The Mena weekly star., 1906-05-24

l
 St. Petersburg, May 19.-The criti-
 cal moment which will decide whether
 there will be peace or war between
 the crown and the people apparent l ly arrived with the adoption by the
 lower house of parliament Thursday
 night of its reply to the speech from
 he throne. President Mourometsen 1 has gone to Peterhof to present the l reply to the emperor and his majesty's
 response is awaited with great anx- l iety. Popular opinion considers that 1 the government has no option between surrender and war. Nevertheless,
 while events during the past week | followed each other with extreme ra- pidity the issue now raised is not like- | ly to be decided quickly. The Rus sians generally believe that the em-
 peror, court and government undoubt- l edly have been daZed by the blunt, | direct fashion with which parliament 1 has spoken out and their policy na-
 turally will be to gain time. The em- | peror personally is in a benefcent | frame of mind and for the present will 
 lot listen to the councils of those who 1 advise him to dissolve parliament and 1 fight. Nevertheless. he is resolved not to yield anything like all that parlia ment demands. It safely can be pre- | dicted. therefore, that he will pursue
 | temporizing policy with partial anl- nesty as the first sop thrown to the country. The constitutional demo-
 cratic leaders whose programme would | be upset by the dissolution of parlia-
 ment are quite as anxious as the em- l peror to avoid the precipitation of | conflict. They would regard the fail-
 ure of the government to declare war
 as a big preliminary victory of which
 they would take advantage by forcing
 through their agrarian project upon which they count to strengthen them-
 selves in the country before the final battle opens.
 | That the court reactionists headed
 oy Gen. Trepoff are seeking in every
 way possible to influence the emperor | to fight is apparent by the discovery
 made by the Rech, of a secret circular
 O have the "black hundred" organ cations immediately dispatch to the
 zations immediately dispatch to the emperor protests against amnesty and | the abolition of the death penalty.
 These have been flowing into Peter
 lof from all directions, over 50 being
 printed in the Official Messenger Fri 1 day.
 | Dispatches from the interior report
 demonstrations in front of the pris-
 ons in all parts of Russia in favor of the release of the political prison CTS. At Simferpol troops surrounded ! the prison where the political prison CTS were making a demonstration and l fired at them through the windows
 In St. Petersburg the political pris-
 oners awaiting transportation at the deporting prison hung out red flags from the windows and sang the Mar
 seillaise" througout the night while crowds outside joined in the revolu-
 tionary song.
 | The committee of the council of | the empire or upper house of par | lament Friday concluded it's draft of | the reply of that house to the speech | from the throne. It declares that
 while carrying out the suggestions of
 the emperor in the speech from the throne, the upper house will aim to
 assure the welfare of the people and
 the prosperity of the country and ex-
 presses the hope of the upper house
 that the union of it's efforts with those of the lower house will prove success ful in enlightening the people through
 the medium of general education with
 'egard to safeguarding the rights and l freedom accorded to them.
 Hope is also expressed by the upper
 house for success in developing the re-
 sourc s of the country and for the prosperity of all classess.
 The upper house is profoundly con- vinced that the diffusion of the prin- ciples of local autonomy in districts where they heretofore have been lack
 ing will if due regard is paid to the idiosyncracies of the various nation
 alities succeed in creating solid. en- lightened state, to the glory of the
 emperor and the happiness of the free
 Russian citizens.
 Penalty for Accepting Passes.
 Washington, May 19-The anti-pass
 provision of the rate bill was taken