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' n THE Ii E A BE R. [No- 279, Saturday,...
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RUSSIAN POLICY IN WESTERN ASIA. u We mus...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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New Income-Tax Victims. Chahmed Are Cert...
Imagine the delight of winding up a scold with the infliciion of the Income-tax I There are , however , somewhat serious drffifculties in Lxy such measure . In ™ J ™ blace , there is some reason to doubt wheth er & e wages of domestic servants , as a class ^ range from 50 to 100 guineas . We are quite convinced that the larger majority of the middle classes , and an immense majority of those who employ servants , never approach the lowest of those sums . In fact , few-housefceepers rise even to 40 guineas or 30 guineas j . some do not even allow so much as Zo jmineas ; and when "Sigma" speaks of in-100
come , exclusive of lodging , nring , ana a , he forgets that in some houses the tool is only the leavings , beer is paid out of wages , and tea and sugar are subjects of negotiation . The fact is , that the whole irritated alphabet , from Alpha to Omega , has forgotten that the stratum of domestic servants which underlies the stratum of the employing class is equally oraried in its level . It seems to be supposed that " My Lord Duke , ' * and " Sir Habbt , " and " Lady Charlotte , " who constitute " high life below stairs , " represent the whole class ; whereas they are but the aristocracy of the servants' hall , and we might as well take the House of Peers as a test for the amount
of income of the whole of society , as take gentlemen with powder in their hair , and 100 guineas per annum . " exclusive , " <& c ., to represent the class o ^ omestic servants . The Beggar ' s Petition speaks with anger of the " pampered menial , " but we doubt very much whether all the menials employed in this country are pampered . It would be interesting to appoint a special commission to go down stairs in all the middle-class streets , for the purpose of asking Betty and Sajxy whether they consider themselves pampered . It is nothing to tell us that some gentlemen with powder in their hair are paid more
than working curates , or than officers m the army and navy—that some ladies who can dress hair and get up fine linen receive more than governesses . Those who have the means of paying for services , do so ; and the wealthy classes no doubt do appreciate the getting up of fine linen , the dressing of hair , and a good attendance at table , above the saving of souls or the education of the children of the middle classes . In the higgling of the market , to dress the hair of a young lady , or attend def tly at table , will " fetch " more than the salvation of the penitent or the cultivation of the human intellect . But
what has the class of domestic servants to do with that appreciation ? Do " Alpha" " Omega" know that there are as many as ten thousand domestic servants out of employment usually resident in London f Let ua ask how the Income-tax is to reach that class , or how there can be much income for a class whose surplus stock is thus tojfre measured ?
"We are prepared to affirm , however , that the very humblest of domestic servants in work do pay the Income-tax , and are paying it at the present moment . We are quite aware that " My Lord Duke" and " Sir Habey" are not paying ; and we doubt whether that class are advanced beyond the level of Obitikshaj ^ k ' s footman , who aeka the butler , " What is taxes ? " But the humbler class are paying the tax in more than an
adequate proportion . They are paying it in the form of reduced wages . Whoro 101 . was paid three years ago , 8 ? . is paid now ; where 8 / ., it is now 61 . ; and so on in proportion . In short , the pampered menial who meets the Income-tax in the decrease of tea and sugar , Baa to pay it also in the form of reduction of traiges . It is paid in yet another form . Taxes " aggravate" the temper of housekeepers , and there are many pampered menials
in this metropolis at tlie present moment who submit to a large tax of increased exactions from " Missis ' s " temper , Beally , before we talk of bringing the Chanoeei-ob op the Exohequeb to Dear upon that inmate under our roof who is * an outcast from our society , we ought to ask ourselves whether there is not something . due from us towards a fellow-creature who is in our family , but not of it .
' N The Ii E A Be R. [No- 279, Saturday,...
' n THE Ii E A BE R . [ No- 279 , Saturday , 20 . .. ¦ - — ' ¦ ¦ ————— " I———¦ I——— i . ———¦—^—
Russian Policy In Western Asia. U We Mus...
RUSSIAN POLICY IN WESTERN ASIA . u We must progress as much as possible in the direction of Constantinople and India . He who can once get possession of these points is the real ruler of the world . With this view we must provoke constant quarrels—at one time with Turkey , and at another with Persia . We must establish wharves and docks in the Euxine , and by degrees make ourselves masters of that sea , as well as of the Baltic , which is a doubly important element in the success of our plan . We must hasten the downfal of Persia ; push on to the Persian Gulf ; if possible re-establish the ancient commercial intercourse -with the Levant through Syria ; and force our way into the Indies , which are the storehouses of the world . Once there , we can dispense with English gold . "
Such was , in part , the legacy of ambition bequeathed by Peter the Great to his successors , who have proved themselves , in truth , not unworthy of the bequest . The genius of that wonderful savage instinctively taught him that the surest—and , indeed , the only—means of civilising his people was by opening an easy communication with the more advanced nations of Europe ; and that this could be effected through commerce alone . But at the commencement of his reign Russia did not possess a single sea-port , and the capitulation of Faltschi deprived him of his
hard-earned acquisitions on the Sea of Azof . The indomitable perseverance of the meteoric barbarian finally triumphed , however , over every obstacle ; and while through his " window , " St . Petersburg , he looked out menacingly upon Western Europe , his " postern" opened upon the Caspian and threatened all Central Asia . This Russian policy at a very early period displayed its true colours , and evinced its characteristic contempt for honour and good faith . It is now one hundred and thirty-eight yeaTS since Peter despatched Prince Bekewitch on a "friendly mission" to the Khan of Khiva , at the same time
furnishing him with an army for his escort . But it casually transpired that the Prince had received secret instructions to seize upon certain goldmines situated in the Khanat . The people of Khiva , sensible of- their inability to cope with the Russian troops in the field , dissembled their knowledge of the prince ' s intentions , but pleaded the impossibility of finding provisions for so large a a force at any one point of their barren territory . Less suspicious than might have been expected from his consciousness of * deceit and guilt , Bekewitch broke up his little army into small detachments , which were severally attacked and overpowered in detail .
