ON THE COMMERCE OF THE SEA OF AZOF.
Rostof, key to commercial system of Eastern Russia—A
district of the Government of Ekaterinoslaf—Its gradual rise
since 1835—Articles of export—Wheat—Linseed—Rye—Military
stores sent hence to Sevastopol,
&c.—Salt-fish—Caviare—Tallow—Wool—Iron—Iron foundries of
Lugan—The system of advances on produce—Made through agents at
Pavlosk—Exports paid for, not by imports, but by cash—Political
reasons for high tariff—Attempt to make Kertch the emporium for
the Sea of Azof—Failure of it—Lighters of the Azof—Passage of
exports from the great producing countries of the North—By the
Don and the Volga—Dubofka and Katchálin—Loss to Russia from
high tariff—Commercial and peaceable disposition of Russian
people—Advantages of free trade to them.
Rostof is the key to all the trade of the Sea of Azof and the
south-eastern parts of the Russian empire.[269] It is a town of about
12,000 inhabitants, composed of Russians, Cossacks, Armenians, Greeks,
and a few foreigners. The merchants generally have only their offices
here, and live at Taganrok, which is 50 miles distant. They go to
Rostof once or twice a week, and send there the orders for their
purchases. Rostof is the capital of a district (Uezd) in the government
of Ekaterinoslaf, and is the station of one of the two brigades of the
reserve division of the army of the Caucasus. In the course of last year
these troops were marched away to the Caucasus, and the town was left
undefended, as it appeared in no danger of being attacked. Rostof has
grown up from a small fishing village to its present importance, solely
on account of its admirable geographical position with respect to trade,
and so gradual has been its rise, that it would be difficult to say at
what period it was first founded. It is since the year 1835 that its
trade has undergone a marked yearly increase. Rostof enjoys no special
privileges, and its flourishing state is entirely due to its convenient
site, and to the large amount of foreign capital of which it is the
centre, which has drawn to it the produce of the interior of the empire,
and made it one of the most important commercial towns.
As Odessa is the outlet for the produce of the southern Polish provinces,
and from this circumstance derives its importance, so Rostof is one of
the principal débouchés for the agricultural produce of Great Russia, and
consequently likely to become a place still more flourishing than it is
at present. Great Russia, as the governments around Moscow are called, is
the most thickly peopled and most productive part of the Russian empire,
containing an industrious and active population, and the principal seats
of agriculture and manufactures. It formerly sent its produce almost
entirely to the Baltic for exportation, but of late years there has been
a tendency in growers to avail themselves of the great arteries of the
Don and the Volga, and shipments from the Azof and the other ports of
southern Russia have consequently much increased.
Rostof from its situation may also compete with the North of Russia
for a portion of the Asiatic trade, for it has a nearly complete water
communication with the Caspian, and has likewise constant dealings with
the northern parts of the Caucasus. Its great importance, however, arises
from the fact that it stands at the point of communication between the
widely extended river system of Great Russia and the Southern Seas.
The ports of the Azof are Taganrok, which is so intimately connected
with Rostof, Mariopol, Berdiansk, and the nominal port of Yeisk.
There is no import trade of any importance carried on in any of them,
because of the high duties of the Russian tariff. The total amount of
the imports at all the ports of the Sea of Azof was only 300,000_l._
for the year 1853, while the exports exceeded 3,350,000_l._[270] The
imports consisted wholly of articles of luxury chiefly the produce
of the Levant, such as fruits, oil, and wines, and the largest item
was Greek wines, of which there was a demand for no less than 600,000
gallons. There can be no doubt that the imports are checked by the high
tariff, for the exports have more than trebled in the last four years
from 1850 to 1854, having increased from 1,100,000_l._ to 3,350,000_l._,
while the imports in the same time have only increased 40,000_l._ It is
true that the same population which finds it more convenient to export
their produce by the Azof, may have the same reason for receiving their
imports by Petersburg, and such to a certain extent is the case, for
while the whole exports[271] from all Russia amounted in the year 1852
to nearly 18,000,000_l._, the imports in the same year were upwards of
16,000,000_l._, so that the sum which had to be paid in cash was about
1,800,000_l._, and on looking to the tables of the imports and exports of
bullion, it appears that in the year 1852 there was imported in gold and
silver 1,988,000_l._[272]
The principal articles of exportation from the Azof are wheat,[273]
linseed, rye, wool, tallow, iron, and military stores. The stock of
wheat, under ordinary circumstances, is comparatively small, as the
vessels which carry it abroad reach the shipping port about the time when
the chief supplies from the interior, either by water or by land, arrive.
The wheat shipped from Rostof may be classed as follows:—First, the wheat
from the country of the Line, that is, the districts occupied by the Line
and Tchernomorski Cossacks, which are situated to the northward of the
Terek and Kuban rivers, between the territory of the Don Cossacks and
Circassia, and the Black and Caspian seas. Secondly, the wheat that is
grown on the lands watered by the Don, which is superior to the former in
quality and condition. Thirdly, the Volga wheat, which is with justice
preferred to the Don and Line wheats, and is chiefly grown by the wealthy
German colonies situated on both banks of the Volga and its tributary
rivers northwards of Saratof. The bulk of the wheat shipped from the port
of Taganrok consists of hard wheat which is principally consumed in the
Mediterranean, where it is used for the manufacture of maccaroni, but a
small quantity is imported into this country.
Hard wheat requires a virgin soil, and this accounts for its being
in Europe almost entirely grown in the south of Russia.[274] It is
remarkable for its bright yellow colour, heavy weight and hard grain. Of
late years the proprietors, whose estates are situated in the vicinity
of Taganrok, have directed their attention to the growth of soft wheat,
and their crops have yielded a wheat whose quality has been found quite
equal to that of Mariopol and Berdiansk. It is worthy of notice that in
some districts, if the same wheat be sown for three or four consecutive
years, it gradually loses its original character, and finally turns into
hard wheat. The wheat, whilst in this state of transition, bearing at the
same time the character both of hard and soft wheat, is called by the
Russians, “Pererodka” (from the verb _perachadit_, to go over). The wheat
shipped from Mariopol and Berdiansk is grown in the immediate vicinity
of those towns by the German and Greek colonists, and likewise by the
Russians. It is of a reddish colour, weighing on an average from 60 to
63 lbs. per bushel English, and commands a higher price than either the
hard wheat of Taganrok, or the soft Polish that is shipped from Odessa.
Most of it was formerly shipped to the Mediterranean, but of late years
the English millers have learnt to appreciate the peculiar qualities it
possesses, which principally consist in the strength of the flour it
produces, and since 1851 and 1852 large quantities have been imported
into this country.
The linseed, which is shipped from Rostof, is grown throughout those
districts that are watered by the Don and the Volga, as far as the
point where, making a bend in their course, these two rivers approach
for a short space, within 45 miles of each other. The linseed plant is
cultivated by proprietors, as well as by the peasantry. The plant is of
a coarse kind, and the fibre is thrown away as useless;[275] but many
good authorities consider, as the demand for flax is so great in Europe,
that the stalk of the plant might be turned to account at least for the
coarser kinds of linen.
Rye is grown over the whole country principally for home consumption
in the shape either of flour or brandy. Russian brandy, “Vodka,” is
extremely strong, measuring about 30°, which is nearly equal to common
spirits of wine.[276] A small quantity of rye has been lately exported to
Holland, for the manufacture of Schiedam. The Government are the chief
purchasers for the rye brought to Rostof for exportation. They contract
for it in the shape of flour, which comes down the river packed in mat
bags, of which 500,000 or 600,000 Tchetwerts[277] are yearly received,
and shipped from Rostof to the Crimea, and the coasts of Circassia. It is
ground by windmills, and watermills high up in Great Russia.
Besides the rye flour, munitions of war, such as anchors, chains, cables,
shells, shot, cannon, and ironware of every description, are shipped
hence for Sevastopol and other places. The ammunition stores of metallic
composition come firstly from Lugan, at the confluence of that tributary
of the Don called the Donetse,[278] and the river Lugan about 100 miles
from Rostof. Here are iron-works, and a cannon foundry belonging to the
crown, which in the time of Dr. Clarke were all under the direction of an
Englishman named Gascoigne, formerly superintendent of the Carron works
in Scotland, whose improvements he betrayed to the Russian Government.
“From thence,” says Dr. Clarke, “the Emperor’s artillery passes by
water to the Black Sea. Mr. Gascoigne found excellent coal at Lugan, in
consequence of which discovery, as well as its convenient situation for
water carriage, the foundry was there established.” Probably some of
the finer articles required for military use come from Toola, which is
the Birmingham of Russia, and famous for its guns and pistols, and many
articles are now supplied from some parts of Siberia.
