The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1905-06-17
q COMEDY OF IINaolsM.
one n1astratiOn Of the utter rnem.

r.
One illustrations Of the Utter Inesa-
cheney OF Russian Rule.
parucular example Of the Gear be.
ang used by one department against
announcer occurred last year, when the
seizure Of the British mail steamer Ma
ftacca by the ships OF the Russian vol.
unteer feet caused the relations be.
tween the two countries to become def
lnltely strained. The whole matter Law
at the doors Of the admiralty, saws a
writer In McClure's. Their man had
done the thing, and whether at the in
sugation or suggestion Of his superiors
or not the Grand Duke Alexander
Michaelovitch and admiral Avellan
made no secret of their entire approval
OF his adventure. s
The admiralty, having q direct pro-
1ess1onal concern in the matter, was
the department most consistently hos
tile to England, and there was a pros
pect that they would support their sub
ordinate at any cost. Their relations
with the foreign office were already in
am1cable, for Count Lamsdorff, with
that steady Gothic prudence which
compensates him for lack Of genius,
mad been assiduous In his endeavors
to refrain at least from purposeless ex-
ASPIRATION 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, Lamsdorf. was eager to rem
der satisfaction, while the admiralty,
high in favor at court, was determined
to meet all demands with a truculent
defiance,
1t Is impossible to render the situa-
ton by a Western analogy. 1t was
more than half a personal matter, and
| since Count Lamsdorf 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 Lamsdorfr, and not the ad.
mlralty fre-eaters, who must receive
the British ambassador, Sir Charles
Hardinge; and things might have been
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.
ut was, In short, an uItimatum in all
but FORM and it lacked nothing OF
brief force and clearness. With II
came news from the south of the &C.
ttvity Of the Mediterranean feet, and
all the government knew that Russia
was now facing a bleak alternative OF
surrender or war with Britain, And
even then the admiralty was t. lmph;
ant, ford with power, blindly e--dltant
over the mess it had made in the az
airs of the empire. Alexander Michael
ovitch went daily to the Gear and was
the man Of the moment. LamsdorfI
saw the Emperor only at his weekly
audience, All his plans, his long dispo
sitions of policy, were crumbling; II
was only at the last moment, with the
ultimatum to answer, that he lapsed
the dignity Of his office in his politi
cal need and went to work in orthodox
Russian style. He got himself grand
duke, in the person Of Constantin Con
stantinovitch, the Cars uncle, q big
pleasant man who writes verses and
occasionally acts Hamlet.
| HENor nVdipoYsxy VNV1rrnsno - In
partmental politics the Grand Duke
Constantin would be inaccessible; as Il
was, Lamsdorn's appeal to him was al
inspiration. He has weight because
he is disinterested and as a rule unin
terested in state affairs. He appeared
now as an altruist engaged on behalI
of the safety Of Russia, and together
they sought that yelled source Of pow
er-the Dowager Empress.
1t was to Tsarsko Selo they went
though his majesty was at Peterhof
Yet, the same evening in a certS!,
house upon the French Quay, 1 was
told that the Gear had received Lams
dorff privately, had been closeted with
him for over two hours and that the
Malacca was to be released.
"And after that" my informant add
ed, nicholas sent qfor his chaplain
He will be praying all night"
Next morning the embassy was sat
isfied and the admiralty was singular
Iy rude to the special correspondent
who dropped in for a chat.
A Universe All Alive.