THE RUSSIAN SITUATION.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 157, 3 July 1917, Page 4

THE RUSSIAN SITUATION.

In the absence up to to-day of official and authoritative news from Petrograd or the Russian military headquarters, a great many people seem to have been drifting into a rather pessimistic frame of mind in regard to the present state and the future intentions of the Russian nation. It is, of course, undeniable that the cessation of activity on the part of the Russian armies which followed the outbreak of the revolution must have benefited the Central Powers, as it freed them from present anxiety in the East and allowed them to detach large (bodies of troops for service on the Western front. But it ought not to be necessary to remind our readers that as things were going before the revolution, the rulers of Russia were almost committed to a separate peace, which would have been, from our point of view, a tremendous and perhaps irremediable disaster. As regards the military operations which have marked the later stages of the war on the Russian front, it must be remembered also that ! Bruseiloff's great -'drive," in which the fighting strength of Austria was for the moment completely broken, was undertaken by the generals in command without any reference to Petrograd, which accounts for the fact that the Germans and who had expected the proJGerman influences at the. Czair's Court to hold the Russian armies in check, were taken completely by sur-: prise. The only subsequent operations of importance, in which the Russian armies, have engage.! were connected with the Rumanian campaign, and there is good reason to believe that Rumania was deliberately sacrificed by the pro-1 German party in Russia to propitiate the Central Powers. Considering these things, the Allies may well congratulate, themselves that it is no longer the Russian autocracy, but the Russian democracy, that now bears the responsibility of continuing the war. For it seems to us that there is no reason or excuse for imagining that the Russian nation will decline to continue the war. The only section of the Russian people who have ever seriously contemplated or desired peace with Germany is the Court party, whose treachery has been revealed and punished, and whose influence, at Petrograd is now destroyed for ever. But, excluding these and the relatively small body of professional pacifists who are now causing trouble in the capital, the great mass of the Russian people are committed to the war, and can be trusted to fight on till the enemy is beaten. It would be absurd to ignore the. dangers involved in the transformation of the Russian political system at this critical moment, and the dilliculties that must arise in the conduct of internal affairs because of the temporary collapse of the machinery of domestic administration. All these things arc of necessity incidental to a great social and political upheaval. But, on the other hand, we must remember that this war has been, in the ryes of the Russian people, a national and patriotic war, and that the change of Government cannot, alter their attitude, toward it Writing two years ago, Mr. Stanley Washburn, who has had exceptional j opportunities for observing the state of Russian public feeling, declared that Russia regarded this struggle [rather as a crusade than an ordi-

i " | nary mtemational contest." The war ! I touched the slow, lethargic, rather nega- | tive Russian temperament from the j start, by its appeal to their race sympathies, which is the one vital chord that can always be touched with certainty of response in the heart of the Slav." From the first months the war grew constantly in popularity untd it came to be supported enthusiastically by the great body of the Russian people. "I have talked," says Mr. Washburn, "with officers from every part of the Empire, and they all tell mc that it is the same in Siberia as it is in European Russia. The moujik, in his heavy ponderous way, is behind this war. This is why Russia and the Russian armies are ' not beaten, are not discouraged, and have not the vaguest idea of a peace without a decision, any more than the Englishman, the Frenchman or the Belgian." But, it may be asked, even if the Russian people as a whole are Teady and willing to fight, is there not serious danger that the chaos and disorganisation of which we have heard so many I sensational reports from Petrograd may effectually paralyse the national energies and leave the country helpless before the next great Anstro-German offensive? In ' considering this question, we have no wish to minimise the difficulties that the ! existing Russian Government has to ' face—the intrigues of pacifists, the bitter i hostility of the extremists of the industrial Bection, and the demands of various portions of the. Russian Empire for independence or autonomy. With idealists and Utopians cry "Peace" when there is no peace, with Lenin and the industrial anatrchists striving to overthrow all constituted authority, and with Poland, Finland, and the Little Russians of the Ukraine demanding full rights of self-government, we can well imasine j that the new Russian Government is in an anxious and precarious position. But ■ we decline to accept literally the assur- j ances of many an ti-democratic newspapers that "the Russian people has j proved itself incapable of self-govern- | ment." We prefer to believe that the Russian people, when they have had time to recover from the shock of the revolution, will