The New York Herald Newspaper, September 22, 1875, Page 13

V9 4 aay TURKEY'S TROUBLES, cesblchsnigiliinagaie Condition of the Insur- gent Provinces. THE MOSTAR CONFERENCE. What Diplomacy is Doing---Upset of the Balance of Power. THE SCLAVONIANS OF THE BORDERLAND. Power and Resources of. Servia. England Withdraws Her Protection---Probable Partition of Turkey. Vienxa, Sept. 4, 1875. ‘The new Servian government have received distinct notice that if they attempt to foment the rebellion in the Herzegovina, Belgrade will be at once occupied by Austrian troops, On the same day that this clear inti- mation was given to Mr. Ristich (who does the writing and reading part of politics for the “Young Servian” Premier) a similar warning was sent to THY PRINCE OF MONTENEGRO, and he was clearly informed that Cetinje, his capital, would have to support an army of occupation if he thought proper to be contumacious. Turkey, Russia and Austria have for once united in a determination to Dring the rayahs to their senses, and, should they per- Severe in their resolye, the rioters, who have been growing worse and more frightened during the past week, will be altogether put to silence, IT announced in my carler letters that it would be an expensive, and possibly a ruinous business for Turkey if the Servians were ajlowed to join the rebellion; but it now seems definitively settled that they will not be allowed to do so, and the rebellion in the Herzegovina 4s at the present writing only kept up, ostensibly, by a few BANDS OF RONBERS. These good people have done as much mischief as they could, They seem to have stolen about 15,000 head of cattle and to have driven across the Austrian frontier for safety every one of the inhabitants of the Herze- govina who had anything to lose. The emigrants are said to amount to about 11,000 persons, and that number tertainly represents all the well-to-do people and some- thing more out of so smal! a population. It must be remembered that in the best of times THE HERZEGOVINA 18 MISERABLY Poor, ats land is ungrateful; its chalk mountains contain no metallic ore; its forests are mostly state property, and the means of transport are so bad that the timber in them will hardly pay for felling. Much of the soil suited for agricultural purposes belongs to the Christian monasteries, The peasantry live chiefly on berries and parched maize, with a little polenta, onions and cheese on high days and holidays. The corn raised in the dis- trict is insufficient for the consumption of its inbabitants, and what is absolutely necessary to their existence has to be imported from Bosnia, A few head of cattle, some herds of swine, a little poor tallow and a little coarse ‘wool used to be bartered for salt in Dalmatia, Now the Herzegovina will have nothing left to export and no money to buy corn from Bosnia, except such as may have been hidden in the monasteries, so that the whole country, for the next score of years at least, will be given over to plump monks and starv- Ing peasants. There are, or were before the recent exodus, about 75,000 Greek Catholics in the Herze- govina, and their clergy were the only persons in com- fortable circumstances, As their property consisted in tithes, money and land they are likely to remain so, because they have suffered very little from cattle steal- ers’ raids during the late troubles, So, to sum up this morning's news intelligibly, one may say that everything seems to indicate that Turkey will come out of her scrape with flying colors, It was never much more than a public house shindy, magnified by the newspapers and turned to profit, if not origin- ated altogether, by stock jobbers, who will have reaped a plentiful harvest by their labors during these dull days of autumn, for the Turkish five per cents still remain fixed at thirty-five. Nevertheless, indications are not wanting that the days of THE OTTOMAN POWER IN EUROPE aro numbered. I heard last night at dinner, from un- questionable authority, that England will no longer ine terfere to preserve the integrity of the Turkish do- minions in Europe, and that whenever Austria, Rus- sia and Greeco think the time ripe for dividing them, they will be at perfect liberty to do so if they can, as far as Great Britain is con- cerned. This information, which was: conveyed to the Porte only a few days ago for the first time, must have been received with mingled feelings of re- lief and alarm by the Sultan and his new conservative Cabinet. They must have felt that since England avowed her intention to give no armed support to Tur- key, in case she should be reduced to the last extremity, her representative at Constantinople might probdbly withhold much unpalatable advice for the future, On the other band, the Sultan and his advisers must have been made aware that in future they will only hold their possessions in Europe op sufferance, or rather, just so long (and no longer) as the Powers tnterested may feel too jealous of each other to agree about their respective shares of her plunder. Experienced persons who have watebed the course of European politics during the last decaae will not be wholly unprepared for the news which is now published in the Henaup. Whether England is acting prudently in withdrawing herself from any active participation in what is called ‘the Eastern question” may be open to dispute, Diplomatists of the old school, who believe in THR BALANCE OF POWER a a panacea for all evils iy Europe, will have all their notions upset by the intelligence that Great Britain has definitively seceded from continental business, But there isa good deal to be said for the view taken by Mr. Disracli’s Cabinet, as there is a good deal to be sald on the other side, Germany has lately acquired such a preponderance of power that England might not be sorry to see Austria 80 strengthened as to be able, at least, to hold her own against her formidable rival, and if the rich principali- ties of the Lower Danube were added to the domains of the House of Hapsburg, Austria would be richer ana stronger than she is, supposing that she could retain her new acquisitions in something like peace and order. Indeed, she would have no fear of a Sclavonian revolt \f the annexation were frankly sanctioned by Russia, because none of these semi-barbarous States would ever dream of rising into rebellion against her, unless they were encouraged to do so by Russia. It remains to be asked whether any Russian Czar would dare to sanction such an arrangement, or even @ partition treaty refer- ring to these provinces, in the teeth of the Sclave move- ment going on in his own dominions, even though he Were compensated by both shores of the Black Sea, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, and the Greek agitation were set at rest by Thessaly, Epirus and the Aigean Islands. If the people of Russia would not on account of their religious fanaticism allow their co-religionists of the Greek Church to be transferred as subjects to a Roman Catholic power, a war would ensue during the