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November 19, 1853.] THE LEADER. 1119
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(Dirttt Cntrarif
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[lIV THIS DKI'AHT»ri!NT, AS AM, Ol'INKWS...
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ihi'-ro in no Ir-.jivnofi man \n\l: will...
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STIUKK.S AND TI1K1H REMEDY. (Vo I he- li...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Kussian Serfdom. [Concluding Akticle.] J...
remained a monster still . In the normal notion of man monstrosity is included as a disturbing possibility from without , but in no sense is it admitted as a rule . A pure and simple inquiry into such monstrosities would - have been strictly proper in Russia , but M . Haxthausen arms himself with the accursed philosophy of Hegel for quite another purpose . He draws the conclusion that the imperial power in Russia is the best government possible ! " Only one thing is wanting , " continues our holy doctor , "to this government to be perfect — to be Catholic . " Donoso Cortez at Madrid was wont to announce the end of the world if England were not speedily reconciled to Catholicism .
Since the separation of the Russian Government from the Russian people two Rtissias have been face to face . On the one hand , Russia Govermental , rich , armed , not with the bayonet only , but with all the resources of chicane borrowed from the chanceries of the despotic States of Germany . On the other , Russia poor , agricultural , laborious , communal , and democratic : Russia disarmed , conquered ( conquisita ) without having been vanquished . "What wonder , then , if the Emperors have handed over to their Russia , to the Russia of courtiers and officers , of French fashions and German manners , that other coarse-bearded , barbarous moujik Russia , incapable of appreciating that imported civilization which has descended on it by the grace of the Throne , and for which the ignorant peasant openly professes the most unmitigated disgust . And why should he regard that Russia ?
"How cross you have been these last few days , '' said the Count — , one of those ' male concubines in the suite of the Empress Catharine , to one of Ms parasites . The individual to whom these words were spoken , half in question , half in reproach , was a poor nobleman , the ignoble butt of the ignobler pleasantries of the blase favourite . The buffoon , a fat , bloated , greedy fellow , used to wait every day eagerly for the moment to devour the Count ' s dinner . The latter , perceiving the voracity of the wretch , bethought himself of a singularly funny contrivance . He had a horse collar bought , and fastened round the buffoon ' s neck , and thus harnessed he was let loose upon the dishes and the wines . He represented very accurately a wild beast gorging himself with the food , and leaving plates and bottles , empty . The host was infinitely amused at the beast , and his guests too .
" Oh ! how much cause have I to be sad ! " said the 7 u ( niessed nobleman . "Of all the persons in your suite , T only have the misfortune not to be the object of your bounty . " "How do you mean ? " "Have not you given Cossacks to all the rest ? I only am excluded from your favours . " The Count burst out laughing , and , to his guests , said , " What do you think of this fellow ? he is not such a fool as he looks . What , you , too , want Cossacks ? " "Why not ? " replied the fool , "they codt you nothing ? " "Well , indeed , what do they cost me ? Well , you shall have some Cossacks . " ' Count ! you are joking ! " ' 'No , on my word . " And Caliban covered with kisses the hand of his worthy protector .
