New-York tribune., 1880-01-01
IUE III SSI4A EMPIRE.

The ao:naull. condition Of S,clriy ~ Russia stlil
excite. the corIm,rcrHt,"n ot thr w"Ild On IN"
rigi. al Mrlrh 81. notices were posted III various
,,raricr of -. Petersburg warning the tlar that h'S
Ir was onlJ rpar,d rn the c"tdiuun of his tr"du"-
InE reform inr.surcs. On Aprll ! al attempt WAS
made 10 cAcrutc the Judgment of the Revolutionary
CommItirr Alexander So"vicf, schDolmas.er,
met the Car near the Winter Palace and hrcd three
shots from n revolver without hitting him. The
assassin was seized after r had fired al his pursucrs
and vanity attempted (" poison himself. This b Id
crime coming so soon after The attempt to shoot the
Chief of Gcndarmrric i'll the open street threw the
Government into panic. ukasc WIS issn'd plac-
ing the six districts Of -. Petersburg, kharkOv.
Odcs ~, Moscow, kicv ana Warsaw under martial
law. Til. was q return to Asiatic methods.
Tho barbarsm OF military dcspotiSm WAS
pittcd against the barbarsm Of assassination. Tho
centres of population were turned into camps.
The ais were filled whoever was suspected Of dis
LOYALTY wa, doomed to Siberia; ,very householder
was treated like prisoner aud the press was for
hidden to critcisc the conduct a officials. or even to
publisli the news of the day. The of disaitec
tiou appears however. to have widcned. lie I'M
mense numbcr Of fires IN the Spring sud Summer
indicated that the NhllstS had exchanged the dag
yer for the torch and on December 2 q most dia-
local attempt was made to blow up the train In
winch the Car was approaching Moscow. The I'M
leriA train had Ovcrtakcn and passed the baggage
train aud escaped the explosion by which the latter
was destroyed.
This outrage occurred at time when the sovcr-
eivn WAS contemplating an important reform
measure. This the convocntion of body "f un-
nilicIal advisers to assist him i'll the Government.
These connexions were not TO be invested with cx-
ccutyc functions. bnt we're to be chosen III part ~
the direct suffrage of the pcasantry and mdGit
classes This would be an approach to u National
Parliamentary system. Elaborate reform schemes
have bren set before the pnhr. bnt IT Is extremely
lrultll whether any immediate change III the lrOli-
bound system o rcpreSsion II ia be Btir The only
rucouracIng feat IN the situation Is the fnct that
In. Nilulists now have definite aims and do not
waste their cnri cy III simply striking down those
who oppose them
The province of Kuda hus been rctrotcded 10
China. This ccssnn was demanded by the con-
ulirrur uf kashGar on the ClOund nf IN agrcrn'll
made some time apo. Ru.s,a rrrcycd S2.5OO. 900
for the grant Ih- TRANSIT auc,>iau expedition III
the direction nf Ncr, has with u disastrous ter
fore stared fi,m lrhihi>ar. and the co nmn has
turned back utterly illsnranlrd after battling with
disease, The climate and the eucmy. The attempt to
caIuure the Trkhc stronghold at Den9hi Tcpe on
Scp'cnbe, was nm utter iallurc. The enemy r.
pulsd every nttuck, and finally ASSUMED the Ufen-
sive and made fierce onslaught hat the KITS
siaus were forced 10 retreat during the night Of
the 80. 900 men who left the sea only l,4O0 ro-
maiued III line. The outbreak of the plague in the
Wctlianka district Of the Volga carly IN the Year
| rigid quarantine precautions wore taken on the
frontiers but the ravuRcs ~ The disease wcre
fined TO thnly populated district. The prestige Oi
Russia has declined III Europe since the uegota-
tious between the Courts OF Berlin sud VientA hut
in the Balkan reniuAula. aud especially Il ConstEn