The Irish standard., 1904-12-31
RUSSIAN REFORM
The Cars Appointment of
Prince Mlrsky Was Timely
Popular Education to Receive
More careful Attention.

For Il time interest in the war in
the East, and indeed in everything else
that is happening throughout the
earth, gives place to interest in what
is happening i'll st. Petersburg, says
Robert Ellis Thompson in the New
York Freeman's Journal. Those who
believe that self-government is the
social condition to which Providence is
leading the whole human race foresaw
the day when such Il crisis as the pres
ent must come to that huge empire,
and the nominal rule of the Car and
the actual rule of the great and close
ly organized body of officials must give
way to government by and for the peo-
pie. l call the Cars rule nominal be-
cause nobody can attend to the govern
ment of a hundred million people.
The last despot who actually ruled
a country was Frederick the Great,
who attended to everything in Prussia,
answered all questions as they arose,
gave all permissions, and knew what
was happening in every corner of his
kingdom. But his Prussia was small
affair compared with the Germany
ruled by the Emperor William, and
Russia is enormous compared with
Germany. The absolute power of the
Gar has to be delegated to all sorts
and sizes of officials, who form kind
of close corporation and civil HER
archy, who let their imperial master
know what they think advisable, who
set matters before him in such light
as secures his assent to what they are
doing in his name. Such is despotism
everywhere, except when exercised
over small communities, such as the
inhabitants of an island in the South
Seas.
1t is by some sudden popular out
break that the nominal ruler of big
country learns that things are not 60
ing as well as they have been re-
presented to him. AS Frenchman
says, all despotism is tempered by
assassination" Sometimes the ruler
himself falls under the blow of the
political cOnspirator, as did Alexander
II, and sometimes the blow falls on
a hated minister, as it did ON Plehve.
1t was this political murder which
seems to have aroused Nicholas II to
Il perception that all is not satisfactory
in the government of Russia, and he
showed his sense of what the deed
meant by putting into the Office a man
who is the very opposite Of the official
who had been killed. Prince Mirski
must be very brave man, as we'll as a
very liberal-minded statesman. With
out repeating a single law, he practi-
cally reversed the policy Of repression,
allowed the newspapers to discuss
public affairs, and created new at
mosphere in the administration His
boldest step was to invite the presi-
dents of the provincial and local
assemblies (zemstvos) of the empire to
meet in st. Petersburg with view to
securing hcarticr cooperation between
the people and their rulers in the pro-
secution of the war with Japan. He
seems to have persuaded the Gar to
sanction this step, nd nothing that he
did gave such alarm to the official
class.
1t is true that these assemblies are
supposed to be representative of the
people. They consist of delegates
chosen by the land owners, the
peasants and the burgesses of the
cities and large towns. But in fact
they have been reduced to insignifi-
canoe by the skillful pressure of the
officials, who, in the last resort, have
sent every troublcsomely Independent
member into exile from that province
and thus silenccd him. AS a con-
sequence they are made up chiefly of
the timid and compromising class, who
echo every sentiment they find to be
in favor in the bureaus of the ministry,
along with some able men, who learned
to hold their tongues when it was not
worth while to speak. 1t is this last
class of men who by their abilities ap-
pear to have risen to the presidency
of the assemblies, for when they came
to the capital, more than a hundred
of them. and had some talk over the
situation, they found each other quite
ready to speak out in fashion very
unusual in Russia.
1t cannot be emphasized too strong
~ that these men are not Anarchists
or Nihilsts or Socialists, or even Re
publicans. They have no wish to I'M
dermine the loyalty of the people to
the Gar, or even to diminish his
actual power. What they want is that
so much Of that power as now is in
possession of the bureaucracy shall be
given to the people, and that NOM
inally absolute monarchy, really linz
tied by hierarchy of officials, shall
become Il frankly limited monarchy,
with the people in partnership with
the sovereign. So they ask the Gar
to summon national legislature of all
the Russias, to cooperate with him in
administering the empire, and in enact
| s.>.. slo I.,.,, st.s T.,