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Leader (1850-1860), 12th November 1853, Edition Country of 2, Page 14, dtomt Cmturil

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      Russian Serfdom. [ Hkoono Alltic Mj.] Th...

      it is an advantage not to be thrown away . And we may surely profit by the dear-bought experience of our ancestors . Western Europe sacrificed its communal institutions , and with them tlie peasants and the artisans , when it entered upon a richer and larger existence by a long and glorious struggle for the emancipation of an aristocratic and middle-class minority . It has had Catholicism , Protestantism , its chivalry full of poetry , its tiers-itat renowned for pertinacity , its Reformation , and finally its devolution , which half destroyed the

      Church and the Throne . Russia alone has remained aloof from the conquests and glories of her neighbours . Her people , utterly incapable of following , still less of attaining the European developments , has languished in misery ever since the era of Kiof . * The yoke of the Mongols , Byzantinesque Tzars , Germanized Emperors , lords like slaveholders , such have been her masters . Yet this people , while it has gained nothing , las at least not lost the commune , with the equality of all its members in the possession and in the distribution of the soil .

      If , indeed , the Russian peasant has been reduced to serfage it has not been without severe struggles . The facile success of the spurious Dmetki , the enthusiasm of the people for him , his imitators crushed , but ever reappearing with formidable armies encamped before Moscow , all this story would be inexplicable but for the undercurrent of a strong , wide , deep popular movement . These protracted struggles of an entire people may not disturb the reign of the House of Uomanoff ; but tie falsified chronicles of the Government could not pass over in silence the wars of the Jjrigands . Stenko Razin , one of their chiefs , was at

      the head of 200 , 000 men . During the reign of the Tzar Alexis -more-than 12 , 000 peasants were hanged . A century later the Empress Catherine more than once turned pale at the- ' reports of her generals on the insurrection of Pugatcheff . Pcjgatohdff committed a fatal error , since repeated by Kossuth . After the decisive capture of Kasan he did riot march straight on Moscow , where , according to the evidence of CasteVa , 200 , 000 serfs awaited his army with breathless impatience . The common people ( mowjik ) were decimated in the name of civilization , and Voltaire congratulated the . Sfimiramis of the North on the victories of Bibiknf

      and Panine . It was by proclaiming the freedom of the peasants that PuGATOHEFf raised the standard of revolt . He had for device , Ultor et redivivws . Taken prisoner and loaded with chains , ho replied to the ignoble General who struck him with his hand , and to that facile outrage added words of insult : — " / am but a little crow , and the vulture is still hovering in the air , " * After a contest of a hundred and fifty years the peo - pie abandoned the struggle . Pugatchuff was the last of its leaders . It has never made its appearance . since except in the commotion of Starar & ia Rousso in 1831 . In that revolt it was horribly sanguinary ; but what was to be expected in reprisal for the terrorism which founded and maintained the military colonies ? As wan the seed so must the harvest be .

      Insurrection is at all times difficult among a people scattered over immense plains , inhabiting villages exposed and patched up of mere wooden huts . The onl y refuge of such a people is in tho forests , and Count Woronzoff has shown in tho Caucasus how to deal with that refuge . ' Besides , tho irregularities of tho administrative Government confuse the popular notions . Tho peasant serf of a rich proprietor rejoices to find in his powerful master a sort of buckler against tho vexations of employCs and of the police Tho condition of tho serfu is not one of uniform hardship and degradation ; henco the difficulty of any simultaneous insurrection ;)! movement , or of any united organisation ; hence the- rebellions of the peasants remain isolated , local , and limited to single communes , rarely extending oven to two or throe .

      According to tho laHt census tho number of malo serfs in Russia was 11 , 380 , 000 ( tho women are not reckoned ) . Two-thirds of this number belong to lords who possess at least a thousand poasants a-pieco , and who gcnorally demand nothing of thoir serfs but I ' obrok , a pecuniary rent-servico , for which they givo thorn up the land entirely . Theso peasants , and all who belong to rich lords , are usually , it may bo imagined , far loss miserable than those who aro dependent upon potty gentry , and subjected to tho Robot ( d corvte , or forced labour ) .

      Scarcely ever do tho great lords live upon thtjir IiukIh ; never more than a fow months of tho fino hoiihoii , while tho potty seigneur liven all tho year round upon hit ) estate , and striven to economize the forced oxpoiiNos <> i his sojourn in tho metropolis . Moan and restless by position ho meddles with every thing , tuniH all to profit , exacts all sorts of remlcm boyond tho rout actualfyduo , in tho Hhape of eggs , mushrooms , linon , fruit , butter , milk , aud poultry . Ami to solaco his at . it / id lie amuses hiinHolf in poaching on tho conjugal manor * of his < lopendonts . TIiobo Hinall proportion » ir « tlisporsod at random ovor * Tlui gonorol oallod Piitfatehofl ' a " brigand . " ffor , a word whioh with < Ue nddition of tho l « Mora on BJguiliofi " Vuitim > . "

