The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-09-03
ACTING IN GOOD FAITH
RUSSIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TO BE REPRESENTATIVE.
Government wiIl Not Take Certain Ad- vantames Which It Might, and Elections are to Re Really
 Independent.


 Elections are to Re Really
 Independent.
 St. Petersburg, Sept. 2.--Thoush the
 new National Assembly during the nrs' 1 days after the issuance Of the Emper | or's manifesto calling the assembly, was 1 given more of unfavorable criticism l than of praise and the Russian press 1 through Ignorance, took far less la- 1 vorable view of the new institution I than did the foreign papers, the Value
 of the Assembly, the extent or us pow
 CTS and the long step forward it marks | in the path of reform are now pecom- l ing generally recognized throughout l tbe Empire A flood of addresses or | tha9ka is coming in from all classes and from ali religions, the city doumas ] leading, though the urban populstioh was supposed to have been placed at considerable disadvantage compared to the peasants and the nobility under the | electoral arrangement. number or Aoun,as have coupled their addresses with requests for freedom Of speech and of the press, but only in few cities were addresses rejected. The project, the provisions of which are di- ncuit of comprehension by people not experienced in parliamentary institu- tions. is being taken up TOT care1ui study and consideration and, because much of this, adverse criticism IS wear ing away and the talk of a boycott or the Assembly by the liberals Is no long, CT heard.
 and the steps that are being taken to put it into effect are bringing to light r,iror defects and impracticable pro- visions in the project and the Ministry of the Interior is busy answering qqes- tions and furnishing interpretations on doubtful points, I is apparent tnaL periai direction or by the douma itself, will be necessary before the Assembly becomes a practical working body.
 Some of the principal complaints that the border provinces were not to be represented in the first assembly have been removed by the prompt con venfnR of the solsky commission for elaboratinR a scheme for elections in those directions In which the system of local organization that prevails in the fifty governments of Russia proper and the machinery of which was ap- propriated by the Bouligan Commission for election purposes, is non-existent.
 The election in the entire empire must be ended by December 15. Since the work of canvassing the vote and the Journeys of distant representatives to St. Petersburg will occur the month before the date fixed by the Emperor for converting the assembly, the work of preparation of the electoral lists Is actively under way in the various cities and in the country districts and tele- graphic orders have been sent to the SIlatory heads of a number of govern ments to proceed immediately with the work.
 Accusations which are frequently circulated in many parliamentary States that the Government intends to manipulate elections are heard here concerning the douma and' indeed with numerical predominance of peasant electors and the peasants awe of the prefects and other local authorities, the Government is in a position to do so.
 This undoubtedly will be the desire of many provincial Chinovniks which have been accustomed to yielding ar bitrary authority with little more ref. erences to the wishes of the central government than to the desires of the people of this district. but the pro- visions of the project and election reg ulations and special orders issued since show that the Government is acting in good faith and is doing It's best to make the elections independent. A limit Is put on the activity of the pro- vincial administrative authorities and the elections are placed in the control | of officials popularly elected or ap- | pointive. The bureaucracy has no voice | in the arrangements and no vote in | elections.
 A number of computations have been made by enemies of the project for the | purpose of showing that the peasants | will be In the majority in the douma | but these approximations are value less as it Is not known what combina- tions the three classes of electors will form among themselves in the various governments and if the inclination of
 al Na NA tAfv. w1lsN rality colleges to secure an undue share of representatives 1t would force the city and nobility electors to com bine in self-defense.
 The project is received with sattsfac- tion by the Jews in Russia, primarily because it is the first general law pro- mulgated in Russia in thirty years not containing a clause discriminating against Jews as a race. This Is more than they had hoped for. They are granted political rights under the donna equal to those of all other races of inc empire, but they are still with out a large proportion of the civil
 The logical outcome of this condition r,1st be that in the course of time the civil rights of the Jews will be in- oroased and broadened. and recognition of this also causes them satisfaction. ', can be safely said that the estab- IIshment of the douma means the dawn nS an improved condition for the Jews, k,,t to what extent this amelioration U,iiI he carried out 1t is impossible now ~ teII The settlement of many de- tsus of the Jewish problem will rest SStth the douma itself, but Jewish rep ressntation re in the douma will be small AJI tba Jewish soldiers who fought in tha war will be permitted. upon mus tnr,nr out, to settle anywhere in Russia. S~cent Moscow and the Caucasus. This s~rn,its the settlement of about 50.0O0 s.r1iIies outside the pale. The zone of Ian. ... ia varx RraduaIIvs axtAnds...