RUSSIA. 



.00.5 



Kuii. vlnccs, and whose residence is in the chief town of the 

 -V^*' government. In a few instances die same military go- 

 vernor has command over more than one government, 

 as is the case with the governments of Kherson, Khar- 

 kdi', .mil Yt-kntrrinoslaf, and those of the Kaucasus, and 

 Georgia, &c. Each Government town has numerous 

 tribunals, as in other countries, for the various cases 

 which occur in civilised society, and each district 

 town has courts of justice subordinate to those of the 

 government. The senate, of which some divisions are 

 at Petersburgh, and some at Moscow, is the highest 

 tribunal for civil affairs, as the synod is for ecclesiasti- 

 cal matters. From their decisions an appeal may be 

 made to the cabinet council, or to the Emperor him- 

 self, and then the final determination takes place. 



But it is impossible for u to enter into all the de- 

 tails of the different courts. We must confine our- 

 selves to general views of the present state of admini- 

 stration. 



It was in vain that the Empress Catharine If. de- 

 clared, that in the Russian empire, the various classes 

 of the subjects should enjoy their peculiar rights ; that 

 reputation, property, and life, except in criminal cases, 

 should be inviolable, and that the laws should be en- 

 forced, and all causes determined by them. It was still 

 more nugatory that she pronounced that no man 

 should be condemned unheard, that even a traitor, or 

 a rebel, should enjoy the benefit of defence, and that, 

 when a man was injured or supposed so, he might 

 make a representation and expect relief. There is no 

 doubt that an abuse of power by Violent rulers and in- 

 considerate ministers, by rapacious governors and ve- 

 nal judges, often defeated the intentions of that mo- 

 narch, Catharine, by the invasion both of public and 

 private rights. After her death no new measures were 

 taken for the improvement of the civil administration, 

 and corruption became daily more extensive. On the 

 ascent to the throne of the present sovereign, the ad- 

 ministration of justice was in a lamentable condition; 

 and notwithstanding a few meliorations made by 

 Alexander, the subject has but lately made a sufficient 

 impression on his mind. For many years past his at- 

 tention has been too eagerly occupied with his armies 

 and with war; but in this season of peace, we are glad 

 that he proposes to make important changes in the ci- 

 vil government of the empire. 



That there is great want of change, is evident from 

 the present corrupt state of all the departments of the 

 administration. Indeed the civil administration in 

 Russia is excessively defective. The bribery and cor- 

 ruption jvhich characterize the courts of justice in 

 this country have been dwelt upon by various au- 

 thors. Dr. Lyall confirms their accuracy, and says, 

 it is melancholy to reflect that there is no prospect 

 of a speedy or extensive check, not to speak of a 

 cessation of these evils. Indeed, the disease is deep- 

 ly complicated with the constitution of the govern- 

 ment. The universal inadequacy of the annual sa- 

 laries granted by the crown for the support of the 

 rank, nay, of the existence, of those employed in 

 the tribunals, and in the other branches of the civil 

 department, in the army, and in the navy, is a well- 

 known fact. Most individuals endeavour to support 

 their rank in life agreeably to the usages of civilized 

 society. If those, in the service of any government, 

 have no revenue besides inadequate salaries, it follows, 

 of course, that they must either act inconsistently with 

 their rank, resign their places, or resort to some plan 



VOL. xtu. PART ii. 



for betterng their incomes. Now this is exactly the 

 condition in which persons in all the departments of 

 the Russian service are placed ; and it is not difficult 

 to divine which of the three alternatives is generally 

 chosen, especially as that alternative, sanctioned by 

 usage, has become universal, and of course its adoption 

 is not accompanied by disgrace. A system once es- 

 tabli-hed universally throughout a great nation, of re- 

 ceiving presents or recompenses in money or kind, 

 from those who seek the good graces or the interest of 

 the officers of the crown, would require strong mea- 

 sures and time for its melioration and destruction. 

 The foundation of a reform would be the bestowing of 

 salaries on those officers adequate to their rank, so at 

 to render them independent. To do so speedily is 

 next to impossible ; and it will probably be effected at 

 a remote period, unless some revolution of Europe, or 

 of the empire itself, give a new aspect to affairs. The 

 present corrupt system has been consolidated by time, 

 in spite of the efforts of two of the greatest and wisest 

 sovereigns who ever wore a crown. Indeed, the com- 

 paratively small augmentation of government salaries, 

 since the time of Peter the Great, notwithstanding the 

 greatly diminished value of the roubles, the more 

 general adoption of civilized customs and manners, 

 and the consequent increased expense of the mode of 

 living, seems more and more to have rivetted the mis- 

 chief. The depreciation of the currency to 75 per 

 cent, has reduced almost to nothing the former insuffi- 

 cient salaries of all the departments of the public ser- 

 vice. 



The same author speaks of the corruption and bri- 

 bery of the administration in the cabinet council of his 

 imperial majesty ; he illustrates it in the system of 

 police in the post-offices in the custom-houses in 

 the army in the navy ; and in the civil, military, 

 and naval divisions of the medical department, and 

 then concludes his dreary view in these remarkable 

 and painful words : " The whole system of the admi- 

 nistration of Russia is like the tissue of a decayed spi- 

 der's web, or rather, like the centre of an immense 

 wheel, held together by rotten spokes ; corruption 

 supports corruption, rottenness props rottenness ; and 

 this explains how the machine still continues its on- 

 ward progress. Should a slight concussion be perceived 

 in one part, there is a si/mjxilhy of the rest by which 

 its force is uniformly diffused throughout the whole, 

 and no single part gives way ; for when one part gives 

 way the whole will fall ; and that, apparently, will not 

 happen until liberty give a death-blow to despotism/' 



We shall conclude this subject by refering the reader 

 who is curious about it, to Dr. Lyall's work, and to two 

 works which lately issued from the press, the ' Narra- 

 tive of a Pedestrian Journey through Russia and Si- 

 berian Tarlary in the years 1820, 18-21, 1822, and 1823, 

 by Captain John Dundas Cochrane, R. N ;" and " Tra- 

 vels through Russia, Siberia, $c. in 1822, 1823, and 

 1824-, by James Holman, R. N." These last volumes 

 contain numerous details in proof of the accuracy of Dr. 

 Lyall's general views. They but too truly demonstrate 

 the sufferings of a people oppressed by their rulers, 

 their chiefs, and their superiors, and exhibit the wo- 

 ful state of society, where the few have the power ami 

 the inclination to enrich themselves by the labours, 

 the toils, and the property of the many. 



But, as Dr. Lyall remarks, the terms bribery and cor- 

 ruption require some explanation in connection with 

 Russia. In most countries by bribes are understood 

 3s 



it... . 



