by prevailing circumstances to accept a list of appointments proposed by the Finns themselves.

The formation of a constitutional government was followed by elections for a new Diet. A brief but heated election campaign was followed by a complete victory for the Constitutionalists. They received the majority in all three of the unprivileged Estates, and since the Nobles had already previously been securely in their hands, the constitutionalist pattern of thought was predominant in this Diet. The pressure of revolutionary forces had caused what seemed to be a tremendous leap from the old-fashioned four Estate form straight to the more democratic unicameral parliament.. According to the reform, the new parliament was to have 200 members, to be elected by universal and equal franchise (with Finland thus becoming one of the first countries to give women the right to vote), on the basis of proportional representation and a secret ballot. The age limit for voters was set at 24 years. Elections were to be held every third year, unless the sovereign dissolved parliament before that time. From that point on, the whole nation was to support the parliament, in which every party received the proportionate number of seats that the number of votes called for. The provisions made in 1906 were so carefully formulated that up to the present time nothing but minor changes have been made; for example, the age for voting eligibility has been lowered to 21, and the interval for elections has been lengthened to four years.

Mechelin's Senate was the result of joint action between the Young Finns and the Pro-Swedes, which had started during Bobrikov's governorship. In principle, all the factions in Finland had the same aim: the return of a legal status for the country. The only question left to argue was that of the proper procedure. The Constitutionalists clung to their conviction that passive resistance was the proper weapon and the only course which would not break the nation's backbone. The Old Finns, on the other hand, considered the main thing was to make certain concessions, since in that way time could be won and official posts would remain in Finnish hands; according to them, Finland in the long run would gain nothing by mere passive resistance, considering Russia's overwhelming strength. History has subsequently furnished justification for both these ways of thinking, and fortunately for the country, both courses were resorted to during those difficult years. Then, with the organization of a new parliamentary system, significant changes modified these old party alignments the parties had to be reorganized on an entirely new basis, if for

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