Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1879-08-29
OUR LONDON LETTER.
REGULAR Correspondence.

Not only in England but in other parts
/ Of Europe are the effects Of American com
petition beginning to be indirectly felt.
/ American imports are largely diminishing
| the external demand for the cereals grown
| in the fertile plains Of southern Russia
50 much so that in some districts, land is
said to be gong out Of cultivation, simply
| because the raising Of crops has ceased TO
be remunerative.
Cholera, plague and diptheria are raging
with great severity in many Of the eastern
| and southern provinces, while Others are
afflicted by ruinOuS visitation of lOcustS,
| and cattle plague IN very fatal form Is
widespread. The vitality and reeuperative
power Of any great community are mar
Yellous, but 1t Is scarcely possible that
Russia can pass through such q concur
renee Of calamitieS without experiencing
some startling social or political upheaval.
There is no more striking evidence OF
the suprrficiality Of the veneer Of western
civilization which Oyerlays the Oriental
barbariSm than is the actual condition Of
the mass Of Russian society than the saw
agery with which the contest between the
Government and the revolutionary party,
is being carried on. On the one hand the
infamous attempt made few months ago
on the life of the Gar seems to have pro-
vOked the authorities to surpass anything
previously known in the way. of repreSSiVe
vgor. The prisons are everywhere filed
with people, most of whom have been ar
rested on mere suspicion at the arbitrary
discretion OF the military governors of
provinces. In the large towns the police
regulations are so numerous and so minute
that TO people accustomed 10 the institu
tlOnS OF free countries like ours, existence
under them would be simply intolerable.
Among recent items of news from Russia
are such incidents as the summary expul-
sion from Moscow, by the order Of the
GOvernOr-GeDeral, of all the pawnbrokers
and usurers in the city; the prohibition
by General TOdleben, Governor Of Odessa,
all COLLECTIONS of money for any prOfessedly
charitable or religious object without Off
cial sanction; a demand on the railway com
panies to furnish to the authorities lists Of
the christian and surnameS of all persons
in their employ, accompanied by an order
not to take anybody into their service with
out formal official permission previously
obtained; and the infictiOn of heavy pen
alties on persons who, even in provincial
towns, have dared to let lodgings to stran-
gers without giving information to the DO
lice. On their part, the reYOlutionists do
not appear to be discouraged by. the fran
tic eXertions and appalling seventies of
the Government. They have abandoned
for the time the practice Of ssSassinating
Objectionable officials; but the method Of
warfare they have substituted for it is even
more terrible. They have resorted to whole
sale ineendisrism. Within the past two
months entire towns have been deYasted
by fires. An official return states the num-
Der Of confagratiOns throughout the EN-
pire in the single month Of June to have
been 8, 3,501, causing damage to the extent
of 81, 200, 900. Only about a seventh of
these fires are attributed to incendiarism,
but it may be safely assumed that this is
far too low an estimate. The most start
ling instance of the audacity of the incen-
diaries and of the fierce hatred of the old
order of things which animates them, has
only just been reported. A few days ago
an attempt was made in broad daylight to
burn down the Kremlln at MoscOw-a place
that has been hitherto regarded as sacred
to patriotic Russians. There is, in fact,
war to the knife between the Russian revO-
lutionists and the Government, and it
seems to be only too apparent that all the
repressive powers the latter can bring into
play are inadequate to the task Of crushing
the enemies Of the existing system.