The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-03
Will Russia Have Another Duma?


Although the Emperor NICHOLAS ii.
and Premier S~ToLYPIN have promised
that a new Duma shall be ConvOked and
that the election of its members h
not be long delayed. some doubt has OF
late arisen as TO the fulflment of the
promise. The doubt is based partly on
the prospective failure of the Govern
ment's plan for controlling a majority
of the next assembly and partly on the
apprehension that if the present a
persists in a determination to maintain
representative institutions he may De
deposed by the r~eactionary members OF
his family, supported by the garrison OF
st. Petersburg.
Premier S%ToLYPIN is believed to have
convinced the Emperor at the time
when he took Office that a parliament
invested with limited powers e not
be incompatible with the retention OF
the substance of imperial authority. 1t
was simply requisite, he said, to take
such precautions as would assure an
adequate representation OF the loyal
supporters Of the Government in the
national legislature. Those precautions
had been neglected by Count WITTE,
who had refrained from attempting to
exercise the slightest influence on the
first parliamentary election. From Mr..
SToLYPIN's point of view that attitude
of impartial aloofness may nave been
magnificent, but it was not war. He
holds that from the outset OF the last
campaign the Government should have
adopted a programme of ,self-defence,
instead of a policy Of surrender. 1t
is, indeed, incredible that the insignifi-
can't fraction Of delegates which con-
stituted the Right in the last chamber
can-have reflected fairly the strength OF
conservative sentiment.
An entirely different plan Of campaign
was resolved upon by the present Pre-
mier. First, the bureaucrats, instead OF
being left to follow divergent paths, were
Ia be consolidated into a univocsl politi-
cal force. Secondly, the landowners and
their dependents we're To be welded into
n compact conservative party, Wei
aware thai the landowners and bureau
Gratis could at best make UP only a small
minority, the Premier purposed to Use
all his influence for the expansion Of the
MOderates, or OCtobrists, into a power
full and if possible preponderant organ
ization. For a time his efforts in this
direction seemed likely to be crowned
with considerable success, for not only
did the Octobrists gain ground in many
parts of Russia, but the least progressive
wing OF the Constitutional Democrats
was apparently disposed to coalcsce with
them. Such a coalition could undoubt-
edly have relied on the support o only
of the extreme Right, which in any
event would obey the Governments
orders, but also Of Count HEYDEN's
group Of Peaceful Representatives., who
while sincerely desiring reform would
attain it only by pacific means. 1t was
hoped also that the cooperation OF many
peasant delegates could be secured
through the Cars allotment for imme-
diate distribution Of some q, 600, 900
acres.
Had all these expectations been real
lied il is conceivable that Mr.. SToLYPIN
might have found himself backed in the
next Duma by a sufficient number Of
delegates to outvote the irreooncilable
& Opposition, made up, first, Of the Radical
wing of the Constitutional Democrats;
secondly, Of the so-oalled Group Of Toll,
and thirdly, Of the Social Democrats.
Such an outcome of the next election
was the more probable because it was
certain that all the Governments re-
sources would be employed to minimize
the voting strength os the intractable
factions. What Wa might have wit
messed, in fine, was II counterpart Of the
electoral and parliamentary methods
practised during the greater part Of the