RUSSIAN ADVANCE ON INDIA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXIII, Issue 7524, 14 April 1885, Page 7

RUSSIAN ADVANCE ON INDIA.

In an article on the present AngloEussian complications, the Melbourne Argus writes:— Six months ago a warning was given in the English Press that Such a crisis was likely to occur. The Si James' Gazette gave the substance of a memorandum alleged to have been prepared by "one of the most competent, most highly placed, and most trusted servants of the Queen in India," on the subject of the approaching peril. And the views expressed in this memorandum were said to be endorsed by Sir Donald Stewart (Commander-in-Chief of Her Majesty's forces in India), Sir Frederick Eoberts (Commander of the Madras force), and Sir Charles M'Gregor (Quartermaster General in India)—that is to say, by the three most distinguished and important of Anglo-Indian military officers—the men who have been called to the front at the present juncture. The belief formally expressed by these officers was stated in October last to be that '.Russia is preparing for a grand advance on certain objective points, whence an invasion of India could be made with comparative ease, and probably in the midst of rebellion. They averred their conviction that every movement of the Russians in Central Asia point 3to this as its final object. They averred—so we are told —that within the last three years, and more especially within the last year, these movements have ■been more rapid, more determinate, and more significant. The design, they asserted, is unquestionable; the means exist, and the opportunity has arrived. It would have surprised none of them, even in October last, to hear that the movement had already begun. They expected to hear before long that it had begun. The calculations were said to show, that "Eussia can in from 80 to 100 days put 95,000 regular troops into positions from which we can hardly drive her, and from which she can undertake the invasion of India at her own convenience, and with a fair expectation of success." The Indian Foieign Office had definite information, according to the St James' Gazette, that Eussia had an excess force of about 60,000 men concentrated in the direction of Bokhara, Merv, and Sarakhs, and the experts believed that a few months, perhaps a few weeks, would see a march on Herat. The announcement we have referred to was treated at the time as an alarmist's scare. But the St James' Gazette staked its reputation upon the substantial truth of its communication, and there can be no doubt now that some such warnings as those in question were given to the Indian and the Imperial Governments, and that to a great extent they are now believed in.