London, December 1, 1892.
THE second annual meeting of the Society

of Friends of Russian Freedom will be
held on December 6th, at 4 p.m., in West-
minster Town Hall. Dr. Spence Watson will
take the chair.

For about three years a body of devoted men
and women, assembled at the call of the eminent
Newcastle leader, have carried on the arduous
task of fixing upon the Russian question as
much of the attention of English-speaking people
as is possible in our feverish time. Through
all difficulties the work has been carried on
uninterruptedly, and this alone gives us now a
stronger position than we had a year ago.
Certain social works are like newly-planted
trees. If one sees them not withering for a
long time, but keeping green outside, one may
be sure that they are striking out roots into the
soil. The Russian cause has unquestionably
struck deeper into the English soil within the
last year.

More people know of the existence
of our society and understand its aims. The
public sympathy with our work has grown and
the circle of men and women who have made
the cause of Russian freedom their own has
widened. It is widening daily. The great
calamity which struck the Russian people in
the course of last year and the vast work of
collecting relief have contributed much towards
bringing before the public notice the abnormal
and most deplorable interior conditions of
Russia, and have called forth that feeling of
international brotherhood which is the founda-
tion of all good work done for Russia from
outside.

As to the practical manifestations of the exten-
sion of the pro-Russian movement abroad, we
must mention, in the first place, the strengthen-
ing of our American branch, which now not

merely reprints FREE RUSSIA, but re-edits it to
some extent, and has funds enough to secure
the continuation of the issue for about two
years in advance. There are fair prospects of
the foundation of an Au tralian branch of our
society.

At the last annual meeting the Secretary
announced a forthcoming German edition of
FREE RUSSIA. In the course of last year ten
numbers of the German Frei Russland appeared
in Switzerland, meeting with a most cordial
reception among all the advanced parties of
Germany. No formal German branch of our
society has been founded as yet, but we have
been fortunate in enlisting a number of promi-
nent men in Germany who are in thorough
sympathy with our objects and line of action,
and who have staunchly supported us on many

occasions. To them we owe the failure of an
attempted extradition, having rather the charac-
ter of a kidnapping case, which two months
ago the Russian spies tried to carry into effect
in conspiracy with the Magdeburg police. The
society has got a strong footing in Germany,
and its position is sure to improve, which,
we hardly need to say, is of very great im-
portance, Germany being Russia's next-door
neighbour. Yet, it must be confessed that the
position of the German Frei Russland, as a
periodical, is far from being satisfactory. In
fact, it is more precarious than that of the
English edition.

This brings us to the important point of
considering the actual position and prospects
of the paper in this country. For the two last
years the main practical object of our society
has been the carrying on of FREE RUSSIA.
With the experience of these two years before
us, we can conscientiously affirm that the
publication has done a good work for the
Russian cause. Though very young, as papers
ge, it has acquired a certain place among the
thousands of periodicals trumpeting to the world
in various tongues their various messages.
Some of the largest English, American and
Continental papers (the French excepted),
numbering their readers by hundreds of thous-
ands, frequently quote from our leaflet. Some
of the articles of FREE RUSSIA have been
reprinted in full up to seventeen times on
the Continent, widening our circle of readers.
enormously. We have thus succeeded in
realising, to some extent, our original plan of
making our special paper a source of informa-
tion which other larger papers should utilise
and spread. We hope, as time goes on, to
be able to realise this object more fully.

But the number of our regular subscribers is
small in this country, as well as in Germany
and America, and we do not expect it to greatly
increase in the future. There is unmistakeably
a certain general and permanent interest in
Russian things in this community.

People

read willingly news about Russia in their own papers, and accordingly the editors will have such news. But the same people have neither time nor interest enough to regularly read a periodical devoted entirely to Russian affairs. That is how and why it comes to pass that our paper, whilst honoured by such an unusual amount of attention, remains itself such a small affair. It is like a sort of ferment, the action of which can in no way be measured by the quantity in which it is introduced.

In another part of our present issue the reader will find an article upon the building of ships with iron cages. The case proves to demonstration that a small quantity of ferment will occassionally produce a good deal of fermentation.

There is nothing contradictory or discouraging in the fact that our paper, parts of which sometimes reach millions of readers presumably having some influence upon themcannot be properly supported by the few thousands of regular subscribers who get it in totality. No paper having any special cause to champion and any mission to fulfil has ever been self-supporting. The anti-slavery papers, the missionary papers, the organs of the peace and arbitration societies,-all papers of the nature of FREE RUSSIA-have been and are supported on principle by those who sympathise with their object and believe in the usefulness of their work.

It seems to be a law of social life that all the best, most humane ideas, feelings and aspirations, which are to remould in the future the opinions and institutions of the community, should be harboured for a long time among minorities, as infinitesimal when compared with the community, as the ferment with the grapejuice that it turns to wine.

