Johann Cornies Papers: The Privilegium

Blogging has been sparse the past few weeks (apologies!), but reading has continued. As mentioned in the two-part series on well drilling in Molotschna (here and here), the papers of Johann Cornies, the leading member of the Molotschna Mennonite community throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, offer a contemporary perspective of life in that colony.

Although Cornies does not mention any Bullers in volume 1 of the collected papers (which covers 1812–1835), several passages do enable us to understand more accurately the situation of our ancestor Benjamin Buller, father of David.

The first is a letter to Cornies from Andrei M. Fadeev, who was chairman of the Ekaterinoslav Bureau of the Guardianship Committee. The Guardianship Committee (or Guardians’ Committee) was the

agency established by the Russian government in 1818 to succeed other agencies that had been established to supervise the foreign settlements in Russia. It was to supervise the activity of the Russian diplomatic representatives in recruiting colonists in foreign countries, to keep a file of lands available for settlement, and to see to it that the foreigners upon their arrival were properly received and aided until they had been settled. This Bureau had the status of a separate ministry and was responsible to the empress, who appointed its chairman. (Krahn 1959)

Stated simply, Fadeev was the primary Russian official with responsibility for and authority over the Molotschna colony. Fadeev and Cornies enjoyed a close and positive relationship. In fact, John R. Staples writes in the introduction to the Cornies volume that “Fadeev became Cornies’ friend and mentor, helping Cornies to enlarge his economic vision and to navigate the channels of officialdom” (Cornies 2015, xxxvii).

All this is the context in which Fadeev wrote to Cornies in mid-1831 (received 13 July) with regard to a “directive to establish societies for the advancement and dissemination of forest- and orchard-tree cultivation, and of sericulture and viticulture, in the Molochnaia and Khortitsa Mennonite Districts.” The letter begins as follows:

The Mennonite settlements in New Russia attract more government attention than do all other foreign settlements. Morality and a clear conscience should motivate these Mennonites to prove that they are the best inhabitants of this region and carry on the largest number of trades.

The privileges the government has bestowed on the Mennonites justify it in expecting that the Mennonites meet its demands. These advantages give the Mennonites the most favoured position among all Russian inhabitants of the peasant estate, particularly their insignificant taxes, their right to include the proceeds from the beverage trade in the community treasury, their larger land allotments compared to those of other foreign settlers, and finally, the very important exemption from all military impositions, billeting, and temporary military marches through most Mennonite villages, depending on their geographic location.

Mennonite settlers already distinguish themselves from others with their special dedication to several branches of agriculture new to this area, such as breeding and refining cattle, horses, and sheep. Their villages are well arranged and are kept in good condition, as are most of the agricultural establishments in these villages. They pursue a quiet, peaceful way of life and their behaviour is highly regarded. This has earned them the praise of the government and of all visitors to the region.

The Mennonites, however, can accomplish still more by making special efforts to achieve the highest possible level of perfection. This would justify the government's expectations in the fullest measure, and demonstrate that their significant advantages over other settlers have not been given to them in vain.

Mennonite communities in general, and every individual in particular, must henceforth give preferential and continuous attention to the development of orchard- and forest-tree culture. (Cornies 2015, 227–28, text 224)

The letter continues, laying out what Fadeev would like Cornies to do (organize three agricultural societies, for the cultivation of forest and fruit tress, of sericulture [silkworms], and of viticulture), but that is not what interests us at the moment. Rather, our attention is on Fadeev’s delineation of Mennonite rights, what is known as the Mennonite Privilegium.

We have referenced the Privilegium from time to time (use the search function at the upper right to find them all), so we need not repeat those discussions here. We should highlight, however, the four key elements that Fadeev mentions:

• insignificant taxes
• right to include the proceeds from the beverage trade in the community treasury
• larger land allotments compared to those of other foreign settlers
• exemption from all military impositions, billeting, and temporary military marches through most Mennonite villages, depending on their geographic location

These are the rights that Catherine the Great first promised in 1787 and that Tsar Paul I ratified in 1800 and that all Molotschna (and Chortitza) Mennonites enjoyed as a direct grant from Russia’s royal rulers. However, not all Mennonites in Russia were entitled to those rights, as yet another of Cornies’s papers makes clear. That letter will be the subject of the following post.

Works Cited

Cornies, Johann. 2015. Transformation on the Southern Ukrainian Steppe: Letters and Papers of Johann Cornies. Volume 1: 1812–1835. Translated by Ingrid I. Epp. Edited by Harvey L. Dyck, Ingrid I. Epp, and John R. Staples. Tsarist and Soviet Mennonite Studies. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Krahn, Cornelius. 1959. Fürsorge-Komitee (Guardians’ Committee). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Available here.