NEWS OF THE WEEK.
WHEN we wrote last week the issue of the conflict in Moscow still hung in the balance. Within a couple of days the flame of revolt was quenched in blood, the Presnia quarter was occupied by the troops, and most of the revolu- tionaries surrendered or were arrested. The sudden collapse of the movement is attributable primarily to the discipline of the soldiers and the effective use of artillery. But a good deal of light is thrown on the situation by the interesting letters of Mr. Nevinson, the correspondent of the Daily Chronicle, who has been in Moscow throughout the fighting. From these it appears that the workmen's delegates over- persuaded the revolutionary party into premature action, while an immense amount of energy was wasted on elaborate but futile barricades, not one of which would stop a bullet, or was ever seriously defended. Mr. Nevinson notes that most of the people killed in the early stages of the fight were casual sightseers, struck down by casual firing on the part of the soldiers,—the first two he saw hit being girls. At the same time, the soldiers generally respected the wounded and all ambulance work. The final stage of the fighting seems to have been marked by terrible brutality on the part of the troops, and equally terrible reprisals on the part of the revolu- tionaries, the St. Petersburg papers containing caricatures of Admiral Dubasoff (the Governor) navigating a vessel in a sea of blood. Whatever the ultimate upshot, for the moment the Central Government has triumphed.
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