The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-11-21
FINLAND IS
IN TROUBLE
Assessed Heavily BY Imperial
Body.
INDIGNATION Is CREATED
Rights Of Finland Are At
Issue.
Finnish and Russian Governments at
odds--Fihns want Constitutional
Observation-Disclosures Contend
for Empire's
Beneat.
by ARNOLD METzLER.

BY ARNOLD METzLER.
Helsingfors. Nov. zo.---Exceedingly
troublesome times appear to be In
| store for the Grand Dnchy of Fin
land. and. indeed. very grave things
Ihave already happened. BY an impe-
rial rescript. published in the Heising-
fors newspapers Of Oct. IA, 1t was de-.
creed that legislation concerning milf
tary service In Finland. should be
withdrawn from the competence OF the
Finland Diet and transferred to that
OF the Imperial Legislature. In the
meantime. Finland Is to pay to the i'm
perial exchequer an annual contribu-
ton OF $2.0oo.000. which Is to be. In
creased to double that amount.
This rescript was officia1iy promul-
gated In the Senate by the Governor
General. who presides on extraordinary
occasions. and by four Of the newly
appointed Senators, who have now en-
tered on their duties. The five mem
bers still remaining OF the old Senate.
though commanded to retain ONCE till
furthed appointments have been made.
declared that. owing TO the temporary
character OF their ofices. they must
abstain from voting. and added that II
would be impossible for them to give
their assistance In carrying out his
maJesty's wish In this question.
One Of the new Senators. Colonial
Kraatx. also abstained from voting on
account Of his insufficient knowledge
of the laws OF the country. The per-
manent official in charge OF the matter
had recommended that the Senate
should make humble representation
to the Emperor to the effect that
PRONUNCIATION OF the rescript would
amount to q violation of the funda-
mental laws The Procurator-G General
lodged a protest against PRONUNCIATION.
The payment of s2,000,000 per an
mum instead OF providing soldiers for.
the imperial army, does not constitute.
the most important aspect of the mat
ter. For the past few years the Fin
landers have, In fact. paid similar con-
tributions with the Diets assent, pend
ing the settlement by law of the mill
tary service question. But. as the Pro-
curator General, DR.. Charpenter, point
ed out in his protest, the Senate has
acted Illegally by promulgating de-
cree on military contrib utions made
by the sovereign alone, without the
consent of the Diet. The general dec
laration of the rescript that legisla-
ton on military service shall hence
forth be withdrawn from the compe-
tence OF the Finnish Diet. constitutes.
OF course. a far more important brench
OF the constitution, which expressly
provides that no war levies. except In
time.-of ygare-can- be imposed by the
monarch on his subjects except with
the consent OF the representatives OF
the people. In 1901. 1t Is true, q
military service law ewas issued with
out the consent. or even against the
expressed wish. or the Diet. but the
Finlanders, regarding 1t as unconsti-
tutianaliy enacted. refused to obey It,
and 1t was repealed in 1905 by q man.
ifesto ION the restitution Of legal orr
der In the country"
There is little to be said for the
arbitrary fashion In which the latest
change has been effected, and no one
at all acquainted with the Finnish
character can be surprised at the In
dignation which the rescript has pro-
voked in the Grand Duchy. The in
dignation is the greater as the pro-
cedure to be adopted in future with
regard to Finnish legislation concern
ing matters of general imperial inter-
est is being considered by q Russo
Finnish committee which was appointed
some time ago and has mot yet made
its report. ~ iSsAV@
What is at issue is the whole con-
stitutional position OF Finland as a
part of the Russian Empire. The
Films contend--and their contention is
supported by most of the jurists who
have written on the sabtect-that the
Grand Duchy is state OF which the
Emperor of Russia Is the sovereign but
which under it's own Constitution en-
joys complete autonomy. For nearly
a hundred years, from the conquest of
Finland from Sweden by Alexander I.
down to the latter part of the reign of
Alexander III. this seems to have been
the view accepted and acted upon by
the Emperor Grand Dukes. During
recent times. however, the theory has
been adopted by the Russian Govern
men that Finland Is nothing more than
a province OF the Empire, and that the
autonomy she enjoys can be restricted
or overridden at will by imperial leg
islation.
It was in accordance with this the
DRY that the manifesto of February.
1899, was issued. which marked the be-
ginning OF the Bobrikoff regime, and
which declared the intention of the
Emperor to legislate over the head of
the Diet on all matters of general i'm
perlal concern. The stubborn conflict
which followed this step seemed to
have come to an end. when In Novem-
ber 1905. the Car in another mani
festo repealed the most important of
the ordinances issued by General Bob
rikoff, and promised that the appli-
cation of the fundamental statutes ac-
companying our manifesto of February
8 (15) 1899, shall be suspended until
the questions therein dealt with shall
be settled by means of an act of legis-
lation." In Finland II was naturally
assumed that such legislation would
be enacted In accordance with the Fin
nish Constitution. Since that mani
festo was issued there has been a con-
siderable change in the internal stu
alton in Russia. That this change was
ident from the line taken by Premier
Ltolypin in the speech on the Finnish
question which he made to the Duma
on May 18 of last year. He proclaim
ed that there must bee no room for
the suspicion that Russia would vio-
late the rights Of autonomy conferred
on Finland by the monarch" but pro-
ceeded to interpret those rights in ac-
cordance with the theory which had
inspired the manifesto of 1899. A
fortnight later the Emperor gave HIS
sanction to a protocol of the Russian
Council of Ministers which gave that
body wide powers of control over Fin
nish legislation and which was drawn
up without the cooperation OF any Of
the Finnish authorities, The conflict
that has since followed has been the
logical outcome of the policy defined in
M. StoIypin's speech and the protocol
of the Council OF Ministers.
No one will dispute the weight of
the argument brought forward by the
Russian government. that the Imperial
government must have control over all
legislation touching matters of Imper-
ial concern. Nor need one be surpris-
ed IL Russian Ministers regard with
Impotence claims on the part OF the
-