INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS—POSTS AND TELEGRAPHS 891 The charters granted to railway companies are for the most part terminable after between 75 and 85 years; but some small companies have charters only for 37 years. The Caucasus Railway Company has received the authorisation to build a new line (160 miles) between Vladikavkaz and Petrovsk on the Caspian Sea. The railways in South-western Russia are continually extended by feeding branches and strategic lines. In the North-west an important branch is now ready, in order to connect Riga with Dorpat and Pskov. In Finland, an important main linė, 160 miles, was opened in 1889, to connect the small but commercial town of Kotka with Kuopio; it opens large forest districts to commerce. In order to avoid ruinous tariff wars between various railway companies, a law was promulgated on August 17, 1889, giving to the Administration the right to interfere when necessary. III. POSTS AND TELEGRAPHS. The following are the postal statistics for 1888 :-Number of offices, 5,881; letters transmitted, 179,199,000; post-cards, 20,554,000; registered letters, 11,994,000; letters of value, value 4,074,996 roubles; printed matter and samples of merchandise, 27,379,000. On a length of 103,405 miles the State, maintained in 1887 (including Finland) 4,369 posting stations with 40,443 horses, for postal communication and passengers; 11,058,792 runs were made by the horses for the conveyance of passengers and the posts.. The length of State telegraph lines in Russia on January 1, 1888, was 88,280 English miles, and the length of wire 172,360 English miles. Of the total system, about nineteen-twentieths were the property of the State. There were at the same date 3,796 telegraph offices. The total number of telegrams carried in 1888 was 10,804,587.. The receipts of the telegraph office amounted to 9,209,892 roubles. The actual receipts and expenditure of the posts and telegraphs combined have been as follows for five years : The amount of money coined at the mint in 1889 was 26,094,785 roubles, as against 28,117,129 roubles.in 1888. It included gold, 24,430,030 roubles; silver, 1,494,754 roubles; copper, 170,000 roubles; total, 26,094,085 roubles. The amount of metallic money in circulation is not known. As to paper money, it amounted, on January 1, 1890, to 1,046,295,384 roubles, covered by 210,346,813 roubles in gold and 1,125,682 roubles in silver, leaving thus uncovered 568,559,743 paper roubles. 1. The Bank of Russia acts in a double capacity-of State Bank and of a commercial bank. Its accounts on December 8, 1890, were:— A. Emission of paper currency : Liabilities 2. The Savings Banks, all under the Ministry of Finance, had the following deposits on January 1, 1889:-St. Petersburg, 9,396,171 roubles; Moscow, 7,480,339; other cities, 76,094,150 (thus showing a total increase of 24,219,175 roubles during the year); Polish, 2,266,723. 3. State Banks for mortgage loans to the nobility, on December 1, 1889:Assets 4. Land Bank for the purchase of land by the peasants.-Up to December 1, 1889, the bank had made 7,246 loans to 2,264 village communities, 3,867 associations, and 1,125 individuals, representing a total of 234,057 householders. They bought 4,239,710 acres, valued at 73,033,191 roubles, of which 58,012,956 roubles were lent by the bank, and 15,020,235 roubles paid by the buyers. No full accounts of the operations of the private banks are available. The accounts published by the 29 chief banking companies show an aggregate return of 25,811,100,000 roubles, with an aggregate foundation capital of 94,200,000 roubles. Their dividends vary from 6 to 15 per cent. Money, Weights, and Measures. The money, weights, and measures of Russia, and the British equivalents, are as follows: MONEY. The silver rouble is the legal unit of money in Russia, and must contain as such 17.9961 grammes (86.8 per cent. of its weight) of fine silver. It is equal to 38. 