feneral scramble between Russia and Aus- tria, for Austria could not, in accordance with any of the old traditions of statesmanship which still guide the councils of Vienna, allow the Russian frontier to be peaceably advanced to Belgrade. Now a war between Austria and Russia would not displease the diplomatists of Germany, for while both these empires had got each other by the ears, Germany might raise the question of the Baltic provinces and oveupy Riga; she might algo lay hands on the German provinces of Austria, Here again England might see her advantage; for Russia, being fully oecupied with the partition of Turkey and its results, would have less leisure to prose. cute her advance in Central Asia and Germany, while busy with plans in the Baltic, and would think less of Antwerp, Holland and Luxembourg, It must be remembered in considering these even. Vaalitios aiso that Great writam could not HOW go to War with Russia so conveniently as in the Crimean days. She bas no allies on the Continent of Europe. The Turks themselves have neither men nor money to assist her, neither have they much good will, She would have to begin by subsidizing Turkey largely to get her to fight at all for ber own deliverance. Greece would be openly hostile, and would have more means of showing her hostility than she had formerly, Therefore Syra and the Pirwas would become harbors for Ruast flects, and she could blockade the Dardanelles. ree if England forced her blockade of the Dardanelles, she could blockade the Bosphorus, and thus would nave two lines of defence by sea to protect her own eastern coasts, while the difficulty of attacking Cron- stadt or making any hostile approach to her in the north was sniliciently demonstrated during the last war, England could only hurt Russia by sea, and to do so she would have to rely altogether on her own re- sources, and enter on a sort of warfare in which, as was proved in the struggle between France and Germany, the means of defence are superior to the mean of at- Moreover inasmuch as Germany would not be di- rectly interested in the result of the conflict, England would in vain seck the alliance of France in such a war, because France would not even have a sentimental rea- son for joining her, andif she did so, considering the relations between the courts of Berlin and St, Peters- burg, Germany might immediately seize a pretext for declaring war on her, Neither Austria nor Italy could help England in a quarrel with Russia, nor would they have any interest’in doing so if they could, and the old methods of subsidizing German mercenaries, by which England recruited ber armies in the timo of Pitt, woufl be no longer permitted by the Cabinet of Berlin, No more ‘Black Bruns- wickers,”? no more Hessians or Nassauers, could be had on any terms for love or money. Finally, the close alliance now existing between the reigning families of Russia and England would make an Anglo-Russian war almost impossible; while the im- mense trade done between the ports of the United Kingdom and the Baltic and the Euxine would render it distasteful both to the court and the people. These reflections have undoubtedly influenced the British government in the decision which it has just announced to withdraw protection from Turkey, no matter what may happen to her. In fact, the pro- tection of Turkey has long been a thankless task, and one very similar to the case of the naughty boy, who will persist in making mud pies as soon as ho has been washed and PROVIDED WITH A CLEAN PINAFORE. If there is one fact more than another which ought to have been apparent to the new Ministers just appointed by the Sultan, it is the almost hopeless state of Turkish finance. It should have been clearest of all things to them that, if they take unusual and despotic means of refilling their exhausted treasury, they will arouse uni- versal execration and hasten the now almost inevitable break-up ofthe Empire; and that, therefore, it behooved them especially to preserve and to nurse all their LEGITIMATE SOURCES OF REVENUE. Yet to the astonishment and despair of the Turkish bondholders, they have within this last week granted A CONCESSION OF THE PORT OF JAPPA toa French company! This amazing fact means, in plain words, that the immense crowds of pilgrims who flock annually to Jerusalem will pay toll to a society of French speculators, instead of paying toll to the Turk- ish government; and if the truth were known, it would unquestionably be discovered that this enormous glice out of the revenues of the Empire has been sold by some obscure person for i A SMALL BRIBE. What may be the worth of such a concession, except to make dupes of some simple shareholders, and to fill the pockets of some engineers and contractors, it is not easy todetermine. Not all the influence and abilities of M. de Lesseps have succeeded in making a sound invest- ment out of THE SUEZ CANAL, and the Turks, with all their staid simplicity of de- meanor, have more than once evinced a notable pro- ficiency in the art of selling that which does not belong to them, Thus this French contract will be certainly quashed, by the next Ministry which succeeds THE OLD TURKISH PARTY for the moment in power, or its provisions will only be maintained by such a system of wholesale bribery as would exhaust the profits of the most lucrative enter- prise. The French company might also contrive to bear in mind, before parting with more of their money, that Syria is in a very disturbed state. The Druses and the Maronites, who cherish a most cordial hatred of each other, excited by the far-off echo of the noise on the Danube, have been trying to get up another rumpus of their own; and Syria is very closely watched by the Khedive of Egypt, Oppenheim & Co., who would like very well to seize that rich district for the purposes of taxation and set up a new united kingdom of Egypt and Syria, of which the bonds might be quoted freely on the stock exchange for ten years at least, The French company should reflect that England would not interfere in such a case and that France could not. Their investment, whatever they may have paid for this precious concession, will be entirely without that diplomatic protection which formerly made such busi- ness work profitably—now and then. Here is another awkward item of information, The disputes between the Catholics and the Armenians have now reached to such a height of frenzy, even in the neighborhood of Constantinople and within hearing of THE SULTAN’S PALACK, that the church of Ortakeny, on the Bosphorus, has been forcibly seized by the victors, while the church of Somatia was actually stormed by armed priests. The Arusnian Cathedral of Mgr. Hassoun has been reg- ularly beseiged, and fighting is going on around the religious editice day and night, so pugnacious are the opposing Christians in theso parts. The Convent of Brommar, on the Lebanon, was taken by assault, and the superior, the monks and students which it con- tained all put to flight headlong. Seven hundred