The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-04-20

Our Pacific Empire and iss Northern Attiss-
Russian settlements on the Amoor.
We publish to-day some Interesting letters
and translations from the Russian possessions in
Eastern Siberia, and in regard to them, from
which 1t will lie seen that the developement OF
population and trade In the Russian portions Of
the shores of the Pacific is advancing with rapid
strides.
Indeed, the progress Of Russian settlement in
those distant regions exhibits an enterprise that
emacks strongly Of the American spirit, aud can
be compared only TO our progress Ia California
and Oregon, or the process Of State building on
our frontier, 10 the heart Of the North American
continent 1t il but few years since the name
of Amoor became familiar with our readers, and
now that country has regular mail and transit
connection Of Eve thousand miles with the cen
tres of civilization Ia Europe, and exhibits mills,
foundries, FORCES, steamboats, ship yards, ball
rooms, clubs. and all the paraphernalia of active
civilized life And not alone this 1t has
its regular branch mail to Pekin talks Of erect
ing a telegraph from St Petersburg to Behring's
Straits, and across these to our own possessions
on the shores Of the Pacific, of eating a canal
from the Amoor river to Vladimir harbor, aud
possesses an energy of vitality that is already
causing it to occupy better and more genial
locations for its harbOrs, and is pushing its
southern boundary southwark with a rapidity
that gives it an indistinct and underlined cha
racter.
There Ia something in this equality of rapid
growth among American aud Russian settle
ments on the Pacific that should make us stop
and reflect upon its probable cause. We believe
it will be found in the similarity Of the policy
and aim of government in the two countries. 1t
is true they are extremely different from each
other in their forms but extremes often meet
and the present case is one of them Many, if
not all, of the European Powers claim thousand
years of history and proceed mt; while the govern
meDts of the United States and Russia in Asia
are modern governments, cramped by no musty
theories. The Cabinets Of Europe have long
lines of traditional policy to sustain, aud thou
sands of noble families to support, who claim, by
virtue of descent, the right to exercise paterna
and protective government over society. This
is not the case with us or with Russia. In each
of these countries political theories and aims are
entirely subordinate to the Development of in
dustry commerce and material interests. Both
the Americans ard Russians take care to see that
everything pays as it goes along; and as long as
it pays it is followed up with all the ardor of
individual interests, and political policy shapes
itself by material development, never striving
to exercise a contrary influence.
This, which is the true theory Of all govern
uent-which is new-shaping Kingdoms and re-
publics, blotting out old territorial combinations
and arranging them anew, ia conformity with
their geographical relations and material wants
is the new spirit Of government that belongs pc
culiarly to the nineteenth century. 1t lis rapidly
prov ng to the world that social development
must precede political theories, and that social
and not political necessities are what everything
must give way before 1t is on this foundation
that the American and Russian empires in the
Pacific are being built up; and this is the reason
why they exhibit 80 rapid and portentous a de-
velopement. Their forms of government are ap-
parently dissimilar, but in practice are found to
be nearly the same In the United States all
men are equal before the law. In Russia all
except one man, are in the same position;
and it is physically impossible that he should as
sumo to swerve the law in its operation in indi-
vidual cases. Such are the points of sympathy
which the American and Russian find with each
other, and which not only make them blend in
action and thought everywhere but also to ex-
hibit purity of material progress such as is
seen between no other two nations. There is far
greater sympathy between the Amoor settle
ments and California than between British Co
lumbia and Oregon.