MEMOIRS OF A RUSSIAN GOVERNOR Prince Serge Dmitriyevich Urussov Translated form the Russian and edited by Herman Rosenthal Authorized Edition LONDON and NEW YORK HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS M C M V I I I CONTENTS I Appointment as Governor of Bessarabia-Journey to St. Petersburg-Peterhof and my presentation to the Czar-Plehve-First acquaintance with the Jewish Question ................................. Page I II Journey to Bessarabia-Bendery-Arrival at Kishinev-Public feeling‑ Reception and visits-Raaben and Ustrugov-Reception of a Jewish delegation-Change of public feeling-The burial of the Torah-Daily work of the Governor ..................................................... Page 10 III Police-Provincial administration-Block-Basket tax-Treatment of Jewish conscripts-Troublesome foreigners-Compulsory furnishing of relays-Illegal taxes for the benefit of estate holders .................................. . Page 27 IV Threat of massacres of the Jews (pogroms)-Arrival of an English diplomatist and of an American correspondent-Pogrom-feeling and the efforts to suppress it-Pronin and Krushevan-Dangerous symp­toms-Dr. Kohan-Attitude of the Jews-Jewish self-defence-Temper of the police ........................................................ Page 42 V The military courts at Kishinev-Three generals-My attitude towards the military courts-The role of the military at Kishinev-Lieutenant K_____; Lieutenant X_____ .................................Page 56 VI Nobility in Bessarabia-Landlord P.-The Krupenskis-The noblemen's school-The Zemstvo-The court-The April pogrom before the court-My view on the causes of the pogroms-The office of the Public Prosecutor   .................................Page 64 VII The clergy—Armenian Church property—Property of foreign monas­teries — Viticultural schools — The custom-house — The Balsh Asylum ......................................Page 86 VIII Kishinev society—Customs and habits ......................................Page 96 IX Progress to Korneshty—Opposition of the rezeshi—Restoration of order —Thoughts on the allaying of popular excitement—Another case of peasant opposition to the legal demands of the authorities ....................................... Page 103 X A tour through the province—Byeltzy—Soroki—The I. C. A.—Khotin—Ismail—Wilkowo—Schabo ......................................Page 113 XI Journey to Roumania by imperial order—Jassy—The royal family of Roumania—The King's views on Russia—Carmen Sylva—The banquet in the City Hall ............................................... Page 132 XII The Jewish question in Bessarabia—The Ministry asks me for a re-port on the same—My memorial—The legal and economic position of the Jews in Bessarabia—On the question of equal rights for Jews............................................... Page 142 XIII St. Petersburg in January, 1904—Declaration of war—The Czar and his view on the war—Plehve—Council for the consideration of the Jewish question—Deliberation of the governors on a project of reforms of rural administration—My transference to Kharkov—Prince Svyatopolk-Mirski—My call to Tver—Departure from Kishinev ................................................Page 171 INTRODUCTION VOLUMES without number have been written on Russia and Russian affairs by outside observers, who reported the little they could see, blindly groping for the dark truth that lay below the surface. But never before has the truth about Czar­dom been told by one of the innermost circle; the truth about the intricate machinery of the autocracy; the schemes of the Police Department ; the intrigues and corruption that underlie the fabric of government—never have these evils been laid bare by a Russian prince of the oldest families, a governor of many provinces, an administrator with the rare patriotism and courage to disclose the terrible secrets of a system of which he was a part. That is precisely what Prince Urussov has done in the volume before the reader. Prince Urussov, the author of these memoirs, is not a revolu‑ tionist. He is not a destructive agitator, but a constructive patriot. A believer in a constitutional monarchy and one of the ablest representatives of the Constitutional Democracy in the first Duma, it has been his aim in exposing the legalized corruption of the civil government, the lack of harmony among the ministries, the brutality of the military and their incessant conflict with the state authorities, the unspeakable intrigues of the highest court cliques through which wholesale massacres even now are perpetrated with impunity, the wasteful extrava‑gance of the great landholders, and the ignorance and the super‑stition of the masses, to arouse earnest, right-thinking men to sweep away these foul abuses and to co-operate in the sane up‑building of the New Russia. As Governor of Bessarabia shortly after the terrible massacre of Kishinev, Prince Urussov inex‑orably traced the responsibility for that crime to the very govern‑ment he served, and the secrets thus unearthed form an impor‑ tant part of his memoirs—memoirs that will for all time remain among the most notable documents in the history of revolution­ary Russia. Prince Serge Dmitriyevich Urussov, a descendant of a noble family distinguished for honorable services to the nation dur­ing a period of five hundred years, was born in the province of Yaroslav, March, 1862. He was educated in the classical gymnasium at Yaroslav and at the University of Moscow. After brilliantly completing his final examinations, he retired to his estate at Razva, in the province of Kaluga, where he displayed marked ability as administrator and landlord. He was elected Marshal of the Provincial Nobility, was re-elected three times, and served also as president of the provincial zemstvo and chairman of the justices of peace in the district. In 1902 Plehve, then Minister of the Interior, appointed him Vice-Governor of Tambov, where for the first time Urussov came to a full reali­zation of the corruption and sycophancy prevailing among the office-holders. Six months later he was appointed Governor of Bessarabia, where he arrived soon after the terrible massacre in Kishinev, the details of which are so vividly described by Urussov in the following pages. In November, 1904, he was transferred to Tver, then the centre of liberalism, in order to adjust the conflict between the peasants and the landlords. Shortly after his arrival in Tver he learned that the notorious Trepov, Chief of Police of Moscow, had been created Minister of Police with the rank of Vice-Minister. Urussov wrote a spirited letter to Bulygin, then Minister of the Interior, and insisted that he could not carry on his work of reconcilia­tion under the control of a man opposed to the spirit of concilia­tion and known to be the author of many calamities. In spite of his slender means, grown slender because of his devotion to public service, Urussov voluntarily resigned his remunerative of­ficial position and returned to Razva. Here he was soon elected to represent his district in the first Duma. A few weeks later he was suddenly called to St. Petersburg by Count Witte, who was attempting to form a cabinet in accord with the Manifesto of October, 1905. Urussov was urged by Witte to accept the port-folio of Minister of the Interior, yet the Prince could only promise at the last moment to serve as associate to Durnovo, a man un­wisely selected by Witte, who was responsible for the riots in the Jewish Pale and the bloody repressions throughout Russia after the publication of the Czar's Manifesto. Urussov withdrew from the cabinet, and was elected by a large majority of his constituents to the first Duma. His conduct in the Duma was noted for its frankness and broad democracy, and freedom from narrow party affiliations. His maiden speech may be regarded as the most notable address delivered before the first Duma. In this now celebrated utterance on the pogroms,1 he declared that one must perceive in them a uniform system of attacks carefully planned by the government as a matter of policy. Since that utterance events have demon­strated that the several ministries, and the inner court circles are the active instigators of the pogroms by means of the organiza­tions of the so-called "True Russian Men." These men and their supporters at the court were designated by Urussov, in his speech on the Byelostok massacres, as "watchmen and police-men by education and pogromists by conviction." After the dissolution of this first Russian Parliament, Urussov attached his signature to the protest drawn up by the Con­stitutional Democrats, even though he did not fully agree with the contents of the document. He then returned to his estate and began writing the memoirs of which the present volume forms a part. The Russian original was received with remark-able favor, and passed through many editions. Of this work it may be truly said that sincerity of purpose and breadth and fairness of judgment are reflected in every sen­tence. The author is typical of the New Russia now slowly ris­ing from the wreckage of the old. One of the ablest of the Constitutional Democrats, he is rendering yeoman service in fashioning constructive policies for the nation that is to be; and, though it may be years before the great ideal is realized, while such men as Prince Urussov are laboring with unselfish patriot-ism, no one can doubt that Russia will be free. HERMAN ROSENTHAL. New York Public Library. [1 Pogrom. Devastation, Destruction. An organized massacre in Rus­sia for the destruction or annihilation of any body or class; chiefly ap­plied to those directed against the Jews.—Murray's New English Diction­ary, 1907.] MEMOIRS OF A RUSSIAN GOVERNOR I Appointment as Governor of Bessarabia—Journey to St. Petersburg—Peterhof and my presentation to the Czar—Plehve—First acquaintance with the Jewish Question. AFTER completing my studies in the University of Moscow, in 1885, I was engaged, for a long time, in directing the elections of the zemstvo and the nobility in the province of Kaluga. Later I removed to Moscow. In November, 1902, I was appointed Vice-Governor of Tambov, and a few months later, at the end of May, 1903, I unexpectedly, and without previous notice, received a telegram from the Ministry of the Interior informing me of my appointment as Governor of Bes­sarabia. I waited for the issue of the Pravitelstvenny Vyestnik (Government Messenger) containing the decree of my appoint­ment, and at the urgent advice of the Minister of the Interior, Plehve, I hurriedly left for St. Petersburg, arriving there, I re-member, on June 9th. At that time I knew as little of Bessarabia as I did of New Zealand, or even less. Kishinev was to me only a name, some-what familiar because of the continued reports in the papers con­cerning the notorious anti-Jewish riots of 1903. These riots the Russian government was openly accused, in foreign publications, of having organized. Indeed, a letter had been published, sup­posedly written by Minister Plehve to Governor von Raaben, containing an ill-concealed hint not to interfere with the rioters. All these facts passed out of my mind at the time, leaving barely a trace. I had no interest in the Jews. I knew nothing of their condition, nor of the laws specifically applicable to them, and I considered the rumor of the participation of the government in the organization of pogroms a foolish or wicked invention. I was more interested in the external features of my new position: how to arrive there, how to receive the persons presented to me, how to become acquainted with the staff; these and similar questions of the etiquette of my official position disturbed me much more than the expected difficulties of governing a province entirely unknown to me. On my way thither I carefully read in the second volume of the Code the sections dealing with provincial institutions, and also acquainted myself with the sections in the first volume pertain­ing to the various ministries—particularly the privileges of the Minister of the Interior. From what I read I reached a certain conclusion, and was undeviatingly guided by it as governor of the province during my incumbency. In it I found a confirma­tion of my view that, according to law, the Governor is at no time the mere representative of the Minister of the Interior, and should not deem himself merely an official of this ministry. As a provincial official, a direct appointee of the Emperor subor­dinate only to the Senate, he enforces the legal orders of all the ministers, without being directly subject to any one of them. The Minister of the Interior is more intimately connected with the governors because of the nature of his duties, but not be-cause of greater authority than the other ministers; and the fact that the pay-rolls of the governors are a charge of the Ministry of the Interior does not invest the latter with any special privi­leges. In other words, I decided to avail myself to the full ex-tent of the independence granted by law to the governors, and in accordance with this freedom so to demean myself in my personal relations with the Minister of the Interior that, while maintaining the appearance of the official respect due the senior from the junior, I should not allow him to criticise my actions and to treat me as one directly subordinate to him. I decided to maintain strictly official relations with the heads of the de­partments and persons of equal rank, to communicate with them only in extreme cases, and generally to endeavor to diminish communications with the ministers as far as possible. I refer to these details because one of the grave faults of con-temporary governors is voluntarily to burden themselves with the yoke of the ministries and departments. Before presenting themselves to the Minister, most of the governors visited the departments, sat a long while in the waiting-room of the Director of the Department for General Affairs, and asked his advice as to the subject to be discussed by them with the Minister, also the best mode of its discussion. After their presentation to the Minister, they hurried to report the result of their audience, en­tering all departmental nooks, fearful lest they should overlook a single influential official, and bent on establishing such rela­tions as would facilitate their private inquiries from the province about the plans and intentions of the central government, and to pave the way for instructions in cases of misunderstanding or doubt. Many governors even deemed it necessary to draw upon their own limited means to entertain department officials in the expensive restaurants of St. Petersburg. Long had I been sceptical about the information of the gov­ernment bureaus of St. Petersburg, and about the value of the measures for local administration ordered by the central bureaus. I remember in this connection a story about a governor, Prince Shcherbatov, who, after governing a province for three years, won the reputation of a splendid administrative officer. When ill-health compelled him to resign, his successor found in the Governor's office all his ministerial packets, each bearing the inscription "Secret—to be handed to the Governor," and each unopened. This story came from V. K. Plehve. My