Russia’s War Preparations.
COL. GOWEN, an American engineer, who has recently returned from a stay of many years in Russia, gives some interesting facts in regard to the armament of that country. In relation to the defenses of the Black Sea, he states that Fort Nicolai, at the Sea of Azov, near Kirtch, is now one of the strongest forts in the world. It is so constructed that 100 guns can be brought to bear at the same time upon vessels approaching from any point. The fort is supplied with 15-inch steel Krupp guns, the heaviest made in the world prior to the Franco-Prussian war. A long artificial bar stretches out from the opposite shore, a distance of seven miles, to within half a mile of the fort. This bar, built of stone, at an expense of $20,000,000, virtually closes up the entrance to the Sea of Azov. At Sevastopol, the fortifications on the northern side are intact; but those on the southern side have never been rebuilt. During the last five years, no less than three engineering parties have been sent to Sevastopol by the Government, to commence the work of rebuilding; but in each case the attempt was abandoned. On the Baltic Sea, Cronstadt, and Helsingfors, and Revel, commanding the entrance to the Neva, have been so strengthened as to be considered impregnable. The fleet of the Czar on the Black Sea, the cause of the present controversy, includes no iron-clads. It contains 90 small steamers of the gun-boat class, not plated, although intended for transformation into iron-clads. The Government has evaded the provision of the Treaty of Paris, which forbade them to have more than six vessels in the Black Sea larger than corvettes, by constructing what are called transports. These are large frigates, pierced for guns, which can be made available for war purposes in a very short time. This illicit navy is still further increased by the 80 steamers of the Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company, which was formed by permission of the Russian Government, immediately after the termination of the Crimean war, the royal family owning the greater part of the stock. A subsidy of $2,000,000 a year has put the Company on such a footing that it is now paying 2535per cent on its stock. These steamers, 12 of them over 3,000 tons’ burden, and all of them fast vessels, are now running to Constantinople, Cairo, Marseilles, and London. They are all commanded by former officers of the Russian navy, who have been placed upon the retired list, and manned by sailors formerly of the same navy. These fleets can, it is estimated, transport 300,000 men at one time. The French and English Governments are represented in the Black Sea by small gun-boats stationed at Galatz, at the mouth of the Danube. The naval force of the Baltic consists of a fleet of iron-clad frigates, built in England, 28 iron-clad monitors on the American plan, 43 line of battle ships of the first class, including the Grand Admiral, built by W. H. Webb, and 90 small gun-boats, carrying from four to six guns. On the Caspian Sea, there are 30 or 40 steamers, hardly available, however, for warlike purposes. The country seems provided with all facilities for the manufacture of munitions of war. Nature supplies of niter and sulphur prevent any scarcity of powder that might otherwise result from the discontinuance of friendly relations between Russia and other powers. There are large stores of powder at different points throughout the country, Fort Constantine alone having 5,000 tons within its walls. At Nicolaief, the chief depot of the Black Sea Department, situated on the River Bog, about 60 miles from its mouth, all the line-of-battle ships and frigates are built. It has large ship-yards, foundries, rolling-mills, planing machines, and all the necessary adjuncts of a complete arsenal. At T’oula there is a large manufactory which has been turning out 1,000 breech-loaders a day for the last two years. A large establishment for the manufacture of plates for iron-clads, the machinery of which cost $1,500,000, is situated on the river Don. Colt’s revolvers are manufactured in large quantities at T’oula by machinery, purchased in America from Col. Colt himself. The arsenals of the empire contain, it is estimated, about 2,500,000 stand of arms. The Russian Government, as is well known, has been an eager buyer of large quantities of machinery used by the United States Government in manufacturing war material. The army of Russia available at the present time numbers 850,000 men. The army of the Caucasus, under the command of the Grand Duke Michael, numbers 250,000, and can be mustered in a very short time. Besides all these, there are 1,200,000 reserves who, having served a certain period in the army, resume their usual vocations, subject, however, to the call to military duty. By the aid of the 6,000 miles of railroad recently constructed, large bodies of men could be quickly massed at St. Petersburg, at Taganrog, at the mouth of the Don, at Kirtch, Sevastopol, or Odessa. The finances of the country are in such a state, it is said, as to seriously embarrass the necessary operations of the Government if war should be declared. The currency has been depreciated 25 per cent by the expenditures attendant upon the construction of railroads through many parts of the country almost destitute of inhabitants. Col. Gowen regards the popular misunderstanding of the question at issue as something marvelous. Russian merchant-ships pass through the Dardanelles, and no one fears for the Sultan’s tenure of authority; but when it is proposed that Russian gun-boats shall exercise the same privilege, this is immediately assumed to imply the deposition of the Ottoman sovereign. A long residence both in Russia and in England, and an intimate acquaintance with the opinions of both peoples, convince Col. Gowen that a Conference can only delay the final catastrophe. The Russian people are strenuous in their demands, and the English are emphatic in their refusal. There can be, he claims, but one result, namely, war.—N. Y. Tribune.