ong the
northern line towards Vatka in the direction of Petrograd, with the
chance of forming a junction with the forces at Archangel, and if
General Knox would consent he wished me to remain at Omsk until he
returned. General Knox placed the London dispatch before the Supreme
Governor, and I remained to assist in settling its details.

On May 7 the Chief of the British Mission, Major-General Knox, asked me
to assist him in drafting the reply to the London dispatch. The heads
having been agreed to by the Supreme Governor, it was necessary to
consult with the Minister who assisted him with his foreign affairs. He
is distinguished by a sort of cleverness which borders very closely to
cunning. In a few years he will probably make a very able diplomat of
the old type, but whether that is the sort of equipment which will serve
under the new order, now in the throes of birth, remains to be seen. He
is Republican, having lived long in America, and honestly believes that
Russia must be directed in her orientation towards Republican countries
rather than to the evidently permanently and exclusively Monarchist
country, England. There I think I know more of his Russian
fellow-countrymen and better understand their character and sentiments
than he! But he is very young, very able, and his name is Sukin, and he
has time to learn.

In accordance with the wish of the Governor, the dispatch and draft were
shown to him, and a few hours later, while dining with a Cossack
general, I was asked if I knew anything about a dispatch from London
that was making a great stir amongst the members of the French and
American Missions. I answered that being a regimental officer, not
attached to the English Mission, dispatches were not my business, though
as a rule if important dispatches arrived, I heard about them; I had
heard of no dispatch which could upset the French or American Missions.

I informed Consul Hodgson, who was representing the High Commissioner in
his absence, of this, and it was decided to hurry on with the
construction and completion of the draft. It was completed in its final
shape by General Knox and myself in his train at the Omsk Vatka in
front of the Russian Staffka, 9.30 A.M., May 9, 1919.

Much of this Russian "Bill of Rights" had to be pushed down the throats
of the Russian official elements. The Supreme Governor never wavered
over a single point; his large democratic sympathies were satisfied by
his signature to what