Arizona weekly citizen., 1881-08-28

| cials of the nation who are not tnem- selves false to the throne into detectives
 body guards and spies. That there Is
 something frightfully wrong and oppres- sive in a system of government that has to resort to such means Of support, IS obvious at a glance, while 1t IS equally plain that no law, human or divine, counsels obedience tO the rulers who consistently trample upon the rights of the masses and by their tyrannous ut- terances and conduct shut out from them
 all hope for peaceful redress.
 There is no more noted name among the Russian Nihilists than that of Leo Hartman, whose portrait We herewith present to our readers, and who has been | justly termed " the terror of the Russian ! government" The history of this fierce
 patriot, who is now in the flush of man. | hood, has been hitherto one of extraOr- | dinary vicissitude and danger, dashed
 with romance so dramatic and startling 1 as to create a suspicion of exaggeratlon. l During his visit to this country, a few days since, he has been most OutspOken
 regarding the aims and prospects of NJ 1 hilism. as well as his connection with | the great organization itself. If his
 statements are to be relied upon, he has shewn conclusively that no more barbar- | ous government has ever existed than | that of Russia, nor one so thoroughly steeped in cruelty and blood As one ! evidence of this and in relation t0 PO- | land he says that the late CZar, Alexander l H., sentenced 1S,000 Poles tC Siberia; | 3l 600 to hard labor on military roads or 1 iortresses, 5000 to the north deserts; 24O0 to the army for lifei 62O to prison, where they died, l420 to be shot or [ hanged; SS00 to expulsion from the coun- | try, without the right of ever returning; and drove 112000 all over Russia and | Siberia, forcing them from theIr homes and families. In addition. he charges his sovereign with the death of 3i,OOO | Poles, killed in the revolution of lS6I-t3, | he himself having melted the outbreak
 so as to give him an opportunity of crushing his victims more eiiectUally. Prior Co his arrival in thIs country, | Hartman alleges that he had been | tracked by Russian emissaries wherever | he had bent his steps in Europe. These | agents oi the Car sought, uuder the guise of friendship and sympathy with ] the NihIlIsts. to betray him into siine position which would Glcat him appear
 criminal in the eyes of those among ! whcaTne was sOiouming. On one occa- ! | the sea shore, with the intention of kid
 mapping him and carrying him on board ! a Russian vessel that lay ready to sail
 close by On another, they attempted to get forged Russian notes into his pos
 session so as to embarrass him; and yet, once more, they tried to so place him | that, were it not for his adrJitness, the
 charge of an attempt at robbery might have been preferred against him with
 some show of justice. But on every cc-
 casiOn his cOolness and clear sighted
 ness frustrated them and brought him out triumphant. Some of his escapes
 were all but miraculous. While engaged
 with others in running a dynamite mine
 at a certain point under line of railway | over which the Car was to pass, the
 roofing of earth fell in, SD that d large | hole presented itself quite close to the | track, and in full view of number oi neighbOring habltatiOns. It was raining ! heavily at the time, when, percelvlng the imminent danger in which he and his | fellow cOnspirators were placed, he hast | fly crept out of the mine, the mouth of which was in a house close by, and gain ing the highway stood convenient to the opening, warning vehicles and foot pas
 sengers to turn aside, as the earth at
 that particular spot had given way be-
 fore the rain. No one suspecting the
 true state of the case, the ruse was sue cessful, deceivlng even q policeman who {
 happened to be passing at the period, , 2eI-a 2eI-a who subsequently noted the filling up of the breach ~IoIi Ilio "trn0st com l placency. '--Ir
 \ price has been seI on the head of
 Hartman, and on this account alone
 numerous attempts have been made to capture him. For 50 far, however, he
 has, through his extraordinary boldness
 and adroitness, eyaded them alL He had at one time been imprisoned III Russia for distributing Nihilistic documents,
 but managed to escape from his iailOrs. 1 During his sojourn on the continent of Europe he was, for the most part, con strained to observe the utmost caution
 and preserve the strictest incognito, lest some of the crowned heads should hand 1
 him over to Russia, on the plea of his 1
 having prompted or planned the assassi- !
 nation of Alexander II. This assassina- 1
 tion he attempts to justify Gs a political 1
 necessity; but here, of course, there are l
 some grounds for a difference iu opinion. l
 No secret Organization has. m our judg- l
 ment, right to determine what shall be 1
 the political necessity that may properly 1, sanctify wholesale assassination. \ l-eo- 1
 pie only can pronounce In this relation. l and not few handfuls of cuLspirators, ] just though their cause may be, scattered |
 here and there throughout the world, or |
 the land of their birth. True. that Hart | man says that the Russian nobility and | people are largely dissatisfied towards | the government or the Czar, but this Is | a simple assertion. which needs for its | corrobOratlon some great natural ont | burst of feeling, such as characterized | the French revolution. or the more glO- i rious one which led to fine establishment | of tlis great republic.
 Hartman Is at present in Canada. | having hastily crossed the borders in ! consequence of the question being moot
 ed In high quarters, whether he Is en-
 titled to the right of asylum amongst us:
 some regarding him as but simply a
 political ofTender, while others look
 upon him as the assassin of tLe late
 Czar. An attempt was made tC elicit
 some opinion OF this point from the Secretary of State, Mr. Blaine: but as any official utterance ou the subject could not but have required the gravest consideration, We are not surprised at their being withheld for the time being. In the meantime, however 1t will be safe to predict, that the government of Rus sia cannot long withstand what appears to be the just demands of the Nihilists or the reasonable eIactions of the nine teenth century. DespOtism in whatever shape, Is doomed irretrievably; and the sooner Alexander ILL recognizes this fact, and profits by it, the better for himself and his dynasty. To shut out so consistently from his realms the light which radiates so brilliantly from Amer lea, France and England, with some other nations, Is to court utter destruc- tion, and to invite the final blow that shall shiver his throne to atoms
 That Hartman Is thoroughly con vinced of the ultimate success of Nihil- ism, there cannot be a shadow of doubt. The whole course of his conduct, and the tenor of his observations, when re- gently interrogated by the New York press, go to prove this clearly. That there are hosts of persons who sym- pathlze with him ID this country, does , not admit of a question, as indicated by the public meeting held but few even- lngs since in New York. He came, as ! he alleges, 10 the United States to ex- l plain the demands O. the Nihilists, and ] 70 ask the sympathy of our people. These demands appear to us but just md reasonable, and to this extent he nay rest assured Of the moral support I