Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY JUNE 3, 1896.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXX, Issue 130, 3 June 1896, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY JUNE 3, 1896.

The awful catastropho near Moscow, in which hundreds of peasants were crushed to death in a wild rush for gifts and scattered food, was possible only in Russia, it is only under the conditions of that affrighted aud grinding autocracy that the -peasantry can so nearly resemble wild beasts, or have as little reason and common human sense as a flock of sheep. It is difficult to conceive how mcu and women assembled in peace could tramplo down each other on an open plain. A panic in a theatre or great hall, the collapse of a platform or a bridge, might result in a human holocaust : but till more details are obtained of the Moscow disaster its cause will bo inexplicable, Speculation naturally turns to the Terrorist societies of Russia, the successors of the Nihilists, and we are almost induced to attribute the awful affair to their machinations, A cable message received some weeks ago staled that an underground bomb manufactory had been discovered near the Kremlin, nud that, several arrests had been mado. Thereafter nothing was heard of Terrorist activity, and the coronation of tho Czar appears to have been permitted to pass over without any demoistration of that, murderous violence for which the secret societies of Russia havo made thetrmelvcg so notorious. The extraordinary circumstanci k attending the Moscow disaster lead to the assumption that there w.is more in tho matter than has met the eye. It may be assumed Unit the hussiau peasantry, not so very long nqo serfs, or chattol-slaves, ure somolimes starving and alwajs miserable, A raro distribution of unaccustomed food and gifts may ' ereatd such excitement in an immense crowd of half-barbarous human creatures as to cause a serious accident ovm on an open plain by some of the weaker ones being crushed and trampled to death. But even with a list of casualities numbering only a few scores, tho incident would have boon as remarkable as it whm uiitoward. Yet we arc told by the cable that several hundreds woro killed, that tho terror, agony, and despair woro awful, and that when order was restored tho plain resembled a battlefield with the slain lying in all directions, It is then significantly added that the peasant fete was continued after the catastrophe, presumably while the dead were being gathfred up and buried. Under an autocracy carried on as in Russia in absolute! physical foar of nameless ; and mysterious vengeance which aims at no less a life than that of the Emperor, press reports cannot be expected to bo impartial, full, or accurate, Hence there is warrant for casting grave doubt on the account of the cause of the Moscow

catastrophe aa furnished by the cab!e. The true details are bound to be disclosed sooner or later, but at present there is justification in disbelieving that sit a gitat festivity thousands of men, women, and children could possibly crush, aad trample on each other in a rush for food till mauy hundreds wbre killed. Those who have read Russian history will remember a procession once arranged for Queen Ciitbarino thvuugh. her d r >- miiiions. Tlia Prime Minister prepared the route, and lined it with loyal, prosperous, and happy people; while the beggars, the starving, the unhappy, the sink, and the discontented were bidden under pain of death to hide themselves. That incident occurred more than 100 years ago ; but Russia is uncliauged in many respects, and it may be assumed that the seamy side of Eussian Jife was not displarnd on purpose at the Czar's coronation, It will not therefore be enprising if the Moscow catastrophe turn out to have been a Terrorist demonstration of force— a reminder ito the Emperor and the whole I family of Komanoff that their enemy never sleeps. The Czar may be Bpared yet awhile, because ho is so closoly guarded ; but in a country where human life is cheap (hero is little sample against calling in death to aid an obj«ct. The incident at Moscow, if designed by the Terrorists to overshadow the career of the young Czar from the day of his coronation, his succeeded in so doing. No man, not even a Russian Czar, could forget that terrible slaughter, and the occasion was as ill-omened as a coffin at a marriage feast, Let us be thankful that under British rule neither the crashing to death of hungry peasants by their own impetus nor a murderous demonstration by Terrorists is possible. The causes which create deadly discontent in Russia do not exist under the British flag ; and the most debased peasants of Ireland during a famine would have morn self-respect than the rural mob at Moscow who are supposed to have trampled each other in the abject selfishness of starvation and want. The vexed question of the Nelson oyster and its habitat was settled for the tinie-boiug by the Board oi Health yesterday, it being deoided that the beds may romain where they are, The future will prove whether this course ia wise or unwise, but sufficient evidences has been forthcoming to indicate that tho danger to ihebedu of contamination from sewage is small. The thanks of the community are dne to tho doctors, Councillors, and others who have taken so much trouble in the investigation; and, whatever the diverse opinions expressed may be worth, the real shown in tho interests of the public health is very commendable. For the rest, ic seems dear that we may swallow our oysters with impurity, and that no disease has been actually traced to the Bucculeut bivalve which cheers and not inebriates, If oyster eaters are not content with the assurance of safety elicited by the Board of Health inquiry, they may themselves achieve what the public body has deemed it inadvisable to do, and secure the ronioval of the buds to any spot j regarded as a more suitable locality, j Ihe oyster vendor is hardly likely to run an oyster bed for his own delectation aud amusement, and if he cannot find a a»le "for his wares because they happen to be kept, in a place objectionable to tho consumer, bis only coidbo will bo to remove them to u one less objectionable. Now that the sanitary question has been raised, public seutiment — perhaps public prejudice— will do the rest, and it maj be taken for granted that the oyster vondor is more likely to stuay his customer than for tho customer to btudy ' the oyster vendor,