And when it is added that matters concerning finance and treasonable offences were almost entirely in the hands of the Council, we realize how this gift of political representation to the Russian people had been shorn of its dangers! The first National Assembly was opened by the Tsar May 10, 1906, with the form and splendor of a court ceremonial.

It was a strange spectacle, that solid body of 100 peasants seated on the left of the throne, intently listening to the brief and guarded speech of welcome to the "representatives of the nation, who had come to aid him in making laws for their welfare!" And the first jarring note came when not one of these men joined in the applause which followed.
The first _Duma_ was composed of 450 members.

The world was watching this experiment, curious to find out what sort of beings have been dumbly supporting the weight of the Russian Empire.

Almost the first act was a surprise.

Instead of explosive utterances and intemperate demands, the _Duma_ formally declared Russia to be a _Constitutional Monarchy_.