The exports of wool from the Sea of Azof have not kept pace with the
large increase which has taken place in other articles of export. The
amount exported in 1853 was 5,196,708 lbs., being a decrease of nearly
2 millions of lbs. on the quantity exported in 1852, and an increase
on that of the preceding years, the average exports of which seem to
have been about 4 millions of lbs. The decrease may be ascribed to the
great competition offered in the western markets by the shipments made
from Australia, and by the increasing home consumption in Russia. In
the trade carried on by caravans through Siberia, between Russia and
China,[279] cloth is the chief article of barter, and the prices of
the wool in the grease are less influenced by those which the exporter,
guided by the state of the London market, is able to pay, than by the
greater or lesser demand for Russian cloths at home and in China. There
is little or none of the wool shipped in its original greasy state. It
is either brook-washed previous to the sheep being clipped, which is
accomplished by driving them through a stream, or hand-washed in warm
and then rinsed in cold water. This latter operation, which cleanses the
wool much more effectually than the former, is generally managed by the
foreign merchants themselves, who for that object have large wash-houses
established at Rostof and Kherson. The Merino fleeces require particular
care, for previous to their being washed they have to be assorted
according to the fineness of the hair. This process requires some skill
and considerable experience, as a parcel of wool seldom consists of less
than five or six assortments.
The common Russian sheep, which is raised as well by the rich landed
proprietor as by the poorest serf, requires little care. Its wool is of
a long staple, coarse and wiry, and at all times finds a ready demand in
the English market, where it is particularly well suited for purposes
where a long stapled wool is the chief requisite. The best wool of this
kind is produced in the Cossack territories, and goes in the trade under
the denomination of Donskoy. The Tatar broad-tailed sheep is generally
of a brown greyish colour, and is found in all the steppes inhabited
by the Nogais Tatars, Kalmuks, Khirgiz, and other eastern tribes. It
produces a wool of considerably less value than Donskoy, which is used
by the natives in the manufacture of coarse cloths and carpets. The
Merino sheep was introduced into the south of Russia about forty years
ago. The climate is not altogether favourable for the growth of fine
wool, and the losses incurred during and after long and severe winters
are great. The quality of the wool is generally good, and there are
flocks which produce an article equal in texture and fineness to the
best Silesian wool. The Merino sheep are spread all over the country,
but are principally to be found in New Russia, and in the government of
Saratof and others adjoining it. They require considerable care, and as
the rearing of them is attended with great expenses they are only to
be found on the lands of the German colonists and of wealthy Russian
proprietors. The Merino sheep of South Russia is a descendant of the
Saxon breed originally introduced into this country, which it still
closely resembles. The Valachian sheep, otherwise called Zigay, has been
successfully crossed with the Merinos, and the breed thus produced, which
has retained much of the character of the Spanish sheep, generally goes
under the name of Metis or Schlonsky.
The quantity of fine wool produced in Russia has not, I believe,
increased of late years. Some five or six years ago, in the governments
of Ekaterinoslaf and Kharkof, it was estimated that upwards of one-third
of the Merino sheep reared in those governments had perished through
disease and want of fodder. On the whole the proprietor of Merino sheep
is exposed to greater risks and losses than those incurred in any other
branch of husbandry. Cases often occur, when, in the course of a few
days, the toil of many years is irrecoverably lost. A late spring, with
frosty nights in April, is sometimes the cause of the greatest mischief;
the fodder collected during the autumn proving insufficient for the
maintenance of the sheep, and the frost killing the lambs the moment
they are dropped by their mother. Most of the flocks are under the care
of a German shepherd, and on many estates no expense has been spared in
introducing in the management of the sheep every possible amelioration.
Amongst the finest flocks in the south of Russia is that belonging to
Don Baguer, the Spanish Consul-General at Odessa, and his brother, an
establishment which dates from about the year 1839, and numbering lately
15,000 head of Merino sheep. In 1844 he shipped a cargo of rams to the
Sultan, some of which were of the value of 40_l._, which presents a great
contrast to the common price of sheep in Southern Russia, which is from
4_s._ to 6_s._ a-head. In well-managed flocks a regular register is kept
of the rams and ewes and of the quality of their offsprings. Every sheep
is branded with a number in the ear, and it is the art of the shepherd to
take care that the breed is so mixed as to keep one uniform average in
the wool and raise the standard. The lambing time is in April, shortly
after the sheep quit the sheepfolds, in which they are sheltered during
the winter.
The exports of tallow from the Sea of Azof in the year 1853 amounted
to 35,926 cwt. In the south-east part of Russia the principal melting
establishments are at Bachmut, Slavansk, and the neighbouring towns. In
the early part of the spring the melters proceed to the various cattle
fairs held in the governments of Ekaterinoslaf, Kharkof, the Tauride, and
the lands of the Cossacks, to effect their purchases. After they have
collected the quantity of cattle which their means allow them, their
next care is to select and rent tracts of land on either side of the Sea
of Azof for them to feed upon. Considerable experience is required in
the selection of the pasturage grounds, for the profit which the melter
derives, after his cattle have been converted into tallow, depends less
on the price paid for them and the price he receives for the tallow,
than on the fat state of the cattle and the amount of tallow which they
consequently yield. Thus, in years of drought, when the cattle can but
barely subsist on a scanty vegetation, and hundreds perish through want
of water, the tallow-dealer incurs losses against which it is impossible
to guard. In the beginning of September the herds of cattle quit their
summer pasturages, and are slowly driven towards the melting stations,
where the process of slaughtering and melting generally commences about
the 10th of October.
The animal, after being killed and stripped of its hide, and after the
head and the legs (at the knees) have been cut off and the inside taken
out, is then divided into four parts, which are thrown into the cauldron.
With the exception of two strips of flesh taken from off each side of
the spine, the whole of the meat is converted into tallow. The bones
are crushed, and a small quantity of fine tallow is collected from the
marrow contained within them. Old sheep, especially of the Merino breed,
whose wool deteriorates after they have reached their fourth or fifth
year, are likewise converted into tallow, which may be valued at about
1_l._ less per ton than that produced from cattle. The average price of
tallow on the spot is 25_l._ to 28_l._ per ton. There is a large home
consumption for hides, and of late years very few have been shipped
abroad, although the export duty has been considerably reduced. Oxen
being found more valuable when used for draught, cows are principally
used in the manufacture of tallow. Some twenty years ago there was hardly
any tallow shipped from the Azof; all that was produced in the districts
surrounding it being sent to the fairs which are held at Belgorod, where
it was bought up by the Petersburg dealers, who sent it over land to the
North.
The cattle in the South of Russia are of the same breed which is found
in Bulgaria and the Danubian Principalities, of a uniform white-greyish
colour, long horned and with large bones. The German colonists have
imported cattle from their own country, and their cows are found,
especially for dairy purposes, much superior to those of Russia. A
Russian cow costs about 9 or 10 R. = about 1_l._ 10_s._; a German
cow from 20 to 25 R. = from 3_l._ to 4_l._ In the South of Russia no
cheese or butter is made beyond what is required for the wants of the
inhabitants, but a considerable quantity of salt-butter is brought down
the Volga and the Don from Siberia, and is shipped to Turkey and the
Greek Archipelago.
Formerly wheat was the only article of importance shipped at Rostof for
a foreign market. Linseed, wool, and tallow were first introduced as
articles of export by the house of Messrs. William Yeames and Co., the
only English merchants on the shores of the Sea of Azof.
The exports of Russia consist almost wholly of articles of raw produce,
which are raised by the assistance of foreign capital. Of the whole
exports of the empire, which of late years have reached a total of
nearly 18 millions sterling, about 7 millions are yearly sent from this
country as an advance upon goods that are to be delivered afterwards.
Thus upwards of one-third of the price of the whole exports is paid
from three to nine months before the merchant receives his goods.[280]
This system is necessary because there is a great dearth of capital in
Russia; and if money were not advanced to her beforehand by foreigners,
she would not be able to pay the expense of raising and forwarding so
large a quantity of agricultural produce as she at present exports. From
the difficulty of communication in Russia, and the great distances that
have to be traversed, the expense of carriage frequently forms a more
considerable item in the price of the article at the port of shipment
than the original cost paid to the producer. Thus a quarter of wheat
which costs at Rostof in store 22_s._, its average price in ordinary
years, has been bought of the grower of the wheat for about 10_s._ The
expense of carriage has amounted to about 8_s._, so that about 4_s._ per
quarter remains to the exporter as interest on his money, remuneration
for his labour, and other incidental charges.
