THE ARMY AND NAVY OF RUSSIA.

New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 421, 27 April 1850, Page 3

THE ARMY AND NAVY OF RUSSIA.

Tlie following estimate of the military and naval strength of Russia will be read with interest at a lime when that Power is menacing the pence of more civilized countries. It is extracted from ■' A. System of Universal Geography, founded on the Works o Make Burn and Balbi ;" in one vol. B\o, new edition 1849 :—: — Army and Navy.— The ordinary establishment of the army consi«ts ot — 1. The guards, 8 regiments of infantry, 8 ot cavalry, 3 squadrons of Cossacks and Tartars, artillery and artificers — 27,000 ; 2. Infantry of the line in the field, 127 regiments— in garrison. 36 battalions — 381,800 ; 3. Regular cnvalry, 68 regiments, with 38 regiments of Cossacks, 87,000 ; and irreunlar cavalry, 51,000 — together, 138,000; 4. Anille.y44,300 j 5 .Extra corps, 27,000 ; (5. Officers of various ranks, 20,000— total, 640,300. To these mutt b e added the reser»e in the millitary colonies, fcO.OO, and Polish troops,'lo,ooo— making a grand total of 730,300 men, with 90,048 horses belonging to the regular cavalry ; 15,732 to the artillery ; and 38,586 to the irregular troops, The army u distributed into eight grand divisions, namely 1, Toe guards — 2 The army of the south — 3. The army oi the west — 4. The army of Lithuania and Poland — 5. The corps of the Caucasus— 6. The Finland corps — 7. The regiments of the military colonies — and 8. The army ot reserve. The expense of this vast force is comparatively small ; the aitieles for their equipmeut, provisioning, and arming, being ot the cheapest and coarsest kind, and the pay of both officers and men being very low. But the Russian cunency being in paper roubles, which being only one-fourth of their nominal value, as soon as the troops crons their own frontier, their right to reec-ivc their pay in oilver roubles is acknowledge by the Emperor ; so that the mere p<iy of an army^n foreign service is four times as great as when tliey are at home, besides all other expenses. The number of the army is kept up by conscription. When new levies are wanted, oiddis are issued to the head men of villages, each of which is required to furnish a certain number, according to the amount of its population. The Russian soldier is docile, submissive, and brave ; like all slaves, he is pliant, subservient, ai>d cunning ; and like all natives of the north he w hardy, patient, and enduung. The moral face of the army consists in a certain undefin> d feiooity, which such men i as Suvaroff can alone fully develope. The cavalry colonies in the south of Russia have attracted much attention ; but they are nothing more then peimanent cantonments of residents ot eatrahy in districts he. longing to the Crown, quartered upon ilia inhabitants, and receiving from them regulated ration. They ore, however, reciuited from the youth of the villages where they are quurtsd ; but, during the whole period of their actual service, their duties are purely military. The force Of these cavdtry colonies isgreat, and consists of five divisions, each composed tour regiments of about 1200 effective men each, besides dep6t and reserve squadrons, and the regimental tradesmen, and itaff. Turee of the divisions are cuirassiers and two are lancers. The Russian navy may be said tr> be the creation of the present Czar Nicholas. He maintains two large fleets in the Gulf of Finland and the Black Sea j but the exact amount of their force aud their available resources are, and for sevi-ral years have been, a subject of emlless dispute amongst naval men and politicians. It is at least certain that the C?ar spares nai her cost nor trouble on his favourite object ; but on the other hand, the ships are manned by landsmen, who have no naval experience beyond what they derive from a short summer cruise in their narrow seas or from harbour practice; and, owing to the gross corruption and peculation the peivade every department of the body politic in Rubsm.the veisei atare so inefficiently built as to be fit for service only a very fewyeuis, and some of them even, it is alleged, are almobt useless before they are fitted out for their fiist voyage every part of the mareiial being sup,,lied of tbe ivoist qu.lity, at the highest price. To every ship of the hue there is assigned a rogiuient ol 1100 men, who butiiee uoi only for the

largrr ship, but also for the smaller vessels attached to it. Tlie crews of the Baltic fleet amounted in 1837 to not less then 30,80 > men ; and those of the fleet m the Black Sea to 19 800, or, although, 50,600. Hie officers are supplied from tbe two Cailet Colleges, and sent to sea in ihe fldet every summer. The ships generally become unserviceable in nine or ten yeats.

