Show THE IMPENDING WAR The curt reply of M De Giers Russian Ambassador at the Court of St James that Russia declines to further discuss or explain the aflair at Penjdeh makes war between Russia and England seem inevitable in-evitable and this is the opinion of those who are best informed in English and Russian diplomatic circles The course of Russia throughout the entire affair has been such as to irritate England and at the same time to allay her alarms and thereby gain time and make further advances ad-vances into Afghanistan If Russia shall advance so far as Herat and take and fortify that stronghold the empire I I of England in the East is in greater danger dan-ger that it has ever been heretofore In 1879 General Sir Henry Rawlison looked upon the occupation of Herat l > 3r Russia as the one thing which must not I be allowed and declared that she must be l A prevented from so doing cost what it I might Then he did not think the danger dan-ger imminent but today Russia I is not far from the gates of Herat and from Herat the road is 1 not long to the gates of India For some L have been years past Russian agents active in making dominant the influence a f Y t of the CJUIP in Persia and thj Shah is more friendly to him than to the Queen The wild and predatory tiibes of Turkes tan have teen placated by Russian agents and attached to the standard of the great I Northern Bear In Afghanistan Eng lands influence is greater than that of I her rival for the Afghans see in the advance and growth of the Russian empire in the South annihilation for their nation and its independence England would use them as independent allies while Russia would use them as conquered con-quered and dangerous subjects and hence although they do not care specially for England or her interest they prefer her to Russia whose interests are their dangers Englands danger is her Indian empire and her prestige and were she to lose these all lovers of liberty throughout everyland would think thatfreedoin was in peril and so it would be Whatever England Eng-land faults and they are many yet we in America her descendantsand from her and her heroes we learned to love liberty and when the mother country sought to deprive her children the colonists of that which was dearer to them than all else they forgot the ties of blood and fought and died for freedom and now when a deathlike conflict seems impending impend-ing between England and Russia we cannot but wish for Englands victory To gain victory she will have to fight as she never fought before and her main battlefield will likely be in Afghanistan and on the Indian frontier while on the sea she will be kept busy protecting her vast and almost universal commerce for Russia is not without a sufficient navy to cruise the seas and wait and watch for English prizes though of course while waiting and watching English ships of war will be pursuing the Russian vessels The Peter the Great is the largest of the completed Russian ironclads and at the water line has an armor of 14 inches carrying eight guns four of them being of 12inch calibre and four guns carrying ISO pound shot She has of completed cruisers the Minin 7inch armor 15 guns 4 with 8inch calibre and 12 with Ginch calibre the Duke of Edinburgh 6 inch armor 10 guns Ginch calibre r the GeneralAdmiral Ginch armor G guns 4 with 8inch calibre 2 with G inch calibre the H Dmitri Donskoi 7inch armor 1G guns 2 with 8inch calibre 14 with Ginch calibre the Vladimir Monamakh 7inch armor 1C guns 4 with 8inch calibre 12 with Ginch calibre The 12inch gun weighs tons 11inch 28 tons 9inch 12 to 15 tons 8inch 9 tons Ginch 47f tons Russia has other ironclad vessels but not of such strength and power as these above mentioned and is able to do England Eng-land much damage where England is strongest Her army of course is much larger than Englands and is nearer what will he in the event of war the field of battle and when on a war footing consists con-sists of 41551 officers and 187G333 men while Englands forces at home and in the colonies including regular forces in the Indian establishments is only 644 753 So it will be seen that Russia can put into the field some 1231600 more men than England although England I can and probably does rely on her Indian In-dian subjects who are near the scene of prospective operations for soldiers in the east eastAt At present it looks as though war must come and if it does it will most likely be one that will change in a great measure meas-ure the destiny of nations It is to be hoped it may not come I |