Russia is a poor country; she has not had time and opportunity to lay up,
as we have done, a vast amount of money, always seeking for employment in
all parts of the world. With a rich soil and an industrious population,
she has numberless opportunities of laying out money so as to bring in
large profits, as is proved by the current rate of interest, which is
about 12 per cent.[281]
Most of the purchases of Russian produce are made on contract during the
autumn and winter months, when two-thirds, three-fourths, and sometimes
even more, of the total amount is paid for in advance in hard cash. The
foreign merchant established on the shores of the Sea of Azof reimburses
himself for the produce he has shipped abroad by emitting bills at
three months’ date; and as the import trade, as has been shown, is
comparatively insignificant, and hitherto no banks have been established,
he is obliged to send his bills for negotiation either to St. Petersburg
or to Odessa. From thence the proceeds are remitted to him by post either
in gold or silver. The commission and brokerage on the negotiation of the
bills, and the insurance and postage on the transmission of the money,
amount to about 1 per cent. Most of the bills drawn at Taganrok are
negotiated at St. Petersburg, because the exchange there is generally
more favourable than at Odessa. It frequently occurs that a whole month
elapses from the time the bill is advised until the money which it has
realised is received. The heavy stamp-duties now charged on bills are
a serious if not an insurmountable obstacle to any improvement in the
transaction of money operations.
Merchants now deal directly with the producers, through the agency of
confidential clerks settled in various parts in the interior of the
country. Pavlosk, on the Don, about 400 miles from Rostof, is the
principal station for these agents. The great house of Ralli[282] has,
besides their establishment at Pavlosk, a complete network of agencies
over all the country situated to the east of Moscow, where such of the
linseed and wheat as is shipped at St. Petersburg is chiefly produced.
I have now given a list of the principal articles of export from the
Sea of Azof, and endeavoured to explain the manner in which so large
an amount of agricultural produce is raised in so poor a country. The
imports, as I have said, are kept out not because the population are
unwilling to receive them, but solely by the high duties of the Russian
tariff. These were reduced in 1850, but not low enough to create any
sensible benefit. M. Tegoborski, in his answer to M. Léon Faucher, at
once admits this fact, and says that the finances of the state would
undoubtedly profit by a different policy. The reason for not relaxing the
tariff is probably political. The manufacturers, whose trade has been
created by protection, would undoubtedly cry out at any change, but the
more powerful body of the consumers would be favourable to it, so that
the Government would have little to fear from the hostility of the public
feeling. It would have, however, a decidedly liberal political tendency.
It would be impossible to admit foreign goods in large quantities and at
the same time prevent a greater intercourse with foreigners, who would
be chiefly the inhabitants of Western Europe. These would bring with
them their own ideas, the results of unfettered reason, for which the
natives of Russia, of all people in the world the most unprejudiced, feel
a natural yearning. The Russian Government is too wise not to see that
it would be impossible for it to keep up its present system under such
altered circumstances; and therefore, although it admits the beneficial
effects of larger foreign importations so far as an increase of wealth
is concerned, yet, considering as indispensable the maintenance of its
present military system, it is obliged consistently to refuse free trade.
The Don and the Volga are both frozen every year from about the beginning
of December to the middle of March. When the navigation is no longer
possible, very little produce arrives at Rostof, and the average quantity
brought down by the sledges is insignificant, owing to the general
unsteadiness of the weather. As the shallowness of the water makes the
navigation of the Sea of Azof very difficult (by the Greeks and Romans it
was called a marsh, and not a sea),[283] it has naturally been felt that
the emporium of goods for exportation should be at some place to which
large ships can have access, after the difficulties of its navigation
in coming from the interior of Russia have been passed. This led to the
establishment of the quarantine at Kertch, as has been explained in a
former chapter. It was thought that goods would be brought at leisure
down the Azof by lighters, and that stores would be erected there, as
they have been at Odessa, for the raw staple articles of exportation. For
reasons that have been detailed, this expectation was not realized; and
while in the year 1852 no less than 1606[284] vessels with an average
tonnage of about 250 tons passed the Straits of Kertch, and entered the
Azof to take in their cargoes at some of its ports, a very small number
stopped to be loaded at Kertch. As ships are obliged to stand out so
far from the shore at the ports of the Azof, receiving their cargoes by
degrees, and cannot be fully laden till they have passed the Straits
of Kertch below Yenicáleh, there is a great employment of lighters in
the Azof, which are manned chiefly by Cossacks of the Don and Little
Russians. They are an inferior description of craft, and the rates they
charge vary extremely according to the season.[285]
In years when an unusually large amount of trade has been carried on,
great inconvenience has been felt from the inadequate means of conveyance
by water. The delays also in the arrival of the lighters, which sometimes
take six weeks to come down the Azof, cause a great waste of time and
capital. A plan has often been set on foot for having steam-tugs on the
Azof, which would cause a great saving in time and expense, and might
easily be effected, because the anthracite mines are very near Rostof.
The failure of this and other beneficial projects must be attributed to
the extreme scarcity of capital, and the languor attending all efforts
at improvement under the restrictive regulations necessary in a despotic
monarchy.
Such are a few remarks on the passage of goods down the Sea of Azof
from the great producing countries of the north. The way in which they
reach Rostof from the interior is by the noble river of the Don, which
rolls its full tide of waters through the governments of Toola, Tambof,
Orel, Woroneje, and the vast and fertile territory of the Don Cossacks.
Toola is only about 150 miles to the south of Moscow, and there is
therefore water communication with all the seas of the world within a
short distance of the capital of Great Russia.[286] But this is not the
only river that feeds the commerce of Rostof. At about 125 miles from
the mouth of the Don, by two happy bends in their course, the Volga and
the Don approach within 45 miles of each other, and thus goods can be
transported from the former to the latter river, and another vast circle
of fertile regions can be drained of their produce for the southern
market. As the Don runs through some of the most productive governments
of Great Russia, so the Volga[287] sweeps in a larger circle to the
north and east, and rising in the ancient government of Tver, becomes
navigable at about an equal distance from Moscow as the Don, describes
a quarter of a circle round the town, and then, bending northwards into
the government of Jaroslav, passes through Kostroma and Nijni Novgorod.
At this celebrated place of Oriental traffic it effects its junction with
the Oka, another artery of Great Russia, and then rolling its increased
volume directly eastward to Kazan, the Tatar capital, it there changes
its course to the south till it nearly meets the Don. The two rivers run
for a short distance parallel to one another, till, suddenly diverging
at right angles, the one falls into the Azof and the other into the
Caspian Sea. At the point where the rivers nearly meet, Dubofka on the
Volga is about 45 miles from Katchálin on the Don, and vast quantities of
merchandise are yearly carried across by bullock-carts from one river to
the other. The importance of their junction of course fixed the attention
of Peter the Great, and it was one of his projects which he did not live
to execute. The canal he ordered has never been dug; and thus one link
is wanting in this magnificent system of river communication. If it were
made, a great saving to merchants in time and money would be effected,
and commerce proportionately increased.[289]
From this short review of the countries which naturally depend upon
Rostof as their port, and from the great lines of water communications
which meet under its walls, it would appear that its commerce, although
it has greatly increased, is not a twentieth part of what it ought to
be, and that it is capable of an indefinite extension. The 40,000,000 of
Slavonians round Moscow, which form the real heart and strength of the
Russian Empire, send through it now a continually increasing portion of
the produce of their labour, and would, if they could, receive through
it innumerable articles which can be more advantageously produced in
more civilised countries than their own. If free trade were allowed,
this natural interchange would go on rapidly increasing to the benefit
of both parties. At present the exports are great, but the Russian does
not get nearly his full share of profit, owing to the necessity he is
under of receiving to a considerable extent money instead of goods in
payment. With this hard cash which he receives, for which Europe would
gladly substitute manufactured goods, he is obliged to buy these latter
articles made by his own countrymen of bad quality and high price.
Thus a considerable amount of Russian labour and capital, which are
so scarce in proportion to the opportunities for employing them, are
consumed less profitably than they might be, in manufacturing these
commodities, instead of developing the dormant resources of a most
fertile soil.[290] Still in the face of all these checks to a natural
system of exchange, agricultural production has greatly increased of
late years, and the beneficial effects of the change in our navigation
laws, and the abolition of the duties on corn, have been very distinctly
felt. English capital flows willingly to Russia, and, while there is the
greatest difficulty in getting a few hundred thousand pounds for India,
millions find their way to Russia, so that I was informed by the late
General Duplat, who was for many years our Consul-General at Warsaw,
that two years ago he had officially conveyed the offer of capitalists
in London to the Russian Government to lay out 12,000,000_l._ for the
construction of railways in Russia upon very moderate terms. The whole of
the exports of Russia are raw produce, consisting of articles of first
necessity in Europe, of which she can never send us too much. Her people
are essentially agricultural and commercial, and not a martial race,
as is generally supposed. It is a mistaken notion to suppose that the
Russians are a military or warlike nation. To the eyes of Europe their
military despotic government, with its grasping tendency to increase its
territories by conquest, has given them a character which they do not
deserve. The serfs and the lower classes are forced by the conscription
into the ranks of the army, which experience has taught them to consider
as the hardest fate they can meet with. Of the higher classes of society
few devote themselves from taste to the military profession, but in order
to maintain their station in the nobility, and to preserve its privileges
to themselves and their heirs, they are obliged to serve the state for a
certain number of years, until they obtain at least a subordinate rank,
such as that of lieutenant. Thus among the officers possessed of landed
property or independent fortunes, it is not surprising that there are
many who view with disgust any event, such as war, which obliges them to
remain in the army longer than they otherwise would have done. Kept in
the ranks against their inclination, it is natural that on the field of
battle when facing the enemy they are not moved by the same martial and
stirring spirit which animates the officers of other armies.
