American Embassy,
St.
Petersburg
,
October 31,
1905
.
No. 240.]
I am enabled to send this dispatch to-day through the courtesy of the
British embassy, whose courier will leave to-morrow morning by boat. The
railroads are not yet operating and postal communication does not yet
exist.
[Inclosure.—Translation.]
imperial manifest.
By the grace of God we, Nicholas Second, Emperor and
Autocrat of all the Russias, Tsar of Poland, Grand Duke of Finland,
etc.
The rioting and agitation in the capitals and in many localities of
our Empire has filled our heart with great and deep affliction. The
welfare of the Russian Emperor is united with the welfare of the
people, and its troubles are his troubles. The agitation which has
broken out may bring confusion among the people and threaten the
entirety and unity of our Empire.
The solemn vow of the imperial service commands us, with all the
strength of intelligence and of our power, to endeavor to stop as
quickly as possible agitations so dangerous to the Empire. In
ordering the competent authorities to take measures to avert the
disorders, the troubles, and violence, and to guard peaceful people
who are eager to fulfill quietly the duties placed upon them, we
have found it necessary, in order to insure the proper execution of
the general measures marked out by us, to unify the action of the
supreme government.
We lay upon the government the fulfillment of our absolute will:
- 1.
- To grant to the population the inviolable basis of free
citizenship, on the ground of actual inviolable personality,
freedom of conscience, speech, meeting, and unions;
- 2.
- Without stopping the intended elections for the State
Douma, to include now in the participation of the Douma as
far as possible, in view of the corresponding short term
which remains before the convocation of the Douma, those
classes of the population which up to now were entirely
deprived of the right to vote and to allow in future the
further development of the element of a general right of
election which is to be established by new legislation;
and
- 3.
- To establish as an inviolable rule that no law shall take
effect without its confirmation by the State Douma and that
the persons elected by the population should be guaranteed
the possibility of actual control over the legal activity of
the persons appointed by us.
[Page 778]
We call on all the true sons of Russia to remember their duties
toward their fatherland, to assist in combating these unheard-of
agitations, and together with us to unite all their strength in
establishing quietness and peace in their country.
Given in Peterhof
on the 17th day of
October in the year of our Lord 1905 and the eleventh year
of our reign.
(Signed in his own hand.)
Nicholas.