J.••;! of the Christian population that was opposed to the pogroms. During the pogrom an assembly of the peasants was called by the insurrectionists. Here many Ukrainians spoke against the pogrom and in favor of the Jews. A Jewish delegation was received by the assembly who heard what they had to say. Under the impression of these speeches the assembly repudiated the pogrom and condemned the poorer classes, the clergy and the officials — the elements which, as the speakers showed, were alone responsible for the pogroms. The peasants as a class, the speakers thought, took no part in the pogroms and massacres, and only in isolated cases did they allow themselves to be misled by the provocatory agitation of the Black Hundred. Even if the speakers exaggerated the role of the insurrectionists, it is clear in any case that the peasants as a class were opposed to the pogrom in Uman.
In the country town of Dubovo (Government of Kiev) at a meeting held at the residence of the captain of the insurrectionists, many peasants said in the presence of the Jewish delegation that they had nothing against the Jews.
In Cherkassy, a group of local public men, mainly members of the city Duma, tried at the beginning of the pogrom (May 17) to send a delegation to the staff of the Grigoriev troops at the station with the purpose of asking the staff to withdraw the soldiers from the city and prevent murder and robbery, but they could not do it on account of the bombardments which had begun. On the 8th (i8th?) of May they came to the staff in a first-aid wagon but accomplished nothing (one of the officers of Grigoriev said to the delegation that the Christian population need not be disturbed, for only the Jews were robbed and murdered). On the same day a meeting of the inhabitants took place in the city Duma and a committee was appointed to see that the staff issued an order forbidding arbitrary searching of houses, plundering and shooting, and ordering a control of the soldiers loafing about in the city. The committee which was elected at the following general assemblies succeeded in two very serious cases, in which many Jews were threatened with death, in saving the situation and proving to the staff the innocence of the Jews. Besides the delegation of the population a delegation of railway officials also came to Grigoriev's staff, protesting against the murders and the shootings.
In Kremenchug, during the pogrom of May 12-14, which was instituted by the bands of Grigoriev, a committee of public safety was quickly called together. They organized a defense consisting of Russian workmen, who succeeded in checking the excesses.
In Yelisavetgrad it was shown, as we have seen, that the Christian defending force organized by the peasant congress and the unions of metal workers was not able adequately to check the pogrom. Soldiers, sailors and the city mob intensified their pogrom activity when they saw that the defense was a volunteer force and was not established by order of the government. The union of metal workers and the peasant congress then urgently implored Pavlov, the commander of the front, to put an end to the horrors, and this time they succeeded.* In the evening an announcement was posted, dated the 7th of May, which began with the following words: "I have heard the voice of the representatives of the workmen and the peasants, and have decided to