Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-05-04
[From Our REGULAR Correspondent
IT. Petersburg Letter.
ST. PErERsBuRa. April IS. 1881

ST. PETERSBURG. April Is, 1881,
The nihilist executive committee has
Just issued a manifesto addressed to the
car, which reads as follows
Your HOLINESS We can fully an
derstand your grief at the present moment.
but the executive committee does not con-
slider itself entitled to submit to II feeling
of natural delicacy, which, may be, re-
qured us to wait some time before making
the following manifesto. But there is
something higher than the most legitimate
feelings of man; his duty to his native
country, duty to which citizen must
sacrifice himself. his own feelings, and
those of other people. Yielding to this
all powerful obligation, we resolve to adj
dress you without delay; for there is no
delay in the historical process that threat
ems us in the future with streams of blood
and CHASTITY commissions. The bloody
tragedy enacted on the Calharlne Canal
was not accidental, and came upon no one
Unexpectedly.
To try to explain such acts as the malevo-
lence of few individuals or of band
(schGiki) is possible only with those who
are absolutely incapable of Analysing the
life of the people.
The manifesto then goes on to say that
during the last ten years the government
of the late car displayed no lack of energy.
and was utterly INSCRIPTIONS as to the
means employed to break the revolutionary
movements; but that it only succeeded in
drawing to the movement I" the best ele-
ments in the country, the most devoted
people in Russia; that during their parti-
san war with the government the more
imperfect forms of organization had been
replaced by perfected ones, the weaker
champions by stronger-so to say, by
natural selection; till the awful reprisals
of the government in l87S-79 called into
existence the executive committee. Should
the same course be persisted in, the past
shows u.s. the committee go on to say,
''how terrible will be the future, and no
one regrets more deeply than the commit
tee itself the loss of so much talent and so
much energy in work of destruction and
sanguinary conflict. What is the necessity
of all thiso 1t is because in Russia there
exists no government in the true sense eff
the word; there exists only camarila
which deserves much more than the exec.
utive committee the name of usurpatory
band
The address then continues =" 10 es-
cape from this situation two courses are
open-a revolution which will overthrow
all obstacles, or II voluntary transforms
ton of the supreme power. To avoid the
horrors of revolution the executive COM
mttee appeal to the ear to choose the
second course. We appeal to you not rs
representative of a tyrannic power. but
as to an honest man. We hope that a
feeling of personal evaporation will not
stihe in you the consciousness of your
duties and the wish to know the truth. We
also have reasons to be exasperated; we
have lost not only our fathers, but our
brothers, wives, children, our best friends.
We are ready to suppress all personal
feelings for the good of Russia. We
expect no less from you. Be not shocked
at our proposals; the conditions necessary
for substituting peaceful development for
the revolutionary movementare prescribed
not by us, but by history. These condi-
tions are in our opinion, LIST, a general
amnesty for all political crimes of the
past, as they were, indeed, no crimes, but
the fulfllment of civic duties. ID, Convo-
cation of representatives of the whole
Russian people for revision of the existing
forms of political and social life, and their
revision in harmony with popular aspira.
tons"