These informations could not alter our resolution once taken. We observed in these documents only a renunciation of his imperial highness during the life of the emperor, and confirmed by the consent of his imperial majesty; but we had neither the wish, nor the right, to consider this abdication which when it took place was not proclaimed publicly, and had not received the power of a law as irrevocable. We would manifest by this our veneration of the first fundamental law of our country, and of the unalterable order of succession, and faithful to the oath we had taken, we insisted that the whole empire should follow our example. Under these momentous circumstances it was not our intention to dispute the validity of the resolution pronounced by his imperial highness, much less was it our intention to bring ourselves in opposition to the will of the deceased emperor, our common father and benefactor, which will always remain sacred to us. We endeavoured solely to protect the law regulating the succession to the throne from every infringement, to show the purity of our sentiments, and not to leave our beloved country one single moment in uncertainty respecting its legitimate sovereign. This resolution, taken with a pure conscience, and before God the Almighty, was blessed and approved by her majesty the empress Maria, our much-beloved mother. Meanwhile, the mournful account of the decease of his majesty had reached Warsaw, direct from Taganrog, on the 25th of November, and consequently two days prior to its being received here. VOL. LXVII. Firm in his resolution, the Cesarowitsch grand duke Constantine confirmed the same on the following day, by two acts, dated 26th November, and commissioned to our beloved brother, the grand duke Michael, to carry them to us. These acts consisted in 1. A letter to her majesty the empress, our much-beloved mother, in which his imperial highness renews his former resolution, supports it by the copy of a rescript of the deceased emperor, dated the 2nd of February, 1822, and serving as an answer to the act of abdication, and finally renounces solemnly all his claims to the throne, and recognized the same as transferred to us and our successors, according to the appointments contained in the fundamental law of the succession. 2. A letter directed to us, wherein his imperial highness anew declares his former resolution, gives us the title of imperial majesty, and reserves for himself, only, the former one of Cesarowitsch, and calls himself the most faithful of our subjects. However decisive these acts were, and although they proved to ocular demonstration that the resolution of his imperial highness was irrevocably fixed, yet our own sentiments and the situation of affairs induced us to defer the publication of the aforesaid acts, until the will of his imperial highness with reference to the oath taken by us and the whole empire should be declared. Whereas we have now also received on the part of his imperial highness this last declaration of his will, we communicate the same to our subjects, accompanying it by the following documents: 1. The letter of his imperial G* highness the cesarowitsch grand duke Constantine to the deceased emperor Alexander. 2. The answer of his imperial majesty. 3. The manifesto of the deceased emperor, which confirms the abdication of his imperial highness, and recognizes us as successor to the throne. 4. The letter of his imperial highness to her majesty the empress, our much-beloved mother. 5. The letter of his imperial highness directed to us. In conformity with all these documents, and with the fundamental law of the empire regarding the order of succession-full of veneration for the impenetrable decrees of a guiding Providencewe now ascend the throne of our ancestors, the throne of the empire of all the Russias, as well as the thrones inseparable therefrom that of the kingdom of Poland, and the grand duchy of Finland; and command, 1. That the oath of allegiance be rendered to us and to the heir of our throne, the grand duke Alexander, imperial highness, our much-beloved son. 2. That the period of our ascension to the throne be calculated from the 19th Nov. 1825. Finally, we call upon all our faithful subjects to join us in fervent prayers to the Almighty, that he will grant us strength to bear the burthen he has in his divine Providence laid upon us, that he may preserve in us the firm resolution to live solely for our beloved country, and to tread in the footsteps of the monarch whom we now deplore. May our reign be nothing but a continuation of his, and may we fulfil all the wishes for Russia's happiness which animated him, whose sacred memory shall preserve in us the endeavour and the hope to merit the blessing of Heaven and the love of our people. Done in our imperial residence, St. Petersburgh, the 12th December, in the year of salvation, 1825, and first of our reign. (Signed) NICHOLAS. First Supplement. Letter of his Imperial Highness the Cesarowitsch Grand Duke Constantine to the Emperor Alexander the First. Most Illustrious, &c.