At that moment affairs of more urgent importance directed Peter ' s attention to other quarters , and the death of his son , Alexis , may have caused him to think lightly of his discomfiture in Khiva . But he did not the less closely pursue his designs upon Persia , and opportunities soon wait upon those who are ready to make one for themselves . In the year 1712 the Lesghis had descended from the mountains of Caucasus , , and , after ravaging the plains of Sheirwan , massacred the inhabitants of Shamakhi , including some three hundred Russian residents . For several years Peter contented himself with making repeated demands for redress , and it was not until 1722 thnt he found himself in
a position to enforce satisfaction . At that time the imbecile Shah Sultan Hoosscin , being sorely pressed by liis rebellious subjects , solicited the aid of the Czar , nor did he ask in vain . Having collected a considerable armament at Astrakhan , Peter issued a singular proclamation , in which he professed a great regard for his " old good friend , the Shah , " though fully determined to indemnify himself at his expense , and promised not to molest any subjects of Persia who kept aloof from the Lesghis , while he denounced the wrath of Heaven against whomsoever sliould take their part . But Peter was ever more happy in deeds than in words . By the middle of September he had made himself
master of Derbend—the Iron Gate—without encountering the slightest resistance ; and in the folio-wing year , at the earnest request of the people themselves , he sent a strong force to occupy the province of Ghilan , though belonging to his " great friend and neighbour . " The Affghan rebels having in the meantime entered Isfahan and thrown the Shah into prison , his son Tamasb , hastened to implore the protection of the Czar ; in return for which , his ambassador , Ismail Beg , engaged to cede Ghilan ,
Mazanderan , and Astrabad , in addition to the cities of Baku , and Derbend . It wouldseem , however , that the envoy had exceeded his instructions , for soon afterwards we find Shah Tatnasb making desperate but vain efforts to check the progress of the Russians . At length a convention was arranged between the Czar , tEe Sultan , and the Shah , by which the above-named provinces were yielded to Russia , aud the Porte ' s supremacy recognised over Georgia , Erivan , Azerbijan , Khamsa , and Kermanshah .
On Peter ' s death , in 1725 , the Russians were glad to exchange Mazanderan and Astrabad for the undisturbed possession of Ghilan , and even this they were compelled to evacuate in presence of the well-directed power of Nadir Shah . The Turks , also , were forced to resign the provinces they had lately wrested from Persia , and that kingdom recovered its proper position and influence in Central Asia . The Russians , however , soon afterwards succeeded in retaking Azof from the Turks ; and the treaty of Belgrade , in 1739 , left them in possession of a boundary line capable at any time of furnishing ready pretexts for a rupture either with Turkey or the Tatars . thlatter owed alle
Strictly speaking , indeed , e - giance to the Porte , but virtually they were independent , and not unfrequently turned their arms against their nominal suzerains . At that period the bleak steppes which intervene between Southern Russia and the Caucasian range , were occupied by nomade tribes , of whom the Circassians were the most distinguished , though their territory was confined to the spurs of the Western Caucasus , and to the district that extends thence to the rivers Terik and Kuban . Interspersed amon " these , but totally distinct , were tribes of Kalmaks and Nogais ; the latter maintaining a sort of connexion with the Ottoman Empire ; tlie latter with their native Tibet and China . Like all mountain clans .
these various tribes and families were constantly at feud with one another , and divided their time between forays and the chase . United , they were invincible ; but their normal state of anarchy and dissension rendered it comparatively easy for any wily and unscrupulous power to acquire a fatal ascendancy . We need not bts surprised , then , to learn that Russia gradually established a permanent influence over these restless barbarians by insidiously fomenting their disputes , and taking the part of the weaker side . But her incessant
and overbearing interference soon disgusted the Kulrnuks , and in 1771 half a million of free-born men , women , and children conceived and executed the desperate resolution of abandoning their settlements and returning to their original home in the Chinese Empire . The Kabardan Circassians adopted a not less trying alternative , for they abjured the religion of their Christian forefathers , and embraced the faith of Islam , in the hope of securing the protection of the Porte . Tho Nogais exhibited less character and determination . Some
of them , indeed , emigrated to the Crimea , but the majority submitted themselves to the liussinns . About tho middle of the eighteenth century a new instrument of disorganisation was also brought into play , and a number of missionaries were sent into Great and Little Kabardn for the ostensible purpose of converting the Ossetinns , or Osaetinians ns they are indifferently called . By their means a large portion of the tribe was induced to acknowledge tho supremacy of Russia , and a communication was thus opened with Georgia .
From the tmio of Nadir Sluih Georgia hnd continued a dependency of the Persian crown , though governed by its own Wnlly with almost sovereign power . But it frequently happened thnt the internal dissensions which agitated Persia prevented tho Shnh from affording any protection to the Georgians against the sudden inroads of their turbulent neighbours , tho Losghis . They were consequently tempted to turn their eyes to the only Power that seemed capable of giving them pence and tranquillity ; and thus an opportunity ulono was wanted for extending Russian supremacy
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 28, 1855, page 720, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/ldr_28071855/page/12/
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