The Sun.
London, England, 1831-04-05 00:00:00

ON THE DISCONTENTS IN RUSSIA,

In my former letters I have endeavoured to point
out some of the springs of action which are likely
to move the Russian Aristacracy into a struggle
with the Autocrley ; to these may be added the
general grievances which affect all classes of the
`communist' : such as the leibery, partiality, and
'excessive telionsairsF, in the administration of jus-
lice, the non-publicity of the proceedings in the
ordinary Courts of Law and Police, the secret
Police, the opening of lettirs at the Post-office,
the restraints on education, and on the liberty of
travelling to other countries, the exclusion of such
foreign books and journals as advocate liberal prin-
ciples, the harshness and terrorism with which the
fiats of the imperial will, and the obs,rvance of the
minutest and most frivolous regulations are .en-
forced, increasing in degree in proportion to the
meanness of the agents ; all these have some weight
in contributing to the Mass of national discontent.
I shall next proceed to enumerate some of the
moral and physical obstacles which stand its the
way of the Russian Aristocracy ; for it is only
among this class that there exists. either tie intel-
ligence or the means of organization requisite to
give effect to their wishes.
1. Let it he remarked, in the first place, that
the Aristocracy of Russia forms but a very small
part of the nation at large.*
2. Again, by fat tha greater part even of this
small portion, are living on their estates or dis-
persed through the provincial towns; in both cases
unable from the distance to afford any speedy as-
sistance to their fraternity in the army Of the old
capital, in case of need. The increasing subdivi-
sion of property, and the diminution of their in-
. comes of late years, have also di iven to the country
many of those who used formerly to rtsidu in toms.
3. There is little or no unity of feeling on po-
litical subjects between the privileged and non-
privileged orders, of which the latter naturally forms
the most numerous class of the town population.
The non-privileged freemen, comprehending, under
that name, the merchants, shopkeepers, artizans,
publicans, and the like, almost all of whom have
emerged from the condition of serfs, possess, in ge-
neral, scarcely any education, beyond the barest
knowledge of letters and arithmetic, and usually
retain all their lives, that prostration of mind which

7. The degraded condition and ignorance of the
common soldiers render them insensible of any
utit,tter wants than mere animal eravingq;- conse-
quently, in a civil contest, they, as well as the Cos-
sacks and disciplined Tartars, may be induced to
jitfn the party shish can offer the_ greatest indul-
4ence to their appetites. . ••
S. The national purse being in the hands of :the
Crown, will always enable it, in strnggling for:the-
talaintenance of its authority, to spread disunirm
among the Aristocracy, geld to retain a considerable
part of them on its side.
9. No party of the-AristoCracy, however mitre-
r,tits, can all st once acquire an ofranization equal to
that of the slowly formed machine of state-already
existing; and under the4e circumstances we, every
day, see the many crushed by the few.
10. There is-a secret but deadly enmity very ge-
nerally spread among the peasantry against tl'ocir
masters The fruit of the knowledge of good and
evil bus already begun to work upon the minds 4.f
ihe Russian Serfs : they know that aer have err-
(.lin rights nominally guaranteed to am by law:

_ .
i•-ey see these rights daily trampled upon in prec..
: they dare not complain, fur their masters still
etain the potter of lash-7-ot banishing to Si-
it-Liu, and of sending to the army (which is reckoned
~linost, if not quite, as severe a punishment); but
,heir ignorance prevents them from combining to
procure any amelioration of their condition, and the
Latent poser which they possess continues to lie
tiormaut.

This is a fotrddable catalogue of obS:acles in the
v,-ay of the Ru:sian noblesse ; yet, let the prestnt
system remain unchanged, and they will not be in-
surmountable by a class which is daily increetsii* in
numbers, and advancing in knowledge.

The Autorre, pluerd between a neglected aristt
cracy and a suffering peasantry, will find it not an
easy task to keep his balance steady—without ma-
tirial al'erotions either on the one side or the
other; while he wavers, the very arm of his strength
k ready to become the instrument of his downfal.
The subjugation of Poland and its incorporation
with the empire, in place of retarding, would, in all
probabil:ty, accei-erate the crisis.
If he and his Ministers continue blind to the signs
of the time,, and deaf ro -the calls Of .reason;
quires but little foresight to predict, that therthly
not far distant when the spider shall weave his web
in the Imperial Palace, and the owl sing her watch
song cn tt.e toy.rs of the Czars.

"
—About three quarters of a million, while tie empire
contains nearly sits millions of inhabitant,.
t say that a man belongs to the poriffaki rod"
(the Clerical race), is equivalent to calling him a sneaking,
cunning rogue. •

On the breaking out of the conspiracy in 1825, the
peasantry in several villages displayed their loyalty by arre%i_
ing and conducting before the local authorities, travellers
whose gentlemanly appearance was the only proof pre.-
sumptive tlgaiust-them.

The following is the Housc List of Governois
anti Directors of the Bank of England for the year iP•

suing, viz.:—.

