AFFAIRS IN RUSSIA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 159, 6 July 1881, Page 4

AFFAIRS IN RUSSIA.

The Pirrre corr#»9poncJent of the Times wriiing en May 10, h, eayg; L'tt-rs w! i b have lately been reediing mo frc in Rug ia tre the most i, te-ee iV inasmuch ss that ccantry seetrs long likfciy to be en*hrou<ied ia mypfery. So iovfterate is the feeling of distrust there that it is rere to find a man &h| e fo s§y what is hapneniaß who is willing todofo. Hence outsiders are always apt to i?en to one ex'reoie or the other in their judgment of Russian events. I have conspq'ieit'y releoted from th'pse letters one emanating 1 from a man both weH-in/oraied and eaJiohleceJ, whesremarks will be read with interest: " II is a great miaiske to suppose that the ftara for the cew Fmperor'd safety are exaggerated. It would be more coreect to s»y they were inexplicable, if account were not taken of the influence \ & oniergoep. It is, indeed, strange to see a arm of tbir'.ysevtD, of robusJ frame an! Herculean strength, a prey to terror, (or the Emprrsr has tx Twordiuary physical Elr.mtb, end I remember seeing him bend a horseshce with his finger; ye' such is tbe cas* 1 , owini to the icfloeoce upon hid — -he is an excellent husbaDd —of the Empress's neaoassess. Hie ! departcre for G^tcbina was a veiitable flight. Tlib day when he was to start four Imperial trnins were osteniatioualy resdy t.t four diff-rent 6tauona in St. Petersburg, with ail the official and military attendant?, oiid while the four j trains w* ra wa'ticg, the Emperor fled in a train, without aiteidince, which tal been wailing at a tiding. Wilh- ! oat believing all 1113 esagotrated accounts given, it is certain that the Emperor is almost invisible at Gatchir.a; that he seldom sacs hits Ministers, acd the aides-de-camp, wt 0 formerly ha j free access to ths Czsr'a person, have received a circular intimating to them that they are only to eppear twice c week and on special orders. The population of St Petersburg were greatly impteseed at the Emptrcr's sb aenoe from th* 40 h dny's Mass for his father, the preejee cf a s^n on that occasion btiog more obligatory in Russia than attendance even ht the fanera l . The Empress was likewise ab3ent. On Easter Sunday, when from tini9 immemiri.l every Russian could see and even kiss tbe Emperor, nobody could catch tight of him, wbich stup.flsd all Rußeie. Do cot believe the stories of tbe late Emperor bavins signed a Constitution tbe very day of hia death. Wnat he had signed was tha appointment of a Commission to consider whether provincial institutions might sot be widened &ni when you hsar of a Constitution pay no heed to It. It will not and cennct be gives. There is in Rueeift eucb a variety of races, from the German Poles and Oid Bnesianß to savages, that it would be impossible, cay, insensate, lo give them what is called elsewhere a Constitution. How con yon give a Constitution to & country where there are still whole provinces which have not a Zamatvo ? An endeavcr will be made to create in every province a sort of loaal council to communicate its wishes to the Central Government at St. Petersburg, and exert a kind of lecal control over (be resources of tbe province and their employment. Moreover, this will only be done if the liberal itfluence prevails, for there are two active and ardent influences which by forte get poeseeeion of the Czar's mind, and wbicb Bre represented by Loris Melikoff on tie one band and by Pobedinestchef on the other. At present Melikoff is in (be ascendant, but perhaps by the time these Sines reach you this will have cfcaoged, for Ger many is striving with all her mipht to produce a reaction which would prostrate this country for a long time. No faith can be placed in tie story of the present Czui'a antipathy towards the Germane. He i.*, on the contrary, more devoted to tie Emperor Wil.iam end more under the influence of Pricce Biem&rck thaa bis fa, her ever was Thap, in hiß first letter to tbe German Emperor, isßtt&i of writing, as his father would have done — ' D.ar Brother and dear Great Uncle,' he wiote, ' Veiy dear Grebt Uocle nnd dear Brother,' theieby ccarking that he racked his blood relationship before tbe official relation. Moreover, before 8 libertl course could be entered upon, it would be nectasaty to htve a homcgeneoas MiDietry , for at present the orders cf the E>rpeior pass over tb«beads of the Minutere, and it conatently happens that one of the Mioiaters, cottrary to the collective reeolutioea of the Cabinet, will t&ke out of bis pocket direct orders from the Emperor, end there is an end of the matter. To have a homogeneous Ministry, elements would have to be eliminated, which are mostly dne to the Emperor's pereoDel choice— lgnatieff, for instance ; aDd this is why, as Boon as such a Ministry, really the meat essential thing, is talked of, personal stumbling blocks arise on which the Emperor is unyielding, so that tbe negotiations bteak cfi. On tbis peisona! question, moreover, ea on all political science, the Emperor betrays utter iocccopetency, being now too imperious and now too pliable. Prince Gorteehakoff, for example, has always auEOucccd that he should retire after twenty-five years' service. The Empercr accordingly een* htm a flattering letter, with a toachiog keepsake, expecting to receive big re&ignt* tion in return. Instead of tbip, the old Chancellor eeDt a sentimental reply, expressing a heps that be would soon be well enough to resume active service. The Emperor was angry, bat Tentured to say nothing, and since then seems to be in search ci a pretext, which the wily old diplomatist will beware of furnishing. As for the Nihilists, despite investigation, all that is known — and this is the only re-assur-ing thing I—is1 — is that they have no accomplices in the army or the real nobility ncr ao ong tbe peasantry. They are almost exclusively recruited among the declasses, especially the yoang men, whose unsatisfied ambition stimulates a fanaticism carried to an incredible pitch. Thus at some previous execu« tions tbe culprits scandalised the peasants by their irreligion, Tbe watch-word was given, and at the last executions tbe culprits showed respect for the Cross in their lest movement*

