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Show THE RUSSIAN -'CONSTITUTION." It Is announced from St. Petersburg that the Council of State Is at work on a constitution for the Russian people, and that It Is said to be making good progress. , It seems to be a curious sort of a document. If one may Judge of It from the -detail cabled as to the treatment of bills In the legislative assembly or parliament, viz., that the discussion In tho Council as to these was "as to whether bills rejected by the assembly would be referred to the Emperor or merely to tho Minister concerned; tho Council adopted Count Boblnsky's compromise com-promise resolution, which In effect was that bills rejected by a two-thirds majority ma-jority should not be submitted to the Emperor, but If rejected by less than two-thirds, both majority and minority reports should be submitted to his Majesty for arbitration." That means apparently that bills arc lo bo submitted only by the Government, Govern-ment, and If the Assembly rejects these by two-thirds vote, they aro dead, but If only by majority the question will then be one of pressure; on the part of tho Ministry to compel their passage. It Is an anachronistic way to prepare a constitution, this granting it from tho throne. A constitution should at least have the concurrence of the people, peo-ple, and be Irrevocable and unchangeable unchange-able without their consent. But a constitution con-stitution thay is merely handed down can be taken back. Indeed, that is what is generally done sooner or later, with such Instruments. For It Is a recognized principle that the power which establishes a constitution, be It the people or bo It the monarch, can change, modify, or set aside that constitution. con-stitution. The fact that the people In setting aside a constitution of their making, substitute another, and that usually a monarch does not, makes no difference In the prlnclplo Involved. Wo Judge that this so-called constitution consti-tution which the Russian Council of State Is getting up for the Czar to promulgate, pro-mulgate, will seem to Americans to be a queer affair. And no doubt It will have far more of the shadow of the popular voice In Its makeup, than of tho substance. , |