FREE RUSSIA needs funds. It is expected that more than one speaker at the coming annual meeting will make an appeal for them, and we hope that it will meet with a response.

ONE

NE still hears occasionally the opinion that the revolutionary outbreaks in Russia have imposed a policy of reprisals and reaction on the government, which otherwise might be inclined to make some concessions to the spirit of the age. The revolutionists, on the contrary, maintain that no concessions have been made by the Russian government, except under the pressure of the fear of some imminent outbreak.

Looking upon what is going on in Russia, it is impossible to deny that the evidence of facts is decidedly in favour of the latter view.

The disclosures brought about by the recent famine, and the light they have thrown upon the interior conditions of Russia, are of such a nature that the very paving-stones might under

stand the necessity of broad and general interior reforms.

But there were no outbreaks worth speaking of, and the result is that we see now unmistakeable signs of the strengthening of the reaction in Russia. The man whose political views and religious intolerance bring us back to the Byzantine period, Mr. Pobyedonostzev, -whom even Mr. Stead could not digest,has been appointed to the post of actual president of the state council, the Tzarevich being merely a figure head. We are informed from St. Petersburg that the position of the new minister of finance, who indulged in a good deal of talk about the necessity for some sort of general reform, is quite insecure. He may be turned out any day. Persistent rumours circulate in the capital about the imminent abolition of the trial by jury (for common offences, as political ones have long been tried by special secret tribunals). It is affirmed that the present minister of justice, Mr. Manasseïn, being against this "reform," Mr. von Pleve and Mr. Mouraviov have been proposed to the Tzar as possible successors to Mr. Monasseïn. Both, it is said, have consented to accept the post on condition that the "reform be carried out by somebody else before they come to office. The post, it is said, has been offered to Likhachov (famous for his infamous exploits as a political inquisitor in 1873-1874), who has expressed his perfect willingness to accept the post on any condition.

IT T is hardly surprising that, such being the state of things in Russia, the appearance of a clandestine revolutionary paper "The leaflet of the Narodnaya Volia," became "the event of the day," as our correspondent says, and according to the same authority, "is read with avidity both by those who endorse its programme and by those who do not." On account both of the time of its appearance and of its size and contents, this publication is worth noticing. It could be issued only by a well-organised and fair-sized clandestine printing office, and it has evidently been written by experienced and thoughtful men.

As to its programme, its main points are summed up in the following lines:

"There is only one way to restore life to Russia : first of all, we must have political freedom. It is absolutely necessary, in order that radical reforms may be made and energetic measures undertaken to render the peasantry and working classes prosperous, and to raise the standard of the masses. In addition to this we want some security for the possibility of permanent work in this direction; we want to become, in the fullest sense, educated workers ourselves; we want to live a full and free life, not a fictitious but a real social life, together with the working

population; in short, we want educated society and the working masses fused together into one whole,-a free people. All this can be realised only by the efforts of the healthyminded portion of educated society, supported by the workers and, to some extent, by the peasantry. The bitter experience of the past ten years has taught us how useless it is to expect anything from above.' Now instead of grieving for the lost 'dawn of our regeneration' ---instead of looking mournfully backwards-we must set to work to renew our 'revival'; just such a revival as there was 30 years ago. Indeed, in the interests of the people, even an imperfectly successful attempt to reform our life from below out of the people's own strength, may be of more worth than freedom, granted as a gift from those in anthority-it will at least lay a foundation for the political independence of the people.

"Perhaps some will say that we are running on too far ahead, that we have not yet developed to this point: both society and the masses are so inert, and the government is so strong'...... Let us cast aside these everlasting sophisms. Russia cannot form the one exception to the general rule that a despotic government inevitably ends in a collapse when once the people rise. However gloomy may be the future of the Russian people, in any case the days of the autocracy are drawing to a close; time has made many breaches in its Chinese wall, and now so huge a crack has become visible to all men that it cannot be plastered up like the former ones. The only question now is how and when the liquidation of the government's affairs will take place, how and when the power will be handed over to the people. But the time depends mainly upon the action of the governed mass; it is not written down beforehand in the book of fate, and the conditions under which the transference of power shall be effected, will only be decided by the action of the living forces of society."

In conclusion, the paper says, what is now the watchword of the whole Russian opposition:

"Historical conditions sometimes join together widely differing social groups, by forcing them into the same path in order to reach some common aim. This is the case with us; the revolutionary forces are bound together with the best elements of the liberal opposition, and even with those who are simply engaged in intellectual work. When once, by means of propaganda and agitation, the revolutionary elements of both educated classes and working classes can become fused into one solid whole, supported by help and sympathy from among the peasantry, they will be able to form a party strong enough to take upon itself the initiation of open warfare against the government."

The

THE

Moral of the Prison
Ship Affair.

