The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-07-25 00:00:00

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ONC LUV ON OF THE INQUIRY AT ST. PETERS-

Among the coespirators Steinhell env of those who were least
infatuated. Aaordingty Reylieff said to him : " They wish for
dernoetacy ; bat it is impossible, it in folly. We, for our per
wish
for a limited monarchy. On the other land, the saute Reylieff
pretended that in monarchies there could be no great character' ;
e. at no goodgovernments existed but in At that all Europe
ti g• oaed in slavergovey, and that Russia would give an example of free.
Zorn. On the other hand he pretends that he did not know with
certainty the resolution of the Southern Society to desttoy the
Emperor and his family; that he did, in fact. ornsider the govhers ;
ern.
mat of the United State! of America as preferable to all ot
but that his intention was tOpreserve monarchical forms fora time
Russia;in that he would only have divided it
into greet povince.,
Antilat to the states of the American federations; emit° the question
'• What shall we do if the Emperor do not accept our conditions?'
he answered:" Could he not be transported." This opinion recelV.
trig the concurrence of several of the ringleader', be had been
personally charged to prepare means for employing the fleet at
Crnnstadt for that purpose.
The death of the Emperor Alexander only served to
n t h
at the
sow the
impotence of the conspirator.. Having learnt this eve
some time with the existence of the Manifesto which fixed the sue.
tension of the theme, and the taking of the oath of fidelity to the
Grand Duke Constantine. they did not contest in their meetings
the deep ?tweet which they felt. Italenkoff said on this subject, " T
for
he
onnortunity which has escaped is will not present itself again
fol years ; if there had been good heads in the Council of State,
Russia would this day have taken ansth of fidelity at once to a
new Sovereign and to new laws. Now all is lost for us, and be-
yond recovery. ' Fears were soon entertained of the dissolution of
the Society; but the intelligence that Constantine persisted In not
accepting the Crown, reanimated the hopes of the Conspirators.
They flattered themselves with the hope,' of being abl to Ursi
ne
ve
the troops and the people, by persuading them that the Gra
Duke had not renounced the crown, to excite them to sedition under
this pretext, and thus to overturn the established Fovernment anti
system. In sheet, the factious were to profit by this oopporuldtunity,
I. To ontehlish a provisory government, which w have
ordered is the provinces the formation of Chambers charged with
electing tiers.
2. Ti ur for the formation of two Legislative Chambers,
one of which, the Upper Chamber, was to be composed of perma-
nent members.
3. To use fee the execution of this design such of the troops as
should refuse to take the oath to your Majesty.
Afterwards they were to proceed to the formation of Chambers
in the provinces, who would have constituted so many local legis.
lemma—to the change of the military colonies into national guards
to giving up the citadel of St. Petersburgh into the hands of the
flittnicipality—Cfhia citadel, Ralenkoff, for this reason, has called
the priladlum of the Russian liberties, and in it were to be plhced
tube municipal council and the civic guard)—to the proclamation oft
h independence of the Universities of Moscow, Dorpat, and
Accomfing to another plan developed. by BalenkofF, the coml.
moors were to separate. some proclaiming the Grand Duke Con-
stantine, and others your Majesty ; and if the balance had inclined
Ifl favour of the first, it would have been necessary either that your
Majesty should consent to a change in the public instior tutions,
you and
to the establishment of a provisory government, that
ahould defer your accession to the throne ; and then the consp
to -a, declaring that your delay was an abdication, were to ptoclairo
the Grand Duke Alexander your heir.
On the other hand, Belenkoff rammed that, at the time Of the
revolutionaty explosion. an attempt would be made on the life of
your Majesty, and Reylieff had said, on this su
alone
n the
you ought to sacrifice yourself foe society ; assassinate the Em-
peror." At the same instant the other conspirators had seized
him in their arms, and he had promised to obey. lie wished to
penetrate into the palace in the disguise of an olhcer of grenadiers.
UT to wait upon one of the steps for the passing of your Majesty ;
but he afterwards proved that the project was impracticable,
which the other conspirators also assented to.
home of the conspirators advised them to confine themselves to
arresting your Majesty and all your august family. This question
save rise to a discussion, which Reylieff terminated by saying. that
circumstances would chew what it would be necessary to do. They
knew that the manifesto of your M ajesty, on your accession, was to
appear on the 14th December. That day was to serve as a signal
to the conspirators. It was resolved to lead the soldiers to revolt.
by manifesting doubts concerning the resignation of the Grand
Duke Constantine; to collect before the palace all the troops
that should be gained over, and there to wait the farther measures
of the Government. It was thought that your Majesty, far from
employing force against the rebels, would itnniedtately renounce the
rights of sovereignty, or would have entered into negotiations with
the insurgent'. who would then have demanded.—l. That deputies
from all the Governments should be assembled. 2. That a mani-
festo should be published by the Senate, announcing that the depu-
ties were to vote for new organic Laws. 3. That in the mean time
• new provisory Government should he established, to which
n'eputien front the kingdom of Poland should be invited, in
order to adopt such means as might be necessary for the reser-
vation of the unity of the state.
If your Majesty took the resolution to send for the Grand Duke
Constantine to St. Pctersburgh, the conspirators would have re-
quired that a cantonment should be assigned to them out of the
city, to encamp there. notwithstanding the winter, and to wait for
his Imperial Highness ; but they would still have insisted upon the
convocation of the deputies, whether to supplicate the Grind Duke
to accept the Crown, or to take a solemn oath to your 3lajesty. In
if the Grand Duke Constantine arrived at St. Petersburgh,
they hoped to make his Imperial Highness
ta believe that this in.
surrectinn was only in consequence of the atchment which they
bore to his person. Such was the plan which the conspirators com-
municated to each other, according to Prince Troubemkoy ; but
by admitting the depositions of the other accomplices, it would be
necessary to make it undergo many modifications.
This plan was to be executed on the 14th December, and on the
13th no doubts were yet entertained of its success. The Baron de
flteinhell had already begun to draw up a Manifesto, which stated
that the two Grand Dukes having renounced the glorious part of
fathers of their country, it was for it to appoint a Sovereign; that
the Senate decreed a general convocation of the Deputies of the
empire. and in the interval a provisory Government.
511eanwhile, the nearer that the moment approached, the more
impatience did the conspirators display, and the more irresolution.
the more remorse and fear, was manifested by their chief. In
spite, notwithstanding, of die uncertainty and terror which agitated
Lim, it was agreed that he sould on te morrow roceed to the
place of the Senate, to put hihmself at theh head of the troopa who
Waited to take the oath; bur the two Chiefs who had been named
to act under his orders, had concerted together not to be found on
the spot ; the one, because being but newly initiated into the con-
spiracy, he did not comprehend the utility of it ; the other, be-
citese the greater number of the Chiefs appeared to him objects of
•

