The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-05-10
The Belligerent Armies s-ReSonrces Of
the C0mbataats.

The Belligerent Armies Of
the Combataats.
What has long been obvious from the
steady accumulation y Russia of an
enormous military force during late years,
from her progress southwark to-1ndia,
from her reported alliance with Persia,
from the alliance she had sought with the
western powers, from her concentration
of large armies at points close upon the
Turkish frontiers, and from the fact that
she has employed Il The Sclav societies to
foment thei distufbances in the. Turkish
provinces, and from the singular eharac-
ter of her late diplomacy, is that she in
tended to seek q settlement of the East
ern question by resort to arms. There
is no longer much hope that this appeal
can be avoided, and hence q comparison
of the forces and resources of the two
chief combatants, and of those powers
most likely to be- drawn into the eefray on
one side or the other, is not without in
terest. {
rope and Asia extends over the seventh
ofthe land surface of the globe. The
European population, occupying an area
ofabout sc, ,OS9 square miles, is 63,65S,934.
This does not include either Russian Po-
land, whose population is 5,705, ,607 Fin
land, with l,843, PAS inhabitants, or the
Caucasus, 1861 S24-inbabitants. Russia
ihsAsia has aH estimated population OF
6,3O2, ,412, but these belong chiefly to the
nomadic tribes. From the above popula-
ton is drawn the regular army Of the
Russian, empire. 1T is not necessary to
20 into the details of the military organ
ization. The duration of the military
service is fixed in European Russia at
six years in the active army and~nine. in,
the reserves. The total number of men
in the regular army is 1,SSO,954. The
strength Of the irregular army is estima-
ted at 14O, ,493. The grand total is 2,02l,-
AT men, 361, ,S37 horses and 2,7S6 guns.
This is, ofcourse, independent of the ter.
ritorial army, which is composed of all
the male inhabitants between the ages of
twenty and forty who 'afeSfit for military
a1d dSareho ;Aready enrolled in
the active 'orregulararry. The navy is
catalogued under the two great divisions,
the Baltic fleet and the; fleet of the Black
Sea. In the Baltic are seventy4even
men of war; in the Black Sea 1ii1es men
Of war. The !Siberian Eject comprises
eleven ships of small account, and there
are three ships in the White Sea and five
on the Sea of Aral. The total 5afailable
'strengtbaOf! thei navy il stated at about
one hundred aud twenty men of war, of
which only twenty-nine are ironelads.
The public debt of Russia is estimated at
9250, 1862 900, of which Ell, ,87100q does
not bear interest. Added to thBiga pa
per currency of 9113,044,783. BOTH gold
and silver are at a high premium.
: The total war strength of the Turkish
Government in GIG, ,100., Militargservice
is made obligatory on all the Mahamme-
dan population, the duration ofWhich is
twenty years, four, of which are Spent in
the regular army and the rest id the vari-
GUS reserves. Only one religious Division
of the empire, the Mohammed&n, is per.
mitted to serve in the army, though men
of other creeds are obliged to servean the
feet when called on The non5Mussul-
man population pays an exemption tax
from army service, and the citizens of
Constantinople are always exempt: Thus
.the.army-is.lec from abont Twelve
millions, or less than half the population
lof the empire Tie official repott pf the
navy gives twenty iron-clads, other steam
ers seventy, Nearly all of the iroRclads
were bnilf IN England. Three additional
iron-clads have been completed during
the past year, and number Of smaller
vessels gotten in order for wafliRe SER
vices. The navy is manned by thirty
four thousand men: Hobart Pasha, the
chief naval commander, is an English
man of decided ability.
In the Crimean war, twenty-threeyears
ago, there was no telegraph wireSnor a
mile of railroad in Turkey. The first
railroad was begun as lately zas.;5 1865.
The country is now well covered with
lines connecting all important points.
From the ferocity..andr fauaticism of the
Turkish character-it is apprehended that
if Turkey triumphs there will not be
enough Christiansleft in her dominions
toquarrel over.
+. The financial condition of Turkey is
bad. :. Her defcitlast year was nominally
94,OS6,924. It viii probably prove to be,
on account Of the instructions in the
provinces, Ell 100000. The sforeign.deSt
ofStheempire is upwardsof f185, ,000, 600.
Turkish securitiessof the best class have
been treated in London and Liverpool
with derision.5 The "iuternal" debt is
placed by official figures at about S19,-
0O0000, though the enemies of Turkey
say # cannot fall below ego, 900, 900. The
financial Iesourcesof Turkey forwar pur-
poses amount to nothing, though the fact
that.so much of her paper is ,held by
Englishmen may lead, with other sup
posed English interests, to military as
sistance from Engla.A ~
Here the military strength ofthe Brit
ish Empire becomes subject of interest:
The.totaI-of the army of Englandis $780,,
362,.of which the regulars are 224, ,624 /;
reserves, 32O ,42I; Irish police,~i2,OO /;
Channel isles, 8 300; Indian army, no.
1877, and the Indian police, 10000. 1t is
probable that-a large proportion of the
entire Indian. forces would sympathize
with the Sultan and. his ally, although
of independence from British domination
is+tempting. 1t is unnecessary to add
that the navy of Great Britain is the
most powerful in the world:
The army of Persia, which is said to
have formed an alliance with Russia, can
furnish at least seventy thousand men of
alarms Her geographical position ena-
bles$her to render, effective service TO-
Russia in such a quarrel as the present.
inasmuch as she bars the way to an An
glo;Indian army moving westward. The,
principal drawback upon ther colossal
military power of Russia is its remote
ness and the -incompteteness Of her rail-