Soviet Citizens' Rights The final and formal adoption of the
new Soviet Constitution on Saturday was notable for the acceptance by M. Stalin of two or three amendments of some im- portance externally and internally. Among the former was the extension of the article giving the Presidium the right to declare war in the event of an attack on Russia ; it now includes the fulfilment of Russia's inter- national obligations for common defence against aggres- sion. This covers, of course, not merely action under the League of Nations Covenant but action under such an agreement as the Franco-Soviet Pact. Evidence of the movement, on paper at any rate, towards normal democratic practice is seen in the amendment guarantee- ing to Soviet citizens not only the right to their savings and income from their savings but also the right to inherit. According to the Daily Telegraph's Moscow correspondent, the articles guaranteeing social rights such as maternity benefits and old-age pensions were vociferously cheered, and others guaranteeing freedom of conscience, freedom of worship, inviolability of person and the home, were received in dead silence. It is something, none the less, that these latter exist and have received the imprimatur of M. Stalin.
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