It is not intended by these remarks to impeach the bravery of the Russian
officers and soldiers, which would be absurd in the face of their former
conduct in the French wars, and recently of their gallant defence of
Sevastopol, but to account for their want of success when made to face in
the open field the soldiers of two free nations.
The Russian merchant conducts his commercial operations with
intelligence, and amongst them are some, who, without being able either
to read or write, transact with singular ability and success an amount of
business which, in more civilised countries, would require an experienced
manager, assisted by a staff of experienced clerks.[291] There is,
likewise, no lack of enterprise in him; but the restrictive laws of the
country, the obstacles placed in the way of intercourse with foreign
lands, and the prohibitory duties charged on imports, prevent this spirit
of enterprise from developing itself to its full extent. In no country do
I believe would the effects of free trade be so rapidly felt, and tend
more to ameliorate the physical and moral condition of the people.
All customs, all prohibitions, are drawbacks on the free or natural
system of trade between nations; and it might even be contended that
manufactures would be far more likely to spring up in Russia under such
a system, than under the protective system now in force. If free trade
were established, at first, undoubtedly, the Russians would buy foreign
manufactures, but the price of all articles of consumption except the
common necessaries of life would be immensely reduced, and an improved
style of living would be possible among all classes. The agriculturists
would get more for their produce, and be able to let us have it on
cheaper terms; manufactures in our countries and agriculture in theirs
would be much stimulated; roads would be made, the desert tracts
cultivated; the population would be raised both morally and physically,
and wealth gradually accumulated; until at first the coarser and then
the finer manufactures were attempted in the natural progress of events,
and with undoubted success. The Russian people, patient, laborious,
admirable workmen, have nothing to fear from foreign competition. I have
said elsewhere, that English masters find them inaccurate; but this I
believe to proceed from no natural incapacity for accuracy, but from
their not understanding the use of their work, from their want of general
education, and the little inducement and encouragement that exist for
improving their condition in their degraded social position.
* * * * *
It appears, then, from what I have said in this chapter, that the
commerce of the Sea of Azof is rapidly increasing in importance; that the
countries surrounding it are rich and, as yet, undeveloped; and that,
from the fine system of river communication which reaches the sea at
Rostof, it is constantly drawing towards it for shipment a larger portion
of the productions of Great Russia. There cannot be a doubt that, when
peace is restored, a great impetus will be given to its trade; that it
will benefit by the increased movement that will probably take place
on all the shores of the Black Sea; and, should the Russian Government
wisely change its military policy, and allow its stout-hearted and
enterprising subjects to pursue their natural industrious bent, capital
and population will flock to the south, and Rostof and Kertch will rival
the Tana and Panticapæum of ancient days. No restrictions will then be
placed on those who wish to come and learn in Europe; no passports will
be refused to enterprising young Russians who wish, in France or England,
to gain that knowledge of the arts and sciences which is impossible in
their own country; and no vulgar and ignorant censors will be placed at
the gates of the empire to keep out books as the most dangerous enemies
of the existing system, because the most valuable of them treat of truth
and liberty. Russia will allow the fraternisation of her people with us,
and admit the imports of more civilised countries as the surest way to
increase her own commerce, and by these means she, as well as Turkey,
will be really admitted into the European federation. Can it be said
that she has been one of us as yet, when she has isolated her people,
and kept gigantic armies hovering in what we may call with Ritter her
territory of European Asia, to menace poor down-stricken, corrupted
Germany on one, and the Asiatic nations on the other side? If she will
really, once for all, fix the limits of her empire, and give up her
menacing attitude and aggressive tendencies, she will not require a
million of bayonets in time of peace; and we ought not to believe that
she has changed her policy unless she consents to reduce her armies.
This we know that on former occasions she has positively refused to
do; let her be obliged to diminish them when peace shall be made, as
the best guarantee for its future maintenance. If the peace party in
England really wish for peace, they ought to urge this point, which will
be far more useful than motions for the reduction of our own forces.
For how can we safely reduce, with the enormous standing armies on the
Continent, and how can the continental Powers reduce their forces, with
a million of men always hovering over them, and ready to fall upon them
without notice? Russia has said by her ambassadors that her position is
exceptional, and for that reason she cannot reduce like other powers.
Why is her position exceptional? This she has not condescended to tell
us. Her people is the most peaceable in the world, and the troops cannot
be wanted to coerce them. Indeed, it is notorious that there are hardly
any troops in Great Russia, the most thickly peopled and important part
of the empire. There is only one infantry corps stationed at Moscow out
of ten corps which compose the whole army. Where are the rest of her
forces stationed? There where she expects to make conquests. They are
distributed fan-shape round the European edge of the Russian empire, from
the Baltic to the Black Sea, that they may overawe Germany, and advance
to support one another in any move upon Turkey; while 170,000 men are
kept in the Caucasus to root out the principles of liberty and extend
Asiatic conquests.[292] Can any man believe that 400,000 men are kept in
Poland merely to coerce the shattered, prostrate form of that unfortunate
kingdom? Is there not a sufficient guarantee for Russian possession of
it in the share which Austria and Prussia accepted of the spoil? When
Austria and Prussia offered to reduce their armies, and Russia refused to
reduce hers, was it because she wanted so large a force for self-defence?
This was evidently impossible; and the army in Poland was required, not
to prevent a rising of the Poles, but to support a Russian influence in
Germany which has been most detrimental to the best interests of that
country. If we wish, then, for permanent peace, the Russian army ought
surely to be reduced, and who would benefit more by this measure than the
inhabitants of Russia themselves? See how they hate the army; look at the
miseries which the conscription entails upon them; observe how large a
portion of the resources of the empire is wasted to support it, and think
if those millions of capital created yearly by human labour were laid out
in permanent improvements instead of being unproductively consumed, how
great would be the increase to Russia in wealth and intelligence! There
is, I believe, no good result from war which may not better be brought
about by peace; but, as we are engaged in this tremendous contest, let us
hope, when peace shall at length be made, and perhaps the last great knot
in human affairs resolved which prevents the even progress of the world
to its destined termination, that as many nations will be freed as are
able to enjoy a rational liberty, and that peace may be secured on such a
basis, with such guarantees for its continuance, that future difficulties
may be resolved by some form of national arbitration.
APPENDIX.
(A.)
LIST OF THE RUSSIAN NAVAL FORCE IN THE BLACK SEA IN JANUARY, 1853.
-------------------+------+----------+----------+------------------------
Names of Ships. |No. of|When Laid | When | Observations.
|Guns. | Down. |Launched. |
-------------------+------+----------+----------+------------------------
[293]Silistria | 84 |Dec. 1833|Nov. 1835|} Unmanned, not being
Sultan Mahmoud | 84 |Feb. 1835|Oct. 1836|} fit for service.
[293]Tri Svetiteli | 120 |Dec. 1835|Aug. 1838|{ Docked for repairs
Tri Hezarhef | 84 |Nov. 1836| ” ” |{ in 1852.
Gabriel | 84 |Aug. 1838|Nov. 1839|}
Selafael | 84 | ” ” |July 1840|}
[293]Uriel | 84 | ” ” |Oct. ” |}
Twelve Apostles | 120 |Oct. ” |June 1841|}
Varna | 84 | ” ” |July 1842|}
[293]Yagudil | 84 |Sept. 1839|Sept. 1843|} All ships of the
[293]Rostislaf | 84 |May 1843|Nov. ” |} line are built
Sviatolaf | 84 | ” ” | ” 1845|} at Nicolaief.
Hvabri | 84 |June 1841|July 1847|}
Tchesnie | 84 |July 1842|Oct. 1849|}
Paris | 120 | ” 1847| ” ” |}
Grand Duke | | | |}
Constantine | 120 |May 1850|Sept. 1852|}
Empress Maria | 84 |Oct. 1849|On the |}
| | | stocks |}
Bosphorus | 120 |Sept. 1852|Ditto. |{ Screw steamer; engines
| | | |{ ordered in England.