This was obedience in (he highest riegrep. It will be difficult to overcome Niirli ; o', bFCßuse it in or»sr;iged in s rr- « 1 1 proopa eocDPctet? ocly hy ou. j member with etc\ o>h°r, to that even U»-« c eorr'ert do not krow mflcji-r-rs •:■? o her hram hfs Thus od the day of the asßßpginfttion there con be no doubt thnt thfi ffimoDß mine which was discovered whs unconnected with the L-ronp fhet perfornrei the assassination, and that its purpose was not to blow up the Emppror, hat to stop bis carriage and & fib pi others time to aesas»imfe him, after (he fasbioo of the bay-cart which stopped General Prim's curHaea at Madrid. For ioetance, it is known that every Nihilist is now nbliorpd not to abspnfc himself from bis dwelling moro than twelve hours st a time. When that interval is exceeded hia accomplices co up to his lodgiogs and burn pvprytbin^ that might cocrpromisp him. Thus a recently captured Nihi iflt refused to give his name find address. Then, dter a certain tim», he coDeulte^ his watch in! gave his n«me and address. The police hurried to hia loJgings and found that two hours before persons had been, there and burnt all his papers. Nor must people beiieve everything our Government has reported on the subject. Thus to-day people are r.?ked to believe that it was •he Nihih's'B who stirred up the peas in tb« district of Eiizsbethgrad to commit horrors againet hi Jews which rnuaf ajska every Russian blush. It was simply the fault of the Government which will neither emancipate ! those wretched people nor protect them. The Jaws cf that district long a^o warned the authorities that Easter Sunday, which ia always a bad day for them in Christian towns, would this year be fatal for them. Nothing was done, and all that is cow done to repair these humiliating scenes ia to hush (hem up. I have this dsy received tbe subjoined oote from one of the most respectable men I know, and it deserves to be published in proof of the scores which illlict ray unhappy country : The newspapers isy little of Elizabeth^ a*), Bod tbe pen vainly ao» deavora to depict the aituaiion. A cry of rage and grief is raised from the unhappy district. The town looks as if it had been devastated by the elements. Whole streets have been literally rez^d, Almost all the Jews' houses are sacked, aud ail shops plundered. Bonds have been stolec and even destroyed. People but yesterday rioh, or at least comfortably off, are now leggsrg. Thousands of Jews are homeless and living on public charity. Many arc seriously and otherb slightly wounded, several were killed. Do not imagine that lam exaggerating ; the picture is alts ! far below the reality.' We wished to express our horror by opening a subscription for the victims, but h was forbidder, and a Berlin telegram informs me thwfc the Banker. Bieichroder, thongh Prince Bismarck's friend, decbrea he cannot move in the matter. Such is our position, yet Bussia only requires a sagacious, firm, and honest mau in order to flourish ; for ehe baa resources of which no idea can be formed. We spent s cilliard and s-haii of roubles in Iha late monstrous war. We lost 40.0C0 mcD ', we have had famine, tbe assassination of the Emperor, the NiLiiiat terror, all that can crush a people, and yet ifce revenue comes in, and the Treasury lives and prospers. With a single lof<y and clear-sighted will, we should soon be at the gammU of our greatest ambition, but this it just whet our neighbors and rivals do not want, and tbe Nihilists, as well bs those wto govern us, are working againat us and for the benefit of oar enemies "

The "Foxton Herald" publishes full particulars of the destruction wrought in the Manawatu district by the earthquake. Information from the country districts shows that many large fissures have been made by the earthquake. Between Motuiti and Opiki there is one several inches wide, extending for two or three miles. About the centre of this there are evidences of a quantity of sand having been thrown up, and forming an oval mass about twenty feet in diameter and 12 inches thick. At this point, he fissure has closed up, and it iß'impossible therefore to ascertain the appearance of the spot whence the sand was thrown. At Waiafapia a large crack, between two and three feet wide, was formed. In the Carnarvon district the earthquake was felt with great violence. Several large fissures have occured between Bainesse and

I Carnarvon. On Sunday morning a ; German, living near Bainesse, found j that during the night bis well, which was cix feet deep before, had become so j deep that the bottom could not be reaehj ed with a 40 feet line, and he also asj serts that when he first went to the well the water was bubbling up. Informa- ! fion has been received that the upper Oroua railway bridge, between Fielding and Palmerston, has been twisted, and care is necessary in crossing it; also. that two of the understrutted bridges between Palmerston and Fielding have been damaged. The railway line along the sandy country between Foxton and the Oroua Bridge was also twisted about in a singular manner, especially about if miles from Foxton, being turned about in a suakelike fashion at that point.