Southern shield., 1852-02-21
The Military and Naval Power of Russia


 "Another danger to which would mak, reference, and which appears to be exten sively apprehended, is that of Russian in reference. Now Russia is not a grea power; she is large inflated body, set up on weak ieet. Her name conveys a prestige Whlch once broken, ifs power is gone"
 hossth's Speech to the Baltimore Delegation
 M. hqSsuth has of late, taken quite fan- cy to dieelling upon the weakness of Rus sia, wia1he object, doubtless, of coavinc- f Ing e.s Gilt GGSIded stand upon the part e our government against her intervention in Hungary will be eflectuai, either because she will take counsel of her fears and sub- init when we demand; or because, if she attemps resistance, she will succomb when we fgtt. He has very well learned, by this time, that Americans are quite as prac- tcal in their undertakings, as they are en- thusiasdc in their sentiments, and he adapts his arguments accordingly. "Rhetoric is the art of persuasion" says Cicero, and Kos suth has as much of it as any living man; but even hiS rhetoric will not be able to persuade the American people that the Czar of all the Russas is either a weakling or a coward. He is, immeasurably, the most powerful and most intrepid despot upon the face of the globe. In force of intellect and richness of experience, there is not one ot all the rulers of the world that can be com pared with him for moment. The viz or and success of his administration since ba fva ago, has but few parallels in history. He found the empire convulSed with internal evils and vergng to destruction; but by a long course of com bined severity and ame- lioraton, of concurrent conquest and con- soIdation, he has placed his dominions up- on rock, or rather converted them into a rock which no earthly power can shake His territory now covers one seventh ot the earth's surface, and his subjects number one third of the whole human race. His mill tia, well equipped and respectfully disciplin- ed, are eighteen millions in number, almost equal to lhe entire white population of the United States. His regular army, officered and disciplined as no other army in the world, and possessing 10 man the fierces courage and indomitable tortitude, number: over seven hundred thousand, of which two hundred thousand are the finest cavalry 1T the world His fleet numbers l75 vessels of which 50 are ships of the line, and be- sides these are 40 gunhoats; all are mann ed with 60,OO0 men and carry 5000 guns
 The position of Russia is perfectly i'm pregnable. The rigors of her climate, as Napoleon too we'll tested, are safeguard to her, more efectual than walls of ada mant. She is fanked withal by,,Prussia and Austria, who are now bound more firmly tC her than with hooks of steel. She cannot be approached by any naval power on the Baltic, without the consent of Denmark, who holds at Elsnorc the key 10 that sea: and, if approached, no aggressive opera tions can be maintained for any time, inas- much as the sea is closed with ice six months every year. Neither would any demonstration upon her, by way of the Black Sea, stand any chance of success The day that Turkey should break her long standing engagement with Russia, 10 let nc armed vessel pass the Dardanelles, the shores of the Bosphorus would bristle with Russian cannon; and ingress into the Black Sea by any English or American fleet, how ever numerous, would become an absolute impossbility. But supposng that an en- trance was enforced:-what would it avail! Could they cope successfully with the i'm mense Black Sea fleet of Russia, containing thirty line-of- battle ships, and manned by thirty thousand seamen? Could they reach the commercial shipping of Russia, protect ed under Sevastopol, one of the strongest fortresses in the world! But supposng that they could, and that the Black Sea was swept by them as Van Tromp swept the Channel with the broom at his masthead Russia would be as far from submission as ever But single SineW would be broken The seat of her strength would still contln. ue untouched, and her energies on the land would remain as tremendous as ever.- Even while the naval battles were being fought, she might throw an armed host over the Balkan, and crush Hungary at blow Who does not remember hapless Poland with her twenty millions, to whom M. Kos suth so patheticaly alluded last evening We gave her banners, arms, money, pray ers-and she put forth an effort that thrill ed the world with admiration. Russia ad vanced upon her with the firm tread of z giant; we heard one wild piercing shrek and Poland was no more. And Russia + far stronger now than twenty years ago Her martial strength, her financial credit her resources of every description, are tal greater. It was this mighty power which filled the lion heart of Napoleon with ap prehension for the future of Europe; anc will M, Kossuth pardon us when we tel