, 1861-04-01

liigznne,, ,hnnesty md skf1l Theses
qu1httea, sumfned up; represent 3 capital
worth 90 much : Bhl Instead q, }fayipg him
ri ri. k5s I p5geSFdM1 f. o hsS s GT .as t. hss e
she Russian serfoRner towards his human
sSproperty, which, IN most Of thu cases; be hses
!. with view to his OWE gain pretty much as
the slave owner uses his :" "nfgger." .- In fact,
the condition Of tbs peasant Belonging TO the
nobility depends entirely on the propIIetof's::
other, piovdsa d I deaosenDt @ separate I hin ri dfon On
the land to which he belongs When the serf
twiahes to work outside of his estate OF village
he ts obliged to pay avery high price for this
privilege to the croH1, II he bslonGs to Il,
or to his master, il be is owned by:a nopl.-
man. ~z.::;r;i,'s. ~. 4,. -. e. -.
On the nobility ls' fl tie min worse than
those" depending On tie crown. The tool Of
the capr1ca hf gnorant and exact1ng overseeEa,;
he ia crushed under the weight Of forced h.
Dor, submitted to extra, duties, inta1ferea with
IN his family affairs, tormented. by local Off
cers, severely punished for the least intractioD,
and sometimes 'fogged to death. The serf
cannot makea complaint or serve as witness
against his owner; heis compelled to keep
silent nn his Eut1efings when the3 become In
snfeIab1e, be either foments q rebellion, sets
the village On fire and kills his master, or else
he emisTates with his companions to some
other part Of the empire, where he il oVertaken,
semitic Siberia Or put to death. :.
As Q general rule the sen pays his owner an
annual ta1 called ob7ok; those who do not pay
It are liable to three days work. This rent or
this service makes him free in his person and
his labor. He is besides Obliged to perform
certain unpaid or statute lahofs, termed eo,1ee,
such as keeping Of roads, the lodging, feeding
and carrying of the. army, and do all sort Of
public work gratultous1y,. a large number of
serfs pny personal tax, called capitatI0n,
whichva1ies from une dollar aud half to one
dollar and eighty cents head. According to
the last statistic; tt has been calculated that
the eerf Or peas ant pays annually to the treas.
ury one million one hundred and thirty thous.
and dollars 1or duties and taxes sixty two
millions of dollars to his owner 1.-THE crown ex~
cepted), arid eighty millions for the expenses
of!ocal administration. These figures show
that the PEASANT pays annually, out Of his five
months work, nearly two hundred millions of
dollars, OF two-thirds Of all the taxes Of the
empire. "a:
The serf Is either located in villages or in
cities, tneWhich case he pays the obrok rent;
or be remains on the estate to which be be-
longs sind works three days in the week for
MS master. In both cases he enjoys the priv
ilege Of small house and Of piece OF ground
sufficient for his wants, and surrounded by an
enclosure. As to the serfs owned by landless
proptieturs they are hired or parcclied. cut
among the mining works and the manufactur-
ing districts Of, the country. They support
their masters with the labor oftheir hanos.
INTERFERENCE OF THE GOVERNMENT AND OF
TIE NOBILITY IL FAVOR OF TEE FEAsANTRY.
/, The Facts we have Just revealed have placed
Russia in q condition OF inferiority towards
other nations, which Muscorite pride could
not well endute. Ivan Gologin, the historian,
says: Russian nohles wieh for emanct tpation
fr1 tf-ao frc+ tr.,
prehensive for their own safety; second, be.
cause the country grows poorer and poorer;
third, because they are ashamed to pass for
elave-traders in the eyes of civilized Europe.
The governme Mt wishes for it too, in or}er to
whitswash itself before foreign nations" He
might have added TINT the 1aek Of industry
and commerce, resulting from the social state
Of the people, the profound Generalization OF
some Of the governors and Of the majority OF
subordinate officers Of the empire, abEebte, >
Ism, bribery ard corruption in high places, ii q
ignorance Of the clergy, the supsrstitions OF
the masses, and many other cau5es too long to
enumerate, have placed tha empire in such q
condition that reforms and emancipation have
become question of life and death. The late
Emperor Nicholas /. Was aware Of it, aud at
| tempted at diffsrentttmes to dlsfranchise the
serts, but failed On account of the Ill will Of
the nobility on one side, and OF his too radi-
cal notions on the other. However, the mem
are now takeo up by the people as the greatest
| abolitionint Ct the EMPIRE.