I his was just at the timo when Little Russia was being reduced to feudal servitude . Catherine II ., that " Mother of her country , " possessed by- lusts untameable , gave away 300 , 000 male peasants as the price of one of her Babylonian orgiea . The Count had but to speak to keep his word , and jhe nobleman unharnessed went away into Little JuisHia lord and master of a commune of Cossacks . t cannot resist recounting a second net of thin % " * - — — ' ^* « ^ r ^* ^* v «» 4 v « » # t » aw » I \ J \ S * -T AlVi * ** V ^ 1 / V ^ A l / JI X * t . l dra
ma . Last year , passing over the St . Gothard , I perceived a Russian name on a traveller ' s album . , ? ol (> w t ] l ' 'lt name anothor traveller had written a , graphical notice not without interest . The Russian O Kunborlain of H . M . I ., & c , a proprietor in Little diH . sia , had during several yearn martyred his fiorfe ) a »< l hi . s Horvantn . Immensely rich , but of insatiable " pacit y , he wore thorn out by his exactions and his y'anny . Jn 1850 , whon he was living on his domains , I'IKS HOTiH fl riu / o- * f ( x A , wi-. * ,.. * ..,. 4 ! , ¦ * . * — * 1 l i ... I , . .. ¦ ' <> hoHh driven to desperation resolved to make i
: K" |' l example of tlieir lord , breaking one night into ih mou . su , armed , and showing mm a ( much of rode « wiy out , t | U 3 V olforo (] ] lila f ; j Ki o ] loiC ( , of death or jttporal ohaHtiscmont . Tiio chamberlain reasonably ¦ «•«<> correction . It was duly administered . Whon » luunHlinioijt wjih over the serfs exacted of him a mVl f V " <) not to < livlll K ° th <) evcntH of that h U . |{( , ( j { 5 a ) Kj Hi < rn , ;( l thiit . noble promise , and ^« iH more , — ho kept it , for fear of worse . l ( ' "" ° " «> nthB after canto the recruiting hc-Ikou . The "elected ono . of his Htnin as tlio contingent of his ' ¦ oilil UUiift . Ti .:., ' . ., , n 1 ' t 511 lit had not been
one 'I ''!') ' l ' " "" OHcr '» l '» appears , minis ! ' 1 ( iJlHt : ir ( 1 « ' ^ <>» " the least vitforoun in adiiim- ' f Vi iiM nocturn * 1 ' canti tfa tion , and 1 m felt not Uk , ' c r convinC ( i ( I that tho lor < l in naming- hint for lontr "" nK ° ut waH Hatisfyin / jf indirectly a vengeance hM « ,. i l 1 ' ! 1 ? " 011 ' Military conscription , it . Hhould l » o l"ma " t " 'Ji '" rcg < 'udml ™ ith horror by tho Russian i ,, V (> u I " . I " ° young conscrip t , rosolved to take hi . s ' >' cc <> tiv ' » - i ort - '' iVHHomlilcd military council de o ,, | i vnt ll 0 d (; ol ;« , red aloud that ho waH injulo a tioldiur ll <> w C ? " »« . ' « wl thnmhod hiH lord the cl . anib (» rlain . ,, ^ thought , m .-id . " horn ! y ° " lllink lll ° > d «> y »«? " l » o replied ;
And he drew from his pocket and read out loud the seigneurial document . The amazement was universal . This revelation was so unexpected , that they forgot to suppress the conscript or the accusing document , which was not even given back to the chamberlain . In the first fit of surprise they drew up a report of the circumstance . The Russian lord had not provided for a case of thrashing a chamberlain .
Great was the embarrassment of the Minister ; he referred to the Emperor . The Emperor , who had kept his chamberlain by his side as long as he only thrashed his peasants , was indignant with him as soon as he got thrashed himself . He expelled him from his service and from the empire . The serfs were left unpunished . Ever since our ex-chamberlain has been parading , by order of his master , his striped back and shoulders through all the capitals of the civilized world , and he inscribes his name on Mont St . Gothard .
And to make his story all the more piquant , let me add , that this measled and mangled chamberlain—this cruel and cowardly seigneur , is no other than the noble grandson of the harnessed nobleman— of that gluttonous buffoon who was let loose upon a commune of serfs . The thrashers . " were' the descendants of those poor Cossacks bent to the yoke , and cast as a prey to a gre « dy mountebank . Well ! what do you say to this harnessed father , this striped son , and to the Emperor Nicholas carrying on the propagande sui generis by sending this chamberlain on hi 3 travels . I shall conclude my letter by some new details on Russian society .
