Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1853-10-22
EFFECTS OF A WAR BETWEEN ENGLAND AND
RUSSIA.

One of the first incidents in war between Eng
land and Russia would be the extension of British
power over the Northwest portion of our Continent
1t is now occupied by Russia chiefly as fur colo
ny, from which large amount of this valuable ma
terial is annually taken and exported to China
where it is used in exchange for teas, silks, porce
lains and few other articles The Russian establish
ments Northwestern coasts larger and more
important than generally supposed New Archange
the capital has about thousand Russians besides the
neighboring hamlcts of native Indians. Other settle
ments up and down that coast number two three, and
four hundred Russians The coasting trade is consdera
BILE, extending down to Oregon and California in d
recon and up to Behring's Straits in the other. Their
vessels trade regularly at the Sandwich Islands, and
every year several ships pass and fro between Okosk
In Asia and the different Russian American stations
They also keep up trade with China and the islands
directly the north Of JAPAN where they often touch
and to which naval expedition similar that of the
United States has lately been Formerly they had
serious collisions with the Japanese about the
of Of those Northern Islands, and finally
tied that Ooroop should be the boundary between them
Evidently Russia has large designs and expectations in
that part of the world Her dockyards the Northwest
American coast annually launch number Of valuable
vessels both sailing and seaming, and American
chnis and engineer Mr. Moore, engaged there
era years in nsructng the young Russians how to build
steam engines and steaming vessels. Whether he is
there have not recently heard Certain is that
those steamers were found remarkably seryiceabe
coasters for the studded for distance out
with dense archipelago of large high islands, whose
tricate channels often difficult for sailing vessels
New Archangel itself is situated of these large
islands named Ska The British also have steamers on
that coast which ply chiefly in the fur business between
Vancouver's Island and New Archangel.
n peculiarity Of those Rms
possessions would be that they easily assaable by
The British fleets outnumbering and mastering the
Russian, could without special difficulty land sufficient
forces there to capture every of those possessions and
drive the Russians from the continent and only from
the continent but from the Aleutean and Kure islands
nearly all of which or less settled or frequened
by Russians. Such event would not only sweep the
rising Russian power from that quarter of the GLOBE but
give large accession British strength and influence
in the Pacific possessions would then extend
from Oregon to Behring's Straits and the North
Pacific along the Aeutean and Kurile Islands, down
to Japan All this, added to her present Australian
and power in the South, would make the position and
influence of England the great Pacific far more
important than it now is.
How all this would affect our own interest it is not
hard to foresee, and clearly also policy in the mat
ter would be evident Our policy in such warlike bust
between others is peace for ourselves This have
hitherto secured to remarkable degree considering the
length Of our history and plainly to very best advan
tage For the future trust to be guided not
only by the wise maxms but by the happy experience Of
the past Should the countries speak of change
masters and become British instead Of Russian probably
our intercourse and with them would be
greater and more beneficial.
In Asia war between England and Russia would be
attended with important effects Hindostan is too
and too distant to be reached by Russia yet
In Europe the theatre of operations would the Black
and Baltic and their coasts, but to go into the
probable developments in these quarters must require
more time and space than we can at present bestow.
Journal Of Commerce