The Montana post. [volume] (Virginia City, Montana Territory [i.e. Mont.]) 1864-1869, 1867-04-20
VIRGINIA CITY, MONTANA, SATURDAY, APRIL TO- 1867.


land refused 10 add her influence to
France, Russia and Austria, and selfish
considerations left the Islands of Greece
to the mercy of the Ottoman. These,
greater object, extension of the borders
of the Empire-the acquisition of the
coveted fortress of Luxemburg, from
which France could pour into Prussia,
almost in day, the whole strength of
her armies, and by the holding of this
menacing position, eventually absorb all
the territory to the east, and make the
Rhine the border of the Empire. 1t was
a project worthy of " the nephew of his
uncle" and was well-nigh successful,
until Prussia, suddenly frightened and
divining the purport of the scheme. has
interposed diplomacy to prevent its con-
summation, in the event of the failure
of which it is but reasonable to believe,
that the sword will succeed the efforts
of the pen, and the clash of contending
armies will reverberate across the con-
tinent. Already the notes of prepara-
tion have rung out from the arsenals
and dockyards of France, re-echoed
across the English Channel and along
the Baltic and the Elbe. Russia and
Prussia are reported to have formed an
alliance offensive and defensive. The
former appears to have anticipated COM
plications of this kind, and is prepared
for the conflict. Smarting under the
remembrance of the Crimean war, de
prived by the moral support given to
Turkey by Western Europe, by which
she is prevented from wrestling from the
Porte his strong grasp on the Bospho-
rus, which would give her navy in the
Black Sea free access to the West, Rus
sia is ripe for any conflict that would
wipe out the one and attain the other.
Every energy of that vast and populous
country has, since the fall of Sebastopol,
been centered on those objects She has
built immense military railways ia
creased her military strength rid her
self of her American possessions, and is
stripped for the fight. Her standing
army has been increased from nine hun
dred thousand men to one million two
hundred thousand. The military
strength of France is one million two
hundred and twenty thousand men
almost equal numbers but Prussia has
an army of her own and the late Ger
manic Confederation, amounting to one
million more. The interests of England
and France, so far as Russia is concerned
are identical The conquest of Turkey
by Russia would destroy the balance
of power. and Austria. nearly surround
ed by the dominions of Prussia and the
Gar, would share the fnte of Poland :
while Italy, by religion and national
sympathy, is closely allied to France.
Spain has but little interest in the con-
tiict. Her national boundaries are dis
tinct and limited by the Pyrenees.
France is proud and ambitious, Prussia
alarmed and resolute. England may
well stand halting between two opin-
ions, irresolute and endangered. Desir-
ing the humiliation of Russia, and re-
tention of the present status of power
She sees France unable to cope with her
formidable adversaries and would will
lingly lend her helping hand, but the
fear of American privateering, which she
has furnished the precedent for, the
danger of collision with Spain, and
the more dangerous condition of Ireland
and Canada from the designs of the Fe-
mans, renders hers the most unpleasant
position of any of the powers likely to be
drawn into the vortex of war. The
signs of the times indicate the approach
of a stupendous contest for the mastery
of Europe, and the dragon of war, satia-
ted with carnage on our Western Cont
nent, is lowering over the Old World,
his baleful breath injecting the atmos-
phere with a noxious poison that requires
the publication of blood, and the sacri-
fce of battle. ... .-......