The New York herald., 1870-07-31


impoverished to the sole advantage of the para
sites who shelter themselves in the shadow Of
these Institutions, and who are recruited for the
most part in Turkey from the ranks OF the LATEST
most ignorant and worst famed of the Greek
caloyer monks. The material for the following
sketches Of the twenty-three institutions which
constitute the dedicated converts Of Bessaraba
are derived from the habituay well informed
Odessa journal the Odessa Westnik:- -Bessarabia'-
fine province covering surface OF 5000 OOO
hectares, with population Of about l,O000OO OF
souls-has these twenty-three dedicated converts
as legacy from the time of the old Phanariote
government. The greater part OF them are
not even situated in Bessarabia proper, but In
Turkish territory. They possess in Bessarabia
forty magnificent sdomains, occupying space OF
800 900 hectares of ground, 5O,OOO OF which are
covered with forests of full grown trees OF the
finest kinds. These domains are distributed as
follows:-In the district of Soroky, thirty-eight
domains with 80 900 hectares; in that OF Jassy,
nine domains, with 1000 hectares Kischenew,
thirty five domains, with $4,000 hectares; in the
district of Orgueew, twenty-one domains, with
35. 900 hectares; of Bender, six domains, with
%, 900 hectares of Chorn, twelve domains, with
$4,000 hectares, and in that OF Ackerman, one
domain, with 5000 hectares--in all l42 domains,
possessing 294,0 900 hectares OF the finest
land. These domains were bequeathed
in former times to various monasteries
condition of their founding and maintaining in
Bessarabia schools, hospitals and asylums for or
phans and the aged, the monasteres themselves
being only permitted the enjoyment OF such por-
ton Of the revenue derived from these estates as
should remain available after the whole objects
spec fed by the piOus bequeathers had been pro-
vided for. They presumed they were dealing
with men Of genuine religion. BY these pious and
humane acts they hoped to obtain pardon for their
sins here below and to pave the way to o happy
futurity. They may have met their reward in the
other world but most assuredly the monasteries
which they endowed paid but little heed to the
testamentary conditions which put them in pos
session of some of the finest domains in Bess-
arabia. They built neither school nor college,
neither asylum nor church in the country. They
confined themselves to extracting from the do
mains large revenues, which they transported to
the right bank of the Danube, in order to satisfy
the cOvetousness Of their protectors, and pander
to their own qualification. They have sys-
tematically violated the conditions under winch
alone they hold these properties, and have in this
manner, forfeited all right to possess them. In
this state of things behOoves the Russian GOVERN
ment to take steps to restrain the unblnshng pill
lage of which these mOnasteries are guilty. Bess-
arabia hes lost enormously through the revenues
of these domains being diverted from the coun-
try 1t is computed that during the past sixty
years fully Ga 600 900 sterling have by such means
crossed the Danube into Turkey, and the Odessa
journal brings to light most destructive course
resorted to by these monasteries in order
to encash as large sum as possible at one stroke.
Bessarabia is known to be country OF steppes-,
that is to say, for the most part denuded of
forests, and by fortunate concurrence Of Cir
cumstances the monasteries have become masters
of a full fifth of all the forests in the province.
They possess upwards Of 10000 hectares of
superb forest land, which, at the high price
that wood commands in those regions, are
of the value of not less than f4,O00,000
sterling in ALL Foreseeng that the day
would come when the Russian government
would open its eyes to 30 abnormal state of
things as that involved in the dedicated converts
acting as mere force pumps to draw away from
Russia the greatest possible amount of money, the
authorities of the converts have ordered the
agents of their domains in Bessarabia to lay
hands at once upon all the forests and convert
them into hard cash. 1t therefore behooves the
Russian government to take prompt measures to
redress the vandalism perpetrated in Bessarabia
by these privileged converts, and to stop the de-
struction Of the forests which they contemplate;
otherwise this fine province, already SO little
wooded, will be deprived of wood altogether and
rendered still more exposed than at present to
scarcity of water. Energetic means must be had
recourse to to check existing abuses Had the
government made the heads Of these converts pay
the penalty they have incurred in dsregarding
every condition on which their right to hold their
property is based, and declared these properties
forfeited to the State, it would have saved Bess-
arabia the f4,0OO,0OO sterling of which it has
already been plundered, and by doing so even at
this staget would Obvate the further plumber Of
"a O0O, 900 more.