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a nage
. , ~ TRUTH IS POWERFUL,
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VOL.. Il
ee Crew icy lt es
2 ng Tm erecenmmmamrgannses A Ts oe
ae
NEW-YORK, SATURDAY, JULY 8, 1826.
. AND WILL PREVAIL.
NO. 27...
CORN. TRADE OF NORTHERN EUROPE.
The Second Part of Mr. Jacob’s Report relates to Poland.—
tis more full and curious in its details than the first; and, in-
> dependently of its reference to the corn trade, forms a most in-
stractive and interesting geographical memoir. It does not,
properly speaking, contradict the statement of Mr, Coxe, and
other intelligent travellers, but it supplies a great. variety of
new information; and shows that our common books of geogra-
“ phy give us the most fallacious ideas of the fertility of that
country, which has so long been considered as the granary of
northern Europe. Three circumstances seem to account for
the small surplus produce of Poland. 1. The exhaustion of the
soil, by a long course of cropping under a system which affords
no mannre to restore its productive powers, 2. The rudeness
of Polish agriculture in all its parts, with the languid and inef-
ficient mode ot working where the farmers are noblemen, and the
labourers serfs; and hence the small proportion which the net
bears to the gross produce.’ 3, The want of internal markets to
~ give a stimulus to production, and the want of canals and good
roads to facilitate communication with the ports. Poland, ta-
ken in its original extent, is nearly three times as large as the
British Isles ; and the English grower who looks at its magni-
tade, and considers it one vast arable farm, covered with crops
lke those of Norfolk, may tremble at the idea of opening the
2 Ports toits produce, but he forgets that two-thirds of the country
are covered with forests, Sands, or bogs; that the good soils lie
00 or 400 miles from the sea; that of the whole country it is
a narrow tract along the banks of the Vistula, the Niemen, and
‘the Dwina, which can send a single quarter to the Baltic ; that
there are extensive districts within 50 or 100 miles of the coast;
which from their being deprived of the means of water-carriage,
are as completely shut out from foreign markets, as the remo-
test lands at the foot of the Carpathian mountains; that under
the sloventy system of Polish farming, nine-tents of the grain is
‘consumed on the spot where it is raised; and the inhabitants
of Dantzic, and other ports from which our supplies must be
drawn, actually pay on an average nearly as high a price for
their corn, as the good people of England themselves paid only
three years ago. |
Mr. Jacob, we take for granted, has not any practical know-
Jedge of agriculture; and we have little doubt, that those who
have the advantage of him ia this particular, will be able to
find faws in his statements; but his leading facts, his tables of
. €xports and prices, his account of the various charges which
enhance the value of grain in the ports of the Baltic, by which
aiainly the expediency of a change ia the corn laws of England
bist be judged—are unassailable.
Instead of attempting an abstract of this section, we shal}
give Mr, Jacob’s statements in his own words, leaving out what
has no relation to agriculture, and abridging a little where
abridgment is possible. ‘
_ The far greater part of that division of ancient Poland which
38 now comprehended in the viceregal kingdom of that name,
4s a level country, with scarcely an ascent or descent, excep’
Where the courses of the rivers have formed channels below
the general level of the country, “As these rivers, though in
Summer they appear small streams, are swollen by. the rains
°f autumn, and the melting of the snow ‘on the Carpathain
Mountains, in the spring, they form large channels, extend-
‘ng on both sides to a great distance; and their deposit, in
Many parts, enrich the Jand, and it presents, in the summer,
the aspect of verdant and lusuriant meadows. - In other parts
the Periodical swellings of the streams have formed morasses,
Which in, their present state, are not appicable to any agricul-
tural purposes,
owing scarcely any trees even around
the villages: ‘The portion of woodland on these plains, is very
“tensive; bat they are in large masses, with great intervals
of arable land between them, ‘ : . ' wid
he soil is mostly sandy, with occasional mixture of sand
mM: it is very thin, resting chiefly on a bed of granite, thro’
Which the heavy. raing gradually percolate. Such a soil iseasily
ploughed; sometimes two horses or two oxen, and not unfre-
‘ently to cows perform this and the other operations of hus-
binidry. This. representation of the kingdom ‘of Poland is
irlctly applicable to six of the eight waiwodeships or provin-
es into which it is now divided.” '
» the south of the river Pitica, (200 miles from the sea)
; “hich comprehends the two Provinces of Sandomir and Cra-
cow, the appearance of the land and the face of the country
improve; and in proceeding south to the banks of the Vistula,
there is to be seen a more undulating district and a more tena-
cious and fruitful soil. _ Much of the land is a clayey loam, re
quiring three or four horses to plough it, yielding, when tole
rably managed, crops of excellent wheat and oats; and where
the husbandry is so good as to have adopted the practice of
sowing clover between the two corn crops, the produce is very
abundant., The southern point of this district, forming now an
independent Republic, called from the name of its capital, Cra-
cow, is very fertile, “It extends along the Vistula about twenty
miles, and contains in 500 square miles or 320,000 acres, about
100,000 inhabitants..
