would be certain to ex-
tend still further the encroachments she has made

upon Turkey in the region where the Araxes and
Tigris have their sources. This is an eventuality
which would deeply affect the commerce of
England.

We entertain, it is true, no serious apprehensions
of Russian armies finding their way to British India.
Even were Mesopotamia and Western Persia to be
reduced to the condition of Muscovite provinces,
British ships of war would effectually bar the pas-
sage by sea against the Russians, and the immense
extent of barren country that must be crossed to
reach the Indus is an obstacle not to be overcome by
operations within the compass of a Russian exche-
quer. Russian emissaries, it is true, swarm, and
have been swarming, for years in every province of
Persia and Afghanistan, and may cause us annoyance
by keeping us in constant hot water with tkese two
nations. More they cannot accomplish in that direc-
tion ; and they could not have accomplished even
that but for the unutterable folly which made our
Government exchange the frontier of the Sntledge
with only the narrow practicable tract between the
desert and the Himalayah to defend, for the every-
whet-, assailable frontier of the Indus.

But further encroachments of Russia upon the
Turkish provinces of Kars and Erzroum would ma-
terially affect the lucrative and growing commerce we
carry on with Central Asia by the route of Trebizonde.
There arc two routes by which trade can find its way
into Central Asia from the eastern coasts of
the Black Sea; one by the Sea of Azoff
to the east of the mountainous country
inhabited by the Cireassians and Georgians ;
the other by Trebizonde, turning the southern extre-
mity of those mountain masses. During the middle
ages both routes were traversed by Genoese mercan-
tile adventurers. After the irruption of the Kb*.
ears, and the expulsion of the Genoese from their
Black Sea settlements, Central Asiatic commerce,
for a considerable time, took the long overland route
from Smyrna. For somewhat more than a century
the more easterly of the two routes mentioned above
has fallen into the hands of Russia, while the
other has remained in the possession of the Porte.
The Russian route, though incomparably the more
practicable of the two by nature, and the more
easily susceptible of being made at once safe, speedy
and commodious, remains to this day her-
metically sealed against us ; while the trade returns
show that along the Turkish route, notwithstanding
the rough mountain c.itintry over which it is carried,
an important trade has developed itself, which is still
on the increase. The Russian route, too, is barred
against us by an insidious financial policy, in violation
of treaties.

Between England and Trebizonde an active com-
mercial intercourse is carried on by means of steamers
to Constantinople, and steamers from that place to
Trebizonde. But to reach the Sea of Azoff, the mer-
chant must trust to sailing vessels, or betake himself
by steam from Constantinople to Odessa, and thence
to Taganrog by a steamer, which only goes and
returns twice in the month, taking ten days to a
passage which by any other people would be effected
in three. But this defective system of transit is not
the only obstacle interposed by Russian policy to the
development of trade on the Sea of Azoff. A recent
traveller thus describes the exactions and annoyances
to which merchant vessels are subjected in that
region :

to common

Fur some Damns reason,
erase, no Tribunal of Cousins woe transplanted front
Theadasis, a teen advantageously situated at the head of a
deep capacimes harbour, which is sever frozen, to the shores
of these straits [Yon•liall], which are closed for lour months
of the year, when the sachorsp is dangerous and the erste r
shallow. Here every ship nut noun and perform a four
days' quareatioe. The larger ones wait until their cargoes
arrive from Taganasy or Roelof is lighten; while those
drawing less water cress the bar, sad pressed to load at
Tsgsaaey. Oa their recurs, it bemuses seesesary to treader
half their forgoes Leto lighters at Yoni•ILIJO, aad drop doves
the shallow straits to Korea to re-lead—a pros ding which
stools a rick beivest to a rapacious new of Greek lighter-
mea resident at the hewn place. All this may be very
wettable to Kruk, but it is sztresesly expensive to the
pablie. Fee inetanse, sappesing the produce to be Siberian
Eros which has descoaded the Dee to Resta, it is there pot
Leto lighters sad ernmed, slaty miles, to Tagansey, where
it is duly loaded ; sad who. the right vessel arrives, sad
sachets Mee. miles from the shore, it mast be put on
board by meal of lighten spin. la two days Ow eke
has • bees leaded la this ezposain way at Tawny,
the Alp probably noshes Teal Ulf, where the prome I
have already deseribe4 takes place; sad this the amp h
bees sal** to No treashipmeste before it am WOO
said to Imo left the Russian shone.

