sujet de l'âge; on est électeur de quartier à l'âge de 25 ans. Il faudra, par conséquent, éliminer de ces listes ceux qui n'ont pas l'âge de trente ans, requis par le Firman.

make on the subject of age; one becomes an elector for the district at the age of 25. It is necessary, consequently, to eliminate from these lists those who have not reached the age of thirty, as required by the Fir

man.

Certificate.

The peasants residing in the town of . . . ., district of . . ., arrondissement of . . ., today the . . ., of the month of 1857, having consulted together, have elected two delegates of the first degree, namely and . . . . in accordance with Article 4 of the Imperial Firman; in token of which the present certificate has been delivered, certified by the vornic,2 the patchinics 3 and the priest of the town, as well as by the affixing of the town seal.

Moldavie, à l'exécution du Firman; c'est toujours le même système d'intimidation ouverte, de pression violente. C'est pourquoi il n'est pas de la dignité de la commission, émanation elle-même du Congrès de Paris, de se mettre en rapport avec un Divan qui ne sera pas composé de manière à pouvoir passer pour la véritable expression des voeux et des besoins du pays, et qui répondra si mal aux in tentions du Congrès de Paris à cet égard.

"La Sublime-Porte repousse, il est vrai, toute solidarité, sous ce rapport, avec ses agents de Moldavie; mais cette déclaration ne suffit pas à l'exonérer de la responsabilité qui pèsera réellement sur elle, en cette circonstance, tant qu'elle n'aura pas désavoué formellement ces mêmes agents et ne les aura pas obligés de modifier leur conduite."

Firman in Moldavia continues to proceed; there is still the same system of open intimidation, of violent pressure. That is why it does not accord with the dignity of the commission, itself an emanation from the Congress of Paris, to assume relations with a Divan which will not be constituted in such a way as to pass for the true expression of the wishes and needs of the country, and which will so poorly answer to the intentions of the Congress of Paris in this regard.

"The Sublime Porte, it is true, denies all joint responsibility with its agents in Moldavia, in this matter; but this statement is not sufficient to exonerate it from the responsibility which will actually rest upon it, in these circumstances, so long as it shall not have formally disowned these same agents, nor have obliged them to modify their conduct."

Escelenţă.

Strigările şi jeluirile cetățenilor de toate clasele din Galaţi, nu mai puțin și a locuitorilor întregului ținut, pentru amenințările ce li se fac de către samișul ținutului şi întreg comitetul alegerilor pentru divanul ad-hoc, spre a ĭ spăimânta, și cu aşa chip a le înăduși sloboda espresie în dreptățile hărăsite prin înaltul firman pentru convocarea Divanului ad-hoc, găsin

1

Excellency,

The claims and complaints of the citizens of all classes of the city of Galatz, as well as those of the inhabitants of this district, occasioned by the threats made to them by the receiver-general of the district and by the committee of revision for the election for the Divan ad hoc, for the purpose of intimidating them in order to deprive them of or to abolish the

du-le basate pe adevĕruri, iar urmările tuturor funcționarilor, chiemați prin posturile ce ocupă, la lucrările prescise prin pomenitul inalt firman, abătute de la glásuirea legilor.

1° Publicarea listelor schimosite prin adăogiri de persoane și ștergerea acelor trecute în listele trămise de is prăvnicie și primite de la privighetori şi eforie.

2° Schimbarea fără motiv a privighetorilor vrednici si cu caracter cinstit şi inlocuirea lor prin persoane, in toate privirele, nedestoinice și primejdiose intr'un timp așa de gingaş şi critic pentru ţară.

3° Sistemul terorismului ce, de la lipsa iscălitului din oraș, se aplică în deobștie precum, de pildă, călcarea locuinței d-lui stolnic Ghiță Alevra în puterea nopții, de către d. samiș, d. maior Christea, și polițmaistrul oraşului, în temeiul offisului Exc. V., slobozit după spusa numitului maior, pe când iscălitul se afla in orașul Iaşi (însă, tăinuit, precum Exc. V. nu veți putea tăgădui şi cu reson ascuns de mine, căcă așă fi fost stavila unor așa nedreptăți și nici odată unealtă ruşinoasă a ocârmuireĭ).

4° Procedarea nelegiuită a comitetului de alegeri prin respingerea ce

right of free speech granted them by the firman of convocation, founded on right and truth and the acts of all the officials, called on by their office to cooperate in the work, are contrary to law and to the said firman. These acts are:

1. The publication of the lists distorted by the admission of certain individuals, the striking out of those entered on the original lists received from the sub-prefect and the municipal council and sent by the prefecture;

2. The removal without cause of the sub-prefects of worthy and upright character and the substitution, at such a critical moment for the country, of individuals incapable and dangerous, according to all reports.