2·054d. (3 francs 99.14 centimes), but in official calculations the pound sterling is taken as equal to 6r. 40c. in gold (rouble = 38. 1·50d.). The golden half-imperial weighs 6·544041 grammes, and contains 5·998704 grammes of fine gold. In actual circulation there is little else but paper money (100, 25, 10, 5, 3, and 1 rouble, of nominal value), the paper rouble being discounted at 214d. to 25 d.—that is, about 10 roubles to the pound sterling-during the years 1877 to 1888. The average yearly values of the paper rouble, on the Exchange, as given by the Ministry of Finance, were as follows:: Its official value, for budget estimates, was taken during the year 1888 at 1r. 80c. paper roubles to the silver rouble, or at 20-80d., but it has been raised again to about 234d. The kopeck is the hundredth part of a rouble. The mark of Finland1 franc. 1 Pood (40 pounds). 63 Poods 1 Ship Last 1 Vedro (8 shtoffs) 1 Tehetvert (8 tehetveriks) = = = = 36 lbs. English. 1 ton. about 2 tons (1.8900). 23 imperial gallons (2-707). = 5.77 imperial bushels, or imperial quarter (0-72186). Diplomatic and Consular Representatives. 1. OF RUSSIA IN GREAT BRITAIN. Ambassador-His Excellency Privy Councillor Georges de Staal, accredited July 1, 1884. Councillor of Embassy.-M. Bouteneff. First Secretary.—M. Kroupensky, Russia has also consular representatives at: Ambassador.-Right Hon. Sir R. B. D. Morier, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., &c. : Secretary of Legation at Frankfort 1865; Chargé d'Affaires 1866; Chargé d'Affaires at Stuttgart 1871; Munich 1872; Envoy and Minister to Portugal 1876-81; Spain 1881-84. Appointed Ambassador to Russia December 1884. Secretary of Embassy.-Henry Howard, C.B. Military Attaché.-Colonel G. H. More-Molyneux. There are also British consular representatives at : The Government of Finland and her relations to the Empire have been referred to on page 847; its area and population given on page $50; and its army on page 868. According to a law of August 14, 1890, the circulation of Russian paper roubles and silver moneyhas been rendered obligatory. The penal code, elaborated by the Senate, which had to be promulgated on January 1, 1891, has been stopped by the Russian Government till further notice. Of its total area, 11·15 per cent. is under lakes. POPULATION-INSTRUCTION-CRIME Population. The gradual increase of the population is seen from the following: 895 Of the total population there were, end of 1888:-Lutherans, 2,261,741; Greek Orthodox and raskolniks, 41,896; Roman Catholics, 2,279. The chief towns, with population, of Finland are:- Helsingfors, 58,417; Åbo, 27,996; Tammerfors, 18,097; Wiborg, 17,494; Uleaborg, 12,183; Björneborg, 9,632; Nikolaistad (Wasa), 8,454; Kuopio, 8,141. The movement of the population in 1884-88 was as follows: Immigration in 1888, 45,163. Emigration, 44,914. In 1888 there were about 1,966,000 Finns, 332,000 Swedes, 4,650 Russians, 1,800 Germans, 1,000 Laps.] Instruction. In 1889 Finland had 1 university, with 1,703 students; 1 polytechnic, 132 students; 16 lyceums (12 State), 3,218 pupils; 16 progymnasiums, 1,402 pupils; 27 real schools, 1,051 pupils; 52 girls' schools, 4,057 pupils; 971 primary schools and Kindergarten, with 62,893 pupils; 4 normal schools, with 563 pupils. There are besides 7 navigation schools, with 113 pupils ; 6 commercial schools, with 162 male and 135 female pupils; 32 Sunday professional schools, with 2,111 pupils; 2 agricultural institutes, 9 agricultural and 14 dairy schools, with 257 male and 148 female pupils; 18 trade schools, with 1,220 pupils. Pauperism and Crime. The number of paupers in 1887 supported by the village communities was 82,838 (3.7 per cent. of the population); and the total cost was 2,505,861 marks. The prison population, at the end of 1887, was 1,495 men and 544 women, while the number of sentences pronounced for crimes in 1886 was 1,501, and for minor offences 16,726. |