The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-19 00:00:00

RICA `AND ITS COMMERCE.

, .
•
We are indebted to M. F. Geruiain de Lagny for a
very intereatingdescription of this important commercial
point of Russia in the lkdtic; of -which' his loneresidence
in thakportionoflicorthern Europe render:o4u Peculiarly
qualified to speak with accuracy. and knowledge.
BAWe.eii St. Peterrburg. and the frontiers. of Prussia
I,tour ri b , provioces harder. g)e-,southrn.shores of the
Gulf."Ot _Vinland and the Baltic Sea ; these. are -Ingria,
Esthonia, Livonia, 'and Uourland. Here the 'coasts pre-
sent a different aspect front those of the snore<northern
pi.Oyit:wes of Russia in the Baltic; they are more sloping,
art less bristling with'rocks and ',finals. The soil in
some pla-ces.iasandy, in others inarstryi•Or partly covered
with muddy Water and reeds. 'But more iulnnd, in the,
higher parts, the arable land_ has a thicker bed of soil
than in Finland, resting. on substrAttini' Of granite
rocks, which ocentionally crnpsont.to-thuv,sliqece. The
irountain chain of the Valdais extends its last undulating
and' sterile branches to-the slrores of thel3altie .across
o.l.allthe towns al9ng. these coo,,ats 'Riga is
thcrnost intiloi:ant, and indeed, it is one of. the .rigliest,
fine,t„.arld most active of the Russian empire. :-Situated
at the bottoin of
.the Gulf of Riga,-iticehnt in by two
large and very importan„t is'andg, 001.e,t,eUd Dago, of
which we will speak afterwards. Riga i§ celebrated by
,more than one passage .in the history of Germany.
Under the Knights of the Order...3f Swoadbear.ers(Ent,:
Peri), so powerful during the latter period of the middle
ages, under the Danish dominion, and under the rule of
Sweden. Riga was Always the capital of Livonia. By
the treaty of NyStad, in 1721, it was ceded to-Russia,
andbecaine the chief place.nf the provineecif Riga, and
capital of the Government of Livonia.
Its position on the right hank of the Western Dwina,
'a short distance only froni its inooth, his attracted to
it a commerce which, by its extent, has -ratsed Riga to
the rink of the second Russian port inilipXcaltic. The
river'hasa majestic breadth, even -undee,the very walls
of the town, but. ships:. of • very large -tonnage cannot
ascend so high, and .are obliged to discharge
.and take
in cargo at -Dunarnunde, a small fortified port which
. commands the entrance to the Dwiris;,, •

, •
No town which .they have 'conquered displays in so
striking a manner the disorganising spirit of the Rus-
sians. It seems as if everything that bears the imprint
of an anterior civilisation annoys and irritates that peo-
ple, and excites it to the task of defacing every trace by
any.means in th'eir power. - Beside .a German town of
brick and wooden gables, in . evaintness and ori-
ginality of Teutonic architecture, the Russians have
raised a new town the • exact type of their retrograde
Beni . It ia. built of rogs, and j!resents sil..rity Is. sacri-
tho c.hantc-
M teriltics, of a uscovite town, in which
'fieed to ef'ect. 'The houses are.low, ill-lighted, plastered
over, with coloured chalk, and' in .every ,respeet, on the
model of Moscow, Simbirsk, or Archangel. On first
walking through Riga; you are almost tempted to atif
whether you Are,notdreatning. At first the impression
in heitisome old-fashioned German town,
when midst of your illusion. ou turn a
is that
euydodueidayr, e
a corner and find yourself in modern Russia; with,broad
streets and houses as straight awl reffular,as a regiment
'of soldiers at "carry arms 1" The'Gerthan, Own runs
along the bank of the river''; the Russian town stands
on a part of the old fortifications, and in thasarne degree
as the one is busy and animated, the Other ifi,oilent and
gloomy. In the first one almost believes• in freedom ;
in the other you feel Russia and its instruments of tor-
ture and flagellation. Here the streets are 'narrow,
crooked, and gay, and remind one of the old towns of
the Hansa, wherethe people were free, independent, and
almost sovereign ; there the straight line represents the
Cossack's lance, the autocratic will of a despot, who
sums up in himself the whole national will. veryß one
in Livonia, speaks German and' nothing elSe ; the man-
ners and habits are the same as they were under the
grandmaster Gothard IChetsl er.
The Protestant churches used to suffice for the reli-
gious Wants or the popillatibn 'of Riga.- 'That: did not
-meet the views of :orthodoxy, and a reform 4/As' deter-.
reined on. In less than a century eight Greekchurchee
were built, and that in a town where the garrison alone
belonged to the Greek faith: It would be "Nrieus to
know.what the Emperor Nicholas would thick ifTruesia
'should some flay put forWlrd a claim to the proteation
of her .Conrland and Livonian co-religionists"' against
Ruse-lan intolerance.! , „
Riga still -poseesses some ilionumentS of her past
glory ; two or three churches* with towera in the middle
gothic style, an ancient.palace in which `the_ grand mas-
ters of the Teutonic knights formerly resided, and A
town' hall which presents" nothilag. remarkable. The
,Rilssiati Government, to flatto the ttirbulent
p(-pula-
tion whose, discontent it apprehended, built hospitals,
barracks, 'public promenades, and a palace for the gover-
nor. It did not forget the prisons, ana. 'by degrees it
widened a few of the principal streets. ,
Riga is a fortified town of the first dies: Besides very
strong fortifications, it has a citadel which commands
the lower course of the river.. The distance of the tow
from sea, however, protects it from surprise.

iNcr,r,LsE :ND DivisETION Ott SALABIRS IN PUBLIC
OFFICES.—The annual account made up under this Litt
has beep presented to Parliament. It shows- the effect
.of changes made during the year 185:.
.departmentitemchief item
is 50 down to the Post-office, in which
1,220 more persons have been engaged, atsalaries
eetablishnient also
aubdutthe.
ssettel:manptss-anthdartitilaxu.
ate nivions year*; the
alai:wail* to 426,358/. ;: the convict
;on
siDeinii,:eutthe
saying
ovthz
band,
cuesC; i toi m° -I,Ed x 7 moree
i;
se has 207 loss;
in I that department is 21,7812. ;
hi the same department; tinder. the
-there is an increase
e head of " expenses,"
to the extent of 15,748/.. Tlx
.-- the "tura e general result is au in-
crease-0f1,478 in
some of the public
(ace er of 'person's employed is
s; Undo diminution, of 23G in
the number emplqed i
of expense in. the? one in others ;in money, an increase.
105,6724., a.BB1-0f OfECtie to the extent of
4 a de
„18,01457. crease in :the other' to 'the eitent of