STATE CRIMINALS AT KARA 217

whatever might be the consequences ; and in pursuance of this determination he wrote to the governor-general of Eastern Siberia and to the Minister of the Interior a very frank and bold letter, in which he said that he regarded the late instructions of the Government concerning the treatment of the political convicts as not only impolitic but cruel. If they wanted an officer who would treat the polit- icals in accordance with the spirit of such instructions, they had best send a hangman there. He, himself, was not a hangman ; he could not enforce such orders without doing violence to all his feelings, and he must therefore ask to be relieved of his command. The resignation was accepted, and in the summer of 1881 Colonel Kononovich left the mines of Kara, and some time afterwards returned to St. Petersburg. As he passed through Irkutsk he had an in- terview with Governor-general Amichin, in the course of which the latter said to him, rather coldly and contempt- uously, " Of course, Colonel Kononovich, a man holding such views as you do could not be expected to act as gov- ernor of the Kara prisons and mines, and I doubt whether such a man can hold any position whatever in the Govern- ment service." " Very well," replied Kononovich, " then I will get out of it." Soon after his arrival in St. Petersburg, Colonel Konono- vich had an interview with Mr. Durnovo, Assistant Minis- ter of the Interior, in the course of which he said to the latter, " I did not relax any necessary discipline at Kara, nor did I violate or neglect to enforce any law. If you want to have good order among the political convicts at the mines, and to have your Government respected, you will have to send there men with convictions like mine. That I had no selfish aims in view you can understand from the fact that the course I pursued was dangerous to me. You have probably received not a few accusations made against me by other officers. I am not afraid of ac-

cusations, nor of opposition, but I do fear my own con-