Naczelnicy powiatów w Królestwie Polskim w opiniach funkcjonariuszy żandarmerii od 1867 r. do lat osiemdziesiątych XIX w.

Abstract

Heads of counties in the Kingdom of Poland in the opinion of police officers from 1867 till the 1880s The article is devoted to the activity of individuals serving as heads of counties (poviats) in the Kingdom of Poland between 1867 and the late 1870s. It features assessments of the work of all officials holding the position in 1873 and some from 1874 carried out by officers of the Warsaw Police District on the basis of overt and undercover observations in those years. The assessment reports deal not only with the officials’ professional activities, but also their family life and political attitudes, and point to various factors and phenomena contributing to the shortcomings in their work. In addition, the reports feature a lot of information provided by police officers and concerning unlawful decisions and actions of the county heads. They also mention the scale of the phenomenon and the response of the central and provincial authorities of the Kingdom to various abuses of the heads of this administrative structure. Also featured in the article is information from employees working in the police department about irregularities in the implementation of the Russian policy in the Kingdom of Poland by several of them in their professional activities, as well as about cases of inappropriate cooperation between them and their associates, especially those responsible for police and military matters. In addition, the author of the article demonstrates — from the point of view of the police — the reasons why the heads of counties did not cooperate well with the police, and presents their demands and proposals for improving the work of the county heads. The last two topics addressed in the article concern the response of the authorities of the Kingdom to various lapses and irregularities in the work of county heads and the measures taken by the Warsaw governors to improve the county heads’ professional activities, strengthen their position within the administrative system and increase their remuneration and concessions.