—— | 120 | | |} To be laid down during
—— | 120 | | |} the year.
FRIGATES.
Flora | 44 |Nov. 1837|Sept. 1839| Built in Nicolaief.
Messembria | 60 |Oct. 1838|Oct. 1840| Ditto.
| | | |{ Built in Sevastopol;
[293]Sizopoli | 54 | ” ” |March 1841|{ docked in 1852 for
| | | |{ thorough repair.
Medea | 60 |July 1840|Sept. 1843| Built in Nicolaief.
Kagul | 44 |Oct. ” | ” ” | Ditto.
Kovarna | 52 |March 1841| ” 1845| Built in Sevastopol.
[293]Kulefehi | 60 | ” 1844| ” 1847| Built in Nicolaief.
CORVETTES.
Raylades | 20 |Oct 1838|June 1840| Built in Nicolaief.
Andromache | 18 |June 1840|July 1841| Ditto.
Calypso | 18 | ” 1841|Sept. 1845| Ditto.
Orestes | 18 |Dec. 1845|Oct. 1846| Ditto.
Ariadne | 20 |Jan. 1847|Aug. 1853| Sevastopol.
BRIGS.
Mercury | 18 |Jan. 1819|May 1820|
Argonaut | 12 |Feb. 1837|Sept. 1837| Sevastopol.
Temistocles | 16 |Oct. 1838|Nov. 1839| Nicolaief.
Perseus | 18 |June 1839|June 1840| Ditto.
Endymion | 12 |Sept. 1839|Nov. ” | Ditto.
Nearchus | 12 | ” ” | ” ” | Ditto.
Euroas | 16 |June 1840|July 1842| Ditto.
Ptolemy | 18 |July 1842|Sept. 1845| Ditto.
Theseus | 18 | ” ” | ” ” | Ditto.
Achilles | 16 |From the Baltic. |
Orpheus | 16 |Dec. 1842|Sept. 1845| Sevastopol.
Jason | 12 |Jan. 1847|Oct. 1850| Ditto.
SCHOONERS.
Gonetz | 16 |Sept. 1834|March 1835| In Nicolaief.
Latoshka | 16 |Feb. 1837|June 1838| Ditto.
Smelaya | 16 |Oct. 1838|May 1839| Sevastopol.
Drotig | 16 |Nov. 1837|June 1839| Nicolaief.
Zabiaka | 16 |Oct. 1838|Aug. ” | Ditto.
Urcilaya | 8 |March 1844|Sept. 1845| Ditto.
Skulchwaya | 8 | ” ” | ” ” |} Built in Nicolaief.
Opil | 16 |Oct. 1849| ” 1852|}
Soudjuk Kalé | 10 |Formerly Vixen, taken in 1837.
CUTTERS.
Struya | 12 |Sept. 1834|July 1835| Built in Nicolaief.
Lutch | 12 | ” ” | ” ” | Ditto.
Legki | 12 | ” ” |Sept. ” | Ditto.
Nerok | 10 |Oct. 1838|July 1839| Sevastopol.
Skori | 12 |March 1844|Sept. 1845| Nicolaief.
Pospeshnoy | 10 | ” ” | ” ” | Ditto.
Provornoy | 10 | ” ” | ” ” | Ditto.
YACHTS.
Strela | 10 |Sept. 1834|April 1835| Built in Nicolaief.
Oriánda | 10 |July 1836|May 1837| Ditto.
BOMBARD.
Peroun | — |June 1839|July 1842| Built in Nicolaief.
STEAMERS.
----------------+------+-------------------------------------------------
Names of |Horse | Observations.
Steamers. |Power.|
----------------+------+-------------------------------------------------
Wladimir | 400 | From England in 1848.
| |
Bessarabia | 260 | }
Gromonosetz | 260 | }
Crimea | 260 |} Line steamers } From England in 1843.
Odessa | 260 |} between Odessa and }
Chersonesus | 260 |} Constantinople. }
| |
Elbrus | 250 |{ Line steamers { From England in 1848.
Yenikale | 180 |{ between Odessa, {
Taman | 180 |{ Crimea, and { Ditto in 1849.
| |{ Soukhoum Kalé. {
| |
Bayetz | 136 |} Employed on }
Mogutchi | 136 |} the coast of } From England in 1839.
Molodela | 136 |} Circassia and }
Cholchis | 120 |} for the forts } Ditto in 1837.
| |} on the coast.
| |
Grozni | 120 | Built in Nicolaief, 1842.
Sevenain Zvezon | 120 | Ditto, in 1834.
| |
Peter the Great | 100 | From England in 1834.
| |
Andi | 100 | } From England in 1845.
Dargo | 100 | } Packet boats.
| |
Danube | 100 | } From England in 1851.
Pruth | 100 | } River boats.
| |
Berdeansk | 90 | } From England in 1845.
Taganrog | 90 | } Packet boats.
| |
Inkerman | 90 | From England in 1838.
| |
Molni | 80 | } Built in { 1840.
Meteor | 60 | } Nicolaief. { 1838.
Ordinaretr | 60 | } Tug boats. { 1847.
Skromni | 40 | } { 1842.
| |
Argonaut | 40 | From England in 1851.
| |
Vogin (Warrior) | 250 | } Now building in the
Vitiaz (Hero) | 250 | } Thames; screw steamers.
----------------+------+-------------------------------------------------
GUN-BOATS.
Twenty-eight gun-boats built between 1841 and 1852 for service in the
Danube.
TRANSPORTS.
Thirty vessels, measuring 10,627 tons, built from 1837 to 1852.
The Empress Maria, 84 guns, was launched on the 21st of May, but will not
be rigged for some months.
The Bosphorus, 120 guns, has not been advanced since the day her keel was
laid down, nor are the slips made for the two other three-deckers that
are to be commenced this year.
There is no timber grown near Nicolaief; it comes down the Dniepr, and is
employed in its green state.
(B.)
FIELD MARSHAL COUNT ALEXANDER VASSILIAVITCH SUVÓROF’S DISCOURSE UNDER THE
TRIGGER.[294]
BEING
A SERIES OF INSTRUCTIONS DRAWN BY HIMSELF, FOR THE USE OF THE ARMY UNDER
HIS COMMAND, AFTER THE TURKISH WAR; AND SINCE TRANSMITTED BY ORDER OF
THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT TO EVERY REGIMENT IN THE SERVICE. IT IS COMMONLY
CALLED SUVÓROF’S CATECHISM.
(_The General is supposed to be inspecting the Line and addressing the
Troops._)
Heels close! Knees straight! A soldier must stand like a dart! I see the
fourth—the fifth I don’t see. A soldier’s step is an archine[295]—in
wheeling, an archine and a half. Keep your distance well!
Soldiers, join elbows in front! First rank three steps from the second—in
marching, two!
Give the drum room!
Keep your ball three days: it may happen for a whole campaign when
lead[296] cannot be had!
Fire seldom—but fire sure!
Push hard with the bayonet! The ball will lose its way—the bayonet never!
The ball is a fool—the bayonet a hero! Stab once: and off with the Turk
from the bayonet! Even when he’s dead you may get a scratch from his
sabre.
If the sabre is near your neck, dodge back one step, and push on again.
Stab the second! Stab the third! A hero will stab half-a-dozen.
Be sure your ball’s in your gun! If three attack you, stab the first,
fire on the second, and bayonet the third! This seldom happens.
In the attack there is no time to load again. When you fire, take
aim at their guts; and fire about twenty balls. Buy lead from your
economy[297]—it costs little! We fire sure—we lose not one ball in
thirty; in the light artillery and heavy artillery not one in ten.
If you see the match upon a gun, run up to it instantly—the ball will fly
over your head—the guns are yours—the people are yours! Down with ’em
upon the spot! pursue ’em, stab ’em! To the remainder give quarter—it’s a
sin to kill without reason; they are men like you. Die for the honour of
the Virgin Mary—for your mother[298]—for all the royal family! The Church
prays for those that die; and those who survive have honour and reward.
Offend not the peaceable inhabitant! he gives us meat and drink—the
soldier is not a robber. Booty is a holy thing! If you take a camp, it is
all yours! If you take a fortress, it is all yours! At Ismael, besides
other things, the soldiers shared gold and silver by handsful, and so in
other places; but, without order, never go to booty!
* * * * *
A battle on the field has three modes of attack.
1st. _On the Wing_
Which is weakest. If a wing is covered by wood, it is nothing; a soldier
will get through. Through a morass, it is more difficult. Through a river
you cannot run. All kind of intrenchment you may jump over.
