| Show RUSSIA BEFORE EUROPE the success of the french ex which was lately c closed amounted to a sort of intoxication and created a kind hind of indifference to the incidents of politics in europe some of these incidents however have been such as to attract attention and even to create a feeling of uneasiness amounting almost to anxiety the emperor of russia lately spoke of the prince of montenegro as his only faithful ally these words had the effect of a thunderbolt in a blue sky to speak of a chieftain who in his mountains can arm from tea to twenty thousand men only as his sole ally is to say that russia needs no allies that she is strong enough to resist all the forces of the triple alliance of germany austria and italy russia repeats now what charles albert once said cx I da 88 1 l it is of no use denying the fact the tension between russia and germany is daily increasing immediately after his fathers father death the young emperor 11 II made a visit to cron stadt and peterhof Pe and when the quest question ion of returning this visit n came up the czar absolutely refused to make it with any pomp at berlin all he was amp willing ailing to do was to see the german emperor somewhere on his way to make his usual visit to the danish royal family his counselors however persuaded him to go to berlin and he went the result of his visit to the german capital established that the advances made by william to alexander have had no influence whatever the emperor of russia is immovable in his determination to enter into no combinations no alliances no political arrangements with prince bismarck he considers that his father made too many sacrifices to the ambition of prussia and was never rewarded for it that the treaty of berlin robbed prussia of all she could expect in the east after she had bad conducted her armies to the very gates of constantinople he is biding his time pacific and determined not to engage in any war he believes that time works for him and that he has no need of entering into direct hostilities with austria nor with prussia that Pan Pau is gradually doing the work of russia not only in the balkan peninsula and the newborn new liew born principalities of roumania rou Rod mania bulgaria aria and servia but even in the alapic slavic provinces of the austrian empire his policy has become a sort of masterly ih th activity which helps him better than any direct interference it is a curl curious fact that whenever there have been russian delegates and generals in bulgaria and servia there has been an outcry against russia As soon as the russians leave these provinces russian influence again becomes uppermost it at present predominates in servia though the regents are apparently completely independent Pan is a mysterious force it addresses itself sometimes to reactionary sometimes to revolutionary passion It its chief support is the greek religion the metropolitans itans are everywhere the most powerful instruments of russian ambition last september an incident occurred in slavonia which made a great noise the emperor francis joseph of austria reproved in strong terms at the castle of bellovary Bel lovar bishop St of dickover Dia kover who had addressed a telegram to kiew on the day of the anniversary of saint vladimir by whom christianity was introduced into russia bishop St spoke in his telegram of the destinies of russia and of her great mission in the world the opposition to prince ferdinand in bulgaria is headed by itan the metropolitan of servia was tho the chief adversary to king milan who represented the austrian influence the struggle between austria and russia in the balkans is in reality a struggle between catholicism and the great orthodox church this rivalry underlies all the small incidents of daily politics the emperor of austria has found it necessary to make an indirect answer to the speech in which the emperor of russia asserted his friendship for the prince of montenegro he has given a warning to all the powers in saying that the situation of europe continues to be little reassuring while hoping that peace can still be long pre served notwithstanding the great armaments which are continually increasing he regrets that the resignation of king milan of servia has placed the power in the hands bands of a regency during the minority of the young king he expresses a hope that the prudence and patriotism of the serviano ians will preserve their country from grave dangers and has some words of encouragement for bulgaria where order continues to reign and where great progress is making notwithstanding the difficult situation of the principality nothing could be clearer than this I 1 language an guage guarded guard ed as it is it is evident that all the dangers to which the emperor of austria alludes the difficulties he speaks of have their origin in the policy of russia and in the agitations of the party for a long time it seemed as though the word of chancellor after the crimean war might be repeated i la russia runia ne bends pas mcw eue elle es ll 11 the great northern empire had a merely negative and defensive policy for a long time after the treaty of berlin the old policy of the alliance of the three emperors did not seem quite abandoned but russia b by degrees assumed a more ent po policy e y and her independence now ll 11 borders 0 r ders upon hostility in vain has prince bismarck tried every means of conciliating the emperor of russia but all seems to be lost on his solitary will the emperor is influenced by the passions of his people who feel an innate hostility to germans and german culture in a country which has no parliamentary ins no rz f free press no chambers the sovereign while he seems autocratic is nevertheless swayed by a public opinion which finds its expression in a hundred ways the order of the day in russia is now a return to old russian habits customs 1 institutions ansti tu prejudices a total severance from an all ocel occidental dental influences the emperor leads the people and the people lead the emperor in this new crusade A war between russia and germany would really be a war between two different civilizations everybody has felt that prance france and russia were drawn toward each other during the past few years by an almost irresistible instinct there has never been a complete political understanding between them no treaty of alliance has been signed but the two nations have felt more interest in each other and have entered into a kind of moral alliance the russian government go has several times intimated that russia desired to see france make herself stronger stron ger the instability of the french cabinets the character of her republican institutions the conservative sentiments of the czar have prevented any definitive alliance al I 1 nee but ut the EM emperors bors advisers have persuaded persuaded him lately that too much importance kl ought not to be attached to the incidents of parliamentary life that beneath the political divisions in france there isa strong undercurrent of patriotism that in case of war all ae party arty division would rapidly disappear and that the chiefs of the r army would play the principal role in the development of events on the subject of the french army the emperor receives very special and complete information and the conclusion which has been arrived 61 at by his informants is that the r french army today is in excellent order has very able commanders and constitutes a political element of the greatest importance it was thought at one time that the painful incident of Sany ollo bouls would make bad blood between russia and france russian Itus sian blood had been shed and there certainly was much irritation manifested by the russian press on the first occasion when after the affair at Sany ollo the emperor met the diplomatic body the french ambassador M de laboulaye naturally felt some anxiety and his colleagues much curiosity the emperor approached M de laboulaye with his usual courtesy and merely said ill 1 I regret deeply the incident which has just taken place and then after a short pause but it will not embroil us oela celd nes broutt brouil lera pas between the constellation formed 44 by b the three powers of central curol europe prussia austria and italy and the t e nebulous moral alliance of france and russia what will be the conduct of england her interests are at present in the hands of a very able man lord salisbury who has lost much of his old ardor but gained in diplomatic knowledge foresight and true statesmanship he fully understands the forces which are opposing each other he feels keenly the great responsibilities of his post lie he has not so far committed a single fault england has her hands bands free she is so placed that she can observe the development of events bide her time and choose her hour france regrets that lia in the small matter of the conversion of the privileged debt of egypt her foreign office should have shown some ill will toward england at a time when it I 1 is essential that france should make no enemies all th the powers epowers had assented to this conversion which would benefit the egyptian fellah france has asked some guarantees and demanded the fixing of a date for the evacuation of egypt the french foreign office cannot be consoled for the diminution of its influence in the valley of the nile time will show what effect this attitude of the french government may have upon the orientation of the english policy DR DB ED ISAACSON AMERICAN FORK nov 11 1889 |