plan of maintaining strictly formal relations with the officials in St. Petersburg I first carried into effect in my rela­tions with the Chief of the Bureau of General Affairs, S_____ whom I went to see about my forthcoming audience with the Emperor. When S_____ asked me what I had discussed with the Minister, I replied, "Nothing was said that in any way concerns your Excellency's department." When he began to tell me of the difficulties of my new task, instructing me that "A Governor should be a rock against which all currents break," I watched my opportunity to interrupt him, and, offering my limited time as an excuse, asked him to inform me briefly as to the day of the audience; after which I rose and took my leave. Thus I was preparing myself in the Minister's waiting-room to maintain the dignity of my new position, but Plehve, as I found out later, had long ago elaborated his method of throwing cold water on the governors. On entering his cabinet the day of my arrival at St. Petersburg, I was surprised at the change in his manner towards me. Simple, gay, and genial as he had been during our last meeting in January, now in June he was, on the contrary, proud, cold, and reserved. In answer to my thanks for the imperial confidence shown to me because of his mediation, he smiled with a faint movement of his lips and asked me to be seated. After this he said a few words about the Kishinev pogrom and the inefficiency of the Kishinev police, informed me of the expected transfer of the Bessarabian Vice-Governor, and told me that I was to be presented to his Imperial Majesty at Peterhof. After this he lapsed into silence. I rose, and on bidding him good-bye I inquired when I could call on him before leaving for Kishinev. He replied, " I would ask you to call here after the audience," and we parted. My brother-in-law, Lopukhin, who was at that time Chief of the Police Department, was very much amused when I acquaint­ed him with the details of my interview with Plehve, and re-marked that such was his system of reminding newly appointed governors that they were not to be filled with an exaggerated sense of their own importance. As it was summer, there were but a few ministers in St. Peters-burg. I called on two or three of them, but remember nothing of interest in connection with these visits. On June 12th I re­ceived an invitation from the office of the Master of Ceremonies to go to Peterhof. In accordance with the direction accom­panying my ticket, I arrived at 10 A.M., on June 13th, at the Baltic Railroad Station, and found a seat in the car for official persons going to the Palace. As it turned out later, this was not one of the regular receiving-days, and besides myself there was in the car only Prince Khilkov, the Minister of Ways and Com­munication, whom I had not yet visited. On leaving the train at Peterhof, I was met by a court lackey, who inquiringly called out my name, and showed me to the carriage waiting for me. I was taken first to one of the court buildings reserved for persons to be presented to the Emperor, where a suite of three rooms—a bedroom, a study, and a reception-room—was assigned to me. Tea was served me, and I was told I had twenty minutes to myself. I drank a cup of tea, wrote a letter home on paper bearing the imperial letter-head, and again entering the car‑ riage, started on my way to court. We drove slowly through the park in a gently falling rain. We slackened our pace while passing through the gate guarded by sentinels, and as I looked out of the carriage window I beheld an unexpected scene. On the lawn beside the road I saw two newly ploughed furrows and two ploughs, to each of which was attached a team of horses. Standing by were several persons in military uniform and also a civilian in an overcoat, who was apparently excited and was explaining something. It seems that a trial of the Sharapov plough was to be made in the presence of the Emperor and the Minister of Finance, Witte, and it was feared that the Emperor would be kept back by the now increasing rain. This was all explained to me by the court officer on duty when I entered the small drawing-room adjoining the Emperor's study on the sec­ond story of the small and modestly furnished Palace. Prince Khilkov, the Court-Adjutant, and I were the only persons in the drawing-room. It was twenty minutes to twelve. Witte came out of the Emperor's study, greeted Khilkov, shook hands with me in response to my greeting, and left after a few words from the Court-Adjutant. Khilkov went into the study, and the Ad­jutant told me, meanwhile, that the Emperor had intended to take a walk and to witness the trials of the ploughs, but would not go on account of the rain, and that, as the Emperor had no other business until breakfast, I had before me a rather pro­tracted audience. I entered the Czar's study soon after twelve o'clock. . . . After my audience with the Emperor, I was again escorted to my rooms, and breakfast was served with wine and coffee. This finished, I was taken in the same carriage and by the same court servant to the railroad station in time for the two o'clock train. I devoted the entire day following to the study of the four-volume report of the Police Bureau concerning the Kishinev riots, and gained from it the impression that the riots had their beginning in a quarrel between a Jewess, who owned a carrousel, and a working-man, who wanted a ride free of charge. The lo-cal authorities and the police lost their heads and did nothing. The only person who foresaw the possibility of anti-Jewish dis­orders at Easter was the Chief of the Kishinev Bureau of Public Safety, Baron Levendall, who, in his report to the Department of Police on the Friday of the preceding week, had pointed out the dangerous fermentation in the city, and complained that the Chief of Police and Governor had paid no heed to his warning. The report included copies of strongly worded telegrams from the Minister to the Governor, urging measures for putting a stop to the disorders, and concluded with the last telegram informing the Governor of his recall, and ordering him to transfer the gov­ernment of the province to the Vice-Governor. I also found in the report a reference to the belief current among the common people that rioting was permitted for three days, and noted that the disorders ceased very soon after the chief of the local cavalry detachment began to arrest the rioters. In the few days of my sojourn in St. Petersburg, I succeeded in acquainting myself superficially with the laws concerning the Jews, with the Temporary Regulations of 1882 concerning their residence in rural districts, and with the current views in rela­tion to the recent events at Kishinev. The papers of the day reflected two opposite opinions. One threw the responsibility for the riots entirely on the Government and on the anti-Jewish agitation, at once ignorant and criminal, fomented by certain individuals; the other saw in the pogroms the uncontrollable out-burst of the native population to exact revenge for their ex­ploitation by a people regarded in Russia as strangers and en­emies, who were endeavoring to place the country under the yoke of economic slavery. One even had to read in certain pub­lications, like that of the notorious Krushevan, that the Jews themselves started the pogrom for their own advantage. It was becoming more and more evident that my activities in Bessarabia would be inseparably bound up with the so-called Jewish question, and that it was my task, in the midst of rag­ing passions and conflicting opinions, to define immediately and clearly my plan of action in so far as the Jews were concerned. My own observations concerning the part played by Jews in Russia were very limited. Some time ago, in the province of Kaluga, I had met on several occasions a Jewish trader, Zuse Kalmanok Treivas by name, who in going to fairs with his merchandise stopped at times at the country estates and created a very favorable impression. He was universally liked, and his goods sold readily. On rare occasions there came to our dis­tricts Jewish agents, who bought grain and other produce. Their arrival was always welcome, for it was accompanied by higher prices for produce and a prompt meeting of obligations. Sub­sequently, in the government of Tambov, I was confirmed in the opinion that Jewish buyers constitute a desirable element in rural production. With the exception of the local Christian competitors, all of the rural producers were opposed to the reg­ulations restricting the Jews to a temporary sojourn at the grain centres and railway stations. To these accidental and superficial observations I could add, in favor of a broader conception of the Jewish question, those general principles of justice and tolerance impressed upon me by the schooling I had received. At that time all that I could discover in my mind against the Jews was only a certain indefinite racial antagonism and dis­trust. I cannot clearly explain the source of this feeling, but think I was unconsciously influenced by the anti-Semitic pro­ductions, picturing the negative and ludicrous features of the Jew. In a general way, I knew also of the accusations made against the Jews by their enemies--of their desire to conquer the world. This opinion of the Jews, as founded on their history and re­ligious code, is well known, and I shall not stop to consider it here. The events of the very recent past—the very tangible facts of forty-two corpses and material losses amounting to millions, the result of the April riots, to say nothing of the verbal attacks of a certain portion of the public and the press against the victims in attempted justification of violence—made a deeper impression upon me than the philosophical discussions concern­ing the role of the Jews in the world's history and their coming triumph. As a result of my reflections, I came to the following con­clusions defining my future relations, as Governor of Bessarabia, with the Jews living in the province. I decided, in the first place, that the existing laws limiting the rights of the Jews must be enforced by me in all cases without deviation or hesitation. This was to be my policy, notwith­standing the statement made to me in St. Petersburg by many competent people that the regulations of May 3, 1882, were a governmental error and had failed in their purpose.1 O. N. 1 It is here to be noted with interest that the regulations of May 3, 1882, as I found out later, were ostensibly prompted by the desire to protect the Jews against violence from the Christian population. Durnovo, at that time Associate Minister of the Interior, was par­ticularly emphatic in his demand for broader rights for the Jews and against the existing "senseless" laws concerning them. I understood clearly even at that time that it was dangerous to introduce into the government of provinces personal tastes and prejudices, and I considered it necessary, therefore, to keep strict­ly within the law in dealing with the Jewish question. After this I was strongly resolved not to manifest towards the Jews a feeling of aloofness and preconceived distrust. On the contrary, it was my intention always to endeavor to adhere consistently and firmly to the view that the Jews are just as fully Russian subjects as all the other inhabitants of Russia, and, in regard to personal safety, equally entitled to the protection of the law and the Government. I was resolved openly to take the position that the Kishinev riots were a crime, adhering in this respect to the view expressed in the Government communication made in the month of May, and to avoid countenancing any insinuations against the Jews, such as were industriously circulated at that time by certain newspapers. It was asserted with much pleasure, even in Government cir­cles, that the Jews themselves were to blame for the riots--they had been the attacking party, and, meeting the resistance of the people, suffered defeat because of Russian bravery and their own cowardice. However, I had read the actual facts in the case, and realized that this was an exaggerated interpretation. With this meagre store of views and intentions, with a hazy conception of Bessarabia and the problem I was to encounter in the future, I again called on the Minister of the Interior just before my departure for Kishinev. Our interview was short. Plehve was evidently disinclined to express his views on the administration of Bessarabia, either because he was not acquainted with its peculiarities, or because he could not think without irritation of the uproar which had arisen in Russia, and the still greater indignation abroad, over the Kishinev affair. After listening to my account of what was said to me by the Emperor, he merely requested me to familiarize myself as quickly as possible with that portion of Bessarabia which was for the second time annexed to Russia in 1878 as the Ismail district, and was still governed by the Roumanian laws. It was desirable, he thought, that I submit a report as to the possibility of introducing into this district the Russian general code of laws, provided that local conditions should present no insurmountable obstacles to this unification of the province. There was one thing I did not like in the Minister. I told him, among other things, that I had reason to think that General Raaben would remain in the Governor's house at Kishinev for about two weeks longer. I should involuntarily be obliged to reconcile myself to this circumstance in order to allow the old gentleman to arrange his affairs and to say good-bye to his friends in the city. Plehve remarked, in answer to this: "I would not stand on any ceremony with him. After this, any stranger might settle down in your house, and would you tolerate it? Raaben has been dismissed, and has no business to be in a Government house; let him go to a hotel." The last words of Plehve, when he bade me good-bye, were literally as follows: " I am giving you neither advice nor instruc­tions; you are quite independent. But all the responsibility rests on you; act as you know best. All we want is good results. I would merely say to you as we part, please let us have less speech-making and less philo-Semitism." I often thought later of this concluding phrase of the celebrated reader of human character, as Plehve was considered by many. Indeed, in this case he showed his insight. I had reason to make many a speech in Kishinev, and I left the place with an estab­lished reputation as a philo-Semite. MEMOIRS OF A RUSSIAN GOVERNOR II Journey to Bessarabia—Bendery—Arrival at Kishinev—Public feeling—Reception and visits—Raaben and Ustrugov—Reception of a Jewish delegation--Change of public feeling—The burial of the Torah—Daily work of the Governor.   