South Canterbury Times, SATURDAY, MARCH, 19, 1881.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2495, 19 March 1881, Page 2

South Canterbury Times, SATURDAY, MARCH, 19, 1881.

A. cablegram from St. Petersburg!! says that “ it is generally understood 11 in Russian Court circles that the “ Czar Alexander 111. will follow the “ late Emperor’s policy of reform, and “ his efforts in the direction of raain- “ taming the peace of Russia.” To any one acquainted with the history of Russia such assertions cannot fail to be highly amusing. The people of Russia, judging from their recent deeds, have had enough of the late Emperor’s policy of reform, and they are inclined to undo the work of Penelope. We have no desire to pass any harsh reflection on the memory of the departed, but we should like to know something about “ his efforts in the direction of maintaining the peace of Russia.” What sort of peace has Russia enjoyed ? Has not the policy of successive dynasties been one of aggrandisement and rapacity ? What is the great sin of her Emperors ? Is it not the love of conquest, the desire for extended power, and a total disregard of the sacredness of human life ? If the new Emperor is capable of being warned then the fate of his predecessor should be a lesson. The late Czar lived by violence, and by violence he died. The crime of the assassin may seem heinous, but that of the wholesale murderer is no less revolting. Alexander 11. enlarged his possessions at the cost of thousands of lives. Husbands, fathers, brothers were taken from their hemes to be sacrificed. For what ? That the prestige of a tyrant might be upheld, and the dominions of a despot enlarged. How has the peace of Russia been maintained ? What has been the policy pursued ? Has it been peace or war ? Is there a small kingdom or principality outlie confines of Russia,that has not suffered from Russian aggression ? Maintaining the peace of Russia ! Is there a white page in the history of the late dynasty ? To what was the Afghan war due but to British jealousy of Russian influence ! Has not Russian intrigue cost Great Britain millions of money, thousands of lives, and a terrible loss of prestige? If the late Czar maintained the peace of Russia lie took a strange way of accomplishing his purpose. Under his rule Russia has been a constant menace to Europe. His reign has been marked by duplicity and treachery. It is true he emancipated millions of serfs, but lie sent the manhood of his country to perish on the field of battle or die a lingering death in the mines of Siberia. That deadly hatred should have dogged his footsteps cannot excite astonishment. His death by violent means is widely deplored and more widely deprecated, We are told that those who sympathise with the assassin have done a terrible wrong, and that they have injured their cause. But is not selfdefence a law of nature ! If a man kills and plunders, is he not condemned to be hanged ? A despot may be a law unto himself but in the estimation of mankind he is responsible for his deeds. If he commits enormities, that instinctive sense of justice that lives in the breast of the meanest slave will demand retribution. Thanks to the spread of education and enlightenment the people of Russia, in common with the people of other civilised nations, are beginning to plant their heel on the' armed monster. The revolution is • slowly but surely progressing. In a few years the art of peace will be found superseding the art of war. Great Britain has just had a severe lesson at the hands of a small body of Hutch colonists. After losing some of her best soldiers, after valiantly declaring that reform and concession should only follow punishment, she has had to sue for peace. Why ? Not because she is afraid of a mere handful of bravo Boers. In a few weeks she could .probably, pour into Africa a sufficient army to annihilate every man, woman, and child in the Transvaal. But a foe far more formidable than the Boers had to be met. ■ Europe, America, all civilisation, raised up a bulwark of sympathy with the oppressed. The Boers had right on their side, the British had wrong, and had conflict of might against right been continued it is doubtful to say where it would have ended. Should this unrighteous and unjustifiable war collapse, as it seems likely to do, the triumph will be’one of moral over military force. If the new Czar of Russia is wise, he will leave the policy of his fore-runners alone, and maintain peace, not by the constant sacrifice of his subjects as the late Czar maintained it, but by placing the reins of government in the hands of the people, and turning the huge military expenditure that has been going on so long, into peaceful, useful and reproductive channels.