THE MENNONITE BROTHERHOOD IN RUSSIA (1789 - 1910), P. M. Friesen, 1911

y his expired visa, with the petition to forward him a new passport to St. Petersburg through his relatives, and the deputization and letter to the proper persons. In these letters Claassen asked the brethren, after they had viewed the prospective purchase in the Crimea, to send him their final decision and conditions regarding the purchase of the same, as well as sending in an authorization for closing the contract and representing their case to the authorities. As earlier, so now the Area Administrative Office denied not only the issuance of visas for Claassen and the brethren who had been delegated to view the tract in the Crimea, but also refused even the certification of the deputization, and in order to delay the matter as long as possible, transferred responsibility for the decision in the matter to the Supervisory Commission. y) “Because section 166, of the Colonial Law, Vol. VII, allows colonists to purchase inherited and owned land for the improvement and expansion of their operations, and because according to section 424 and 425 of the same Colonial Law Claassen and his associates in no way belong to the category of those whom the issuance of visas may be denied, and since the Area Administrative Office wilfully denies these persons their colonial rights, and, contrary to section 120, attempts to coerce their consciences, Claassen complained about these circumstances in a petition of June 9, 1861, to the Lord Minister of Crown Lands, asking His Excellency to command the Area Administrative Office to issue him, Claassen, and those brethren planning to travel to the Crimea, the desired visas, as well as properly certifying the deputization for closing the contract. The ministry promptly issued the corresponding order to the Supervisory Commission, at the same time demanding an explanation regarding Claassen’s complaint. z) “In hopes of an answer from the Supervisory Commission along with a visa and deputization, as well as the hoped-for decision of the minister following therefrom, Claassen, in compliance with the expressed wish of the brethren, remained in St. Petersburg, where on orders of the ministry, he was supplied with the necessary residence permits through the office of Crown Lands. Although the ministry repeatedly pressed for the fulfillment of this command by the Supervisory Commission, the matter has not yet made any progress and the commission has now failed to reply to all orders for nearly a year. In the Molotschna colonies, meanwhile, both the ecclesiastical dissension and the persecutions of the young church have continued, as heretofore; the attempted land purchase has been postponed, and Claassen and the brethren suffer ever greater ruin. Documentary Supplements 353 a) “VI. The order of the Area Administrative Office to Claassen in St. Petersburg, dated July 4, 1861. “On July 18, 1861, Claassen received the following order from the Molotschna Mennonite Area Adminis