The Press. — London, England, 1856-10-04 00:00:00

956 The " black people " covered the trottoir like a plague of locusts, ten times as numerous as the many pilgrims to Greenwich fair, but looking as serious as judges, and evi dently making abstruse mental calculations as to how much of the anticipated provender would fall to their several shares. There was the rough mujik of the plains in his sheepskin coat, shapeless indescribable list, and bearded like a patriarch. Little cares he about social or p ditical problems. He works when he can't help it, keeps himself as warm as he can, washes as seldom as he can, and when inclined for jollity, sings a song, the burthen of which is, " Oh, don't ask me to read or write." Sturdily he trudged along with thoughts intent on guess and vodka, and heeded nothing the teeming rain that was searching ont every crevice in his woolly covering. Close behind him followed the fair partner of his joys and sorrows, looking for all the world like a bundle of faded calico, mounted on elephantine legs, and furnished with a caps- Mous basket to contain the anticipated spoils of the " Festin." Then there was the mujik of the town, tall and slim, in well-worn caftan, and trudging along with that shuffling gait which long practice on the most abominable pavement in the world has made second nature. There is a restless activity in his eye, a studied servility in his manner, that bespeaks the man who runs errands, sleeps in doorways in summer, and in stoves,like a Salamander, in winter, cringes like a spaniel when you look at him, and asks for " Tschi " the moment your features relax into the faintest approximation to a smile. Lastly, we had the mujik well to do, clad in Lincoln green, and with hat of unexceptionable beaver, who keeps his own drosky, and drives a prosperous trade in the Vertskoi. He is worth his 200,000 roubles, perhaps, affects diamonds, and has his daughter learning the piano and the four languages. But the sword of Damocles hangs over his head by a single hair, as the rough country boyar& to whom lie owes fealty, m.iy at any time cancel his " pass," and recal him to the roughest labour of rural life—or perhaps send him off for a soldier. Men of this class are pointed out to me every day, who have over and over again offered thousands of roubles for their freedom, but their masters are inexorable, as one of the greatest luxuries of a Russian nobleman is to be able to point to a man and say, " You see that fellow, he is my serf, and is worth a million silver roubles." On they went in a neverending stream, the poor trudging steadily through fluid mud, the well-to-do, dashing, splashing on their nest droskies behind horses that would raise a shout of admiration in Hyde-park. —Daily News cos. A railed-off covered gallery was reserved for the boyards and ambassadors, with special seats for the Imperial family : Several miles of tables surrounded the inclosure on every side, and on them were placed sheep roasted whole, standing bolt upright, and with their horns gilded ready for the sacrifice. With them were alternated great mottn tains of bread, and here and there dwarf pine trees, from which hung in tempting festoons the savoury sausages so dear to Sarmatian palates. Pails of beer decorated every corner in which there was room for them to stand, anti round this tempting feast the tantalised mujiks clustered, impatient for the signal to begin. At the angles of each square, formed by the arrangement of the tables, stood the fountains from which wine and vodka were to flow—liquids which the rain from above was rapidly diluting to a most harmless amount of stimulus.—lb. The great dinner was fixed for one p.m., when the Emperor would present himself and give the signal for the feast, but long before he arrived, about nine e.m., the Grand Duke Constantine, who is a great favorite, made his appearance : The people, who up to that moment had been kept at arm's length, clustered round his Imperial Highness, and coaxed him out of permission " just to look at the tables." They got in, and the consequence may be easily imagined. In the twinkling of an eye roast sheep, junks of beef, mountains of bread, sausage trees, and pails of beer, had all disappeared, and the mnjiks were standing on the tables, with their mouths and pockets filled to bursting, and the empty beer pails on their heads for umbrellas. From the table-cloths the ladies had improvised flowing mantillas, and the audience was in comfortable condition to cheer the Emperor and enjoy the amusements provided.—/b. The rnujiks broke up the tables, and, putting the boards on their heads as umbrellas, waited patiently for their Czar. The Emperor soon after appeared, and was much annoyed at the catastrophe which had occurred, but as there was no help for it, he cantered rapidly round the inclosure, gave the signal for the amusements to commence, and damp acrobats and others went through various feats of equitation and agility. At length the sports terminated, and then Came the smashing of carriages, the kicking over of traces, the loud neighing of the wild horses, and the frantic calls for " Ivan," and " and " Constantin," and " Alexis." Fancy the Haymarket at the close of a Jenny Lind night, and the liakboys suddenly endued with the Slavonic dialect, and the rain coming down in torrents, and the ladies waiting muffled up in the vestibule, and the gentlemen craning out to see if the carriages are coming, and throw in a handful of bootishnicks, and cossacks, and gendarmes, and you will be able to join with me in imagination in realising the picture afforded by the grand wind-up of the people's dinner party in the The ball at the Kremlin was a better managed affair. There was no rain to mar the enjoyment, for the ceilings of the magnificent saloons of the Krem lin sheltered the mnjiks and their wives, of whom '25,000 were invited and attended. Such people's ball is not often seen in Europe:— ik. THE PRESS. It was a strange but most suggestive sight, to stand at the top of the grand escalier, and, by the illumination of a thousand wax lights, to watch the dark, dingy-looking column as, impeded by its own numbers, it slowly ascended and streamed unobstructed through the gilded saloons. There were huge bearded men in the genuine sheepskins of the steppes ; others were in the rusty mo notonous costume of the town, their great boots splashed with the mud through which they had waded to the ball, and the universal mujik hat, which looks like a brand upon their heads.