Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1849-1856, 1849-11-15
IhursdaB Nor. ID.

the intelligence that the Emperor Of Rus
sia has, to all n,en,s and purposes, retreat
ed from the position which he assumed in
regard to his demand upcn Turkey for tho
surrender Of the Hungarian patriots. This
is no more than was confidently anticipated
by those who are familiar " i,h the character
of Nicholas as a shrswd statesman. He
probably has not his equal, a, the present
time, in the world. lie has a strong, far
reaching mind, comprehends everything at
glance, as it werc. and carries out his
extraordinary policy with wonderful suc1
cess, in most instances. lilo rules his peo-
ple with an iron rod, and holds them in
perfec, subjection. Besides his Regular
Army, he has 20 millions OF well drilled
militia, and he is always ready, at every
point, with an overwhelming force, not on.
ly to oppose any invasion upon lis own
,errlt ry, but to enter and take possession oi
that which his ambition prompts him to
grasp. Ii is not by the valor Of his troops
that he accomplishes 80 much on tho
field but i, is by superiority Of numbers.
If one army is defeated and cut TO piec-
es, he has another in readiness instantly to
take its place. Such was the case in the
recent Hungarian struggle. Ten thousand
Hungarians are said TO be equal to thirty
thousand Russians and whom the latter
were defeated, fresh Army was poured
down on the triumphant, but exhausted
Magyars, and thus they were crushed by
numbers, and not BY skill, or discipline,
or valor, in battle. Out of population Of
ninety millions in Russia, about one third
compose the army.
Nicholas has his statesmen around him.
it is true but after all, he is the Govern
ment-he.is Russia. He pays no respect
TO the nobility, from the fact that they are
the nobility and, like Napoleon, when no
hndsa man of brilliant mind, and marked
powers, he Immediately takes him into ser
vice, and places him where his talents can
be of most advantage to himself. lie does
not allow his subjects to be educated out Of
the kingdom none can leave withou, his
permission, or, if by chance, they escape
and thus merit his displeasure, il they ever
return, the wilds OF Siberia imprison them
forever after.
The location Of Russia in that cold nor
hern cline, shu, in as she is by ice for three
quarters Of the year, renders it impossible
for her to have anything like a formidable
Naval force her object, therefore, for
many years past. has been 10 secure Con-
stan,nople, and thus be able to maintain 4
Navy, which shall be accessible TO the 90
cans at all times, and that shall vie with
that Of any other nation. Nicholas has
long content lated this, and he instantly
took advantage of the present occasion hon
the Hungarian refugees had been sheltered
by the Porte, as pretext for making war
on Constansinoplc. Comparatively speak
ing, he cared but little about obtaining Kos-
su,h and his associates. His real design
was 10 take possession oi the Dardanellss,
and thus forever secure Constan,nople.
The Dardanelles are seven powerful fortif-
cations erected on each side Of the Helles.
pont, which is called, from them, the Strait
of the Dirdanelles Some Of the guns are
very large one OF them takes, for a single
charge, 800 pounds of powder The Bos-
phorus sepai ates the Black sea from the
sea Of Mar,nora, which communicate with
the Mediterranean. The Bosphorus 10
from one to two miles wide and twenty
miles long. Thus it is seen that whoever
possesses the DaTdane'les may hold Con-
stantinople against the combined Navies of
the whole world. 1t 10 moral impossi.
bility for any Naval force, no matter how
formidable, to attempt to pass through that
narrow passage which is so powerfully for
tilted.
England and France, ever awake 10 their
own respective interests, have also for a
long time each been desiring the posses sion
Of the Dardanelles and they have watched
with eagle-eye, everything that approached
to an aggression upon that coveted strong
hold-that greater than Gibraltar, which
has been a most formidable fortress ever
since the 9th century, when il was fortified
by the SacraceDs. England and France,
consequently, knew well what the inten.
,lon of Nisholas was in making so peremp.
tory demand upon the Porte, for the ssr-
render Of the Hungarian exiles they, there.
fore, nnder the sanction of the Law OF Ma.
tions, said to Russia that her demand was
an unjust one, and tha, such an exaction
should not be required fthe Porte. They
authorised their Ministers t. offer aid to the
Sultan, and they despatched their rsspec-
tive Naya forces TO the Dardanelles, to be
IN readiness for any emergency. England
and France by no means took this step from
Ph'lanthropic principle, or from christian
or even civilized desire to sustain a weaker
power against the wicked aegre.sons of a