Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1871.djvu/394

 358 RUSSIA.

sovereign of Russia, with his consort and children, must 'be a mem- ber of the orthodox Greek Church. The princes and princesses of the imperial house, according; to a decree of Alexander I., must obtain the consent of the emperor to any marriage they may contract. ; otherAvise the issue of such union cannot inherit the throne. By an ancient law of Russia, the heir-apparent is held to be of age at the end of the sixteenth year, and the other members of the reigning family with the completed eighteenth year.

The administration of the empire is entrusted to four great boards, or councils, possessing separate functions, but centring in the ' Private Cabinet of the Emperor.' The first of these boards is the Council of the Empire, established in its present form by Alexander I., in the year 1810. It consists of a president, and an unlimited number of members appointed by the emperor. On Julv 1, 1869, the council consisted of forty -two members, exclusive of the minis- ters, who have a seat ex officio, and of the princes of the Imperial House, who can claim the right to be present at the deliberations. The Council is divided into three departments, namely, of Legisla- tion, of Civil Administration, and of Finance. Each department has its own President, and a separate sphere of duties; but there are collective meetings of the three sections. The chief function of the Council of the Empire is that of superintending the action of the general administration, of watching over the due execution of the laws of the realm, and of proposing alterations and modifications of the same whenever necessary. The Council stands in direct communication with the ' Private Cabinet of the Emperor.'

The second of the great colleges, or boards of government, is the Directing Senate or ' Prawitelstwujuschtschi Senat,' established by Peter I., in the year 1711. The functions of the senate are partly of a deliberative and partly of an executive character. It is the high court of justice for the empire, controlling all the inferior tribunals, The senate is divided into eight committees or sections, of which rive sit at Petersburg and three at Moscow. Each committee is authorised to decide in the last resort upon certain descriptions of cases, brought either immediately before it, or by appeal from the inferior courts. In a few cases, however, parties dissatisfied with its decisions may petition the emperor. The senators are mostly per- sons of high rank, or who fill high stations ; but a lawyer of eminence presides over each department, who represents the emperor, and with- out whose signature its decisions would have no force. In the plenum^ or general meeting of the sections, the minister of justice takes the chair, as high procurator for his majesty. Besides its superinten- dence over the court of law, the senate examines into the state of the public revenue and expenditure, and has power to appoint to a great variety of offices, and to make remonstrances to the emperor.