roughout the country retarded
the election to the Constituent Assembly and the number of
deputies elected was insufficient.

It was necessary to postpone the opening of the Constituent
Assembly.

Our fraction utilized this forced delay by an intensive
preparatory work. We elaborated, in several commissions, projects
of law concerning all the fundamental questions that the
Constituante would have to solve. We adopted the project of our
fundamental law on the question of the land; we elaborated the
measures which the Constituante would have to take from the very
first day in order to arrive at a truly democratic peace, so
necessary to our country; we discussed the principles which should
direct the friendly dwelling together of all the nationalities
which people Russia and assure each people a national point of
view, the free disposition of itself, thus putting an end to the
fratricidal war.

Our fraction would have been all ready for the day of the opening
of the Constituante, in order to commence, from the first, a
creative work and give to the impoverished country peace, bread,
land, and liberty.

At the same time, we did our utmost to accelerate the arrival of
the deputies and the opening of the Assembly.

During this time events became more and more menacing every day,
the Bolshevik power was more rapidly leading our country to its
fall. From before the time when the Germans had presented their
conditions of peace the Bolsheviki had destroyed the army,
suppressed its provisioning, and stripped the front, while at the
same time by civil war and the looting of the savings of the
people they achieved the economic ruin of the country. Actually,
they recognized themselves that the German conditions were
unacceptable and invited the reconstruction of the army. In spite
of this, these criminals do not retire; they will achieve their
criminal work.

Russia suffers in the midst of famine, of civil war, and enemy
invasion which threatens to reach even the heart of the country.

No delay is permissible.

Our fraction fixed on the 27th of December the last delay for the
opening of the Constituante; on this day more than half of the
deputies could have arrived in Petrograd. We entered into
conference with the other fractions. The Ukrainians, some other
nati