The Sun.
London, England, 1804-09-08 00:00:00

RUSSIA AND FRANCE.

• .
Tag Paper. of which the following is a translation, has
been universally circulated throughout all that parr of Ger-
many which has not yet fallen under the yoke of France.
On the Continent it has been •consid,tred as a kind of Demi-
official Answer to the petulent Ooservatlotrs which appear.3l
in the Official Paper of the French Government, under the
head of" Constantinople.'" The reasoning, and the important
rads which it embraces, have created a very great sensation
among the Northern Powers; and are to us sufficient induct.
malts to lay it before our Readers.at full length.

There~ is no reason why the formation of .an
Army ef 5 or 600ci Russians, in the Republic of
the Seven Islands, should give rise to much
tical conjedure. Such a measure is, undoubtedly,
a, very inferior part of that general system_ which
Russia thinks it incumbent on her to follow at this
moment. The attention of the political worfd
shotod not be direCted to an Expedition of 6000
men ; it is the whole of the system that we are to
look to. . _ _

" rwelve months are scarcely elapsed. since
ALEXANDER the FIRST ordered that tit moo men
shstuld be raised in his Empire ; anti that levy has
been so effectually executed, that they are, at this
day, formed into Regiments, and perfectly disci-
plined. This levy has increased the Russian
tary Fume to upwards of 400,000 soldiers, and
63,000 seamen. Add to these, 50,000 irregular
'l:roops, which are already embodied, .and ;00,000
more, wliieh may be uci,riilril in a short time,
consisting of Kalmucks, Bashkiers, and the cliff:.
rent hordes of Tartars, every man of whom, upon
the promise of being allowed to plunder, would
gladly enrol liiinself; with such a roma at its'-com-
rnapd, can it be, asked, if Russia have a right to
the charafter she assutn-s, in an age 'when the
power f the strongest is the only one tsar is re.
speeled ?
" It must be acknowledged, *lordly speaking, .
that it is to' France that Russia is indebted for
the brilliant situation which she now occupies, and
which cannot' be denied to he of the -very first
order. The pent d front whence this commanding
and prominent position -was occupied by Russia,
may he • dated from the Rommencement of that
system. of. tyranny and injustice which France
has e:vablt,' ; a systetn of invasion, of rapine, •
and of i:p,-ressioo, which has been exercised where.
ever its- er ciold -reach ; and, above all, since it
became apparent, that its ambitious ‘iewi Were
direttrd to less an obj!ei than the attainment
'of Universal Monatcl4.. Since that time, Russia
! has ho4,' -me the shield of ' the weak ; ;old AL Ex.
AND it,' 'sealed on his. throne, has Rlistlrllvtl the
cnalacter of the protector and arbiter of Empires.
Cati France compel her to lay aside this dignified
character P Let bet not deceive-herself in imagining
she can. Russia is not in the situation of an gaol.,
who put on the purple to play the part of a King ;
she is not an upstart, who appears what she really
is not ; the attitude of the lion befits her, because
she possesses both his force and his dignity ; she is
4 Colossal Power, wlsose eyes have been unsealed -
!by the faults of others, and, viewed in her true
light, C,lllsStri of the milt formidable desctiption,
" Whether Russia will unite herself to Prussia
• or•to Austria, whether she attaches herself to Eng.
• land, or stands alone, she must always be-respeltabie,,
and aiming the first order of Powers. Respectable,
as long as slit—shall fo6ow a system of justice •and
disinterestedrtess, and'that,Confifent ip her strength,
she shall openly resist a plan of universal despotism,
and lay open to the world the violation of rights
the most sacred that imoi;ois violation which has
been so %sell described in the- strong, but terripe".
rate Moe, which was presented at R-alsbon,
"'Russia, -it must be atinv tied, can never be a
considerable gainer by indulging a desire of con.
(peat. S!'e Is extensive enough already ; her
boundaries are such, that she need not -wish for any
alteration in them ; but she may be a gainer, and so
may Europe, by the consequences of any war that
the plain-dealing and fore-sight of her Sovereign
may induce him 'to declare.
." ALF XAND R is naturally of a mild and amia.
ble disposition, but in whatever cnocerns the prin.
ciples of justice, he is decided almost to obstinacy ;
and they, knoW him but little, who iMagine that die
Note to the Diet of 14.itishon was suggested by
MARKOW and his A ilierents, inveterate 33 their
hatred is supposed to be,
" What is the great danger To:which aWar with
France w:oild expose the Russian Empire P It does
not t ,slow that the Russian Army is to march to
Parts. No, nor can the French reach Sr.Petersburgh,
M /scow, or the Crimea, since they are not. able to
detach a single ship, the whole of their Navy being
blockaded,•and confined to their ports.' As to bat.
ties arid marches,' brave as the French art, they are
but men like others : they cannot exceed the limits'
which the Laiva of Nature has'placed to human if;
forts..
" Will it be said; that the Commerce-of Russia
will be atTriled by a rupture with France P. Cer-
tainly not ; for with what aiticles does she supply-
that Country P None direttly. What does she im.
port from thence P Articles of luxury, which are
prohibited. It is true, she receives some wine
from France ; but with that article, sheds, at pre.
sent, plentifully supplied; and even if she were not,
she could do without It, as she did during the former
rupture. ".
" Will it he asserted that France could do infinite
mischief to Russia, by the troubles that her Emis.
Excite in the interior of the country ?

