Roumania Past and Present :: APPENDIX IV. The Peasant Proprietary of Roumania .

APPENDIX IV. The Peasant Proprietary of Roumania .

The precise terms and circumstances under which the peasant proprietary was formed in Roumania, as communicated to us by Prince Jon Ghika, are as follows:—

Before the 'Convention of Balta Liman' between Russia and Turkey, there were three classes of peasantry:

By the Convention above named each class was to receive the following land, to be paid for in certain cases by twenty-two days' labour, 1/10th of the harvest and 1/5th of the hay.

Class 1.—(11 pogones, or 5-1/2 hectares), or about 14 acres,
namely:

3 pogones = about 3-8/10 acres arable.
3 " = " 3-8/10 " hay.
5 " = " 6-4/10 " pasturage.

Class 2.—7-8/10 pogones, or about 10 acres, viz.:
3-8/10 acres arable.
3-8/10 " pasturage.
2-8/10 " hay; and

Class 3.—4-1/2 pogones, or about 5-1/2 acres, viz.:
3-8/10 acres arable.
1-2/10 " hay.
6/10 " pasturage.

In 1864 these holdings, varying, therefore, from 5 to 14 acres, were converted into freeholds at about 2l. per acre, repayable (as stated in the text) in fifteen years, with 10 per cent. interest.

Mr. White, our Minister at Bucarest, has favoured us with the following information on the same subject:—

The peasant heads of families who were endowed with land (in 1864) received freeholds:

In Wallachia 279,684, averaging 9.1 English acres.
" Moldavia 127,214 " 12.08 " "
406,898 holdings, average 10.6 "

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