—lb. The mujik appears to be a most undemonstrative fellow:— As they shuffled along over the parqueterie floors they displayed as much coolness and nonchalance as if they were American Indians, or high-bred English gentlemen . This nil admirari deportment of the Russian peasant is a thing that strikes the inquiring stranger as much as any thing else he sees in this country of wonders and contra diction. Except in such cases as the " festin," where there ate whole sheep to be torn limb from limb, roast chickens to be pocketed, or pails of beer to be swilled, he " assists " at the most magnificent entertainment with a stoical apathy that shows his organ of wonder to be very slightly developed, or at all events to be under the most efficient control. In the gilded halls of the Kremlin yesterday evening, he neither turned to the right or left, nor looked upwalds or downwards, as he marched slowly from the salle blanche to the hall of St. Andrew, penetrated the imperial bed-chamber of Catherine, or plunged into the gloomy vaulted rooms of the Terema. And his faithful wife faithfully imitated her liege lord's well-simulated com posure. With a handkerchief tied over her head and her nondescript dress swelling out in bundles like the sails of a ship or the badly compressed stomach of a deputy lieutenant, she trudged along with the calm dignity of a judge, and took all the magnificence that surrounded her as calmly as if " to the manner born."—lb. At the buffets, however, he exhibited signs of vitality : There, indeed, you might see the " black people" " lashing themselves like a surge " against the tables, and bewildering the impel ial servants in their vociferous demands for refreshment. Vassili supped " Tschai " with a spoon of silver gilt, out of Dresden cups worth five guineas apiece. and Katrine munched by the dozen peaches every one of which had cost a rouble. Champagne was the favorite beverage, but even hdmble beer was not disdained, and the tables would soon have been as bare as the tables of the " festin," but for the assiduous care with which they were constantly replenished by the imperial lacqueys. The Emperor made his appearance about nine p.m., and plunged at once into the centre of the crowd of people, alone with the Empress and Empress Mother. This remarkable confidence in his people seems a peculiar trait of the Itomanoffs. There was of course no dancing, but Ivan and his wife were quite satisfied with the champagne and supper. LORD STANLEY AND THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT. Lord) STANLEY, M.P., was lately applied to by the secretary of the United Kingdom Alliance, a society formed for the suppression of the liquor traffic, to honour a meeting at Manchester on the 22nd inst. His lordship returned a reply, in which the following forms the principal passage : I draw a wide distinction between the voluntary tem perance movement, and that which seeks to attain its end by legislative intervention. Of the first I entirely ap prove ; the second, I regret to say, I cannot support. I have drawn out a statement of my reasons for not supporting the alliance, which I inclose. If you choose to give it publicity, Ido not object. My wish is to point out the objections which occur most forcibly to my own mind, so that if they can be met you may be prepared to meet them. The reasons Lord Stanley gave were eight: REASONS AGAINST ATTEMPTING THE TOTAL SUPPRESSION OF THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. _ _ 1. Because the law-making power in England, being practically in the hands of the wealthy, while the intem perate clue is, generally speaking, the lowest in the scale, the proposed prohibition would be a cutting off by one class of the (supposed) enjoyments of another—a measure to which the kw makers will not venture, in prudence, to resort; and which, if resorted to, would be regarded by those whom it affected as partial and unjust. This objection applies less to the case of the United States, although even there complaint is made that the rich, who can afford to buy liquor wholesale, are vir tually exempt from the law which enforces abstinence on the poor. 2. Because while the desire of drink is so strong as to lead to an annual consumption of from 50,000,0001. to 70,000,0001. sterling in liquor, the proposed prohibition, if carried, would be evaded by smuggling to an enormous ex tent ; with, probably, the connivance of many magistrates M.P.'s, and others who would regard the law as imprac, ticable and absurd, and would, therefore, not exert themselves to see it enforced. Hence a double evil—(a) disregard of, and contempt for, law; and (b) less of that practical control which is now exercised over places where drink is sold ; the trade falling into more disreputable hands, and a criminal class being artificially produced. 