LEFT St. Petersburg on June 17th, stopped in Moscow for the clothes I had ordered there previously, and for some other things, and spent two days at our estate in the province of Kaluga. On the evening of the 21st I left the station Vorotynsk for the south, going by way of Kiev - Razdyelnaya - Kishinev. Members of the family and several neighbors saw me off to the station. I was alone during the entire journey, and spent my time in studying the guide and directory of Bessarabia sent me by the Chief of the Provincial Bureau. I tried to fix in my memory the family names of the officials I was likely frequently to meet, and even their Christian names,1 [1Colloquially in Russia the father's name is frequently added to the Christian name of the individual.] as well as those of their fathers. I also read with much interest the book Bessarabia, published by the local publicist Krushevan and purchased by me in St. Petersburg. This book, a sort of guide, with photo-graphs and drawings, helped considerably in acquainting me with the city and the province. Early on June 23d I was transferred at the station Razdyel­naya to a special car placed at my disposal by the railroad authorities, and moved on towards the Dnyester, the boundary of the province of Bessarabia, where I was destined to see the town of Bendery, one of the district cities of Bessarabia. I wrote to the Vice-Governor, Ustrugov, asking him not to announce the time of my arrival in Kishinev. It was my desire to avoid the formal greeting which the local authorities would certainly prepare for me, as Governor, at the station. Such greetings are customary, though not binding on any one. They are objectionable because many of the officials in the city go to meet the Governor against their will, and abuse him for it in their inmost hearts. Others, because of the greater indepen­dence of their position, do not go; and yet at the same time they involuntarily wonder whether their absence will be taken as a protest or as unwillingness to show proper respect to the Gov­ernor. They all watch one another, agree among themselves not to go, but at the last moment prove unfaithful to their promises. Some of them become suddenly ill, or they find it necessary to go to the station with relatives who, by strange co-incidence, are to take the very train on which the Governor is to arrive. Hence, without going to meet the Governor, these people meet him after all. In a word, this matter always causes discussion which it is pleasanter to avoid. For this reason I asked the Vice-Governor to limit the number of people meeting me at the station to five--the Chief of Police, the Chief of the Rural Police, the Chief of the Provincial Bureau, and two adjutants. I expected, besides, to see with them the Vice-Governor himself, then acting Governor, "if," as I expressed it in my letter, "his Highness will be willing to grant me the honor and pleasure, allowing me thereby to become acquainted with him at the very moment of my arrival at Kishinev, and through him also with the other persons officially subordinated to me." However, our meeting occurred earlier than I expected. As we approached the station at Bendery, I saw through the car-window a platform crowded with people, kept in order on either side of a passageway. In the passageway I saw the City Mayor, clad in uniform, a chain around his neck, and with bread and salt on a platter. Behind him stood his subordinates. A great number of policemen were gathered around the railroad station, and at the head of the crowd stood the gray-haired Ustrugov, Vice - Governor, in full uniform, and with a ribbon across his shoulder. He came into the car accompanied by the Chief of the Rural Police and adjutants L_____ and S_____. I hurriedly greeted the people who came into the car, and exchanged a few words with them. Leaving the car, I went over to the Mayor, returned his greeting, and accepted his bread and salt. I spoke for a few moments to most of the officials present, and took oc­casion to display what familiarity with the city and the district I had gained from the Krushevan guide during my journey. Returning to the platform of the car, I turned to the public, raised my hand to my cap, and thanked them for coming out to meet me. The people took off their hats and loudly yelled "Hurrah!" The Jews could be easily distinguished by the ex-cited attention and eager curiosity with which they regarded me. They pointed their fingers at me, nudged one another, and com­pared notes on the impression created by me. The train started, and I went again into the car, where Ustrugov and I occupied a separate compartment. The hour and a half to the capital was devoted to a talk with the Vice-Governor. He conveyed to me the unpleasant news that disorders were liable to break out in Kishinev any day. This was largely due to the fact that the Jews who composed one-half of the one hundred and forty thousand inhabitants of the city, refused to engage Christian working-men, were dressed in mourning, and avoided places of amusement, giving as an excuse their ruined state and the unsatisfactory industrial and commercial condi­tions. As a result of this there was, on the one hand, a sharp racial isolation and mutual estrangement among the population, and, on the other hand, the presence of a large number of un­employed, ready at any moment to start disorders. The local military, who were not allowed to go to camp, were, according to Ustrugov, discontented, and in general ill-disposed towards the Jews. Ustrugov himself was also unfavorable to them, and warned me that nothing could be done with this "plague." Still under the unpleasant impression of this conversation, I entered Kishinev. Ustrugov and I drove in an open carriage drawn by a team of white horses, first through the suburbs of the city, and then through the long Alexandrov Street, the main artery of Kishinev, which divides the lower commercial and more ancient part of the city from the upper and newer portion. Men, women, and children stood in crowded ranks on the sidewalks. They bowed, waved their handkerchiefs, and some of them even went down on their knees. I was quite struck by the latter, not having been used to such scenes. The Jews evidently comprised the greater part of the crowd. We drove directly to the cathedral, and thence to the Governor's house, where I was cordially received by General Raaben, and invited to take breakfast with him. After breakfast I visited the archbishop and the bishop of the diocese, the Armenian Archbishop, the Vice - Governor, three generals and provincial and district leaders of the nobility, the President of the Court, the Attorney - General, the President of the Provincial Zemstvo Bureau, the Superintendent of the Government Bureau, and the City Mayor. I announced that I would be ready to receive all wishing to present themselves to the new Governor at eleven o'clock of the following day. After this I spent my day in conversation with my predecessor until seven o'clock in the evening, and then, having redressed in civilian garb, I went out of the garden gate in the company of Adjutant S_____, with the intention of taking a stroll through the city. We first went to that portion of Kishinev which had suf­fered most from the riots. Their effect was still quite evident. Rough boards covered the broken windows and shattered doors of many houses. Here and there were damaged roofs and partly destroyed chimneys. However, I soon understood that the main effects of the pogrom were not in the external injuries, but in the undermining of the daily work, in the stagnation of commerce and industry, and particularly in the mental attitude that maintained division and enmity among the population. The re-establishment of friendly relations was prevented as much by a feeling of sorrow and injury, and perhaps also a desire for revenge on the part of the Jews, as by the feeling of resentment on the part of many Christians. This feeling of resentment could be expressed ap­proximately as follows: "On account of these Jews we must now bear the responsibility for the crime." The majority of the local Christian population took no part in the pogrom, and they deplored its occurrence. Yet by no means all of them can honestly say that they did not at some time and in some way contribute towards maintaining the racial antagonism between the two portions of the Kishinev population. The circumstances noted by Ustrugov in our conversation in the train rendered the situation still more critical. Having passed through the more interesting parts of the city, we descended to its lower portion, adjoining the bed of the Byk, where the poverty-stricken Jewish inhabitants had established themselves. On the Asiatic and adjoining streets I saw striking pictures of Jewish life. In the diminutive houses one could see the entire furnishings of the rooms through the open windows. There were sleeping children, adults preparing for sleep, a belated supper, the reading aloud of a book by an old Jew to the family about him, etc. Many of them slept on the verandas built around the houses, and those still awake regarded us with curiosity. Nearing the end of the town, I vainly tried to see the river mentioned in the geographies. For a long time I could not bring myself to identify it with the little ill-smelling pool, in places not wider than a yard, without current, and with no green on its banks. Thus the first statement I gained from the experience of others-that Kishinev is located on the river Byk--proved to be incorrect. There is no river, rivulet, or even brook, in Kishinev. On the following day, the 24th, at eleven o'clock in the morning, the drawing-room of the club-house of the Bessarabian nobility, in which Pushkin had danced at one time, was filled with all possible sorts of uniforms. There was no government house for the Governor in the city. He rented, for six thousand rubles a year, a very attractive mansion of about fifteen rooms, occupied by Emperor Alexander II. during the Turkish War. The house had attached to it a good-sized garden and an annex used by the provincial bureau. The Vice-Governor came into my study to tell me that I was awaited by those who wished to be presented to me. They were arranged in a semicircle of several rows, in such a manner that every department chief was in the front row with his sub-ordinates back of him. Starting my rounds on the left, I spoke at first to the chiefs of departments, who were presented to me by Ustrugov, and then moved into the circle and made the acquaintance of their associates. I then went again to the centre of the semicircle, and moved forward until, having made a complete circle, I found myself again at the door of my study. Standing at the door, I thanked those present for having honored me with their visit. I then added a few words, the nature of which I no longer remember, although I had carefully prepared my short address by writing it out and memorizing it. Under circumstances like these it is important to weigh every word-mistakes are not readily forgiven, and much depends on first impressions. The entire affair lasted forty-five minutes. Immediately after the general reception, I was visited by the arch-bishops, generals, the President of the Provincial Nobility, and al-most the entire staff of the Circuit Court, headed by its president. I had to pay sixty return visits, a task that I accomplished in four days, thanks to the fact that I found but few of the people at home. I was the victim of only a single misunderstanding. It had been my intention to call on the Associate Attorney, KOnigson, but instead I rang the bell of lawyer Konigschatz and left my card. I rectified my mistake later, but, as I learned sub­sequently, this visit was recorded against me in St. Petersburg, since the man I thus accidentally called upon was not only a Jew, but was also considered "politically unreliable." I learned to know General Raaben fairly well in the ten days which we spent together in the Governor's house. His presence relieved me at the beginning from trouble in establishing my household. He retained his servants and looked after all the expenditures, having agreed, at my urgent request, to accept half of the expenses from me. I wish to protest here most emphatically against the accusa­tion which would make ' Raaben guilty of having deliberately permitted the rioting, and I also wish absolutely to discredit the legend about the letter supposedly written to him by the Min­ister of the Interior for the purpose of influencing him to coun­tenance disorder. Apart from the facts that Plehve insisted before the Emperor on the peremptory dismissal of Raaben, and that the latter remained for a long time in ignorance of his ultimate fate, it seems incredible that the Minister should have recklessly in-trusted himself in this matter to a man whose gentleness and up-rightness would have precluded the possibility of his carrying into effect so cruel a plan. I do not mean to say by this that I regard the Minister capable of being the initiator of a pogrom. On the contrary, I think that with all his hatred towards the Jews, Plehve was too shrewd and experienced to adopt such an expedient in his fight against them. Yet if Plehve could con­sider the Kishinev pogrom injurious to the government in its consequences, Raaben, because of his habits and temperament, could not have assumed the role of the executor and organizer of this slaughter. This is not merely my personal opinion. I am confirmed in my belief in the innocence of my predecessor by the opinion of all his associates and subordinates, and also the opinion of many representatives of the local Jewish community, whose views in this matter are deserving of careful consideration. Raaben belonged to those governors who regard their post as an honorary and remunerative position given them as a reward for former services. A lieutenant-general, the recipient of the order of St. George, decorated with four stars, including the White Eagle, he lived alone, without family, was fond of society and cards, was an admirer of the gentler sex, and gave very little time to official duties. He devoted his mornings to the reception of petitioners and claimants, presided at meetings without previous preparation, and never worked after dinner. The government of the province was actually turned over by him to three persons. To the Chief of the Provincial Bureau was delegated the care of all matters personally concerning the Governor, the Vice-Governor was to look after the administration of the province, and one of the members of the provincial bureau had jurisdiction in all matters concerning the government and the legal status of. the peasantry. These three persons had long ago agreed as to their respective spheres of activity, which they dominated without in­terfering with one another, and all three were capable and ener­getic officials. Vice-Governor Ustrugov combined with these attributes many failings, because of which he enjoyed neither the good-will nor the confidence of Raaben. Yet the Governor's love of comfort conquered, and Ustrugov remained chief executive officer of the provincial administration, which had jurisdiction in all matters concerning the Jews. The general policy of the government administration consisted in the repression of the Jews, involving at times a wilful misin­terpretation of the law. In individual instances the Jews were occasionally allowed concessions, which indicated that the of­ficials were not disinterested. Raaben was noted for his weakness for the fair sex. In the house of the Chief of Police—an exceptionally foolish and lazy Cossack officer, brought by Raaben from the Don region—there lived, under the