Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-11-19

mdrk red letter day i'll the Russian
 calendar. About a hundred represen-
 tatives of provincial zemstvos assem-
 bled privately at 2 o'clock this after
 noon with the avowed purpose of pre-
 senting to Emperor Nicholas through
 Interior Minister Sviatopolk- Mirsky a
 truthful picture of the internal condi-
 tions of Russia, coupled with recom-
 mendations pointing out in plain terms
 the necessity for calling legally em-
 powered constituent assembly to have
 a direct voice in the government. The
 word 1'constitution,' however, will be
 carefully avoided. The liberals have
 been greatly excited by the develop
 ments of the last few days. The meet
 ing was to be held at the Duma. or
 city hall. but at the last moment offl> cial auspices were refused. the em- peror withdrawing his consent. Many of the zemstvos representatives at tribute the emperor's attitude primari- ly to the influence of Grand Duke Ser gius, NJ. Pobedonostseff. the procurer- general of the. holy synod, and M. Sas, sonoff. a member of the council of the empire. and indirectly to such reac- tionaries as Merchersky,3 Strumer and Suchinsky. The latter two formerly were the late Interior Minister Won Plehve's assistants, who were pro noted to the council of the empire. When Prince Syiatopolk- Mirsky dis, pensed with their services the spectre of constitution was successfully raised according to their view. They are not disposed to criticise Prince SviatOpolk Mirsky, whose good inten- tons they do not question. They be- lieve he Is powerless, but nevertheless they express disappointment at the fact that he yielded. Prince Sviatopolk- Mirsky's friends, however. have an other side of the story. They insist that he acted in the sincere conviction of what he believed to be the best in terests of zemstvo development. They explain that when the minister began the negotiations NM. Shipoff and lPe- trunkavich and Prince Ivoff were sent to explain what the meeting proposed to do and the minister found that in stead of thirty four presidents whom he had invited about 100 representa lives were to be present, and that they proposed to go much farther than their powers authorized. They were in no sense official representatives chosen by the zemstvos to present memorall- dunn to the government
 When the emperor declined to grant permission, however, Prince Sviato- polk Mirsky informed the representa- tives- that -alt though official sanction was declined they could meet private ly. police protection being guaranteed Moreover, he himself at once drafted a law for submission to the council Of the empire authorizing the zemstvos to elect delegates to sit in 6 consulta- tive body in connection with the de- pertinent of rural affairs of his min istry This law will be immediately in order that the zemstvos at their approaching meetings in De- cember may chose representatives. < Prince Sviatopolk- Mirsky's idea that ill-digested, precipitate action might wreck the prospects for the future was supported by a number of the zem- stvo representatives here, but the ma jority, although moderate in their. views, rejected the advice of their col leagues as being simply a sop to a whale and entered the meeting this afternon determined to speak plainly. Their program has a negative and q positive side. Tone first consists in the adoption of a sort of reductio ads absurdum argument in the form of a memorandum in which they will at. tempt to show that the existing condi- tions in the empire, which constant lln- rest and disturbance resulting in an increase in the revolutionary propa- ganda. cannot continue The course of Russian history will be traced to show the ebb and flow of liberalism, and 1t will be contended that the liberal ten, dency of tue government which began in the reign of Alexanuer II was reai> ly checked after the Polish insurrec- ton and only briefly revived in the days of Loris-M Melikoff
 The positive memorandum will the calling of constituent assembly as the best means of secur- ing legal expression of the views of the nation.
 The radicals and some student or ganizations had planned sympathetic demonstrations in front of the Duma in favor of ending the war and calling q national assembly, but with the place of meeting of the zemstvos rep. resentatives secret the demonstrations will probably not occur.