The delegates, taken aback by such an unexpected turn of events, made no objection. Emotion kept Gutchkov silent. "He felt he could not intrude on paternal relations, and considered that any pressure brought to bear upon the Emperor would be out of place." Shulgin was influenced by political motives. "He feared the little Czar might grow up harbouring feelings of resentment against those who had parted him from his father and mother; also the question whether a regent could take the oath to the Constitution on behalf of an Emperor, who was not of age was a matter of debate."[11]
"The resentment" of the little Czar concerned a distant future. As to legality, the very essence of a Revolution precludes the legality of its consequences. Also the _enforced_ abdication of Nicholas II., his rejection of the rights of inheritance of _his son_, a minor, and, lastly, the transfer of supreme power by Michael Alexandrovitch, a person who _had never_ held it, to the Provisional Government by means of an act, in which the Grand Duke "appeals" to Russian citizens to obey the Government, are all of doubtful legality.
It is not surprising that, "in the minds of those living in those first days of the Revolution"--as Miliukov says--"the new Government, established by the Revolution, was looked upon, not as a consequence of the acts of March 2nd and 3rd, but as a result of the events of February 27th...."
I may add that later, in the minds of many Commanding Officers--amongst them, Kornilov, Alexeiev, Romanovsky and Markov, who played a leading part in the attempt to save Russia--legal, party or dynastic considerations had no place. This circumstance is of primary importance for a proper understanding of subsequent events.
About midnight on March 2nd the Czar handed Rodzianko and Ruzsky two slightly amended copies of the Manifesto of his Abdication.
"In the midst of our great conflict with a foreign enemy, who has been striving for close on three years to enslave our country, it has been the will of God to subject Russia to new and heavy trials. Incipient popular disturbances now imperil the further course of the stubborn war. The fate of Russia, the honour of our heroic Army, the entire future of our beloved Land, demand that the war should be carried to a victorious conclusion.