The Sun.
London, England, 1855-08-14 00:00:00

THE CONSCRIPTION.

I have attempted to show the losses that the present
war occasions the landowner, by the trammels it imposes
on trade ; we will now take into consideration the enor-
mous taxes he is subjected to, in order that the govern-
ment may be provided with means of carrying on the
war, or ruining him, which is synonymous. The most
severely felt tax at all times is the conscription. This
in time of peace does not take place oftener than once
a-year, and the number of recruits required is generally
seven from every 1,000 serfs ; but since the war broke
out there have been two conscriptions in the year 1854,
and already one in 1855, each of 12 in the 1,000, being,
for 18 months, 36 able-bodied labourers out of every
1,000 males, old and young together. Ido not know
what the proportionate number of able-bodied men there
is in 1,000 males, but the effective strength must he con-
siderably diminished when such a large number is taken
away. This is riot all. When the recruits are sent to
the town to be examined and passed by the proper au-
thorities, there must be for every 12 men at least 18
more, in case the others should be rejected ; these are
sometimes kept away from their work two or three
weeks, without any indemnity whatever. By this state-
ment it will be seen that, during the last 18 months, the
possessor of the estate I have quoted above has given to
the government 47 conscripts, being the proportion of 36
in the 1,000 for 1,300, and lost the labour of about 70
men for the space of 14 days ; which latter loss, at 6d.
a-day, will be 241. 10s., without counting the entire loss
of 47 men for ever. But every proprietor is obliged to
pay a sum of money (about 81.) to provide tie recruit
with an outfit and arm him ; this will give again a
sum of 376/. for the year and half. The southern
governments, in consideration of their vicinity to the seat
of war, are exempted from the militia of thirty hi the
thousand, which is being raised in the northern go-
vernments. If they have not the militia, they aro sub-
jected to exactions under the name of voluntary contri-
butions. In the spring of 1854 the estate was obliged
to send 40 oxen as rations for the troops then iu the
Danubian provinces; at the same time there were re-
quired five waggons, with a pair of horses and a driver
to each, which are to be returned at the end of the war. These were for the transport of baggage and troops upon
an emergency ; and it was upon there that the
armies who fought the battle of Inkerman were
transported last autumn. In the autumn of the same
year (1854) there were required half a pood (181 b.) of
biscuit from every male serf for the army, which, for
1,300, would amount to 650 poods ; but the
p derro
offered 1,000 poods, which had to be made and -
spatched in about three weeks. While the preparation
of the biscuit was going on, there came another order
for 10 waggons, with a driver and a pair of horses to
each, to be ready and delivered up to the authorities in
10 days, as the case was urgent. This was just before
news of the descent in the Crimea reached us. All these
exactions were made just at the time when the harvest
was going on—the end of August—so that the hands
were of the greatest consequence to get all the corn
housed before the autumnal rains broke up the roads
and rendered the transport impossible. The num-
ber of oxen required to transport the biscuit was
twenty pairs, which were absent nearly four months,
as they had to carry it a long distance after the
roads were broken up, and when the mud was knee-
deep. A little later in the same year was required a
number of oxen again for rations. Ido not remember
the exact number required ; but having sent so many
away with biscuits, and the murrain being very bad
among the cattle at this time, instead of sending them,
the proprietor forwarded to the proper authorities 901.
n money.
In the April of the present year, double the quantity
of biscuit of that contributed last year was required ;
and„. as I travelled through the country in the month of
May, I saw thousands of tons piled outside the towns,
ready for transportation to the army, which of course
has to be done by the proprietors and peasants of the
Crown. I met upon the road long strings of waggons
going to load with this biscuit, and stopped and talked
with the drivers, who were for the chief part peasants
belonging to the Crown. They lamented bitterly their
hard fate, being obliged to leave their homes just as the
haymaking was about to commence ; and as they had
to perform a journey of some 1,500
versts, going :wad
returning, it would be late in the autumn 'before they
reached their homes again, and consequently too late to
make any preparations for winter. Many of them said
to me : "Batushka ! we suppose that we are intended to
starve this winter ; last winter we suffered enough while
the troops were passing, but now we shall not be able to
provide anything for ourselves, for there are only the
babas (old women) at home, and what can they do r
The peasants of the Crown are subjected to many of
the same exactions as the proprietors—l think to all of
them, except only the waggors, and about theta I era
not sure. I know that they had to provide the biscuit
just as their superiors bad, and the oxen, too, for rations.
1 t is, however, extremely difficult to ascertain the amount
of contributions exacted from these poor, miscalled
free serfs ; for the emp/oyCs by whom they are man-
aged exact so much from them for own use,
paying that it is required for the service of
the Government, that it is impos:Able to distinguish