guise of relationship, a so-called "yellow lady" occupying a semiofficial position in the city. She was invited, together with the Governor, to evening parties, occupied the Governor's box at the theatre, and disappeared from the city when Raaben received leave of absence. The women in the city liked Raaben for his amiability and gallantry, and he had no end of invitations both in town, city, and elsewhere in the province. Thanks to this, his inspection tours were prolonged holidays. I must admit that, with the exception of a certain impres­sive manner in receiving reports and accepting petitions, Raaben had not a single qualification that could exert a positive influ­ence on the administration of the government. Let me cite a striking instance of his slight familiarity with the laws. Among the exhibitions of incompetence that caused his dismissal from his post was the following: Having called out the troops, having transferred his authority to the chief of the division that had been called under arms, and having entirely ceased to issue or­ders himself, he ordered the chief of his bureau before him, and excitedly exclaimed, "Now, show me those regulations about ordering out troops for co-operation with the civil authorities that there is so much talk about!" It was his business to know these regulations, as he had served both as colonel and commander of a division, and it was his duty to know them as ex-civil governor who had held his post for four years. "I had scarcely begun to become acquainted with the province when I find myself obliged to leave it," said Raaben to me, after a four years' sojourn in Bessarabia. Yet even after this I feel convinced that Raaben would have continued to govern Bessara­bia successfully, receiving rewards and being generally beloved, had it not been for the April occurrences. A certain decency in official relations; a disinclination to fault-finding, and to that excessive inquisitiveness which is due to a desire to assert au­thority on every occasion ; a kindly disposition towards every-body, and hands unsoiled by bribe - taking, are qualities of no inconsiderable value in a governor. Besides, Raaben was suited excellently to the general character of the region, where laziness and a care-free spirit reigned among great natural re-sources. The peaceful, well-to-do peasant population was but little developed and uneducated. The landlords were thought-less, and fond of gayety and good living. Society was tolerant towards its own failings and those of others, was fond of out-ward show, and naturally gravitated towards persons in au­thority. There was but little work and true character; there was much good - natured hospitality and a certain looseness of morals. Such was Bessarabia in its general features, and one must admit that it formed a fitting frame for its governor. I told Ustrugov of his forthcoming transfer, of which I had been informed by the Minister. I could not, however, satisfy his curiosity as to the place of transfer, of which I was myself ignorant. Swayed by hope of advancement on the one hand and the fear that he would be attached to the Ministry without any definite position, Ustrugov lost all interest in Bessarabia. I was quite pleased with this, since I could not rely on his disinterestedness and integrity. I gladly offered him the opportunity to go for two weeks to the province of Podolia, and was pleased at the prospect of immersing myself in the approaching work and care without his intercession and advice. There came to me, on the third day after my arrival, a deputation of twelve persons representing the local Jewish community. It was composed of merchants, physicians, lawyers-all people of influence and position. It was readily evident from their serious and agitated expressions that they came, not as a matter of mere courtesy, but for an answer to a question that deeply agitated them all. What was yet to happen, what were they to expect, what were they to hope for? Their greeting de-scribed the situation in most gloomy colors, and on the same day I wrote down my answer. I will cite my words here as a proof of how little it is necessary to promise in order to gain the confidence of the local Jews, and to establish friendly relations with them. My statement was almost literally as follows: "Gentlemen, I do not regard you as representatives of any particular class or social unit, of any particular society or institution. To me you are a portion of the Russian subjects living in Kishinev, united among yourselves by a common religion, and wishing to greet the new Governor and to speak to him on matters intimately concerning you. In view of this my answer will be a personal one- a family counsel, as it were. You are interested to know what my attitude will be towards the Jews comprising a considerable portion of the population of Kishinev. I will grant your wish readily and with pleasure. You have not the right to expect religious intolerance, racial hatred, and biassed views from the highest representative of government authority in the province. Our laws and the will of the Czar, repeatedly expressed, establish freedom of worship in Russia, and the ruling religion of our fatherland teaches not enmity, but peace and love. I would add to this that I am personally averse to racial and religious antagonism. For this reason it will be easy for me, in my relations towards the Jews, to follow strictly the dictates of the corresponding laws without injecting into their interpretation any foreign or personal ele­ment. These are the general rules by which I shall be guided. You could not expect any other rules from me. "Passing over from general to more particular questions, I wish to say a few words concerning the abnormal condition in which I find Kishinev. It is abnormal because of the disturbed, suspicious, partly hostile attitude of one portion of the popula­tion towards the other. I will do everything possible in my power to turn the current of our life into its proper channel, to provide for the undisturbed progress of its peaceful, every-day labors. Yet, in order to attain this blessed end, the endeavors of one person are inadequate, as are even the endeavors of an entire administrative bureau. The end can be attained only through the intelligent co-operation of the people themselves. And since you have elected to appear before me as representa­tives of the Jewish portion of the population, I would tell you what I expect in this connection from the Jews. I must insist, first of all, that the Jews comply faithfully with the limitations of their personal and property rights established by the law without attempting to break or circumvent them. I have a right to expect, moreover, that the Jews, as a highly gifted and strongly united people, and as such frequently gaining economic victories over the local population, shall enjoy the fruits of their victory carefully and tactfully. The native Moldavian popula­tion, and likewise the Russian population, are good-natured and unresenting. They are not noted for ready mobility, and desire to accumulate riches. The first direct producers of wealth, the local inhabitants, do not know how to take care of it and to exchange it for other commodities. In this you will always prove more than a match for them. I would ask you, therefore, to use these advantages wisely, and to be fair in your dealings with the people among whom you live. I am certain that if you will be guided by this advice there will never be a conflict between you. I would ask you more particularly not to allow the results of the April disorders to remain the occasion for maintaining hostile relations among the people in the city. The participators in the April crimes have already suffered, or will suffer, due punishment ; the victims have, in a large measure, received aid, both material and moral; the time is now ripe for peace for all. Disorder is a temporary and transient phenomenon, while the normal work-day life is permanent. Do everything in your power to bring quick oblivion of the sorrowful days just past. I would ask you, furthermore, in all serious emergencies, to come to me; my doors are always open to you." It is interesting to note here that not later than a week after my reception of the Jewish deputation I received a letter from Lopukhin, in St. Petersburg, in which he told me that Plehve wished to know very much what I had told the Jews. I sent him a copy of my answer quoted above. Having requested the members of the deputation to sit down, I spoke with them for half an hour longer, after which we parted. One may gain a conception of the fear under which the Jews labored, and of the slight assurance they required from the administration, from the fact that they departed quite content, with their fears almost at rest, after my words, which were, in essence, scarcely com­plimentary to them. After carefully considering my position, I decided that it was necessary to make my debut in the administration of the prov­ince with some measure that was unexpected and unusual and calculated to give a new direction to the popular mind. I determined to use for my purpose the protest of the military against the interference with the summer camp by the civil authorities, who demanded the retention of the troops in the city. By releasing the troops I could gratify the wish of the soldiers. I wrote personally to the commander of the garrison that I considered the presence of the troops in the city unneces­sary for the preservation of order. This was immediately after-wards communicated to the commander of the troops for the en-tire military district in Odessa. The result was quite startling. The order for the troops not to go to camp in 1903 had been discussed and disputed over by the Minister of War and the Minister of the Interior. A report concerning it had been made to the Emperor; telegrams had been sent to the commander of the district and to the Governor. The inquiries had been renewed at the instance of the Minister of War, and finally the military authorities had been compelled regretfully to submit to the order. Now the troops unexpectedly received permission to return to their normal occupation, which was quite welcome to the military authorities. A great commotion arose in the city, for I had given no warn­ing to any one of my decision. The Jews became excited and sent their petitioners to me. Many of the officials of the city warned me of the danger of remaining without help in case of disorders. The Chief of Police, quite recently appointed by Ustrugov in place of the dismissed Cossack officer, was particu­larly frightened. But the deed was done, and it remained for me to answer calmly that I was quite confident that order would be maintained, and that I had no reason eternally to regard Kishinev as a volcano, liable to eruption at any moment. I am puzzled to this very day at the truly wonderful transformation in the life and temper of the city during the few days after my arrival. The facts are as follows : I came to the city, if I am not mistaken, on Tuesday. I received the officials on Wednes­day and the Jewish deputation on Thursday. I finished my visits on Saturday, and on the evening of the same day the police had to assign a double number of men to the city park, through which, on account of the Sabbath, the Jewish public, clad in holiday attire, was parading in dense throngs. The rumor that the Jews had ceased to wear mourning, and had appeared in places of recreation, rapidly spread through the city. The streets were again filled with people, who regarded one another with cu­riosity, exchanged remarks, and, on the whole, the public mood was changed to one of gayety, almost of joy. On Monday peo­ple hurriedly began to repair the houses, stores, and buildings which had suffered from the pogrom. The working-men returned to their work, trade became more brisk, and a few days later one could not find a person in the city who would seriously have con­sidered a possibility of renewed disorders. Everything quieted down, and Kishinev returned to its former existence. It may be in place here to refer to still another venturesome undertaking which I planned secretly and carried into effect suddenly, and which, because of this planning, ended happily. During the pogroms the violence of the rioters was not con-fined to murder and robbery; they broke into the synagogues, and destroyed the furniture and the utensils. The most sacred object of Jewish prayer-houses is the Ark, in which are preserved the scrolls of the Torah with the text written on parchment by certain ecclesiastical persons. The government rabbi and also the orthodox rabbis of the city came to me and explained that, according to the Jewish law, it was necessary to bury in the cemetery the sacred relics which had been desecrated by de-filing hands. They warned me, however, that this burial service would attract an immense throng of the faithful. I was con­vinced upon inquiry that the Jewish religion assumes towards the scrolls of the Torah the same attitude as the Greek Orthodox Church does towards the Holy Communion, which is the trans-formation of the bread and wine into the body and the blood. It was undoubtedly clear that the burial ceremony should be permitted. This was conceded both by Ustrugov and the Chief of Police; yet up to my arrival they had delayed giving the per-mission for fear of disorder. I requested the rabbis to furnish me a plan and description of the route which the procession was to follow. I assigned the hour (nine o'clock in the morning) for the beginning. I learned that about thirty thousand people would participate in the march, and informed them that I would send my permission in a few days. I warned them, however, that I would not make the date known to the rabbi prior to the evening preceding the day selected by me for the burial services. Moreover, I explained to the rabbis that the entire police force, with the exception of ten or twelve men, would remain in the city to watch over the market and stores. Hence, the procession was to be organized by the Jews themselves, order was to be preserved on the streets, and the crowd was to be protected from the accidents almost inevitable in the massing of several thou-sand people in one small spot. I can hardly describe the horror of the Chief of Police, to whom I sent my permission for the announcement to the proper people only on the eve of that memorable day. He became as white as a sheet, and would not believe his ears. I was obliged to help him lay out the order of march on the city map, but as our task neared completion his nervousness was to a considerable extent allayed. The forenoon of the following day, from nine until one, I spent in the house, within reach of the telephone. My carriage stood in the stable, ready for instant use, and while occupied with routine work I was somewhat distracted. About one o'clock the Chief of Police returned, his face wreathed in smiles, and reported that the public was returning to the city; that everything had passed off satisfactorily, and that there had been no disorders, barring a few hysterical outcries at the tomb where the torn scrolls had been buried. After one o'clock I went to the