The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-09
Russian Commissioners Lock
 Horns Over Proposition
FIGHTING IN THE INTERIOR
Many Peasants Have Been Killed in Clashes With Landowners in Their Efforts to Take the Lands
 Forclbly.

St. Petersburg, July S.-The first para graph of the proposed agrarian law viz: The augmentation of the lands of the peasants by the appropriation of all state and crown domains and church and mon- astery lands, has been accepted by the commission of the loweri house with prac- tical unanimity. The commissioners have now locked horns over the mode of ex- propriation, and the mode of disposal of private estates, and the end is not yet in sight.
 The determination to appropriate church lands which in distinction to the great estates owned by the monasteries lie scat tered like the lands of the common schools in America, in small tracts throughout the country, and support the local clergy, will cause complications. Such action would deprive the parish priests of the principal part of their scanty emoluments, and sneeessitate an equivalent from some other source.
 Drouth Finally Broken.
 A correspondent of the Associated Press has just completed tour of the provinces of Samara and Saratov. He reports that the drouth Is finally broken, but the rains have come too late to save the crops and help the peasants. who are in a ptiabe condition. Their cattle have either been sold or are starving in the fields The government relief granaries were com pletely empited during last years famine The present agrarian disorders which can be expected to grow worse are due large ly to the necessity of the peasants seiz- ing food and forage to nreserve their lives, and save from starvation the re- mainder of their cattle. These disorders have reached the highest pitch in the province of Voroneseh. where. the troops and cassacks, though in considerable force. are practically helpless, and on the defensive
 Many Killed In Attacks.
 Many peasants have been killed or wounded in desperate attacks on the mill itary patrols and the rural guard Ac- cording to a telegram received from Tam boy peasants sacked the estate of Princess Baritnskey, attacked the commissary and a band of rural guards. The commissary and four policemen were seriously wounded.
 In another section of the province of Tambov a body of peasants, armed with pitchforks and spades resisted a squad of dragons. Because of this resistance the troops fired. killing three peasants and wounding many others.
 At Kedaby. southeast of Tifiis. hand to-hand fight has occurred between CO.'S saks and an armed band of peasants with the result that several men were killed on both sides
 There has been fatal encounter at Krassnopolsk, in the province of Podolia, between rich peasants and poor peasants. The poor men were incensed because the rich men had sent a telegram to the lower house protesting against the pro- posed distribution of land. In the fighting one of the wealthy peasants killed four. and seriously wounded several of the poor men.
 Oppose Agragrian Programme.
 In St Petersburg a thousand workmen have met and passed a resolution opposing the agrarian programme of the group of toll in the lower house. They declare that Rearful consequences would ensue if this programme became effective. and urge the members of the group to re- cognize their error and cooperate with the social democrats and the laborites
 There have been grave disorders on the estate of Minister of Agriculture Stich- insky in Tula province. The representa- tive of the Associated Press at Rostov reports that the crop conditions In the Kuban and Don districts are above the average.
 Agrarian disorders among the cossack agricultural population are not expected, although there has been some ferment among the military levies over having 10 do police duty.
 NJ Mouromtseff, president of the lower house. received today a couple of tele~ graphic oddities. One is a dispatch from the conservative peasantry in the province of Yaroslav asking him to use his in- fuence to have the Emperor declait1 military dictatorship. and the other is from a group of Moscovites complaining that the number of words of foreign origin used in the debates in the lower house render them unintellibible to the common