Birmingham state herald., 1895-12-15

use of both great guns and small arms. His education is completed on board some one of the squadron of gunboats which are continually moving about from port to port.
 Turkey has not had money enough to purchase the immense armam ments which are the boast of her European neighbOfs. Yet her fleet is a respectable one, espe- cially in view of her natural advantages of defense. She has some nineteen iron clads, frigates and corvettes This Is the main element of her naval strength, although there are nearly 250 woo1 Il Ves- sels stationed for the maintenance of order at various points on the extensive coasts of the empire Of these ironclads three of the corvette class are usually away from Constantinople on service, two frigates and two corvettes are in the first reserve always maintained in po- sition to proceed to sea at the shortest notice. and the remainder are lying tenn porarily dismantled, but ready for use within a fortnght's time. The total ac- tive list of officers and men is 20,63O with a reserve of 36,5O0.
 Defenses of fConstantinople-
 The straits of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles are so narrow that at their widest point they are not half gunshot across. Constantinople, with it's densely populated enVirons. covers both sides Of the Bosphorus. Immense Notifications guard all the approaches. It is true that the forts and guns on the European side of the Dardanelles are commanded by small range of hills, and that the holder of the hills would be able to threaten the safety of the batteries. But the Turks are fully cogniZant of this fact. They are themselves defending the hills from attack by planting heavy guns upon them.
 On the Asiatic side there are no such hills. Here the forts are safe from an attack by land. Now, through the Bos- phorus and the Dardanelles quick cur rent is almost always running in the same direction-that is, from the Black Sea into the Medterranean-at the rate of some four miles an hour. The waters are deep and usually narrow. They af- ford an excellent opportunity for torpedo defense A few hundred of these sub merged deadly weapons swept down by the current against an advancing fleet would prove a formidable adversary.
 Attacks From the North
 So much for an attack from the Medi- terranean, which affords the easiest means of access to mQst European pow CTS. An attack from the Black sea, though more difficult in it's inception, would be more difficult to repel also when once made. In that event ground mines might be place at the entrance of. the Bosphorus while torpedo ships ana boats would be kept in readiness to re- sist attack by sea and defend the mines.
 Nevertheless, 1t Is true that if Russia commanded the Black Sea she would hold Constantinople at her mercy. But she does not do so and 1t Is not probable that she ever will. Against an attack by land from Asia Minor nature has thrown the bulwarks of mountains, which as yet have few or no roads that could be util- ized by an invading army For six months of the year snow lies thick upon their summits and increases their natural difficulties Russia, single handed, would not dare to attack Constantinople by way of the Balkans as without the con- sent of Austria and Germany she could not send an army through Roumania. Probably she would strike her first blow in Armenia, and through that country prepare to advance toward the Ottoman caDital