The Daily News THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14. THE RUSSIAN INFERNO.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8003, 14 December 1905, Page 2

The Daily News THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14. THE RUSSIAN INFERNO.

Whatever may be the ultimate result of die revolution.;/ iuowm nfc in Russia—whether it be tbe t' ; um 311 of autocracy, or I hat of the proletariat -it will be many years I fore the 1 ;r. lible succe.sun of ho.rors can be effaced from the memory of the civilis 1 world. It seems to he essential to all such movements that there should be more or less blue Jsh 1 and cruelty, but if we search the records of the past it wi" b; impossible to find a parallel to tho fiendish cruelties that have characterise! the upheaval which has taken place in .0called Christian Russia. The-c infamies in their woi-st and darkest fonns have been sp dally manifest 1 in the atrocities committed on the Jews. Mothers forced to stand by and see their dear ones slowly hack .1 and toi.i to dr .th ; fathers made to witness their daughters' shame , husbands !o walcli their wives made the victims 0" a biutilised soldiery- all to lie swept, into one huge sh:.mble of crushed limbs and ruined h >mes, crdiopp ', iike rats in a cage into the flowing waters. Little wonder that the hearts of Christian people have cried out with righteous indignation and pitiful appeds for the protection of the oppressed. But the hour of trial has not yet passed. Like long-caged animals of tho forest when >n :e iiieir free !:m; w .s obtained, tho ptnlup inj gies and savage instincjo? tha masses will not be appeas '. easily. Can they be justly blamed for their bio xl-curdling ferocity when they are only following in the footsteps of their masters, and putting into practice the direct and indirect results of the object lc-wons constantly placed before them by the 'authorities? Theoretically they ■ shoiM be, but practically they can hardly be held responsible for the excesses committed at the instigation | or connivance of the police. Tt must ' not be forgotten, moreover, that as ' far as possible the lower orders have been brought up in ignorance, and: hit all m.nhl culture has l-sen peristently phc '. beyond the' • reach. # * * *

AsoTiim factor in tlie movement lias been, and is, the labour strikes. Here we have a vastly different lever set in motion, evidencing op'y too clearly the efforts of a propaganda that has silently been forcing its way into the minds of the workers, in spite of all the effoits of spies and secret police. This, indeed, is one of the chief signs that the people are in earnest, for it demor strata that they are feeling their power. The slim thread that has fetter I the people of Russia for centuries lids been ignounce of the : • power. Generations of serfdom made the people depend-

int on the aristocracy in times of ilenty and in periods of dearth. a Emancipation, while giving them the d semblance of freedom, actually inten- j iified the misery of their lot, and act- c 3d as an incentive to pillage when c aard times occurred. The growth of industrial progress has done much to 11 spen the way for the enforcement of ' the rights of the masses, though the severe repressive measures, backed by j the army and police, have until re- 6 ceiitly cowed the people into submis- < sion to the autocratic will of the authorities. That day is over, never j to return. ' ' ' ] * ♦ # * i Considering the intense care that has ' been taken in the elaboration of a drastic system of censorship, it seems ' marvellous that the people should < have been in any measure acquainted : with aught else beyond the affaiis that actually came within their limited field of personal observation. But apparently the same kind of cunning which was brought into play by the authorities to keep unpleasant truths from being known, has been ( jually used by the leaders of the reform movement to outwit the Government and place in the hands of the people that knowledge which has snapped the thread of ignorance and undermined the bulwarks of autocracy. The Government's pre-occu-pation with Japan was the people's opportunity. From the outset of the struggle between the two Powers it was evident that Russian internal affaiis had entered upon a now and dangerous stage of existence, the outccuie of which would be a revolution of more than ordinary ferocity. Step by step the movement has spread until it has embraced every part of the Czar's dominions, extendiog even to the sailors 011 the warships, and caus • ing the world to stand aghast at the bloodshed and outrages that have followed in its train. Orly on > phase of the worst foi m of revolution was missing, and Tuesday's cables conveyed the intelligence that this loiigexpocted net had cominenci 1 —the murder of rhe landlords. Greatly as everyone must abhor this crime, there is a hope that it is one of the hist acts in the appalling drama which has amazed the world. # » *' * We, who have never k lown aught else but the blessings of freedom, can hardly realise t*iat the masses in Russia are freely shedding their blood, paralysing the trade of the country, and committing unheard of excesses —for what? Just that same freedom which, in a greater degree than can possibly be obtained for many a lorg year in Russia, we have receivod as our birthright, and enjoyed without thought of whence it came. We cannot wonder that the Cznr's people desire to live better than they have done hitherto. To have liberty of thought, speech and action in civil and religions matters—the right" to

follow their personal and social wishes and c!io>se their own w.iy of life. These privileges being onselol, a new era will dawn for Rivssii, but ere they are secured there must inevitably bo further, trouble and conflict. Autocracy dies hard, but the people suffer most in the struggle. It is always the masses who suffisi' much to gain little. Apparently there is a disposition to tide ov - ;r the Christmas festival before commeuc : ing the final struggle for supremacy by means of an organised armed rising. The chapter of accidents may alter tliis programme. One thing is certain—the social and political atmosphere is densely charged with electricity, and the bursting of a mighty storm is not far off. Even the last hope of the Czar—the Costacks—have become disaffected, and it may bo that the last battle will not be so sanguinary as was anticipated. We fervently trust this may be so, though the outlook is not promising. At all events there can be no doubt that the people have lost all confidence in the gool faith of the Government, and having put their hands to tho plough they are hardly likely to look back until thoy have uccom •:'ished tho work on which they are bent. At any moment the crisis may arrive, and it is fervently to hj hoped that it will be short and <U-isivo. The dawn of a free Russia wi" be the firststop towards regaining tine high place in the eyes of the world which that country, under proper Government, should ociupy.