the members of His Majesty's diplomatic and consular services, whose personal assistance and advice have been the greatest help to me, and whose most valuable reports to the Foreign Office, constantly cited in this book, seem to attract far less attention than they merit and infinitely less than they would receive in any country but our own. Notice may be drawn to the unusual number of maps by which the information conveyed in the text is illustrated and emphasised. In this connection my thanks are due to Messrs. Skrine and Ross, the authors, and Messrs. Methuen, the publishers, of "The Heart of Asia," for permission to reproduce from that volume the map showing the advance of Russia in Central Asia. The systematic use that has been made of information contained in the daily and weekly papers to supplement standard works is an innovation, but one which subsequent writers can hardly fail to adopt, if the very high standard now reached by the foreign correspondence of the principal English journals is maintained. As the book is intended for the general reader, and not merely for Russian scholars, no strict rule has been followed in the rendering of Russian names of persons and places, but wherever a translation has obtained general acceptance it has been adopted. It would be of no advantage, from the point of view of the general reader, to style the well-known statesman, M. de Witte, as "M. de Veette," or the less known M. Sipiagin as "M. Sipiagheen." As far as is possible in dealing with such a vast mass of materials, the Introduction and the body of the work have been brought up to December 1st, 1903. G. D. January 1st, 1904. P.S.-While the last of these pages have been passing through the press hostilities have broken out between Russia and Japan. As this war not only marks an epoch, but may influence the destinies of the larger portion of mankind, the most important of recent State documents issued up to its commencement have been added in the Appendix. These documents will on the one hand provide the general reader, in the case of the Manchurian question, for instance, with a most valuable object-lesson in Russian policy and its methods; and on the other hand, if the book should fall into the hands of merchants men of business, or of public men and public servants at home or abroad, it will give in a convenient form papers not easily accessible anywhere away from London, and will, it is hoped, in any case save the necessity of reference to a great number of somewhat unwieldy blue-books, whose contents are known only to a small band of experts. and 1. SLAVOPHILES AND PANSLAVISTS: (a) History; (b) Ideals; (c) The 3. FORMS OF LAND TENURE: (a) Distribution of Land; (b) Communal Ownership; (c) Period of Serfdom; (d) Emancipation Act, 1861; (e) Land Redemption Payments; (f) Present Forms of Tenure 4. METHODS OF CULTIVATION AND CHIEF CROPS: (a) Methods of Culti- vation; (b) Rotation of Crops; Agricultural Implements; (c) Cereals; (d) Flax, Hemp, and other Oil Plants; (e) Beetroot, etc.; 6. CHARACTERISTICS AND DEFECTS OF PEASANT CULTIVATION: (a) Peasant Characteristics; (b) Effects of Taxation; (c) Arrears of Taxes; (d) Communal Ownership and Defective Cultivation PAGE 7. MODERN DEVELOPMENT AND TENDENCIES: (a) Rise of Social Distinc- tions among Agriculturists; (b) Decay of Communal Ownership; (c) The Cossacks of Little Russia; (d) German Colonists; (e) Jews. 118 8. AGRARIAN LEGISLATION: (a) Legislation before 1889; (b) Legislation 1. HISTORICAL SKETCH: (a) Origin of Industrial Development; (6) Pro- prietary Factories; (c) Nobles' Factories; (d) Capitalist Factories 2. PRESENT INDUSTRIAL POSITION : (a) Modern Development; (b) Obstacles 3. COTTON TRADE AND OTHER TEXTILES. 4. MINES AND METAL TRADES: (a) Coal; (b) Naphtha; (c) Iron; (d) Other Minerals; (e) Mechanical Engineering and other Metal 7. "KUSTARI," OR COTTAGE INDUSTRIES: (a) Peasant Industries; (b) Jews 8. CONDITIONS OF INDUSTRIAL POPULATION: (a) Existence of an Indus- trial Class; (b) History of Labour Legislation; (c) Wages and 1. INTERNAL COMMERCE : (a) Fairs; (b) Development of Railway 3. HISTORY OF EXTERNAL COMMERCE : (a) Before 1891; (b) Since 1891; (c) Trade with Germany; (d) Trade with United Kingdom 4. SUGAR TRADE: (a) Russian Regulations; (b) Brussels Conferences of CHAPTER V.-FINANCE 1. RECENT HISTORY OF FINANCE: (a) Currency; (b) Banks; (c) Bank of Russia; (d) National Debt . 2. POLAND: (a) History and Government; (b) Land Tenure; (c) Agri- culture; (d) Industry; (e) Trade with the East; (ƒ) Political Condition; (g) Report of Prince Imeretinsky. 3. FINLAND: (a) Geography; (b) People; (c) Government; (d) Religion and Education; (e) Agriculture; (f) Forestry; (g) Industries; 2. INHABITANTS: (a) Aborigines, Mixture of Races; Proportion of Russians; Special Characteristics of Siberians; (b) Exile System: its History and Influence on Siberia; Failure as a means of Colonisation; (c) Emigration Statistics; Capacity of Russians for Colonisation; Reasons for Inadequate Success of the Movement . 392 3. AGRICULTURE: (a) Land Tenure and Systems of Cultivation; (b) Area 4. INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE : (a) Hunting and Fishing; (b) Mining; 5. POSSIBILITIES OF SIBERIA: (a) Administrative Reforms needed: Edu- |