The Passing of Liberty in Finland
THE blight of the autocratic rule of Russia is being felt more and more in unfortunate Finland. Step by step all semblance of liberty is being taken from a people who formerly enjoyed a reasonable degree of political freedom. Four new ordinances relating to that country have recently been promulgated at St. Petersburg, which will be a further and perhaps final blow at Finnish independence. In a recent issue of The Outlook these measures are thus defined:— The first law provides that the Finnish Senate, which is both the central organ of administration and the supreme court of justice, shall be hereafter under the direct supervision of the governor-general appointed at St. Petersburg. The chancery of the senate, which prepares all reports on subjects to be considered by that body, is to be directly dependent upon the governor-general, and that officer, or his adjutant, is to be present at every important meeting. No decision can be taken in his absence without his consent, and he has the power of absolute veto on all resolutions passed by the senate. The second edict clothes the governor-general and the senate, thus reorganized, with authority to dismiss without legal trial any administrative official who has not been appointed directly by the czar. In cases where the appointment has been made by the czar, the czar's authorization is required. The third edict provides that the judicial department of the senate shall dismiss judges at its pleasure; and the fourth edict, which is regarded as the most radical and far-reaching in its consequences provides that no official, from the governor-general down, can be brought to trial on any charge without the consent of his superiors. Heretofore all servants of the crown have been responsible to the law for the legality of their actions, and this has served as a bar to the Russification of the country; by the operation of these laws all that remained of independence in Finland will be destroyed, and the country made subject to the absolute personal rule of the czar.