It has been a week of Russian sensations. Just before the last mail left came the news of the assassination of the Grand Duke Sergius. Then followed the announcement of the Czar's consent to the convocation of the Zemski Sober. After that we had the first reliable intelligence of a real move on the part of Russia in the direction of peace; and now this morning the "Times" makes the startling announcement on the authority of a St. Petersburg correspondent. that the Czar has decided to leave the question of war or peace to be decided by the Zemski Sober. How far this assembly will be representative of the people, and how far it is likely to be under the influence of the Court, even the best-informed students of Russian institutions find it difficult to form an opinion; but there is a strong belief that in either case the result will be Peace. If the national assembly really represents the people of Russia it will certainly decide for peace on almost any terms; if on the other hand the Zemski Sober is to have no real liberty of action one can only suppose that the Czar has decided on the course of referring the matter to them in order that he may throw upon the nation some of the responsibility of concluding peace on what must be deeply humiliating terms. There is, of course, a third alternative—that the St. Petersburg correspondent has been misinformed.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.