Catholics who trusted themselves in a church at Kilis, in Cilicia, were all kiduapped and forced abruptly to make profession of a new faith to : t A KUPELIAN DOCTOR OF DIVINITY, quite unknown to them, together with his creed. Schools and convents at Diabeker, at Mardin, in Meso- potamia and in Asia Minor have been sacked in open daylight, the Turkish authorities not daring or not caring to interfere with these fighting clergymen. The Cathedral of Galata was taken by a stratagem. “The Episcopal palaces” (large wooden barns tumbling to ruin, strongly impregnated with the smell of fish fried in rank oil) of Trebizond, Broussa, Erzeroom and Ancyra have all been captured by religious persons, sword in hand, and the row is raging on from Beyrout to the Persian frontier, where free companies 1,000 strong are pepetually riding about to set fire to each other’s villages. Far, very far from oppressing the Christians, it will be seen that the Turkish rayahs manage their affairs al- together in their own way, and that their way is not a good one. What nation, whether Austria, Russia or Greece, may feel disposed to take charge of such a truculent and rumbustical population need not be here discussed, for the history of the Christian sects in Turkey would fill volumes, But it may be mildly hinted that the statesman who hasa fancy for the task wil; have enough todo. They are mostly beggars, or ban- ditti, and all desperate fighters. Perhaps if Russia takes possession of them, England may well think that all her superfluous energy will be disposed of, without giving her any sort of itch for new conquests; and long before she gots tothe end of her task perhaps there may be no Russian Empire for Anglo-Indians to ravo about, seeing that republican ideas are making rapid progress among the Muscovites; and that Germans, Russians, Poles and Tartars do not regard each other in a friendly spirit, nor are they likely to live amicably together merely for the glorification of the Romanoff dynasty. So the world goes round, and every empire carries in Itself the elements of its own dissolution; for nothing in this world is eternal, and possibly if tho sectarian squabbles of even the United States were chronicled by # journalist from Baroda, or King Coffee, they might be made to wear almost as menacing a look as the rayab riots in Turkey. Come and dine, Viena, Sept. 5, 1875. Thave held back my letter for fresh news, and now, giving due consideration to the lively speculation going on in Turkish war contracts and securities, I can hardly reconcile my own knowledge of facts with in- formation which reaches me from authentic sources, I must frankly confess that in estimating the chances of a speedy end to the revolt I had not taken into con- sideration the influence which WAR CONTRACTS might bring at any moment to bear upon Turkish af. faire, Halt the contractors in Europe have bolted of to Constantinople and Ragusa, with unlimited bribes in NEW YORK AERALD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER their hands and excellent letters of recommendation, Also one man whom I saw this morning eagor to catch the train, and who has a THUUSAND DOZEN OF BOTTLED ALE, probably rebottled ale partly spoiled, would not hear of peace on any terms, and indeed a tranquil settle- ment of the rumpus in the Herzegovina would take away from him and many commercial gentlemen sim- ilarly situated the best chance of making money which they have had since THE CRIMRAN WAR. The Franco-German war offered but meagre gains in comparison to a row in Turkey, as all contractors with commissariat officers will readily understand. The Tepresentatives ot allied armies bidding against each other for half a hundredweight of bad hay, and raising it to fabulous prices; a reckless investment in spoiled sprate, warranted to be sardines of unimpeachable quality; and the prompt purchase of all descriptions of potted offal, for consumption at sea; contracts for tramways going from nowhither to headquarters; con- tracts for mules (six allied commissariat officers always bidding against each other); contracts for stores, brown paper, shoes and baggy trowsers made entirely of shoddy; these and things like them are enough to make the mouths of brisk men of business to water deliciously. Now it must be delicately observed, so as not to shock ingenuous youth, that patriotism has become rather an antiquated virtue nowadays, and the problem which the proud Moslem has to solve at present is this:—Given a haughty infldel, or even say an Austrian or Prussian renegade, which is to say a pretended or spurious infidel, such as the two generals, guaranteed Mahommedan, now in command on the Servian frontier, will they or should they, being in possession only of a little brief and slippery authority, bring the insurgents ofthe Herzegovina at once to their knees, and have done with them? Or would it not be more discreet to play with them a little and magnify the whole business into luerative proportions? The generals would bo forgotten in a few days, and perhaps dismissed into the obscurity of private life a fortnight after the affair was really over, the Sublime Porte not being more remarkable for gratitude to faithful public Servants than the Christian powers are sometimes sup- posed to have been or tobe, Whereas, if the generals made good use of their commands they need not much care for the gratitude or ingratitude of governments. ‘There are some rich monasteries and religious establish. ments on the borderland. There are still some cattle and some swine; oxen are to be bought at $6 a heud, sheep for half a dollar, swine for less, There is evi- dently a thriving business to be done by a contractor who is on good terms with the Turkish commissariat, or with the chief of the transport service, and who is confidentially recommended by the generals in com- mand, Then again these negotiations do not altogether depend on the local commanders, Admitting, for the sake of argument, that the Austrian and the Prussian pachas have both SOULS ABOVE BUTTONS, there is Slyman Pacha and Scruff Pacha, also Wili Effendi, who are generally understood to be under se- rious obligations to their Amenian bankers, and it is just possible that they may see a means of deliverance in the Herzegovina, If they do not profit by their opportunity now, who knows when they may see an- other one so good? Much money is flying about, much Christian gold is to be had fora few shps of paper, signed by the proper signet rings; why should not the military pachas and Slyman, Scrufll and Wili have some of it? I can interpret in no other way the threatening news of this morning. Yesterday I dined with some half dozen political personages, who knew all that was to be known and who honestly thought that the disturbance im the Herzegovina was over. At ten o’clock A. M. I am startled by the information that Turkey has got TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND MEN UNDER ARMS and onthe march, with nearly 300 pieces of artillery (read Krupp