I There is no law of primogeniture in Russia . Peter the First tried to'implant it among us , but the manners of the people resisted it , and at his death the docree was revoked . Nicholas has permitted one or two privileged families of the highest aristocracy to indulge in this caprice ; but that is only an anomaly , an absurdity the more . The rule is for the sons to have an equal share in the distribution of the father ' s property . For the nobles it constitutes a rapid descent to poverty . A lord who owned two thousand serfs , held a good position . His two sons are left , each with half the fortune of their father , while they , in their tui'n , leave a moiety of it to their children . At the same time , the price of every thing is increased , more rapidly than the income of the estates or the number of the serfs . Civilization
introduces into the families of aristocracy luxurious tastes , and wants unknown to our forefathers , so that , with an estate lessened by three-fourths , the grandson has to supply demands twelve times greater than those of his grandfather . We must not forget this important phase in the question—^ tlie manners of the nobles . No people in Europe is more unfitted for habits of order and economy than the Russians and Poles . We must see how , in the course of two or three generations , fortunes , whether great or small , arc made , and lost , and passed from hand to hand . The Russians are greedy , very greedy of money , but care less than their neighboura for property in land . They love money , for the pleasure of throwing it away . . Economy in unknown amongst uh . There ia no middle class between niggards and spendthrifts .
In general , when the land in once distributed , the sons tread in the steps of thoir father . If one of them hns need of money he mortgages hi . s estate to tho hank ; tho money ia soon squandered , the interest eats up tho remaining income , tho estate , befbro long , ks . sold by auction , the nurplun , if there is a surplus , in jiaid to the ex-lord , and , when he lias eaten that , hi . s eyes arc opened to hi . s ruin . One man , in order to relievo hi . s embarrassments , gives himself up to play , without restraint ; another be-inna
to drink , from very despair , ; md dies in lii . s debauchery ; another , bettor advised , takes some oilioial employment ,, and robti unscrupulously . Thin wan prospers , but his won will bo ruined . Hctween tlve yearn JS 12 and 1 H 40 , a small minority strove to conn ' . itiito themselves exceptions to tho general rule . They were , for fcho most part , men educated out of Russia , groat admirers of political economists , like Sny and Malthus . They became industrious , and uHMiiinod tho manners of tho / xjitiyaoiaic ; but they were few in number , and had few dif )<; ij ) les .
lint what said the commnnc m the inidnfc of this otornal < : < nno and go of proprietors , this parcelling out of estates , this continual chango ? Tho thousand HorfVt , who obeyed ono lord , were each timo . scattered over tlirnn or four conminm'sy varying in extent , eaeli having their own individuality , their own organization , and distinct lands . The lord will have a nin ^ lo nianagonioiit , for tho wholo ofliia estate . Ifja distribution tidies l > h :, (; o , he is compelled to complete tho communal lots by means of pecuniary urnuigomcnts , a , nd concessions
of various IuihIh . This is pnictioablo , but , only up to ft cortain point . Wn come to tho division of tho roinmuvr itself -sometimes two or three brothoi \ s have undivided possession of n village , more or Io . sh important . . Hut this division can bo ollootod in Hpitc of them . If tho portion of one of them is stii / . ed for doht . ti , will tho new proprietor mtlmiit to the unity of powuwiion , Mio conunon management ? Mo will h ; i , Htcn , morn frequently , to mil rid of it . Tlio proprietor , who him the himost interest in tho
commune , taxes and worries the others in all conceivable ways , and while these portions of lords are overwhelmed with embarrassments , with complications , with inextricable disorders , the peasants fall into the same ruin . . The parcelling out of communes , the increase of estates , enclosed and intermixed in every direction , has enforced the attention of the Government , and it has
been obliged to take measures for arresting the complete ruin of the serfs . Thus it has formed a minimum of serfs , after which no further distribution is allowed . The next step is to fix an indemnity , and to decide on the question of expropriation . Evidently the rights of the nobility do not appear so sacred to the Government , when fairly put to the test ? how otherwise could the right become weakened in proportion to the number of the peasants ?
In 1845 it was permitted to the nobles of Toula to unite under the presidency of the prefects and the marshals . The question was , how to devise measures for the emancipation of the serfs of the province . Moscow waited for the same powers . From 1842 to 1846 the agitation among the nobility increased , the journals became so bold as to publish articles on emancipation . It would have been well if the Government had given some aid to the nobility in the accomplishment of this object ; but the hatred of everything that ia called liberty or emancipation is so thoroughly ingrained inj this family of incurable autocrats , that Nicholas hastily threw all such projects to the winds , on the first arrival of the news of the 24 th of February .
