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Show What tie Zeoistvo Is mi What it Does It Is Local Administration, Which Supplements Action of B.ural Communes, (From tho work of D. McKonzIo Wallace, Wal-lace, an English mombcr of the Russian Geographical socloty.) Tho Russian peasant family Is a sort of prlmltlvo association In which tho members have nearly all things In common. com-mon. The village may be roughly described de-scribed as a primitive association on a larcer scale. Rctwecn theso two social units there nrc many points of analogy. In both there arc common Interests and common responsibilities. Jn both there Is a principal personage, who Is In a certain cer-tain sense rider within, and roprcsenta-tlvo roprcsenta-tlvo as regards the outside world, In iho ono ease called tho head of tho household, and ln tho other the village older. In both the authority Is limited; ln tho ono case by the adult members of the family, and ln tho other by tho heads of households. In both there Is a certain amount o"f common property; ln tho one case tho house and nearly all that It contains, and In the othor the arable la'nd and pasturage. In both cases Ihoro Is a certain amount of common com-mon responsibility; ln the one casp for all tho debts and In tho other for all the taxes and communal obligations. And both are protected against the ordinary ordi-nary consequences of Insolvency, for tho family cannot bo deprived of Its house or necessary agricultural Implements, and the commune cannot bo deprived of Its land by Importunate creditors. Local Government. The Zcmstvo Is a kind of local administration, admin-istration, which supplements tho action of tho rural communes, and takes cognizance cog-nizance of those higher public wants which Individual communes cannot possibly pos-sibly satisfy. Its principal duties are to keep the roads and bridges In proper repair, to provide means of conveyance for the rural nollce and other officials, to elect the Justices of the Peace, to look ufter the primary education and sanltnrv affairs, to watch the state of the crops and take measures against approaching ap-proaching famine, and, In short, to undertake, un-dertake, within certain clearly-defined limits, whatever seems likely to Inoroase tho muterlal and moral well being of the population. In form, the institution Is parliamentary that is to say, it consists con-sists of an assembly of deputies, which meets once a year, at least, and of a permanent executive bureau elected by the assembly from among Its members. If the assombiv bo regarded as a local parliament, the bureau corresponds to the ministry. Once every three yeurs tho deputies are elected ln certain fixed proportions by the landed proprietors, the rural communes and the municipal corporations. Every province and each of the districts Into which the province Is divided has such an assembly and such a buivau. How It Is Composed. The Zcmstvo Is composed partly of nobles and partly of peasants, the latter being decidedly In the majority, and no trace of antagonism 'seems to exist between be-tween the two clusses. Landed proprietors proprie-tors and those who wore once their serfs ovldentlv meet for the occasion on a footing of equality. The discussions are nlwavs carried on by the nobles, but on more than few occalons, neasant members mem-bers rlso to speak and theli remarks, always al-ways clear, practical, and to the point, are Invariably listened to with respectful respect-ful attention by all prosmt. This assemblv meets In September, and ln December the assembly for tho province pro-vince meets. In general character and mode of procedure It resembles closely tho district assembly Just described. Its chief 'leeullarlties are that Its members ure chosen not bv the primary electors, but bv the assemblies (Zemstvos) of the districts composing the province, and that It takes cognizance only of matters that concern more than one district. |