The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-07-09
END OF RUSSIAN LAND
 QUESTION NOT YET NEAR
ONLY THE FIRST PARAGRAPH OF PROPOSED AGRARIAN LAW
 ACCEPTED.

This Provides for the Augmentation of
 the Lands of the Peasants by ExprO-
 priation of All State and Crown De-
 mains and Church and Monastery
 Lands--COmmissiOne Have Now
 Locked Horns Over the Disposition
 of Private Estates.
 St. Petersburg, July S-The first par agraph of the proposed agrarian law, viz, the augmentation of the lands of the peasants by the appropriation of all state and crown domains and church and monastery lands, has been accepted by the commission of the lower house with practically unanimity. The com- missioners have now locked horns over the mode of appropriation and the method of disposal of private estates, and the end is not yet in sight. The determination to appropriate church lands, which, in distinction to the great estates owned by the monas- teries, lie scattered, like the lands of primary schools in America, in small tracts throughout the country, and sup port the local clergy, will cause com plications. Such action would deprive the parish priests of the principal part of their scanty emoluments and neces- sitate an equivalent from some other source,
 A correspondent of the Associated Press has just completed tour of the provinces of Samara and Saratov. He reports that the drouth is finally brok- en, but the rains have come too late to save the crop and help the peasants, who are in pitiable condition. Their cattle have either been sold or are starving in the fields. The government relief granaries were completely emp tied during last years famine. The present agrarian disorders, which can be expected steadily to grow worse, are due largely to the necessity of the peas ants seizing food and forage to preserve their lives and save from starvation the remainder of their cattle. These disor- ders have reached the highest pitch in the province of Voronezh, where the troops and Cossacks, although in con- siderable force, are practically helpless and on the defensive. Many peasants have been killed or wounded in desper- nte attacks on the militarp atrols and the rural guards.
 According to a telegram received here from Tarnbov. peasants on the estate ot Princess Bariatinsky attacked q com roissary and a posse of rural police. The commissary and four policemen were seriously wounded. In another section of the province of Tambov a body of peasants, armed with pitch forks and spades, resisted squadron of dragons. Because of this resistance the troops fired, killing three peasants and wounding many others. At Keda- bey. southeast of Tifiis, hand-to-hand fight has occurred between Cossacks and an armed band of peasants, with +he result that several men were killed on both sides.
 There has been fatal encounter at Krassnopolsk, in the province of Podo- lia. between rich peasants and poor peasants. The poor men were incensed hecause the rich men had sent tele- cram to the lower house protesting against the proposed distribution Of land. An encounter resulted and in the fighting one of the wealthy peasants killed four and seriously wounded sev- eral of the poorer men.
 Tn St. Petersburg a thousand work men have met and passed a resolution onuosing the agrarian programme or +he group of toll in the lower house. They declare that fearful consequences Nuould ensue If this programme became effective, and urge the members of the group to recognize their error and CO., onerate with the social democrats and the laborites.
 There have been grave disorders on the estate of Minister of Agriculture stichinsky in Tula province. The rep rasentatives of the Associated Press at Bostov, however, reports that the crop conditions In the Kuban and Don dis tricts are above the average.
 Agrarian disorders among the Cos sack agricultural population are not ex- pected, although there has been some ferment among the military leVles over having to do police duty.
 M. Mouromtseff, president of the low er house, received to-day a couple of telegraphic oddities. One is dispatch from the conservative peasantry in the province of Yaroslav asking him to use his influence to have the emperor de- clare a military dictatorship, and the other Is from group of MoscoWites complaining that the number of words Inf foreign origin used in the debates in +be lower house render them unintehi- gible to the common people.