3. Because in the present lamentable condition of the labouring class as a body, the labourer has, especially in rural districts, no amusement or recreation whatever, nor any place of social meeting aunt the public•house. This state SATURDAY, of things is not sought to be defended, nor even palliated, but it exists, and before cloning publio-houses some better substitute should be provided. _ 4. Because the suppression of the liquor traffic—assuming it possible—would cause a loss of 20,000,0001. of revenue yearly ; and, though it is admitted that the social aspect of this question is more important than the fiscal, yet it must be considered that so large a deficit can only be made up by the imposition of direct taxes to a vast amount ; the dis content produced by which must be added to that arising directly out of a restriction so stringent, and which would be severely felt by so many. This is no argument against gradual diminution of the traffic, but a strong argument against total and violent suppn salon. 5. Because a habit of self-control acquired by the indi vidual is, in every respect, a better protection than an arbi trary enactment. In those communities of primitive pox * where no access has ever been had to intoxicating drink, it is found that the desire for it, when casually introduced, becomes au irrepressible passion ; and entire tribes have been, and are being, swept off in consequence ~f yielding to this passion. Prohibition augments desire, and the absence of temptation cannot confer moral strength. 6. Because difficulty will arise, if it is meant to be con- sistent, in defining intoxicating substances. Is tobacco to be included? Is opium? Where the craving for stimu lants is strong, these or similar compounds will be sub stituted for alcoholic liquors. Chemical science will be employed to discover or produce them at small cost. You will only have replaced one form of intoxication by another. Suppose these two prohibited—a measure which will greatly increase the amount of opposition to be reckoned upon—new means of intoxication can and will be found, calling for new and further extension of the law. 7. Because the suppression of traffic in liquor can never suffice, it has been found in America, to put a stop to its habitual use. Apart from actual smuggling, alluded to before, the law may be evaded in many ways. E. g., it would probably become the practice for labourers to stipulate for a certain quantity of liquor to be given them in addition to their wages, an abuse which employers are doing their best to put down, but which prohibition of the liquor traffic would render general. Pretended exhi bitions would be got up, as was done in the States, where, after paying for admission, the visitor would receive his share of the liquor gratis. Drinking clubs would be established on the same principle. You can't stop such frauds, unless you declare the possession as well as the sale of liquor illegal, by which enactment every man's house becomes liable to search, and the capital actually invested in private stores of wine and spirits, ct.c., ii destroyed. b. liccause the exertions on temperance societies on the voluntary principle are impeded, and odium is excited against them, by every attempt at forcible suppression of the traffic. To offer to employ physical or material force is in itself a confession that moral force is inadequate for the object proposed. Mn. POPE, the secretary of the association, replies and contests Lord Stanley's reasons. He asserts 1. That the alliance desires to obtain, not a cla.sc, but a purely democratic law, demanded by the people themselves. 2. That the desire for drink grew by indulgence, and that the law would be absolute, not partial, so that evasion would be easily detected. 3. That because the peasantry had little amuse ment, it did not necessarily follow that what they bad should be poisoned by drink. _ . 4. That the revenue would gain, not suffer, by the change, as the millions withdrawn from the pur- chase of spirit would be transferred to productive instead of unproductive industry. 5,6, 7, and 8. That to enable the people to gain the habit of self-control, we must train them by restrictive laws ; that the use of opium and tobacco would cease with that of spirits; that the extent of evasion of the Maine Liquor Law in America is exaggerated; and, lastly, that experience did not prove that injury was suffered by temperance soeieties by the exertions of the alliance. To these objections Lord STANLEY replied : 1. The writer assumes that a Maine Law will be called fur by public opinion acting with irresistible force, and states that the object of the alliance is to create such public opinion. But if a net majority of the British people be disposed to put an end to the use of intoxica• ting drinks, they have the remedy in their own hands. There is in that case no need of legislative interposition. Of what avail is it to compel men to abstain from doing that which, by the hypothesis, they are not inclined to do? .t and 3. The writer endeavours to draw a distinction between the desire fur strong drink and that for other sen• anal gratifications, contending that the former alone grows with indulgence. I have always understood that the ditll culty of combating any bad habit increases with the length of time during which such habit is persisted in. If this be so (and it is the universal experience of mankind) the phenomena indicated must be referred, ■ot to an excel>. tional, bat to a general law. The parallel drawn from the purchase of bread or calico is not applicable. To prove the writer's case, it ought to have been shown that other passions besides that of intemperance may be habitually gratified without thereby becoming stronger—a conclusion which the whole history of man refutes. Nil contend that a Maine Law, if passed, would be evaded to such an extent as to render it practically inoperative — that is to say, I contend that even supposing • majority in the Legislature, backed by one out of doors, were to pass such a law, the minority in every class would still he strong enough to support law-breakers, against what would be regarded by its opponents as a tyrannical interference with freedom of private action. It, indeed, the nation