Page:Russian Realities and Problems - ed. James Duff (1917).djvu/42

 and that it retains the vital essence inherent in the very principle of national representation.

What is the chief difference between the two first and the two second Dumas, and what is the precise reason of this difference? First and foremost, it was the change in the electoral Law that opened a chasm between these two groups of Dumas. At the time of the dissolution of the second Duma on June 16, 1907, an edict was issued contrary to a fundamental law, that is to say, without the approval of the Duma itself, which entirely changed the composition of that body. The political parties which had built up the majority in the first two Dumas were proclaimed "illegal" on the alleged pretext that their program was to fortify the constitution by "revolutionary" means. The settled composition of the Duma was curtailed in parts which were considered to be "unreliable"; thus the number of Polish deputies was diminished and the Asiatic provinces were deprived of all representation. Then—and this is the chief point—the political centre of gravity was transferred from the democratic groups of population to the higher social classes which were

believed to be more reliable. Look at the figures which show the social composition of the Duma before