Polish municipalities, or even, police authorities; only then
will order be established in the Jewish communities, and the Jews will
be transformed into "useful citizens."

The Government spheres of Poland were greatly pleased by these
utterances of the "Old Testament believers" of Warsaw. They had long
contemplated the curtailment of the autonomy of the Kahals, and now "the
very Jews" clamored for it. In consequence, there appeared in 1821 a
series of edicts by the viceroy and various rescripts by the Commission
of Public Instruction and Religious Denominations, resulting in the
demolition of the ancient communal scheme, in which certain forms of
self-government, but by no means its underlying fundamental principles,
had become obsolete.

These measures were sanctioned by an imperial ukase dated December 20,
1821, [1] decreeing the abolition of the Kahals and their substitution by
"Congregational Boards," whose scope of activity was strictly limited to
religious matters, while all civil and fiscal affairs were placed under
the jurisdiction of the local Polish administration. The Congregational
Boards were to consist of the rabbi, his assistant or substitute, and
three trustees or supervisors.

[Footnote 1: Corresponding to January 1, 1822, of the West-European
calendar.]

At first, the majority of Jewish communities in Poland were indignant at
this curtailment of their autonomy, and adopted a hostile attitude
towards the new communal organization. The "supervisors" elected on the
Congregational Boards often refused to serve, and the authorities were
compelled to appoint them. But in the course of time the communities
became reconciled to the new scheme of congregations, or _Gminas,_[1]
whose range of activity was gradually widened. In 1830 the suffrage of
the Polish Jews within the Jewish communities was restricted by a new
law to persons possessed of a certain amount of property. The result was
particularly noticeable in Warsaw where the new state of things helped
to strengthen the influence of the group of the "Old Testament
believers" and enabled them to gain control of the affairs of the
metropolitan community. The leaders of Warsaw Jewry managed soon to
establish intimate relations with the Polish Government, and co-operated
with it in bringing about the "cultural reforms" of the Jews of Poland.

[Footnote 1: _Gmina_ is the Polish word for community, derived from the
German _Gemeinde_.]

In 1825 the Polish