geoisie, that the representatives wanted to take advantage of
their small numbers and had begun the work of the Constituent
Assembly. Every one knows that this is slanderous as regards the
representatives of the people. Such lies and slanders were
resorted to by the old regime.

The aim of the slanders and the lies is clear. _The usurpers do
not want the people's representatives to have the supreme power
and therefore are preparing to disband the Constituent Assembly_.
On the 28th of November, in the evening, _having begun to arrest
members of the Constitutional-Democratic party, the Bolsheviki
violated the inviolability of the Constituent Assembly. On
December 3d a delegate to the Constituent Assembly, the
Socialist-Revolutionist, Filippovsky, who was elected by the army
on the southwestern front, was arrested_.

In accordance with their decision reached on November 28th, the
delegates gathered at the Tavrichesky Palace on November 29th and
30th. As on the first day, armed soldiers stood guard at the
entrance of the palace and would not let any one pass. The
delegates, however, insisted and were finally allowed to enter.

On the third day, scenes of brutal violence toward the people's
representatives took place at the palace. Peasants were the
unfortunate victims of this violence.

When the delegates had ended their session and all that remained
was the affixing of the signatures to the minutes, sailors forced
their way into the hall; these were headed by a Bolshevik officer,
_a former commander of the Fortress of St. Peter and St. Paul_.
The commander demanded that the delegates disband. In reply it was
stated that the delegates would disband after they had finished
their business. Then at the order of the commander the sailors
took the delegate Ilyan, elected by the peasants of the Province
of Tambov, by the arm and dragged him to the exit. After Ilyan,
the sailors dragged out the peasant delegate from the Province of
Moscow, Bikov; then the sailors approached Maltzev, a peasant
delegate from the Province of Kostroma. He, however, shouted out
that he would rather be shot than to submit to such violence. His
courage appealed to the sailors and they stopped.

Now all the halls in the Tavrichesky Palace are locked and it is
impossible to meet there. The delegates who co