The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-05-15
BRILLIANT CEREMONY At OPENING
Of THE NEW RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT
subjects to choose from among them.

inspire and unite you.
Il shall ~inviolate the constitutions
which l have granted with the firm as
surance that you will give your
strength to the service Of your coun-
try, and especially L the needs of the
peasantry, which are 50 close to my
heart, and to the education of the peo-
pie and their economical welfare, re-
~membering hat to the dignity and
prosperity of the state not only for
freedom, but order founded upon JUS
tice, is necessary.
Il desire from my heart to see uy
people happy and hand down to my son
an empire secure, well organized and
enlightened.
May God bless the work that lies
before me in unity with the council Of
the empire and the imperial douma.
May this day be the day of the moral
revival of Russia and the day for the
renewal of it's highest forces.
"Approach with solemnity the labOrs
for which | call you, and you will be
worthy of the responsibilities put upon
you by the emperor and people.
May God assist u.s."
Emperor Nicholas read slowly. The
duHlII dUIt anu CNCA olOio1 oi1C III 1
sovereign in renewing his pledges and
asking the cooperation of parliament
for the regeneration of the country was
only negatively satisfactory Courtier5
and spectators other than members Of
the national parliament lead the chear-
ing, but the members were OminOusly
silent, expressing neither approval or
diSapprOVal
What ranked most was the failure
of the emperor to mention amnesty anG
later when the members assembled III
the tauride palace, away from the spell
of the throne room, many Of them were
with difficulty restrained from precipi~
tating matters by offering resolutions
on the subject. The constitutional
democratic leaders, however, who dom
mated everything, were anxious not to
weaken the reply, while the lower
house will prepare a reply to the
speech from the throne, in which is
sues with the crown will be joined, and
succeeded in staving off premature &C.
ton.
The emperor and expresses after
leaving the palace entered a launch,
passed down the river, boarded the i'm
perial yacht Alexandra and returned to
PeterhOf.
The crowds on the banks OF the
river and islands heartily cheered the
imperial party. There was no other
incident.
A pathetic figure in the scene at the
palace was that of Count Witte, of
whom the correspondent of the Asso-
ciated Press caught a glimpse, during
the ceremony, pacing the corridor, en-
tirely alone. Later he entered the
throne hall clad in the gold and black
uniform of a secretary of state, n Of
the highest dignitaries of the court
which still remains to him, and with
the ribbon of Alexander Nevsky Or
der on his breast. He o. his place
in the ranks of the old bureaucracy.
Former Interior Minister DurnOvO was
there chatting animatedly and earnest
Qy with his companions, but White
seemed to find a cold welcome from
everyone.
Finally he wandered away and stood
apart until the imperial pageant ap-
preached.
The scene around the tauride palace
was in striking contrast with that at
the winter palace. Each, indeed, was
typical and told an eloquent story. At
the tauride palace, tens of thousands
of people were acclaiming their repre-
sentatives; at the winter palace le-
gions of military and courtiers by the
hundreds cheered for the emperor.
Nevertheless the proceedings of the
lower house were not SPECTACULAR; in
fact they were most tame in compar-
isOn with. those at the winter palace.
The only genuine flashes of fire which
showed the real temper Of the mem
berS Of the house, were when Professor
MOurOmtseff who had been elected
president Of the lower house invited
government officials and clerks to leave
the hall, and when Ivan Petrunkevltch
in a few eloquent words from the ros-
trum told the auditors hat the first
thought of the parliament should be
for those who have suffered in the
cause of liberty, who now filled the
prisons and whose arms were stretched
out in hope and confidence to the peo-
ple's representatives. More enthusiast
tic cheering than that which greeted
this appeal never was heard in a po-
litical convention in the United States.
The constitutional and amnesty were
the keynotes of President Mourotsef' S
speech.
By the irony Of fate Ivan Petrunke-
With, whose first mention Of the word
constitution twelve years ago, was dis
missed by Emperor Nicholas H., as a
foolish dream, today stood in the front
rank of the members of the represen-
tative chamber, while Emperor Nicho-
las put his final seal upon the Russian
parliament and begged the representa-
tives of the people to co-oerate with
him in working for the welfare of the
country.
The lower house OF the parliament
adjourned over until tomorrow in Cr-
der not to interfere with the opening
exercises Of the council of the empire
and also to permit the committee of
the constitutional democrats to consid
er the reply to the speech from the
throne.