HE letter of our correspondent about the building upon the Clyde of prison ships for the transport of political exiles to Sakhalien, published in our last issue, has produced quite a stir in the community. The news made the round of the English press. Reporters were sent to inquire into the matter. One of them went to the Russian Embassy, and had there some amusing experiences, which we reproduce below. Others chose a better way to discover the truth. They went to various ship-builders. At first the conclusion to which most of the papers came was that the news had no foundation. One of the leading Scotch papers, the N.B. Daily Mail, gave the following summary of the

case:

"After a most exhaustive inquiry at every ship-building yard on the Clyde, we are able to give the most positive denial to the above report. No Clyde ship-building firm has had an order in hand for the building of convict steamers for the Russian government; nor do we believe that in the event of such an order being given out, any ship-builder on the Clyde would tender for it."-ED. N.B.D.M., November 10.

But the interest evinced by the public in this affair continued "increasing day by day," as the Glasgow Weekly Mail (November 19th), puts it. Further inquiries have proved that a convict ship, the "Yaroslavl", is actually being built at Dumbarton. It is, however, alleged that it is an ordinary convict-ship for conveying common-law offenders from Odessa to Sakhalien, a sort of maritime "barge," similar to those described by Mr. George Kennan as journeying from Nizhny Novgorod to Perm, and from Tioumen to Tomsk, only cleaner and more comfortable. We are quite willing to believe that. But political prisoners are transported upon the Siberian and Volga "barges," described by Mr. Kennan, in separate cells, side by side with those of the common-law offenders. They never form more than a small proportion of the passengers.

Now there is on Sakhalien a large and growing penitentiary colony for political offenders. They have all been transported to that terrible island in small batches by steamers from Odessa via Suez. The "Yaroslavl" is admittedly intended for such a service and will transport these political offenders.

There is no shadow of doubt about that. It is quite immaterial from an ethical point of view whether the politicals will be few or many

the majority or the minority of the passengers. We therefore consider the communication of our correspondent as fully confirmed.

66

In an excellent paragraph upon this subject the London Daily Chronicle (Nov. 7) discusses the delicate question whether building slave ships for the Tzar "is or is not like taking blood money?" During the last Russian scare," says the paper, "several firms of coal owners refused to coal Russian ships, and they received much praise for their patriotism. And if one should not supply the enemies of one's country, what about supplying the enemies of humanity? It is a curious point of ethical dialectics"-the paper concludes.

want to We do not

It is upon this point that we say a few dispassionate words. propose to start an agitation to prevent -supposing this possible-the building of such ships in English dockyards. Still less do we feel inclined to inveign against Messrs Denny and Brothers, the builders, or their workmen, who, according to the Glasgow Weekly Mail, "instead of having any aversion to building such a steamer, would be only too pleased if their employers could obtain a number of similar vessels to build."

It would have been an philanthropical heroism if any shipbuilder had act of splendid refused to build or if the workers of some shipyard had refused to work at a ship, on learning that it would serve to assist the Tzar in punishing the liberty-loving sons and daughters of Russia. But one can not claim from people heroism as a thing due, or feel bitterly against them if they do not show it.

The fact that men of such high moral standard and eminence among their countrymen as Dr. Spence Watson, Mr. Allanson Picton, the brothers Thompson, Miss Hesba Stretton, and many more, have given to the cause of Russian Freedom, their souls and their hearts, is for the Russian patriots an ample compensation for the scores of prison ships built in English yards.

The moral which we want to draw from the affair is this: the Russian government constantly receives help from outside, and help in

a much more substantial form than the one which gave rise to the present notice. The Dumbarton ship-builders will help the Tzar in transporting his prisoners to their destination. But they will not in any way help the Tzar in capturing these prisoners, or in maintaining his tyranny over the millions of the Russian people, as is done by every foreign banker who subscribes to a Russian loan, and by every man who consents to buy from the banker a Russian security. help the Russian autocracy receives from Financial assistance is not the only western states, but we will speak only of it.

Now is it possible to hope that the time will ever come when foreign bankers will refuse to subsidise the Tzar if they can realise high profits upon the loan, or that people will refuse to buy Russian bonds at the Stock Exchange, if they can "turn an honest penny" by the transaction?

No, certainly not. The Russian government will be supported most powerfully up to the last possible moment by foreign capital. It help the Russian people in a negative way, i.e., would be hopeless to try and idle to hope, to by cutting off from their government that supply from without. Those who feel for the wrongs of the Russian people, and who are morally offended, hurt, indignant at the sight of any particular form of assistance given to the Russian autocracy, may show it in a positive way by working for the Russian emancipation. The support received by the autocracy from abroad, stands as a supreme justification of— and ought to stand a peremptory stimulant for -such a work, the possibility of which has been demonstrated by our society. Join it, spread it, and assist it to the full measure of your power, and you will bring your mite, no matter how modest, to the efforts of the Russians themselves, to remove a government which the Daily Chronicle has rightly stigmatised as an "enemy of humanity." S. STEPNIAK.