Morris tribune., 1907-06-29

and disarmament were impossible Of
attainment. However, he admitted
that this should not prevent them from
dreaming of universal peace and fra
ternity which are the natural, higher
aspirations Of the human soul" Both
he and DR.. Van Tets van Goudrain,
who welcomed the conference in the
name Of Queen Wilhelmina, referred
to the large part taken in the peace
movement by President Roosevelt. The
cars high handed dismissal of the
douma also added to the pessimistic
feeling which pervaded the opening of
the conference.
Irish Catholics Offended.
The breach between the Liberal and
Irish parties in the British parliament
was widened by the passage, 125 to-
IL. of motion permitting the intro
d ction Of bill for a commission to
inquire into the need of inspection Of
n,Aastfc and conventional institutions
joan Redmond, the Irish leader, said
that this was gross offense and insult
to all Catholics and that it put an end
to the Liberal alliance with the Irish
party.
How the Douma Was Wrecked.
Without awaiting the pleasure Of the
douma. which was preparing to make
formal reply to the demand of the
cars government for the exclusion Of
fifty-f1ve Social Democratic members
accused of seditious conspiracy to
overthrow the government, Gear Mich
ofas signed the ukase dissolving this
second elective parliament Of Russia,
thus making a coup d'etat of force, in
asmuch as the members of the douma
were overawed by the presence of a
large body Of soldiers in and near the
palace of assemblage. At the same
time this decree set the elections for
the next douma, which is to meet Nov.
II. and provided that they be held I'M
der new election law so drawn as
to prevent "the submergence Of the
educated classes by the uneducated
masses" This act distinctly overrides
the provisions of the fundamental law
of the empire as proclaimed by the
Via ALuSC1l just DtlOIc Tic dSSGlu-
h,2s Of the first douma. for the con-
st!tution thus esta blished declared
that the electoral law could never be
changed without the consent Of the
douma itself. The Stolypin ministry
justif1es this course on the ground Of
national self preservation, holding tI&t
under present conditions the existing
electoral law would not permit the Sc
lection Of a parliament capable of CO
operating tremendously with the crown.
Although expecting dissolution any
moment, the douma continued to trans
act business calmly up to the last
The surface Of affairs at St. Peters
burg and in nearly all parts Of Russia
remained calm after the news Of the
dissolution had been received, this
course being advised in a manifesto
issued by $50 members of the Left.
The revolutionary leaders were known
to he holding conference with So
cialist members Of the douma in Fin
land and Poland showed signs of ex-
IRENE unrest, but the psychological
moment for expressing the popular dis
approval of the cars course ha6 not
arrived. Provincial governors had been
ordered to anticipate the slightest signs
Of disturbance with harsh repressive
measures. and the press had been al
most completely muzzled. The respon-
sibility for the dissolution was placed
with the car himself. !. as Premier sto-
/ 1ypin stood with the minority OF the
council against that course.
The new electoral law greatly limits
the anti Russian representation, the
Caucasus being reduced from twenty
FIVE to ten members and Poland from
thirty seven to twelve. By raising the
property qualification German land
lowner< In the Baltic provinces gain
many members. The law is somewhat
similar to the Prussian system. In the