Note 5 — Front matter

As already remarked, it would be impossible to describe the various kinds of cruelty exercised by the Russian government. Yet, in order to make the reader acquainted with some of them, I shall here state a few facts.—In our country, the distilling and brewing of spirituous liquors, and the planting of tobacco, as well as the sale of these articles, was a privilege of the landed proprietors. Warsaw, as the capital and the most populous city, was the best market for these productions, and all the noblemen endeavoured to bring their produce to Warsaw for sale. In this manner they supplied themselves with money and enhanced the value of their grain, while their liquors, as well as tobacco, could be sold at very low prices, to the pecuniary benefit of all the laboring classes and the soldiery. These advantages, however, soon became an object of attention to the government agents. One of their number, the Jew, Nowachowiez, who, by the greatest impositions, had acquired an immense fortune, devised a plan for monopolizing the production and sale of every kind of liquor and of tobacco. He obtained the exclusive right of selling them, and all the noblemen were forbidden to dispose of these articles without his permission, for which a duty was to be paid. For this monopoly he paid to the government 2,000,000 of Polish gilders ($333,333 1/3) for which he more than doubly indemnified himself by the enormous taxes levied upon the consumers of these articles. This innovation, so oppressive to the poorer classes, and invented merely to enrich this Jew and his partners, irritated all the land proprietors, and still more the laboring classes, who were suffering by it. For two years in succession petitions were made for the reformation of these abuses, but the government only insisted upon the prohibition with the greater severity. Nowachowiez, indeed, employed a guard, who wore uniforms. All the environs of Warsaw were filled with these guards, and the greatest excesses were committed by them. A poor day-laborer, after having purchased at some distance from the city, some brandy and tobacco, carried these articles at evening to Warsaw. On his way he was stopped by these men. They took all from him, and demanded a heavier fine than the articles were worth. As the poor man was unable to pay the fine, they abused him, and were about to carry him to prison. He succeeded, however, in making his escape, and, as it was in the vicinity of the residence of a nobleman by the name of Biernacki, he sought shelter on his estate. The guards in pursuit entered the mansion of this nobleman. Biernacki heard the tumult of the guard seizing and roughly handling the poor man, and, ascertaining the cause of the disturbance, he censured them for their inhumanity about such a trifle. In order, however, to save the man from farther insults, he retained him, with the intention of sending him the next day with a note to Nowachowiez for his exculpation. The very moment that Biernacki was occupied in writing the letter, an officer of the gens d'armes, with four privates, stepped in. Biernacki inquired the cause of this visit, and was told in answer, that he was arrested for having protected a defrauder. Thus, surrounded by four soldiers, this man was publicly carried through Warsaw to the prison of the Carmelites. Not satisfied with this, Nowachowiez succeeded in obtaining from the Grand Duke, who hated Biernacki as a patriotic Pole, a squadron of Russian Hulans, consisting of 200 horse, to quarter for a whole week on his estate, in execution, as it is termed. The Russian soldiers took possession of all the buildings on the estate. In the apartments which they used for barracks, they broke all the furniture, lustres, pianos, &c., and carried in their straw for sleeping. In the court-yard they made a fire, for which they used the pieces of furniture for fuel. They took the wheat from the barns to feed their horses, and butchered the cattle. In short, the most shameful depredations and excesses were committed by officers and soldiers, regardless of the situation of the lady of this nobleman, who was confined in childbed, and who for a whole year was in danger of her life from the consequences of her terror. This barbarous order of the Grand Duke ruined the fortune of that unhappy man, and the amount of his property destroyed may be estimated at least at from 70,000 to 80,000 gilders. Biernacki was imprisoned for a whole year, after which he was dismissed to weep over the sufferings of his wife, and his ruined fortune. The poor offender was punished with 800 blows of the knout, of which he died in a few days.

The second story perhaps surpasses the former in cruelty, and would suit the times of Nero. General Rozniecki, and the vice president of the City of Warsaw, Lubowiecki, had their agents, who travelled through the country in order to superintend the services of the secret police. Among them was a Jew, named Birnbaum, whose crimes surpass conception. He travelled through the whole country, and every where found pretexts for accusations against the noblemen, who had to pay him fines to secure themselves from prison. He took up vast sums, that were never accounted for to his superiors. They were divided with Rozniecki, Lubowiecki, Macrot, and Schlee, with some Russian generals, and the servants of the Grand Duke, Kochanowski and Trize, all of whom, like this Jew, made immense fortunes, some of them to the amount of hundreds of thousands. When, in order to encourage the manufactures of the country, the importation of all broadcloths, cotton and linen goods were forbidden, Birnbaum, in secret understanding with his superiors, found out the way of drawing to himself the greatest advantages from this decree. He persuaded two other Jews, by the promise of a part of the gain, and of his protection, to smuggle these articles and to sell them among the gentry of the country. A place on the frontiers was selected for a depot of these contraband wares, which the country noblemen purchased in ignorance of their unlawful importation, and induced by their low prices. On a sudden, Birnbaum visited these districts, examined the warehouses of the noblemen, found the contraband goods, and forced them to the alternative of either paying him a large sum of money or going to prison. Many, for the sake of peace, paid the fines imposed; others, who refused, were imprisoned. By such means, this Jew, as was found afterwards by the records and documents of the police, brought to prison more than a hundred persons, who were treated in the most barbarous manner. They had no food given them but herrings without water, and many of these unfortunate persons died in consequence. At last Birnbaum fell out with his accomplices, on occasion of the division of profits. He had them, likewise, thrown into prison to perish there. Their families, however, accused him at their Kahal,[6] or Council of the Jews, and by means of money contrived to have him arrested. He was poisoned in his prison, as many persons of consequence were found to be implicated in his impositions.