New-York tribune., 1907-06-18
RUSSIAN CORP D'ET4T.

his ministry. has practically abrOgated the con-
stItution and has reasserted the fullest measure
of oldtime absolutsm, declaring, just as Peter
the Great or Ivan the Terrible might have de
clared, that God has given Us the power Of
the Gar over Our people" True. we must re-
member that in the manifesto Of August, 1909.
decreeing the election Of a Douma and granting
a rudimentary constitution to the empire, the
Emperor specifically reserved for himself
impaired the fundamental law regarding
tocratic power" Yet two months later, in Oc
tober. he issued another decree in which he
gave ii most clearly TO be understood that he
had renounced autocraCy and that the Doum0
was 10 be elected and constituted q basis
which only the Douma itself could change.
What has now been done accords with the
former declaration, but it directly violates the
latter. We may leave it to hair splitting ogi
clans 10 determine whether an autocrat has
power to revoke that which he himself has de
clared 10 be irrevOcable Such questions are
out of the pale of practical politics With all
mere casusry laid aside, it is difficult to re-
gard the act of last Saturday or sunday as
anything else than arbitrary and unconstitu-
tional
II was, however by no means unexpected.
Surprise. If felt at ALL is chiefly at its having
been so long delayed, mingled with certain
admiration OF the audacity which made its eX-
ecution c0iucident with the opening OF the
congress at The Hague. For It was fully real
lied by judiciOus observers long ago that autoC-
racy and democracy were Incompatible, that
there was iTrepressible conflict between
them, and that soon or late one must yield to
the other Each has been working for the
mastery, the democracy by diligently striving
to maintain the constitution and 10 fulfil its he
nign purposes. and the autOcracy by seeking 10
hamper ana battle the democracy and To con
Wet ii of some act which could he regarded a5
a preteXt for a reactlonary coup d'ctat which
should abrOgate the constitution and revert 10
the absolute despotIsm of old. The autocracy.
having physical force at its command has for
the time succeeded. In an opportunity of IT'S
own creation it has made the constitution
waste paper, and has restored a rule more re
+ pressive and absolute than any since the DAYS
of the first Nicholas BY autocracy is meant
not the Emperor himself, who is perhaps its
! victim rather than its promoter, but thai i'm
, personal and indefinite Russian system" which
| has for generations been the Irresistible power
| behind the throne. and which seems TO be rs
vital and Triumphant now. above the graves of
Plehve ana PobiedonoStSef, as ever il was
when those arch-eXponents of il were at The
zenith of their careers
The preteXt Of this coup d'ctat was nomi-
Eally plausible, but il fact most hollow. It
would cf course be iLtoerable r. have mon
under the screen Of parliamentary privilege
and immunity plotting the assassination Of the
! sovereign or the subverslou of the govern
lDent through civil war, II is charged that
members Of the Douma have been doing: and
the world would unhesitatngIy approve what
ever measures We're necessary for putting an
end to such villany. But there has been offered
no convincing proof, mo evidence" ms Lincoln
SAID on which one would hang a yellow dog"
that members have been doing such things
while there is ground for suspecting that The
charges have chiefly been manufactured hv
reactionary conspirators Moreover. if the
charges were sincerely made in good faith, no
adequate time was given To the Douma II,
winch to investigate and act upon them The
ueDhnd was made upon the DOuma on Friday
II al once took up the matter and promised 10
report its answer and its action on Nonday
but Lhe government would not watt il issued
the decree of dissolution on Saturday pigbt
Ine Douna was thus ordered TO stand and de-
liver at moments notice. taking the gravest
lcSslDle acton affecting its own integrity upon
the improved and unsupported word of its con
1cssed enemies. Every man in his senses must
Dave known that it would be impOssible for
the uouma to grant SO extraordinary a de-
nand. We cannot suppose that those who die
tated the demand expected or desired that the
Douma would grant 1t. Again, if the govern
nent had positively known all the charges 70
be true, and If the deputies in question Ind
really been guilty Of abomnable conspirocies
for treason and murder, it would still have
been arbitrary and unjust to dismiss the whole
Douma and virtually TO abrogate the constitu
tion on their account. For it is certain that
the Constitutional Democrats and other Darties
in the Douma were not participators I'm tbeir
, lnquity, and that they detest treason and muir
der and disapprove the revolutionary procIivi
ties of the Socialists as much as the minister's
themselves do. Nor can it be disputed that the
influence Of the Douma as a whole has been
strongly against revolutionary violence and
that during its existence the general state Of
Russia has been growing more orderly and
more loyal
. 1t is no exaggeration to say that in This conn
defdt the constitution has been annuIled That
( fact looms largest and most obvious in tbe
/ whole situation. There was no copetitrtioroI
warrant for the demand which was made
upon the Douma. There was none for tba
dismissal of the DOuma in such ciro,m
stances and for such a cause There is nona
! for such an alteration OF the electoral s,.o+o,,
: ils mas oeeh ordered for the choice of Il new
. Douma- Ihere Is none for the suppression
4 OF the newspaper press, which has been de-
cFeeu Win d severity perhaps never sur
passed in Russian history Every ona ~
these things has been done in dtract ,.,oIo.;on
OF the spirit of the imperial decree .,rantip,, y
constitution and establishing an elective mr..
lament. Hereafter the government NAV 70
: spect the constitution but what confdanco
can the people have in its doing so? Tho con
stitution having once been arbitrarily ser aside
There Is no assurance that it will not be TINS
, set aside again and again, whenever il s,i+s
| the convenience or the ambition of the ruling
! power so to do. a blow has been struck M tho
! national confidence for which otonar,an+ co.,