-Encouraged by the manifold proofs of affection of your Imperial Majesty towards me, I venture once more to claim them, and to lay the following submissive request at your illustrious feet. As I do not lay claim to the spirit, the abilities, or the strength, which would be required, if I should ever exercise the high dignity to which I may possess a right by birth, I most fervently supplicate your Imperial Majesty to transfer that right to him who would inherit it after me, and by that act to secure the stability of the empire. With respect to myself, I shall add by this abdication a new warranty and a further power to that obligation into which I entered voluntarily and solemnly on the occasion of the divorce from my first wife. All the circumstances of my present situation induce me still more to adopt this measure, which will prove to the empire and the whole world the purity of my sentiments. May your Imperial Majesty receive my wish with condescension; may you determine our illustrious mother to accede to it, and to sanctionit by your imperial approbation. In the circle of a private life I shall constantly endeavour to set an example to all your faithful subjects, and to all who are animated by a love for our dear country. With profound respect, Sire, Your Imperial Majesty's most loyal subject and brother, (Signed) CONSTANTINE CESAROWITSCH. Petersburgh, Jan. 14, 1822. Second Supplement. Answer of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Alexander. Very Dear Brother;-I have read your letter with all the attention which it demanded. I have found nothing in it which caused surprise, as I always knew how to estimate the sublime sentiments of your heart. It has given me a new proof of your sincere attachment to the state, and your care for the preservation of undisturbed tranquillity. I have, in conformity with your wish, laid your letter before our beloved mother. She read it with the same sentiments as I did, and gratefully acknowledges the noble motives by which you were guided. you From the reasons which state, we have both of us only to leave you full liberty to follow your firm resolution, and to pray the Almighty to grant the most benign consequences to such pure sentiments. Third Supplement. Manifesto of the Emperor Alexander. We, by the grace of God, Alexander the first, Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias, &c. &c. Make known to our faithful subjects that, from the moment we ascended the throne of Russia, we have invariably felt that it was our duty towards Almighty God, not only to maintain during our reign the happiness of our dear country and of our people, but also to prepare and secure a clear and exact appointment of our successor, according to the laws of our imperial house, and rights of the empire. We were not able to appoint him immediately, according to the example of our predecessors, under the expectation in which we were, whether it might not please Providence to grant us an heir to the throne in a direct line. But the more we increase in the years, more we think it necessary to hasten in placing our throne in such a state that it cannot remain vacant for a moment. Whilst we were impressed with this anxiety, our dearly beloved brother the Cesarowitsch and grand duke Constantine, in following his own inclination, addressed to us the request of transferring his right to the dignity of the throne, to which he might hereafter be who may be entitled to it in default raised by his birth, to such person of him. He at the same time declared, by this means, his consent to the supplementary act respectI remain, for ever, your very ing the succession to the throne, affectionate brother. (Signed) ALEXANDER. (A true copy,) (Signed) CONSTANTINE. St. Petersburgh, Feb. 2, 1822. which was granted by us in the year 1820, and acknowledged by him voluntarily and solemnly, and gives new force to it as far as the same concerns him. We are deeply affected by this sacrifice, which our dearly beloved brother has resolved to make with such great self-denial for the confirmation of the hereditary statutes of our imperial house, and the unshaken tranquillity of the Russian empire. After having invoked the assistance of God, and having duly and maturely considered an object as dear to our heart as it is important to the state, and finding that the statutes which related to the order of succession to the throne do not deprive those who have a right to it of the power of relinquishing the same, if no difficulty exists with respect to the line of succession, we have, therefore, with the previous consent of our illustrious mother, as well as the high power of the head of the imperial family, which came to us by inheritance, and mindful of the power granted to us by God, commanded as follows: In the first place, the voluntary act by which our elder brother the Cesarowitsch and grand duke Constantine renounced his rights to the Russian throne, shall remain firm and irrevocable. In order to secure the publicity of the