New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-04-06
RUSSIA'S FRIENDSHIP.
Secret of 1t Disclosed by Car AleT-
ander to an American.


in 1879. and quotes his expressions upon the
attitude Of Russia toward this country IN
the Civil War Nj Barker was the rep
resentative Of Barring Brothers. of LONDON
and in 1873 the financial agent OF the RUSSIAN
government in this country. and to him was IN
trusted the building of four cruisers for the hus
sian Navy In 1879 he went TO Russia on the
invitation Of the Grand Duke Constantine ana
Prince Sergius Dogorouh. for conference WIN
them ana with the ministers Of Finance ways
Of Communication and Public Domain, as TO
large and important railroad. coal iron ana
steel enterprises about to be undertaken IN the
south Of Russia.
Of the disclosure he now makes Mr. Barker
writes:
To only one American 1 believe has the secret
Of Russian friendship for this country ever Oeel
explained. The explanation was mace py tnS
Emperor Alexander II fully, carefully ana
with so much eXplicitness that its purpose vas
not to be misunderstood nave IelrdIli t "A ~
the performance Of the duty which was Inposeu
upon me by the comforting Of the Emperor. CoII
hdenCe for nearly twenty-five years; uIltI IlO",
The time had not come when the events whlch ne
OWNED might be considered imminent ana tne
hour for the disclosure had not unmistakaoiy
arrived The time. / believe is at hand; ana
make public. in complete detail, all the pregnant
considerations Of policy which were lhtFuSteu 10
NV discretion. together with such intimate ue-
tails Of his majesty's reflections upon the CON
dition Of his empire and upon the future 90,
mestic condition Of the United states as wiz
evidence the profound. the unerrlnS premises o.
foreknowledge wherein the policy or kussla
toward the United States has been based DO
so with q fun appreciation Of the grave conse-
Cuences which may. and, indeed should, attend
a disclosure Of such immediate and far reaching
importance o-, = -
on sunday morning. August Il, 1879. was
breakfast guest Of the Grand Duke Constantine
at his Pavlovski palace. The talk, enduring Tor
two hours at the bic and in the library, COW
cred many small subjects Of public ana private
interest but nothing Of real and permanent
value was said
At the close Of the interview the grand duke
desired Mr. Barker to wait. and soon ushered
him into the presence OF the Car. After a
conversation I'm regard TO finance. the condition
Of the serfs and other topics, Mr.. Barker says:
II the Emperor had dismissed me after these
remarks. ] could never forget the 1873 August
Sunday al Pavlowsh; but was 10 near a
chapter OF world history that should De put IN
permanent form by ne; for do not believe the
chapter was ever spoken or written for another
by Alexander. Without knowledge OF this chap
ter manY very great events cannot be under
stood. OF those present at this remarkable IN
teryiew only the Emperor and spoke. Oi
course. and I believe fortunately. my part Ia
the conversation was small The circumstances
under which the interview proceeded Hloteu
Alexander TO speak in earnest. aggressive puS
sad tones. 1t was apparent TO me that ne had
lived for long time IL intellectual loneliness
that he scarcely knew what fair ana open crit
lcisro of his acts was; that he believed those
about him and near to him did not and prooa-
blv could not appreciate the major purposes
and acts Of his Hfe-that he believed he must
always act for himself and for Russia; that the
responsibility Of the Russian Umpire resteu
plpon him alone. and not upon MN ana MS
ministers and Council OF state.
In the autumn of lS62,' observed the I'm
reror ..tbe governments Of France and Great
Britain proposed to Russia in a formal put
not in official way, the joint reoog1itLo 70 20. bg
Confederate States Of America. My Immediate
answer was: I will not cooperate in such ac-
ton. and I will not acquiesce. On the con-
trarv I shall accept the recognition OF the IN
der,endence Of the Confederate states by france
and Great Britain casus belll TOT RUSSIA
And in order that the governments Oh FtahTe
80 c-aat Britain may understand that this Is
no idle threat. I viii send racine net 10 81.
Francisco and an Atlantic feet to New-fo rk-
Sealed orders TO both admirals were gwen
After pause he proceeded:
NV aae+. arrived at the American ports:
there was no recognition OF the Independence or
the confederate states by Great Britain ana
I-,rCe The American rebellion was put down.
and the great American Republic continues.
AN mis- / did because Of love for my own
dear Russia rather than TOT l4Ne o. .i'G S-
stood that Russia would have more serious
fas, to perform If the American Repubuc- with
advanced Industrial development, were broken
~ md Great Britain should be left in control
OF most branches Of modern Industrial deVelop-
rnent. -. ,,,,. ,o,,rsa
~ Russia would be. should Great Britain and
France support Denmark IN the war "ageu
upon her BY Prussia and austria over tle
Schleswig-Hostein question. The result was
tfat France did nothing and Great Britain, al
though anxious TO preserve the territorial IN
tegrity OF Denmark confned her enorts, d. IN
the case % Poland shortly before, 70 the Ifnlt
~ mere Diplomatic intervention. The plans or
bismarck were acknowledgements olstein
became a German province.
In 1866. when Bismarck sought, together
with Prussia, Hanover. Hessen-Cassel. Nassau
end Frankfurt, to establish the North German
confederation and 10 exclude Austria from the
German confederation / silent as 10 what
the action OF Russia would be should France
support Austria In the pending war Because
~ this silence, France hesitated 10 act ullUl IL
us TOO late and the dreams and ambitions OF
bismarck were realized. Ny purpose was the
stablishment of a European balance OF power
that would be menace to Great Britain
The Emperor again paused for a moment 10
see 7 think what effect he was making upon
ne. I remained silent and eKpectahI ne spoNe
once more, and said:
ITO cor'plete German unity. and to enable
German manufa cturers to strike ar BRUSH m
dus+risl and commercial supremacy. IT was pam
49, -, Of bismarck for despoiling France OF
Alsace and Lorraine must not ne hlhoereu-
Therefore when, IN 1870. the French-GerInan
opened let 1t be unoersrooa 'na' fs~sat
Britain would be followed by Russlan sup
mort OF Germany. Therefore the war was
fought ont between France and Germany; ana
TIC German Empire was established and pro-
claimed Nv support of Germany IN these three
wars was because my Russia would pront
when the French people had PAID the IN
demnity 10 Germany. and the RepuDnc OF France
grew strong. there was alarm AT berlln' anu
Bismarck would have sought quarrel with
France but for my attitude The French-hus-
sian understanding has preserved peace IN fsu-
rope The course Of Russia Is clear ana her
destiny can be fulfilled. Russia stands for
peace"
In conclusion. the Emperor said:
Il have believed these acts were great acts,
because they were right. But they are not ap-
preciated as righteous acts by those near me;
and those far of and outside Of Russia look