The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-13
NECESSARYE.0 CONTINW,WAR
 Z%S Prestige ,.sdre to Russia
 7ian Peace. HOME SITUATION CRITICAL Should Storm Break, M. Witte Will Take Charge. Emperor Nicholas stin vaciilating as to Whether He VIII Retain Prince -Mirsky or
 Let Him Retire.
HOME SITUATION CRITICAL

St. Petersburg. Jan. 12.-The govern ment seemingly is about to make the irrcvocable decision that prestige abroad and the situation at home re- quire the continuation of the war till peace with dignity is possible. Be- yond this point, however, confusion exists especially regarding the imme- diate development of the interior situation.
 Emperor Nicholas is still apparently vacilliating as to whether he shall allow M. Witte full sway, in the mean time declining to permit Prince Sviat- opolk Mirsky to retire.
 The latter persists in the view that the confidence of the people in the manner in which the reform manifesto is to be worked out is vital and that this Is impossible If the work is to be left completely In the hands of the bureaucrats. Direct consultation with the representative classes interested he holds essential.
 It has now been definitely establish ed that the third section of the mani- festo as 1t was originally drafted by Minister Sviatopolk- -Mirsky provided for representation of the Zemstvos In the council of the empire and that 1t was stricken out against his earnest protest.
 The Emperor TempOrtx1nRs
 Prince Sviatopolk- -Mirsky's retire. ment from the Ministry of the Interior continues to be considered as only a matter of a short time although there Is seeming evidence that the Emperor hopes by temporizing to avoid the necessity of concentrating the reigns of power in the hands of M. Witte.
 Should a real storm break. however, no one doubts that NJ. Witte is the one strong man in sight who can be called to the bridge. The lack of cohesion and alignment of the forces opposed to the existing state of things and mutual distrust of each others pro- gram seems to make anything ap- preaching actual revolution at the pre- sent time unworthy of serious con sideration. -a------s-s---- Socialists, revolutionists and other extreme elements as well as the sub- | ject races on the borders of Russia all have different objectives with which the conservative liberals whom the government really hopes to appease have little in common. Peasants StIII are Quiet. | Above all Russia's unnumbered millions of peasants although they have manifested an adherence of war | principally for economic reasons and because 1t takes their loved ones away, have given almost no evidence of hav- ing been stirred by the prevailing poli- tical agitation.
 Demonstrations and even disorders on a large scale in the centres of popu- lation are regarded by the authorities as possible accompanied by recur- renee of terrorism by those who be- lieve the bomb is the only weapon with which they can fight absolutism. This last is really considered the likeliest and most deplorable possibili- ty in the near future. For the mo- ment, however, all Is quiet in the in terior, the people seemingly being ab- sorbed with the Christmas holidays. No | further disorders have occurred in con nection with mobilization. the only ac- tive movement of any sort noted being demonstrations at Mini Novgorod and Moscow, both confined to meetings of school professors who took advantages of the occasion to protest against the disabilities under which they declared the staffs of the universities labored and adopted resolutions in favor of reforms on the lines of the recent Zemstvo memorial, but going further than the emperor's manifesto.