guns), If this is true, the contractors must have been busy indeed, and there is but an indif- ferent lookout for the bondholders, tor it will take at least $500,000,000 to tranquillize the Herzegovina, a sum far larger than the value of the fee simple of the province, Also the insurgents, acting under the stimulus of EARL RUSSELL’S LETTER, have turned suddenly obstinate. His Lordship’s com- munication was read by torchlight at a place called Kossivoro, and the rebels, after some drinking of the English nobleman’s health, issued a sort of proclama- tion demanding the independence of Bosnia and the Herzegovina under a Christian prince to be chosen from one of the august governing families of Europe, After the fate of King Amadeo, one almost wonders at their belief that any one would accept such trumpery, ill paid and vexatious functions, but no such doubts troubled the meeting at Kossivoro. Meantime the Turkish generals have unaccountably withdrawn their troops from the advantageous posi- tions which they occupied on the banks of the Lim. Novovarosh has been invested by rebels; and some Bosnian rebels have taken 200 Turkish prisoners, Some fighting, alleged to have taken place at Kasaba, is said to have ended unfavorably for the Turks, though the results are not known, and finally, A COMMITTEE OF SERVIAN LADIES has been formed to raise subscriptions in London, on the faith of Lord Russell’s promises, implied or under- stood, ‘“Servian ladies’? are low-browed females, with matted hair, dressed mostly in their grandmothers’ Jackets and aprons, all covered with gilt and tin em- broidery, rather stiff from age and perspiration, save in damp and foggy weather, Should these matrons and damsels arrive at the British metropolis just at the end of the shooting season they will attract much attention and some sympathy among persons in search of em- ployment, Five great victories, NRVESINJE, GATZKO, LIPNIK, METOCHIA AND PERUKWR, which the insurgents are reported to have gained over the Turks, and which are now known to have been erroneously carried to their accounts, will all count for veritable triumphs in the language of the Servian ladies, and will be floridly rendered by fashionable interpreters into the English tongue, Should we live to see LJUBIBRATICH HATS AND NIKITO DRESSES at New York the cause of liberty will be gained, and a very considerable business will have been done in con- tracts and “notions” with the Turks, Meaatime the news of the VIOLATION OF SERVIAN TERRITORY by the Turks turns out to have been merely an attempt of some of the Turkish beys of the Stolatz mountains to recover the cattle stolen from them by Servian vol- unteers, who appear to have volunteered for mercantile purposes without referenca to politics or religion. Three persons, named Petkovich, Mercep and Pilipovich, have also been committing arson in the neighborhood of Popova and Suma, moved by similar inducements In consequence of these proceedings, however, Servia, by means of the literary Ristich, is preparing a remon- strance to the six Powers, calling on men and columns totake notice that the Turkish beys have taken back their “lifted” cattle upon Servian soil Americaus will, perhaps, ask each other, with good- humored indifference, What is all this storm in a tea cup tous? Truly not much in its present aspect, save from such interest as the idle and curious may attach to far-off things and people, acting, as it were, upon a stage for their amusement. If the basiness ends soon, some newspapers will have been sold by it, and some fortunes suddenly gained or lost on the Stock Ex- change of London, Amsterdam and Paris. But, if it takes a serious development—if Earl Russell's letter has really set fire to a number of dry old hayricks, and aroused such cupidities #8 cannot be set speedily at rest, all Europe may take to blazing, and then Amer- jean interests will be compromised. The case at pres- ent stands thus, The virtual withdrawal of England from that ostentatious protection of Turkey which sho has hitherto asserted upon all occasions gives the world very fair prospects of peace, The old standing quarrel between Great Britain and Russia has been so patched up that England now declares she will neither interfere with the desighs of Russia in Europe nor in Central Asia. The Czar and his advisers may do as they please, so as they do not actually invade tho British dominions in India, France is determined to make any concessions to Germany which may be de- manded of her rather than risk another war. Belgium and Holland will give no pretext for hostilities to Ger- many, and Belgium has just altered her constitution, with the clearly expressed intention of satisfying Prince Bismarck’s requirements, The reigning fami- lies of Russia and Prussia are on such frieadly terms that the question of the Baltic provinces may yet slum- ber for a quarter of a century. Austria and Italy have too much to do at home to think complacently of foreign wars. The war in Spain is confined entirely to Spanish territory. Portugal and Greece are too weak to move alone; Denmark and Sweden must, porforce, keep 1875.-QUADRUPLE SHEET. quiet, Should the great inheritance of Turkey, how- ever, fall suddenly in just now there will be the usual | squabble among the heirs of a big estate, when no one | of them has a clearer title to the succession than an.’ | other, The longest and flercest wars that the world has | seen have arisen over the division of such | spoils. The war of the Spanish succession was @ terribly long and bloody one, and the fight over the colonies of Genoa, France and Holland was in- terminable, Nations have, indeed, grown wiser new and do not so much care for colonies, Still, the Asian shore of the Black Sea has always been coveted by Rus- sia, and Austria has ever looked with eyes of desire upon the rich lands of the Lower Danube; while it is notorious that the new Empire of Germany is looking for a sea coast and that Prince Bismarck would welcome any alteration in the map of Europe which would give | him some ports on the Baltic, Therefore, should the revolution in the Herzegovina assume the proportions ofa war, and should that war be marked by great atrocities on both sides, as wars generally are, Russia and Austria may be forced either into war with each other or to joint action against the Turks. If the two empires agreed to be friends, the Turks would die hard, and there is no judging precisely how it might end. Diplomacy, however, is still smiling. Vienna, Sept. 6, 1875. It is said, with some truth, or at least an appearance of truth, which cannot be denied with brevity, that a peaceable settlement of the revolt in the Herzegovina depends upon whether Servia does or does not openly join the insurgents, The part of this assertion which contains truth may be thus expressed:—If Servia takes resolute part in the rebellion Montencgro and, possibly, even Roumania will catch fire, 80, too, may the Sclavo- nians of Austria, This eventuality would constitute an ostensible