said act of renunciation, it shall be deposited in the grand cathedral church of Ascension at Moscow, and with our three highest authorities, the holy synod, these nate, and the directing senate. Secondly, With respect to the arrangement, and in conformity with the exact tenor of the act of succession to the throne, we acknowledge, as our successor, our second brother, the grand duke Nicholas. In this manner we reserve to ourselves the pleasing hope, that on the day when it shall please the King of kings, according to the universal law of all mortals, to call us from our temporal government to eternity, the chief state officers of the empire (to whom our present and irrevocable will, as also our present legal appointment, shall, by our order, be communicated in due time) will use all diligence in swearing the oath of allegiance to the hereditary emperor whom we have just now appointed to the throne of the Russian empire, as well as to the inseparable throne of the kingdom of Poland and the grand duchy of Finland. With respect to ourselves, we request all our faithful subjects will, with the same sentiments of love and affection which caused us to consider the care for their constant happiness as our greatest blessing upon earth, direct their fervent prayers to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, that, in his infinite mercy, he may receive our souls into his everlasting kingdom. Done at Tzarsko-selo, the 16th of August, in the year of our Lord 1823, and 23rd year of our reign. (Signed) ALEXANDER. Fourth Supplement. Letter from his Imperial Highness the Cesarowitsch Grand Duke Constantine, to her Majesty the Empress Mother. Most Gracious Princess, Dearest Mother;-With the greatest anguish of heart, I received last evening, at seven o'clock, from baron Von Dietisch, chief of the general staff of his Imperial Majesty, and from the adjutant-general, prince Volkonsky, the accompanying original intelligence, and act of the decease of our adored ruler, my benefactor, the emperor Alexander. Whilst I With the same candour I make participate with your Imperial Majesty in the grief which overwhelms us, I pray to the Creator that he may, in his Almighty mercifulness, keep our strength, and give us power to support the affliction which he has imposed upon us. The situation in which this misfortune places me, makes it my duty to pour into the bosom of your Imperial Majesty my real sentiments candidly and openly upon this important subject. Your Imperial Majesty knows, that, following my own inclination, I requested of the emperor Alexander, of glorious memory, the permission to renounce the right of succession to the throne, and that in consequence thereof, I received an imperial rescript, dated 2nd February, 1822, an attested copy of which is enclosed, whereby the emperor communicated his gracious consent to the request, with the observation that your Imperial Majesty had also given your consent, which you have verbally confirmed to me. The commands of the deceased emperor were, moreover, to the effect, that the said gracious rescript should remain in my hands under the seal of secrecy, until the death of his majesty. Accustomed from my infancy conscientiously to fulfil the will of my deceased father, as well as the late emperor, and that of your Imperial Majesty, and still maintaining the limits of this principle, I consider it as my duty to resign my right of succession to the throne to his imperial highness the grand duke Nicholas and his heirs, in conformity to the appointment in the imperial ukase respecting the order of succession in the imperial family. it my duty to declare, that, without extending my wishes any further, I shall deem myself happy that, if after more than thirty years' service devoted to my father and brother, the late emperors, of glorious memory, I may be permitted to dedicate them for the future to his majesty the emperor Nicholas with the same high esteem, with the same fervent zeal, and the same unlimited submission, which have animated me on all occasions, and will do so to the end of my days. Having thus expressed my real and irrevocable opinion, I throw myself at the feet of your Imperial Majesty, whilst I most submissively implore you to deign a gracious reception of the present letter, and graciously to grant that the contents may be made known to all whom it may concern, in order that it may be carried into effect, and that thereby the will of his majesty the emperor, my deceased lord and benefactor, as well as the consent of your Imperial Majesty, may be put in full force and effect. I take the liberty of submitting to you herewith a copy of the letter which I have, at the same time, addressed to his majesty the emperor Nicholas. I remain, with profound regard, And dearest mother, Your Imperial Majesty's most obedient son, (Signed) CONSTANTINE. Warsaw, November 26, 1825. Fifth Supplement. Letter from his Imperial Highness the Cesarowitsch Grand Duke Constantine to his Majesty the Emperor Nicholas. Dearest Brother;-With inde |