The New York herald., 1879-07-14
RUSSIA IN CENTRAL ASIA.
How the Valley Of the 0xus is
To Be, Made Populous.
4 WATER WAY TO AFGHANlSTAN.
The Effect Upon the Sea
Of AraL
THE OLD AND NEW OXUS-
A Scheme of Peter the Great
About To Be Realized.
1 WATER WAY TO AFGHANlSTAN.
THE OLD AND NEW OXUS.

events with the dispassionateness and calmness OF
the twentieth century. shall mp its most radical
political changes he viii assign the first place In i'm
portance to the reopening of Central Asia to the
civilization of the West The majesty OF the empire
OF Napoleon the Great may by that time have been
echpsed bv Q Alexander the Great. who will con-
troll the destinies of this then mighty imperial do
main. The foundation Of a new and vast empire at
The cradle Of the world might appear be preparing
events for that great political crisis called in Holy
Writ the battle Of Armageddon. The rise greatness
Of the German Empire. the obliteration Of Moham-
medan power in Europe and Africa. the Anglicising
of Asia Minor and the growth Of some important
State on the Mediterranean would all appear
secondary in importance. As to Central Asia
itself the achieved by the genius Of
Dost Mohammed of Cabul; the occupation Of the
Khyber and Boulan passes by the Anglo-Indan
army. Of Yarkund and Kashgar by the Chinese. of
Khokand and the Turcoman's country by the Rus
SLAMS. will have been dwarfed by the superior politi
cal importance of the occupation of its old bed by
the waters of the Oxus. The results of this event.
which large party of Russian troops and engineers
are now on the verge of accomplishing. will spen-
didly supplement the vast system Of intercommuni-
cation which the Czars have for than q century
been developing.
PHYSICAL RESULT.
The detection Of the ANU Darya. or Oxus, from
the Aral into the Caspian Sea will eventually
result in the draining Of the former such level
that the volume Of the Oxus will be increased
by the two great streams known the Sir and Jan
Daryas thus tending to create river almost equal
in volume to the Ganges the Mississippi.
more distant result, though the less certain.
will be the gradual rise in level of the tdeess
Caspian to that Of the Black Sea its surface is
eighty-four feet lower). its consequent expansion
over much Of the sands Of the Kara Kun and into
the mountain passes of the Caucasus and eventually
its connection. by the already projected ship canal,
with the Euxine and the Mediterranean.
RUssIAs INTERNAL coMMEncE.
Before we proceed to sketch in detail the work
doing and to be done, the prospects success it
is essential that have adequate idea of the in
ternal lake, river and canal systems of Russia. Com
merce which began on the Persian Gulf has spread
over every ocean, and the ships Of the great mari
time nations can be counted by thousands. Rus
sia cannot be numbered among the promoters of
foreign commerce. Shut in on the North by ice for
large part of the year and kept out Of the Black
Sea by an arbitrary .dog-in-the-manser policy. it
never has been easable for her to protect foreign
commerce. The result has been that she has
burned her attention to the development
of the vast internal system Of water communication
offered by the great rivers that her eastern
and southern provinces. The consequence is that
while England to-day justly boasts Of her 100000
sailors scattered to the uttermost ends of the earth
Russia possesses more than million men engaged
in the river and lake service OF the Emplre-a hardy
venturesome and valuable race good for the purpose
of commercial and political aggression. Already it
is possible to convey goods in bulk from the Baltic
to the Persian ports thu Caspian. The
canals which connect the Neva and Lake
Ladoga with the Volga not shallow
bitches. but water ways of sufficient depth to
admit of the passage of fat bottom of large
size. Many Of the excellent crafts doing service on
the volga. the Ural, the Don and the Dnieper were
built in England and sailed to their present place of
service 1t will thus be that Russia is fully
prepared to take advantage of a water way to
the confines of Afghanistan.
MEN AND MONEY.
Speaking roughly. the internal commerce of Rus
sia is carried by forty-fve thousand river and
lake craft. classified by the Minister of Ways as
"vessels OF perpanent build" A distinction is
thus made between these vessels and ten to twelve
thousand barges that are every year launched upon
the rivers. or these latter one-ffth go toward in
rreasing the permanent fotilla and the remainder
broken up for timber the end of their summer
voyage The cargoes which they convey exceed in
the aggregate million tons, valued at upward
OF 5000 rubles. or S123 35sO.OOO. The number
OF men yearly employed in navigating these vessels
NijniNovgorod, Rigbinsk. st. Petersburg. Riga,
Taaanrog. Astrakhan and Urask. These figures do
not include Siberia the commerce of the Aral Sea-
Rajbinsk is tho head of the canal system Of North
Russia. and from its wharves goods bc sent to
the White Sea- the Baltic to the heart of Poland and
tho Russian outposts on the Caspian.
FUTURE USEFULNESS.
All Of these canals accommodate craft of 500
tons. and when the new imperial canal. now nearing
completion. is opened, 1t will be possible to send
gunboats from the extreme northern to the south
eastern end Of the Empire-gunboats that can be
utilized before the walls OF Khiva in covering the
landing of troops at Charjooec for the siege Of Box
hara. This vast water system embraces more than
$1,000 miles. AT Astrakhan during the summer
months congregated 900 fishermen and the haul
OF herring is regarded inferior IL 1t does not
equal 2O000o.00O. 1t was. indeed, with q view to
their utilization these great water ways that the
Russian Admiralty procured 50 many torpedo and
gunboats during the late war; Thus it will be seen
that Russia is wrapt up in herself; that her future
greatness is not to be found the painless high
ways of the ocean, but through the well organized
system of internal commerce which she has boon
for generations fostering. Already the nation OF
Europe most independent of the rest of tho world
phe hopes in few generations to become the
hcaviest exporter to her sister States.
POSSIBLE.
What Central Asia might bc under secure and
peaceful rule we have evidence in the ruins of the
city of Balkh. now twenty miles in circuit whence
early in the spring Of 327 d. c. Alexander the Great
started on his march across tho Hindoo Koosh to-
ward Candahar. 1t is also seen In the remains of
Nerve. which boastcd 100000 of inhabi-
tants; In the walls of Samarkand, which, in ancient
days. manned by 100000 warriors, and
in the 1900 villas which marked suburb
of the city of Dokhara. Russia. there
fore, looks upon the acquisition of Turkestan,
Eokhand and part or khiva, with the future
prospect of adding Dokhara. as a good Investment
which, within hundred years. will return u hun
arelfold interest Russian policy is essentially ono
Of patience and the Empire of the Czars afford
to wait for the development of the country In this
direction, while IL ~ being ever expanded at other
points of the COMPASS. Now we are prepared to con-