Every employment, whether civil, military, or judicial, shall be conferred in Servia by an ordinance of the Prince, on condition that every officer shall in the first instance commence by the lower ranks, and shall be, progressively and after having been tried, promoted to the superior ranks and employments. Lawyers entrusted with judicial offices shall never be at liberty to change the nature of their employment, and to occupy places other than those in the courts, and devoting themselves exclusively to their improvement in judicial matters. No civil or military officer shall be employed, even temporarily, in the courts. 1 i The Servian Rayahs, tributary to the Sublime Porte, being Christians of the Greek religion, otherwise called the Church of the East, I grant to the Servian nation, full liberty to observe the usual forms of their religion, and to choose from amongst themselves, with thy concurrence and under thy superintendence, their archbishops and bishops, provided that they shall be subject to the spiritual power of the patriarch residing at Constantinople, considered as the head of the religion and of its synod. And as in virtue of the privileges and immunities granted, of old, to the Christians inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire since the conquest, the administration of the affairs of religion and of the church, as long as it does not interfere with political matters, should belong entirely to the heads of the clergy, as likewise the assignment on the part of the nation of the allowances to their metropolitans, bishops, igouménés, and priests, as well as to the religious establishments belonging to the church; the same rule shall be observed with regard to the allowances and prefermente of the metropolitans and bishops in Servia. Places shall be appointed fort the meeting of the special council of metropolitans and bishops for the purpose of regulating religious affairs, the affairs of the metropolitans and bishops, as well as those of the priests, and those relating to the churches of the country. The sipahiliks, the timars, and the ziamets, having been abolished in Servia, this old custom shall never be introduced there for the future. Every Servian, great or small, is liable to the payment of taxes and contributions. The Servians of a certain rank employed in the business and in the offices of the country, shall pay their quota in proportion to the property and lands which they possess; the clergy alone shall be exempted from the payment of taxes. Servia being composed of seventeen districts, and each district comprising several cantons, which, again, are composed of several villages and municipalities, each head of a district shall have an assistant, a clerk, a treasurer, and other officers who may be required. The chiefs of districts shall occupy themselves with the execution of the orders which may reach them from the central Government of the principality relating to all the affairs of internal administration which belong to their functions; they will confine themselves to imposing and levying the contributions according to the registers which they will receive from the Finance Department; and they will not meddle with the disputes to which the levy of the taxes in their districts may give rise, but they will content themselves with referring to the district Court the disputes and law-suits which take place, reserving to themselves only the execution of the sentence of the Court. The chief of a district shall employ his efforts for the preservation of the goods and lands of the villages from all injury, and for the protection of the people from evil-disposed persons, and from vagabonds, and from persons without character. He must inspect the passports of all persons arriving within his district, or departing from thence; he cannot keep a person in prison beyond twenty-four hours; but he will send to the district Court the differences and suits which may arise in his district, and apply to the head of the police of the district, if the differences are matters of police. He must, moreover, watch over the village Courts of Peace, and be careful not to meddle with the affairs of the churches and village schools, nor touch the revenues and lands which depend on other pious establishments. As regards the lands and properties assigned to the churches, boroughs, inhabitants, and establishments of public utility, as well as those belonging to individuals, there shall be delivered to each separately documents establishing the right of property, and these shall, moreover, be registered in the offices of the country. Every Servian, in general, and without exception, shall be exempt from persecution or molestation, covert or open, before he has been cited and tried before the Courts. My Imperial will having settled and established the aforesaid regulations, this Imperial firman has been drawn up expressly in order to communicate them unto thee, and has been sent unto thee decorated with my illustrious Imperial signature. I order thee, therefore, to watch over the security of that Imperial province, as well internally as externally, having entrusted the rule thereof to thee and to thy family only on the express condition of obedience and of submission to the orders proceeding from me, to ensure the prosperity thereof, to employ thy efforts to devise means for securing to all the inhabitants repose and tranquillity, to respect the position, the honour, the rank, and the services of each; and, above all, to take care that the clauses and statutory conditions above expressed are carried into execution wholly and for ever, thus applying all thy zeal to draw down upon my Imperial person the prayers and blessings of all classes of the inhabitants of the country, and in this manner to confirm and justify my sovereign confidence and benevolence towards thee. In like manner, I enjoin all the Servians in general to submit themselves to the orders of the Prince, acting in accordance with the statutes and institutions of the country, and carefully to conform themselves to what is necessary and fitting. I command that this Imperial HattiSheriff be published, in order that the nation may have cognizance thereof; that every one, impressed more and more with gratitude for these concessions and benefits granted by my sovereign munificence to all alike, shall conduct himself under all circumstances in such a manner as to merit my approbation, and that the clauses of the present statute be executed, word for word and for ever, without any infringement thereof at any time. And thou likewise, my Vizier, thou shalt so understand it, and thou shalt join thy efforts to those of the Prince for the exact and strict execution of this present Imperial firman. |