The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-02-26
AUTOCRACY OF GAR LEGISLATOR AND SUPREME HEAD OF EXECUTIVE. How, as a Lover of Peace, He Has Brought Russa to War--Draw-
 backs of the Govern
 ment.

London Times.
 I One often hears questions asked as to l how far the Czar is master in his own I house, and many people seem to think | that his autocratic power exists merely
 in theory, being always controlled and | thwarted by the officials. Otherwise, how l is 1t possible to explain that a sovereign 1 who is notorlousy so pacific allows his | country to advance to the very brink of war? Evidently his hand is being forced
 in some mysterious way. Either he is
 sympathetically deceived as to what is
 taking place, or his orders are not carried
 out by his ministers and their subordi.
 mates. In accordance with this view, a story was lately circulated in which his | Majesty was represented as struggling
 not very successfully in the cause of peace, and finally exclaiming to those | who resisted his will: Am Czar or am
 I not?" This makes a very effective para graph in a special correspondents dis
 patch, but such picturesque anecdotes will
 be received with extreme scepticism by
 those acquainted with the internal mech. | anism of the Russian Government, It IS
 difficult to imagine a Russian official
 openly opposing the will of his august
 master in such a way as 10 call forth
 remark of the kind.
 The Czar uses his autocratic power, " as legislator and as the supreme head of the executive. No legislative measure can be initiated without his approval. and when bill has been prepared in the de- partments concerned, and discussed in the council of the empire, 1t is submitted to him for his assent. If he gives his assent the bill becomes law, though the majority in the council of the empire may have voted against it. and from that moment he has to respect the law until it is an- nulled by legislative procedure. If the bill is not fortunate enough to obtain tho imperial assent 1t goes back to the depart ments and the council, to be modified in | accordance with the imperial wishes, or 1t | is quietly put away in the archives and is no more heard of. As supreme head of the executive his Majesty has to use hfS autocratic power much more frequently, because, in the ordinary course of admin listration. Nhenever it is considered desir- able to make an exception to the existing laws and regulations, the matter has to be submitted for supreme permission by the minister concerned. As there is noth- | ing which corresponds to a cabinet the ministers have no joint responsibility, and the only centre in which the activity of all the different departments converges is the Emperor himself. He may, of course, order that a matter is to be submitted to the committee of ministers, or he may summon a number of personages in whom he has confidence to discuss a question in his presence, but this forms no part of the ordinary method of conducting busi- ness
 Thus a Czar who attends to his duties l and has a great capacity for work can
 control thoroughly the great legislative | and executive machine by which he gov | erns his Empire: and, as he possesses
 many unofficial means of obtaining infor- | nation, any minister who should syste-
 matically attempt to deceive him would ! very soon be found out. With regard
 to foreign affairs he is sure to be ex- l ceptionally we'll informed, because all
 crowned heads consider that the rela- | tions of their country with foreign powers require their personal super
 vision, and to this rule the Russian | autocrats form no exception As soon | as a political incident happens in which | Russia Is interested a memorandum is | carefully prepared in the foreign depart
 ment, describing what has occurred, ex-
 plaining in what way Russian interests
 are affected, and suggesting the line of
 action to be adopted. and this document
 is submitted to the Emperor. Ills Maj | esty may discuss the question with the
 minister if he thinks fit, or he may read | the paper alone and send 1t back with | his remarks and orders written on the | margin. In either case the minister gets
 his instructions and acts accordingly. Of late an unusual departure has been made from this procedure. Finding 1t neces-
 sary to concentrate locally the direction
 of affairs in the Far East, the Emperor
 created a viceroyalty with special pow
 CTS, and placed under the orders of the
 viceroy, not only the civil, military and
 naval authorities, but also the Russian | diplomatic representatives in China Corea and Japan. Admiral Alexieff, on whom this important post was conferred | corresponds directly with the Emperor
 outside of the foreign department, so that If the Russian ambassador in Lon
 don, Paris or Berlin declares that he does not know what Is going on in the Far East it must not be hastily assumed
 that he Is using merely diplomatic lan- guage.
 How then. has 1t come about that an autocrat who is a sincere lover of peace and who has the control of affairs in his own hands, has brought his Country to the verge of war? In the first place, it must be remembered that autocrats, like ordinary statesmen in other 4orms of government, do not always foresee ths ultimate consequences of their decisions, and are liable to find themselves unex- pectedly in a situation, from which war is the only means of exit consistent with the national interests and the national honor. Even the pacific MT. Gladstone let himself be drawn into the Egyptian cam paign and afterward drifted dangerously near to great war with Russia. It must be remembered, further, that the auto cratic form of government has it's draw backs as well as its advantages in mat ters of foreign policy. It does not require to watch and be guided by the ever changing currents of public opinion. and it can, therefore. adopt a politique de tongue haleine; but 1t is not nearly so independent of popular sentiment as Is commonly supposed. for its strength lies in It's being the representative of national conceptions and national aspirations, and if 1t fails to be true to these it weakens itself He would be very bold Czar who would sacrifice a great national interest to love of peace or any other personal feelings. If
 ever a Czar was justified in disregard ing the views of the ultra-pstriotic sec tion of his subjects 1t was Alexander II, when he accepted the decisions of the