sessions in one of the provincial departments, where I heard the news. I was informed that the Jews were up to something, for they were closing their stores. Members of other depart­ments, who came in soon after, added that the stores were open, and that Jews, clad in their holiday attire, were strolling about the town in groups of ten or twenty. I told them that they had buried the Torah, and created thereby a good deal of wonder­ment. It seems to me that since that day there has arisen within me a certain feeling of good-will and thankfulness towards the Jews of Kishinev which I retain to this day. In their eyes I acquired from that time the right to be trusted as a man who not only desired but was also able to assure their safety. Subsequently I became confident of the full recognition of my authority on the part of the Jews of Kishinev. On one of my winter visits to St. Petersburg the Minister of the Interior expressed his views on the demoralization and disobedience of the Jews, in reply to which I, half jokingly, half seriously, offered to make the following experiment. "Would you like," I said to him, "to test this? I will send immediately to Kishinev a telegraphic communication giving whichever of these two orders you may choose. Either all of the Jewish inhabitants shall go out of the city and remain standing for two hours on the commons, or they shall lock themselves in their houses and shall not go out for the same length of time. Make your choice be­tween the two ; I guarantee that the command will be carried out with exactness." Of course the Minister did not consent to make the experiment proposed, yet, as a matter of fact, this jest had its serious side. I maintain that under the still vivid impression of the pogrom, the Jews were capable of carrying out even so senseless an order. The rumors of the burial of the Torah went abroad, and reached St. Petersburg with wholly incredible commentaries. It ap­peared, according to these, that I had given the Jews the oppor­tunity to celebrate their victory over Christianity; that I had personally participated in the procession and in the burial ceremonies; that, on account of the Jewish celebration, business was suspended in the city as if it were an imperial holiday, and other nonsense of the same sort. All this was told me by Colo­nel Charnolusski, the chief of the local gendarmes, one of the few persons to whom my plan had been communicated in time. It seems that it was only after great effort in his conversation with the Minister that he succeeded in presenting the matter in its true light, and even then he heard Plehve make some remark about the "Governor's stupid risk." The first days of my administration passed by. Raaben left, after an impressive and even cordial farewell. Ustrugov, who had been transferred to Tiflis, left soon after. I devoted myself to every-day, uneventful tasks, in the midst of which I gradually became acquainted with the province. There was much to do. I arose daily at eight o'clock, and at times even earlier, when the visitors in the Nobles' Club in the house opposite remained longer than usual. On occasions like this, the band, which was en-gaged by the members to play all night, came out into the street to play a parting fanfare for the belated generous guests. This fanfare, which meant to them that it was time to retire, awak­ened me to my daily work. At half-past eight I began to re­ceive the petitioners, who came into the court-yard early in the morning. The formal reception of petitions, as practised at Kishinev, is a custom unknown in Great Russia. My waiting-room was filled, usually, three or four times a day, so that I was obliged to come out to the petitioners every hour. They spoke in about ten different languages, with only two of which I was familiar. Great Russians, Little Russians, Poles, Jews, Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Bulgarians, German Colonists, Swiss from the village of Shabo, some sort of Gagaus,1 [1Christians from the Black Sea, who speak the Turkish language.] and, finally, in great numbers, Moldavians, who completely overwhelmed me at the beginning. The Moldavians were on their knees, holding their petitions on their heads, and muttering their requests while looking on the ground. The Jews, and particularly the Jewesses, gesticulated, and were so insistent that one had to back away from them. All, as they presented their written petitions, wanted to explain themselves orally. I usually allowed them to have their say, and then dismissed them, for which purpose I learned to speak a few Moldavian words. In cases where the matter appeared of unusual importance, I found at hand interpreters, who performed their duties admirably. Receptions of this nature are very tiresome. It was a great strain on the_nerves to find one's self unable to judge of the va­lidity of the complaints. The petitioners, particularly the Jews, always exaggerated their cases to such an extent, and ornament­ed them with such extravagant details, that it was absolutely impossible to give full credence to them. Besides, they almost always requested immediate preliminary action. It usually appeared that a single day's delay would ruin everything—;the family and property. Involuntarily I found myself forced to dismiss the petitioners until further inquiry; but on the following day they would come again, assuming that I had al-ready succeeded in investigating everything, and was in a posi­tion to act accordingly. It required much patience and firm­ness to establish a semblance of order in this mass of petitions—to pick out the urgent cases, and to keep them in view. I was especially apt to be provoked by the Moldavians' habit of trav­elling long distances in order to hand me personally some doc­uments in civil lawsuits which I could not even examine, as they came within the jurisdiction of the provincial courts. The usual result was that a petitioner of this character ordinarily spent, aside from his travelling expenses, about five rubles on the preparation of a worthless petition. It is exceedingly easy to swindle a Moldavian. He is seemingly anxious to be imposed upon, and he is contented, it would appear, when he succeeds in turning over a considerable sum of money to the swindlers, who lie in wait for him at every corner. Simultaneously with the reception of the petitioners, reports and visitors were re­ceived in the office. Officially the reception was over at twelve ; practically, however, it was seldom that I could lunch peacefully before one o'clock. The Chief of the Provincial Bureau came atone, and at two I presided at one of the sessions, following this practice at least four times a week, and, at times, daily. When the sessions ended early I made several calls while on my way home ; sometimes, however, the sessions continued until six or seven in the evening, and under such conditions it was hard for me to find an hour for dinner and for a walk in the garden. At eight o'clock I took up documents, comprising seven or eight portfolios from various bureaus. I was fond, before re-tiring, of taking a stroll through the city, clad in civilian clothes. However, I could not always do this, for sometimes my work kept me busy until midnight. I was in the habit of selecting, for my walks, secluded spots, where I had learned that thefts and robberies occasionally occurred. The police soon came to know of this habit of mine, and the policing of the city was con­siderably improved. I should add here that with the departure of the troops for camp the thefts and nightly disorders were reduced one-half. I lost about ten pounds in weight in the first two months. The new Vice-Governor, Block, came from Ufa in August. He was a never-to-be-forgotten companion, a trusted assistant, and an ally with whom I lived and worked in harmony until my de­parture to Tver. A Terrorist bomb cut short the life of this in-corruptible public man in 1906, when he was Governor of Samara. Block's arrival was of great help to me. It lightened my bur-den, and gave me an opportunity of making a tour of inspection throughout the districts of the province. MEMOIRS OF A RUSSIAN GOVERNOR III Police—Provincial administration—Block—Basket tax—Treatment of Jewish conscripts—Troublesome foreigners—Compulsory furnishing of relays—Illegal taxes for the benefit of estate holders. FOUND myself obliged, at the very beginning, to turn my I attention to the local police of both city and district. It soon appeared that the ability and energy of its personnel were quite satisfactory. This became especially apparent in the city of Kishinev, after the city police came under charge of Colo­nel Reichardt, an experienced and active administrator, who was at one time Chief of Police in Riga. Of the five police cap­tains, two were good, two were quite satisfactory, and it was necessary to remove only the fifth for his extremely uncere­monious bribe-taking. I must dwell on illegal levies at some length. With the help of one of the members of the Attorney-General's staff, I once attempted to calculate approximately a portion of the levies made by the police in the province. I fig­ured it at more than a million rubles a year. In order to re-habilitate the Bessarabian police in the eyes of the masses who may some time read these lines, I shall mention here that the police of St. Petersburg, according to the results of the careful inquiry of an expert who had served in the police prefecture, received annually about six million rubles of subscription money only. This subscription money is given, not to hide breaches of the law, not to hide illegal practices in Government service, but is paid by house-owners, store-keepers, hotel-keepers, and manu­facturers to secure immunity from annoyance. Levies for the breach of the law in the interests of the givers are not taken into account here, because of the impossibility of estimating them. Hence, I was soon convinced that bribe-taking played an im­portant role with the Bessarabian police. One could easily con‑ vince himself of this by seeing how the police captains drove out in style in their four-horse carriages, travelled first class on rail-roads, acquired houses, and lost hundreds, and even thousands, of rubles at cards. Nor was it difficult to discover the source of their income. The blame for the demoralization of the po­lice seemed to fall again on the hapless Jews — the plague of Bessarabia. In accordance with the temporary regulations of 1882 the Jews could not lease lands. The lands of the Bessarabian es­tates leased by Jews was the first source of income to the po­lice. Fictitious agreements, whereby the estates are leased by dummies behind whom there is usually the actual lessee—a Jew —may be declared void by the courts after due legal procedure, the provincial administration appearing as the plaintiff. It is almost impossible to make out a complete case of this character. Such cases are usually lost, and legal expenses are paid from provincial, or government, funds. The Government refuses to grant these costs and the provincial administration undertakes them very reluctantly, and therefore does not encourage the police to investigate such actions. On the other hand, the lessee, thus holding property illegally, would gladly pay fifty kopecks per desyatin of land rather than have trouble with the authorities and be dragged into court. In consequence, he keeps a set of books, in which he enters these payments in two semiannual in­stalments, either to the county marshal who assesses them, or, if he take no bribe (I had three such), to the police captains. The levy may be less than fifty kopecks per desyatin, but under such conditions the police officials farm a part of the estate, and force the lessees to supply food to their cattle. On one occasion, when I dismissed one of the police captains, he found himself obliged to sell about seventy head of cattle on different estates. A dispute was raised by one of the lessees, and thus the case came to light. Just before my departure from Kishinev, when I had been ap­pointed Governor of Tver, I wished to combine my observations concerning illegal leases. I turned for information to one very respected Jew, F , who, rumor had it, leased several tens of thousands of desyatins of land in the province. I asked him whether he made payments to the police, and how much. I found that he had formerly paid twice a year (in all from thirty to fifty kopecks per desyatin), but of late he had attempted to withhold payment. "What were the consequences?" I asked. "Noth­ing; they resented it a little, but did not oppress me," he replied; and added, thoughtfully, " I suppose I shall now have to pay also for the past half-year." The second source of the levies is the right of Jews to live tem­porarily in country districts. They have no right to live in villages, but they are allowed to stay there temporarily for commercial and other reasons. Now what is the meaning of the term "temporarily" ? What may be taken to signify that business is finished ? These questions are answered, in the first place, by the local police, who immediately enforce their decision. Afterwards one may complain and insist upon his rights, appeal­ing even to the Senate, yet the police official is not taken to task for expelling Jews from the village. His actions are legal ; that is his interpretation of the law; and, in fact, the question, from the stand-point of the law, is always debatable. Furthermore, its solution always depends upon the inquiry made by the self-same police. It is, therefore, profitable to pay the police in order peacefully to wind up one's business in the village. Moreover, I should add here that, under the guise of temporary sojourn, a considerable number of Jews live in country districts practically all the time. The number of Jews thus illegally resident in the district of Khotin was, in my time, estimated by the president of the local nobility at about eight thousand. Those acquainted with this region and district repeatedly asserted that this num­ber is not exaggerated. It is beyond the power of the provincial administration to cope with this evasion of the law by the Jews. The village authorities frequently conceal these facts from the police, the minor police officials from the district police, and the district police from the Governor. Although the expulsion of the Jews from the village is continually going on, and although the number of expulsion cases before the courts is very large, the majority of the Jews illegally resident in villages make some arrangement whereby they are allowed to remain there unmolested. But for fear of exaggeration I would compare the activities of the authorities in relation to the Jews scattered in the villages to a hunting ex‑ pedition in a locality fairly teeming with game. It is to be un‑ derstood that the right to hunt must be restricted to a very few persons, and certain classes of game should, in accord with the hunter's code, be protected. Along its entire length Bessarabia borders on Austria and Roumania. The inhabitants of the border zone have the right to cross the frontier without passports. They merely need a ticket from the local police official when they wish to search for lost