Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-06
Hope Of Russian Populace
Nearing Consummation.
NEW POLITICAL SYSTEM
WORK OF PETERHoF CONFER
ENCE UNDER FINAL REVISION.
Cars Great Interest In the Forth
coming Manifesto Summoning
Representatives Of People.

ST. PETERSBURG, August g. 1:15 Am
After months OF preparation and anxious
waiting, the project for new popular
representative assembly. an innovation to
the Russian political system of greater inn
portance than the emancipation of the
peasantry the establishment of zemsvos
in the sixties, is now undergoing final
vision, and its completion and promulga-
ton are thought to be a matter OF days
only.
The emperor 1t Is well known. hopes to
signalize the first birthday of the infant
heir apparent by a manifesto summoning
the representatives Of the people. and dur
Ing the long meetings of the commission
at Peterhof last week he has driven the
work of revision as fast as it was possible
in order to have it finished before August
II.
The nature of the future assembly cannot
be stated with eXactness until the labors of
the commission finished and Emperor
Nicholas sets the seal Of approval on the
work; but it Is understood the councillors
thus far have recommended no sweeping
changes in the project as it came from the
hands of the council of ministers.
Effort Of Reactionaries.
The reacionaries at yesterdays session
of the commission at Peterhof made a
strong effort to secure the rejection or alter
alton of two important provisions of the
project but the sentiment of the commits
sion and the wishes of the emperor and Of
the grand duke prevented any step back
ward. AS at the previous sessions, the en-
perorS advisors continued to discuss the
needs of the country with remarkable
franlsness
The article over which the main conflict
arose comprised paragraph ~ of the prof.
no fhn III ~, %t0v
OF any proposition submitted to it by two
thirds majority is absolutely final. with no
recourse whatever. NJ. Stickinsky a noted
reactionist senator. assailed the paragraph.
and pointed out its wide limitations to the
autocracy of the emperor, and Gen Trepoff,
assistant minister of the interior, in a
strongly-worded address declared that such
limitations We're imperatively needed by the
country and the people. The paragraph was
then passed unanimously.
Full Publicity of Proceedings.
Another debate arose over the provision
for the admission Of representatives of the
press at sessions of the assembly and the
publication of proceedings; but this was
also adopted after Gen. TrepoT and Grand
Duke Vladimir had spoken in favor of the
fullest publicity.
The discussions at Peterhof give color to
a current report that Emperor Nicholas
and the grand dukes appear to be the most
ana the most truly anxious
for reform among the members Of the con-
ference.
Assembly Project
rescript addressed to Minister of the
Interior Bouligin directing him to prepare
plans for the assembling of representatives
of the people was issued March 3. and the
work has been steadily in progress during
the intervening five months. While the
emancipation code of 1861. the Magma
Charta of the Russian peasants and the
Zemstvo ukase of 1864 freed the serfs and
established local self-administration they
gave the Russian subject no share in the
imperial government. The conyocation of
a legislative assembly will give him his first
political rights.
Project Short of Expectations.
Completed the project will fall far short
of the expectations of the more extreme lib
erals who will be satisfied with nothing
less than constitution of the New Zealand
model and will be equally unpleasant to
the school OF Pobedonostef and the re-
dictionary League of Russian Patriots
but the great mass of the people is mani
Testing disposition to accept the conces-
sions of the autocracy in good faith, being
confident that the faults of the system will
remedy themselves by practice.
Such men as Prince Troubetskoy. presi-
dent of the MOSCOW Zemstvo: NJ Nikitin,
president Of the st. Petersburg douma
NJ. Shipoff. former president of the Moscow
zemestvo, and other leaders in the Zemstvo
movement for a body with further powers
counseing their followers not to sulk at
the limitations of the project, but to en-
deavor to make the first congress success
and thereby pave the way for nearer APP
proach to parliamentary government
Complaint From Theorists.
The absence of a provision for univer-
sal direct and secret suffrage undoubtedly
will cause complaint from political theor-
lists but the decision of the Bouligin COM
mission and the council of ministers in
favor of indirect representation seems to
be based not on a desire to make the
assembly unrepresentative but on the be-
lief that some intermediate step Is neces-
sary to enable the masses or the unedu-
Gated to choose their representatives wisely.
This view is shared by Il strong party OF
zemstvoists who are opposed to the sys-
TEN of direct voting and who in the cong
ress at Moscow fought a provision for
zemstvo project with direct representation.
The Chief Defect.
The chief defect of the project as an
alyzed by member Of the council of the
empire is it's lack of any adequate guaran-
tee to protect the crown against encroach-
ments by the assembly.
THE present project" said he, sis not
constitution WIN d DdldHCe VI po"ci Sutli
as is evolved by your constitutions maker.
The project creates an assembly and de-
fines its power but frames 1t, In It's anxiety,
to avoid alluson to the limitations OF autoc-
racy or to admit that the creation of the
assembly came otherwise than as the favor
of the imperial will. and fails to provide
mutual covenant based on the respective
rights of the emperor and the people or
for defense against the gradual or sudden
sapping away of any or all or the powers
hx,f ha w
1t feels strong enough to do So