The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-24 00:00:00

THE PUBLIC MEN OF SEBVIA.

The following sketch of the members of the
family recently brought uppermost by the turn of
the wheel in Servia, with some account of the rule
of Alexander Karageorgevitsch, in his turn expelled
to make way again for Milosch, will be of interest
in the present juncture of affairs. The career of
these personages, in all its singular vicissitudes,
comprehends the history of Servia, from the first
recognition of her independence to the time at
which we write. The individuals briefly noticed
towards the conclusion of the sketch, Elias Gara-
schanin and Wuksitsch Peritschisch, also present,
each in his way, a distinct type of semi-civilisation
hardly known to western Europe.
First, then, of Milosch Obrenovitsch. The son
`of a labourer in Tescha, and of the widow of a

peasant in somewhat better circumstances at Obren,
Milosch was born in 1780, grew up among extreme
poverty, and eked out a scanty existence by tend-
ing cattle. While employed, in 1804, in this ca-
pacity, by a brother, born of his mother's first
marriage, the oppressions of .the Turks occa-
sioned the rebellion, by means of which Black
George became famous. The distinguished bravery of
the young cattle-herd was insufficient to efface the'
taintof his humble origin, and he therefore attached
the surname Obrenovitsch to his paternal designa-
tion, with a view to obtaining the appearance of
more distinguished birth. He was entrusted by the
people with the administration of three districts,
but Black George, through jealousy, limited his
power to one small and insignificant division ; and
upon Milosch joining a conspiracy against him,
would even have commanded his execution,had not
his young rival been so universally beloved. In
1813 the Turks again made an inroad into Servia.
Milosch was commissioned to defend the Bosnian

frontier, and held an unfortified village 17 days
against a greatly superior force. He did not relin-
quish his post until it was reduced to ruins, and
then hastened to join another detachment. All
had, however, fled, and he too hurried towards the
Saave, but halted upon the bank of the river.
" Brothers," he replied to the entreaties of his com-
rades that he would accompany them across the
river, " I will not go empty-handed into Germany
and allow the Turks to carry off and sell my old
mother, my wife, and my children into slavery. I
will return to my district, where my people are
still in arms. So many have fallen under my guid-
ance, that I will stand or fall with my country-
men." He returned to his command, but finding
resistance unavailing, was compelled finally to sur-
render to the Turks. He even rendered them ser-
vices, and aided in the suppression of fresh out-