suspicion.
-• In order to commence these operations, Ileylieff sent to the
(ratters of the battalions of the Marines, for the purpose of gaining
over their officers., who, after lung resisting, at length came to the
sudden resolution of participating in the insurrection ; and the sai.
lies, led astray by their officer', refused to take the oath. General
sehipoff, who was charged to impose it, caused the Captains of
Companies to be arrested, who were, however, speedily released by
some of the coaspirators. At that moment these voids were pro-
-11106111 Ced. •Do you hear those volleys ? Those are your comrades
whom they are assaavinating.' At these words the battalions
sprung out of their barracks, and, while on their march, they met a
Lieutenant of one of the Finland regiments, who cried out, Form
a square against the cavalry !'
" In the regiment of Moscow the rebellion had commenced at
an earlier hour. Poinee Stchapine, after having animated his
soldi-rs by his harangues, commanded them to take ball car-
tridges, and to load their muskets, to take away the colours of the
grenadier.. and to drive them bark with the stocks of their pieces.
He himself struck General Fredericks, and wounded hint on the
head ; he struck Major hchenschint repeatedly with his sword, and
several whet officers and petty officers at length he succeeded in
seising the standard, and in putting the companies in motion to-
wards the Place du Senat. This conspirator, notwithstanding the
violence of his conduct, had already begun to feel remorse, and
in the morning, when getting up, he addressed the following
prover to God :—' 0 Owl, if our enterprise is just, grant us thy
aid ; if not, let thy will be done.' Means nearly similar produced
revalt in the regiment of grenadiers of the Body Guard, who joined:
the companies brought on by Stchapine. Several individuals,
dressed in frock-coats, armed with poniards, pistols, and sabres,
mingled in the ranks. Meanwhile the measures taken speedily
checked the progress of the revolt ; anarchy already pervaded the
ranks of the rebels, though most violent continued to signalize
themselves by assasainations. It has been proved that rt was
Kahoosky who mortally wounded General flliloratlovitch, whom
Prince Obolensky also stabbed with a bayonet. Kahoosky, after
Laying in a similar way killed Col. Stutter, threw away hi. pistol
exclaiming, " 'tis enough, I have two of them on my conscience."
It was Prince Stchapine who first gave orders to fire. A Colonel
ands number of met were wounded, and William Kocchelbeker
was daring enough to point his pistol against the Archduke Mi-
chael, but some of the sailors la!d hold of his arm.
In the mean time, "[the conspirators who were to assemble ot the
randesvous, in order to take command of the hoops, Houlatotl
came as a mere spectator ; Yakoubovitch appeared only for a mo.
meat; and Prince Traub...Amy came in a real hurry, and took
the oath to our lilajesty, thus flattering him eelf to wipe out a
part of his criminality. Having done this. he took shelter in the
house of the Austrian Ambassador, his brother-in.law, where he
was demaluled by Count Nessehode' by order of your Majesty.
HalenkiW hastened to take the oath without farther thought
of hie reforms of the State, nor of the glory of becoming one of the
chiefs of the government, and thirsting alter nothing but the speedy
arrest of the rebels. All the other individuals who, more or less,
had shared in the rebellion, reciprocally denounced each other, and
thus were speedily made kaown to the t:coomission. When ar-
rested, and questioned, some spontaneously pleaded guilty, and,
among others. Col. Houlatoff, who was furious when he learned that
yea name had been used in order to seduce his regiment to its ruin....
the ides that all the soldiers of this regiment who were found in
the Place du Leval should be put to death had affected his reason,
and lie in a letter to the Grand Duke Michael, ' Whoever
sees my name at tits foot of the oath, sees there this name of a
stilton. KY and by. the furious passions which agitated him by
degrees subsided I Bout/doll was nut a villain, at Last he was Sot
hardened in ceitto, and up to the moment when be died of a
malady of lung Standing, he ceased not to be tattooed by the re-
membrance of IA horrible design. He endeavoured to appease his
remeese by freak avowals of his guilt and, in dying, cemmitted