Daily national era., 1854-07-07
OUR MONTHLY LONDON CORRESPONDENCE
For the National Era.
SLAVERY IN RUSSIA.
sERFDoM In RUSSIA.

trbApk5tcu IN lAuHrlt. EACH PSoc"hs i"tti.tJ
supplies it's own wants. lts members make
their own clothes. furniture and household
utensils, and frequently build their own dwell
ing. In early times the purchases oi the peas
ants were limited to iron and salt; and with
the exception If those districts which are con-
tiguous 10 the principal cities, the ancient prac
tice il still observed However, the peasants
must earn money to pay taxes TO the crown,
and the OBRoS due TO thoir lords, unless the
OBRoK is converted into 30 many days labor
Hence it is that the Russian scrfs are both me-
chanics and agriculturists. In England, there
is complete industrial separation between
town and country and the urban population
exceeds that Of the rural districts. The very
reverse is witnessed in Russia. According 10
the census Of 1888, the towns Of Russia only
contained one eleventh of the whole population
In 638 towns it was ascertaincd that there
were only 4,745, ,622 inhabitants, while the en-
tire population Of Russia, at the same date
was estimated at 54 900, 600 but that figure
did not include the mountaiDeefs Of Caucasna
tho soldiers and their families or the peoples of
Poland and Finland. M De Koeppen cnumcr-
ates the army and navy, the cantonists, and
all dependent On the administration Of tho
united services, at one million and half IN
the archives Of Herman for the year IS45, tEs
entire population of Ill the towns and burgs OF
any Importance IL put down Mt 4. 906,3i and
of these, 246 600 belong to tho mobiles and the
Gar, and 7s,4S0 to the church.
On the population Of Russia, relatively to the
area OF the country, Schnilzler has the follow
ing instructive remarks:
I" Moscow il in the centre Of the empire, IN
the midst Of the principal element of the pop
ulation, the basis Of it's nationality. The Mos
kwa, river that flows at the foot of the
KrernliD, il made, by the Okla, to communicate
with the Volga. Now, this majestic river,
which passes through great portion Of Euro
pean Russia In its course of nearly one thou
sand leagues iorms as is well known the june
tion between the seas Of the north and those oil
the south, between the Baltic and the Caspian.
A railroad, moreover, connects Moscow direct
iy with ST. Petersburgb, THAT is to say, with
the Baitc,) independently Of a magnificent
road, constructed by the army, and which af-
fords great facility OF communication. All
the roads OF the interior Of the country either
end or touch at Moscow. People pass through
this town in going from the capital OF the
north to the Crimea or to tho Caucasus !; it il
the same in travelling to Kasan and Siberia, or
when they repair to the populous fair Of Mini
Noyogorod, where the east and the west seem
to give each other q rendezvous every year in
the month Of July. The real power Of Russia
is there, in the centre The Government Of
Moscow is the best peopled Of all there each
square verst is computed to contain forty eight
inhabitants; whereas in that of st. Peters
bnrgb, the density Of tho population is only
from sixteen 10 seventeen sonls in the same
space In that of Novogorod, it is less than
nine; in that of Archangel, there is bat one
inhabitant in three versts; and at the other
end of the Empire, in the Government Of AS
tracan each yerst contains but two ut the ont
side. The greater number Of the Governments
grouped about that Of Moscow, are likewise
among those which are the best peopled that
Of Toula reckons forty-six souls to the square
verst; that Of Riasin, nearly thirty seven that
OF Kalongs, thirtysix that Of Vladimir, about
thirty; that Of Smolensko is reckoned at about
twenty -four; and that OF Iyer, at from twenty
two to twenty three A little further, Koursk
has irnm forly-two to forty three, Orel thirty
six, and Jaroslaf nearly thirty two.
BY adding together the fourteen Govern
ments OF the centre, comprised for the most
part within ancient Russia Major, we find a
group Of seventeen millions of souls concen-
trated in n space Of about 100000 sqnare
versts, or space equal in extent to France,
Belgium, and the Netherlands taken together
whereas, all European Russia on superficies
II nearly five millions Of square versts---that Is
to say eight times greater-has scarcely more
than three times this population.p*
This more den.ely pcopled region is by far
the most industrious and richest and it is the
least ignorant. Out OF about seven thousand
factories established in Russia, one seventh be-
long 10 the Governments of Moscow which en-
pIoys 100 900 out OF the 420, 900 men devoted
TO the industrious arts throughout the empire.
OF these, nearly the whole are serfs, ne are
many Of the opulent traders and manulac
turers.
Throughout Russia, labor ia subjected 70
special organization, and all new enterprises
are protected against competition whch might
strangle them in thor cradle lt is highly
probable that in the earlier periods of Russian
history, the communal organization of the
towns rerrmbled the communal organization OF
the villages, for the municipal and corporation
systems, borrowed IN many particulars from
the trading institutions Of Germany, are clear
ly traeeable to- Cstharine the Second and Paul
the First. The associative principle ia very
marked characteristic Of Russian nationality
and appears paipably in the combinations Of
workmen Of almost every grade. The word
ARTEL may be rendered into English by CLUB,
20 which every member makes moneycd con-
tribution, from which is formed common
purse, designed 10 carry out some special enter
prise, under tho suporntendence Of q committee
OF management BY the existing laws Of
Russia, every one who wishes to carry ON trade
in town must belong to a trading corporation
or Guild, presided over by an AEcrENr, or ell
der man, whom we may style Alderman; and
this oihoer ~ entitled TO scat in the munici-
pal council. The wardcns Of tho several Guilds
IN town elect in common supreme director
OF the several corporations, who also has a scat
in the municipal council BY these bodies tho
periods Of apprcnticcships are fixed, and the
duties Of apprentices and journeymen defined
The law require, that every trader should DO
inscribed or enrolled in Guild; but practical
ly this is vain formula, since no corporation
can prevent any working man from gaining his
daily bread by the sweat Of his brow; but
mono can hire jcurncymen or have apprcnticcs
but those who are admitted 10 the rank &C
masters in scmc corporation, and to gain that
position they must be exemined by the board
Merchnnts are classed in three Guilds, each
havu0 diffcrcrt triviIevce. Tho nrinoiual oh