The Attempt of Lola Montes to Stab her. Husband.— The Assemblee National hai the following regaiding tliii curious affair. It was, it appears, at Barcelona, not at Tortosa, where the scene between. Lola Monies an! her husband took place:—" The too celebrated Lola Montes is at present in this city, and placed in a very critical position, Madame Heal& adds to the interest of it by the manner in which slie relates her late adventures It appears that since her sepiration from the King of Bavaiia, she has received from him an allowance ot 50,000f. a-year, and a letter every three or four days. She affirmi that the King lias never been to her an > thin-; more than ab°nefactor, a real lather ! Nothing can be more loinantic than the manner in which sh« relates the circumstance attendant on her marriage with Mr. Heald. She was living a lettred life in London, receiving very few visitors, and taking an airing almost every evening in the Parks. One d'iy a Mr. X—— spoke to her of Mr; Heald, who had followed her pvery day, and threw towards her the most amorous i/lances : she replied that bhe h.id not remarked him ; she had merely observed i hat he always had a very pretty dog in bis earring?. On the (ollowing day the pretty dog was at ih« residence of the fair Lola; and then — bat you know the rest. Some wet-kb thereafter Lola Monies, after having lefused the most magnificent oftsrs, accepted the hand of Mr. Ueald, a diamond ring worth .£540, and a life annuity of 25,000/. in rereraion to her childien. In conti acting thin marriage, Lola Montes broke definitively with tt-e King of Bavaria, and relinquished the pension of 50,000f. which she received from him. You know the history of the charge ot bigamy, which came to disiuib the first joys of this union ; you are aware of the journpys which the amorous couple took, while the proceedings were going on. It appear-, thut it was duting their bte residence at Boulogne that their fi,st domestic disputes toolc pidce, and that Mr. Heald, tiied of the burden imposed on him, resolved to leave his wife. However that may be, they left Boulogne togoiher for Marseilles and thence proceeded to Barcelona, where they arrived on the 7th instant. I saw Mr. Heuld on the day of his arrival. He is a tall young man, thin and fair ; he uses rouge to conceal his pa'eness, and appears very weak. Five days since, Mr. Heald called on the English Consul and said to him, ' I am come to ask your advice ; I have some friends here who recommend me to abaidon my wife— what ou,ht 1 to do ? I am afraid of being assassinated or poifo-ied ; at Perpignan she stab'ied me.' He then showed a waistcoat stained with blood. The Consul leplied, 'lam astonished that, after the attack you speak of, you had not laid acmplaint befoie the police at Perpignan, and that you have since lived with her on such intimate terms ; but, if you wish to abandon your wife, I have no advice to s>'ve you. 1 He offered, however, to vise his passport for auy direciion which he might think proper to take. On the same day the parties hid the quarrel which I mentioned yesterday, but the stab of tha poinard appears to have been an invention of the person who related it. The scene was confined to reproaches and insulti. Oa the following day, the 16th, Mr. Heald sent his passport to the English Consul, begging him to give him a new one, and at half-past 4 ne had disappeared. To-day Lola Montes received an anonymous letter in En<?li"ih, beginning with these w >rds, ' Use discretion or you are lost.' It informed her that her husband still loved her, and that if she would go to join him, she was sure to brinif him round to he. . Lola was on the point of leavia^, and had even taken a place in the mail, whe.i it occurred lo her that perhaps it was only a trap laid for her, and that when they got her into France a demand might be made to' her extradition. Many people blaie Mr. He<vld ; but why bhonld he now be blamed ? Bis i fault was long since committed. OlheiS pity (he lovr )y Lola. They little know the age we live in. The celebrity of this lady is a fortune for her." Proceedings against thg Countess of Landsfelt's Baix,.— Messrs. Ddvics (father and son), attorneys, of Wai wick-street, Regent-street, against whom summonses were issUi'd a few weeks ago, calling on them to fhew cause why they should not pay over to the Crown the sum of £500 each, beina; the amount of their recognizances for the appeal ance of Mrs. Hcald, Countess of Landsfelt, to answer to a charga of bjgamy, prefrned against her in August last, weie in attendance at Mailborotigh Police Court to answer the cabe agaiust them. Mr. Bodkin, who appeared for the Messrs. Davies, said he appeared on behalf of two gentlemen who some time ago became surety for the attendance of Mrs. Heald, Countess of Liindsfe t, to meet a charge of bigamy. In consequence of hee failing to appear, the recognizances weie directed to be entreated. Hh object now was to have the case go to the Quarter Sessions ; and he thought it would be quite ininisterirtl if the Magistrate directed a distress warrant to be issued against the defendants ; not that they were desirous of evading payment of the .£I,OUO, but rather that tiny should have time to appral against any decision that might be given against them. After some further remarks, Mr. Biugham directed nn order to be issued, and as the amount of bail was over tha sum sU'.ed in the Act, tht-y would have the power to appeal at the Quarter Sessions. The defendants were then ordeied, pro fotma, to pay the amount of tuo bail, and due notice of appeal was given. Miur\RY Changes in India. — 80th Foof, Mjj <r Charles Law is, to be Lieutenant. Colonel, by pui chase, vice Bunbury, who retires. Bth December, 1849.— Captain Robeit George Hughes, to be Major, by purchase, vice Lewis. Bth December, 1849. — Lieutenant Edward Alien Holdich, to be Captain, by purchase, vice Hughes. Blh December, 1849 — Captain Snyers to proceed to En» land for two years on urgent private affairs. — 75. h Foot, As-,i=;taiit-Surgeoo Martin, from 6th November, 1849, to s(h November, 1850, to New South Wales, on medical certificate. The Royal British Bank have issued a circular of the terms of business to be adopted upon the opening of the bank, which is speedily to take place. One per cent, is to be allowed on all drawing accounts, constant for six months, ot one hundred pounds and upwards, and two per cent, on all accounts exceeding two hundred pounds. On deposits lor $ix months, whatever may be their amount, three per cent, will be allowed. Cash credits will be granted to respectable parties with two sureties, at five per cent, and one per cent, commission. Laegh Importation ok Australian Seed Wheat. — We are informed that an important and novel importation of sred wheat, f.om Australia, look place at this port, on Friday. The impoit amounted to 6000 bushels, ot excellent qualnty, brought by the Jumna, from Port Adelaide. We unders 1 and it fortes the first large importation of the kind, from, the colony in question. From an inspection, it would appear extiemely file id quality, aad likely to prove valuab'e to the landed and farming mterests. By the same vessel, al»o, tifiy tons of flour, thu growth and maim, ficturs of the game dependency, and of extraordinary lino qunhty, have been received.— Liverpool Albia/u