The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-08-15


about that thoroughly discredlted thing
yclept the Concert of Europe"
But 1t Will be just as well to keep a close
| watch upon Constantinople For before
long Turkey and its ruler will either be
reduced to the most abject and subservient
Vassalage to the ear, or else poplar dis
| turbances will take place in various por-
tons OF the Ottoman empire, possibly re-
sulting in the deposition of the sultan, and
in any case of sufficient gravity to render
| eXcusable a Russian invasion of Turkish
| territory on the pretext of humanity That
something of this kind is on the cards is
| apparent from the immense quantity of
| Russian arms, ordnance and ammunition
! that is being shipped all the time from
| Russia to Servia and Montenegro, while
| Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria has Just
| placed a colossal order for war material
OF the came kind in France and in Germa-
| ny, Nor should mention be omitted of the
| purely strategic railroad which the Rus
alan government is quietly constructing
| from its southern province of Bessarabia
| through Servia to Montenegro, touching
at Cettinje, and having its terminus at the
Montenegrin port of Antevari, on the Adri-
attic.
OF course it is just possible, though
hardly probable, that Zinoveff may prove
a failure at ConstantinOple, and a disap-
| pointment to his sovereign. For, strangely
| enough, STEAMBOAT has proved the grave
RUSSIAN diplomat. 1t was the incOnceiVa-
! bic stupidity of Prince Menchikoff in the
| early hlties at Constantinople that involV-
| ed his country in what is known as the
| Crimean war, from the effects of which it
| has scarcely yet even recovered, so crush
| ing was the defeat which it sustained. He
| was succeeded by the late Prince I.Oban-
off, who was indiscreet enough to elope
with the wife of the French Charge DAT
| flares, adding injury to insult by subse-
| quently plugging his unfortunate colleague
with pistol bullet in a duel at Nice. This
made necessary the withdrawal into pri-
| vate life of the prince, who emerged there
from only after the death of his enchant-
ress many years afterward.
Next to Lobanoff came Gen. Ignatieff,
| who, after the unsatisfactory result of the
| Russian campaign of 1877, was compelled
| 10 retire from office a thoroughly disgrace
ed and discredited man. At Constantinople,
| where veracity is the exception and men
| dacity the rule, he earned for himself even
! among the orientals the nickname of the
| Father of Lies" Asked by the late car at
a court ball one evening in a bantering
way how he had come to win for himself
| such a sobriquet, Ignatieff was clever
| enough to respond with profound bow,
| In the service of Your Most Gracious Ma
| jesty."
After Ignateff came Nelidoff, who has
| now in turn been superseded, and who
| leaves Constantinope with loss of ev-
| cry Vestige of prestige and reputation that
he may formerly have enjoyed. Neidof
| has long since ceased to give satisfaction
| at st. Petersburg and would have been
removed ere this had it not been for the
influence enjoyed by his wife in the Rus
| sian capital. For many years Nine. de
| Nelidoff possessed the only political salon
| at ST. Petersburg, and 1t was IN her
| drawing room that Gen. Loris Melkoff
| urh ROY bot for
| endowing Russia with a constitutional
| form of government which was on the
| eve of PRONUNCIATION when Alexander II
| was assassinated. Nine. de Nelidoff, one
| Of whose sisters was the late Nine. de
| Strive, who left such pleasant memories
| as the Russian minister's wife at Wash
| ington, while another is the morganatic
| widow Of the Russian Imperial Duke of
| Leuchtenberg, and a third the wife of
! the French Academician, Count Melchoir
! de Vogue, so well known to the American
! people through Harper's publications, has
| been the friend of many a powerful Rus
sian statesman AS an illustration of her
| influence, it needs only to be pointed out
| that she was able to save from severe
| punishment her brother, Gen. Annenkoff
| the author of what Is known as the Mus
| covite Panama" while 1t is solely due to
! her that her husband instead Of being
| placed on the retired list, has been trans
| ferred to the relatively unimportant en-
| bassy of Russia al Rome.
! 1t is no secret in diplomatic circles that
| his inef6ciency at Constantinople in re-
| cent years has been due in the main to
| the fact that the sultan possessed such an
| intimate knowledge of raising the wind,
and of his unsavory intrigues that the SUI
| blime porte could afford to view with in
| difference any remOnstrances or protests
| that the Russian ambassador might be
called upon to make. 1t is even alleged
| at Constantinople as well as at ST. Peters,
| burg that the sultan has in his possess
| sion proofs that at least one of three
alleged burglaries at the embassy and
| robberies of the officials connected there
| with, have been spurious although his
! Ottoman majesty was called upon to make
| good the amount alleged to have been
stolen. The padishah is stated TO have
| paid this gladly, being content to get even
with the ambassador and to render him
| innocuous by securing convincing proofs
Of the fact that no theft had ever really
taken place.
With regard to the present troubles in
| India, where the situation Is more seri-
| Gus than at any time since the mutiny of
| 1857, when all the Deccan was up in arms
against the British. the simultaneousness
of the disturbances that have broken out
/ at points far distant from one another.
! TIE manifestations of discomfort and dis
| loyalty being as conspicuous at Bombay
/ as tN0N are at CdlCutlit anu IN the sOuLn-
ornmOSt cities Of the empire as on the
northern frontier the sudden evidences Of
| trcachery and even enmity on the part of
| the Ameer OF Atghan.Gtan, and, above all,
| that most ugly sign ~ all, the "cama-
| raderie" between the HindoOs and the Ma
| hometans, who have hitherto been TO such
| an extent at daggcrs drawn that British
| soldiers had 10 be employed 10 keep them
| from cutting one anothcrs' Threats, all
| point to a carefully organized conspiracy,
| which Is far too elaborate, and above all
\ far too comprehensive 20 be anything else
than Russian inception and origin. IL is
| only a Muscovlte hand that could have
| thus rec0nciled the Hindoo with the Ma
| hometan, and could have induced the
/ Mahratta 10 work IN common with the
| Afghan ana the Bengalee. India literally
swarms with Muscovte agents. some OF
/ whom are natives. While others are OF
| Russian nationality.
| In conclusion, the name Of Zlnoyicn Is
| familiar 70 every member OF England's so
called political department Of the Indian
| government. which IL nothing more nor
/ less than a vast system OF secret service,