ADDITION OF POUR MILLIONS TO THE ENEMIES OF TURKEY, and, indeed, the people of the Sclavonian races formed forty-nine per cent of the population of the Austrian Empire in the Cisleithan, and sixteen per cent im the Transleithan division of this monarchy. THE AUSTRIAN CLAYS are a scattered people, much divided among themselves, and having few common objects of desire. A part of them, who have nothing to lose, and who are chiefly distinguished for an ignorant and unreasoning fanatl- cism for a faith which they do not understand and which is a jumble of heathen rites and unintelligible supersti- tions, would willingly or unwillingly, and with many fears and undercurrents of design, lend their aid, such as it is, to the Turkish rayahs now inarms. That is to say, they would think that they could seo a way of doing a good business in pigs and oxen under patriotic Ppretexts, and they would hope to go backward and for- ward over the safer parts of the border without much danger, They would shout, and fire off their pistols in the air when they could do so with impunity, while in the neighborhood of Turkish troops they would be re- markable for their silence and affected stupidity, vowing, when caught, by all their saints that they did not know there was a rebellion in these parts, and at all events that they had no hand jn it, The respectable part of the Austrian Sclavs, those who have incomes or prospects of incomes, would not join the revolt at all And nothing is more certain than that not a Sclay would move, whether square-toed or Bohemian, under the deter- mined frown of the local Austrian authorities who bad the governing of him. Now the Austrian imperial gov- ernment will not give any support to the iusurgents if itcan help it, The Hungarian party is now the dom- inant nationality in Austro-Hungary, and the Hungari- uns, as hath been said and sung, simply hate the Sclavs. But the local authorities of the Austrian province of Croatia and Sclavonia, with those of a part of Dalmatia, were appointed to their commands with a view of keeping the Sclavs quict, as far as Austria was con- cerned, by administering their affairs in accordance with their own notions; and it is believed that these local authorities—governors, judges, generals of di- vision and magistrates—have strong Sclavonian sym- pathies, and that they look with favorable sentiments onthe rayah rebels. It remains to be seen what will be the outcome of this difference of opinion between the imperial government of Austria, which is’ Magyar, and favorable to Turkey, and the Sclavonian local au- thorities, who are friendly to the revolt, + Meantime it may be worth while to consider what is ‘THE CONDITION OF SERVIA with regard to the material force which the Servians, unaided by Austria, could contrive to bring to bear on the dispute now in process of discussion by the methods we know, Servia is a quasi independent and very turbulent principality, bounded on the north by the Save and tho Danube; on the south by Old Servia, and on the west by Bosnia, It is in the shape of a rectangular triangle, of which the Save and the Danube form the basis. Itis a country of mountains and forests, which slopes down gradually and terminates on its northern frontier by the wild and wide marshes of the Danube. Its total sur- face is about 12,600 square miles. Its population, ac- cording to the latest census (in 1861), was 1,098,281 in- habitants, among whom are 20,000 gypsies, 1,800 Jews and about 2,000 German settlers, Belgrade, the capital of Servia, has a population of 14,600, exclusive of the garrison within the fortress. It has also a very active company of foreign consuls. In short, its chief trade is with Austria—which means to say that if the Prince offeuded Count Andrassy the Aus- trian statesman could ruin him and his principality in afortuight. The imports of Servia amount in annual value to about $2,500,000; her annual exports are about $500,000 in excess of her imports, Her chief ar- ticles of export are wood (particularly oak) and pigs, ‘The pigs, which are kept in countless herds, feed on acorns, which cover the ground for miles, and aro driven in large numbers into Hungary. They cost nothing to keep and are sold cheap. They form the staple of what is sold as IRISH BACON in the principal markets of Europe. The thrifty house- wife buys three pounds of it and it boils down to some- thing leas than twenty ounces, showing a variegated network of holes and bones when it comes to table, These Servian pigs are of a sporting character; fine long-legged animals, with snouts larger than donkeys’ heads, set on sideways. They have great depth of girth anda good stretch of gallop in them, leading the way across country very briskly, They are by far the most numerous and important inhabitants of Servia’ They are not, however, good eating, It waa in 1815 that Servia was put under the rule of her native princes, and by the Treaty of Paris, March 80, 1856, it was raised into a semi-independent State, under the protection of the great Powers, The twenty-eighth article of this treaty orders that “the principality of Servia shall continue to hold in conformity with the imperial deerces, which fx and determine its rights and immunities, placed henceforth under the guarantee of the contracting Powers, In consequence, the said principality shall preserve its independent and national administration, as well as full liberty of worship, of legislation, commerce and navigation.” The clection of its rulerg was left to the Servian nation, under the nominal sanction of the Sultan, This was a sop to Austria, which has about a million and a half of Servian subjects, and to Russia, which has a population of nearly sixty million orthodox | Greeks, who were all looking on at this treaty mighty sulkily. The reigning Prince of Servia ts MILAN OBRENOVIC IV., pronounced Obrennovitch. He was born in 1856, and ig the son of Ephraim, brother of Milos I, (pronounced Meelosh), the founder of the dynasty. Origin, swine- | herds—or, perhaps, it would be polite to call them “Shepherd Kings,” though they did not rule sheep, but pigs, according to the custom of the country, The reigning Prince of Servia has a civil list of $120,000. The executive power is vested in him; but he is assisted by a councfl of five ministers, so that ho can do nothing by himself, The legislative authority is exercised by two independent bodics—a Senate and a House of Representatives, The Senate consists of sev. enteen members, nominated ty the Prince, being one for each department, into which the country is divided, This body is always sitting. THE SKOUPSCHINA, or House of Representatives, is composed of deputies chosen by the people, at the rate of one deputy to every 2,000 electors. The electors are all the males of the country above the age of twenty-one years pay. | ing direct taxes and not being either domestic servants | or gypsies. Every elector is eligible to become a mem- ber of the House of Representatives, except the holders | of government