OCR Text |
Show Russia, and the Dardanelles, (Ex-attache in Chicago Tribune.) . In order to appreciate the full importance im-portance of the appearance of Grand Duke Xicholas at Constantinople under the walls of the Yildiz Kiosk on board a Russian ironclad under the pretext of paying a state visit to the sultan, it is necessary to bear in mind that no foreign battleship has passed through the Dardanelles straits since the Crimean Cri-mean war, forty-seven years ago. That war, resulting in the defeat of Russia by the united forces of France, England, Eng-land, Turkey and Sardinia, was brought to a conclusion by the so-called treaty of Paris in 1S56, according to the terms of which Russia was debarred from rebuilding re-building the defenses of Sebastopol and from fortifying any port in the Black sea, while the straits of the Dardanelles were closed for all time to the passage of any ships of war save those of Turkey. Tur-key. The Black sea was at the same time neutralized, and, while opened to the commerce of the world, was closed to ships of war of every kind save a limited number of small gunboats for revenue purposes and for policing the lower Danube. At the close of the war between France and Germany in 1870, Russia, however, took advantage of the situation situa-tion to address a circular note to the signatory powers, declaring that it declined de-clined to be bound any longer by those of the stipulations of the treaty which provided for the neutralization of the Black sea. This led to an international congress in London, which resulted in an amendment of the treaty of Paris in so tar that Russia was permitted to maintain" any number of warships she saw , fit in the Black sea. But the straits of the Dardanelles were declared as strictly barred as ever to all men of wan The result of this has natu- rally been that Russia has been com- pelled until now to build all the ships of its large and powerful Black sea fleet on the shores of the Black sea, since it has been impossible for the czar to bring into the Black sea any of the men of war which have been built in his Baltic shipyards or in for-1 for-1 eign countries. Thus, for instance, the magnificent battleship which he had constructed by the Cramps of Philadelphia Phila-delphia has by the terms of the treaty of Paris, even as amended by the congress con-gress of 1S71 in London, been prevented pre-vented from access to the Black sea and from visiting any of Russia's" ports bordering thereon. One of the effects of this galling restriction re-striction placed upon Russia was that she has been obliged to maintain riot one but two large end entirely distinct fleets in southern waters. For she has not been able to use the Black sea squadron for the protection of her interests in-terests in the Mediterranean, while in the same way she has been debarred from employing her maritiem forces in the Mediterranean for duty in the j Black sea. Moreover, the ships of her Mediterranean squadron have not only had to be brought from the Baltic, but have likewise been shut off from all of the Muscovite ports, arsenals and bases of supply in the Black sea. As Russia has no port on the Mediterranean, Mediter-ranean, she has been obliged, when any of the ships of her Mediterranean squadron have been in need of repair, dry docking, etc., either to depend upon the friendly offices of France, of Greec, of England or some other Mediterranean Mediterra-nean power, or else send the man of war in question all the way back through the straits of Gibraltar, up the stormy bay of Biscay and the North sea, to her naval arsenals on the Baltic, Bal-tic, j |