Such is the latest and present phase of this question of Serpbom in Russia . The peasant continues deprived of all protection but that of the customary law ( la loi cojitumiere ) : he may be dragged from his family , from his commune , although 2 / i « £ be recognised by the law ; he may be made a servant . The lord has the right to have him flogged , only not to death ; he has the right to imprison him in a maison de police for disobedience . He may condemn him to military
conscription , or pack him . off to the mines of Siberia at his own expense . In the two latter cases , the serf at least becomes free . Lastly , it ia an established and constant practice to sell serfs , if not separately , at least by family . No land need be given to the peasants except just enough to allow them to vegetate miserably . The lord is under no obligation to hia servants beyond supplying them with just enough food and clothing to prevent them perishing of hunger and of cold .
Shall those monstrosities , I ask , continue without an incessant , universal protest ? Surely from time to time it is well that a free voice should be lifted up to denounce these degrading institutions , this foul complicity of n Government that talks of its strength , with a noblesse that boasts of its enlightenment . The mask must be torn from these slaveholders of the North , who go lounging- and lisping over Europe ,
mingling with your affairs , assuming- the rank of civilized beings , —mvy , of liberal-minded men , who read Uncle 7 ' um ' ts Cabin with horror , and shudder when they read of sellers of black flesh . Why , these same brilliant apion of the ttalotm are the very men who on their return to thoir doimans rob , flay , . sell the white Slave , and are served at table by their living property . Alkxanuhe Huk / . kn . December 20 . Irtf . x
November 19, 1853.] The Leader. 1119
November 19 , 1853 . ] THE LEADER . 1119
(Dirttt Cntrarif
( Dirttt Cntrarif
[Liv This Dki'aht»Ri!Nt, As Am, Ol'inkws...
[ lIV THIS DKI'AHT » ri ! NT , AS AM , Ol'INKWS , KOWKVICIC TMTHKMK , A ItK Al . l . OWIil ) AN 1 « 1 'IU ! SS 1 ON , Till ! KDITOIt nV . CHHUA . KlhX HOI , I ) H KIM . 'llCliK KI' . HI'ONHmi . K l'OIt NONK . l
Ihi'-Ro In No Ir-.Jivnofi Man \N\L: Will...
ihi ' -ro in no Ir-. jivnofi man \ n \ l : will confnnn J : io hath r . iiue . li profited by I'nmlin ;' . ; em t . rovornie /] , hi . ' ! Hanson : i w ; i kni let ] , ; in < l Iliii j ucij ^ ni u ii t . tiiri rponod . II ' , til on , it be prufj i . ri . b 11 ! l .. u" him i . o ri'inl . why : i !) owldil ; not . at loii : ;! ,, bo t . olorabln lot'hiiin . iiver .-iMry I . o wi-iLe- —Mu / roit .
Stiukk.S And Ti1k1h Remedy. (Vo I He- Li...
STIUKK . S AND TI 1 K 1 H REMEDY . ( Vo I he- lid i tor of the leader . ) Tii-edM , November 17 th , 1 S 5 . 'J . Sin , Your most , admirable ) articles upon tho striken luivo decided me to say a f < nv words upon tho subject . Tho strikes p .-uifc and present prove , as you May , that no combination of ' men c ; ui raise labour abovo tho prico remunerative to the capitalist ; : utd , on thoothor hand , no combination of the inantorK can entirely prevent strikes from oceiii ' iing . So loii ^ ; i , s that fiils e political nconomic maxim , " Thut ca . r / i / ut . i the . rluht to do the
( text , lie ntn-for himself , " works an it does ; making tho intorostn of labour and capital antagonistic ; —ho long will strike ;) continue us an inevitable consequence . When l . ibour Hecks advance , it is at the Iohh of capital ; and capital al \ v ;\ , yn gains bytht ? reduction of labour ; — each " grabs when grab it can , " and lionise tho differences , and Ions to both sidcn ( and to tho world , in consequence of these stand nlills and strikoH . If tho maxim (><> right , no nuiut bo tlm reimltn ; and both HidoH in doing tlio bent they <; an for thoninolven aro perfectly right in their contention , and as usual no one is wruntf ! JJuL tin ) world know to tho contrary , and
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 19, 1853, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_19111853/page/15/
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