2nd. _The Attack in the Centre_
Is not profitable—except for cavalry, to cut them in pieces—or else
they’ll crush you.
3rd. _The Attack behind_
Is very good, only for a small corps to get round. Heavy battle in the
field, against regular troops. In squares, against Turks, and not in
columns. It may happen against Turks, that a square of 500 men will be
compelled to force its way through a troop of 6000 or 7000, with the
help of small squares on the flank. In such a case, it will extend in a
column. But till now we had no need of it. There are the God-forgetting,
windy, light-headed Frenchmen—if it should ever happen to us to march
against them, we must beat them in columns.
_The Battle, upon Intrenchments in the Field._
The ditch is not deep—the rampart is not high—Down in the ditch! Jump
over the wall! Work with your bayonet! Stab! Drive! Take them prisoners!
Be sure to cut off the cavalry, if any are at hand! At Prague the
infantry cut off the cavalry; and there were three-fold, and more,
intrenchments, and a whole fortress; therefore, we attacked in columns.
_The Storm._[299]
Break down the fence! Throw wattles over the holes! Run as fast as you
can! Jump over the palisades! Cast your faggots (into the ditch)! Leap
into the ditch! Lay on your ladders! Scour the columns! Fire at their
heads! Fly over the walls! Stab them on the ramparts! Draw out your
line! Put a guard on the powder-cellars! Open one of the gates! The
cavalry will enter on the enemy! Turn his guns against him! Fire down
the streets! Fire briskly! There’s no time to run after them! When the
order is given, enter the town! Kill every enemy in the streets! Let the
cavalry hack them! Enter no houses! Storm them in the open places where
they are gathering! Take possession of the open places! Put a capital
guard! Instantly put picquets to the gates, to the powder-cellars, and to
the magazines! When the enemy has surrendered, give him quarter! When the
inner wall is occupied, go to plunder!
* * * * *
There are three military talents.
1st. _The Coup d’Œil._
How to place a camp. How to march. Where to attack, to chase, and to beat
the enemy.
2nd. _Swiftness._
The field-artillery must march half or a whole verst in front, on the
rising ground, that it may not impede the march of the columns. When the
column arrives, it will find its place again. Down hill, and on even
ground, let it go in a trot. Soldiers march in files, or four abreast,
on account of narrow roads, streets, narrow bridges, and narrow passes,
through marshy and swampy places; and only when ready for attack draw up
in platoons, to shorten the rear. When you march four abreast, leave a
space between the companies. Never slacken your pace! Walk on! Play! Sing
your songs! Beat the drum! When you have broken off ten versts[300] the
first company cast off their load, and lie down. After them the second
company; and so forth, one after the other. But the first never wait for
the rest! A line in columns will, on the march, always draw out. At four
abreast, it will draw out one and a half more than its length. At two
abreast, it will draw out double. A line one verst in length will draw
out two. Two versts will draw out four; so the first companies would
have to wait for the others half-an-hour, to no purpose. After the first
ten versts, an hour’s rest. The first division that arrived (upon the
coming of the second) takes up its baggage, and moves forward ten or
fifteen paces; and if it passes through defiles on the march, fifteen
or twenty paces. And in this manner division after division, that the
hindmost may get rest. The second ten versts, another hour’s rest, or
more. If the third distance is less than ten versts, halve it, and rest
three-quarters, half, or a quarter of an hour, that the children[301] may
soon get to their kettles. So much for infantry.
The cavalry marches before. They alight from their horses and rest a
short time, and march more than ten versts in one stage, that the horses
may rest in the camp. The kettle-waggons and the tent-waggons go on
before. When the brothers[301] arrive the kettle is ready. The master of
the mess instantly serves out the kettle. For breakfast four hours’ rest,
and six or eight hours at night, according as the road proves. When you
draw near the enemy, the kettle-waggons remain with the tent-waggons, and
wood must be prepared beforehand.
By this manner of marching soldiers suffer no fatigue. The enemy does not
expect us; he reckons us at least a hundred versts distance, and when we
come from far, two hundred, or three hundred, or more. We fall all at
once upon him, like snow on the head. His head turns. Attack instantly
with whatever arrives,[302]—with what God sends. The cavalry instantly
fall to work, hack and slash! Stab and drive! Cut them off! Don’t give
them a moment’s rest!
3rd. _Energy._
One leg strengthens the other! One hand fortifies the other! By firing
many men are killed! The enemy has also hands, but he knows not the
Russian bayonet (alluding to the Turks)! Draw out the line immediately;
and instantly attack with cold arms (the bayonet). If there is not time
to draw out in line, attack, from the defile, the infantry with the
bayonet; and the cavalry will be at hand. If there be a defile for a
verst, and cartridges over your head, the guns will be yours! Commonly
the cavalry makes the first attack, and the infantry follows. In general,
cavalry must attack like infantry, except in swampy ground; and there
they must lead their horses by the bridle. Cossacks will go through
anything. When the battle is gained, the cavalry pursue and hack the
enemy, and the infantry are not to remain behind. In two files there is
strength: in three files, strength and a half.[303] The first tears, the
second throws down, and the third perfects the work.
_Rules for Diet._
Have a dread of the hospital! German physic stinks from afar, is good
for nothing, and rather hurtful. A Russian soldier is not used to it.
Messmates know where to find roots, herbs, and pismires. A soldier
is inestimable. Take care of your health! Scour the stomach when it
is foul! Hunger is the best medicine! He who neglects his men—if an
officer, arrest; if a sub-officer, lashes;[304] and to the private,
lashes, if he neglects himself. If loose bowels want food, at sunset a
little gruel and bread. For costive bowels, some purging plant in warm
water, or the liquorice-root. Remember, gentlemen, the field physic of
Doctor Bellypotski.[305] In hot fevers eat nothing, even for twelve
days,[306] and drink your soldier’s quas[307]—that’s a soldier’s physic.
In intermitting fevers neither eat nor drink. It’s only a punishment for
neglect if death ensues. In hospitals, the first day the bed seems soft;
the second comes French soup; and the third the brother is laid in his
coffin, and they draw him away! One dies, and ten companions around
him inhale his expiring breath. In camp, the sick and feeble are kept
in huts, and not in villages: there the air is purer. Even without an
hospital you must not stint your money for medicine, if it can be bought;
nor even for other necessaries. But all this is frivolous: we know how
to preserve ourselves. Where one dies in a hundred with others, we lose
not one in five hundred in the course of a month. For the healthy,
drink, air, and food; for the sick, air, drink, and food. Brothers, the
enemy trembles for you! But there is another enemy, greater than the
hospital,—the damned “_I don’t know_.”[308] _From the half-confessing,
the guessing, lying, deceitful, the palavering, equivocation,
squeamishness, and nonsense of_ “_Don’t know_,” many disasters originate.
Stammering, hackering,[309] and so forth; it’s shameful to relate! A
soldier should be sound, brave, firm, decisive, true, honourable! Pray
to God! from Him come victory and miracles! God conducts us! God is our
general! For the “_I don’t know_” an officer is put in the guard; a
staff-officer is served with an arrest at home. Instruction is _light_!
Not instruction is _darkness_! The work fears its master.[310] If a
peasant knows not how to plough, the corn will not grow! One wise man is
worth three fools! and even three are little, give six! and even six are
little, give ten![311] One clever fellow will beat them all, overthrow
them, and take them prisoners!
In the last campaign the enemy lost 75,000 well counted men—perhaps not
much less than 100,000. He fought desperately and artfully, and we lost
not a full thousand.[312] There, brethren, you behold the effect of
military instruction.
Gentlemen, officers, what a triumph!
* * * * *
N.B. This translation has been rendered perfectly literal, so that effect
is often sacrificed to a strict attention to the real signification of
the words, instead of introducing parallel phrases.
(C.)
