Page:England & Russia in Central Asia,Vol-I.djvu/228

208 208 ENGLAND AND RUSSIA IN CENTRAL ASIA.

line of advance npon the Persian capital and Herat. The Caspian is still an open highway during the greater portion of the year, and the railroad now continues, with the exception of the break over the Caucasus, to Tifiis; but in addition to both of those routes, there is the shortest and best of all from Odessa or the Crimea to Batoum. It only needs the construction of a light railway from Batoum to Erivan to bring the Russian army of the south within a week's journey of the Persian frontier ; and already bolder schemes than the construction of so short a line as that have been discussed and have found favour with the Eussian authorities. The collapse of the Turkish power in Armenia enables the Russian Government to devote closer attention to the Persian question, and although some of the Shah's ministers have lately manifested symptoms of alarm at the intentions of Russia, as expressed by the demands of her representative at Teheran, there can be no doubt that they have neither the power nor the disposition to refuse obedience to what is required of them. It has often been said — and it has been considered one of the safe-guards of English interests — that we can always cow the Persian Court by despatching a fleet to the gulf ; but in the next stage of the Central Asian Question this hope would be quite delusive. The amount of pressure we can bring to bear upon the Shah is as nothing compared to that which Russia can employ. Teheran lies at the complete mercy of the Russians, and so it must until Persia has been regenerated, or until a great change has taken place in the condition of things upon her