The only tidings from Russia are that the assassin of
the Grand Duke Sergius has been tried in secret, and sentenced to death; that M. Witte has again offered his resignation ; and that elaborate preparations are being made in St. Peters- burg against a rising on Easter Day. A great many state- ments are in circulation, showing that the ruling group are determined not to summon any representative body in the Western sense, but only an Advisory Council, which will deliberate in secret, and therefore gain no strength from public opinion. The Zemstvos, or County Councils, have, however, been extended to Southern Russia ; and the real decision appears to be, so far as the existing Government can decide anything, not to call any deliberative assembly if Rozhdestvensky wins a battle, but if he is defeated, to allow the Zemstvos to send up delegates, probably at the rate of six per Council, two being elected by the nobles, two by the smaller landlords and merchants, and two by the peasantry.
