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Leader (1850-1860), 22nd September 1855, Edition 1 of 2, Page 912, Untitled Article

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      $ | $ ? TtM > JMk' : i * M * AT > M ! &Z :. [ S& > ij 28 $ 2 Sjmekkemls ^

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      RUSSIA IN THE PACIFIC . There has been a growing danger in " North Pacific . The Russians , established at Behring ' s ' Straits , at Petropaulbvski , and upon the Aihoor , have been long engaged in preparing for a great development of power in Eastern Asia . If their actual possessions in that quarter of the globe be examined , it will be found that , in themselves , they are not of much value . It has been ¦ the traditional

      policy of the . 'Czars , however , to acquire in the first place territories which other Govefttxments would not ' care , to 'dispute , and these , serve as avenues to richer dominions . Upon this principle the ; blood of armies , and large draughts Iroiri the Exchequer , have been lavished to secure the wastes and solitudes of Tartary , the prolific 1 brooding-ground ' of martial nations . ' A treble object is thus

      Russians'liave approached- theofrontiers bfc China , and by their naval anii military sta- tion on the Amobf already -tht& ^ teti ^ &i borders of Korea . Moreover , ; froni the ? Channel of Tartary , a fleet might soon arrive ofl ? * hee coasts of * j [ apan , and , in fact , the Amerieaiiff are now rivalled b y the Russians > in . thei * pertinacious efforts among the islands of Eastern Asia , and along the Bhbfes of the ? Yellow Sea . -. j Petrppaulovski , embedded in ! the ice of Kamschatka , was long the only settlement of importance held by the Russians in proximity to the North Pacific . Their Arctic establishments , rarely visited by Europeans , could not be regarded as of political import * ance . To the fisher and fur-trader alone was New Siberia or the region of the Sa 1 - moyede tribes interesting , unless the geographical isolation of Sweden , secured by the sway of ^ those territories , enhanced their value . But Petropaulovski' itself was nob favourably situated for the ultimate objects of Russian policy . It stood in relation to her AmericaBfcrather than to her Eastern progress ? . Consequently , when the insurrection in China had thrown that empire ' off its balance ; the Czar Nicholas , adopting at Pekin the Mestschikoff tactic 3 , succeeded in overawing the Emperor . The mouth of the splendid river Amoor was Conceded to him . And now his actions proved "that , TOth whatever contempt we may review the plan of a march across Central Asia , the bleak plains and iron ranges of Siberia offer means af transit , and avenues of military and commercial intercourse . Large stores " of ammunition and trains of artillery ; were brought across this inhospitable area , floated upon the Amoor , embarked at its >• ¦ embouchure in vessels of war , and transported 1 ftp the fortresses of Russian America . Several steamiboats of considerable capacity : ply ! , upon the stream , ahd a large arsenal is in ' course of ejection within the bar . ' It may ; appear that such an impracticable harboufis not . destined to assume naval importance ] but the tactics of the Russians consist in building mighty strongholds , furnishing them With prodigious accumulations of arms and munitions , closing the approaches in front , and keeping open communications in the rear . ¦ .. ;• It should be remembered that upon the western shores of the Pacific the climate admits of navigation throughout the year . Siberia contains immense cannon foundries and manufactories of warlike stores , supplied from the mines of the Ural , but' only- lately opened by this new outlet , to aid in the defence of the Russian colonies in America , and in the fulfilment of the Russian aims in the Eastern Ocean . A line of connexion is thus established between the point at which Russia touches the coastB of Sweden and that at which she touches the coasts of China . Long ago , by a series of advances , not unresisted by the Tartar race , she passed [ Lake Baikal , and at Maimachen set a guard upon the Chinese Empire . The' Chinese sentry there salutes the Russian . Negotiations are in suspense to extend this encroaching frontier ,, in the interior as well as along the sea , and the movement will beebme more rapid as the fortifications ' of the Amoor increase in magnitude and shelter a rising naval influence . The question suggested is , how far are these , Concessions by China ; and acquisitions by Russia , to continue ? The war ^ while it lnsts > offers a propel opportunity for interrupting ort one df the highways ' of Asia this insidious series of advances . r > iAt Sitka and on the Aleutian Isles the Russians possess trading and fishing establishments , which , it is reported , the Allies' have * resolved > not to molest . There is even an elaborate story in

      gained . The bones and sinews of the desert race , the ttheap levies -of conquerors ! , arb brought into thei Russian armies . The forces , once wielded by GhaNGfiiB and Tiwotm were ; partially incorporated ( with the forces of * ' the Emperof Nicholas , ' who ' knew whatj potent terror tnese wild' battalions eiercisedj m the East ' of Europe , -f often aedolatedj by the whirlwind ! of-their horse . Again , i by seizing Upon the neutral' ground , < and ad-i vancing their posts across the wilderness , thol

