Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-04-30
there is another side to it. The statesman and

futu, e, rich reserve OF Potential resonrce. IN
watch.s Iel0icingy its growing cities, its In
and CONNIE, 'cial enterprise. the progress of cni
ture which Ell, wly but surely spreads. brinoino
| with it its tho usand demands OF tntelIectua
and material refinement, where till lately
vulgar, unmitfgatSd coarseness. And be know
| that these results are IN great part affected by
| the influx of the Russian element by means OF
convict transportatIod. It would take me far
beyond my present limits, and away from my
| present theme, to discuss this very extensive
and intricate subject. But ft viii not be in
the probable future career of the hundreds OF
young men who OF late years have trOdien the
long, dreary road to the far East. Let US follow
Inose whose COON Is heaviest. Few Of them
| the mines or state factories. An untImely
death will doubtless end the sufferings OF many.
enieeoled from III health brought on or aggra,
| before the tardy hand OF mercy can reach them
Yet, wonderful to say, many more survive the
| horrors OF the first years than would seem pos
sfble for men of gentle nurture and unhard
ened body. II they are resigned and quietly
behaved, they Will after while-three, four
| or i've years instead of fifteen or twenty Of
| their sentence-be brought under one Of the
| sc-called gracious manifestos," which are
always being issue1 on occasion of birthdays.
s,rtha, marriages. etc, In the Emperor's i'm ne
diate family. and transferred 10 some one or
the convict colonies. from which In due time
they will be released IN like manner and
allowed to live within some particular rural
district, at great distance from CITY or town.
and under strict surveillance Of the local police
GraouaIly the range widenS, till 1t comprises
district towns; the Surveillance is lightene1; at
last the capital OF the government Itself IS
opened TO the half-pardOned convict and with
IL scciety and resources OF every kind. Society,
indeed. IS apt to lionfze him. II now depends
in great measure on himself. his good sense
ana abilities, to shape his further fortunes.
Men OF education and scientific or technical
attalnments are IN as great demand and for
In nyrr fnr
west OF this country. And when by the end OF
zen or twelve years, as Is generally the case
ana after having previously been transferred to
the more populouS and civilized western gov.
ernments. the political convict is restored to
ms rank and privileges, freed from all dlsaoilI-
ties and finally recalled from Punishment, it is
shores OF the Baikal OF his own free viii, to
settle there for life. 1 have known such law.
yeIs. physicians. engineers, miner5.-able aud
energetic men, who had come to love the VII.
derness. with its wide Openings, its large
would not nave exchanged 1t. except on com ON
cal the cold, narrow spirit Of the over-cro8d
cities OF the old world; though heaven knows
they need not nave objected to any portion OF
even ever OLD Russia on account OF over Gro dlng
one young lawyer In particular do remember.
He was little over thirty. sturdy of frame. and
Keen OF look; his manners had lost the polish
, OF ms early social training and acquired GER
chalance. He had come to. st, Peters
burg On q hurried trip to see his friends
assert assert =. his newly-recovered rights, and
transact some business; but all his thoughts
were centered on aspeedy return to Irkoutsk
Wnere ne had left promising and already
iiourishing practice. some half-started ventures
~ m mining enterprise. and, as he almost
limited, a fairer attraction than all these In the
form OF well-dowered daughter OF some
wealthy merchant. He was SO enthusiastic In
and every day he was detained In the capital
appeared to him real loss Such political eX-
lies as are not deprived OF their liberty, but only
bound to reside within certain assigned dis
tricts, Of course have all the more Chances In
their favor The interce5sion OF friends at no ne
also does much to shorten their term and hasten
their transfer to cities Of more habitaole re-
gions. If they behave Judiclously, and have not
the exceptional ILL luck OF falling under the
rule OF some OF those ignorant and wantonly
brutal officials, whose number diminishes with
traditions, the indignant records OF the CON
temporary press. or the memoirs of some
prisoners endowed with literary talent
The object OF the foregoing depression is by
no means to palllate the horrors of the penal
sentence known as ''hard labor in the mines ~
The removal from the midst of CIVILIZATION.
from all old ties and intellectual communion,
the civil death which 1t entails, the rigid Gu
mate, the unWonted physical labor and coarse
food. the daily, hourly association with real
sunk to the lowest depth of degradation all
these are features doubtless horrible enough.
But 1t should be borne in mind that this
the victims are not debarred from hope In better
times; that punishment Is punish ment all the
world over, and that the immediate fate of
prisoners Is everywhere istd in the hands OF
ofn;lalS OF whom certain number Will be
brutal ana ignorant all the world over, too: In
short, that the barbarities with which the Rus.
san convict system has been justly charged
I'VE Will waive here The very material improve
inents OF these latter years. find abindaut
couitterpart5 Ia the prison annals OF every one
OF those countries which can boast much
tY at tr1lf hon,
the first half or the present century, We do not
read OF much tendeF-hearted mercy shown by
Austrian courts and those OF the Bourbon ami
German princes OF Italy, ordinary and extraor-
| dinary, to political offenders whose proceedings
were much more obviously justi1ible, since
| they tended merely to eXpel foreign Gyrants by
open rising. The city meats OF Verona Brascla
ana Milan could tell tales enough OF the VII de.
sale butchery by Austrian soldiers OF patriots
men and boys, whose object was fighting, not
murder. We're Spandau and Spiel0erg places
some country residence? Were Melbourne and
Port Adelaide the abodes OF justice tempered by
mercy? Let not one country, then, bear the
odlum of denominations which are outrages on
human nature wherever they exist, and which,
let us hope, are receding before the humane
spirit Of the age in all countries as steadily and
surely as In Russia, the youngest and least
| favored Dy history.
founding finale OF the 18th (5th) OF February.
Times have changed since then. They have
changed SO GnaC man who had gone TO sleep
on that fatal evening and awakened on its an.
nlVersary would have fancied be had Dire amed
away half century instead Of twelvemonth
An unprecedented measure, the forlorn hope of
utter helpleSsnesS, has been crowned with I'M
exampled results Our age has seen what no
other period In the history of the world can
sh0W.-a military dictatorship reestabliShIng
order, tranquility, public confidence, with a
rapidity and ease bordering On magic; not by
means OF terror and coerciOn,-thOSe had been
pretty thoroughly ''played out" by the peace
able red-tapisIs, by series OF the most
liberal measures, the most radical reforms
Cheery and active hopeful TO lghIheartedness
forgetting already the late evil days, Russian
society is bus1ly setting about the immense ar
rearS OF work accumulated in these years OF
CONFUSION and terror; and in so doing tt re.
celveS enlightened encouragement aud sup
port from the very government from which it
had so long experienced nothing but repression.
suspicion, and tlt-Wtll. The dismissal OF
minister OF public instruction, deServedly I'm.
popular from his consistent retrogressive policy
and brutalty arbitrary proceedings: tha sup.
preston OF 1.-The Third Section of His MajeSty'S
own Chancery," that secret and irresponsible
institution whose existence made legality but
name; the abolition Of the tax on salt: the en-
reimbursement OF the press,-au these cOnces-
SlonS, granted coup sur coup to public opinion
are surely SUFFICIENT pledges OF the earnestness
and sincerity with which the supreme power of
the state welded By q hand as strong as fC is
wise, has been brought back to that high-road
OF progress and reform from which It was 80
abruptly turned In April, 1866, by the pistol
shot whose report filled the woodland especi-