prove themselves capable of I managing their own affairs and conduct- [ ing a great war at the same time, just as the peasants and workmen of France I did after their revolution more than a ' century ago. Meanwhile the welcome news comes that the Russian army in. Europe has taken the offensive, for the! first time since the revolution, and apparently with considerable success. The details from Petrograd are meagre, only one point being mentioned, but the capture of over SOOO prisoners indicates operations of some magnitude. The enemy communiques indicate activity along most of the front between the Pripet and the Carpathians, and claim that Russian attacks were repulsed. Remembering how the opening of BrussilofTs great offensive. last year was described in the enemy's cotamtiniques, we need not attach very much importance to these statements. The enemy has the strongest reasons for hiding news o£ Russian successes from his people. The situation is rich in possibilities, owing to the weakening of the German and Austrian armies on the Russian front, and the rickety state of the. Austrian ! Empire, but it would be. rash to expect I early results of a sensational kind. | Though the Russian moral has obviously I improved, the military and industrial I disorganisation following the revolution | must have impaired Brussiloff's striking ] power. But even if this offensive does i not materially alter the general military I situation, it should hasten the improvement of Russian efficiency, and help to j unite the nation in the task that should ' take precedence of all others—the. vigorous prosecution of the war. The Weather Bureau forecast for 24. j hours from 0 a-m. this day is as follows: I "The indications are for westerly winds, strong to gale. The weather will pro- ! baWy prove squally and changeable; rain , probable. The. barometer has a rising j tendency, but falling again soon. Tides poor. Sea moderate.'' ! Sir James Allen has promised to make inquiries into the treatment of eight returned soldiers who lately received the. ; f oil owing telegram from the Defence j authorities: "Take notice, the Adjutant- ! General has ruled your discharge be j cancelled. Yon are to report at this office on Tuesday, June 19, for Medical I Board. On presentation of finis tele- | gram to nearest Defence Office you will ; receive all necessary warrants for travelI ling." All the. eight recipients had been wounded, some of them twice, and five of thean had been on active service for two [and a-half years. They duly reported, j j but. instead of being medically examined, were sent direct into camp at Trentham, i . and after ten days were sent on to j | Feaihereton and posted to the 28th j I Reinforcements, the members of which I were recently on final leave. The only I explanation offered them was that they ! were being sent into camp '"pending the | arrival of their medical papers from England." A letter recently received by an Auckland resident give an interesting account of a battle on.the desert. The writer I says: "We have been having a lot of | reconnaissance work, which ended in a battle, onr men as usual fighting raagni- I | ficeTtly. One of my mounts, Black Bess, a New Zealand thoroughbred, got hit by | a bullet, but carried mc through. We I prodded the Turks out of their positions I ' .with the bayonet, capturing hundreds of | prisoners, then mounted our horses and chased thean, gathering them up as we I j went. They made a stand again at . I My regiment was the only one in tonch ! at this stage. We bad pushed on ahead. | ' so we again dismounted and lined the ! ridge, facing . We would crrtry be | about 300 strong, while the Turks numbered thousands, with jruns. Reinforcements came up, and at 4 o'clock we! moved forward. The Turks, however, had nearly entrenched, and it was next morning before they were shifted. They are now right out of the country as far • as . There were Germans, Austrians, | [and Bulgarians among fee prisoners, i

I The troubles of those who go into the backblocks to open up new land is exemplified by the case of the settlers at Hore Hore. This place is on the opposite side of the river from Dargaville, and the question of a school site necessitated a visit being paid to the settlement by Mr. G. J. Garland, member of the Board of Education. He found at the settlement 23 children of school age. who have not received any tuition for the past couple of years. The nearest school is 6_ miles away, as it is not safe tor the children to go across to the Dargaville school, added to which that building is overcrowded already. Some time ago the Education Board was offered a site for a school free of cost, but tins has since been purchased, and wiE now have to be paid for at its full value. The Rev. W. G. Monckton, speaking of British naval work during the war at the " omen's Navy- League meeting yesterday, paid a glowing tribute to the men who had performed the pe-rilons. though not spectacular, duties of patrols and mine-sweepers. He also called attention to the loyalty of s o many old fishermen who had taken np work a.gain to release younger men for this important duty. There was one. boatr's crew, he stated, the youngest member of which bore the name of "The Boy."' He was 62 years of age. and the oldest of the crew was 75. Several cases of alleged cruelty to horses were brought by the Society for Prevention of cruelty to Animals at the instance of Inspector H. Alder before Mr. E. C. Cutten, S.M., at Papakura yesterday. H. J. Flay, for working a horse with sore shoulders, was fined 40/ and 7/ costs. Andrew Stewart, for a similar offence, was fined 40/ and costs 7/. Ernest Evans, for a like offence, was lined 10/ and costs 7/. At a special meeting of the Rirkenhead Riding Ratepayers' Association, held in the,f;lenfield School, the following platform was adopted, in view of the Waitemata County Council election in November: (1) That candidates be asked to pledge that if elected tbey will use their utmost endeavour to ensure that ratepayers' shall be supplied with full information as to the revenue and expenditure of the County Council, and also of the separate riding accounts. (2) That this Association shall be supplied with a copy of the official 'balance-sheet as soon as issued. 