ON THE TIMBER TRADE OF NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN RUSSIA.[313]
Most people will acknowledge it to be a matter of some difficulty to
turn the habitual course of trade into any new channel. For a century
the forests of Lithuania exported by the Duna from Riga timber, and more
especially masts; supplying thereby all the dockyards of Europe. The
value of this branch of commerce amounted to about 2,000,000 roubles per
annum. Each piece of timber passed through the hands of two sorters, who
are an incorporated body, and are responsible, by their oath, for the
quality of the article. These qualities varying in different countries,
the merchants are in the habit of sending their orders to the principal
sorters, naming the quantity and the quality which they require. These
men then despatch a cutter to the spot, to select and appropriate the
timber according to the orders which they receive; and the timber so
selected is inspected afresh at Riga previous to shipment. This sorting
or surveying is a joint-stock affair, the profits upon which go to a
general fund, and are divided at the end of the year. There are two
modes of bargaining with the wood-growers: either by purchasing of them
a certain number of trees, chosen by a competent judge, or by taking an
entire wood on lease, with the right of felling such trees as may from
time to time suit the lessee; in which latter case the price is regulated
according to the quantity of timber removed, charging so much for masts
and so much for planks. The time for felling the trees is in the months
of October and November; and although it would be better to postpone it
until the sap shall have left the trees, yet, at a further period of
the season, the snow would render the woods almost inaccessible: and it
is necessary to avail one’s self of the drawing or sledging, just in
time to bring away the timber already cut. Nevertheless, the felling
sometimes continues until the month of January, or even February. Despite
the care of the surveyor, 10 per cent. may reasonably be deducted from
the original cost of timber on account of the occasional felling
of trees that are objectionable; which are left on the land. It is
commonly understood that masts of this description shall be left to the
land-owner, and that no more shall be paid for than are taken away. The
timber intended for Riga is all lopped and trimmed on the spot; and upon
the breaking up of the ice in the Dniepr or in the Beresina (near to
which rivers the greater part of the woods are situated) the timber is
launched, in order afterwards that it may be sent down the Duna to Riga.
It is only from the nearest forests that timber can be delivered at Riga
in the same year in which it is felled; for with reference to the more
distant, a second land-carriage betwixt the Dniepr and the Duna becomes
indispensable. It often happens that, the time to complete the squaring
of the timber during the first winter being insufficient, advantage is
taken of the delay caused by the frost, in the breaking up of the ice of
the Duna, to complete it. By this means the timber arrives at Riga in the
fine season, and is fit for immediate shipment.
The thinning of the forests of Lithuania has compelled the fellers to
move gradually farther and farther southward. Even now but few maiden
forests are to be found near the river in the government of Minsk; and
the supplies of timber are now chiefly furnished by the government of
Tchérnigof and of Kief. The timber trade must, therefore, necessarily be
driven into the hands of the Southern Russians. In lieu of transporting
the timber, as before, against the current of the Dniepr, and of a long
journey over land, it is now abandoned to the stream, and thus floats
rapidly down to Kherson, where it arrives between May 15 and July 1.
The masts and bulks are commonly fastened together in rafts of 100
pieces each, and are managed by four or five men. Planks and staves are
conveyed by means of large barks, manned with fifteen or sixteen men. The
expense of water-carriage is about 25 roubles each for large masts. The
vessels that are without decks cost as much as 1200 roubles; those that
are decked are worth double this sum; but owing to their inability to
reascend the river, are usually sold at Kherson for a few hundred roubles
each. The merchants of Odessa have not as yet directed much of their
attention to the timber trade; either because grain chiefly occupies
their attention, or because of the want of proper experience on the part
of the speculators; the first purchases of masts at Kherson, for the
arsenals at Toulon and at Carthagena, proved disastrous in their results.
Nevertheless, as Odessa possesses some very rich houses, with whom it is
become almost a point of duty to open fresh outlets to the commerce of
the country, and since bad harvests have obliged other houses to direct
their capital to articles till then almost unknown, the timber trade at
Kherson has progressed very rapidly. In 1833 the value of the timber and
wood exported from that place amounted to 1,000,000 roubles, or nearly
180,000_l._ In 1834 many ships loaded with masts and staves for France
and Spain. The great saving effected in the charges of transportation to
ports of shipment, as well as on freights, will render it impossible for
the trade of Riga, henceforward, to compete with that of the Black Sea,
in supplying the south of Europe, where the consumption (of staves more
particularly) is very great. _Kherson is able to obtain timber from the
very same forests which supply Riga, at from 20 to 30 per cent. cheaper_,
owing to the loss of interest on the capital employed, six months being
the intermediate time of its arrival at Kherson, whilst the passage to
Riga occupies at least twenty months. Besides, on landing the timber
from the Dniepr, it remains a long time exposed to the air before being
again launched in the Duna, which cannot fail to injure it. A sorter, or
surveyor, from Riga, is already established at Kherson, for the purpose
of placing the timber trade on the same footing as in the former city.
He is accompanied by twelve Lithuanian labourers, practised in the
trimming of masts, which are prepared on the spot where they are felled.
A skilful workman will not be able to trim a large mast in less than a
week. Excepting pine planks, which are sawn in the town, all other sorts
of timber are sent to Kherson ready trimmed. The largest masts shipped
hence are not more than about 20 palms in diameter, and about 85 feet in
length. Those of larger dimensions, being purchased chiefly for Holland,
are sent of course to Riga, but there is no doubt of the possibility of
conveying them to Kherson with as much facility as to the former place.
Even the smaller masts, which are all very cheap, are very superior in
quality to, and much more durable than, those of Moldavia, Tuscany,
and the Adriatic. The Oak, on the contrary, like that of Moldavia, is
too soft for ship-building; nevertheless for staves it is certainly
superior to that of the Romagna. These staves are cut from six to eight
feet in length, and six inches broad, by two and a half to three inches
thick. They are sold in lots of sixty, called shocks, the cost of one of
which shocks, at Kherson, of six feet, was, in 1834, about 37 roubles.
They can, however, be had of all dimensions, by apprising the seller
beforehand in the months of August and September.
In addition to the timber destined for ship-building, wood of almost
every shape is brought from the greatest part of Southern Russia
for building, and for other purposes. This trade is in the hands of
speculators from Kherson, and is carried on at places where the timber
is felled; it is only the timber intended for foreign shipment, and
certain sorts, that would find but a very limited sale at home, that
are ordered beforehand. Igren and Kakhóvka, the one above, the other
below, the cataracts of the Dniepr, are important places for the trade
in wood. At these places, the carmen of the environs, who fetch fish
and salt from the ports of the Sea of Azof, load the wood that has
come down the Dniepr; in this manner it comes to the same price as
that which is brought down the Volga and the Don in small quantities.
But it is probable that, in time, the oak of Kasan, which now supplies
the shipyards of the North, will be obtainable by this last-mentioned
route. The forests, with which the mountains of the Crimea are covered,
furnish to the shipyard of Sevastopol excellent building timber and
much firewood; Odessa, in particular, which procures it from the north
of Bessarabia, likewise consumes a great deal of it; still, as a great
part of this latter province is entirely stripped of wood, it is under
the necessity of supplying itself from Moldavia, especially from the
district of Kiatra, which is very woody, and which exports wood also
to Constantinople. Bessarabia derives from thence only firewood; but
building-timber, masts, planks, and staves, are sent down the Seret
(a river which separates Moldavia from Wallachia), and find a vent at
Galatz, whence they are sent off in great rafts to Constantinople;
and, before the Sultan prohibited it, these articles were sent from
thence into Egypt. In 1832 the value of these exports amounted to more
than 500,000 francs. The masts of Moldavia are of a very inferior
quality compared with those of Russia; but many vessels buy them at
Constantinople, because they are so very cheap. Neither is the oak for
ship-building so hard as that of Bulgaria, which, on this account, is
generally preferred. In general, a great quantity of timber is imported
from Bulgaria into Ismail and into Reni, as, for the last five years,
that article has not been burthened with any duty, and it forms one of
the most important branches of commerce at both places. Roumelia likewise
exports a considerable quantity of timber, especially staves, from the
port of Bourgas.
(D.)
COMMERCE OF PORTS OF CRIMEA, 1852.[314]
I. PORT OF EUPATORIA.
There was imported into this port in 1852—
Goods 132,902 S. R.
Coin 2,240 S. R.
-------
Total 135,142 S. R.
Exports—
Russian produce 266,719 S. R.,
and no coin.
31 foreign vessels entered the port of Eupatoria.
The coasting trade presented the following numbers:—Arrivals, 189—of
which, 1 from Petersburg. Departures, 188—of which, 5 for Petersburg.
II. AKMÉSHED.—III. SEVASTOPOL.—IV. BALACLAVA.—V. YALTA.
These four ports have only a coasting trade.
-----------+-------------------------
| Number of Coasters.
+-----------+-------------
| Arrivals. | Departures.
+-----------+-------------
Akméshed | 5 | 5
Sevastopol | 452 | 466
Balaclava | 7 | 10
Yalta | 66 | 62
-----------+-----------+-------------
Besides, steamers anchored 49 times in the port of Yalta.
The coasters brought and discharged in these four ports, besides
provisions for the state, goods of the following value:—
-----------+-----------+-----------
| Brought. | Took away.
+-----------+-----------
| S. R. | S. R.
Akméshed | | 3,883
Sevastopol | 1,051,451 | 107,793
Balaclava | | 749
Yalta | 137,408 | 130,315
-----------+-----------+-----------
VI. THEODOSIA.
The imports into the port of Theodosia in 1852 were—
Goods 137,822 S. R.
