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    Derbendth Gate—ithout f20 THE Ii-EAPEB. ...

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    KUSSIAN POLICY IN W ESTERN ASIA. » Wje m...

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    New Income-Tax Victims. Chabmed Are Cert...

    Imagine the delight of winding up a scold with the infliction of the Income-tax ! _ oUtn

    There are , however , somewhat serious - culties in any such measure . In the first place , there is some reason to doubt whether the 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 At ihosewho employ servants , never approach lew

    < bhe lowest of those sums . In lact , Housekeepers rise even to 40 guineas or SO guineas ; some do not even allow so much as 2 o . guineas ; and when " Sigma" speaks of m-^ ome , exclusive of lodging , firing , and food , he forgets that in some houses the food is . only the leavings , beer is paid out of wages , and tea and sugar are subjects of negotiation . irritated alhabet

    The fact is , that the whole p , Jfrom Alpha to Omega , has forgotten that the . stratum of domestic servants which underlies the stratum of the employing class is equally varied in its level . It seems to be supposed that " My ILord Duke , " and " Sir Habbi , and " Iiady Charlotte , " who constitute " high life below stairs , " represent the whole out ansiwiaui

    class ; whereas they are cne ^ 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 of domestic 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 ca down stairs in all the middle-class streets ,

    for the purpoae of askmg Bkett : and Saxmt whether t ^ e ^ ( poiaai ^ lep themselves pampered , jt ^ is nothing to tell us that some gentlemen with powder in their hair are paid more than working curates , or than officers in 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 deftly 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" and " Omega" know that there are as many as ten . thousand domestic servants out of employment usually resident in London ? JJet us 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 to be 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 J'M y ' X ' ord Duke" and " Sir ijELotBY' * are not paying ; and we doubt whether that class are advanced beyond the level of Obuikbhank ' s footman , who asks the

    butler , " What is taxes ? " Bat the humbler class , are paying , the tax in more than an adequate proportion . They are paying i t in the form of reduced wages . Where 10 Zf was paid three years ago , 8 / . is paid now ; "where Sli , it is now 61 . ; and so on in proportion . In short , the pampered menial who meets fclie ; Jfooome-tax in the decrease of tea and sugar , haa to pay it also in the form of reduction of > wagpa . ' - It is . paid in yet another form . TaxfiMB ^ f aggravate" the temper of houae-< keeperft > anxir there are many pampered menials

    in this metropolis at the present momen who submit to a large tax of increased exactions from " Missis ' s " temper . Really , before we talk of bringing the Cilanoeixob or the Exchequer toibear 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 .

    Derbendth Gate—Ithout F20 The Ii-Eapeb. ...

    f 20 THE Ii-EAPEB . . fNo . 279 , SatOkOay , ¦ - ' " , . _ ¦ ¦ - ¦! . " —^_^—— * j **^ b * i **— ^ i——^^—^—^ i ^^^^^^^^^^*^*^**** ******^***^^^^ : _

    Kussian Policy In W Estern Asia. » Wje M...

    KUSSIAN POLICY IN W ESTERN ASIA . » Wje must progress as much as possible in the direction of Constantinople and India . He who can oace get possession of these points is the real ruler of the world . With this view we must provoke constant quarrels—at one time with Aurkey , 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 do wnfal 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 his

    capitulation of Faltscbi deprived him of bard-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 veTy ^ early period displayed its true colours , and evinced ita characteristic contempt for honour and good faith . It is now one hundred and thirty-eight years ^ 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 Khan at . The people of Khiva , sensible of their inability to cope with the Russian troops in the lield , 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 p lains 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 that he found himself in a position to enforce satisfaction . At that time the imbecile Shah Sultan Hoosqein , being sorely pressed by his 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 liis " 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 Leaghie , while he denounced the wrath of Heaven against whomsoever should take their part . But Peter was ever more happy in deeda 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 following year , at the earnest request of the people themselves , he sent a strong force to occupy the Erovince of Ghilan , though belonging to his " great ¦ iend and neighbour . " ... The Affgban rebels having m the meantime entered Ispahan and thrown the Shah into prison , his son Tamaab , hastened to implore the protection of the Czarj in return for which , his ambassador . Ismail Beg , engaged to cede Ghilan , Ma-^_^ _ ^ _ - ¦ ¦ *•_*— . _ / "t « 4 > v __ . *•»• 4 > Vkrf Rw «« 4- a ***

    zanderan , and Astrabad , in addition to the cities of Baku and Derbend . It would seem , however , that the envoy had exceeded his instructions , for soon , afterwards we find Shah Tamasb making desperate but vain efforts to check the progress of the Russians . At length a convention was arranged between the Czar , the Sultan , and the Shah , by which the above-named provinces were yielded to Russia , and 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 . Strictly speaking , indeed , the latter owed allegiance 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 Russia and the Caucasian

    Southern 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 among these , but totally distinct , -were tribes of Kalmaks and Nogais ; the latter maintaining a sort of connexion with the Ottoman Empire ; the 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 be 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 ICalniuks , 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 . The Nogaia exhibited less character and determination . Some of them , indeed , emigrated to the Crimea , but the majority submitted themselves to the Russians . About the middle of tho eighteenth century a new instrument of disorganisation was also brought into play , and a number of missionaries were sent into Great and Little Kabarda for the ostensible

    purpose of converting the Ossetians , or Ossctinians as they are indifferently called . By their means a largo portion of the tribe was induced to acknowledge the supremacy of Russia , and a communication was thus openod with Georgia . From the time of Nadir Shah Georgia had continued a dependency of tho Persian crown , though governed by its own Waily with almost sovereign power . ^ But it frequently happened that the internal dissensions which agitated Persia prcvonted the Shah from affording any protection to tho Georgians against the sudden inroads * of their turbulent neighbours , tho Loaghis , They were consequently tempted to turn their eyes to the only Power that seemed capable of giving them peaco and tranquillity ; and thus an . opportunity alone was -wanted for extending Russian supremacy

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), July 28, 1855, page 12, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_28071855/page/12/