Identifier: russianroadtochi00bateuoft (find matches)
Title: The Russian road to China
Year: 1910 (1910s)
Authors: Bates, Lindon Wallace, 1883-1915
Subjects: Trans-Siberian railroad Siberia (Russia) -- Description and travel China -- Description and travel
Publisher: Boston Houghton Mifflin company
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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Russia provided inalienably for each of herliberated. To this day the American Negro in manyplaces is under special civic disabilities more gallingthan those imposed anywhere in the RussianEmpire. The protection of the former serfs was skillfullyarranged by grouping them in self-governing villagecommunes, to which land enough was given on along-term repayment basis. In each, by an assemblycomposed of all the heads of households, periodicallotments of the common territory were made tothe individuals. Compact economic units, whoseproperty could not be sold, were built up againstalienation of the land or poverty-induced peonage.The rendering of justice in local disputes was dele-gated to the peasant courts, — the only tribunalsin Russia, save the National Senate, from whichthere is no appeal. The Mir, complete within itself, was responsibleto the Imperial Government for good order and thetaxes, and was secure from molestation providedthese duties were fulfilled. Its inhabitants, united
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o■-J o 2 RUSSIA IN EVOLUTION 283 and independent, were able to resist any encroach-ment by their former masters or by neighboringlandlords. It is not unworthy of note that up to the presenttime the liberties in economic matters thus grantedhave rarely been infringed by the authorities, norhave the village assemblies been exploited as a playin politics or to attain personal ends. While agri-culturally and industrially the communal land pro-visions have become insufficient, cramping, perhapsbaneful, and no longer necessary now that societyis in equilibrium, nevertheless the germ of free in-stitutions fecundated in the Mir, when dissociatedfrom its communal features, is admirable still, andis capable of becoming the foundation for real self-government. Plans for provincial assemblies as a further ex-tension of local home rule had been under consider-ation since 1859. On January i, 1864, an ImperialUkase was promulgated instituting Semstvos inthirty-three governments. To this assembly,

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