The Dominion MONDAY, MARCH 19, 1917. THE TSAR'S ABDICATION

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3031, 19 March 1917, Page 4

The Dominion MONDAY, MARCH 19, 1917. THE TSAR'S ABDICATION

The new light whioh is now being shed upon the Bussian revolution uwkes it cl?ar that the British Ot'vcvcKent had been closely watch- , iag the tread of events for **soine tims past with considerable anxiety. .' The gradual >sjdesing of the breach ■ between the Tsar and the Duma led to Loud M.iksßß being deputed, on behalf of the British Government, to.endeavour to induco tho Tsar to appoint a Ministry responsible to the Duma, but his r,#ort suited in failure. The Tsar rofuwd k\ choose Ministers who were likely to prove acceptable to tho JAussp.n ' Parliament or to the Russian people. It must have been plaivi to friond and foe alike that ho was walking on tho brink of a precipice. Some sinister influence seems to have got possession of him, assd eventually disaster became inevitable. His invinciblo obduraoy convinced the constitutional party that political reform &nd national concord could only be obtained by force. Tho Tsar was deaf to the most urgent appeal and unmoved by the most powerful persuasion. He had evidently got into the hands of people who were deliberately fomenting internal trouble, in the hope that Eussia would be unable to put the whole of her great might into the war. Weakness and obstm-' acy very often go together. The Tsar was not strong enough to steer a course of his own; not wise enough to distinguish friend from foe among his advisers; no'fc bold enough to know when to depart from tradition and when to adhere to it; not imaginative enough to understand the wonderful possibilities of the unexampled crisis in his country's history; not far-seeing enough to lead his ' people safely j through tho transition poriocl from absolutism to a system of democratic government, under a constitutional monarch. His intentions may have been good, it is generally accepted that they were good, but his statesmanship has been deplorably bad. When the war broke out ho I had a magnificent opportunity of making the throne a real centre of i national unity. Ha should havo done his utmost to help the people to make the fullest and best use of tho constitutional rights which ho had conferred upon them. He should have taken tho people into his confidence and trusted them; and at that time the people were in the mood to respond enthusiastically to the advances of their monarch. Trust would have begotten trust. But the Tsar failed to rise to the occasion. At times be seomed to have set his face in the right direction, but just when the time for decisive action camo ho was diverted from his purpose by some malign 'influence which held him in its grip. Some time ago it was announced that the Tsae had taken a great stop in tho direction of constitutionalism, and that his relations with the Duma had been placed on a satisfactory footing. High hopes wore raised, but the forces of reaction again proved too powerful, and the expectations of political peace and orderly constitutional development were doomed to quick disappointment.

Through many mysterious channels 'Germaßyinflwenco has made its way to the Court of the Tsak. Ever since the beginning of the war it has dogged the Tsaii's steps and weakened his arm. He has placed his confidence largely in men he should have mistrusted, and he has kept aloof from those from whom he should have sought advice The Potsdam party was very activo in Russia before the war and the results of its secret workings have since been visible. In a. lecture delivered at Petrograd last year, A. N. Vosnbsensky, formerly Russian Vice-Consul at Shanghai, said some interesting lhing3 about "The Lost Stake of the Potsdam Party in its Struggle with Russian Public Opinion." Ho described tho tragic position of two Russian Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Isvolsky and Sajsonof, "who were obliged to devote the greater part of their energies to the struggle wish tho Russian Potsdamites," instead of being free to give their minds to the tasks which urgently required their attcn : tion. The war temporarily mixed the cards of the pro-Germans, but their underground activities continued. Their policy has been to discredit all that is done by tho Allies, to sow suspicion and stir up internal strife, and under various pretexts to secure the removal from responsible positions of persons dangerous to Germany. Vosnksensky expressed the opinion thac the worst feature of this treacherous movement during the war has been that its most ardent representatives are not always the Baltic barons, but frequently persons with pure JjjlaJLfigfflgS). ,D.nnoip r aU|Y.. from, among I

| former colleagues of tho late Russian Ambassador at Berlin, Count Osten-Sachen. _ It is impossible at present to estimate accurately to | what extent the policy of Nicholas II has been influenced by tho net- ! work of treachery and intrigue ' which has surrounded him, but there is no doubt that for some time past i chaos has prevailed at his court. [ He does not seem to have the re- ! quisito strength of mind or force of character to cope with the difficult situation that has been created. Ovor a year ago tho Continental Press contained rumours of a dynastic crisis, and from time to time since then there have been indications of serious trouble, tho Tsar' leaning at times towards the progressives and at other times towards the reactionaries. His vacillation has been his_ undoing. It created the impression that tho Potsdam Party had enmeshed him, and all the best elements in the country felt that it was necessary to take drastic and decisive measures in order to avert tho calamity of a German-made peace. The Tsar himself appears to have at last come to the conclusion that he is not strong enough to control tho development of events, and that he is unable to avoid the pitfalls that surround him on every side. The manifesto announcing his abdication is perhaps the greatest triumph of his troubled life. His past failures are almost overshadowed by the manner in whioh" he now confesses them and makes the saorifice necessary to the safety of his country and the wellbeing of his people. In order to bring about that close union and thorough .organisation without which speedy victory cannot be expeoted, he bequeaths his heritage, with his blessing, to his brother Michael, who has sworn to govern in co-operation with the national representatives; The great happenings now taking place afford an assurance that tho pro-German intriguers in Eussia, have received a smashing; blow from which they cannot possibly recover. In the hope of saying Germany they _ helped materially to create a situation that might have wrecked Russia. But their plotting has been frustrated, and its failure may now opon the eyes of the subjects of the Kaiser. The Russia* rovolution may suggest to tho7ii_ a way of throwing oif the yoke of Prussian militarism. It may, as a member of tho Reichstag has dared to remark. ho tho writing on tho wall for the Howei«ollerns. .Who can toll how scon the German people _ may woigh the HopENZOLLERNsin the balance and! find thorn wanting?