cattle or desire to go across for business purposes. The Jews are busy traders, and, thanks to this fact, the police have a third source of income. It is more profitable for the Jew to pay three rubles to the police official than to apply for a fifteen-ruble passport at the provincial administrative bureau. This applies to all whom the official does not recognize as merchants. Such are the special sources of the police income sanctioned by tradition and kept in force by the special legislation concern­ing the ;Jews. I will pass in silence here the secondary, minor levies; nor shall I speak of the bribes collected by police officials from non-Jews, in cases of misdemeanor, established by the com­mon law. One may obtain from the foregoing a general notion as to the complexion of the Bessarabian police. It consists of several persons who never take bribes ; of many persons who take bribes that local custom recognizes as legitimate; and, finally, of a small proportion of bribe-takers who are always and everywhere re­garded as corrupt. Complaints are made against them, they are prosecuted by the Attorney-General's office, and the provincial administration finds itself obliged, from time to time, to assign them to the provincial bureau or to exile them to some neigh-boring province—sometimes in exchange for exiles of the same type. As chief of the entire provincial police, I felt it my duty to take steps towards checking the abuses just described. I was soon convinced, however, that the task of abolishing such illegal levies was beyond my power. I only succeeded in getting rid of the most notorious bribe-takers, who imposed illegal levies under the eyes of everybody. Thanks to careful investigation and the free access of petitioners to me, the instances of granting privileges within the law for money, instances of trading with the law, were perhaps somewhat diminished under my administra­tion. But the custom of rewarding the police for liberal inter­pretation of the evasion of the law remained in full force even in my administration. I do not believe that this evil can be rooted out as long as a portion of the population is deprived of the natural rights of existence that are enjoyed by the rest of the population. There were also other reasons which made the abolition of bribe-taking in Bessarabia difficult. To illustrate, I shall cite two instances. I had once decided to go into the office of a captain of police in one of the districts of Kishinev to acquaint myself with his work. My attention was attracted, in the first place, by the office-rooms, which were large and com­fortably arranged. They contained a number of desks, at which I found six men working, notwithstanding the late hour. I asked each of them about the salary he was receiving, and secured the following figures : The senior clerk received 600 rubles a year; two others, 420 each; and three assistants received together 66o rubles. The office expenses amounted to from two to three hundred rubles a year. The total expenses, therefore, were from 2300 to 2400 rubles. As the entire sum alloted to the cap­tain, including the office expenses, did not exceed 2500 rubles a year, it merely remained for me to look through the books and the office administration, taking care not to ask on what the captain himself lived. Another instance concerns the district police. The position of captain in Novoseltzy, on the Austrian frontier, was con­sidered the best in the province. According to current belief, it brought to the incumbent about fifteen thousand rubles a year. So large a sum naturally created much talk, and I found it absolutely necessary to order an investigation of the ad-ministration in this district. This investigation revealed the following facts : The police captain sold to one of the local Jews the right to issue identification tickets, by means of which the inhabitants of the boundary zone could cross the frontier for business or other purposes. Those wishing to secure a ticket came to the lessee, received his indorsement, and on the strength of this they obtained at the police office a ticket free of charge. In return for this privilege the lessee maintained at his own expense the entire office force of the police district. I dismissed the captain and appointed another in his place, but soon learned that the illegal levies continued in another form. I then secured from one of the provinces of Great Russia a man upon whose integrity I could rely. I persuaded him to accept the position at Novoseltzy, and promised to promote him as soon as he had satisfactorily arranged his work there. A month later the new captain handed me his resignation, for, try as he would, he could not get along with the money allotted him. He not only had insufficient means for his living expenses, but he was also obliged to neglect his work, for the maintenance of the clerical force, reduced by one-half, required all the funds assigned to him. I failed to understand at first the enormous accumulation of work in all the administrative police bureaus of Bessarabia. It required several inspections to convince me that, apart from the duties of a purely police character, and from the problems that have gradually come under police supervision, the police departments in Bessarabia are affected by a special petty legislation which places almost every Jew in the position of a permanent petitioner and plaintiff. This has come with the development of other institutions. The police really have no end of trouble with Jewish cases. I frequently observed that the hatred of the police officials towards the Jewish population is partly due to worries, annoyances, complaints, explanations, mistakes, and responsibilities, which constantly fall to the members of the police in consequence of the senseless and ineffective legislation concerning the Jews. The provincial administrations in central Russia have long been regarded as institutions that have outlived their usefulness. With the exception of special departments, such as the medical, the surveying, and the construction departments, the provincial bureaus, frankly speaking, have almost nothing to do in those provinces not included within the Pale. One seldom sees petitioners in the office buildings; hence the commissioners, secretary, and clerks usually have much leisure. In Bessarabia, however, conditions were quite different. The provincial ad-ministration there had to consider ten thousand cases annually, apart from those in the special departments. The clerks were overworked in the preparation of reports. The Jewish cases, especially, added to their burden, compelling them to work unremittingly, not only during office hours, but also evenings. The skill of the officials in the preparation of reports was of a high order, and their ability to prove anything and everything in accord with precedent and the rulings of the Senate was, indeed, astonishing. The system introduced here by Ustrugov consisted of a resort to various tricks and interpretations, the purpose of which was to carry out to the utmost the oppres­sions of the Jews by the laws limiting their rights. It must be confessed that the persecution of the Jews was developed by Ustrugov into an art. His inventions for the evasion of the law to the injury of the Jews were, at any rate, not less original than those invented by the Jews themselves for the evasion of the law in their own favor. The judicial decisions of the Senate are full of references to Bessarabia, and there is no other prov­ince where the decisions of the provincial administration in Jew­ish matters were so frequently reversed. However, this did not embarrass Ustrugov. The decisions of the Senate are of little significance to the plaintiffs themselves, for they are usually rendered after conditions have changed and the petitioner can no longer avail himself of the results favorable to him. As to the precedent of such decisions for similar cases, Ustrugov fol­lowed a very simple plan. He was not guided by the decisions of the Senate, and even went to the extent of not carrying them into effect. He was finally called to account for this conduct. In 1906, in my capacity of Associate Minister of the Interior, I took part in the Senate's consideration of Ustrugov's case. He was to be indicted for systematically refusing to enforce the Senate's decisions, and for submitting in his defence a copy of one of the rulings of the provincial government on a Jewish matter which he knew to be incorrect. But even here the famous trickster escaped punishment. His earthly existence ended the week preceding the date set for the investigation of his case by the Senate, and the case was necessarily dropped. It required much energy and labor on the part of the new Vice-Governor, Block, to bring the activities of the Bessarabian provincial administration within legal limits. The minds of the officials, trained for the business of Jew-baiting, could not at once regain their equilibrium, and Block, poor fellow, was many a time compelled to revise their reports. For this reason he even sacrificed his 'cello-playing, his sole recreation. He fre­quently came to show me the oddities of the Ustrugov regime, which he encountered in his examination of cases. I am tempt­ed to cite one here: A special tax, known as the basket tax (box tax), is imposed on Jewish communities. Like many others, I supposed, when I first heard the term, that it referred to some box-making guild, the manufacture of boxes, or something of that sort. In reality, however, the basket tax is a duty collected for the slaughter of cattle, the killing of domestic fowls, and the sale of meat, ac-cording to schedules published by the municipalities under the supervision of the provincial administration. In accordance with the practice in vogue almost everywhere, the right to collect the basket tax in Kishinev was farmed out under conditions pre-scribed by the provincial administration. The tax farmer paid in the sum which he bid at the public auction (as I remember it, seventy-five thousand rubles a year), and then collected a tax on every pound of meat and fat. In the conditions prescribed the taxes on meat and fat, or tallow, were calculated separately, a usage which allowed some very ingenious combinations. The tax farmer compelled the butchers to cut the fat from the meat in order to weigh the two components separately, thus reducing the value of their merchandise to such a degree that it might be refused by customers. In order to avoid this damage to their wares, the butchers were willing to make large concessions in favor of the tax farmer. When the demands of the latter passed all reasonable limits the sufferers complained to the provincial administration against the infringement, by the tax farmer, of the stipulated conditions. Under such circumstances the abili­ties of Ustrugov shone forth in their full glory. A report was prepared to show very convincingly that the tax farmer was wrong; that he had acted contrary to the regulations, the tax contract, and contrary to common-sense and the law. The report was signed and confirmed. But it happened, by some strange coincidence, that the tax farmer discovered in time the danger threatening him. As a result of his urgent representations a new report was prepared to show, on the strength of certain considerations held in reserve by Ustrugov, that the complaint of the butchers had no justification whatever. They were in-formed to this effect by the police. In this manner the provincial administration made a number of contradictory interpretations of the contract within the period of a single lease, while in the end the butchers always remained at the mercy of the tax farmer, who, in turn, was altogether in the hands of the ad-ministration. An illustration of this condition is interesting, of course, only in so far as it characterizes certain persons and their influence in administrative matters. After the arrival of Block, and even before, when the provincial bureaus were administered by officials whose honesty I had no reason to question, such antics were not permitted. Other methods which, openly applied, had become second nature with ruler and ruled, and were continued without any protest from either side, were of even greater moment to one judging the oddities of the administration of Bessarabia. I wish to cite a few. The following order is always observed in the examination of conscripts at the provincial military bureau: After all the conscripts are examined, and the orders deciding their fate are signed, they are allowed to dress, and are sent into the assembly-rooms to listen to the reading of the list. After this all of the recruits subject to re-examination are permitted to return home, while those enrolled are obliged to report on a stated day at the recruiting centres in the districts, where they are placed in charge of the military commander. While presiding at the Kishinev bureau I noticed, quite acci­dentally, that some of the recruits passed out through the exits at the end of the session, while others went into the neighboring room, whither they were followed by several policemen. In re-ply to my inquiry why all of the recruits had not left, the offi­cial in charge answered, "Only the Jews remained." I was tired and somewhat absent-minded, and, therefore, asked no further questions. On my way home, however, the thought recurred to me that I had really received no answer to my question. On the following day I therefore asked for an explanation of this circumstance from one of the members of the bureau. I learned from him that, after being accepted for service, the Christian re­cruits alone are allowed to go home, while the Jews are sent to the police prisons, and at the proper time are sent, under mili­tary guard, to the recruiting centres, where they are again incar­cerated, and are finally transferred to the military commander. "Why is this done ?" I asked. "Have we a right to do it ?" "I have no doubt about it," replied the official. "I found this system here when I came. I do not remember when this regulation was made, but there is no doubt that it exists." This official came to me on the following day and announced that he had investigated the matter very carefully, and found that the treatment of the Jewish recruits by the bureau was arbitrary and unjustifiable. We had no right, no legal author­ity, to deprive the Jewish recruits of their liberty. Four years ago one of the Jewish recruits escaped across the frontier, after which Ustrugov, in the absence of the Governor, established what he considered a convenient precaution against the re­currence of such escapes. It should be added here that the authorities are not responsible for the evasion of military ser­vice by recruits, that they are not obliged to watch them, and that they have no right to deprive them of their liberty. Several weeks intervene between the date of examination and the date for reporting at the recruiting centres. During that time the Jewish recruits are kept in confinement or travel under military convoy with criminals—an unheard-of procedure. I was obliged to display "sentimental philo-Semitism," and to abolish this arrangement. At the following session of the