THE TSAR'S ABDICATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16497, 24 March 1917, Page 7

THE TSAR'S ABDICATION.

DECISION ON A TRAIN. > - ' ■ '_ ■ ; i RUSSKY THE DIRECT AGENT, f " , £ A TRAITOR'S SUGGESTION. * -•."• '"-'■-" ■■• >.- t TEE REVOLT AT MOSCOW. J Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. ''■ "'• ;.:> • ■ • .-• : ■ i (Received 7 p.m.) PETROGRAD. March 22. When the Russian revolution broke out ( the Tsar was on his way by train to ; Petrograd. Three generals, who accom- ] pained him informed him of the actual * position. The Tsar wept and said he '' would submit to the will of the people if ! such submission did not jeopardise his ' wife and son. He would be glad to * live on his estate at Livadia, on the south ' coast of the Crimea, with his loved trees and flowers. His deepest wish was to end his days there. General Voietukoff urged that the battle front should be opened at Pinsk, and the Germans allowed to invade Russia, because tho ' Kaiser was fighting against Democrats, not against Tsardom. The Emperor indignantly declared that ho would never • betray Russia. LONDON. March 22. I > General Russky, commander of the Russian northern armies, is believed to have been the direct agent in persuading the Tsar to abdicate, instead of sending troops to attempt, to suppress the revolution. The Tsar met General Russky at Pskoff, 171 miles south-west of Petrograd, saying ' that ho had decided to grant a responsible -Ministry. General Russky saw the Tsar's manifesto, ] which he had already signed. General Russky had- a conversation with M. Rodzianko, President of the Duma, by telephone for two hours, and convinced : the Tsar that he must abdicate. He communicated the conversation to General Alexieff, the Grand Duke Nicholas, and General Brussilofl, all of whom considered abdication necessary. < General Russky informed the Tsar, who accepted their advice. In an interview at Tifiis, tho Grand Duke Nicholas said the new Government was an accomplished fact, and' a return to the old regime was impossible. The Grand Duke said: "I would never countenance such a retrograde step. I look forward to ultimate victory, but a necessary condition meanwhilo;; is internal peace. I am sure the Government will be able to prevent anarchy, but only with the support of the people." Generals Russky, Dirnitrieff, and Brussiloff have issued a proclamation to their soldiers appealing for discipline, in order that the utmost efforts may be made to secure victory. Tho Provisional Government has issued a similar proclamation. The Bourse Gazette states that correspondence between the Tsarina and M. Protopopoff, Minister for the Interior in the late Government, proves the Germanophile tendencies of the Government, and confirms the evidence as to the efforts of the adherents of the old regime to conclude a separate peace with Germany. All members of the dynasty have placed themselves at the disposal of the Government. The ex-Ministers will be tried by jury. The death penalty will bo abolished. The Russian Government has told refugees at Stockholm to return. Hundreds have arranged to leave on Saturday. The first details of.the revolution at Moscow show that it began with a general strike on March 13, when a temporary committee, representing equally workmen, co-operative societies, and public bodies, was elected. The police disappeared and the troops joined in, slowly at first, but Colonel GruzinoS, President of the Provincial Zemstvo, assumed the leader, ship of the revolutionary troops, and later toured the garrisons. All had adhered to the now regime by March 14. They seized the Kremlin and the arsenal, freed political prisoners, and burned secret police archives. Colonel Gruzinoff reviewed 30,000 troops on March 17, when the clergy invoked a blessing on the new Government. Normal life was resumed by March 19. The Government has ordered tho immediate prosecution of M. Sukhomlinoff, a former Minister for War, on tho ground of high treason. General Sukhomlinoff, ex-Minister for War, was arrested in May last on charges of abuse of power, criminal negligence, concealment of truth in his reports, and high treason. It is alleged that his faulty administration was partly responsible for the lack of munitions for tho Russian army. POSITION OF FINLAND. CONSTITUTION RATIFIED. LONDON, March 22. M. Vinhufvnd. former President of the Finnish Diet, who has for several years i been an exile in Siberia, lias returned. He has been appointed Procurator of Finland. A Government manifesto ratifies the Constitution of the Grand Duchy of Finland, and promises a general amnesty and the ■ immediate convocation of tho Diet, with enlarged powers. Reports from Berlin state that the Finnish Independence Committee has proclaimed the independence of Finland. A FAVOURABLE TURN. FOLLIES OF EXTREMISTS. FORGETTING THE WAR. The Petrograd correspondent of the Central News states that on Tuesday evening the munition • workers caused matters to take a favourable turn. A demonstration yesterday demanded the execution of obnoxious partisans of the old regime, but a Minister made a speech and succeeded in calming the excitement. Mischievous rumours to-day stated that tho Germans had broken the Russian line on the Riga-Dvinsk front. General Dirnitrieff, in a reassuring letter to members of the Duma, states that the army is firmly holding all positions, oven holding them firmer than before, and has faith in final triumph. Tho Workmen's and Soldiers' Council has appointed Friday for the burial of comrades who were killed in the revolution. A general holiday will be observed in Petrograd, and tho fortress will fire a salute. All the bodies will be buried in or.a grave. . The. Petrograd correspondent of the Morning Post, in a telegram dated Monday, states that there is little positive news beyond, tho satisfactory fact that one regiment has returned. to its barracks' and is again under proper command. The food supply problem has not improved, despite the attention devoted - to ; it. Several! necessaries .'are•'not. procurable, while J the difficulty: is aggravated , by a I continued 'blizzard: Tho Duma was; then scene": of a meeting of.-..1000, soldiers to j choose representatives ' for the ; Workmen's and r. : Soldiers' ■ Council, i which'-, seems : to -• command tho general situation. A mass meeting was held in the precincts ° of .'the Duma, at which many soldiers and French, uidj' Belgian workmen .'appealed to? their J; Russian ■.comrades pot to, forget the WW, J

reminding «them that the Germans near \ Riga : were within 360 1 miles ; , of Petrograd. v Whilo : many soldiers are beginning to realise what; this 'means, 1 ' the more violent elements seem to believe that internal politics ; are ' of • primary importance. :' .*'• The extreme "Internationals" have gained a. footing. .Their, aim is to stop the war. Their newspaper hails a - Republican Russia, which any competent'observer regards as; at > present inconceivable. Tho Socalist and Republican agitation momentarily eclipses the war. Preparations for the election of the Constituent Assembly are being hastened, ignoring the exclusion of 25,000,000 electors in the country in German occupation, a million prisoners of war, and millions in the firing front. General Korniloff, a popular hero of the war, and the new commander at Petrograd, has arrived at tho capital. It is hoped that the soldiers will now realise the supreme importance of the war. Some apprehension is felt at the continued loss of timo in making munitions, and tho loss of discipline in many reservist bat- j talions, which should bo preparing to proceed to tho front.