Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1905-05-12
A. COMEDY OF JlNoolsM.

One Illustration of the Utter Ineffi-
cheney of Russian Rule.
A particular example Of the Gar be-
ing used by one department against
another occurred last year, when the
seizure Of the British mail steamer Ma
lacca by the ships of the Russian vol
unteer feet caused the relations be-
tween the two countries to become def
initely strained. The whole matter lay
at the doors of the admiralty, says
writer in McClure's. Their man had
done the thing, and whether at the in
stigation or suggestion Of his super1ors
or not, the Grand Duke Alexander
Michaelovitch and Admiral Avellan
made no secret of their entire approval
Of his adventure.
The admiralty, having direct pro-
fessfonal concern in the matter, was
the department most consistently hos
tile to England, and there was pros
pect that they would support their sub
ordinate at any cost. Their relations
with the foreign Office were already in
amicable, for Count Lamsdorff, with
that steady Gothic prudence which
compensates him for lack Of genius,
had been assiduous in his endeavors
to refrain at least from purposeless ex-
asperation of Britain, and the depart
ment had shown their teeth to one an
other over the question Of the passage
Of the Dardanelles. So now, when the
prompt British note Of protest was
presented, Lamsdorff was eager to rem
der satisfaction, while the admiralty
high in favor at court, was determined
to meet all demands with a truculent
defiance.
It Is impossible to render the situa-
ton by Western analogy. 1t was
more than half a personal matter, and
since Count Lamsdorff had at the mo-
ment no grand duke in hand, he had
, to walk with caution in opposing Al
, exander Michaelovitch. There were
, some Of the elements of comedy, too,
! for it was Lamsdorff, and not the ad-
miralty fire-eaters, who must receive
the British ambassador, Sir Charles
Hardinge; and things might have been
r funny had not the delay in accounting
+ for the seizure of the ship evoked from
Britain a further and final communi-
cation, which contained an unequivocal
demand for the release of the Malacca
!, forthwith.
cit was, in short, an ultimatu in ali
but form, and it lacked nothing OF
: brief force and clearness. With II
came news from the south Of the &C
tivity of the Mediterranean feet, and
all the government knew that Russia
was now facing bleak alternative Of
surrender or war with Britain. And
even then the admiralty was triumph
ant, forid with power, blindly exultan
over the mess it had made in the af
airs of the empire. Alexander Michael
ovitch went daily to the Czar and wa!
the man of the moment. Lamsdorf
= saw the Emperor only at his week.!
audience. All his plans, his long dispe
= sitons of policy, were crumbling; i
+ was only at the last moment, with tn,
:. ultimatum to answer, that he lapset
n the dignity of his Office in his politi
9 cal need and went to work in orthodox
Russian style. He got himself a CRANE
o duke, in the person of Constantin Con
stantinovitch, the Cars uncle, big
" pleasant man who writes verses ant
10 occasionally acts Hamlet.
d For ordinary purposes Of interde
le partmental politics the Grand Duk
y Constantin would be inaccessible; as i
N was, Lamsdorf's appeal to him was Al
inspiration. He has weight becaus
r. he is disinterested and as a rule unir
4 terested in state affairs. He appeare
ia now as an altruist engaged on behal
IL of the safety Of Russia, and togethe
$. they sought that yelled source of pow
@. er-the Dowager Empress.
It was to Tsarsko Selo they wen1
. though his majesty was at Peterhol
Yet, the same evening in a certai
y, house upon the French Quay, I wa
% % told that the Gar had received Lams
"A dorf privately, had been closeted wit
- him for over two hours and that tn
Malacca was to be released.
"And after that" my informant ado
ed, Nicholas sent for his chaplain
y He will be praying all night"
Ia Next morning the embassy was sal
Il. isfied and the admiralty was singular
a. ly rude to the special correspondent
who dropped in for chat.
A Universe All Alive.