PROJECTS FOR REFORMING THE PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION 285the governor. He therefore suggested the establishment of a lieutenant
(of the sovereign) or a governor general over several provinces whose
exclusive task it would be to control the actions of the individual
governors under him. 1
What was the situation on the lower rungs of the local administra-
tion? In European Russia the most important institution was the Land
Police (Zemskaia politsiia) which combined judicial with executive
functions on the local level. The head of this institution in each
province was the isprollmik, Land Captain, elected by the local nobility
and confirmed by the local governor. In a preceding chapter we had
occasion to cite Speransky's description and opinion of these Land
Captains. A poorly educated, inexperienced official, the Land Captain
was the meek and obedient executor of the governor's decrees and
wishes. The ispravnik was also overburdened with many variegated
duties. He had to take care of fields as widely diverse as sanitation,
collection of tax arrears, transportation of criminals and government
officials, road repairs, general police of the district. In addition, all
judi.ciary cases - both civil and criminal - had to pass through his
hands first, and he had to implement and execute decisions of the
courts as they affected his district or its inhabitants. As Speransky noted1 "Vvedenie k namestnicheskomu (oblastnomu) uchrezhdeniiu," Materialy ...
komissii 0 preobrazovanii gubernskikh i uezdnykh uchrezhdenii, I (1870), the discus-
sion of the point is on pp. 75-78, the concrete proposals pp. 81-82, 83-84, in
particular paragraphs 1-3, 5-6, 10, 11, 13: "I. Besides the general supervision
entrusted to the Governing Sen'ate, there is established a local main supervision over
the provincial administration (with the name of Regional Administration).
II. To this end the provinces are combined into regions (oblast' or okrug).
III. The main local supervision in each Region is entrusted to a Lieutenant
(Governor General) and a Council.
V. The Regional Administration (Lieutenancy) belongs to the order of state
administration and is, in essence, the Ministry acting on the spot.
VI. The Lieutenant (Governor General), ex officio is member of the Governing
Senate, 1st Department, and of the Committee of Ministers.
X. The power of supervision covers: 1. the flow of business, 2. the procedure of
business.
XI. The power of administration, of decision, is of two kinds: 1. general - it
consists in that all matters requiring authorization from higher authorities are
forwarded through the Regional Administration, 2. particular - which consists in
the following: a) inform the Senate of local difficulties in case new regulations are
being implemented, and in the meantime, stop the application of these regulations,
b) in criminal cases, decide without appeal any divergence of opinion between the
Civilian Governor and the Criminal Court, c) to order guardianships over those
who engage in too wanton a display of luxury or cruelty, d) to take decisive measures
in case of popular disasters, when such measures cannot be delayed, e) to dismiss,
remove, officials according to the rules established for these contingencies, f) assign
to positions and nominate for rewards.
XIII. The power of supervision and correction is entrusted to the Regional
Administration, it also extends to those areas which are not part of the provincial
administration, such as postal service, customs, etc. From this the military admin-
istration is excluded ... "