_Of the Trade of_ PETERSBURG, _and the other ports of the_ RUSSIAN EMPIRE.
There were at this time above two hundred foreign vessels traded to the new capital, in the space of a year. This trade has continued increasing, and has frequently brought in five millions (French money) to the crown. This was greatly more than the interest of the money which this establishment had cost. This trade, however, greatly diminished that of Archangel, and was precisely what the founder desired; for the port of Archangel is too dangerous, and at too great distance from other ports: besides that, a trade which is carried on immediately under the eye of an assiduous sovereign, is always the most advantageous. That of Livonia continued still on the same footing. The trade of Russia in general has proved very successful; its ports have received from one thousand to twelve hundred vessels in a year, and Peter discovered the happy expedient of joining utility to glory.
It is well known, that good laws are scarce, and that the due execution of them is still more so. The greater the extent of any state, and the variety of people of which it is composed, the more difficult it is to unite them by the same body of laws. The father of czar Peter formed a digest or code under the title of _Oulogenia_, which was actually printed, but it by no means answered the end intended.
Peter, in the course of his travels, had collected materials for repairing this great structure, which was falling to decay in many of its parts. He gathered many useful hints from the governments of Denmark, Sweden, England, Germany, and France, selecting from each of these different nations what he thought most suitable to his own.
There was a court of boyards or great men, who determined all matters _en dernier ressort_. Rank and birth alone gave a seat in this assembly; but the czar thought that knowledge was likewise requisite, and therefore this court was dissolved.
He then instituted a procurator-general, assisted by four assistors, in each of the governments of the empire. These were to overlook the conduct of the judges, whose decrees were subject to an appeal to the senate which he established. Each of those judges was furnished with a copy of the _Oulogenia_, with additions and necessary alterations, until a complete body of laws could be formed.