Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-08
A FUNDAMENTAL LAW
Obnoxious Creation of Russian
Bureaucracy.
TO OCCASION A CONFLICT
Between the Government and First
Parliament.
POLITICAL MEETING DISPERSED
Action of Police at st. Petersburg
Raised Storm Of Indignation
From Members of Parties.
POLITICAL MEETING DISPERSED

ST. PETERSBURG, May S.-The danger
of an early conflict between the government
and parliament has been greatly increased
by what has happened within the last twen-
ty-four hours. The good impression pro-
duced by the official intimation of the new
premier that the emperor and the govern
ment were sincerely desirous of working in
harmony with parliament, which was ac-
cepted in good faith by the leaders of the
constitutional democrats enabling them to
counsel moderation. has largely been dissi-
pated and in its place the old feeling OF
mistrust has been revived.
The liberals are utterly dumfounded. In
view of the semi-official assurances on the
subject. by the unexpected PRONUNCIATION
late last night of the obnoxious funda-
mental law In a slightly modified FORM AT
one stroke it put end to the claim Which
the cabinet tried to foster, namely
that the downfall of the Witte cabinet was
due to imperial disapproval OF the original
draft of the law. An article in the law not
mentioned in last nights dispatches. ex-
empting crown lands from taxation and eX-
propriation, and another reserving the
power of amnesty for political prisoners to
the emperor, run counter to the already ex-
pressed will of the majority and are bound
to produce a clash
The only commendable new feature of the
fundamental law is a provision to the effect
that imperial orders must be countersigned
by the president of the council Of ministers
or the member of the cabinet whose depart
ment is affected. But so long as the cabinet
is not responsible to parliament, it Is easy
for the emperor to dismiss unwilling
minister and replace him by one who will
do his bidding.
Indignation is General.
The Indignation aroused by the emperor's
attempt to build an artificial dyke around
the prerogatives of the crown has been in
tensifed by the astounding action of the po-
lice last night In dispensing a meeting OF
some members of the lower house Of par
Lament and of the upper house, or new
council of the empire, at the hall of the
Economical Society. Without any warning
the building was surrounded by the Ismail
ovsky guard regiment and a detachment of
cavalry and a hundred policemen marched
into the hall where Count Heyden, marshal
of the nobility and member OF parliament
for st. petersburg, was presiding, and Or
dered the meeting to dispense under in
structions from the chief of police. In
spite of vigorous protests that the meeting
was entirely legal under the regulations
governing the society, the police captain
who was in charge of the police and troops
was ineXorable and the members of parlia-
ment were compelled to yield to force and
left the hall after drawing up a formal pro-
test. which was signed by twenty-eight
members Of parliament
A Scene Of Fury.
NJ Roditcheff, q member of parliament for
ST. Petersburg, hurried after midnight to
the hall where the constitutional democrats
We're holding their convention and an
nounced 10 the members there assembled
the action taken by the police. An inde-
scribable scene of fury followed, after
which Roditchef, in an impressive speech,
which was cheered 10 the echo, declared
that the governments appeal for confidence
had again been false, and that the people
must rely upon themselves 1t was decided
that one of the first things after the
sembling of parliament shall be demand
for the dismissal of the chief of police.
AS if these incidents were not sufficient to
excite the members of parliament the local
authorities, with fatuous genius for blum
dering, intlamed the working classes yester
day. Without warning they ordered many
of the leaders of the workmen TO leave the
city. They We're not even given time to re-
move their families.
The matter was brought to the attention
of meeting of 122 peasant and workmen
members of parliament, who denounced 1t
as an attempt on the part of the govern
ment to bring about u strike on the eve OF
the assembling of parliament, for the pur
pose of provoking a struggle, and under
cover of the disorder TO dissolve parliament.
Nevertheless the meeting appealed to the
workmen at this critical juncture to do
nothing rash and to trust in parliament to
fight for liberty against repression.
A Scandal Committee.
This meeting also appointed a scandal
committee" to collect evidence of violations
of the rights of members of parliament,
two Of whom. one "A priest, have been
searched since their arrival in st. Peters
burg, and also to investigate the conspiracy
on the part of the authorities to induce
members of parliament to lodge IN govern
ment buildings.
a mass meeting of black hundreds held
yesterday, under the presidency of NJ. Dub
rovin poured oil on the flames by the exac-
ton of an oath from all present to the
effect that If parliament is found to consist
ol traitors they viii offer their lives to
protect the autocracy
No better evidence of the feverish haste
of the government to strengthen its de-
fenses at all points before the assembling
of parliament could be given than the fact
that twelve columns of the Official Mes
senger today devoted to ukases and
orders. The emperor has yielded to the
demand of the Russian population of the
Baltic provinces and Poland. where no
elections have been held. by granting two
seats in parliament to each. They will be
selected from the purely Russian inhabi-
tants. Thirteen members are also assigned
to central Asia Samarkand Russian Tur-
kestan and Syr-Darya, Asiatic Russia. with
the restriction that they elect one Cossack: !:
six for the Ussuri, South Siberia. and
Trans Balkaian provinces, and one for
Yakutsk east Siberia.
Required Restraint of Leaders.
The members of the constitutional demo-
cratic convention when they reassembled
here today were very much excited over
the issue of the fundamental law and the
dispersal of the meeting OF members OF
parliament last night and il required all
the influence OF the leaders to restrain
them from doing something desperate. So
serious was the situation that the central
committee OF the party Immediately framed
resolution on the subject.
There a tremendous uproar when
Prof. Milukoff introduced the subject. He
said: We had reasons to believe that
the mad folly of the Witte government in
trying TO force the emperor to sign the
odious fundamental law after storm OF
Indignation had been aroused throughous
the country hY the nuhlicatinr of the draft