Some of the estatesfin Poland belonging to the nobility of the
highest rank, are of enormous extent ; but owing to the system
of dividing the land among all the children, unless a special
detail secures a majorat to the eldest son, which is in some
few instances the case, much of it is possessed in allotments
which we should deem large; but which, on account of their
low value, and when compared with a few others, are not so.
Of these secondary classes of estates, and 5,000 or 6000 acres
would be deemed sinall, and 30,000 or 40,000 acres large.
‘There are besides these, numerous small properties, some of
a few acres, which by frequent subdivisions have descended to
younger branches of noble families. The present owners are
commonly poor, but too proud to follow any profession but that
ofa soldier, and prefer to labour in the fields with their own
hands rather, than to engage in trade of any kind, As titles
descended to every son, and are continued through all the suc-
cessors, the nobility have naturally become very numerous?
but since the Emperor of Russia has gained the dominion’ over
‘oland, the use of titles has been restricted. No one can as-
sume that of baron, unless his clear income from his estates,
exceed 1000 gulden, or 251.; none that of count, whose rents
are less than 3,000 gulden, or 751.3 aud none that of prince,
who has less than 5000 gulden, or 1251. !!
* The whole pf the lands are made alienable, and may now be
purchased by persons of any rank, and are actually held by
some who are burghers or peasants ; the Jews alone are pro-
hibited from becoming proprietors of the soil, though they have
very numerous mortgages upon it. When they foreclose, the
lands must consequently be sold; and as these Jews, the mo-
neyed capitalists, cannot become purchasers, the prices they
yield are very trifling .
‘The most numerous class of cultivators are peasants; they
have a limited property in the lands which they occupy, and
the cottages in which they live, under the condition of working
a stipulated number of days, in each ‘week on their lord's de-
mesne, and paying specified quantities of produce, such as
poultry, eggs, yarn, and other things, in conformity with an-
cient usage. The extent of these holdings vary, according to
the quantity of the land, and the quantity of duty work, or of
payments in kind which are to be fulfilled. Ona Jarge property
which I examined, the peasants had about 48 acres of land each,
for which they were bound.to work for two days in every
week with two oxen. If their labour was farther required they
were paid three pence per day for other two days; and if be-
yond that number, six-pence per day, On another property f
found the peasants had about 36 acres. For which they work-
ed two days in each week, with two oxen; when called upon
for extra labour, they are paid six-pence a day for themselves
and oxen for the next two days, or ifthey work without their
oxen, three-pence, 5 _? aan
If their labour is demanded the remaining two days in the
week, the sum to be paid is made the subject of a special agree-
ment; on one estate the peasants had but 24 acres, and did but
one day’s work themselves, with one horse; the rest of their
labour was paid for in money, by agreement made at the time
it was required. Another proprietor, on land somewhat ex-
hausted, granted to each of his peasants, more than 50 acres
and, for which they worked with two horses three days in
the week. It would be easy to give instances of more various
rates of duty work, and of the quantity of land which is appro-
priated for its performance, ° Some: are of luxurious and ludi-
corous kind. - I was told that the inhabitants of two whole yil-
lagesy near a princely domain, held their lands on condition of
employing a certain number of days in each week, in cleaning
the walks, and-keeping in order, the pleasure grounds
which surround the vast castle of their benevolent and hospi-
ble lord, : fea
In general, this peasantry is in a condition of great distress,
and involved in debt to their Jord. They are no longer slaves,
or abstricti glebe. . By the constitution promulgated in 1791,
they were declared free, and that part of the constitution suffer-
ed no alteration undér the dominion of the Russians and Prus-
sians; was confirmed when the king of Saxony became Sove-
i when the Emperor of
2
g
reign; and was again assured in 1915,
Russia was enthroned as king of Poland. , .
The practical effects of the privileges thus granted, have hi-
therto been very inconsiderable. Peasants can leave their
land, but must first acquit the pecuniary demands of their lords.
