Hobart Pasha writes to the Times for the millionth time
to warn the world that Russia is designing. The Government of St. Petersburg, he says, want the control of the Kilia mouth of the Danube. If they get it, they will deepen the channel, improve the harbour, draw off all water, and control the river for ever. That, clearly, would be horrid, especially as Russia, whether-she improves rivers or blocks up rivers, must be treated as having bad objects ; but we still want to know why Austria supports that scheme, She has engineers who understand hydraulics, and her statesmen are quite aware that for her a free Danube is a vital question. Russia will not secure the Kilia mouth against- Austria's will, and if Austria consents, why does she consent ? Is it not just possible that the Austrian engineers are aware that this dream of drawing off the water is all nonsense, that the Danube could supply a dozen months, as the Ganges does, and that the real difficulty is not to preserve the river, but to, secure free ingress to it ?
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