“Patent of the Livonian general-government (‘Generalgouvernements’) on behalf of Her Imperial Majesty, Catharina Alexiewna [Present-day Latvia, Estonia, Russia; Russian Empire]: “It has been ordered via various patents that no one in the land is to harbor/care for a Jews or to use/hire them in any capacity. However, one has noticed with displeasure that some owners (‘Possessores’), keep/hire Jews for all sorts of business, especially, that of brewing brandy [which goes against the existing supreme order and brings ruin to the land, and especially, the brewers]. That is why it is ordered again in all seriousness, that all those who keep Jews […] are to get rid of them within 4 weeks and that no one is to ever take [on] a Jew in the future or to hire them for any work, trade, or service. Transgressors will be fined with 100 golden Gulden for their first offense without exception, and [repeat] transgressors […] are to be brought in [for questioning] by the acting authorities/officers. […]”
Buchholz, Anton: Geschichte der Juden in Riga bis zur Begründung der Rigischen Hebräergemeinde im J. 1842. Herausgegeben von der Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Altertumskunde der Ostseeprovinzen Russlands. (History of the Jews in Riga until the foundation of the Hebrew community of Riga in the year 1842. Published by the Society for History and Antiquity of the Baltic-See provinces of Russia.); (Riga; 1899); Researched and Translated by Ziba Shadjaani 4/29/2020