The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-03-27
SEEK HAVEN OF REFUGE
The Doukhobors Are Dissatisfied With
Their Lot in Canada.
FIND FREE LAWS TOO OPPRESSIVE

Their Queer Religious Beliefs Confitc'
With Canadian Ideas of Right and
Wrong - Issue an Appeal to All Ma
tions For a Place to Live in Accord
anco With Their Consciences.
Montreal, Oue.-The 5000 Doukho'
bors. or Russian Quakers, who were
brought out to Canada a few years
since in order to escape the persecu-
tions to which they were subjected IN
the Cars domains, now threaten TO
leave Canada because they consider
the free laws of this country too op-
pressive for them.
The Russians were invited to come
to Canada by the Dominion Govern
ment, which paid the expenses of their
TRANSFORMATION from Southern Russia
and gave them free grants Of land ID
Manitoba and the Canadian North
west. Count Tolstoi also aided these
unfortunate people. and until quite
recently it was thought that tnelr
prospects were bright.
Now, however, their queer rellglous
beliefs have come into conflict Wltn
Canadian ideas of right and wrong
and they have issued an appeal to the
nations Of the world to give them
refuge from the tyranny of the Cana
dian laws and to afford them q place
to live in accordance with their con-
sciences. ,
The first trouble was over the land
regulations. They objected to taking
I'D land individually on the ground
that private ownership of land IS op'
posed to the law of God, and they
asked to have a tract Of land set apart
for their brotherhood in the same
manner that the Government appor.
tions the Indian reserves, the title OF
the whole tract to be vested In the sect
and not in the individual member Of
the community.
The Government was willing to
meet them by agreeing that after the
land was earned the patents could be
transferred by the individuals to the
community, and pointed to provision
in the land act by which they were
permitted to perform their homestead
duties while living in community.
To this the Doukhobors wrote a
long reply, declining to accept any
concession, on the ground that their
consciences would not allow them to
20 through forms in which they did
not believe. For a man to secure a
homestead patent in his own name.
even If he afterwards transferred the
land to the sect, constituted ownership
and was a sin.
The marriage laws of Canada are
another stumbling block to these peo-
pie. They do not believe a civil or
any other ceremony is necessarily to
constitute a marriage, and they con-
slider it violation of the law OF COO
to be compelled to take out a mar
riage license and pay 81 therefor.
They object also to the law requiring
all births and deaths to be registered
on the ground that the Creator knows
who is born and who dies, and does
not require to have it recorded in a
register.
Mr.. Maude, the English Quaker who
was instrumental in bringing the
Doukhobors to Canada. sought to
pacify them, but they would not
listen to him. Compliance with the
laws they regarded as equivalent to
the "denunciation of the power of the
law of God and human conscience"
So now the Doukhobors have issued
an appeal to the nations of the world.
asking for a haven where they can
live their lives untrammeled by man
mane laws