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.— >32 — • ; - - q!
Russian, but only a small minority of the citizens speak ail
the three languages. The names of the streets were therefore inscribed
in all three languages, but now they are only written in Lettish or
Estonian, as if none but Letts or Ests were living in the country! In the
towns, Goldingen and Mitau, it is even intended to have the private
inscriptions on entrance doors put up in Lettish only, converted into
that language by the addition of Lettish syllables. In country districts,
Lettish State employees make a point of only speaking the Lettish
language,, which is entirely unintelligible to many citizens of
non-Lettish, origin.
The right of ownership has been violated in many ways, for
instance by depriving certain „personnes morales*’, such as the town
guilds and the Corporation of Noblemen, of their legal rights, and
confiscating all real and personal estate belonging to them, and all property
under their private guardianship. The full significance of abolishing
the Corporation of Noblemen in Latvia and Eesti, appears from the
following trenchant fact, that on the first of March 1920, Latvia
promulgated a preparatory law, according to which property belonging to
„per-sonnes morales4’ which had been pronounced non est, should, failing
a legally constituted heir or successor, fall to the State. Thereupon, by
the law of June 29th, 1920, the Corporation of Noblemen of Latvia was
abolished for the express purpose of enabling the State to appropriate
their property, although the Corporation no longer held any public
office or function, and was merely a private society presiding solely
over the private interests vof its members like any other friendly society.
In Finland, where the political circumstances resemble those of Eesti
and Latvia, the continued existence of their Corporation of Nobles,
with all its private rights, was confirmed by the Ordinance of 1918,
notwithstanding the fact that the country is a Republic. Likewise, in
England and other countries, the Guilds and ancient Corporations which
no longer exercise any political rights, continue to exist as before,
possessing houses, churches and collections of art treasures. The
industrial guilds and Corporations of Noblemen in Latvia and Eesti were
suppressed on the pretext that their property must be „placed under
the administration of the government, since the present political
structure of Latvia and Eesti does not admit of the existence of industrial
guilds and Corporations of Noblemen". But, surely, as already
mentioned there is no question of any public or political rights being
exercised by these Associations, composed of free citizens who should have
the right of congregating, of forming friendly societies and of possessing
property. It is quite legitimate for any government to deprive any
association from exercising such public rights as are considered opposed
to the advanced republican aspirations of the country, but it is
certainly unlawful to lay hands on property which does not belong to the
State, and to prohibit the continued existence of „personnes morales’4,
who, by law enjoy the right of possessing property. It is alleged that
these „guilds" and „Corporationsk’ should not be allowed to exist even
as private institutions, because they are not composed of Letts and
Ests, and politically may become of an anti-Lettish or anti-Estonian
orientation. Apart from the fact that this is an insinuation without
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