The Czar's Peace Proposals.

Manawatu Herald, 28 January 1899, Page 3

The Czar's Peace Proposals.

♦ An interesting account of the Czar's peace proposals is given by a St. Petersburg correspondent of the St. James' Gazette, who furnishes the following details of what actually took place: — About three months ago M. B— — , a well-known retired banker and millionaire of the Hebrew race, had prepared the concluding volume of an exhaustive work on the war of the future, its consequences, and the means of averting it, and was unable to get the book published The minister of the Interior, M. Gorymikin, .found the difficulty in according the requisite permission. M. B , however, had relations with the Minister for Finance, and was already known as a writer on Russian financial questions. He was therefore, enabled to obtain M. Witta'a support in approaching the Czar, who granted him a personal interview. The result exceeded all expectation. There was also another object in view, and that was to give the Czar an idea of the terrible con dition of the Jews in Poland. M. B. , showed the Emperor a diagram of Jewish poverty, but it elicited no remarks. Very different was the case with bis explanation of the ecomomic waste, and national burdens of modern armaments, as set forth in the volumes which he presented. His Majesty became intensely interested, and asked a number of questions. The interview lasted, it is said, over an hour, and the Czar was evidently much impressed with the subject. To this conversation is attributed the origin of the idea which has since been put before the world with all the weight of Imperial authority. Not even the great works of Count Tolostoi have had such a marvellous effect. The surprising suddenness of it, as given forth in the famous circular, cannot yet be forgotten. It reminded one of the remark of a late British Ambassador on witnessing from the windows of the St Petorburg Embassy, the rare sight of a seal which suddenly emerged from a hole in the ice of the Neva in the very depth of winter. This, he said, was ex. aotly typical of the surprises with which the Bussian autocratic Government so often startled the world when everything seemed to be going on in the normal way.