The Czar has yielded at last to the arguments pressed
by the enemies of General Kuropatkin, and has superseded him in the supreme command of the armies in Manchuria. It is asserted, and denied, that the General himself requested relief from his high post; but it seems probable from subsequent incidents that 'the Emperor took the initiative, and that his decision was in the form of a cold and curt dismissal. The Generalissimo would not have resigned as a worn-out man, and then have accepted the command of the "First Army" in Manchuria, which received him at Kharbin with shouts of hearty welcome.- The dismissal and the method of it were, in fact, most unpopular, and the Czar, as he grew cooler, perceiving that, broke the unfortunate General's fall. It was at first intended to replace him byn Grand Duke, helped by an expert Chief of Staff ; but the leading Generals objected, the Grand Duke himself shrank from the terrible responsi- bility, and General Linevitch was appointed Generalissimo. He is an old officer, experienced in Central Asian warfare, and retaining, it is said, much energy; but he has never commanded a great army, and is popular rather with his men than with the experts.
