Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-05-08
EARLY CONFLICT
 FEARED IN RUSSIA
OBNOXIOUS LAW WAS PR0MUL-
 GATED LAST NIGHT.
Tho Exemption of Grown Lands From Taxation and Reservine of Power of Amnesty Are 0b-
 iectionable Features.

1ectl0naDle FeACureS.
 St Petersburg, May S.-The dan ger of an early conflict between the government and parliament has been greatly increased by what has happened within the last twenty four hours. The good impression produced by the official intimation of the new premier that the emperor and the government were sincerely desirous of working in harmony with parliament, which was accept ed in good faith by the leaders of the constitutional democrats, enab- ling them to counsel moderation, has largely been dissipated and in It's place the old feeling of mistrust has been revived.
 The liberals are utterly dumb founded, in view of the semi-official assurances on the subject, by the un- expected promulgation late last night of the obnoxious fundamental law in slightly modified form. At one stroke 1t put an end to the claim which the new cabinet tried to fos- ter, 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. exempting crown lands from taxa tion and appropriation, and another reserving the power of amnesty for political prisoners to the emperor. run counter to the already expressed will of the majority and are bound to produce a clash. The only con- mendable new feature of the funda- mental law is a provision to the eff feet that imperial orders must be countersigned by the president Of the council of ministers or the mem- Der of the cabinet wliose depart ment is affected. But so long as the cabinet is not responsible to parlia- ment 1t Is easy for his majesty to dismiss an unwilling minister. and replace him by one who will do his bidding.
 The indignation aroused by the emperor's attempt to build an arti- ficial dyke around the prerogatives of the crown has been intensified by the astounding action of the police last night in dispersing meeting of some members of the lower house of parliament and of the upper house, or new council of the empire, at the hall of the Economical society. With out any warning the building was surrounded by the Ismailovsky guard regiment 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 disperse under instructions of the chief of police. Tn spite of vigorous protests that the meeting was entirely legal, the po- lice captain who was in charge of the police and troops was memorable and the members of parliament were compelled to yield to force and left the hall after drawing up a formal protest which was signed by twenty eight members of parliament. M. Roditcheff, a member of parliament for St Petersburg, hurried after mid- night to the hall where the constitu- tional democrats were holding their convention and announced to the members there assembled the action taken by the police. An indescrib- able scene of fury followed after which Roditcheff in a speech, which was cheered to the echo. declared that the governments appeal for confidence had again been false and that the people must rely upon them selves. It was decided that one of the first things after the assembling of parliament shall be demand for the dismissal of the chief of police.
 As if these incidents were not suf- ficient to excite the members of par lament the local authorities with fatuous genius for blundering in- famed the working classes yester- day. Without warning they ordered many of the leaders of the workmen to leave the city. They were not even given time to remove their fam flies. The matter was brought to the attention of meeting of one hundred and twenty-two peasant and workmen members of parliament who denounced 1t as an attempt on the part of the government to bring about a strike on the eve of the as- sembling of parliament. for the pur- pose of provoking struggle and un- der cover of the disorder to dissolve parliament. Nevertheless the meet ing appealed to the workmen to do nothing rash and to trust in parlia- ment to fight for liberty against re- pression.
 This meeting also appointed a "scandai committee" to collect evil dence of violations of the rights of members of parliament. two of whom. one priest. have been searched since their arrival in St Pe- tersburg. and also to investigate the conspiracy on the part of the author ities to induce members of parlia- ment to lodge In government build ings.
 A mass meeting of "BIack Hun dreds" held yesterday exacted an oath from all present to the effect that if parliament Is found to con- sist of traitors" they will offer their lives to protect the autocrscy.
 No better evidence of the feverish haste of the government to strength en its defenses at all points before the assembling of parliament could be -given than the fact that twelve columns of the 0ficisl Messenger to-day are devoted to ukases and or derl The emperor has yielded to the demand Of the Russian popula- ton of the Baltic provinces and Po- land, where no elections have been rsrl A- --r-- @. .<~-. r- -.--