offices and the clergy. The revenue of | S is derived chicfly from a general cupitation tax, | The expenditure of the principality is rather less than its | receipts, 80 that Servia can be fairly described as 4 SOLVENT sTaTR, ‘The Prince has the chief command of the Servian army, and makes all military promotions therein ac- cording to his uncontrolled will and pleasure. They are not of course worth much, his ministers would insist on having the disposal of them. ‘The cost of the | Servian army figures on the national budget for the Years 1873-4 at about $900,000 American currency, It has at present no officer higher in rauk than a general of brigade, It numbers four battalions each of four companies of 1: } 1 squadron of cavalry consisting of 122 horsemen; 22 batteries of artillery served by 506 artillerymen; 4 batteries of great guus served by 448 gunners; 3 batteries of mountain artillery served by 141 gunners; 1 battery of mortars served by 23 men; 1 com” pany of 300 sappers; 40 guards of fortresses, and 60 smiths, To these numbers must be added 4 companies of pioneers and 4 companies of engineers, making » thousand men in all; 32 mounted guards for state oc- casions, 16 policemen on horseback, 280 policemen on foot, 100 invalids, and 100 persons attached to the transport service. The total effective strength of the principality is 5,168 fighting men all told, and 180 guns. In time of war this force could (or could not, ac- cording to circumstances) be raised to 8,000, if there could be found money enough to pay them, or reasona- ble prospects of prize money. So much for the regular army; but the national army or militia is much more important, but if the bar and arrear bar were called out under great national excitement, it is computed that Servia might bring 156,358 men into the field, They would be a slow-thinking, awkward set of louts, beetle- browed and surly, but they would not cost much to keep, and they would fight tolerably well in , A HILLY COUNTRY, Austrian, Russian, or even Turkish troops, however, would make short work of this undisciplined militia in 4 pitched battle, and Belgrade might be at once occu- pied by either Turkey or Austria without serious op position, It may be observed that the Emperor of Germany made a present of seventy-five field pieces to the Prince of Servia in 1871; and that the government of Berlin for some reason, doubtless known to Prince Bismarck, has done a good deal to favor the revolt in the Herzegovina and to induce the Servians to take part in it, Some imaginative people even go so far as to hint that the present troubies of the Porte were origin- ated by Prussian agents, 1 have thought it well to give this brief description of the power and resources of Servia, to enable Americans to understand how much her interference would weigh in the present state’ of Turkish aifuirs, It is evident that Servia cannot do much alone, but she would move ata nod from either Austria or Russia; and her con- tingent troops, if well officeted, would introduce quite a new element into the struggle between Turkey and her Christian provinces. Servia, in short, could fight at half or less than: half the expense of Turkey, whoso stores and ammunition would have to be sent from Constantinople, so that the cost of transport would be enormous, while.the whole Servian army would be content to live on pig meat and maize, which are to be hhad in abundance in their own territory, The consuls have by this time met at Mostar, and the most experienced of them is Consul General de Vienne, the French representative, who will have the least weight, and whose government has the least immediate influence in the discussion, unless any of the French ministers have a hand in the concession of the port of Jafla, just granted by the Turks. But whether they have or not, I am authorized to state that the instruc- tions given by the Duc Decazes to M, de Vienne are that he shal! use every effort in his power to maintain THE INTEGRITY OF TURKEY, France bases her intervention entirely on the faith of treaties, and has suddenly developed a very marked re- spect for international conventions of every description; for the fact is that most of the treaties now in existence | were made before the defeatof the French by the Ger- mans, and while France was, if not the dominant power, certainly the most influential State on the Con- tinent of Europe. The Duc Decazes, therefore, is very anxious that none of these treaties shall be revised while France is in a state of temporary eclipse; and, therefore, the French agents are everywhere standing up for Turkish rights just now, Indeed, wero the in- evitable partition of Turkey to be mado under present circumstances, France would probably obtain no share in the scramble; whereas every French statesman, from Napoleon I. to M. Thiers, cast longing looks toward Syria and Egypt, and French deteats have in no wise putatend to French dreams, France has several times worked in favor of @ partition treaty, which would, at least, give her Syria and make Constantinople afree port. Lord Palmerston, and afterward Lord Clarendon, were repeatedly pressed by such sugges- tions, both in the reign of Louis Philippe and in that-of Napoleon IIL, and they had been submitted to Pitt in the time of tho First Empire, But France does not wish to raise this question at a period when she is too powerless to insist upon any conditions for herself, and therefore she has decided that the partition of Turkey should, if possible, be postponed till a more favorable opportunity arises to promote her interests or aggran- dizement. ‘A good deal of desultory fighting and renniny away is reported again this morning; but the reports cannot be relied on, and upon the whole the case of Turkey still looks well, THE POPULATION OF CHINA [From the Shanghai Courior.] The subject of the population of China is the riddle of the Sphinx, ever guessed at but never solved, And if it were solved no one would ever know it, becauso there can be no veriflcation. In connection with our first knowledge of China we are taught that its popula- tion isimmense, Its millions teem. The delusion of one or two generations ago that Jeddo and Pekin aro the world’s great centres of population is scarcely yet dispelled. Many of the cities of the eighteen prov- inces, especialiy in the south, are undoubtedly enor- mous, and to the casual traveller all Chinese cities are presumptively the same. He has learned in his geography or read in his enclyclopwdia that the popula- tion of Tientsin is 600,000, atid that of Pekin from 1,500,000 to 2,000,000, These round numbers are gen- erally accepted without question, and on this scale smaller cities are gauged. Thus we meet the most con- fident estimates of population, formed on scanty data, or ou no data at ail, by every latest traveller, who, like a Supreme Court, has the last guess at tho case, The difference between the high scale and tho low scale of estimating Chinese cities is a difference of nearly one-half. There