Chargé Eddy to the Secretary of State.

No. 240.]

Sir: I have the honor to transmit to you herewith the translation of the imperial manifest which appeared in St. Petersburg this morning.

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.

I have, etc.,

Spencer Eddy.
[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.


(Signed in his own hand.)
Nicholas.