Omaha daily bee., 1905-10-31
Freedom Of Speech, Conscience, Person,
Union and Association.
WITTE PREMIER OF FIRST CABINET
He Has Selected His Ministers and New
Regime Begins at Once,
OoUMA WILL BE REPRESENTATIVE
IL win Have AbsOlute legislative
Powers and Determine the
Extension of the
Franchise.
TEXT OF THE MANIFESTO.

We, Nicholas II, by the grace OF God,
emperor and autocrat Of all the Russias
grand duke Of Finland, etc. declare to all
our faithful subjects that the trouble and
agitation in our capitals and in numerous
places I'LL our heart witr excessive pain
and sorrow.
The happiness of the Russian sovereign
is indissoubly bound up with the happi-
ness of our people. and the sorrow Of our
people is the sorrow Of the sovereign.
From the present disorders may arise
great national disruption. They menace
the integrity and unity of our empire.
The supreme duty imposed upon us by
our sovereign office requires us 20 efface
ourself and TO use all the force and reason
at our command to hasten in securing the
unity and coordination of the powers Of
! the central government and to assure the
success of measures for pacihcation of all
circles Of public lfe which are essential
| to the we'll being of our people.
We, therefore. direct our government to
carry out our iniexible will in the follow
ing manner:
"First-To extend to the population the
immutabe foundations of civic liberty,
! freedom Of conscience. speech. union and
| association.
! 'Second-Without suspending the already
! ordered elections TO the state douma, TO
| invite the participation in the douma so
far as the limited time before the convoca-
| tion of the douma will permit. those classes
of the population now completely deprived
of electoral rights, leaving the ultimate
development of the principle of the cleo
toral right in general to the newly estab-
hshed Legislative order OF things.
a"rhhd-~To establish as an interchangeable
rule that no law shall be enforceable with
out the dpproval of the state douma, ana
| that IL shall be possible for the elected
representatives OF the people to exercise
real participation in the supervision OF the
legality OF the acts Of the authorities APP
pointed by us"
We appeal TO all faithful sons OF Russia
TO remember their duty towards the father
land, to aid in terminating these unprece-
dented troubles and to apply. their forces
in cooperation with us to the restoration
OF calm and peace upon ou- natal soil
Given at Peterhof October 80 in the
eleventh year OF our reign.
|
ST PETERSBURG, oct. 3O--Ndnight.-
Il am sure the American people. who un-
derstand what freedom is, and the Ameri-
can press, which voices the wishes of the
people, will rejoice with the friendly Rus
sian nation at this moment, when the Rus
sian people have received from his i'm
perial majesty the promises and the guar
entees of freedom and will join in the
hope that the Russian people will wisely
aid in the realization Of those liberties by
cooperating with the government for their
peaceful introduction. Only thus will It
be possible to secure the fun benefits OF
the freedom conferred upon the people,"
Count Witte, Russia's first premier to-
night sent the above message to the Ameri-
can people through the Associated Press.
End of the AutOcracy.
He had just arrived at his residence on
Kammenenrovrov prospect from Peterhof,
where. in the Alexander palace. the en-
peror two hours before had given his final
| approval to a manifesto and to a program
which will forever end the rule Of alb
solutism exercised by him and his Romanon
ancestors for 300 years.
A simple perusal of the manifesto shows
how complete is the emperor's abdication OF
his autocratic power. The very style OF
= the document Is clear ana ulfeCU ana de-
void OF the verbose. vague and bombastie
phraseology which heretofore has charac-
terized his majestys manifestos. II not
: only betrays real authorship. but shows
? that the emperor at last has irrevocably
bowed TO the inevitable. He does not even
conceal the fact that the discomfort and
; agitation of his subjects has driven him 20
take the step and practically yields every
! thing-civIl liberty. the inviolability of per
I son and liberty Of conscience, speech and
, ASSEMBLY He not only converts the farcicai
: imperial douma, with only consultative
+ power, into an absolute legislative assembly
, without the assent Of which no measure
shall become law and before which all gov
ernmental authorities must answer, but
" promises eventually universal suffrage.
| The title "Autocrat OF all the Russias q"
with which the manifesto begins. now takes
it's place with the title Of King OF Jeru-
salem" borne by the king Of Spain and the
= emperor of Austria, and with other obsolete
!, titles OF European sovereigns.
. ]. Pierpont Morgan, ir and George w
: Perkins were with Finance Minister Kokov-
SON when the latter received the news Il
was a dramatic moment. The minister was
}. called TO the telephone and when ne re-
n turned he was greatly agtated ana said:
i; Gentlemen. the old order Of things has
n changed. Russia has a constitution.
i News spreads Like wndAre.
n The news spread like wildhre throughout
" the city. The revolutionists and active
~ agltators generally declared loudly that
n the governments promises would no longer
sufiice and that the strike must be con
" tinued. In fact hour after the news
n became known the revolutonists took oc-
casion TO throw the first bomb ia 81.
Petersburg used since the strike began
<, The incident occurred near the polytechnic
L school, but there was no fatality Prac.
(. tically AL classes except the socialists and