recruiting bureau the Jews were told that they could go home. They began to dispute the decision, pointed to the policemen, and were resolved to be placed under arrest. I left the bureau, instructing the official in charge to communicate by telephone with the Chief of Police in regard to the matter. The Chief of Police told me subsequently that he, too, was surprised at the new treatment of the recruits, but supposed that it was based on "special order." On my visiting the prison I came across a similar phenome­non—this time not concerning the Jews. While I was passing through the prison wards several people asked me, imploringly, to interfere in their behalf, stating that they had been kept in confinement several months after their sentence had expired. Investigation confirmed this. When I asked the prison super­intendent why more people were not allowed to go, he saluted in military fashion, and pronounced the unintelligible verdict, "They are vicious foreigners, your Excellency." I said nothing because of my inexperience, but upon inquiry, on my return home, I discovered that on the recommendation of the provincial authorities the Minister of the Interior had the right to expel from Russia all foreigners found guilty of misdemeanors by the courts. It is customary, therefore, to detain all foreigners sent to prison, even after the expiration of their term, until the ministerial order is received. When I asked what objection there might be to the liberation of the prisoners at the proper time, I was told they might leave the country, and then it would be impossible to carry into effect the Minister's order for their expulsion. This reasoning appeared to me very abstract or simply absurd. I was inclined to accept the latter interpretation, and the vicious foreigners were given their freedom. There is still another specifically Bessarabian crime with which one may become acquainted by reading the numerous police blotters. It is the crime there entered as "gay life and playing on the guitar." But let us pass over this farce and go on to more serious things. I wish to cite here a striking instance of the long-continued exploitation of the country population of Bessarabia in the in­terests of government officials. This will show how patient, sub-missive, and ignorant the contemporary peasant population of Bessarabia was. My story must necessarily be dry and tedious, yet it has some significance in characterizing the time which I am describing, particularly on the timely question of land reform. Among the so-called rural imposts is included the ancient transportation tax, levied exclusively on the peasantry. Of­ficials of certain classes have the right, on the strength of an open order or pass, to demand horses in villages for a specific mileage charge. Such passes are issued by district bureaus, free of charge, only to district attorneys, members of the district police, and gendarmes in the execution of official business. The inconveniences of this method of transportation, and the evident injustice of levying this imposition on the peasantry alone, has been long recognized by almost all the Zemstvos. In most of the districts of Russia the transportation tax is derived from the general district funds. The Zemstvos usually furnish the transportation expenses directly to the officials, or pay them to the peasants, or keep horses for official service. In Bessarabia, on the other hand, the custom under which the peasantry alone bear the costs of transportation of officials is firmly established; the horses of peasants are used free of charge by almost every official person, and, finally, the travelling facil­ities thus provided are arranged entirely with a view towards the greatest comfort of the official traveller. The township authorities award the contract for maintaining the horses to some contractor, usually a Jew, and pay him large sums of money from the township funds. The contractor places his equipages at the disposal of all holders of passes, which are given out by the district administration with great liberality. Apart from the official already mentioned, the right to use the peasant horses is accorded to marshals of the nobility, officers and clerks of the district administration, and district chiefs, with a double illegality in the last instance, as these officials receive travelling expenses from the government. These horses are used by the families of officials, their servants, and even their acquaintances. Frequently officials of different districts allow one another to avail themselves of free transportation, and I knew of instances where officials thus came to Kishinev from the most remote districts. Thanks to this quite illegal method of procedure, every township is compelled to maintain twenty, forty, or even sixty horses, taxing every family from one ruble seventy-five kopecks to two rubles fifty kopecks annually. The aggregate transportation tax in the five districts of the province, according to my calculation, amounted to about three hundred and sixty thousand rubles a year, all of it levied on the peasantry without the least aid from the other tax-payers in the district. When I first visited one of the district cities in the province, thence continuing my journey through the district, with stops at the township offices, I was accompanied by ten local officials. To each two persons was assigned a carriage and four horses. It was then that I found out the system just described. In response to my expression of surprise, I was informed that it was immaterial to the peasants how many horses were to be used, or by whom they were to be used, since they had already made their agreement with the contractor. It was useless to waste pity on the latter, for he had the horses, and to keep them stand­ing in the stable brought him no extra profit. When I ordered payment for the use of my conveyance everybody was surprised —among others, the contractor, whom my private adjutant could hardly persuade to accept the money. I did not succeed, during my sojourn in Bessarabia, in abolish­ing these abuses. I collected the necessary materials, asked for the information relative to the subject, and left it to the Zemstvcs to deal in their own way with the policy of unjustly burdening the rural population with so archaic a tax. Recently I learned, with much pleasure, that all of the Zemstvos in question have changed their method of providing transportation for officials, charging all of the travelling expenses against the general Zems­tvos fund. I wish to cite the following as a final example of the peculiari­ties of Bessarabia, which make it unique in the relations of its various social elements. It was there that I first became ac­quainted with the landlords' assumption of special right to im­pose duties on produce brought into villages established on their lands. The house - owners and leaseholders, and, in general, all the inhabitants of such villages, were obliged to pay to the landlord (proprietor of the ground) a tax on grain, wine, and other produce of various description. The tax was collected by a special guard, with the co-operation, in cases of misunder­standing, of the general police, and also the local township and village authorities. Such was the accepted custom for time out of mind. In some way, however, the question as to the right of the landlords to collect this tax was brought before the courts, was appealed and reappealed up to the Senate, which finally decided the case against the landlords. It declared that objects of the first necessity could not be taxed either on the basis of private agreement or on that of ancient custom. The peaceful collection of taxes was henceforth interrupted. Meeting every-where protests and refusals to pay, the majority of the land-lords found themselves obliged to give up their incomes from these imposts. A few of them, more stubborn than the rest, did not give in, and continued to insist on their fictitious rights. The most ingenious of these, Landlord B_____ , of Ungeni, continued to collect dues from his tenants even in my time. He depended upon the co-operation of the police authorities, which he could command, thanks to his acquaintance with my pred­ecessor and his intimacy with an unsuccessful musician but successful card-player, P_____ , who lived in the house of General Raaben in the capacity of a friend. The ancestry and an­tecedents of this person were known to no one, yet he was a welcome guest everywhere in Kishinev. This man, P_____ , went out to Ungeni at the request of his friend, and personally superintended the activities of the police and the pacification of the refractory inhabitants of the village, who had become encouraged in their hopes by the judicial decisions. They were now shown whom they were to believe and whom they were to obey, and this so effectively that the collections from Ungeni continued to pass into the treasury of the landlord even after the departure of Raaben. The trick in the entire affair was made possible by the fact that no receipt was given for the money collected, and consequently no claim could be made for the return of the money, and here the co-operation of the authorities was needed. Information concerning these acts reached me through a com­plaint handed to me, which I myself verified. In this complaint one of the householders in the village stated the following : On approaching the village with a load of flour he counted out the necessary money, and asked the guard to accept it in return for a receipt. The guard refused to issue a receipt, and held the wagon. The householder then went to the offices of the town administration and submitted the money, with a statement con­cerning its application. The elder refused the money, and sug­gested that it be turned over to the guard. The householder, who wanted a receipt or a witness to the offered payment, sud­denly conceived the idea of leaving the money on the table in the township office. He did that, and ran away as fast he could, notwithstanding the shouts and protests of the elder. This marked the most interesting and significant moment of the en-tire incident. The township office made out a protocol con­cerning the failure of the hapless householder to comply with the legal demands of the authorities. The protocol was trans­mitted to the township court, and a copy of the court's decision, imposing a heavy fine on the defendant, was submitted to me by the latter. Having learned from the County Police Marshal all the details of the case and the history of the special tax, I also became convinced that the police were quite ready to with-draw their support from the landlord in his illegal requisitions. The Marshal declared that they were all annoyed by B_____ 's pretensions, and that even the police subalterns would be glad if they could, with impunity, decline to perform this special cus­tom - house service. Indemnity was granted them, and the requisitions were, indeed, abolished. This, according to his own statement, entirely ruined Landlord B______ who had levied an annual tax of ten thousand rubles for the right of importing produce into Ungeni. He saw me more than once in ref erence to this case, until he finally reconciled himself to the loss of his revenue. He never forgave me my interference with his affairs. I must state here that in general the Bessarabian land-lords always took good-naturedly my efforts to abolish some of their antiquated customs. With the majority of them I es­tablished the best relations, and all in all I love Bessarabia much, and recall with pleasure the time passed there. MEMOIRS OF A RUSSIAN GOVERNOR IV Threat of massacres of the Jews (pogroms) — Arrival of an English diplomatist and of an American correspondent—Pogrom-feeling and the efforts to suppress it—Pronin and Krushevan—Dangerous symp­toms—Dr. Kohan — Attitude of the Jews — Jewish self - defence—Temper of the police. I EXPERIENCED at Kishinev many new impressions. These came as a result of the April massacre or in anticipation of new disorders due to the same causes. The foreign press, especially the English and American, con­tinued to comment in various ways upon the Kishinev pogrom. Then, as now, the Jews were credited with great influence in the press of West Europe and America. But the interest mani­fested at that time towards Kishinev by the English Parliament and American statesmen can scarcely be explained by attrib­uting it to Jewish efforts alone. The great uneasiness called forth in St. Petersburg in the summer of 1903 by the news of the expected interpolation' in the British Parliament concerning the relations of the Russian government to the pogrom, and the diplomatic actions that became necessary with America, in order to relieve the Czar from receiving the grandiose address of the Americans requesting his protection of the Jews from further massacres, showed clearly that, outside of Russia, large groups of the population, and even the governments of the great powers, found it impossible to acquiesce in the antiquated methods of settling old scores with a hated race as manifested in Kishinev, and also that foreign opinion opposed the attitude towards the pogrom which was reflected in the Russian anti-Jewish press —an attitude regarded as almost obligatory by the Russian officials. Now, for the first time, a malevolent attitude towards the Jews was manifested in the highest court circles. Until then only the Grand-Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the Governor-General of Moscow, had the reputation of being an implacable enemy of the Jews. But after 1903 it became apparent to everybody that a hostile feeling towards the Jews was also entertained by the Czar's immediate family. All efforts to induce the latter to express some condemnation of the pogroms, or even to give vent to some sympathy for the sufferers by granting them any ma­terial aid, met with complete failure ; yet a single authoritative word or action in this direction would have helped immeasurably the maintenance of order in the provinces of the Pale. This would have destroyed the firm conviction of many, made stronger by the pogrom, that such methods of the population in evening up with their ancient enemies was, from the government stand-point, a useful policy, and acceptable to the authorities. At all events, the position of the Bessarabian Governor in 1903 was peculiar. The head-lines as to the "Kishinev pogrom" did not disappear from the pages of the newspapers, and were constantly repeated far and wide—now in the form of a reminder, now as a warning or note of apprehension. During one of my reception hours there came to me an English-man who spoke fairly good French, but who, of course, did not utter a single Russian word. He presented himself as a tourist who had come to Odessa, and handed me a letter of recommenda­tion from the British Consul in that city. Notwithstanding his reservations and his guarded manner of speech, it soon became apparent that he had a burning desire thoroughly to acquaint himself with the conditions of the Jews in Kishinev. He also wanted to know, especially, the results of the preliminary in­vestigations into the late disorders. I directed the Englishman to our District Attorney, and gave him the addresses of some Kishinev Jews. I also promised to notify the Chief of Police that no obstacles be put in the way of the stranger should he desire to visit the Jewish quarters for information. But the Englishman seemed particularly delighted with my suggestion that he accompany me at once to the prison which I had to visit that day. At first he was surprised that the rioters were put into prison (about three hundred of them were there) ; also, he couldn't apparently believe that a formal investigation of the April affair was to be instituted. These doubts were removed on the following day by the District Attorney, and finally he was delighted with the thought of seeing the rioters in prison, of talking to them, and even of having an opportunity to visit a Russian prison. We drove over to the prison and began to make the rounds of the cells. I addressed a large group of prisoners, and told them how famous they had become through their heroic deeds; that the Englishmen had sent over their official to behold them! My companion began to question the prisoners through me. He asked them a number of questions about the causes which called forth the pogrom: what led them to massacre the Jews; what harm the Jews had done to them, etc. The Englishman seemed astonished at the replies of the prisoners, which I interpreted for him. In the first place, they manifested such good-nature and joviality, exchanged playful jokes, and admitted naively that they had sinned a little, but of murder—"God forbid!"