3. The system of terrorism generally adopted in the district, since the absence of the undersigned from the city. Such, for example, is the case of the violation of the domicile of the stolink Zhitza Alevra, made by night by the receiver general, Major Christé, and the police commissioner of the city. This act, ordered by a decree of Your Excellency and reported by the Major, was accomplished, as Your Excellency can not deny, in a mysterious manner and at a moment when the undersigned was at Jassy. It was concealed from me and with reason, for I should have been an obstacle in the way of such illegal acts and should never have consented to be the shameful instrument of the govern

ment.

4. The illegality of the work of the committee of revision which refuses

face tuturor persoanelor cu drepturi, fără a li se arăta resoanele pentru cari se resping, sau cel puțin a li se da adeverințe de primirea reclamațielor, precum s'a urmat cu răzeșii de Smulți şi mai mulți boeri.

5° Debatațiele comitetului închipuite, iar în adevăr și în faptă, plinirea unor disposiții afară din textul firmanului.

6° Inlăturarea de la comitet a iscălitului şi trimiterea sa cu misii în Basarabia Moldovană, tocmai în timpul unor asemenea delicate împrejurări și când, după glăsuirea înaltului firman, urma neapărat a se afla faţă şi a presida acel comitet.

7° La opt mahalale întregi ridicate drepturile hărăzite prin înaltul firman, când ei sunt trecuți în listele alegerilor eforiei. Asemenea desființarea cu desăvârşire a corporațiilor neguțătorilor din picioare, asemenea a trei delegați breslei de covaci, când starostii lor sunt publicați, ş. c. 1., ş. c. 1.

Toate acestea fiind lovitoare, pe de o parte, în dreptățile pământenilor, iar, pe de alta, în înțelesul înaltului firman basat pe Tratatul de Paris, și după arătarea verbală ce am făcut atât Exc. V. cât si d-lui ministru din lăuntru spre stavilirea lor, socotindu-le provenite numai de la amploiații subalterni;

the demands of those having the right, without giving them reasons and even without at least notifying them of the receipt of their claims. Such is the treatment given to the small proprietors of Smoultzi; and to a crowd of boyards.

5. The committee made a show of debating over its resolutions, but, in sober fact, it has only applied dispositions wholly outside the firman.

6. The withdrawing of the undersigned from the committee and the sending of him on a mission to Moldavian Bessarabia at precisely such a crucial time, and when, according to the firman, he is obliged to be present and to preside over the committee.

7. The deprivation of eight entire districts of the city of their political rights, although they are recognized in the electoral lists of the municipality; further, the absolute omission of the guild of travelling merchants and the erasure of three delegates from the guild of farriers, although their provosts are entered, etc., etc.,

All these acts are on the one hand an infringement on the rights of the citizens, and on the other hand, they violate the text of the firman, based on the treaty of Paris; and, as in spite of the formal reports which I have addressed concerning them with the purpose of preventing them, both to Your Excellency and to the Minister of the Interior,- in the conviction which I was under that these acts were merely the work of subordinates I see that no measures have been taken to this effect, and that as an

I

Leurs Excellences l'ambassadeur d'Angleterre et l'internonce d'Autriche, s'étant rendus au ïali (maison de campagne) de Son Altesse le grand vizir, où se trouvait également le ministre des affaires étrangères, ReschidPacha, saisit cette occasion pour leur exposer ce qui suit:

Les efforts de la Sublime-Porte pour aplanir le différend qui s'est élevé relativement aux élections de Moldavie, étant restés infructueux, et les dépêches télégraphiques parvenues aux ambassadeurs de France et d'Angleterre étant susceptibles d'une interprétation divergente, au sujet de l'entente entre les Gouvernements français et anglais sur l'ajournement à huit jours des élections, ajournement 1 Arch. dip., 1866, pt. 2, p. 64.

I

Their Excellencies the Ambassador of England and the Internuncio of Austria, having repaired to the ïali (country house) of His Highness the Grand Vizier, where was also Reschid-Pacha, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, seized this occasion to make a statement to them as follows:

The efforts of the Sublime Porte to smooth away the difference which has arisen regarding the Moldavian elections having continued to be unsuccessful, and the telegraphic dispatches reaching the Ambassadors of France and of England being susceptible of different interpretations on the subject of the agreement between the French and English Government as to the eight day adjournment of the elec