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Monastic charters； among other documents； very frequently mention
the election of these officers； who are sometimes called；
especially in the South…Western communes； 〃bourgmistr〃 a name
evidently derived from the German burgermeister； and showing； to
a certain extent； the influence exercised by German municipal law
on the local organisation of Lithuania and Little Russia。
It is the village elder； the starosta； who represents the
commune in its relations with the district and provincial
authorities。 It is he who collects the taxes； exercises some
supervision over the way in which the commune keeps in repair the
roads and pubic buildings； sees that the law concerning
obligatory fire insurance is obeyed； and carries into effect the
various administrative enactments which the police authorities
and the local assemblies of the zemstvo are very liberal in
creating。 But the most important functions of the commune； that
of apportioning personal taxation and making periodical
assessments of common land； are performed by the popular assembly
or mir。 Two…thirds of the whole number of voters are empowered to
decide whether the proper time has come or not for a new general
allotment。 The same majority is also required whenever the
division of the common land into private property has to be
decided on。
Neither the assembly nor the village elder has any judicial
authority； but the village elder exercises； to a certain extent；
the functions of a public notary； for he gives legal validity to
private documents and deeds by affixing to them the village seal。
A regular tribunal； a kind of court leet； is formed by the
elective judges of the volost。 This institution is an innovation
introduced by the emancipation law； at least so far as it
assigns； not to the village； but to the larger territorial
district； the volost； the sole right of giving judicial decisions
in civil suits and in misdemeanours among persons belonging to
the peasant class。 The peculiar feature of this tribunal is； that
it is not bound to follow the prescriptions of law； but those of
custom。
Russia； so far as I know； is the only European country； in
which a sort of 〃personalitas legum〃 is still acknowledged； the
peasants submitting to one complex code of legal rules； and the
higher classes to another。 What is no less characteristic is the
fact that the customary law of the Russian peasant is alone the
genuine Russian law the law that is found in our ancient codes
（such as the Pravda of Jaroslav； in the judicial charters of
Novgorod and Pscov； in the statute of Lithuania； and in the codes
of Ivan the Third and of Ivan the Terrible）； whist the volumes X
and XV （so…called） of the general collection of laws （so the
civil and criminal codes are designated in Russia） are a compound
partly of Russian； partly of French； partly of canon； Byzantine
or even so…called natural law。
The only way to get rid of this dualism in matters of
legislation would be to codify the customary law of Russia；
introducing into it the changes required by the social
development that has been already achieved by the higher classes。
But such does not seem to be the opinion of the bureaucrats； to
whom has been intrusted the difficult task of preparing the text
of a new civil and criminal code。 The books and pamphlets
published by these modern Solons express an opposite view and
would seem to justify the supposition that the double law will be
scrupulously preserved； probably with the object of perpetuating
the misunderstanding which already exists between the lower and
higher classes of Russian society。
The volost has no assembly of its own； but it has its chief
in the person of an elected elder 〃starschina；〃 to whom the
village elders are subject in all matters concerning the
collection of taxes and the carrying into effect of laws and
by…laws。
The little I have here said about the organisation of the
village community will answer the end I have in view of placing
clearly before you the economic arrangements made by the village
in reference to the common lands。 The relation in which the
village stands to them is not that of proprietor。 They belong
according to law to the State alone。 In those villages which are
occupied by the so…called 〃State…peasants；〃 that is the heirs of
the serfs lately belonging to the 〃public domains；〃 no means have
been adopted to allow of the peasant becoming even in future the
proprietor of the soil。 Such； however； is not the case in those
communes； which have been established on lands lately belonging
to the nobility。 As soon as the peasants on each estate have paid
back the money advanced by the State to facilitate the
acquisition of the land which the proprietor was forced to give
up to them； they become the legal proprietors of the soil they
now occupy。 This payment may be made by the whole commune or by
the separate households which belong to it。 Five millions of
roubles had been already devoted to this purpose up to the year
1881； later statistics are still wanting。 Each time that the
payment is made by a separate household； common property is of
course superseded by private property and this enactment is
rightly considered by Russian publicists as prejudicial to the
further maintenance of agrarian communism。 *
The commune exercises its proprietary rights in different
ways。 It keeps the waste…land and forests undivided； and makes
periodical allotments of arable and meadow land。 it was most
prejudicial to the welfare of the peasants that the obligatory
expropriation of 1861 did not extend to a part at least of the
waste…land of the manor； held previously to that date in common
by the manorial lord and his serfs。 We must acknowledge that in
this respect the government of the old French monarchy； that of
Louis XIII and of Louis XIV； showed a far greater knowledge of
the economic wants of the agricultural classes。 The so…called
〃triages〃 secured to the peasants the right of exclusive
enjoyment to at least a third of the manorial wastes and woods。
Nothing which corresponds to those triages has been established
in Russia。 The result of this can be seen in the need which the
peasant is under of diminishing year by year the number of his
cattle； a condition of things which has already re…acted on the
state of agriculture。 In those cases where the village has had no
access to the waste land； it has been obliged to carve out of its
arable ground a special field to serve as a common pasture。 But
this can only be done where the allotments made out of the
manorial land are of large extent。 In the greater number of
villages they have not amounted to more than three dessiatines a
head； and the commoners have been forced to content themselves
either with sending their cattle on to the 〃Lammas〃 lands； that
is； the arable land after harvest； or with renting some pasture
ground from a neighbouring squire。
As for the forests； allotments out of。 them were rarely made；
at least in our Southern provinces where woods are scarce； and
the peasant is quite dependent for his fuel on the squire； who
takes advantage of this fact； and secures the regular performa