. -
Of all the et tors in political calculation, this would
be one of the grossest: The people of Russia are
these 'which approach nearest to a • stare of nature,
except the savages ; and- they are the only people in
the Universe who neither know how to read or write,
hut still they are not ILitbariatis.' They know no
Government but their own, which they fear , and
teipea: They honour their Sovereign with the ti-
tle of a God upon earth. They have no other ci.
Oiliz,ition• than. thepraetical one which their Sove-,
reigns thought it useful and,.necessary to.introduce.
Masons, carpenters, joiners, locksmiths, armour-
ers, and artisans of all sorts, anti all excellent in
their kind, are to tie found in Russia in abund-
ance, and stiil•they know:not how.to read or write.
strangers-who reside in Rus§ia -are regarded
by the' natives. as a. parcel of leeches who absorb
their wealth. After this description, let the emu•
saries and instigators of France attempt-to excite

divi,i-ns in that country, and they will god that
the Government,_ with a sinkle blast, can eradicate
them.

' It is certainly true that the pnpulaticin of Ilus.
$l4, comp.tred with the extent, is rather arnAll ; but
this, hOwever, admits of some ekplanation. In the
first plate, the population is not equally distributed
through the Empire; and Again, there ale parts of
Russia which are absolutely uninhabitable. Besides,
where.is the necessity of augmenting the popula.
tiort'Of the country ? It is the duty of a Sovereign
to make his people happy, but ;it is ttot so cleat
that it it his duty to increase the. number of them.
In a moral point-of view, War is assuredly a very
great cilamity ; but in a politic.il clnsillerarion, iT
is sometimes a necessary evil, and Much good' re.
sults from it.

" The Rtissian Force-at this moment paid and
provided, and actually under arms, is' even more
than sufficient to enccurage their S vereign to de.
elate War: It is said that the military strength of .
this 'country is embattled on the Persian and Tar.
tarian Frtintiers; quite the contrary. On the whOle
line between the Caspian and the Sea of Ochoiy, ,
:there are only 7 or 8g ,D 0 men, and there is no neces-
sity for a man more if we look' to the biivation
of the Countty, ,the number of forts, the immense
deserts, and the dispositiott of the contiguous coun-
tries.
' In time of peace, between the Caspian arid.
the -Black Sea, there may be about f z or t 3,000
men; but at present thcle are from 20 to 25,00.0.
on , account of the peculiar circumstances of the
hrStilitY which is eittried'on in that vicinity. There
are, moreover, zs or 30,000 Troops on the frontiers
of Sweden.; and notwithstanding all .those deduc.
tions, there are still 309,000 well disciplined and'
hardy Troops between the Black Sea and the B 11.
tic. .one hundred thousand of such gallant and
hardy men, if once landed in Italy, would not be so
easily conquered as some of the French Politicians
are pleased to suppose., Let them only bring to
their recolledioo the gallant athievements of a
bsindful of Russians, who, in the last ‘Var, in. one
'cimpaigiyirove all Italy and Lnnbardy beforelhem,
and they—Will Lind that the must renowned French
Generals were defeated one after another, and that,
even at Zurieh, Russia gaited admiration, notwith".
standing the faults of her Chiefs, and the backwaid.
• tress of her
" All this serves to prove, that a Declaration of
War, on the part of Ru.Sii, against France,- would
he Sufficiently formidable 'to enc,,urage the Gentian
Empire, now crushed by. the latter Power, to oc.
cdpy the Troops of France,' and by that means to
afford an opportunity to Italy,. to Switzerland,
to Spain, to Portugal, to 11. !land, and to I lanover;
to shake off the Gallic yoke. As to the projeft
of Invading England, It .is an absolute chimera,
2 castle in the •air, which can "'Vier be
suc-
, cessful ; and even 'were it so, it must prove de.
strustive to the-rest of the world.--England is at
this moment At the highest point of eivat ; she
can never decline if' she continues where- she is, for
higher she cannot be.. 'But -how can Ellland,. who
only exists by her industry and her trade, preserVe
her present situation, unless by upholding the balance
of the world It is then the obvious interest of
Ra,,ia to assist 'England, who by its system should
be friendly to all nations ; and to repress •Francei
the selfida principles of whose. Government are ini.
mical to the greater Powers of Ekircipe, and op.
pressive to the sinallt:r."