New-York daily tribune., 1858-11-11

10 tntt OF Vrry to'kV P''f
slaves and ,lavebadtrs Of tue United st't's
or our 80, ,355 .lavebolieTs in 1soO 31',-6 we're
owners Of les. than twenty slaves each. Inc i"'
Of this body Of s-rfs is ssid ~ be very har' Inc
patrisrrbal feeling. ~hich belong 10 certain eA-
tent. 70 the richer and better educated pr'prretors
s too often .trnugers to the breasts Of tpe-" gno-
rant and greedy masters. whose povr1y drives
them often to extract all they can squeeze OUT o.
their unhappy seIfs.
3. There were GOA proprietors owning from
to 100 serfs-in all, 3,27l ,6a5 souls Tue corre-
pondine class of propr,etors in tne United states
amounted, BY the cenlus Of 1850 TO just about the
SHINE number with that OF Russia but shc total oil
slaves owned by them was very far lees, showing
that while more of this class in Russia approached
the liwit Of 100 slaves with US the greater par'
of this class did not rise much beyond ~ sliTes
each. Even this class Of Russian proprieors. still
lingering on the borders Of poverty. make almost
az hard masters as those Of the preceding class
I, il from these two classes (Which must be c'n'
s,dtred az corresponding to the mass OF the
American slaycholders). that the Emperor expert
ences the most bitter opposition to bis plans OF
c emancipation.
a. We have next body Of proprietors in easy
circumstances, Is, 500 in number, and owning
among them Z, ,e07 ,O66 peasants. Tue correspond
ing class in the United States amounts to only
I,73I slave owners, but holding, on the average,
much less number Of slaves.
g. We have ne xt elazs Of 2, i68 rich Russian
proprie,o,s who, in 1880 had only two representa-
trves in the United States, owong from 1000 to
2,OUO serfs each, aud among them 3,230.2c6.
6. Finally, We have class totally unknown in
the United States Of ,4f7 great propr'rtors each
owping more than 1900 seris, aud together
S,So sS9 "t, e They represent the great territorial
fortunes of Russia, having at their head the Count
ChcIcmetef, who alone owus more than 3~,ooO
seIfs.
The total result, u round plumbers, is %, 600, oop
peasants belonging to about Il6,OeO p'oprietorS.
Many Of theae prJprietors are III debt aud more
than half of these peasants Stand pledged to the
Crown, for advances made to their owners 70 'ne
ext-ut Of more Than $500. 100000.
In those districts where the system prevails oil
the cultivation Of the lands Of the proprirtors by
the labor Of the serfs it is usual for the proprietor
to reserve, according to the fertility of the soil,
third, two-sevenths, or sometimes only fourth Of
the land to himself to be cultivated for his benefit
by the labor Of the serf and to assign the rest to
them as means of providing food and clothing for
themselves. The economist StOrch alleges that, on
an average, the peasants have assigned to them, to
each soul, four-and-a-half dessiatines of land
equivalent to between eleven and twelve English
acres in compensation for which must be cult.
waited three dessiatines about niue acres, for the
lord; but this assignment varies greatly in dider-
ent provinces. This distribution is made Of lands
to be cultivated by each peasant family, both for
its own Use and for the use Of the lord, by sort
Of coa.mune of the peasants the heads Of which
are Dominally elected by them, but the selec-
tion and conduct of whom t1e proprietor exercises
or may exercise, controlling influence. As these
assignments are perpetuAlly changing according to
the Increase decrease Of families, the peasants
crop, and no disposition to make any improvements.
The cultivation s most wretched aud the pro.
duce very small, about equal to that Of lower Yer.
ginia.
Where the peasants pay an oJrock, that is 10 say,
hire out themselves the amount, when they belong
to poor propretors, ubsorbs large part of their
wages, and as their gains increase is liable to be
increased at any time, and often is, at the pleas
ure Of the masters. These masters, on their own
plantations are little Cars apng often the tone
Of femperors-tbougb just at this moment they are
not much in humOr to ape the reignng emperor
Just about as absolute lords as our Southern
Democratic Shareholders. They exercise at pleas
ure the right Of castigation, and serf can leave
the estate without pass 1t is noticed in Rus,ia
and the same story is told of English, Irsn an
Yankee emigrants to our Southern States-that the
new nobility, raised To that rank, aud, in conse-
quence, to the right Of owning serfs ny partcipa-
tion in the public service, much more cruel aud
exacting than the old hereditary propretors, some
of whom entertain toward their serfs a sort of
patriarchal feeling.
The proprietor is responsible for the impost or
poll tax payable by the serfs to the Imperial Treas
ury, which is sufficiently heayy-about 81 70 per
head. This sum is to be collected and paid at all
hazards. The treasury takes precedence Of every
other creditor The duties Of the proprietor to the
serf are: l. Either to provide him with sufficient
land to maintain bimself, or to cause hin to be
tsught trade for the same purpose; 2. 10 feed
him in case Of fainine-which latter obligation
sometimes falls very hard upon the proprietor He
is also obliged to furnish recruits, in proportion to
the number of his sers to the imperial Army, and to
6t them out for the service-another heavy oblg,.
tiou, especiully in time Of war. The Russian pro-
prietors soy just as our shareholders do, 80, our
" serfs are happy. They have no care or anxiety.