Alexander II, bis son, q statesman and 4
| philosopher, has followed In the wake Of his
! father, and, aware as he Ia that the eafety Of
| Russia is Intimately connected with the free
dom of the people, has worked In one direc-
| lion ever since his advent to the throne. As
soon as the Crimean var Was over; in 1857, he
began his measures Of reform, and, fortunately
| for the cause Of human -ffeedi ( N, was assisted
in his task BY the cooperation Of half OF his
| nobility, whose patriotism, justly alarmed at
the precarious condition Of the finances Of the
I country, at the revolutionary tendencIes of the
Poles and Hungarians, and at the discomfort
Of several Of the provinces, sought for the
safety Of Russia in their natural defenders, the
| people. Preparatory dispositions were made
| to that effect. The cersus Of the Ferris living
on the estates, the number Of families in each
i village, the amount Of land allotted to each oil
them, their professions and Industry, the
mortgage held by banks upon property, the
amount Of taxes paid OF to be paid, the condi
tion Of the serf-oWneFs, were the subjects Of 8
long Investigation. To-day this work is over,
and it has resulted in one Of the greatest events
| Of our age: the passage Of fifty millions ol
souls from bondage to freedom.
MEASURES ADOPTED FOR THE ENFRANcu1sE
| aIENr OF TILE sERF5.
| The first measure decreed By the En- oero,
is the remoyal Of several officers Of the crown
| or forty or fifty governors, or provincial
chiefs, now in po9er, ten atleast Will be- turned
out on theground Of dishonesty and incapacI
l>ty. With them a host Of corrupt officials viii
be driven from office. This tribute paid tc
honesty will have an excellent effect upo1
public opinion. " For" says Russian histo
rian, "you cannot emancipate the serfs with
out enantfpatlrg The noo1es, nor the sub
jscts without mosalizing the government
At the Bsme time the administrative aue
judicial officers will be invested with great
eF power business will be settled OF
q just basis the, powers Of the cit!
and county attorneys increased, and justices q
peace will be created to pronounce upon th'
difference between the noble and the peas
ant.
The first otf1eers selected by the nobilit,
will have to be confirmed By the Governor
The local laws and the police: OF the distric
will be administered, for the time being, BY tn
land nwners.- All these measures are On1.
transient, and will have to be modified Us TIL
people grow moe enlightened and more ap
10 exercise the rights Of citizenship.
The serfs will be divided into four groups
ea:h Of which will be the object of sepa1at
and distinct legislation.
proprietors, possessing less than t. enty male
apiece- Hall ofthem will be organized in col
onies, and sent upon the lands Of the crow
and Of the imperial 1atpily. The other bal
| Will be distributed into tmall territorial dir
triets, formed upon the system adopted By th
| French communes, each man receiving q eel
| tain portion Of laad sufficient for his supper
| and That OF his family To compensate til
/ owners, the government will issue bonds t
! the amount Of five millions OF dollars, to b
I applied to this use. At ttha same time, the ser
| already colQnized and enlranchised, will pay t
the treasury an interest OF six or seven sid
half per cent till the complete extinction {
| tina debt ~. - ... i. So.
T1e second group comprises all the SER
paying the o5ro,i or annual tax, five huudge
thousand Of wh3m will be bought, annually, b
the government. 4 yearly Issue Of thirty -tis
millions Of dollars in government scrip will b
devoted, to that purpose. An annual interek
of TX ptr cent upon each eerf valued fro1
fieigh'y to one hundred dollara apiece, will
paid By The peasant himself fer the reimbura
ment Of this amount
Every serf established upon q private pro-
erty, Of sert1edin villages, will have the rigl
to purchase his cottage and enclosure
means Of graduated manual labor, or Of q pa.
ment In produce Of money.
The third group contains the Betfs liable
three days labor per week. According to tt
imperial decree, this Kind Of labor will be r
duced to two days, with privilege for the pes
! ant to purchase his freedom, st stated pric
| till he be included in the annual puscha.
I made by the government, in which case I
will be ta1adfar tHa payment of 7tha iutere
Of the money employ ed in his purchase.
:. The fourth group comprises the domest
. servants, to which the government has mao
| | the same proposition as that made to the pea
antEy, and Will be enfranchised within tv
year. from the time the decree will be pr
mulgate<t; --::i-' .,s-''