The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1877-12-14
THE TuRCO.RussIAn WAR.

live local advantages, the most imporS
Iant place upon the three continents Of
Asia, Europe and Ahoa, Selected by
ConHtanilno the Great, when ho had the
whole world 10 choose from, IN the fu'
ture capital Of the Roman empire, Con.
stantlnople has yindicated tho sagacity |
of iIs founder, and in no little degree
has added luslre TO name otherwise
illustrious,
ltsprylyed the western empire near
a thousand years, and though taken by
the crusaders in the thirteenth century,
1t was held by them only about fifty
years, and maintained the namo and
dignity Of the Roman empire, until IL
fell before the power Of Mahomet II, in
1853, and with il, after heroic but UNI
availing defense, tLelast of the Caesars,
Situated on the confines OF Europe
and Asia, il is the point where mingle
many diverse and alien races, Euro>
peans, ArmeniNns, Jews, Arabians,
Greeks and Turks compose it's populaS
ton, while the inhabitants Of three
continents are attracted by its com.
meroe. The eastern and western civili-
zation come in contact with each other
in its thoroughlares, and hostile creeds
collide among its heterogeneous peoS
Plies, Over all, the Ottoman with pride,
ndolent when unrutlled, but frocious
when reused has for more than four cen.
turtles, ruled the supreme master Of that
vast dominion, reaching far over three
continents of which Constantinople is
the capitol Among those who We're in
Constantinople when it was taken by
Mahomet H.. was Russian prelate,
whom Mahomet was particularly anx-
ious to capture, He, the prelate had been.
sent 10y the Roman pontiif to the Ems
peror Constantine with assurances of
aid upon certain conditions, He failed
in his mission, but was fortunate
enough to escape the vengeance cons
templated by the conqueror, not be-
cause he was Russian, but because he
was prelate Of the pope of Rome. How
ii would have quckened the vigilance
and sharpened the desire for vengeance
in the son Of Amurath if he could have
looked through the centuries and seen
the crescen: falling back and growing
pale, before the advance of Russian pow
en- Russia, at that time, had scarcely
recognition among the nations. Even
two centuries ago, the Muscovite power
had no place on the national state Of
Europe and now, the car is the ruler
of the most extensive empire tho world
ever saw.
Within the last century Russia has
advanced her frontier near nine huns
dred miles toward Vienna, Berlin and
Paris one thousand miles toward Per>
! Sia,and more than that distance toward
India, and four hundred and fifty miles
toward Constantnople. Her territory
is mole than double that of all Europe,
and embraces one.seventh of all the
land upon the globe, with popula>
ton Of more than seventy millions,
and when we remember that this
vast power is under the con-
troll of an autocrat, that the
established and proclaimed policy OF
Russia is absolutism, is it not apparent
that there are others beside England
interested 10 the question of interven-
ton between Russia, and the establish-
ment of her dominion over Constanti-
nople and European Turkey. When
further we reflect that Russia is Scla-
vonic and that the great battle (Pul~
towa,) from which her expansion
sprung was contest between the Ger
manic and Sclavonic races, in which
the former was beaten, reversing in that
eventful day the current of all previous
conflicts between the two races in north>
ern Europe, and that half the inhabit,
ants of the Austrian empire are SclaS
vonians, and large portion of the
population of Turkey in Europe, as
also the people of Silesia and other
parts OF Prussia-the prophecy of Ma,
poleon flashes upon the mind with a
force to which current events give deep
toned signifcance "All Europe will be
republican or Cossaclx."
Whether Russia ends this war with
the overthrow of Ottoman power in Eu.
rope and the possession of Constants
nople or not, it is very certain she will
retain or obtain such acquisitions of
places and territory, as will facilitate
her progress when again, she begins her
march towards that long and fondly
cherished object of her ambition. 1t is
neither pretentious or bold to say, that
it is only question of time when Rus.
STA shall become the mistress of the
city of Constantine. What nation then
can resist her progress to Pan Sclavonic
empire There is only one, not her
equal in extent of territory, but soon to
exceed her in population, and now SUR
passing her in material development,
antagonized to her in every sense in
which free government, is antagonized
TO despotism, and that nation il wrhe