FOR GOV E RNO RS.
JOHN HORSLEY PALMER, Esq, Governor.
ANDREW HENRY THOMSON, ESCI., Deputy Governor.
YOU. DI A ECTOB.S.
John Bowden, Bal. ,She Meld Neave, Esq.
-John Cockerel', Esq. George Warde Norman, Esq. •
William Cotton. Esq. James Pattison, jun., E.g.
Samuel Drewe, Esq. John Henry Peily, Esq.
George Donlon: Esq. Charles Polo, Esq. ~.,
Charles Pascoe Grenfell, Esq. I lenry Porches., Estq„
Abel Lewes Gower, Eq. Richard Mee &tikes Et:.
?
Samuel Hibbert, Esq. John Baker Richards, Esc.
WilUani Manning, Esq. William It. itobinson, Eta.
William Mellish, Esq. William Thonipson, Esq. :ii-A
Humphrey St. John INtiltimAF, Alderman. -

.Samuel Thornton, Esq. • -
James Morris, Esq. Thomas Wane, EN.
The election of the Governor and Deputy Governor
w•ili be held at the Bank en Tuesday, the and fc,r
Directors on Wednesday, the 6th iust., from ten o'clock
in the forenoon till four in the afternottu.

There is nothing against which we would Wire.
earnestly caution all the friends cf Reform, especially those
of the lower classes, than suffering their joy or their re-
sentment upon the subject to extend beyond the hounds of
moderation. This may not in ail cases he a very easy
task to practise; but it is most .essential that it should in
no instinc.e be disregarded. The enemies .f Reform are
watching to convert every little over-ebullition nn th'e
part of the people into a pretence for imputing to them
the most sanguinary and disgraceful objects ; in proof 0.:
which we need only refer them to the columns of a Sun-
day paper, which speaks of the trilling excesses which
have occurred at Edinburgh and Dundee as " sufficient vi
satisfy those who have property to lose, who have houses
to be plundered, who have wives to he sacrificed, or
daughters to be violated."—Morning Paper. -

TILE ONLY AUTHENTIC LIFE OE BONA-
PARFE.-The public will be glad to find Oast a nets•,
completo, beautifully illustrated, and what is more to tie
purpose, cliiap edition of BousELENNE's celebrated Me-
moirs of NAPOLEON is just published, in three portable
volumes by Messrs. COLBUK22 and BENTLEY. It has
suited the purposes of party in •Ern land to question the
authenticity of some portions of BounEtENNE'S statements;
hut in France, where alone the truth Inn be ascertained,
1301IRRiENNE is held by the majority to be the only faith-
ful chronicler of the wonderful career of his friend, anti

master the ex-Emperor, with Whom- he was in estistan't
personal and confidential communication. But-that-every
view of the same question or event may be at the corn •
mand of the reader, the English Editor has appended to
the present edition, in three volumes, a variety of notx
from the dictations of Nal.°',got; himself to his G' nerds
during his captivity at St. Helena, from the Memoirs of
the Duke of Rovico, of General RAN., of Ceunt LA*
CASI4S, of. M. CONSTANT, and of Mr. O'MEARA ; also
from the
.notes of Josxeu BONAPARTE, and }Tom tl\e
writings of English officers of high rank, such as the Mar,
quis of LONDONDERRY, Ste." This, it must he admitted,
is a new and highly valuable feature of the pr,sent editioa,
. amd cannot fail to eniuto for it the moat extensive po!-
pularity.

INVITATION OF MALTON TO THE LORD
Anyocktu.—On Tuesday last a numerous and respec-
t dde meeting of the burgesses of Alalton, was htlii in the
Town-hall, to take into consideration the best means of
filling up the vacancy in the representation of the borough,
occasioned Ity the resignation of Sir Jamrs ScAnterr. A
letter which had been received by the last post from Lard
MaToN, was read to the meeting, stating that the de—
ision of an Election Committee had deprived . the Lord
Advocate of Scotland, Mr. JEFFREY, of his sett: and

his presence. iu Parliament at this moment being of ma-
terial consequence, Lord MILTON asked the people of
Alalton to e!ect the Learned Lord as their re, resenta-
tive durkg the remainder of the present Patlis-
went. Ills Lordship added that, as the Loan Auto-
CATE is personally unknown to him, he suegested
on public grounds only ; hut his fame at the Scotch bar,
and the abilities and consistency which he had displayed in
his public conduct, would, it was hoped, he considered
sufficient justification to his Lordship for his a.king .this
cavour. In consequence of which communication 'being
made, it was unanimously resolved, that the vin•e'hl act
knowledged with the utmost gratification the very flatter?
*mg communication from Lord Alturosr, in recotOP!Wioll
so di,tinguisheil an individual as the.present
VOCATK of Scotland to become the succesSorh
SCAntErr in the representation of this Glirr L4vi 1:1; a
mem, and thereby pltdged itself to
i give the
d
its support, and that he sit,;eTil ,f _jr
toll! 3,4:
-num of the mteting to 414:r ..s7tb% „.„00, and, '4l"
occasioned in _the :rePhrrnit 'to thon e
rtecio • prasionsfy to
possbie,• to Pr'itneketvo...—.Leeds Ateret.ro.
doal on the day oi

rd <°:..