Few are able to do this, as most of them are in arrears, The
lords must supply them with their oxen, in case one dies; their
plough and other implements must be furnished to them by him}
and in years of scarcity they become involved in debt, for the
requisite subsistence of themselves and their cattle. This, toge-
ther with iocal attachments, and the habit of respect for their
feudal superior, has in general prevented the peasants from
wandering away from the houses of their fathers, and from the
protection of their chief, It thus rarely happens that peasants
quit the estates on which they have been born; and the instan-
ces that do occur, are chiefly to be attributed to the embarrass «
ed circumstances into which their lord may fall. A declining
property produces’ a necessitous peasantry, and such
sometimes be induced to try their fortune under another pro-
prietor, ‘ .
A gentleman with whom I formed an acquaintance, had been.
compelled to take an estate which was morigaged to him. He
found no peasants on it ; the land was neglected, and the build-
ings dilapidated. “As no tenant would take it at any rent, he
was under the necessity of farming it, To induce peasants to
come to him he granted them a larger portion of land than was
customary on that quality of soil, built them houses, supplied
them with oxen and implements, sowed the corn of the, first
year, and fed them until it was fit to be converted into food.—
By these means, though he was enabled to get his labour per-
formed, yet he assured me it was by persons of the least skill, »
industry, and sobriety. a .
fhe want of peasantry is a general subject of complaint, es~
pecially among those (who are the far greater number) whose
estates are loaded with mortgages or. other incumbrances ;—
such sometimes loose them, -but cannot command the means of
Toes
inducidg new ones to settle on the lands, QP
though no longer slaves, the condition of the peasants is but eap
little practically improved by the change that has been made in. oh
their condition. en a transfer ismade, either by testament mS
or conveyance, the persons of the peasantry are not indeed ex- us
pressly conveyed, but their services are, and in many instances { 4a
are the most valuable part of the property. rae
The people live iu wooden huts, covered with thatch or shine ‘ee
gles, consisting of one room with a stove, around which the in-
habitants and their cattle crowd together, and where the most
disgusting kinds of filthiness ‘are to be seen. Their common
OE
food is cabbage, potatoes sometimes, but not generally, pease, “ft ¢
black bread, aud soup, or rather gruel, without the addition of se,
butter or meat.» Their chief drink is water, or the cheap whig- / 4. *
key of the country, which is the only luxury of the’ peasants ; 2SFP
and is drunk, whenever they can obtain it,’ in enormous quan- h
ities. They use much salt with their vegetable food, and in gots
‘
spite of the heavy tax on that commodity,
with the want of it at their meals. “I was informed, and saw
whiskey, ina state of intoxication that commonly endured till
the exhaustion of the pnrse had restored them to sobriety. In
heir houses they have little that merits the name of furniture ;
and their clothing is coarse, ragged, and filthy, even to dis.
gu: .
er eo pee
sent
gust.
. Very little attention has been paid to their education, and
they are generally ignorant, superstitious, and fanatical.-
s may be naturally inferred, from the system under which . ‘,
labour is applied to the land, that labour is performed in the Pty |
most negligent and slovenly manner possible, ‘The common ‘
course of cropping is the old system of a whole year’s fallow, pay
followed by winter corn, and that by summer corn, and then a :
fallow again. Thus one-third of the land bears nothing. The
a
Tne a
es
nof occupy more than one-third part of the arable land, In
the southern part of the kingdom, the wheat bear a larger pro-
portion to the rye, amounting on the more tenacious soils, to a
fith, and even in some cases to a fourth part of the rye.
The statements I could collect, and my owa observations,
led me to conclude the stock of cattle to be very small, in pro»
portion to the extent of land, and to the number of inhabitants, .
The cattle of all kinds bear a very small proportion tothe
extent of land, In the province of Plock it was as follows ;—
Horses and colts, - = ~~. 1 to 106 acres,
Oxen, cows, and calves, «= lto 24° ,,
Sheep and lambs, + =
. Swine,
Aes.
lto a.
a =o . lto 52 .. 8
Yet sheep succeed well, but the land-owners want en:
to change their system, and capital to stock their lands.
Except in the two southern provinces of Sandomer and Cra: /
cow, (300 miles of direct distance from the sea, and fully 400 |
miles from Dantzic by the Vistula,) the soil is s0 thin, that it
will ‘not bear a medium crop of wheat more than once in
nine years. Lo ae af
Texamined a farm in the province of Lu .
of which is in easy circumstances, and possesses several othe 1!
estates. The extent of this farm is about 5500 acres. The liv
stock consisted of 60 milch cows, which are let to dal
about 19s. per year each; Ee
horses, and between five and six hundred sheep. The Ploug-
ing is performed by two oxen, for which and for his own
bour, two days in cach week, the peasant has a house fair
terprise
mercer th ort 4m EEN
blin, the proprieto
ssn emma A