The Eastern Question in a New Light.

Otago Witness, Issue 1752, 20 June 1885, Page 4

The Eastern Question in a New Light.

The New York Herald published the following :—

San JFranoisco, May 2, 1585. During the whole of the recent crisis the Emperor and Empre-s were as inseparable as a pair of newly-married lovers, daily driving together on a narrow-seated droschlcy. The Empress, who is passionately fond of her elder sister, the Princess of Wales, never loses a moment to put in a word to preserve the peace. The Emperor's only belligerent moments are when excited by the ambitious counsels of General Obrutacheff.

A curious incident occurred yesterday at Gatschina. Gladstone's speech waa beirjgdiscussed informally in the Imperial circle. The Grand Duke Michael remarked : " What does your Majesty think of Gladstone's idea of arbitration by the President of the United States ?" The Czar replied : "It would never do in tho world. Russia can never submit to any arbitration. But if peace or war should depend upon Gladstone's ability to obtain a sort of quasi arbitration, from which the territorial question were strictly excluded, or which would be confined to a mere expression of opinion as to Komaroff's action, and which at the same time would be sufficient to leave England's amour propre unmolested, Rusßia would of course consent. But anything like a drastic territorial arbitration is now incompatible with Russia's dignity." In other words, if Mr Gladstone wants to gild a pill for the palate of the British, public, then the Czar, like Barkis, is willing. The feeling of the overwhelming majority of thinking Russians is best shown in the following conversation with a statesman enjoying the special confidence of the Czar and tha Minister of the Interior, Count Tolstoi :— Herald: Should England agree to the boundary-line proposed by Russia, would matters be placed on a permanent peacs basis ?

Answer: No. That would be merely a makeshift to last a few weeks or months, or perhaps years. Nothing, not even the Czar, can prevent Russia from pushing on until we have a seaport on the Arabian Gulf. If Russian and English frontiers touch each other on any neutral zone it means perpetual war. A_ contiguous frontier means peace. This is inevitable, and it is far better that it should be accomplished by wise statesmanship than by a series of terrib/e wars. Herald : Has the Russian staff selected any special port on the Arabian Gulf ?

Answer : Yea, a place called Soumeanee, at the mouth of the Lyaree River, in Beloochistan. Soumeanee, once connected by rail with Herat, Sarakhs, and Askabad, will become one of the most important seaports ia the world, tho outlet for the enormous commercial resources of Russia, and with Soumeanee in our hands we could even give up up our desire for Constantinople. The greatest activity prevails in preparing the torpedo defences on the Baltic. The entire coast of Finland is one network of traps for British pruisers,

—The total superficies of the seas in tho world is given as 231,915,905 square milea, and that of all' the continents and islands as 34,354,350 square inilee.

-Moorish outrages upon Spanish residents on the Morocco coast are of daily occurrence* The Spaniah populace is inflamed against ihe Moors, and there is talk of annexing a stretch of Moorish coast on the Mediterranean SBa,