Los Angeles herald., 1906-05-11
Russian Parliament
Inaugurated at
st. Petersburg
Address Only Negatively
Satisfactory to the
Members
courtiers and Spectators Lead the
Cheering, the Others Neither
Showing Approval or
DIsapproVaI
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, May 10.-with-
out a single hitch and with only a
minor incident to mar the memorable
day, the Russian parliament was in
augurated today.
The weather was superb and the
stage arrangement of the impressive
ceremony at the winter palace, where
Emperor Nicholas, surrounded by
courtiers and all the pomp and panoply
of power, delivered the speech from
the throne to the members of the two
houses was perfect.
The message in realty was less a
throne speech than a greeting, and
required only three minutes for it's
delivery. Emperor Nicholas read slow
ly. The admirable and even cordial
tone of the sovereign in renewing his
pledges and asking the cooperation of
parliament for the regeneration of the
country was only negatively satisfac-
tory.
Members Remain Silent
Courtiers and spectators other than
members of the national parliament led
the cheering, but the members were
ominously silent, expressing neither ap-
proval nor disapproval.
What ranked most was the failure
of the emperor to mention amnesty and
later when the members assembled in
the Tauride palace, away from the
spell of the throne room, many of them
were with difficulty restrained from
precipitating matters by offering reso-
lutions on the subject.
he
ever who dominated everything, were
anxious not to weaken the reply which
the lower house will prepare to the
speech from the throne, in which issues
with the crown will be Joined and
succeeded in staving off premature
action.
Thousands Gather at Tauride
The scene around the Tauride palace
was in striking contrast to that at
the winter palace. Each indeed was
typical, and told an eloquent story.
At the Tauride palace tens of thou
sands of people were acclaiming their
representatives, at the winter palace
1egions of military and courtiers by the
hundreds cheered for the emperor. New
ertheless the proceedings of the lower
house were not spectacular: in fact they
were almost tame in comparison with
those at the winter palace.
The only genuine flashes OF fire which
showed the real temper of the members
of the house were when Professor
Mourometzeff, who had been elected
president of the house, invited govern
ment officials and clerks to leave the
hail. and when Ivan Petrunkevich, in
g. few eloquent words from the rostrum.
told the auditors that the first thought
of the parliament should be for those
who have suffered in the cause of lib
erty. who now filled the prisons, and
whose arms were stretched out in hope
and confidence to the peoples repre-
sentatives.
Cheer Enthusiastically
More enthusiastic cheering than that
which greeted this appeal was never
heard in political convention in the
United States The constitution and
amnesty were the keynotes of Presi-
dent Mourometzeff's speech.
BY the irony of fate Ivan Petrunke-
vich, whose first mention of the word
constitution twelve years ago was dis
missed by Emperor Nicholas IL as a
''foolish freak" today stood in the front
rank of the members of the representa-
tive chamber while Emperor Nicholas
put his final seal upon the Russian par
lament and begged the representatives
of the people to cooperate with him
in working for the welfare of the
country.
The lower house of the parliament ad-
journed over until tomorrow in order
not to interfere with the opening exer-
else of the counsel of the empire and
also to permit the committee of the
constitutional Democrats to consider
the reply to the speech from the throne
Dispatches received here from al
parts of Russia indicate that the open
ing of parliament was celebrated every
where.