Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Third of a Century.] MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1906. AFFAIRS IN RUSSIA.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LV, Issue 8581, 15 October 1906, Page 4

Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Third of a Century.] MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1906. AFFAIRS IN RUSSIA.

The Russian Duma of 1906 will not exactly live in history like the gathering at Runnymede, for, unhappily, it did not bear direct fruit. Russia has yet to obtain her Magna Carta, not from the hands of a tyrannical monarch, but from those of a still more formidable oligarchy, and from present appearances it would seem that this is not to be accomplished without much further bloodshed. About the ultimate issue there can be no doubt. The people must win, and if, in pursuit of victory, they go to still wilder and more awful excesses, the responsibility will be with the Czar and his Council. So long as they maintain their resistance to the will of the people, the people will become more and more infuriated. The autocracy loses ground every day. The ruling power was, till lately, looked upon with awe; but in these conflicts the veil has been rent, and the divinity that once hedged the ruler has been trampled upon. It is a plain issue now, between two parties—one of whom, beginning with tremendous advantages, is losing them daily, while the othor gains strength still more rapidly. The pitiful part of it is the absence of leading and controlling spirits. The autocracy follows its traditions. The people have no traditions, and therefore the greater is their need of leaders. Probably the new conditions will produce them, but in the meantime there is very little hope of improvement. The dreary tale of horror goes on without any climax being reached. It is impossible to avoid regretting the partial failure of the Duma, but it is equally impossible to refuse our tribute of admiration to tho men who did endeavour to evolve order out of chaos. Their endeavour was excellent, but they lacked power to back it up by

action. Ultimately, no doubt, another Duma will find itself able to act when the armed forces of the Empire have become still more imbued with the spirit of patriotism and fraternity. But even then, there is a deplorable absence of passionate spirits to lead the mob. We listen' in vain for a new " Marseillaise." The most significant circumstance, the ono most suggestive of the speedy triumph of the popular cause, is the rapidity with which the Army is melting away from the grasp of the autocracy. The Government, without the Army to execute its will, would speedily collapse. And then perhaps Russia may have to endure a military dictatorship if her citizens cannot produce statesmen. Tho prospect is perplexing.

Is the census going to be taken over again ? In reply to criticism in the House on the Estimates, the Premier, on Saturday last, promised that next session the names of every employe of the State and the salary each received would be furnished to Parliament. This would, he thought, remove a good deal of misconception, and, he hoped, assist work to a great extent when the Estimates were under consideration. This return promises to make the most voluminous blue book on record. Perhaps it will be published, like the cyclopedias, in ten volumes, and will, during the slack season, keep busy all the out of-work compositors in the colony. If returns of this kind are prepared, we shall be able to make in New Zealand our own earthquakes.