are those who cling to the old tradition that the population of Pekin 1s 2,000,000, and there are others who cotisider 700,000 a liberal estimate, Little or no dependence is to be placed on the estimates of transient travellers, Even long residents hesitate to express a decided opinion, for experience has taught them that such conjectures are often misleading. It is as idle to inquire the number of families in a large city of “intelligent natives,’? as it would be to ask an “intelli- gent native” the death rate of Liverpool. ‘There is, no doubt, a death rate, and somewhere it is recorded. But it is not in the line of any but physicians and coroners to know what it is, unless it may have been published in the morning paper. But the Chinese have no ing papers, nor any other paper, At certain no doubt, some approximate statistics file, but such things are utterly thought of ordinary Chinese. are foreign to the In Small villages the number of families is known to all; in large cities on it 18 practically not known at all. It would be wrong to disturb the world’s faith in the proposition that China contains 400,000,000 inhabitants, « propor- tion now generally accepted in spite of De Quincey’s scepticism, But let this multitude of human beings be apportioned in a fair and equitable manner among the smaller towns and villages, and not thrust by hun- dreds of thousands upon half empty wailed towns where they will Und no visible means of support. If these remarks should lead the casual reader to inquire the population of Tai-yuan-fu, he is informed that ac- cording to the doctrine of ‘the relativity of human ze, if Pekin still keeps her 2,000,000 as in the then the capital of Shansi ‘has 300,000. Butif Pekin is reduced to 750,000, then does 7: ‘uan-fu drop to 100,000, “be the same more or Ie: he average Englishman, whose faith is said to be such that if a safety valve were only labelled “statistics” he would sit on it with perfect confidence, 1# invited to take notice, A NEW WONDER IN CALIFORNIA. Jobn Muir, well known to the visitors of the Yosem- ite Valley, announces the discovery of arivalto that wonderful scenery. It isa valley in the South Fork of King’s River, forty-five miles trom Visalia in a right line. This valley is nine miles in length from east to west, and has an average width at the bottom of about halfa mile. It lies 5,000 feet above the level of the sea, and its walls are about $000 feet high. They are pre- | cipitous, and some of the striking featuresof the Yosem- ite, like El Capitan, and the Sentinel and the Cathe- have their counterparts, The falls of the y have more water, but are less picturesque than those of the Yosemite, ‘Access js from Visalia, the great part of the way by a good wagon road, through groves of sequetias and forests of fir and pine, ‘The trait can be extended, Muir says, over the Kearsarge Pass, which i8 12,000 leet in height, and is located in the midst of @ pertect’ wilder- nes of peaks, from 1,300 to 14,000 feet in height, risin from rare glacial meadows and lades, and adorned around their bases by a multitude of the Very dearest of Alpine flowers, A company of drovers have entereda claim to the valley for Lhe purpose of raising stock, abs] THE COACH HORSE, COACHING IN ENGLAND—A REVIVAL OF THE OLD-FASHIONED VEHICLES, Lonpox, Sept. 9, 1875. The coaching revival! Surely this is not atime to talk about such a thing whea the good people of Darlington contemplate holding a festival which they have felici- tously designated as the “Railway Jubilee,”? We cannot, in all conscience, be “progressing backwards,” or at all events it is to be hoped not. What, then, does @ coaching revival portend? Does it mean that we have discovered the error of our ways in having exalted our Watts and our Stephensons as benefactors to thei} kind? Are the whitening bones of those who gave t¢ us the “giant power of steam” to be ex humed and to suffer that degradation af the hands of the common hangman that ‘was wont in the days of royal autocrats to be bestowed upon the unolfending remains of some worthy who, im some mysterious manner, had displeased the new- fledged vceupant of a regal residence? Is the flerce shriek of the steam whistle to be replaced by the cheorier Ulast of the guard’s horn or by the impatient neighing of the spirited roadster? Is the road of irom to give way, in popular estimation, as a medium for travelling, to that macadamized highway which in the days of yore bore the weight of so a “box on wheels?” Surely not, and mo over it cannot seem possible that in go-ahead times as the present humanity would wish te reduce its rate of travelling from fifty to a dozen mile an hour. Asa matter of fact, the English enachingre vival does not mean anything like the change we have conjured up. Indeed, no change whatever accom panies this revival. It is not forced down our throats as many other revival movements occasionally wre; it does not drive susceptible people wrong-headed—tt is « simple, unexciting resuscitation ofa good old custom that 1s welcomed alike by the bitterest innovator upon ancient observance as it 18 enjoyed by the stanchest of stanch conservatives, Besides, it does not, like most of these latter day revivals, “mean business.” A spirit of un- feigned pleasure has been the means of bringing about this coaching revival. It has been conceived by jolly people to make other people jolly, aud, strange to say, the unsanctifled revivalists ; DELIGHT IN THE SUCCESS OF THEIR VENTURE, Trne, coaching is not the important thing it used @ be. The guard does not have the royal insignia em bigzoned on that flery garment of his.” His air is much less austere and business-like than it formerly was; care is not seated on his brow; he is simply an honest-gomg servant, whose sole identification with his whilom prototype is in the color and cut of his coat, the shape of his hat, and the position of his seat onthe vehicle. The “yard of tin’’ is, of course, an in- strument inseparably associated with guards—that is, guards of the old stagecoach days—and as a matter of course the modern conductor maintains the resem- biance by the possession ofa horn, and by blowing it when need be, Then the coach, although otherwise simi- Jar to that of former times, does not bear the awe-in- spiring words ‘Royal Mail” limned on the panel asit used to. The air of business in that respect has forsaken it never to return, unless, indeed, by some peculiar evolution of things, or, mayhap, by the proverbial repe- tition of history. We are forced to revert to royal Stagecoaches, consequential looking guards, with more consequential horns, and all the horrors of long and monotonous journeys “on the road.” The driver, too, is not the bumptiqus creature he was. A huge overcoat no longer envelops him, for the double ‘purpose of keeping his precious body from the cold and an- nouncing to the world that he is the driver of a “Royal Mail” He is not a gruff being possessed of a few words, who can talk to youabout nothing but horse flesh and