Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-26
NEGATIVE FROM CAR
Reply to Douma's Demands De-
Iivered Today
BY PREMIER GOREMYKIN
Governments Policy Declared to the
Upper House.
WONDERFUL SCENES FOLLOWED
Terrific Arrangement Of Bureaucratic
Ministry-Novel Experience for
st. Petersburg.
SCENES FOLLOWED

ST. PETERSBURG. May 20, 4:4o pm.-It
is rumored in the corridors OF the lower
house of parliament that Premier Gere-
mykin has in his pocket a mandate for the
dissolution of parliament.
Before house more crowded than on
the opening day, with every member In his
seat and the press and public galleries
crowded to suffocation, Premier Goremykin
this afternoon read to the lower house or
parliament the expected declaration of the
governments policy pronouncing the i'm
perial negative on the most cherished hopes
and plans of the peoples representatives.
In the imperial box sat Grand Duke
Nicholas Nikolaievich, following the pro-
ceedings with the keenest interest. There
was scarcely standing room In the section
assigned to members of the upper house,
and the premier and the entire cabinet.
with the exception OF Vice Admiral BiriIor
minister of marine. and Lieut. Gen. Budi-
ger. minister OF war occupied seats on the
ministerial benches.
The scene before the opening was OF
great but suppressed excitement. All pres
ent were aware that the response would
utterly fail to meet the wishes of the lower
house, and hum of eager discussion to
the effect of the resolutions expressing lack
of confidence in the government, which the
coGStltutIOfal dSfnDtrdIS ana the lapor
parry had drafted in advance, filled the hall
and corridors.
The tinkle of President Mouromtseff's peil
calling the session to order stilled the house
to instant silence, whereupon without walt
ing for any further preliminaries Premier
Goremykin mounted 10 the tribune and be-
gan reading the governmental declaration
He evidently was not used TO public speech
es, he labored under "a considerable
strain and spoke in low, weak voice,
which at times, though deathly silence pre-
vailed, failed to reach the rear of the hail
except an indistinct muttering. The
reading, which was as rapid as If the pre-
mier had been in hurry to get through
with disagreeable task, lasted eighteen
minutes, and was interrupted only by
,pauses TO swallop several glasses of water
The members in the meanwhile sat stolidJy
silent, and when the premier had finished
and bowed to the assembly not a murmur
of approval was heard throughout the
house. where the pages immedia tely began
to distribute printed copies of the speech.
The Premier's Statement. %
The premiers statement was as follows:
THE government, after examining the ad-
dress of the lower house of parliament in
accordance with-the instructions of the en-
peror, is fully prepared TO lend its entire
support to the elaboration of the questions
suggested by the lower house in so far
they do not go beyond limits of the legisla-
tive initiatives assigned to the lower house.
This support the government will also ex-
tend to the amendment of the franchise
law. although 1t is of the opinion that this
question should not be made the subject of
immediate discussion, inasmuch as the low
er house is only just entering upon its labors
and therefore is not yet in a position to
ascertain the need of such a change
Special caution must be shown by the
council OF ministers in regard to the CUES
tions raised by the lower house of satisfy
ing without delay the needs of the rural
at ND nj he rG1
footing of equality with the other classes,
of satisfying the requirements OF the WORK
ing people, of framing measure providing
for obligatory elementary education of
making the wealthiest classes liable to the
payment Of taxes, of reorganizing the pro-
vincial administration and OF introducing a
system of self-government with special con-
sderation for the peculiar conditions OF the
frontier provinces.
The council of ministers attaches no less
Importance to the suggested law relating
to the liberty of the subject. or conscience
and of the press and to freedom of meeting
and association. Nevertheless, 1t considers
1t necessary, In preparing such laws, 10
provide the administration with such er-
fective means as to enable the government
to prevent or counteract any abuse OF the
liberties conceded.
with reference to the solution or the
agrarian question by the transfer OF the
crown appanages and monastery ana
church lands and by the forcible expro-
priation of private landed property, which
includes the private property or peasants
the council of ministers holds Ii to be It's
duty to declare that such a method Is
wholly inadmissple. The government can
not deprive one party of its possessions IN
order to bestow them on another 10 COR
test the right of the private possession oi
land would in fact be to contest the right
to possess any private property at All.
Throughout the world and in all grades or
the development OF civil ne Ihe ~ ~lnvioIa
bility of property constitutes the corner
stone of the welfare of the people and the
fundamental basis of the life of the state:
..The resources still at the disposal or
the state and the wide application of legal
methods will doubtless help to find sue
cessful solution of the agrarian question
without undermining the powers OF the
fatherland.
..The other laws referred to by the lower
house touch on the responsibility of the
ministers and the abolition of the upper
house. The council of ministers does not
feel itself justified in entertaining these
proposals, as they involve radical altera-
tions of the fundamental law and condi-
tions which are beyond the province OF the
lower house.
Finally as regards the solieitude Of the
lower house to secure justice and right IN
the army and navy, the government de-
clares that in the army those principles are
already unshakably established, and tnat
the solitude of its illustrious head Is now
directed to the Improvement OF the mate
rial position of the soldiers and to devising
means for a more extensive reaizaton Oh
fhe mea slires directed to that end
..As regards the proposed abolition of the
exceptional laws and the arbitrary acss OF
off1cials the council Of ministers considers
this wholly within the domain of public ad-
ministration in which the lower house has
only the right of Interpolation. Further
more. the consolidation of the adminisira-
tiofl into state of strict legality forms the
subject of special care on the part of the
government which viii net fail to see that
the conduct of government officials Is in
spired by similar endeavors
.sTfe government also recognizes that the
present exceptional Laws 90 not suffice in
extraordinary cases to insure tranquility
and ORDER and the ministers therefore are
engaged In drafting more perfect measures
to that end. II the exceptional laws, de-
spite their imperfectfuns. have been re-
of this Is to be found exclusively In the In