The Hawaiian gazette., 1881-04-13

ALEXANDER NIco1AEwrToH, Emperor of all the
Russias, is dead, murdered in the streets of his
capital by an obscure student, who may or may
not have been connected with the Nihilist body
The dynasty of Romanoff, of which he was the
sixteenth representative, has not a rule pro-
duced long-lyed monarchs Michael Romanoff,
the first of the dynasty, assembled the throne in
1913, making PCS years TO the present time, or
about 8 years each. The annals of the family
have been stained by blood so that il is in no way
surprising to hear that the late Emperor has been
assassinated the only change is that the murder
has been committed presumably at the instigation
of communistic body, instead of being perpe-
trated by the nobility members of his own
family. We say presumably, for we have yet to
hear the full details of the plot
We well remember the day when Alexander
III was crowned Emperor. st. Petersburg had been
cast into great gloom by the sudden death of the
Emperor Nicholas, a death generally attributed to
poison, and still further into gloom by the dis
astrous termination of the Crimean war But
everything forgotten in the general rejoicings
attending the coronation Of the new Emperor.
Fetes and illuminations were the order of the day;
the various Powers sent special representatives to
be present at the ceremonies which took place in
Moscow; and with the Emperor's known liberal
sentiments, everything seemed to promise bright
and prosperous reign. At that time Alexander II
was tall. erect, handsome man, whose good looks
had made havoc among many hearts he looked
every inch the ruler. We left Russia and did not
return again for some years. When we did, one
of the first sights we saw was the Emperor. We
sauntering along the English Quay, and he
was just landing from his yacht. What change
had come over him! During our absence a great
deal of political excitement had been aroused in
Russia: the serfs had been liberated; the law
courts had been reformed; all coin had become
scarce; there had been trouble in Poland;
there had been attempted assassination; snd the
man who had once been so handsome and bright
eyed had grown prematurely old, careworn, and
grey. Truly did our great poet say, Uneasy lies
the head that wears a crown" and never could
the words be better applied than to the late ruler
of Russia. For the last few years he could never
drive in the streets walk in his gardens visit his
country Seats review his soldiers dine in his pri-
vate apartments, or even lay his head on his pill
low, without running the risk of bis life. The
wonder to our mind is that under such treatmen.
he did not become infinitely more despotic than he
was.
n AfstL vi NAAoolh II nptClhliN ulllNTluldle he
has the power of doing good but it is difficult nay
almost impossible, for him to exercise that power
save at the dictates of an official class That is to
say, that without perfect freedom of the press,
with an hereditary class of office-holders about
him, it is next to impossible for him to know what
are and what are not the desires of the nation he
rules over. 1t is this official class or "tchin''
which has been the curse of Alexander IFS reign
He has been too liberal for them, and they have
resented every effort of his towards giving liberty
10 the people. He has also been unfortunate in
alternating the large mass of the mobiles by his
measures for the liberation of the serfs. This
made many quite needy, and as a consequence
produced considerable dissatisfaction and ten
dency towards revenge and revolution. BY the
extension of the advantages of the universities to
n larger class, he also reused up enmity to the
Government-that is, 10 himself. In former times
a very small number had such advantages. and
they were all provided for by civil and other ap-
pointments With the increasing facilities of edu-
cation members of the poorer classes, as the sons
of the parish priests, whose position is hardly
higher than that of the peassntry, have locked to
the university, received liberal education, and
then returned to their villages TO find no career
open to them by which to make advantageous use
of the education they had acquired. That these
young should become discontented, and
should swell the Nihistc ranks is not to be won
dered at The only classes that the Gar could
really depend upon were the soldiery and the
ignorant peasantry; and even among the former
traces of discomfort were beginning to show.
With such surroundings the last few years of
the Cars life must have really been martyr
dom; and death, though coming in the terrible
form it did, must have been almost welcome.
The Nihilist body, though protesting to be on
the path of progress is on the path of retrogres-
sion. People could sympathize with them had
they some definite aim; were they desiring TO give
their country constitutional form of government;
to build up regenerated Russia. Their desire is
to destroy, not to build up and not only destroy
the present form of government but all law, moral
and social. To understand the Nihilst one must
lead his writings, and no man bred in constitu-