While at the Turkish Trebiaoode the merchant is
left free and unlettered, In the Russian ports he is
retarded and pillaged for the profit of bum boatmen—
&maniere—in short, every kind of peculating vermin
the Government eta let loose upon him. If the
kungen' are allowed to annex Eraroum and Trebi-
sonde—an object which they keep constantly in
view. and towards the attainment of which they have
been creeping, serpent•like, toe years—the route to
Central Asia, along which our commerce now finds
its way with so mach profit to the nation, will be as
effectually blocked up as that by the Caspian.
The integrity of the Ottoman Empire, in which
England is interested, relates quite as much to the
far east of Asiatic Turkey as to the provinces of the
Danube. Rends, always adroit at fishing in troubled
waters, has succeeded by playing off the hereditary
jealousies of the Turkish and Persian courts against
each other, in plundering both alternately, and push-
ing forward its frontier, between the Caspian and
Black Sea, far to the south of Constantinople. Its
armies have turned the flank of Turkey, and it
awaits only some new period of confusion in these
countries to avail itself of this position. To this end
the honours recently heaped on the Persian
envoy to Russia. Already the friendly disposi-
tion expressed by the Persian government to Tur-

key at the commencement of the Russian troubles
is said to have visibly cooled. The intrigues of
Ramis are palpably at work to harass and
paralyse the powers it most dreads, in order that 1
it may be left at liberty to pursue its nefarious
schemes of agurondisement. The independence and
integrity of Turkey, the commerce of England with
Central Asia, the peace and liberties of Europe, can

only be preserved by effectually check-mating the
Muscovite. And, in so far as the South-Eastern 1
frontier of Turkey is concerned, that is a task of no
difficult accomplishment. So long as the indepen-
dent Circassians hold out, the advance of the Russian
power in that quarter must be slow, guarded, and
timid.

THE STRIKES.

FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.

PRESTON, THVIODAT.

You have had the ease of the masters laid before
you rather fully. Their strong position is that the
men have now taken a coin which is fatal to all
freedom of intercourse between master and man—that
they have placed themselves unreservedly under the
arbitrary guidance of a set of leaders who lay down
arbitrary rules unsusceptible of relaxation or limita-
tion according to the individual circumstances of
each. They assert that the great outcry of the men
for equalisation of wages is absurd, because equali-
sation would at once destroy the relation between
capital and profits. One owner's mill cannot be
selected u an unyielding type by which others are
to be regulated. They abseil also that, with high
prices for all the articles on which labour is employed,
with a rise in the price of coal, and perhaps
an impossibility of getting enough to Mork
their mills, with a dead stoppage of the
China trade, with their mills burdened with
a stock which there is no prospect of getting rid of,
while at the same time property to the value of a
million is lyiog dead and useless in foreign ports,
they should be mad to allow a third party to come
in between them and their " hands " and establish a
minimum of wages, which the same party might
elevate to-morrow without knowing any of the true
circumstances which act upon the capitalist.
To this the men reply in something like the fol-
lowing manner. The masters have never voluntarily
raised their wages, although it is notorious that at
various periods prices have been so high that, had
the rate of labour depended on the cotton districts, as
it depends, or ought to depend, everywhere else, upon
the higgling of the market, there would have been no
question about the right of the men to a rise. The
owners themselves acknowledge this, inasmuch as
they have confessed that, had the hands asked for
an Increase a year ago they would have obtained it.
I may remark that I 'Live had this corroborated from
the mouths of owners themselves. They (the
" hands") go on to say that, under the system adopted
by the owners, there is no possibility to them of
taking advantage of the state of the market. They
complain that, so far is this from being the case,
that, on the contrary, the instant a " hand " asks for
an increase of wages, he is a marked man, and may
look for his dismissal without any cause assigned.
They deny point-blank that they should have gained
an increase had they asked for it a year ago, un-
less they had established an organisation
similar to that under which they have
now placed themselves. This for the general,
answer. Descending to particulars, George Cowell,
who may be considered to be best informed about
the views of the men, states that in spite of the unfa-
vourable season which the men; have chosen, they had
no alternative. He says that the universal conduct of
the masters, upon the receipt of applications for in-
crease, was such u to make it necessary for the men
to take measures to find a channel in which applica-
tions for increase might be urged without subjecting
them to certain ruin.