      the whole extent of Russian territory in Europe . Siberia , has the happiness riot to know serfdom . Surrounded by vast domains , or by large free communes , . the poor serfs remain utterly isolated from their neighbours . Not but that the Russian peasants feel intense commiseration for one another , but-. when has a mere mutual sentiment of pity ever armed the oppressed masses for the vindication of their rights ? In 1839 and 1840 , we saw , indeed , the beginnings of a coalition among the communes . In the districts of Simbirsk and of Tombon , the massacre of the lords looked like the execution of a plan . But usually matters do not take that course . The peasants of a

      commune are dumb and patient for years and years : they suffer and endure all miseries without a murmur . Suddenly , without a note of warning , they burst out , massacre the lord , butcher his family , burn his house ; receive with dogged endurance the punishment of the Plet , and are hurried away to perish in the mines of Siberia . They know the result beforehand ; but their situation was no longer tolerable . The causes of insurrections are worthy of serious attention . They generally spring from the encroachment of the lord upon the rights of the commiMie . The peasant feels himself victimized , without protection or redress : he is overworked , overtaxed , continually liable to excessive punishment from a hard and cruel

      taskmaster : but all this seems transitory and remediable . What he never does put up with , never submits to without a bloody protest , is the intermeddling' of the lord in the division of the communal lands , in the rights of pasture , in the affairs of the Commune j then he feels himself struck in his last refuge , beyond which he sees nothing . Then the peasant murders his lord . But why , it may be asked , does not the peasant demand redress sooner ? To complain of the violation of a right , one must have legal ground to go upon . Now the commune exists by itself , because it is ineradicable ; because it alone of itself constitutes the whole moral life of the peasants . The Government found it ready made ; the noblesse submitted to it , and became accustomed to its existence . r !

      According to the law , a peasant can address himself only to the Marshal of the noblesse of the district . This Marshal , the elected officer of the nobles , is their natural defender , both against the Crown and against the people . The police never receives complaints against the lords , except in extraordinary criminal cases , which do not interest directly the peasant . The serf is allowed to inform-against his lord , if the latter belongs to a secret society , or has committed m crime .

      The law permits three days' work only in the week to be exacted of the serf on the lord ' s land ; and it is to a police elected (>;/ the noblesse that the duty of maintaining the execution of this legal prescription is confided . Prom time to time the . Government starts up in sudden amazement at abuses , displays astonishing courage , and punishes a lord or two . Then follows a long dreary interval of abuses , unpunished and unredressed . AlEXANDHK HliHZEN .

      { To be . concluded in our next . ) [ Erratum IW ou . u i , ast . —Page 1009 , second column forty-ninth line , for "peasant ** do la commune , " read " peasants do la courounc . " Tho passage refers to the serfs of the Crown , as distinguiHhod from tho serfs belonging to the lords . ]

      1094 The Leader, [Saturday,

      1094 THE LEADER , [ Saturday ,

      Lord Brougham's " Valnte." A Mittkb. Fro...

      LORD BROUGHAM'S " VALNTE . " A mittkb . from Cannes states that Lord Brougham lias had inscribed over the gate of his chateau this farewell to tho world— " . Spcfl et fortuna Valctc . Sat mo f uHiHtiw ; ludito mine alien . " It \ vaB Lord Brougham , wci boliovo , who confused that the Edinburgh party , who hit upon a lino from Publius Syrns for u motto lor tho eovor of their Review , had novor read that author ; and , in thin instance , bis ltmlnhi ]) semnR again to huve plunged at a felicitous expresNion without very woll knowing wboro it ciuno from . Can ho bo awaro that tbo inscription over bia portal was tho very ono adopted by Oil Bias whon that versatile portion retired to Arragon upon the profits of political rascality P

      Dtomt Cmturil

      dtomt Cmturil

      \Ih This Jmu'alttmltnt , Ah Am. Opinions...

      \ IH THIS JMU'AltTMltNT , AH AM . OPINIONS , UOWKVKIl JIXTintM 1 ! , AltlS AI < li () WKJ > AN lCXl'IUCHHlON , THJC liJU'i'Olt JV 1 CC 1 IHMAKI l , X HOLDS HIMHKl . lf KlCSI'ONSIIIIiJS FOH NONU . " |

      Ukm'o I;I No Lonvnnd Mini Bill; Will Oon...

      Ukm'o i ; i no lonvnnd mini bill ; will oonlmin ho hiil . h much ¦ |) l-ci | i toil \ , y Tiiiulin ^ c , ( )) i l . l'OViilviion , hi .-i nnrwiii'i awiikonnd , aiul hin judgment , uhnvpniiod . If , t . hon . i ' i-}'" ru'oMi . uhlii lav him lo roiul , why nhouldil . not ; , at Iciuit ., i ) o Loloralilu lor hiiiiulvi > rr' ; u y l . o writ . o- -M n / rov

      Niow Mov Em 10 Nt In Life Asmu.Ranoiu. (...

