The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1908-01-16
THURSDAY, JANUARY IS, 1905
CAN A PARLIAMENT COMMIT TREASON


The wholesale conviction of members
of former Donna of the high crime OF
treason impresses the average mind as
being strauge manifestation OF logic,
to say nothing of justice. Bear in mind
the sources Of the Douma. The body
was summoned into being by the Gar,
who professed to be DESTROYS of institu-
ting a constitutional Government Out
of his great love" for his dear people
he wished to relax the restraint Of auto
cracy and to give the people voice In
their political affairs The people were
to select their representatives and these
representatives were to assemble in st.
Petersburg and enac' laws for the EN-
pire. The Cars utterances were pre-
tensions, but the so-called Legislators
did not know it. He intended to hold on
tightly to autocracy and to tolerate the
Donna only as bit Of political fiction,
but the members of that body thought
the Gar meant TO do what he professed
and that they were actually bona tide
legislative body. When the members
got to dwelling in their speeches on con.
stitutional rights and the abolition Of
the courts. martial and other despiaed
features of the despotic regime they
transgressed. To dare mention or sug.
gest such things was horrifying. The
Douma at once assumed the aspect OF
mob and the Gar dispersed it with his
soldiers 1t was then that certain of
the members believing that "A Parlia-
ment-the source of law and sovereign
ty-could not commit treason, and that
the Gar by once summoning them as
a legislature instantaneously and auto
matically relinquished forever and ire
treivably his autocratic power over them
and the people, assembled at Niborg
There they drew up an address in which
they said:
Citizens, stand up for your trampled
rights, for popular representation and
for an Imperial Parliament. Russia
must not remain "A day without popu-
lar representation. You possess the
means Of acquiring it. The Government
has, without the assent of the represen-
tatives of the people, no right to collect
taxes from the people, nor to summon
the people to military service. There.
fore You are now the government The
dissolved Parliament was justified in
giving neither money nor soldiers
Should the Government, however con
tract loans in order to procure funds,
such loans will be- invalid. Without the
consent of the popular representatives
the Russian people will never acknow
ledge them and will never be called up
on to pay them.
Accordingly, until "A popular repre-
sentative Parliament Is summoned, do
not give kopeck TO the throne, nor a
soldier to the army. BE steadfast in
your refusal No power can resist the
united, inflexible will of the people.
This address constituted their treason.
One hundred and sixty were placed
on trial on the charge and practically
all of them were convicted. To the
American the position taken by the
members Of the Donna in this address
il not assaiable The American belev.
es the source Of government is from be.
low, not from abOve-that all just gov.
eminent derives its power from the con.
sent of the governed and not from him
h.. H.
American idea il opposed TO the idea Of
the Russian autocracy. When the re
representatives. Of the Russian people IL
pressed desire for a modicum Of popu
lar power they clashed with the sover.
eign who, while protesting an aim to
grant the people Il voice in their affairs
yet chung tendciously to the same old
despotism That address to the Rus
sian people, comments the lndepend.
emit was treason, If the Donna was
the creature Of the Car, who had the
right to call or dissolve it; who had the
right to disobey its will and blot it ont
Of existence. II was not treason, If the
people have the right to rule, and Cars
are but their creatures, get to do their
will. The latter il the doctrine held in
the United States, and in every conati.
tutionally governed country in the
world II II not the doctrine which to.
day holds power and rule in Russia, in
Russia alone Of all so.called civilized
countries. There the throne is lord of
the people, the people have only the
right which the throne offers to them y
AT present a Douma is in session. Al
apopular assembly it is farce The
Throne SO fixed the elections that this
time the Parliament is an annex to the
star chamber; some Of its members have
expressed their aim Of utterly destroy
ing the Donna il possible. As people.
legislative body the Douma from the be
ginning has been failure. When il
asserted It's popular sentiment il wa,
dispersed. When it takes the other ex
IRENE it is no longer popular in charac
ter. The conviction Of the hundred
and more members Of the first Doums
and the punishment in store for then
would be rather discouraging episod,
for any Democratic Douma existing Of
to exist.