accounting, in order that the Diet could determine if the income had been used in the best interests of the country. The ruler was not entitled to levy a new tax without the approval of the Diet, but if new outlays were required the Estates had the right to freely debate the issue and, if it then approved, to procure the funds required. To this ages-old Finnish right of self-taxation there was one important exception: the ruler's right to control customs, and experience proved that by utilizing this right it was possible to manage the Finnish economy without calling the Finnish Diet together for half a century.

Originally Turku had been the seat of the Finnish government, but for administrative reasons it was now desirable to have it located nearer to St. Petersburg. Helsinki, which was selected as the new capital, had led a quiet and insignificant existence up to this moment, and a destructive fire during the war had even burned most of it to the ground; nevertheless, on 4 April 1812 it was proclaimed the capital of Finland. In 1810, Helsinki's population had been 4,000, but now it began to grow rapidly, and in 1830 the population was already 11,110. One factor adding to this growth was that after the Turku fire in 1827, even the university was moved to Helsinki.

During the period of Swedish domination Finland had lagged behind Sweden, although in matters of taxation and defense it had borne a disproportionately heavy burden. Since no former Swedish ruler had shown the interest in the future of the Finnish people that Alexander I did, many prominent men in Finland argued that the country should free itself from its former proSwedish orientation and learn to understand that Finland was a separate nation whose responsibility was to take care of its own destiny only and faithfully to serve its sovereign. A liking for the Czar had made it easier for the leading circles to accommodate themselves to the new national situation: the status of the country was to be firmly fixed, by every available means, for the eventuality of more troubled times ahead.

Alexander was succeeded by Nicholas I, who, as the Czar's younger brother, had received the standard upbringing of princes. Having served in all the ranks of the army, he was deeply interested in his army. As a sovereign, the feeling of responsibility was developed in him to the extreme, and he was imbued with a deep understanding of the significance of the royal word. Ascending the throne, he gave as his predecessor had given his guarantees as a ruler to Finland, and attempts made to have him go back on his word were all in vain.

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