breaks.
Milosch was one day in the suite of the Pacha o
Belgrade, when the head of an old companion in
arms was brouuht in. " Seest thou that head, re-
bel ?" said one of the suite to him. " Beware ! thy
turn will come soon." " Friend," replied the wily
Milosch, " I have long known that the head which
I carry on my shoulders is not mine." The hint,
however, was not lost. A day or two afterwards
he procured leave of absence, and repaired to Bruss-
nitza, where he possessed a small estate. His
patriotism revived when he found his safety threa-
tened, and he no longer withdrew from the urgent
impatience of his friends. His preparations being
completed, he presented himself, carrying the
Servian national flag, on Palm Sunday, 1815,t0 the
people, and proclaimed a renewal of the war. The
contest which ensued was one of singular vicissi-
tude. At one time Milosch was at the head of a
considerable force, with which he achieved import-
ant victories at Ertari and on the Matschwa ; at
another he was deserted by all, and forced to seek
concealment in the mountains. In time, however,
he succeeded in compelling the Turks to conclude
an armistice, and to recognise his nomination by
the Servian people as their prince.
The Turko-Russian treaty of Akjerman estab-
lished the present state of affairs. Important privi-
leges were conceded to the Servians—free choice of
their ruler, independent courts of justice, and of
internal .administration, with right to levy their
own taxes to raise a stipulated tribute. Milosch
hoped to gain Bosnia and the Herzegovina in con-
sequence of the war of 1821, but the Russians
declined his assistance, because a Servian kingdom
extending from the Danube to the Adriatic by no
means suited their plans. They required, indeed,
that their protege should forbid the passage of the
Turks posted in Bosnia, and thereby cover their
right flank. Even for this not unimportant service
they manifested little gratitude, and forgot their
promise of procuring for Milosch in the Adrianople
negotiations for peace the transmission of his title
to his heirs. He attained this eagerly-desired end
by a decree of the Sublime Porte in August, 1830.
The same arts of corruption which he brought into
play upon this occasion called forth the hatti-
scheriffs of June 4 and December 4, 1834, by which
his last differences with the Porte were arranged.
In order to secure within that peace already
attained from without, Milosch became a stern and
frequently cruel ruler. He was a faithful imitator
of what he had seen done by the Turks in his youth,
the sole difference being that he substituted deca-
pitation for impalement. With all this neither
system nor principle had a place in his policy.
According to the humour of the moment, and just
as his inborn craft led him to adopt this or that
expedient, he humiliated the wealthy or injured
the poor. In place of attaching to him one of the
two native parties, either the people or the nobles,
he offended both, treated every one who preferred a
complaint before him, with contumely, and perpe-
trated exactions ; and, after having excited the
wrath of the majority of the nobles, he had the
houses of 200 poor people in the Saavestrasse, at
Belgrade, burnt to the ground, because he required
the site for a bazaar. His chief reliance was upon
his Momaks (body-guard), an armed suite, without
whom he never appeared in public. The universal
discontent encouraged the nobles to an outbreak
(1835), which he was unable to quell. His prestige
was gone, and his violation of the constitution
which he had accepted, combined with Russian in-
trigues, deprived him finally of all power of resist-
ance. On the occasion of a fresh revolt his Momaks
were surrounded by militia at the convent of Rako-
witz, and laid down their arms. On the 13th
June, 1839, he signed his abdication, and quitted
the country two days later.
His exile was soothed by the possession of an
enormous fortune, as he owned large estates in
Wallaohia and in the Austrian States, and had
prudently deposited in the time of his power
1,600,000 ducats in the Bank of Vienna. His
appeals for assistance to foreign courts were as in-
effectual as the intrigues he constantly set on foot
in Servia. In 1848 he imagined his restoration
was at hand, and fell into the snare laid for him by
Ludwig Gaj, Illyrian agitator, who, seeing himself
crossed in other plans by Milosch, enticed the latter
to Agram, and retained him some time in confine-
ment. Russia forgave his having desired to render
himself independent as the Servian ruler, and he
then became the subservient tool of the late Czar.
During the recent war he raised a corps of Servian
volunteers at his own expense, to overrun Servia
and Bosnia, and open the way to the Greeks in
I'hessaly, but the Austrians, under Count Coronini,
defeated the scheme. The result of the present
revolution proves how successfully he has employed
his wealth in purchasing adherents in Servia since
1848.
MICHAEL OBRENoviTscH,younger son of Milosch,
was born September 4, 1823, and, together with
his elder brother, Milan, educated first by the Rus-
sianto
the
eProfessorare
of a
Zo ri
youngtsch
, and from
Triestinefrom 1837
Greek,
R a entrusteduos,
from whom the youths reeeived instruction in' modern
languages. Michael was upon the point of making
a tour through Europe when the troubles broke out
which unseated his father. Servia then received
the constitution now in operation. After the
downfall elde sbtustondwe-d h
as calledtree wuepeokns
Porte
to assume
I the ilseh
sovereignty, his
afterwards of decline. The nominated
Michael as his successor, associating with him a
regency, not one of three members of which was
favourably disposed towards the young ruler. His
uncle, Jephrem, intrigued for his nephew's over-
throw in his own favour and the other two members
of the regency desired the accession of the son of
Black George. The powerful hand of Russia was
Michael's only support, and he in return so im-
plicitly followed the advice of the Russian consul,
p
Waschtschenko, that Servia was to all intents and
purposes a Russian province. Two of the members
of the regency
were expelled by outbreaks got up
by Russian agency, but the
ambitious Jephrem was
retained as scapegoat for unpopular measures. The
two exiles intrigued with such success as to lead
the government into the error that Milosch was
seeking to bring about his restoration, and all their
efforts were exerted to avert this danger. They
entrusted, therefore, the most important posts to
patriots whom they knew to be animated by the
most bitter hatred against their ancient oppressor.
In the meantime they embittered the nation by
their tyrannical decrees and violations of the law,
b y their boundless persecutions, and by a large
increase of the already heavy taxation. The last
drop in the cup was the tax upon acorns, which the
Servian finds in quantities in the forests of his
native land, and requires for his herds of swine, in
which consists his • • principal wealth. A Turkish