re- count stablé yard scandal. Not at all. Generally he is person of broad, weather-beaten features, with a keen warkling eye, dressed in a fashionable light coat and wearing tight fitting inexpressibles, and having an in- telligent expression about his open countenance, Occasionally, indeed, he is a real gentleman of fashion— somotitnes u lord or & baronet—polite and affable, who loves the road for the road’s sake, Asarule the stage coach Jehu of this year of grace is a kindly, communi- cative being, not slow to answer your questions if they are within his ken, while OPTEN HE 13 A MAN OF UNIVERSITY TRAINING, with a mind above common stable talk, and, although he likes horses and everything appertaining to them, can speak about something more interesting to the un- iitiated traveller on the box seat. Last, but by no means least, there are the passengers of these modern stage coaches. There is no longer the testy “insider,’” who made every occupant of the body of the ve- hicle as miserable as himself by ill-natured re- marks to the guard and insinuations about “somebody” taking up more than their allotted portion of sitting room, The unprotected female with a broad canopy of hat, under which peeps a sweet little mouth, is no longer the interesting creature it was the habit of novelists, who wrote about the defunct coach- ing days, to make her; and the little boy on the box, going perhaps to school, is not seen on his accustom perch 1m that painfully fachrymose condition it was the delight of the aforesaid writers to paint him im. All is changed. ‘Tho testy old gentleman has been succeeded by a very talkative and entertaining middle- aged man, who jokes all the way to his wife on the right of him, and keeps the couple on the opposite side—probably a gushing young man and a blust young woman who are devoting a day of their honeymoon tour to the journey—in a continuous roar of luughter throughout the trip that it does one good to hear, The unprotected female has vanished, She is no longer unprotected, but chaperoned by an. aunt or an acquaintance with Whom she has determined ‘to go to ‘Tunbridge by the coach, on the top all the way, mind, dear.” The lachrymose schoolboy is uo longer sad of heart, He is a schoolboy still, may be, buta bright, cheery, loquaciously inquisitive youngster from Eton, whose father or uncle or some jolly relative treats him to the day’s outing, answers his numerous questions to most satisfaction and, what is a good deal better, gives him a substantial dinner When they have reached their destination, To make along story short, COACHING NUWADAYS IS ALL PLEASURE AND PUN. You need not go if it rams, and you cannot go when it snows orwhen the roads are as hard as adamant with frost, because the coaches only run in the summer time. Let us see what sort of a choice is open to us in the matter of coaching, A stroll up to that rendezvous of coaching men, the Whito Horse Cellar, in Piccadilly, Y, is never uninteresting—that is to if you have ,a penchant for the road. ‘The Cellar is not, perhaps, what it used to be, but still it is & likable old house, lt is a building of substantial exterior aud old-fashioned inte possessing aud unassuming outside, but the “real good sort” inside, Any morniug of the week, except Sun- day, the stranger may view “Hatchett’s,” as it is fa- miliarly called, in a state of subdued excitement, No doubt its ancient glory of the mail coach days has de. parted, but although lacking the bustle and importance ‘of those times, the Cellar biooms daily into a faint sem~ blance of what it once was. Without a red four-wheeied coach standing outside it isa quiet gomg old establish. ment that nobody but @ country squire would think of taking avy notice whatever of; bul, with a gay four-in-hand stationed betore its portals, the house begins to appear quite hvely. A little crowd usually congregates to witness the start of the different drags, ‘There are Udily attired young ladies and gentiemen who drop down to see the couches olf, In order to while away au hour or so before luncheon, and there are simply dressed country folks, Who come to stare at everything aud everybody in’ general without being very much interested in anything tn particular, The crowd chats about horses, about the — drivers and about the guards, and sometimes a rade young geatioran will endeavor to getup a laugh at the ex- pense of some old dame Who appears terribly frightened at the idea of riding on the topot « stage coach, But ‘on the whole it is a well disposed crowd, and unseem), remarks do not find much favor with it First of all there is THR BRIGHTON Coacn, which, besides being the oldest of these revived. vehicles, is about the best patronized of he lo The Brighton road has long been a favorite with coaching men, In the days of that king of whips, Mr. Chandos Pole, who, without doubt, was the as he was the most popular, amateur handler of the ribbons of his Ume, the — Brighton ; great institution, As we have said, it still retains much of its old popularity with the public, who of tae sport, and we hope soon to have the Jeasure of going over the road. The route of the Brighton coach lies thtongh some of the finest scener; in Surrey and Sussex, aud the ride, aceording to accounts, is a most enjoyable one, Then there is THR GUILDFORD COACH, which too has a large quota of admirers, There ig cer: tainly no better apported couch on the road. than the Guildford one, the cattlo being good aud everything being arranged to the enure satistaction of inside and outside passengers. The town of Guildford is pleasantly situated in the southwest corner of Surrey and 1s only about thirty miles from London, — The road, lyipg as it does through Richmond aud Kingston, comprises some very luxuriant seenery of the richest Enghsh deserip- tion, In a somewhat similar direction we ©.a coach THAT IS VERY POPULAR WITH AMBRICAN VISITORS. This was started some time ago by Mr. Kane, ap American whip, who bas furnished his coach in the most liberal and horsemaniike manner, The destima tion is Virginia Water, a pleasant piece of rural me 4 contiguous to Windsor. This coach stops on the Way al Hampton Court, that noble old pat which was such a favorite residence with William and Mary, and which contains so many articles of virtw well worth seemg. The grounds annexed to the palace are some of the finest in the country. The Dorking coach is another that demands some share of attention. It is a stage beyond = Guildford, a ~— quiet little village, with some pretensions to beauty, and makes capital day's outing. We will ake an early opportun! of going the Dorking road, There are also coaches St. Albans, High Wycombe and Maidenhead—the ‘atter of which starts from the Criterion restaurant of Messrs. Spiers and Pond—so that it would appear that Lom. doners are by no means ili off for indulging themselves in the exhilarating sport of coaching, ‘bat the various coaches are well supported we believe to be and on an early day we intend to see how of them are conducted,