RUSSIA. 



681 



Tsar, and our union with the empire glorify - 

 JiiH in that Imppiii. -> in piv-,-nee of the 'tl.' 

 nulin.i '", '""" 'he high- 



ihe luiiiilil. al.eftx "I begging >our 



. by at !!>. t"""t .!' In-. ImperUM majesty 

 .sftion of oar gratitude, fora erace 

 .1, ami In u> invaluable. We ami our cliildren 

 , :i sacred (lutv sineerelv tn lie faithful si; 



.\\\ Cod, U> Keep in good health the 



as the lather of his children, and for ull 



Asians who have assisted us in obtaining that 



happim **, unil delivered us for ever from the en- 



.\liii surrounded us. The first day of the 



/ninad oul Ovul (September), of the year 1283 



ira). 



On September 11 tli, the first stone of an or- 

 thodox (ircck temple was laid down at Tash- 

 and the ceremony was followed by a 

 national ft'tt, at which about thirty thousand 

 s :tii(l Kirghizes assisted. According to 

 tlic national custom the fete began with horse- 

 racinir : popular games followed, and the day 

 niched by a meal offered to the whole 

 population. 



Jn August, a fresh insurrection occurred 

 among some mountain tribes of the Caucasus, 

 who concentrated to the north and south of 

 1>arhcnd, but it was totally suppressed after a 

 IV w weeks. According to the Inxalide Russe, 

 the disturbances were caused by 'the circulation 

 ninon^ the mountaineers of false reports set 

 afloat in connection with the statistics relative 

 to the abolition of serfdom, which were being 

 collected at the time by tlio Russian authori- 

 ties. It is interesting to leant in this con- 

 nection that the old lca<ler of the Caucasians 

 ngain.-t Russia, Schainyl, has, according to Rus- 

 sian accounts, become an ardent admirer and 

 I'.-irtisan of Russian rule. A St. Petersburg 

 I-aprr L'ives the following account of an inter- 

 view between Schamyl and the Emperor: 



After the usual salutations had been exchanged, 

 Schamyl, assuming the humble attitude of an east- 

 itioncr, addressed the following words to the 

 Emperor in Arabic : " Sire, permit nie to oflfcr my 

 sincere felicitations on the occasion of the happy 

 event which has brought me to St. Petersburg and 

 jour Majesty's palace. Sire, old Schamyl need not 

 ; ; rofess his devotion to the sacrea person of 

 your Majesty, to your sublime throne, and the noble 

 empire of which you are the chief. Long before pro- 

 claiming my legal sentiments bv a solemn act per- 

 formed in the sight of heaven, 1 was already your 

 subject in heart and conviction. Not only gratitude 

 for your Majesty's magnanimity toward one who 

 was your enemy, but also I proclaim it again and 

 again a sincere and deliberate conviction compels 

 me to be your subject. If there be a man upon 

 earth worthy to represent God Almighty, that man. 

 eire, is yourself. If there bo a throne grounded 

 upon the hearts of men, that throne is yours. Sire. 

 1 wish it to be known everywhere that if old Schunn 1 

 of Daghestan, who fought against your arms fur 

 thirty years, experiences a regret at the decline of 

 his days, it is only because be cannot be born again 

 to devote his whole life to the service of your cm- 



Eire." The Emperor graciously thanked Schamyl 

 ir the sentiments expressed by him. " 1 know," 

 said his Majesty, "you are loyal. I know you are 

 an upright man. I accept your wishes, being cer- 

 tain that they come from the depth of your heart " 

 Sehnmyl then, turning to the Empress, delivered the 

 following enthusiastic speech : " Madame, while pre- 

 senting my respects to your Majesty, I aui happy to 



be able to call you my noble and gracious sovereign. 

 1 am proud of having be. n allowed my share of joy 

 in tin- midst of the great family <>) UuRftia. May 

 your he; u t l/e delimited in looking upon the charm- 

 ing lady now your daughter. Madame, we l< 

 with the power of memory and hope combined." 

 HIT Majesty thanked Scbamyl for his wishes, and 

 '1 !mn that she accepted them as another proof 

 of his uilectionutc sentiments. Toward the end of 

 the audience, his Majesty alluded to another 

 Scbamyl, Mohammed Shafih, who serves in the Cau- 

 casian escort of the Emperor. " I regret," were the 

 words of the Emperor, "that your health did not 

 permit you to mount a horse on the day of the 

 parade. It would have given me pleasure to see 

 you there, and you, I am sure, would have been 

 happy to see your son, with whose conduct I am well 

 satisfied, in the ranks of my army." Schamyl ac- 

 knowledged these remarks of his Majesty in the fol- 

 lowing terms : " My son is my representative in my 

 old age. In the person of this young man Schamyl 

 himself serves your Majesty. May he have lone 

 veers to devote to your Majesty's service instead of 

 his old father." In reply to his Majesty remarking 

 that he recognized the sword Schamyl wore, the 

 latter said : " Sire, I have not kept any of my former 

 arms. The only sword which I possess, the only 

 one which I wear, and shall wear, is the sword you 

 have given me. This sword belongs to the Empe- 

 ror." His Majesty then desired Schamyl to be 

 present at all the festivities. At the moment of 

 di>missing bis venerable visitor, his Majesty shook 

 hands with him. Schamyl, overpowered with his 

 feelings, caught hold of the Emperor's arm and 



E rostrated himself before him. The Emperor raised 

 im, and left the apartment. On the same day 

 Schamyl was also presented to the Crown Prince 

 of Prussia and Grand Duke Michael. 



According to an official return, there were 

 at the close of the year 1866 no fewer than 

 3,965,410 peasants in Russia still " under obli- 

 gation," while the number of those who have 

 been freed from their obligations up to that 

 date is 5,810,607. Emancipation has been ef- 

 fected by private contract in the cases of 532,000 

 peasants only out of nearly 6,000,000 the Gov- 

 ernment having been obliged to interfere in all 

 the other cases. 



The Russian Government again took some 

 very decided measures for the Russilieation of 

 the Poles. According to an imperial ukase, 

 promulgated on January 1, 1866, all individuals 

 of I'olish descent were prohibited from acquir- 

 ing landed property in the nine western gov- 

 ernments of Russia otherwise than by inherit- 

 ance. Polish proprietors of estates, however, 

 not in any way implicated in the insurrection, 

 would not be compelled to sell their landed 

 property. This ukase was not applicable to the 

 kinirdora of Poland. 



By a circular of August 28th, the Governor- 

 General of \Vilna notified the officers of the 

 (Jovernment under his jurisdiction that he had 

 opened at "Wilna "a special office for the intro- 

 duction of Russian proprietors into the prov- 

 inces of the West." The business of this office 

 would consist first, in the transfer of property 

 to persons of Russian origin; second, in the 

 compulsory sale within two years of the proj> 

 erties comprised in the ukase of September 22, 

 1865; third, in the sale and letting of confis- 

 cated estates, and the property of the State ; 



