The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-02-27

ants that the government stands like
 wall between the Emperor and his people, There is great deal of truth
 in this. On the other hand, great alarm
 is felt in higher spheres for the safety | of the dynasty, and this alarm is due
 to misunderstanding of the fact that the zemstvo, upon which a revolutionary | mask has been foisted as an excuse for repression, is essentially conservative institution.
 "The zemstvo cannot be a revolution ary and still less anarchistic element, for the simple reason that it is com posed of landholders, and the ideals pur- l sued by the protetarist of labor-although
 they may be temporarily adopted by the
 zemstvo in it's campaign for freedom
 are necessarily objectionable and even terrible to it.
 Proportion of Classes.
 Tn the first zemstvos the proportion
 Of classes represented was as follows: Nobles, per cent; peasants, per cent; clergy, per cent; others, per cent. After the reactionary reforms of 1890. to which l shall refer later, the propor-
 ton of nobles largely increased This
 showed that the reforms, dealing princ-
 pally with the method of election, chiefly
 affected the peasants. The government
 hoped to find In the nobles a conservative element which should relieve it of all apprehension from an elective institu- ton. But the zemstyo did not display the slightest change of policy and the late Minister Plehve found to his aston ishment that the sophisticated body was just as resolute an opponent as it's pre- decessor. It may even be confidently as- serted that had Plehve done the very
 reverse, had he increased the proportion of peasants, he would have done much more to achieve the desired result. For the peasants would have even gone the length of seeking to apply Henry Georges standardization of land but they
 would certainly have remained indeffer- ent to political rights If we are to judge by the rapidity with which the
 large land-holdngs of the nobles are passing into the hands of the peasants it may be presumed that this transfer
 would have materially facilitated a nor
 nal evolution, unattended by any catas-
 trophe. The fact is, however. that our
 government fears nothing so much as an agrarian movement. Everything is sac
 rificed to this self-imposed bogie, the
 people are sedulously kept in a state of
 darkness and ignorance, the development of this country is impeded and numbered.
 discomfort is engendered and the ener- ges of the nation are wasted in internal strife.
 Has It Remained Progressive.
 But how is to to be explained that the zemstvo. composed of noble pro prietors with a small admixture of peas
 ants, has remained progressive, liberal
 and consistently opposed to the govern-
 ment? It Is easy to answer this ques-
 tion. by pointing out that the bureau-
 cratic army with which the zemstvo
 wages war is recruited from the same noble class, but from less Independent, less self-reliable members nobles who have deteriorated in the luxurious en-
 joyment of government offices and emol- uments. On the other hand, the oppos-
 ing force Is composed of men of energy, of principle and of ideals. forming a
 minority of the nobles which has realized the banefullness of bureaucratic routine
 and sees the salvation of Russia in the
 untrammelled growth of free institutions.
 Is a Family Quarrel.
 "It~ts none the less a family quarrel between the liberal and reactionary par
 ties of the dominant class. The mass of the people remains a passive spectator of this conflict. Hence, Plehve by reinforce ing the nobles In the zemstvo only in
 creased the number of his liberal op-
 ponents. who fought him not within the
 narrow walls of a parliament but in an
 enormous arena. They had the whole provinces he had his Petersburg offices.
 and consequently, notwithstanding all his despotic power, he was doomed to de- feat by sheer force of numbers.
 When, however, the inevitable victory
 united forces succeed In obtaining form of constitutional government, or zemsky of constitutional government or zemsky sobor, we may expect a transformation of the political struggle such as few foresee.
 'HThe main point in this zemstvo pro- gramme is national participation in self
 government. This will give the peasant a preponderant vote and at once give
 rise to an agrarian movement; the peas ants seeking to increase his holdings from
 the land belonging to other classes and to the state Of course this be set tied by means of grarual expropria tions, but it is difficult to expect such a peace
 full adjustment. This interesting social
 question is destined to assume unexpected forms In Russia.
 Facts Regarding Organization.
 Tn concluding this review of the gem stvo's role in the political development of Russia think 1t of interest to give
 a few facts regarding its organization. i The zemstvo institution exists In thirty l four provinces or governments of Euro pean Russia The members of the pro- l vincial zemstvos are elected by the mem | DerS O1 the ulSlFlCl ZeIHSlNOS WHICH Uuii- 1 Der BIS; the members of the district i bodies are elected by direct vote in the i electoral colleges of each class of the l community. The contingent of members
 returned by the peasants is strictly lim-
 ited, and as the number of peasants l electoral colleges is In excess of this con- l tingent the governor makes selection. ] The ukase of December 25 1904 provides l for the creation of small zemstvo units l which will represent the villages and
 bear the same relation to the district
 zemstvo that the latter now bears to l the provincial body.
 "There also exists a secret organiza- l ton which virtually unites the thirty 1 four zemstvos in a clandestne national
 tion was treated as illegal and subjected l now, it is not directly interfered with,
 although still unrecognized by law. Besides building and endowing schools,
 the Russian zemstvo has developed and l organized a number of other public en- 1 terprises, including statistical, veterinary and, most important of all, national med l ical services. One of the reproaches con- stantly brought by the government 1 against the zemstvo Is that it employs outsiders: clerks, statisticians, teachers, l physicians and other representatives of the liberal professions. who form an im- | posing army of revolutionary workers. Although unenfranchised, they none the | less acquire the character of members | of the zemstvo and exercise great in- l fiuence among the people. In justice 1t must be said that these men-the third | estate as they are called-are the per