Such a protection of the interests of the
peasant landowner is essential in his relation to the capitalist,
whether it be a member of the landed gentry or a wealthy peasant,
known as a _Kulak_, or a Jew who lends money at interest, or an
Armenian or, for that matter, a usurer of the Orthodox faith. In order
that the land be retained by the peasant it is far more essential that
only members of the peasant class be allowed to attend the auction
sales of land sold because of the owner's arrears. And yet our law has
permitted outsiders to attend if not the first auction sale, at least
the second. I am strongly in favour of protecting the peasant's
property, but I cannot see that to achieve this goal, it is necessary
for a body politic based on law to limit any one's freedom of moving
about, settling or choosing a profession. This view is shared by some
of the political writers in Russia who, like the late B.N. Chicherin,
Professor of the University of Moscow, have identified their names
with the defence of the idea of equal rights for the Jews.
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