      NIOW MOV EM 10 NT IN LIFE ASMU . RANOIU . ( To tho ' Kditor of tJielmulor . ) N " > V \> ur liberal advocacy of all measures that lrnvo a . tendency to promote tho public good , induces mo fco roquo .-it from you an opinion an fco tho eligibility of I , ifo Assurance ns now oxtondod to largo masses of tho community . I am desirous , as tho secretary of an institution t . hat onjoyH unpiooodonUxl huooo ' sn , to hoo ifcH principles confirmed , or othorwiHts , at that ultimate bar— tho public ; pross of Knglaml . And I am uigod thereto by tho nttaolcs of rival ami interested partie » , who , finding it impossible to allege anything ugaintjt

      the characters of the directors ( wealthy and long-established tradesmen ) , or against the conscientious economy of their management , turn round and attack the principle of such institutions . They seem to forg- efc . or , what is probable , do so wilfully , that an eminent actuary has stated before a committee of the House of Commons , on being asked whether , on public grounds " this sort of business should be encouraged " - — -he replied , " Undoubtedly , because it reaches the people themselves—the bulk of the community . " And further , when asked , "Is it not the fact , that security " or at least one element of security , is obtained by the largeness of the transactions of the society ? " he re plied , " Not only by the largeness of the number of lives assured , but also by another element of security in such business—viz ., an average of the amount of sums insured upon each life . The assurances amongst the industrial classes will generally be found to be more uniform in amount than in the ordinary business of an assurance office . " It would appear that the people of England see the matter in the same light , and that they are far beyond what is generally imagined , solicitous to protect themselves against death and casualty . Of this the "British Industry" society is a convincing proof : as , since the latter part of 1852 , it has issued over 7000 policies It is significant to contrast this with the fact , that up to 1852 all the policies issued by all the offices in the three kingdoms amounted only to 250 , 000 ! And now , sir , in conclusion , let me pray of you to give the public the advantage of your oWn opinion on a subject which is to them of such vital importance . * I have the honour to remain , sir , your obedient servant , Michael O'Gbady , Secretary . 300 , Regent-street ( Offices of the "British Industry Life Assurance Company , and Family Friendly Society" ) , Nov . 3 , 1853 .

      Niow Mov Em 10 Nt In Life Asmu.Ranoiu. (...

      * Wo have only to suy , nt > tho lirnt gfanco , without « 'XpnwNing any opinion about , tho particular company in quoHiion , of wluwo oii-eumHtanooN wo linow absolutely nothing , that wo huvo alwiiyn conriiderod tho hotter future of l , lio working-claHHCH , economically ppoaking , to Ho in tho direction of the principle of UNsuranoo wnivorsaliacd . . Hut principle is ono thing , pmot-ico another . Tho particular oporation of tho principle donrndH on t , \ wpersonnel of tho ollico . ' —Ki > .

      R The Use Op Inventions. ! (To The Edito...

      THE USE OP INVENTIONS . ( To the Editor of the Leader . ) Sir , —Permit me a word or two of rejoinder to your correspondent "Pistis , " of the 26 th ult . He says there are printers who have paused and reflected , but still continue to throw heavy blame on all discoveries which diminish labour , so long as no pi-ovision is made by society for those thus supplanted . To expect such compensation in all cases seems to me futile . And if not got in all cases , wJiore is the line of demarcation to be drawn ? A patent shoe is a monopoly of advantage to the buyer and seller ; I , who can ' t purchase the improvement , catch cold more readily than my neighbour , so my comparative commercial and other value sinks . What exquisite judge or very perceptive societ y is to count my compensation and place me on an equal footing with my neighbour ? In the invention itsolf we must seek for amelioration , both as regards society and the particular class affected . For cheaper supply createa demand as readily as demand enhances the value of suj > ply . Reach goods , by cheapening them , to ten times the number of persons , and you , perhaps , require double tho number of workmen to do so . Sometimos , indeed , the article may bo quieklier finished without tho market needing more ; but even hero a conquest has boon gained over spaco or time : given apace , and you havo room for more guests—given leisure , mother of now wants and arts . "Direct help , " says am American , " availcth mo little , I am helped more through tho intellect and tho affections . " Henco tho potency of example—another ' s sucoosh stirs my blood and rouses now energiesanother ' s success widens the horizon of possibilities . If the printers ( as (< Pisti « " hints ) bo awakened to tho ' idea of a now social endeavour , if they already aspire by unity of purpose to capture the big cylinder and rnalco it thoir slave ( always supposing it successful ) then tho introduction of this now invention itheady promises more than the old aystom has yofc done for thorn . It is but justice to tho inventor , who recjuosts it , to say that Gumming , M olvillo , and Go . in i » y first letter ought to havo boon James Molvillo . TiJW . Nov . Oth , 1853 .

      Notjou To L'Oitltkhl'ondlcjvtb. " Tlio T...

      NOTJOU TO L'OItltKHl'ONDlCJVTB . " Tlio Two OwlH " - ~ -im ApoloftiWn l > y Vivian , } n our next .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 12, 1853, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_12111853/page/14/