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Show It remains to bo seen whether Nicholas II. will retain much moro prestlgb and nuthorlty than aro exercised exer-cised by King Edward VII. It may bo that for Russia a constitution ot tho German pattern would bo a convenient con-venient halfway houso between absolutism abso-lutism on tho ono hand and, on tho other, parliamentary government In tho strict senso of tho latter term, for which, perhaps, the czar's subjects are as yet scarcely fitted, in vlow of tho fact that moro than four-fifths of them aro uneducated peasants. That Russian Rus-sian revolutionists, who, ovldently, are guided by men of remarkable Intollect, will gladly accept at this time so largo an installment of constitutional liberty lib-erty as Is conferred by tho czar's ukase wo can hardly doubt. Tho sincerity sin-cerity of tho sovereign's manifesto Is attested by tho fact that the concession conces-sion of n national assembly, to be held presently and electod by a suffrage which Is to bo very wldo and oventu-ally oventu-ally universal, Is coupled with the abolition of all existing restrictions on freedom of oral or printed speech and of public meeting, lest tho wishes of tho people as to tho choice of their spokesmen should not bo freely expressed. ex-pressed. Such having been tho auspicious au-spicious outcome) of tho present upheaval up-heaval in European Russia, wo may with reason expect to witness tho entrance en-trance of tho Russian people on a majestic career of material and Intellectual Intel-lectual development; while for Count Wlttc, as tho leader therein, is likely to bo reserved nn Illustrious place In hlstoryl Russia is confronted by urgent economical as well as political problems, prob-lems, and Count Wltto Is at least as well qualified to solve tho former as the latter. Until recently he was supposed sup-posed to bo tho Turgot rather than the Necker of contemporary Russia. For, like Turgot, ho seemed disposed to ovorcomo fiscal and Industrial exigencies exigen-cies with tho aid of political economy alono and without disturbing the existing ex-isting political system. Experience must havo taught him, however, as It taught Turgot, that there Is nothing stablo in tho volition of an autocrat, and that tho assurance of permanence in ofllco is indispensable) to tho thorough thor-ough and fruitful execution of oven an economical programme. Count Wltto seems now convinced and possibly his visit to tho United States helped to convlnco him that under a constitution consti-tution like that of the German empire or ot tho United States tho ministers of tho chief oxecutlvo havo better guarantees of permanence than they could possibly possess under a reglmo nominally absolutist and Immutablo, but really oscillating with overy Impulse Im-pulse of palace Intrlguo or personal caprice. Thero Is reason, Indeed, to surmise that, from tho observations made by him at Portsmouth and elsewhere else-where In this country, Count Wltte may havo learned a good deal besides tho right method of extorting from tho Japanese a peace on terms unexpectedly unex-pectedly favorable. Harper's. |