, 1864-02-18
IKUaIAN PROGRESS.
rhc Great Russian Emancipation.

c1patfon on tic spot. he las had every fu-
Guilty given him by tic authorities, and Las
great reform. He also Travelled extensively
| In the inferior Of the country, and resided for
a time in district 100 miles south Of Nos
COW. We could not do justice to his report
| except by copying 1t entire, which our limits
do not allow, and We must content ourselves
! With meager abstract. -
| The emancipation Is completely triumphant
In every respect. ALI the forcboaings Of
| the reactlonaries have been disappointed.
| There has been no bloodshcd, no excess, no
| soclal disorder, no decline Of industry. TWcn-
| ty-tbree millions Of people have been raised
to the dignity OF freenen. by the fiat OF one
! man, in the space OF Two years, in the face OF
| q most formidable opposition of nearly the
whole Russian nobility. The bltterest oppo-
nents noW admit that "as the operation bad
to be performed some time 1t was we'll to do
I il ut oDce.n intellectual and social energies
which had been frozen up for centuries, arc
set free; the pcasantry are promising raco
Of people, nnd they knoT how to appreciate
| the boon OF liberty.
Among the first financial results In the
general rise In the price Of land all through
ready purchased the land which they former
II cultivated for a master. The government
Systematically loans money for this object,
and all tho money which was formerly hid
den III earthern pots is brought ont and in
vested in land. Ever; peasant feels u new
incentive 10 Industry and economy, that he
may be nble to buy land. More houses aru
now built In year than used to be built in
half dozen years. The new wants Of the
people give surprising impulse to trade.
The nobility, who used to spend their in:
GENES at Paris or In Germany, arc coming
to live On their estates, aud spend their lives
IN seeking to promote the improvement Of
the people. The appraised value Of property
in the Kingdom is already enhanced almost
beyond computation.
The educational and religious efforts are
equally signal. Already. eight thousand
the peasants, By their own efforts, aided BY
friends, the government having no hand In
it.. Two years ago 6uch thing as day.
school among the pcasantry was hardly
known. There Is great anxlety to bet able to
read the Laws, as we'll is to read tho Scrip
authorities have published the Russian New
Testament, at the low price Of sixpence Il
copy-about u ccnts. Or course th9 priests
mnst make thcms elves both intelligent and
refined, If they, wish TO keep their: places
among m educated people.
The changes which have already been made
in the municipal arrangements Of the country
are equally wonderful Within tho last two
years the cities OF Moscow and ST.. Peters.
burg have for the first time had mayors elect
ed by the citizens In the peasant Villages.
the chief is elected by tue people, and ali
measures are debated and settled ii: rillage
meetings-those pestilent nurseries Of dis
content, the old Tories called thcm-the trnin-
Ing schools Of freedom, rs every phiIosophl-
Gil observer considered our American town
meetings. An honorary local mngistracy has
been creuted all over the empire, Of men Of
tlce between man and man, repress crime,
ard protect the weak against the strong, Our,
author says:
"T1ese municipal institutions az training.
sehools for The psas.ntty; they enable them 70
mens employees; they also break tue force Of that
centralE atlou which has been such curse to Rus-
sa: they ase nuclei to protect the weak against
court, oral evidence, summary decision, and pub
Lefty. form the fnlcs OF pruteedug, while simple
and cEeap code OF the Law is admlnistcred." =
And, finally, tho writer finds in all tllis tho
constitution for Russia, which must follow
as IN inevitable consequence:
"fren tue late Emperor Nicholas was convinced
that emancipation was necessary, but be would
not Eiys Il, Snowtns .hat + wQnla inEore reform
heas4ng Of the MASSES would affect every instttu-
lion tn Russia: As sesf emancipation included
o al Ruisp cofo
lazy: and tound, among all intelligent Russians,
The sun conviction that constitution must nata.
kAHI Etu# uot Vi tluAnf1tAtiVns h1 E{VS1nG1at aH~
senhfes arc tho rcsnlt Of municipal freedom, and
aeoEs1ttutlon w, be the fruit Of provincial assem-
hlles. These Steps are now being taIen.1
The Emperor Eicholas was fully sensiblc
Of the importance of emancipation, but he
said clearly that constitutional government
must follow, and this be would not abide
Alexander II. has therefore acted with his
eyes open, and is prepared to follow, out bis
brst step 10 all Its legitimate results a$ fast as
wisdom will allow.
since the above Was written, the Arabia
mail steamer brings the 0J7cial JouradK Of st.
Petersburg, containing IN imperial ukase for
the organization Of tho provincial and dis
trict Representations of Russia, withthe ex-
| . ception Of the Western and Baltic Provinces,
Archangel, Astracl,an and Bessarabia. This
Is the beginning Of a constitutional mon-
urchy In Russia, whose government will no
longer have to be .defned as "despotism,
tempered By assassination" Tho introdue-
tion Of representative constitution will, Of
course, greatly contribute to the education
Of the whole people, and viii thus have u
marked influence upon the destiny OF Europe.
We only add the remark, that even Eng
lisl glumblers will soon cease to be aston
isLed at the sympathy existing. between the
inpc1ia1 liberalism Of the Eastern and the
imperial Republic of the Western Hemi-
Sn}1rrr