He states that on the lit of June,lBs3, the power
loom weavers agreed upon a form of circular to be
sent to each manufacturer, soliciting for an "advance
of 10 per cent. on the weaving of all fabrics
of sloth." Up to this period he emphatically de-
mise that there was combination or organisation
of any kind amongst the weavers. The wording
of the circular was purposely made as respectful as
possib!e. The vicar of the town, at a conference
which took place on the subject, admitted this fact.
He allowed that no fault could be found with the
tone of the document. Notice how these considera-
tions of mere etiquette are entering into the question.
Something beyond mere buying and selling is in-
volved. Is it to be a relation between buyer and
seller, or between muter and servant ? Cowell
agate; that some of the masters " spurned their
hauls from them ;" I cannot find this corroborated.
Nevertheless, that a general belief of something of
this nature existed amongst the hands is evident,
*ss the sudden union which was formed &l-
ime magically amongst them. Thy declare that
Ind any disposition been shown towards con-
session or arguing the matter, no organisation could
bare been formed. As it was, a powerful combina-
tion was made at once amongst 25,000 of a popula-
tion declared to be by the owners themselves "the
best workpeople in Lancashire." About the middle
of August, as I have before stated, the masters,
alarmed by the Stockport strike, conceded the 10 per
cent. There were some exceptions, but only in the
ease of six or seven firms. The mills not on strike
were perfectly contented with the increase,andevery-
thing was settling down harmoniously, when on the
13th of September a bill appeared signed by 35 ma-
nufacturers, announcing their intention to close their
mills in a month," unless those on strike were prepared
to resume work, and a better understanding be estab-
abed botwosa employer and employed." Deputations
flies Bohai of the various mills waited upon their
separatemployers, but they were told that in future
disputes must be referred to the committee. The
masters had adopted :he tactics of the men. Beaten
in detail, they determined to unite.
The above account is one which will be counter-
signed by most of the men. I have left out many
technical details which will be uninteresting and
unintelligible to the unitiated. But all these details
—all the actual circumstances—are as nothing in
importance to the solemn fact that the masters and
mea have voluntarily put it out of their power indi-
vidually to WIN to an understanding. All that com-
=amity el feeling which might form an element
el union in the intercourse between masters
and neon is given up, and the chance
of remmeiliation is left to mere dry official reply and
rejoinder. Each party is looking about in all quar-
ters for news to make union more perfect, and to
augment their separate powers of offence and de-
frost. The nianofacturers bind themselves, under

heavy realties, not to &art the Amociaiion or
treat with their respective men, except with the
parodies of the Association. Cowell's constituents
plate their interests absolutely in the hands of him-
eelf and his brother delegates. The chimes of re-
conciliation are confined to dry official hands, who
are bound to leave out of consideration two-thirds of
the elements which ought to influence both masters
and men in coming to an agreement.
The men rejoice in the universal sympathy which
they meet with from their fellow-workmen in other
towns and from the public in general. They point
to the fact of the large sums that pour in from the
manufacturing towns round Preston ; they fancy that
they have a weapon of irresistible force in their ex-
tended organisation, by which those who are in are
made to support those who are out. As long as the
majority of the labourers in work can be made to
contribute to the support of the minority out of
work, a screw of great power is certainly put upon
the manufacturer. It is forgotten, however, that the'
manufacturers have the same opportunities and
greater facilities of playing the same game.
The association of the owners at Preston
has at present even paralysed the movements of the
Preston hands. What if the masters extend their union
to other towns? Blackburn at present is supporting
Preston at the rate of 600/. per week. What if the
Blackburn capitalists voluntarily or involuntarily join
with their brethren at Preston? The belief among
the capitalists of Preston is, that political as well as
commercial reasons operated to induce the owners to
raise the rate of wages. Another reason, which I
have endeavoured to find proof of without effect, is
that the Blackburn owners take advantage of the
present strike to make "a pull" upon Preston,
which, by reason of the low rate of wages, has
until now undersold it. It is easy to see how these two
conditions may cease to operate. What is to be done
if the capitalists as a body choose to sink all minor
considerations and resist the demands of the la-
bourers ? Who can foresee where such a contest
may terminate?
I have to-day given you the labourers' version of
the dispute, as I gave you yesterday that of the
masters. I may add that Cowell's version of the
tte between Birley, Brother, and their hands,
from the accouct as stated in my despatch of
yesterday, as well as from that given in the Times of
yesterday, which is in fact that adopted in a placard