Persia as if they were already her's; by rendering the sea impassable, as if it were her own; by blockading our coast; by destroying not only our vessels, but those of other states which approach us; by depriving us of a market for our produce; by preventing us from obtaining salt, gunpowder, and other necessaries of war, which to us are necessaries of life-by depriving us of hope."

To succeed, therefore, in her unprincipled ambition, Russia must of necessity not only continue to stop the transit trade through Georgia, but the traffic of Austria, Persia, Turkey, and every other power, with the eastern shores of the Euxine. She must make herself absolute mistress of that sea, in order to intercept the commerce of all Europe; and she must recognize her antagonist as a belligerent power, in order to be able to exercise the right of blockade, because, without such blockade being officially announced and acknowledged by England, she can have no right whatever to stop an English merchant-ship bound for the Circassian coast.

Those of our readers who have followed our reasoning from the commencement of this pub

lication will not have been entirely unprepared for the present movements on the part of Russia.

In our Number of May the 20th we pointed out the real value to be attached to her promise to evacuate Silistria in September. We felt that the assurance was only made in order to soothe the public excitement in England, and to flatter the nation with the belief that the concession had been extorted by the unanimous expression of parliamentary feeling. We stated that the military frontiers which Russia intended to secure were not the Danube but the Egean, not Silistria but the Dardanelles.

Dantzig, August 18, 1836. The Russian government has made a contract with the proprietors of the iron foundries in Sweden, in consequence of which a certain number of cannon is annually to be supplied for its use. They are to be sent to Poland, via Dantzig. In the course of this summer, three Swedish vessels have arrived here, with about one hundred and fifty cannon, which were forthwith forwarded in the boats called Berlinka up the Vistula.

Positions in Poland which are being fortified on a more extended plan:

The Citadel of Warsaw.

Modlin. This was formerly only a Tête du Pont, but now it is erected into a large fortification. It is situated at the confluence of the Bug and the Vistula.

Demblin. A new fortress erecting at the junction of the Wiepez and the Vistula.

Brcz-Litewski. A new fortress is erecting here, on the Bug. Zamosc. An old fortress is being repaired.

Lowicz. A new fortress is in contemplation.

Frontiers of Poland, September 1, 1836. The Russian army in the southern provinces is to consist of four corps of infantry, two reserve corps of cavalry, and one reserve of artillery; and of eighteen regiments of the Cossacks, organized in 1832, and taken from the population of Little Russia. Its effective force is to be ninety-six battalions, one hundred and twenty squadrons, nine thousand Cossacks, and two hundred and sixteen cannon.

"The ambition of the Autocrat of Russia is the empire of Sclavonia." - Portfolio, Vol. I., p. 504.

Extract of a letter from Lemberg, in Galicia, dated the 26th August, "A misunderstanding has taken place between the Austrian and Russian Residents at Cracow. The latter, in the name of his Sovereign, became the protector of a Sclavonion Literary Society, which entered into researches as to the different tribes of Sclavonia, and even presented to it from the Emperor, and the principal

Russian nobles, a sum of 20,000 francs. This was attributed, by the Austrian Resident, to the political object of uniting all these tribes under one dominion. The discussions between the two Residents were very warm, and were only put an end to by the interference of the Prussian Consul. It was agreed that the donation should not be published, and that the Society should be under the patronage of the three Sovereigns who have the Sclavonians under their dominion.

It is announced that, previous to the Emperor's proceeding to the southern army on the Black Sea, he is to appear at a review at Lowicz, and afterwards to proclaim amnesties on a large scale. This manœuvre has always been practised in Russia, whenever any important enterprise has been contemplated. It is affirmed that the Russian authorities at Warsaw are busy in preparing a deputation to the Emperor on his visit to the Polish Capital, in order to request his Majesty to make the kingdom of Poland a Russian province, an integral part of the Russian empire, and this in perpetuity.

As a corollary to these proceedings of Russia, a similar measure has been attempted at Cracow, where the Senate has been urged first by the visit of a Russian diplomatist, and secondly, by a Pole, suborned for that purpose, to send a petition to the Emperor, praying that the free city and territory of Cracow may be incorporated in perpetuity with the kingdom of Poland!

Before the Polish Revolution, the Russian Government attempted to carry into execution the same measure at Warsaw, under the pretext of the public funds being insufficient to defray the expenditure for the army and civil list, in order to induce the Poles to pray for the union of the kingdom of Poland with Russia, and the suppression of the Constitution.

Paris, 10th September, 1836.

There have been no important deliberations on the affairs of Spain. But the principal points have been agreed upon with the King, M. Molé, and M. Guizot, and one may consider as certain that, under present circumstances, they will not be modified.

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The principal points are the following:

1. The depôt of troops formed in the south, and which M. Thiers wished to send into Spain, is not to enter the Spanish territory.

2. The Foreign Legion, which is in the field in Spain, and which, according to the assertions of the Tiers Parti, is to be recalled, will remain.

3. If Spain continues to become tranquillized and to respect the Queen, and if the Queen and her Ministry continue the system which has been commenced, the French Government will not leave them without support.

With regard to the first point, the King leans on public opinion, which, in truth, is not in favour of an expedition of the kind, in which France has no territory to gain, and in which she would have everything to lose. It is to be remarked that the juste milieu and the radicals are both opposed to this expedition.

Nevertheless, as we have said, the Legion will not be withdrawn; for the Government does not wish to facilitate the cause of Don Carlos, and it does not wish to retract a measure already adopted in favour of the Queen.

Finally, as regards the decision of the second point, the King seems to hope that M. Villiers will support M. Calatrava, and that he will consent to the modification of the Constitution of 1812; on the other hand, it appears that our Cabinet will renounce its prejudices against Mendizabal, and that it will not insist on the too narrow and exclusive policy of M. de Reyneval. The Spanish Question had given rise to a coolness between the Courts of the Tuilleries and St. James's; it is on account of that very question that a perfect reconciliation must be followed by a greater intimacy than ever.

One consideration which contributes to prevent an intervention or a strong co-operation, is, not the fear of Foreign Powers, but the conviction that we must not place too much confidence in the intentions of the Northern Courts. This consideration had been appreciated some time ago by the King and by M. Molé and Guizot. Their sagacity has just been proved by the Manifesto of the Emperor Nicholas.

I repeat my unqualified conviction that the new Cabinet is well disposed towards England. I know for a certainty that such is