13) That the candidate, if elected, will use his utmost influence to lessen the centra! office and other expenses of the county. A meeting of the Starrier Bay Ratepayers* Association was held last niurrt, Mr. E. S. Wight presiding, when park matters wore very fully discussed. An estimate of the cost of the reclamation wall and floodgates was considered satis- j factory, and the action of the Park Committee in making an effort to raise from] £250 to £300 was endorsed. The secretary was authorised to send out circrt- | lars drawing attention to the nrgency of going on with the work. Warm appreciation was expressed at the Hon. Arthur I Myers' offer to contribute £25 to the 1 fund, and a vote of thanks was given to I him for his contribution. Messrs. E. S. I Wight and E. Jones were appointed ! trustees of the fund, and a subscription list is to be opened at once to enable all the money required to be collected as early as possible, so that a start n-.-y be made with the work. The hope is" expressed that the Devonp. : t Boroueh Council, in whom the land i, vested, will give a substantial donation to the fund, seeing that the residents have brought things to their present satisfactory condition by adding a valuable area of nearly eight acres to the borough reserves. A correspondent at Tarifci fTaranaki) writes: '1 have often read aiiout grand records of different families during this war, but we have in our district a family of which we are very proud. I refer to Mr. and Mrs. C. J. HamWyn, of Croydon Road. Five of their sons volunteered, and the sixth was called up, leaving a boy of 17, the last boy, to assist his parents to work a large "dairy farm, where the butter is made at home, and few people know what hard, constant work it is. One son was reported missing after the Somme. and now two more are reported killed in action. The other three are at the front. Those left at home are going on, doing the extra work, doing their bit as surely as the brave ones who willingly went' to fight in the great cause. If ever a family had a right to be proud it is Mr. and Mrs. Hatrtblyn and their children. I can assure you the people ibont the district are very proud, and hold them np a* the example of real patriotism, and will never forget their names." The Onehunga Borough Council last night decided to support the protest of the Onehunga Waterside Workers' Union against the exemption of the Rev. S. J. CamrybeJl from military service. The Cotrncil further decided "to ask the Minister of Defence to re-open the question. When the subject came before the. Council Mr. Morton protested against the action of the Council in receiving the deputation or taking any action in the matter. Mr. H. J. Davis defended'the Council, as it was a recruiting committee to assist the Defence Department. A largely-signed petition from riembers of fie fipconvi Division was received in support of the Waterside Workers' UnionMr. R. H. Ainsworth presented the petition, and on his motion it was decided to forward it to the Defence Minister when asking him to re-open the case. A centre of great attraction to many Londoners, as well as to New Zealandera (writes our London correspondent), is the golden casket now on show in New Zealand House windows. It was presented to Sir. Massey by the Goldsmith and Silversmiths Company, and serves as the handsomest of mementoes marking the very successful visit to the Old Country. The mam note of the design is the New Zealand fern. It is surmounted by a solid figure of the British lion,' and at each end there are charming figurines, one of a New Zealand soldier in full marching kit, the other of a Maori in native dress. The monogram of WJ.M. and coat of arms are in brilliant enamel, while inset arc views of the century-old Guildhall, wirerein the Prime Minister received the seal of citizenship of London. During the month of June tie following cases of infectious diseases have been notified to the district health officer (Dr. Hughes): Scarlet fever: City 2 cases, suburbs 1L country districts 32; total 45. Diphtheria: City 30. suburbs 38. country districts 51: total 119. Enteric fever: City 2, suburbs 1, country districts 16: total 19. Tuberculosis: City 18, suburbs 8. country districts 10; total 36. Blood-poisoning: City 3, sutonrbs 2, country districts 1; total 6 cases. Hydatids: Country districts 1. Ophthalmia: City 1. in order to provide accommodation for the increased attendance at St. George's Anglican Church. Kingsland, which is in the parish of St. Sepulchre, a collection was taken on Sunday last in aid of the. building fund. The result was that £103 was raised in cash and promises, ft is proposed to add two transepts to the building, and thus increase the seating accommodation to _26tt.