and if a railway line may be policed why not a party of railway surveyors in a prospective railway zone?

The quarrel which very easily occurred under these circumstances in Chengchia Tun led to certain demands by the Japanese Government. Following the precedent set in the case of the twenty-one demands presented to China in 1915, a portion of the demands made in relation to Chengchia Tun were put down as desiderata.

There were four demands as follows:

1. Punishment of the general commanding the 28th Division.

2. The dismissal of the officers at Chenchiatun responsible for the occurrence, as well as the severe punishment of those who took direct part in the fracas.

3. Proclamation to be posted ordering all Chinese soldiers and civilians in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia to refrain from any act calculated to provoke a breach of the peace with Japanese soldiers or civilians.

4. China to agree to the stationing of Japanese police officers in places in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia where their presence was considered necessary for the protection of Japanese subjects. China also to agree to the engagement by the officials of South Manchuria of Japanese police advisers.

The desiderata were also four:

1. Chinese troops stationed in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia to employ a certain number of Japanese military officers as advisers.

2. Chinese military cadet schools to employ a certain number of Japanese military officers as instructors.

3. The Military Government of Mukden to proceed personally to Port Arthur to the Japanese Military Government of Kwantung to apologize for the occurrence and to tender similar personal apologies to the Japanese Consul General in Mukden. 4. Adequate compensation to be paid by China to the Japanese sufferers and to the families of those killed.

In the final settlement, as will be seen, the first three demands were granted in substance; reproval was substituted for punishment in the case of the general commanding the 28th Division, and the officers instead of being dismissed and severely punished, were to be punished according to law, and only severely punished if the law so provided.

The fourth demand was rejected by China and withdrawn by Japan. The first two of the desiderata were refused by China and withdrawn by Japan. Instead of requiring the Military Governor of Mukden to proceed to Port Arthur in person and apologize for the occurrence, as expressed in the third of the desiderata, it was agreed that he might send a representative to express his regret.

As for the fourth of the desiderata, a solatium was allowed to one Japanese only. An important item of the agreement is that stipulating that the Japanese soldiers in the district should be withdrawn.

The withdrawal of the obnoxious demands reflects credit upon the Japanese Government as evidencing an unwillingness to enforce exorbitant demands of an unjust character, and the agreement to withdraw the troops shows a desire to remove the root of the difficulty and to respect the sovereignty of China.

JAMES BROWN SCOTT.

THE ROLE PLAYED BY THE STATE DUMA IN THE FORMATION OF

THE NEW RUSSIA 1

The first State Duma was called on April 27, 1906. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the streets of the capital to greet the representatives of the people. At this solemn moment in Russia's history, the representatives of the country gathered for the first time in the Winter Palace to meet the Czar. In the foreground vivid court uniforms, and in the background modest black coats, stood out strikingly. The deputies awaited the speech of the Czar, standing ready to meet him. The Czar spoke. It was a speech replete with reticence and noteworthy for its omissions, and the answer of these modestly-dressed people was their silence. "The silence of people is a lesson for kings," said Mirabeau at the end of the eighteenth century. But the lesson availed not this time.

Despite the fact that sentiment throughout the country was in favor of the first State Duma, the Duma was dismissed seventy-two days after its calling, by order of the monarch. A reëlection was ordered by the Czar's decree in the hope of securing more conservative deputies. But the results of the election did not justify the expectations of the conservative element in Russia, for the second Duma was even more radical than the first. Then, on the initiative of the Prime Minister, P. A. Stolypin, the government availed itself of a privilege to which it no longer had any right, in accordance with the laws it had itself enacted. On June 3, 1907, the Czar issued a new decree, by which the franchise was granted almost exclusively to the most conservative classes the nobility and clergy. And although public opinion was

This note kindly contributed by Dr. B. E. Shatsky, of the University of Petrograd.

deeply incensed at this change, the physical power of the government insured order, and the new elections to the Duma were made in accordance with the newly issued decree.

As a result, the majority of the third State Duma proved to be of the extremely moderate Octobrists, led by the recently-resigned Secretary of War, A. I. Gouchkoff. They stood ready to lend all help to the government, fully believing in the government's readiness to live up to the reforms promised in the Manifesto of October 17, 1905. This alliance between A. I. Gouchkoff and P. A. Stolypin lasted for quite a time, until the Octobrists were finally convinced that the government intended least of all to carry into effect those reforms promised in the Manifesto of October. From that hour, the Octobrists (who also constituted the majority in the fourth Duma) began their gradual though slow transition from the support of the government to its open

censure.