Coin 10,841 S. R.
-------------
Total 144,663 S. R.
Exports—
Goods 57,237 S. R.
+----------------+-----------+-------------+
| | Arrivals. | Departures. |
| +-----------+-------------+
|Foreign vessels | 97 | 14 |
|Coasters | 144 | 229 |
+----------------+-----------+-------------+
The coasters brought goods, 150,823 S. R.; and loaded to a value of
96,862 S. R.
VII. KERTCH.
1852: Foreign Imports Goods 40,395 S. R.
Coin 2,900 S. R.
------
Total 43,275 S. R.
Exports 41,386 S. R.
and no coin.
113 foreign vessels arrived, and 73 left: of these 113 arrivals, 52,
after passing quarantine at Kertch, entered the Sea of Azof. The coasting
trade had 1111 arrivals, and 1094 departures.
The coasters brought, in 1852—goods, 834,671 S. R., besides stores to the
account of the state. They loaded goods 359,418 S. R.; of salt from the
Lakes of Kertch, 1,464,140 poods were sent from the Lakes of Kertch to
the ports of the Sea of Azof; 91,435 poods to the Black Sea; and 74,775
poods to Petersburg:—total, 1,630,360 poods; which makes 911,445 poods
more than in 1851, and 576,020 poods more than in 1850. This is the
largest exportation of salt that has ever been made; for even in 1837 the
exports only reached 1,431,975 poods.
The reduction of the excise, and the permission to pay for it in the
ports of the Sea of Azof, are the causes of this increase in the export
of salt to the interior of the empire.
_Résumé._
It results, from the accounts given above, that the commerce of the
Crimea was more important in 1852 than in 1851. The reason was the good
harvest of 1852. The export of its production was on a larger scale, and
consequently the import was larger; more cottons and mixed Turkish silks
were imported into Theodosia; more fruits and tobacco to Eupatoria; more
coal to Kertch. The export of wheat and other grains was also larger;
also of walnut-wood from Theodosia, and more linseed and wool, and tallow
and butter, from Eupatoria. The increase in commercial affairs, of
course, occasioned activity in the shipping.
* * * * *
The coasting trade, always more important in the Crimean ports than
foreign commerce, has continued slowly to improve, as may be seen from
the following tables for 1851 and 1852.
I. FOREIGN COMMERCE.
+------------+---------------------------------------+
| | Value of Goods. |
| +-------------------+-------------------+
| | Importations. | Exportations. |
| +---------+---------+---------+---------+
| | 1851. | 1852. | 1851. | 1852. |
| +---------+---------+---------+---------+
|Eupatoria | 119,289 | 132,902 | 126,070 | 266,719 |
|Balaclava | 648 | | | |
|Theodosia | 94,832 | 133,822 | 44,933 | 57,237 |
|Kertch | 35,353 | 40,395 | 21,677 | 41,386 |
| +---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Total | 250,122 | 307,119 | 192,689 | 365,342 |
+------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
Less coin was imported in 1852 than in 1851; it was 15,981 S. R. More was
exported.
+------------+---------------------------------------+
| | Navigation. |
| +-------------------+-------------------+
| | Arrivals. | Departures. |
| +---------+---------+---------+---------+
| | 1851. | 1852. | 1851. | 1852. |
| +---------+---------+---------+---------+
|Eupatoria | 22 | 30 | 14 | 31 |
|Balaclava | 3 | | | |
|Theodosia | 56 | 97 | 10 | 14 |
|Kertch | 108 | 113 | 64 | 73 |
| +---------+---------+---------+---------+
| Total | 189 | 240 | 88 | 108 |
+------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
II. COASTING TRADE.
+------------+-----------------------------------------------+
| | Value of Merchandise. |
| +-----------------------+-----------------------+
| | Importations. | Exportations. |
| +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| | 1851. | 1852. | 1851. | 1852. |
| +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
|Akméshed | | | 380 | 3,883 |
|Eupatoria | 243,097 | 116,878 | 199,799 | 262,410 |
|Sevastopol | 757,920 | 1,051,451 | 143,522 | 107,793 |
|Balaclava | 4,162 | | 2,190 | 749 |
|Yalta | 177,290 | 137,408 | 85,153 | 130,315 |
|Theodosia | 94,832 | 150,823 | 44,933 | 96,862 |
|Kertch | 877,285 | 834,671 | 266,378 | 359,419 |
| +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Total | 2,154,586 | 2,291,231 | 742,355 | 961,431 |
+------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
+------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| | Departures. | Arrivals. |
| +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| | 1851. | 1852. | 1851. | 1852. |
| +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
|Akméshed | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
|Eupatoria | 195 | 188 | 187 | 189 |
|Sevastopol | 463 | 466 | 483 | 452 |
|Balaclava | 15 | 10 | 12 | 7 |
|Yalta | 84 | 62 | 96 | 66 |
|Theodosia | 247 | 229 | 201 | 144 |
|Kertch | 1,038 | 1,094 | 1,053 | 1,111 |
| +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Total | 2,044 | 2,054 | 2,033 | 1,974 |
+------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
(E.)
ADVANTAGES LIKELY TO ACCRUE TO THE TRADE OF THE DANUBE FROM THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF A FREE PORT AT THE ST. GEORGE’S MOUTH OF THE RIVER.
The subject of the opening of the Danube is so intimately connected
with the countries about which I have written, that I think it will be
interesting to the public to read the following memorandum which has just
been sent home by Mr. Cunningham, the English Consul at Galatz, and a
merchant at that port.
MEMORANDUM.
As the navigation of the Danube forms one of the Four Points to be
settled between the Allies and Russia, there can be little doubt that
the present war will not terminate without the navigation of that river
being placed on a clear, secure, and lasting footing, and such as to
encourage the investment of capital in mercantile enterprises in the
vicinity of this river. Further, that those nations interested in the
trade and navigation of the river will adopt proper means not only to
remove all material impediments to the navigation in the first instance,
but also that they will provide a permanent fund, by a tax on vessels
frequenting the river or otherwise, to keep the channels in the best
state for the security and despatch of shipping; and will further make
such arrangements as shall appear most conducive to the extension of the
trade of the countries situate along its banks.
No one measure would conduce more to the facility of the trade and
navigation of the river, to the prosperity of the countries on the Lower
Danube, and to the extension of their agriculture, than the formation of
a free port at the mouth of the river Danube.
In order to understand the advantages which a free port at the mouth of
the Danube would confer on the trade of the river, it is necessary to
state how it is carried on at present, and the difficulties it has to
contend with, particularly in the export trade in grain.
All the grain of Wallachia is exported from Ibraila.
All the grain of Moldavia is exported from Galatz.
All the grain of Bulgaria which goes out by the Danube is exported from
Matchin.
NOTE.—In spring, when the water in the Danube is high, some
small sea-going vessels go up to Silistria to load Bulgarian
wheat, and to Giurgevo to load Wallachian wheat.
All the grain of Bessarabia which goes out by the Danube is shipped from
Reni and Ismail.
The grain, the produce of one of these provinces, cannot be brought to
any other province, not even for shipment, but the vessel must go to the
port where the grain is in order to receive it.
This state of things causes much trouble, inconvenience, and expense to
the merchant, as the merchant residing in one of the towns mentioned
(generally in Galatz) may be shipping grain from all these ports at one
time, without being able to ascertain the quality or condition of the
grain he is shipping at any port excepting at the place where he resides.
It is also inconvenient and expensive to shipmasters, who must first call
at Galatz for orders, and may afterwards be sent to any of the ports
mentioned.
Galatz and Ibraila are called free ports by their respective governments,
but most improperly so: first, grain and tallow cannot be brought from
Wallachia into Galatz, nor from Moldavia into Ibraila; the importation of
these two articles into Moldavia or Wallachia from any quarter whatever,
even for exportation, is prohibited. It follows therefore that the grain
of Turkey cannot be warehoused in Galatz or Ibraila for exportation. As
grain forms nine-tenths of the export trade of the Danube, it follows
that the name of Free Port is altogether illusory.
Excepting the above two articles, and salt, all other articles may be
brought into Galatz and Ibraila, and exported without payment of duty,
provided the following forms be observed. On introducing the article it
must be declared for exportation, and it must not be sold. If sold, the
buyer must pay duty on exporting the article. But it must be observed
that all articles the production of Moldavia and Wallachia are brought
into Galatz and Ibraila respectively by land without payment of duty, and
the duty is only paid on being exported by water from the so-called free
port.
It is scarcely necessary to add that as in Turkey and Russia there is no
pretension to a free port, the duty on all articles sent into either of
these countries would have to be paid on entering, and again on being
exported. The introduction of grain into Russia is prohibited.