Unhappy Russia.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume xxii, Issue 6457, 29 December 1904, Page 1

Unhappy Russia.

The Zemstvo Movement.

Interesting 1 Particulars,

Despatches from St. Petersburg give full accounts of the movement of tho people in their demands for a more liberal form of government. The following is the final form of the declaration of the Zemstvo --representatives in favour of the election of a body not merely to assist in legislation, as at first reported, but to be trusted with the framing of the laws of the Empire:—"ln order to secure the proper development of the life of the State and the people it is imperatively necessary that theie be a regular participation of national representatives sitting as an especially elected body to make laws, regulate revenues and expenditure, and control the legality of the actions of the Administration." A programme declaring the necessity, of the participation of the people in the government was signed by 102 Zemstvo presidents including thirty presidents of provinces. The document setting forth the necessity of reform is all the more striking and impressive because the Zemstvo presidents who signed It, while elected by the Zemstvo organisations, are confirmed by the Government. The signatories also include live marshals of nobility, the elections to which offices are also confirmed by the Government.

A Press correspondent at St. Petersburg writes on November 27th:-~One of the most commanding figures and fareeeing statesmen of the Empire, whose opinion is of the highest value, but who declines to permit the use of his name, to-day expressed a distinct conviction that nothing in the nature of a radical change in the existing order of things would result from the Zemstyo Congress. This statesman is a firm believer in autocracy, as the best form of government for the realisation of the dreams of the Slav race and what he believes to be the great destiny of the most populous nation and the vastest Empire in the world j but has himself, in fact, favoured a Liberal policy. He does not now be'ieve anything like a crisis confronts the Government. In his opinion everything depends on the war. The war, he I declared, is the big interrogation point for ! Russia; her future at home and abroad is involved in the issue. The internal situation is very complicated. The action of the Zemstvo representatives is a symptom of a disease from which Russia suffers, but these men have not made a necessarily true diagnosis or offered a true remedy. Real representatives of the -Russian people would probably enunciate a programme quite as repugnant to the Zemstvoist as to the supporters of the present; programme. The men who assembled here do nob propose a true representative Government. They would substitute the rule of class autocracy; to Imperial authority. Were I a Minister and -working . for the good of the coußtry/I should prefer to obey the mandates of an Emperor to those of a bogus j Parliament professing to speak by the authority of the people. Neither country nor people are prepared for r.rua representative government. Anarchy would take the place of government, t.nd the Empire would crumble 10 pieoe>?. I am *uro neither the Emperor nor thf Government believes in tha piogramme of the Zein*tvoists, but that doe? not mean ttmt Lioeraliem is to end, Prince oviatopoik fthrsky is a courngeou*, sincere man, and stands j tor a broad Liberal policy; but a Con3ti- ] tution now is out of the question. When 1 the war emiß, an answer to all those ques- j tions of internal policy will come,