--they were innocent of that! They assured him that the Jews are a nice people; that they lived with them in peace; that everything may happen; that sometimes a Greek Orthodox Russian is worse than a Jew. They added, however, that the Jews were much affronted by the pogrom, and are now vexing them by false evidence, attributing to many of them crimes which they had not committed. I went to the window to talk with the warden of the prison. When I finished my con­versation with him I was astonished. My companion, closely approaching the prisoners, examined them animatedly in Rus­sian, shook his head, and almost choked himself in his eagerness to satisfy his curiosity. I went still farther away, giving the Englishman a chance to talk freely with the prisoners. He over-took me as I reached the second ward. Two days later the Englishman came to take leave of me; he was delighted with the prisoners, with the District Attorney, with myself, with the Jews, and, in general, with everything he had seen. He told me that in England they have a wrong idea about matters in Bessarabia; that he had convinced himself of the correct administration of justice in Russia; of the loyalty of the officials ; of the impartiality and high standard of the pro-curator's office; that the civil order in the city appeared to be model; and that all the rumors of the destruction of the town, and of the stagnation and decay into which commerce had fallen, were false. He spoke of many other things which I do not now recall. Two months later I received from the British Consul in Odessa a pamphlet—a report of the condition of the city of Kishinev after the pogrom—presented by the British Foreign Secretary to both Houses of Parliament by his Majesty's order. The report ended with the assurance that all is well in Kishinev. This case serves as a good example for the need of independencein the Governor—that he should avoid, as much as possible, com­munication with the St. Petersburg authorities. Imagine what a farce the investigation of the English diplomat would have become if it had been regulated by instructions from St. Peters-burg. It may be stated with certainty that such a report of the condition at Kishinev, which was of great value to the Russian Government, would undoubtedly never have appeared. A real surprise came to me from America. Before Christmas, 1903, rumors of imminent disorders increased, as usual. During the holidays an elderly, portly gentleman came to me, styling himself a correspondent of a New York paper. He said that he was sent to watch the Christmas pogrom, and after five days of sojourn in Kishinev he was beginning to realize that his com­ing to Kishinev was evidently useless. On assuring him that he would not have a chance to see any disorders, I noticed in his face a certain disappointment. After a short meditation he asked me whether I authorized him to state in his paper that he left Kishinev only after my categorical assurances of the futility of his further stay here. I gave him the requested authorization, and the correspondent departed. Christmas, indeed, passed without disturbances, and only a certain apprehension led me to hold myself ready during the first three days, that I might not be unprepared in the event of disorders. Besides, it was a cold Christmas; all kinds of prom­enades, dances, and gatherings of the suburban inhabitants of Kishinev were therefore limited. The following Easter, however, in the spring of 1904, public sentiment had changed materially. Symptoms appeared, show­ing that the bacilli of fear on one side and of hatred on the other were still alive in the city, and were capable of multipli­cation. With the first swallows of spring, and the awakening of the half - forgotten fears and the latent hatred, there appeared in Kishinev two individuals—Pronin and Krushevan—who played a very significant role in the pogrom movement of 1903 and 1905. Both had somewhat quieted down after the Kishinev massacres of 1903. Krushevan had removed to St. Petersburg, where he started a kind of patriotic paper, Bessarabetz, in charge of a trustworthy man. Pronin, who remained in Kishinev. was much agitated in expectation of being changed from a witness into a defendant at the investigations preliminary to the trial of the rioters. Pronin was a few times very near indictment, a position that, indeed, restrained his activity, and induced him from time to time to come to me to develop his ideas of a peace­ful struggle with the Jews. Since the beginning of the Japanese War, however, in February, 1904, both patriots raised their heads again. Krushevan had found a new theme for his paper about the aid given the Japanese by the Jews, and Pronin began to interpret his theme into the popular language of the masses. The police again began to report nightly sessions in the back room of one of the market - place taverns. Again the public bazaars and tea-houses were flooded with leaflets enlightening the people as to the treachery and the heavy sins of the Jews. The Jews also became agitated in anticipation of danger. Let some one else tell in his memoirs about Krushevan. I do not care to express an opinion of a man whom I have never seen, and of whom I have heard so many diverse views that his moral physiognomy is not clear to my mind. Moreover, I was informed that he nourished an irreconcilable animosity towards me. This went so far that he ascribed to me all kinds of im­possible misdemeanors, and endeavored to explain my philo-Semitism by imputing to me the most ignoble motives. I shall, therefore, permit myself to pass over this original Moldavian celebrity. I may say of him, however, that his literary pro­ductions and newspaper articles which came under my observa­tion manifest some talent and the love of their author for his native province. Pronin I could understand more clearly, since he represented the well-known type of a Great Russian con-tractor with a tight-fisted hand, who had arisen from a common burgher to a merchant; who had enriched himself with all sorts of government contracts, and had oppressed his workmen, with whom he was constantly engaged in lawsuits about money mat­ters. A shrewd emigrant from Orel, Pronin quickly made a fort­une at Kishinev, thanks to the ignorance of the Moldavians and the easy-going ways of the Bessarabians. He acquired land, a house, and considerable capital. The Jews, however, limited the growth of his wealth by competing in the city contracts, and reducing prices to such an extent that there was no more room for the Great Russian to expand. Pronin reduced his business transactions, and began to occupy himself with public affairs. He became director of the Kishinev prison committee, a repre­sentative of some Persian interests in Kishinev, and began to wear a frock- coat with Persian medal attached. He even at-tempted to write poetry, imitating Koltzov, and forced the un-fortunate Bessarabetz to publish it, for the paper was heavily in­debted to him, and feared that Pronin would present his notes for collection. Moreover, I was interested in another aspect of this many-sided gentleman. Willy-nilly, I was forced to look into the dark corners of Pronin's character, where lurked the instincts of a demagogue of the lowest stamp. Pronin often liked to play the role of a protector and leader of the poor working-man, and did not hesitate to spend money to gain influence in labor circles. Posing in the double role of a protector of the Greek Orthodox people from the Jews and of a true Russian patriot, the shield of autocracy, Pronin had some connections in St. Petersburg and with the local gendarmerie. Finding in me a man who was prejudiced against his past career, and annoyed at my ignoring his attempts to ingratiate himself with me, Pronin repeatedly hinted at his close relations with the Minister of the Interior, relating to me his conversations with Plehve, how the Minister received him in private, and how he had long talks with him. Among other things, Pronin told that at the conclusion of one such talk he had said to the Minister, "Your Excellency, there are only two true Russians in Russia devoted to the Czar and the fatherland—you and I." After which the Minister—supposedly —smiled, and heartily shook his hand. During Lent, I began to receive information that Pronin was zealously trying to agitate the working-people of Kishinev, mak­ing use of Krushevan's articles, distributing them, and announc­ing that he had subscribed to suitable newspapers—with the aim of starting an anti-Jewish propaganda—and while visiting the prisons he endeavored to interview the imprisoned rioters, instructing them how to defend themselves in court. I succeed­ed in removing Pronin from among the directors of the prison committee, after which he fortunately ceased to annoy me with his visits. Soon afterwards the news spread through the city that the Jews were trying to get Christian blood for ritual purposes. The first case which excited such rumors occurred in the coal-yard of a Jew, to whom a Christian boy was sent for coal. The Jew took a knife in his hand, and the frightened boy ran away. Talk began immediately about the unsuccessful attempt at ritual murder. Pronin drove to the Police Department, and arranged that the boy's parents report to the police. But the matter came to nothing, because Christian witnesses present at the coal-yard declared that the knife was taken for the pur­pose of cutting the unopened bag of coal. The presence of dis­interested parties must evidently exclude the probability of an attempt at murder. But not long after a three-year-old girl disappeared in the outskirts of the town. A few hours later the police found a mob in front of the house of the girl's parents. Already loud voices were heard accusing the Jews of kidnapping the child. Outcries and threats began to be heard. The excitement grew, and the child's mother persistently demanded a search and a reckoning with the kidnappers. Fortunately, just then some relatives, on whom she had been calling, appeared with the little girl. The strange side of the above incident lies in this: that the girl's mother apparently did not rejoice in her return. She had so positively accused the Jews of the kidnapping of her child that she felt something akin to disappointment at her re-appearance. Roughly snatching the girl by the arms, she forced her into the house, and in every way showed anger more than joy. The last case that roused much town talk happened just before Easter—I think on the Wednesday of Passion week. A young Christian girl who lived as the servant of a Jew—a drug-store clerk—was brought to the hospital suffering from severe burns about her body. The patient soon died without having regained consciousness. The betrothed of the deceased began to threaten the pharmacist, accusing him of being the cause of her death. Pronin immediately interposed, and began his investigations, going from the family of the deceased to her betrothed, and from the hospital to the police bureau. In the evening, at the club, he told the tale: how a depraved Jew, having poured kerosene over a virtuous Christian girl, burned her because she resisted his attentions. This time the threats of the girl's betrothed, the outcries of the parents, and the agitation of Pronin excited the populace to the highest pitch. The burned girl became the heroine of the city. The police re-ported that they were unable to restrain the indignant Christian Orthodox masses. Riots were expected at once. I had to make use of my rights as Governor, in time of disturbances, so far as to send Pronin out of Kishinev, by administrative order, until the holidays were over. The effect of this expulsion was excellent. I think that the paragraph regulating city affairs in time of disturbances was never applied in Russia with greater success. Neither Pronin nor the Chief of Police would believe that my decision was an earnest one, but I myself wrote out the order of expulsion, and handed it to the Chief of Police for immediate execution. Pronin took to his bed, called a physician, complained, threatened, but nevertheless departed from the city after I had given the order to transfer him to the detention-house at the police station. A careful inquiry into the case was conducted and made public, with all details. It appeared that the druggist had spent the whole day outside of his residence, engaged in filling prescrip­tions at the pharmacy, while his domestic, in preparing the samovar, poured some kerosene over the glowing charcoal. The oil exploded, and the girl naturally was burned. There was no little excitement about this matter, and altogether I had small peace during the Easter days of 1904. Our repulses in the war, associated with rumors of aid given the enemy by the Jews, were the chief causes of the growing excitement. Whenever I was called upon by circumstances really to come to the aid of the Jews for their own safety, signs of dissatisfaction and resentment appeared in the city. The vague feeling that took hold of the police, the military, the masses, and even the educated classes, might be formulated as follows: "Note how the Governor troubles himself only about the Jews"; or, "Order is of course a good thing, but the Jews should not receive too much power." I had to consider this sentiment, because the special role of a "protector of the Jews" is in many ways in-convenient for a governor. Besides, it was unwise to antagonize the forces on whom I could count in maintaining order in the city, or to provoke angry feelings against that part of the population which was always exposed to attacks. In a word, it became necessary to avoid making it seem to the people that not alone the Governor,