The Portland daily press., 1895-03-27
AN AuToCRAT STILL.
The Young Gar as Unyielding as His Bru-
tai Predecessors.

The well wishers of Russia are once
Nicholas II. high hopes were formed
that his reign might open new era in
the history of that darkened Empire. lie
was known to be an amiable young man.
intelligent, studious and peace loving.
He had visited England much, and OBJ
served its free institutions, and regarded
that country with earnest sympathy. 1t
was not unreasonably thought, says the
New York Tribune, that he might dis
play some such liberal tendencies as
marked the early years of his grandfath-
er's reign. His foreign policy surely
would be peaceful, and probably friendly
to England. He would not be moved by
the insane fanaticism of his father, nor
dominated by the notorious bigot and
prosecutor, Pobiedonostseff, butawould
grant to his subjects religious freedom
never before enjoyed by them. And
he might-it was even declared that he
certainly would-promulgate "a constltu-
tion and esta blish some sort of a repre-
sentative parliamentary government.
Such were the hopes OF few weaks ago.
Today they are all dashed, save those
relating to foreign affairs. Abroad. the
new Gear is peace-loving and concilla-
tory. At home he is still the Autocrat-
stern, relentless reactionary.
Numerous manifestations of this des-
potio character have been made. They
eliminated in the Ears reply to the
Zemsuvos the other day. Some OF those
bodies ventured to express the opinion
that the principle on which they have
or years operated successfully as local
government bodies might properly and
profitably be extended to imperial affairs,
aud they respectfully suggested that the
G Ear should consider the question of es-
tablishing a parliament. This was re-
garded by the Gar as a bit OF gross i'm
per Thence, almost high treason. He
read the ZemtsvOS the severest kind of a
lecture, almost rebuking them for mere
existence, and concluded by declaring
that he was Gar, and would be Gar
with all of absolute autocracy the name
implies. AS if to give added emphasis to
his words, wholesale arrests followed of
students and others whose only fault was
desire for liberal institutions; and the
"Ruskaia Zhin," the most liberal news
paper in the Empire, was suppressed for
nothing more than saying that the I'M
periaI bounty to literary men ought to
be granted to dissenters as well as to adj
herents of the official religion. And now
the answer comes quickly and sharply.
The Popular Rights party tells the Gar
plainly that war to the knife is to he
waged against him. and ominous miss
ives come from the Nihilist circles" 1t
is reviva. of all the horrors of the old
regime.
Speculation as to the reason of the
Czar's reactionary course would be I'M
profitable. 1t is said the mobiles will not
let him grant constitution. But the
mobiles themselves, in his grandfather S
reign, made repeated and urgent petition
for a constitution and Il Parliament. 1T
is said the Gar himself is autoeratic and
despotic at heart. But he knows he is
booming himself to such life of terror
such as his father endured, if not to such
death as his grandfather suffered.
Probably the truest explanation of it is
to be found in Russia itself. There
seems TO be something in the very genius
of the Empire that compels the Emperor
to be a tyrant. The awful force Of ma
tional political inertia is too much for
any man to overcome. 1t is legacy OF
auotcracy, heritage of desotpism, en-
tailed upon the Czars by fate. And
there seems to be little hope of ever
breaking that deadly entail save by the
dubious ways of revolution.