THE STATE OF EUROPE

Publishing Committee · Rochester, N. Y. · Jun 13, 1854

THE STATE OF EUROPE.

A year has fully elapsed from the time that the Russian Emperor began to make serious preparations for war; for ten months his army has been in the Principalities, which he occupied partially in time of peace, without declaring war. Since the end of October war has really been waged, and yet the position of the armies is the same as at the beginning. About thirty thousand men have already lost their lives by the sword, the diseases and privations of war, and still no important battle has been fought, and no great strategical plan has been carried out on either side. Russians and Turks keep their positions, for, if Prince Gorchakoff has occupied and Omer Pasha evacuated the Dobrodja, Lesser Wallachia has, on the other hand, been abandoned by the Russians, and the neutrality of Servia is now firmly established. Two months have likewise nearly elapsed since the Anglo-French declaration of war; the largest fleets Europe has ever seen afloat in the Black Sea and in the Baltic, Gallipoli and Rodosto are garrisoned by French armies and Scutari by the English, but no action has yet been fought, though England has already managed to expend ten millions sterling on preparations, and Turkey has exhausted her treasury and is unable to pay the arrears due to her European and Asiatic armies. What will be the consequence of all this mismanagement on both sides? Ancient Turkey has already been swept away, the institutions of the Ottoman Empire have been overthrown by the reforms necessitated by the war, and even if Russia should ever yield and withdraw from the Principalities, the old order of things cannot be restored. The rule of those gentlemanly Osmalis, who were used to command but not to work, who were so hospitable, and generous, and chivalrous, and domineering, and lazy, and apathetic as the feudal Barons of the middle ages, or the modern planters in the southern States, has gone forever, with all its patriarchal forms, and great politicians; the question remains to be solved how the Empire is to be reconstructed. The Christian nations of European Turkey are the vilest and most abject population of Europe. The Serbs, too lazy for agriculture, live chiefly by cattle-breeding, and jealous of competition, do not allow emigrants to settle among them. The Montenegrins, the Albanians and the Armatoles of the Pindus, are freebooters by profession; the Bulgarians and Besniak have no manly, energetic spirit; accustomed to be serfs, they do not aspire to rule, nor have they the education fitting them for the management of an Empire; while the Greeks are well known as the greatest cheats and intriguer in Europe, a character which they have earned in Turkey and in independent Greece, as well as in the Ionian Islands. Under such circumstances the Anglo-French occupation will probably last longer than was originally contemplated, and may in spite of all the conventions and stipulations to the contrary, ultimately lead to a partition of Turkey, though its original object was the defense of the independence and integrity of the Ottoman Empire.

The Turkish fleet has left Constantinople for the Circassian Coast, and will probably soon join the Anglo-French fleet, which is expected to attack Anapa, Sudjuk Kale, Sukum Kale and Redut Kale, the four fortresses of the eastern Euxine where the Russians have concentrated their defensive forces. It is expected that the campaign will open in Asia in a few days, as the snow has at last disappeared from the Armenian plateau and the roads from Trebizond to Erzerum, and from Erzerum to Kars have become practicable.

The strange inaction of Pashkiewitch on the Danube is again explained by diplomacy. The Russian army of occupation, formerly facing Omer Pasha, has suddenly turned its front towards Transylvania, and the Czar is assuming a position more threatening to Austria than dangerous to Turkey, in hopes either to force Austria to join him openly, or to chastise the ingratitude of Francis Joseph in a summary way before England and France could assist their new ally.

In Italy an outbreak can scarcely be prevented. Garribaldi has arrived at Genoa, Tommasco, the exiled Venetian statesman and poet, has likewise returned to Italy, and Mazzini is said to have disappeared from London; all this tends to the supposition that my next letter may be more interesting.

The Queen of Spain has ordered the garrison of Cuba to be increased, and orders have been sent to Pezuela to arm the mulattoes and, if required, the negroes, in case of an American invasion, which would at once bring about the emancipation of all the slaves in order to make the conquest of the island both a desperate and worthless affair for the South of the Union. The fine of the Black Warrior has been remitted out of consideration for the United States; but the claims and pretensions in Mr Soule's note have been repudiated. The United States must either give up their claim or break off diplomatic relations.

Denmark seems not to be inclined to depart from her neutrality, and if indeed she should do so, it will be to turn Russian as soon as she is sure of Prussia. It cannot be doubted that the policy of Copenhagen and Berlin will be identical. The Swedes, on the other hand, wish to join the western powers, but being well aware that the combined fleet must leave the Baltic early in November on account of the frost, they do not like the risk of being overrun by a Russian army during winter when the Anglo-French alliance can be of but little avail. Still should Sweaborg be taken by Sir Charles Napier, Sweden would immediately side with England and France and garrison the fortress, which is the key of Finland.—N. Y. Tribune.