The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-26 00:00:00

"MANIFESTO OF HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR.

"By the grace of God, we, Alexander 11., Emperor
and Autocrat of all the Russias, King of Poland,
Grand Duke of Finland, &c., to all our faithful

subjects make known :

" Called by Divine Providence and by the sacred
right of inheritance to the throne of our ancestors,
we took a vow in our innermost heart se to respond
to the mission which is intrusted to us as to sur-
round with our affection and our imperial solicitude
all our faithful subjects of every rank and of every
condition, from the warrior who nobly bears arms
for the defence of the country to the humble artisan
devoted to the works of industry; from the official
in the career of the high offices of the State to the
labourer whose plough furrows the soil.
" In considering the various classes and conditions
of which the State is composed we came to the con-
viction that the legislation of the empire having
wisely provided for the organisation of the upper and
middle classes,and having defined with precision their
obligations, their rights and their privileges, has not
attained the same degree of efficiency as regards
the peasants attached to the soil (krepostnye), thus
designated because either from ancient laws
or from customs they have been hereditarily sub-
jected to the authority of the proprietors, on whoM
it was incumbent at the same time to provide for
their welfare. The rights of the proprietors have
been hitherto very extended and very imperfectly
defined by the law, which has been supplied by
tradition, custom, and the good pleasure of the pro-
prietors. In the most favourable cases this state of
things has established patriarchal relations founded
upon a solicitude sincerely equitable and benevolent
on the part of the proprietors, and on an affectionate
submission on the part of the peasants ; but in pro.
portion as the simplicity of morals diminished, as
the diversity of the mutual relations became compli-
cated, as the paternal character of the relations be-
tween the proprietors and the peasants became
weakened, and, moreover, as the seigneurial autho-
rity fell sometimes into hands exclusively occupied
with their personal interests, those bonds of mutual
good will slacken, and a wide opening was made
for an arbitrary sway which weighed upon the
peasants, was unfavourable to their welfare, and
made them indifferent to all progress under the con-
ditions of their existence.

" These facts had already attracted the notice of
our predecessors of glorious memory, and they had
taken measures for improving the condition of the
peasants; but among those measures some were not
stringent enough, insomuch as they remained sub-
ordinate to the spontaneous initiative of such pro-
prietors who showed themselves animated with
liberal intentions ; and others, called forth by pe-
culiar circumstances, have been restricted to certain
localities or simply adopted as an experiment. It
was thus that Alexander I. published the regulation
for the free cultivators, and that the late Emperor
Nicholas, our beloved father, promulgated that one
which concerns the peasants bound by contract. In
the Western Governments regulations called in-
ventaires' had fixed the territorial allotments due
to the peasants, as well as the amount of their rent
dues ; but all these reforms have only been applied
in a very restricted manner.

" We thus came to the conviction that the work
of a serious improvement of the condition of the
peasants was a sacred inheritance bequeathed to us
by our ancestors,—a mission which, in the course of
events, Divine Providence called upon us to fulfil.
" We have commenced this work by an expres-
sion of our imperial confidence towards the nobility
11.---;., stypn urtto
devotion to the Throne and of its constant readiness
to make sacrifices for the• welfare of the country.
"It is to the nobles themselves, conformable to
their own wishes, that we have reserved the task of
drawing up the propositions for the new organisa-
tion of the peasants—propositions which make it
incumbent upon them to limit their rights over the
peasants, and to accept the onus of a reform which
could not be accomplished without some material
losses. Our confidence has not been deceived. We
have seen the nobles assembled in committees in the
districts, through the medium of their confidential
agents, making the voluntary sacrifice of their rights
as regards the personal servitude of the peasants.
These committees, after having collected the neces-
sary data, have formulated their propositions con-
cerning the new organisation of the peasants
attached to the soil (krepostnye) in their relations
with the proprietors.

" These propositions having been found very
diverse, as was to be expected from the nature of the
question; they have been compared, collated, and
reduced to a regular system, then rectified and com-
pleted in the superior committee instituted for that
purpose, and these new dispositions thus formulated
relative to the peasants and domestics (dvorovye) of
the proprietors have be en examined in the Council
of the Empire.

" Having invoked the Divine assistance, we have
resolved to carry this work into execution.
" In virtue of the new dispositions above men-
tioned, the peasants attached to the soil (attaches a
la glebe) will be invested within a term fixed by the
law with all the rights of free cultivators.
" The proprietors retaining their rights of pro-
perty on all the land belonging to them, grant to
the peasants for a fixed regulated rental the full en-
joyment of their close (enclos), and, moreover, to
assure their livelihood and to guarantee the fulfil-
ment of their obligations to wards the Government,
the quantity of arable land is fixed by the said
dispositions, as well as other rural appurtenances
(ougodie).
" But, in the enjoyment of these territorial allot-
ments, the peasants are obliged, in return, to acquit
the rentals fixed by the same disposition to the
profit of the proprietors. In this state, which must
be a transitory one, the peasants shall be designated
as ' temporarily bound' (temporairenient obliges).
" At the same time they are granted the right of
purchasing their close (enclos), and, with the con-
sent of the proprietors, they may acquire in full
property the arable lands and other appurtenances
which are allotted to them as a permanent holding
(jouissanee). By the acquisition in full property of
the quantity of land fixed the peasants are free from
their obligations towards the proprietors for land
thus purchased, and they enter definitively into the
condition of free peasants—landholders (paysans
librespro—prietaires).
" By a special disposition concerning the domestics
(gens de la donzesticite—dvorovye) a transitory
state is fixed for them adapted to their occu-
pations and the exigencies of their position. On
the expiration of a term of two years, dating from
the day of the promulgation of these dispositions,
they shall receive their full enfranchisement and
some temporary immunities.

" It is according to these fundamental principles
that the dispositions have been formulated which
define the future organization of the peasants and
of the domestics (dvorovye), which establish the
order of the general administration of this class,
and specify in all their details the rights given to
the peasants and to the domestics, as well as the
obligations imposed upon them towards the Gov-
ernment and towards the proprietors.
" Although these dispositions, general as well as
local, and the special supplementary rules for some
particular localities, for the lands of small proprie-
tors, and for the peasant, who work in the mann- 1
factories and establishments (usines) of the pro-
prietors, have been, as far as was possible, adapted
to economical necessities and local customs, never-
theless, to preserve the existing state where it
presents reciprocal advantages, we leave it to the
proprietors to come to amicable terms with the pc a-