The Tsar did not meet the St. Petersburg strikers yesterday to discuss with them personally ╥their needs and those of the whole Russian people.╙ The Tsar stayed at Tsarskoe Selo; ╥the strikers set out to march from all the quarters of the city to the appointed meeting-place in Palace Square. They had frequently and emphatically proclaimed their pacific intention, and appear to have even taken their wives and children with them; and they did their utmost to persuade the Tsar to listen to their petition.╙ Father Gapon appealed to the Tsar by letter, fearing that his Ministers had not told him the full truth, and warning him that if he vacillated and refused to come the bond between people and Emperor would be weakened, for ╥innocent blood╙ would flow between them. In the same spirit he urged Prince Mirski to persuade the Tsar to listen to the workers╒ appeal, adding: ╥Let him show his confidence by deeds, not by manifestoes.╙ Finally, on Friday night three workmen proceeded to Tsarskoe Selo to present the petition to the Emperor, that he might have time to reflect on it. The visit was fruitless.
The intentions of the strikers were pacific. The authorities determined to reply with ╥the legally prescribed energetic measures,╙ to use the euphemism of the Prefect, who issued a warning that no gatherings or processions would be allowed, and intimated that as the employment to the military might produce ╥accidents╙ workmen and others would be well advised not to join in mass meetings. Yesterday the troops were called out, and occupied the chief gates and bridges in the city. The strikers gathered in thousands, and behaved, according to all the accounts, in a perfectly orderly manner. But their way to Palace Square was barred. One section, marching from Vassili Ostroff, or Basil╒s Island was met by infantry, Cossacks, and Uhlans. The infantry threw down their rifles when the strikers appealed to them as ╥brothers,╙ but the cavalry charged, and afterwards, apparently, the infantry fired on the mob and with difficulty dispersed it.
Although the severest fighting seems to have taken place near the Admiralty buildings, outside the Palace Square, the strikers were attacked in Vassili Ostroff itself and at other points where they were found pressing their way towards the centre of the city. The men from the Putiloff works proved unable to reach the Palace Square, and after having numbers of their comrades killed or wounded retired to their headquarters, where attacks on the authorities were received with cries of ╥Down with the Monarchy.╙ The mob attempted in places to retaliate on the military, and, tearing up the railway, hurled missiles at the troops. Wire entanglements and barricades were constructed in the streets, and the people are preparing to arm themselves and renew the struggle with the most efficient weapons they can find. In one quarter, it is stated, shops were being pillaged last night.
The total casualties are still uncertain, but it is given as the official police report that 2,000 have been killed and 5,000 wounded. The wildest estimate is 24,000. Firing was still going on at midnight in the Vassili Ostroff quarter. Apparently after the dispersal of the people in the centre of the city a large number marched out towards the Tsarskoe Selo with the intention of addressing the Tsar. Whether the brutal attacks of the military had inspired them with any hostile intentions is uncertain. They never reached Tsarskoe Selo. Soldiery were posted on the road, and the last hope of appeal to the Emperor was frustrated. A message which arrived early this morning stated that the barricades had been speedily destroyed.
