New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-03-18

l., v 81 ,o.rs nj ace spi Michael. %, VIII 10 70 ne
~, o,bsr take active parts in TIE struggle faey
r bound in honor aud duty 10 stand foremost IN con
test originating prioc pay IN their rrde aud ahoon
In the Baltic she burden viii deyOlve upon Cons'sf
;re the Grand Admiral Thus far he has shown hi n
self men OF uncommon talent and activity IheoreF
icaly lie is a. thorough seaman as can be iodnd III
sry country and bow field is about 20 open 10 'ess
his powers IN practical warfare 81,
The Baltic and especially the Gulf OF Finland VIII
soon lie covered with armed vessels. How ~ the war
70 be conducted VIII Russia rush heedlsssy Into
elm os certain destruction by rskipg regular battle
Or as the Baltic is only b,vigable from May to Sep
tenber will she avail herself OF her local advantages Ia
theosesson Of the coasts and hsTbors, and wear oui
her powerful my We can hardly suppose that
ENGLAND will content her.elf with bocbsdng the Rus
.ian commercial and naval ports, chef among which
ere Riga, Reval Nary. Cronstadt and St. Petersburg
in Russi,, ard Helsingfors 10 Finland. Their. are
otle1s but they are small used mostg for the coasg
trade ard hardly worth mentioning But the bulk Of
the trade las been carried on in English Dutch and
Gerusn bottoms and they would be tie chief safer
ers from blockade England must st any rate
tive to axe the contest short and early strike de-
ci.ive blow.
Ofthe above named ports, Riga and Narva are ex.
clusi,ely commercial, and scarcely 10 state of de-
fense e,ep AID ileir destruction however Injurious in
conn ercia point Of view can have no bearing upon
the result cfthe war aud hardly any upon the welfare
OF the Empire. Reyal CrOnstait and Hesingfors are
the three points where Russia is really vulnerable,
Tie terbor Of Revsl is extensive military depot.
Ships are not constructed there though it ia
q naval station. It's very large, situated upon the
southern 6e Of the Fay and thus sheltered from the
western winds, the most frequent and dangerous IN
those waters. The large NEE ofsar can enter the
docks and there fni shelter under tie batteries on the
lard. These are numerous and distributed in all II
rectons on the bills and rocks which surround the
harbor and if well manned and directed, pour 8
shower of destructive missiles upon approach
enemy The docks AID parapes of the inner port are
Of wood and may he easily set on FIRE but besides
these there sre sbellproo works of masonry, three
stories high filed with heavy ordnance Reya is in
fact defended by several hundred pieces OF artier!
and its ar.epal ia well stored The defenses of Cron
stads are world renowned. If nature and its position
have done nothing its protection still all that modern
nav al and military art and science accomplish has
been carried ont gigantic scale in its Qualifications
severa thousand cannon, morars and Paixhans guard
/
port and the squadron stationed there The river from
CroDstadt the Capital is not Davgs5e for large ships
AID can easily be shut up by sinking vessels and other
obsructons. There seems therefore to be no possibi
| lily Ct approaching St Petersburg 10 lombard it,
Helspglors the third naval station lie kind of Glib
raltar or Valete where rocks of solid granite form
the ba.is OF extensive and well combined Qualifications
1t nay in fact be pronounced impregnabe
Should the Emperor resist the temptation to meet
tie English in the open AMI conne his operations
to the defensive and 10 his naval movements avail him
self Of the advantages of his position for defense, he
niRht TO certain extent, equalze the contest. The
Baltic, as ID the ease with all inland seas is tenpestu-
Gus and its shores shallow and rocky The light
house are in Russian hands the pilots Russian Extin
gushing The one and deprivng enemy OF the other
will NECESSARILY add greatly the difficulties to be
tended with by that enemy. Should the English fleet
attack the Russians at anchor they would also be e1
posed TO the land batteries and to fleets of gunboats-
ofoense and annoyance which have otter proved
too much for men ofwsr. This sho gn in the bonn
bardnenr Of Copenhagen and ia ayered that nearly
all the English vessels there engaged were to greater
or less extent disabled In 1853 Russian gun and Hat
boats destroy ed Swedish feet the coast OF Fin
land aud not long since in the Schleswg olstein war
a small battery armed with field pieces of eight pound
calber al few boats, forced the Gefon-the crack
ship Of the Danish navy, manned snJ differed with
picked meI-to strike her cOlors. Moreover the lm-
pera Guards are to be employed 10 the defense of the
Baltic coast The artillery of this corps is the best
and most .killfully served in the Russian army, and
able therefore to render very important assistance in
protecting tie shores ami hartors Finally, If the Scan
dinayan powers should preserve astrct and rigid neu
traity as they have undertaken to do, every disabled
English vessel would be forced TO return home to be
repared and reed while the Russians would be light
ing before their own door But at all events the plan OF
tie campaign which must long be developed on both
sides Will fully inform to the course which" The
becerent powers will adopt in the actual operations
of the conflict now lowering over the Baltic. as We
have shown provided the Russians avail themselves OF
every favorable circumstance in heir position the DIS
advantage is not so much their eide as apt to be
supposed The report that they are about to send
twelve ships ouG to sea from the Baltic is probably
feint
II. GRIaNELL on NEBRASKA,