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      solicitor , land-agent , andfaritfer ; and to reap those imaginary-profits he tushes into various trades / which iprpve failures . He Was 12 , 0002 . in debt ; but what matters that ? He can " borrow /^ and he does so for five ye ars , ap-Sfc ^ irf ^ 'a * the rate of 10 * 000 ? . a-year . We sSv atyparentty , for even the reckless borrowin J ii ^ itselMoubly a deM He " fails " 0 6 Q , Q 60 Z ., but of that he owes 25 , O 0 OZ . as tlie-price of ^^ Ijorrpwmg the rest . The profitable speculation was a figment ; the debt i | s 6 lf % to 46 per cent , of it a delusion ; and iSiiew $ ^ e prbves to be a flam . l ? br here the law step ^ in , and says that if Mr . iLAwroBD , or any like him , really have $ TOmi | kfeoY to pay more than they can , they shall be called bankrupt or insolvent , and not payl The privilege of annulling promises is carried to a vast extent—millions sterling are annually wiped out . Having begun by declaring that the promises shall be perforined , tne law ends by declaring that it is intolerable , and oppressive to enforce them ; ^ oit ^ &t ^ f ; they prove to be without any subitantial basisor means of realising , they shall be cancelled ! And having established the principle of enforcement — a " protection " iinder which genuine credit is extended indefinitely * bjr a false credit—the law establishes a wide and complicated machinery thtouglibut the country , called bankruptcy and insolvency courts , to extinguish the debts which it has called into being , and to cancel its own creation ! And that is deemed economy ! ;^ he power of dealing in false credit being established , the traffic flourishes . For , observe , if leiiderg contribute to that enormous bankrupt waste every year , if borrowers " fail , " t he agents of the loans can make both parties paj _ - _ . ^ he borrower for the " accommodation , " tne jlender for the opportunity to make the usance . AMr . KmG wants to borrow some money , ana : ' ; 2 Stop . '' 'JEtisirat y Coe Coape , a gentleman writa property in land ; but greatly encumbered , Its his security . Two Tenders are found telenet the money '; Kino takes it , and then disappears . The loan not being returned , tljie lenders , then come upon the securities ; and jit is ( then discovered that the landed propertypf Mrl' Coape is so encumbered , that m fact it is guarantee for a very small portion pf lihe debt . M ; r . Coape ' fk brought before tnei CrJLminal Court , prosecuted for the false pretext on which he gave his security , but unanimously acquitted b y the jury , with the remark 'that thp prosecution was unjustifiable . JJas land , is taken , and something remained oyex the mortgages towards repayment of the loan ; but there were other parties to the transaction / In some way , which is not perfectly clear , an insurance company had stood between the borrower and the lenders , and out . of the loan an advance by the company was repaid . Nay , the ' managing director of : ! the ' Comp ' any was fjho lawyer employed to i i | c ( fl ^ e '' lnq ' uiir iies' into the sufficiency of the ¦^ cur jN jie ^ , a'iid h 6 admitted before the judges that itiqiliiry rriighj ; easily haye ascertained the cpft ditipn , of Mt ' . 'CoApe ' s property ; yet lie had 400 guineas for hiSijrbuBle and expenses . : CTto' sBUcitoir * wnp in ' ade these fruitless inquiries ji& 4 ju a * received a' testimonial iri the 4 toape of 10 CJOt ; i gWeil'to the ! ' soliditor fbr his jaeal ' and Ability ) a gift equally'tb the credit ojT iiiijnWelf ^' atid of the irisutantJe bffice which lia ^ a splicitbi *' wbrthy ' of such a testirnonial . Indeed , the tii Wai effect of these testimonials 19 pq pbvfbvis and cbhsiderable , that' they are Mite' tjje fashion just now and ; ihey p ^ bbably Dttfik' into existence a degfee of credit very ; aavan . tag'ebus to insurance companies arid bteic tSding bodies . ' It would be intereatuBj ^ S Kno w bow many hundreds of thbu-BandV orb annually transferred in loans that

      are not to be > repaid ^—sums thrown into the overflowing cauldlrbn of bankruptcy every year ; and . what sums , ' not lost by the recipients , are' paid for inquiries in such cases . But in this plain recital of facts , it appears to us we have established the gradation between the first adulteration of trade and credit and the last results . LxiOEEzrA Bobgua and Co ., who supply copper in lieu of tomata colouring matter , do not better but worse than Davidson and G-oiDosr , who give spelter warrants that represent no spelter ; while A ., who buys of a butcher without means of paying , does exactly the same in principle as Kino , whose Security is as visionary as Gordon ' s metal . Stbahan , Patti ., and Co . really lodged securities with lenders—only they were other persons' securities ; but that was not a more direct mode of taking people ' s property without leave than if money was taken in the name of spelter where there is no spelter , in the name of grease where there is chalk , in the name of inquiries when , there is no effective inquiry , in the name of tomata when therd is copper , in the name of an estate at Maldon when the estate has passed to another . If I get a man to advance money on a bill representing a debt which a third party is supposed to owe , and I have no reason to believe that third party will or can pay , I only apply the same principle . And when the law promises to enforce debts , and then releases them in the name of bankruptcy or insolvency , the law itself does but act on the Patti . principle . The pretended principle is one thing , the practice another . The system is so much worse than Stbahan and Co . that it involves honest and dishonest alike , leaves " < paper" in the hands of an unconsciofis accomplice to pass it on , drags friends « nd connexions through common humanity into the vortex , and coerces tradesman and customer to fall in with tyrant usage ; Whatever the pedantry of statutes and mox ^ ality may say—Orthodox morality winks at any , irregularity that can manage to escape detection in the " fast" life . pf our day , and the Statute Law deliberately provides plans for its own breach ! Such is the result when Legislation professes to substitute protection for Free-trade in credit , tells the lender that he may lay vigilance aside , and teaches all to consider probity and improbity on a level of equality before the Law Merchant .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 22, 1855, page 912, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2107/page/12/