Here opinions were evenly divided.

Twenty members advocated the necessity of "bestowing" the right of residence not only on graduates of universities but also of _gymnazia_, advancing the argument that even in the case of a Jewish _gymnazist_ [1] "it is in all likelihood to be presumed that the gross superstitions and prejudices which hinder the association of the Jews with the original population of the Empire will be, if not entirely eradicated, at least considerably weakened, and a further sojourn among Christians will contribute toward the ultimate extermination of these sinister prejudices which stand in the way of every moral improvement." [Footnote 1: _i.e._, the pupil of a _gymnazium_.] Such was the opinion of the "liberal" half of the Council of State.

The conservative half argued differently.

Only those Jews deserve the right of residence who have received "an education such as may serve as a pledge of their having renounced the errors of fanaticism.

"The wise measures adopted" as a precaution against the influx of Jews into the interior governments" would lose their efficacy, "were permission to settle all over Russia to be granted suddenly to all Jews who have for a short term attended a _gymnazium_ in the Western and South-western region, for no other purpose, to be sure, than that of pursuing on a larger scale their illicit trades and other harmful occupations." Hence only Jews with a "reliable education," i.e., the graduates of higher educational institutions, who have obtained a learned degree, should be permitted to pass the boundary of the Pale.
Alexander II.