The war came. Not only the Octobrists, but all other parties as well, in vigorous patriotic impulse, forgot all their dissatisfaction and were ready to stand behind the Czar in the strife with the alien enemy. This impulse was neither understood nor appreciated. The same inefficient and partly criminal element was left at the head of the government. When the Russian army for lack of ammunition began its retreat under the destructive fire of the enemy, a group of social leaders visited that "good-hearted old man," the Prime Minister, J. L. Goremykin. The latter thus began the conversation: "I don't understand it; why are you so excited?" And this, at the time when England and France had already organized Coalition Cabinets where the brain and the strength of the people were represented!

During this period the State Duma was either not called at all, or called for but very short sessions. In the meantime, the fall of the governmental organization was daily becoming more imminent. Under these circumstances, even the most moderate Octobrists in the Lower Chamber of the State Duma, and even the conservative elements in the Imperial Council (more than half were members appointed by the Czar himself), realized the necessity of abolishing the abominable system which made it possible for a corrupt individual like Suchomlinoff to occupy the post of Minister.

It was under such circumstances, in 1915, that the idea was formulated of creating a progressive faction of members of both legislative chambers. Those approving of this idea held their first session at the

house of the late Maxim Kovalevsky, one of Russia's most prominent historians. At this session, P. Miliukoff outlined for the Assembly a long list of liberal reforms. The conservative element, however, was so strong in this Assembly that even a favorable solution of the Jewish question met with some opposition. "We are well aware" they said, "of the injustice of the Jewish oppression, but it will be almost impossible to convince our common people, not all of whom are sufficiently educated." However, due to the energy of Prof. Miliukoff, all these conflicting elements were united on a moderately liberal program.

The answer to this action was the dismissal of the Duma and the Council and the withdrawal of permission of the congresses of Zemstvos and Municipalities in Moscow to assemble. The government now reached its last stage. At the head of the government there appeared men known not only to be reactionary, but actually suspected of treachery. The climax was reached when Sturmer was appointed to the double post of Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. The President of the Duma, M. V. Rodzianko, wrote to the Czar, explaining to him the disastrous effect the appointment of Sturmer, a man of German descent and sympathies, would have on the public opinion of the country. This letter, however, was never answered.

The moment it became evident that it was Sturmer's intention to find out the lay of the land in order to achieve a separate peace with Germany, all parties, including the liberal, moderate, and the most conservative elements in Russia, united in opposition. Pointed speeches against the government were delivered, not only by P. N. Miliukoff, but also by B. M. Purichkevitch, a member of the reactionary union of the Russian people and even by members of the Imperial Council.

Under the pressure of agitation, the government was forced to yield. Sturmer was dismissed. His place as the President of the Council of Ministers was taken by A. F. Trepoff, a conservative, who had the reputation of being entirely devoted to the interests of Russia. But within thirty days Trepoff was compelled to resign and to his place was appointed Prince Golizin, a conservative of no distinct policies.

The Minister of Interior, Protopopoff, a malignant maniac who was incurring the hatred of the whole country, remained the ruling spirit of the government. At a meeting of political leaders at which Protopopoff was present, Deputy A. I. Shingareff, the present Secretary of Agriculture, concluded his speech to Protopopoff with the words: "Go to bed and lie down. Calm yourself, you are ill." Shingareff's

words were very soon understood by all Russia, for it was clear to everybody that the guidance of Russia in its most critical period of life had been put into the hands of an insane man.

Some members of the government felt the impossibility of being associated with Protopopoff, but the Czar prevailed upon them, against their wishes, to retain their places. Thus, all Russia was united in the conviction that it was impossible to leave the control of affairs any longer in the same hands, and that Russia's only hope lay in the Duma.

On February 14, 1917, the Duma was called for a new session. By this time it had the approval of the Imperial Council, some of the Ministers and seventeen members of the Imperial family. Again words of warning and rage addressed to the government rang out in the State Duma. The answer to these clamors was an order proroguing the Duma. But this time the Duma refused to abide by the Imperial orders. N. V. Rodzianko, at the head of the Executive Committee of the Duma, sent out information to all parts of the country declaring the existence of the new order of things. The Czar, realizing the situation when it was too late, signed the Act of Abdication in favor of Grand Duke Michael. The latter declined to accept the throne, and left all power to the Provisional Government appointed by the Executive Committee of the Duma. The Acts of Abdication of Czar Nicholas and Grand Duke Michael were brought by the Secretary of Justice, A. F. Kerensky, to the Senate. These were published by the Senate without question and were placed in safe custody to be kept as historic documents of utmost importance. From this moment a new era began for Russia.

IN MEMORIAM

JOSEPH H. CHOATE

On May 14, 1917, the Honorable Joseph H. Choate suddenly died, in the full possession of his great and splendid powers and in the performance of his civic duties. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, on January 24, 1832, he had rounded out more than the full three score years and ten, without losing interest in life and without finding the years weighing heavily upon him. By birth and ancestry he was of Massachusetts and he added distinction to the Commonwealth. By residence