The government could not close these channels of
communication, nor prevent the Duma's strong plea for lawful rights and
against lawlessness by government officials from reaching the peasants.
Only one method of defense remained to the Czar and his Ministers: On July
9th, like a thunderbolt from the sky, came a new Manifesto from the Czar,
dissolving the Duma. In the Manifesto all the old arrogance of Absolutism
reappeared. A more striking contrast to the Manifesto of the previous
October could not be readily imagined. The Duma was accused of having
exceeded its rights by "investigating the actions of local authorities
appointed by the Emperor," notwithstanding the fact that in the October
Manifesto it had been solemnly covenanted "that the representatives of the
people must be guaranteed a real participation in the control over the
lawfulness of the authorities appointed by us." The Duma was condemned for
"finding imperfections in the fundamental laws which can be altered only by
the monarch's will" and for its "overtly lawless act of appealing to the
people." The Manifesto charged that the growing unrest and lawlessness of
the peasants were due to the failure of the Duma to ameliorate their
conditions--and this in spite of the record!
When the members of the Duma arrived at the Taurida Palace next day they
found the place filled with troops who prevented their entrance.
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