Citizens! you know that on the day assigned for the opening of the Constituent Assembly, November 28th, all the Socialist-Revolutionist deputies who were elected had come to Petrograd.  You know that neither violence of a usurping power nor arrests of our comrades, by force of arms which were opposed to us at the Taurida Palace, could prevent us from assembling and fulfilling our duty.

    But the civil war which has spread throughout 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.