Show OUR RUSSIAN MINISTER Yesterday afternoon the new Minister to Russia Hon George V N Lothrop addressed the Michigan Legislature by special request Mr Lothrop is a man who commands the respect of every man in his State and long years ago had his politics been of the hue they most loved in 1 Michigan he might have had any office within the gift of the people of that State Though never honored with place he was ever honored with respect and Michigan will without reference to parties take as much pride in him as she has in I her Cooley and Campbell The cordial relations which have ever existed between be-tween the government of the Czar and I the United States will be maintained although one very good reason why the relations between the two countries have been so friendly is that there have neer been any rivalries between the two countries coun-tries and i when Russia was on this continent in Alaska that province was too remote from the United States to be the cause of any contention and there lay betwixt Alaska and us the whole of British America In this Russias foe became our friend Another reason rea-son is that when the United States I wished to possess Alaska Russia was paid the price she asked and all was friendly But the time when Russia showed her greatest friendship was during dur-ing the darkest days of the rebellion when all the world seemed to desire the disruption of the Union Mr Lothrop in his address to the Legislature of Michigan Mich-igan tells an anecdote that was related to him by one of the Justices of the Supreme Su-preme Court of the United States When things were at their most critical point with the Government during the war the Czar sent a large fleet into American waters with sealed orders The contingency contin-gency which those sealed orders anticipated antici-pated never arose but when they were opened they revealed what the contingency contin-gency was Those sealed orders directed that Russian fleet upon the very first demonstration de-monstration of hostile interference by foreign for-eign powers in American affairs to open its batteries against those so interfering inter-fering and in aid of the United States As Minister Lothrop remarked re-marked on this action of Russia it is such friendship as this that the United States should seek and encourage Such friendship is true friendship for it is displayed dis-played in the hour of trial and when most needed j and at that time there was no other European power that had any I such interest in the preservation of the United States The hereditary sentimental senti-mental friendship of France did not shine out brilliantly in those days and Louis Napoleon would have taken advantage of it at any time to have furthered his pet scheme of a French empire in America and it was only the t vigilance of the American Minister at Paris and the watchfulness of American consuls at the I various ports of France that prevented the fitting out of Confederate cruisers in French ports to do the same work that the Alabama and others like her did Napoleon the Third was trading upon the reputation of Lafayette La-fayette The relations of the United States with all foreign powers should he intimate and friendly and strong thence when so j but they ought never to be complicated com-plicated by treaties of offense and defense de-fense Such men as exMinister Lowell and Minister Lothrop do much to make the relations of the United States with European powers what they should be and such men are an honor to the country coun-try no matter to what party they belong |