government, of the produce of State mines, and of other miscellaneous sources. These receipts are balanced by sums of a similar amount placed on the estimates of expenditure under the heading of 'dépenses d'ordre.' The extraordinary receipts consist mainly of sums bor-: rowed for the purpose of subsidising railways and for promoting other works of public utility. They are entered in the same manner: as the 'recettes d'ordre' on the expenditure side of the budgets.

On the preceding page are the budget estimates for the years 1886 and 1887.

In the budget for 1888 the ordinary revenue is set down at 851,797,628 roubles, and expenditure 851,242,423 roubles. There is further an extraordinary expenditure of 34,250,100 roubles, to be met by extraordinary resources amounting to 33,724,895 roubles.

The direct taxes consist chiefly of imposts on the peasantsnine-tenths of the whole-the other tenth consisting of a land-tax on non-peasant proprietors, and a house-tax in cities. Customs and excise duties form the bulk of the revenue from indirect taxation.

The considerable difference between the revenue from direct taxes in 1886 and 1887, as also in the peasants' payments, results from the abolition of the capitation (podushoraya) tax by the law of June 24, 1886, and the new allotment law for the former 'State's peasants.' These latter, who numbered, in 1886, 7,636,638 males, have now to pay for the land they are in possession of a redemption tax, 45 per cent. increase over that formerly paid, so as to become in the year 1931 full proprietors of the land. The amount of the tax to be paid by each district is determined by the Ministries of Finance, Interior, and Domains, and distributed within each district among the separate villages by the Peasants' Committee. Moreover, special tax inspectors were nominated in

1886.

The direct taxes yielded, in 1885, 101,316,034 roubles; the direct taxation of trade and capital yielded only 29,423,959 roubles. Of the indirect taxes, 231,230,457 roubles were derived from excise duties on spirits and beer; 95,026,774 roubles from import duties; 19,685,415 roubles from excise on tobacco, and 13,862,592 roubles from excise on sugar.

On the average, the direct taxes reach 1.55 rouble (3s. 1d.) per head of population, and the indirect about 4.65 roubles (9s. 4d.), while the State debt reaches more than 50 roubles (51.) per head of the aggregate population of the Empire.

It will be seen from the above table that the largest branch of expenditure is that for the public debt.

The subjoined table (p. 424) gives the charge for the public debt, as officially published, for the years 1885, 1886, and 1887. The finances of Russia, almost since the beginning of the century, exhibit large annual deficits, caused partly by an enormous expenditure for war, and partly, though to a far less extent, by the construction of reproductive works, such as railways. The extraordinary war outlay incurred by Russia during the seven years 1876-82 amounted to 1,113,483,502 roubles, or 111,348,350.

The following official summary, in which the metallic rouble has been calculated as equivalent to 1 r. 50 c. paper, shows the whole position of the Russian debt on January 1, 1887 :—

A. 1. Internal loans at different rates of interest, varying from
3 per cent. to 6 per cent., issued in paper roubles
2. So-called Treasury bonds, which, however, constitute
a permanent debt, as they are always renewed as
they become due

3. Foreign and interior loans, issued in gold or metallic
roubles, 515,964,179, at the rate of 1 r. 50 c. paper.

Total of ordinary loans

Roubles 1,415,032,081

240,000,000

773,946,263

⚫ 2,428,978,344

B.-Railway loans, issued either abroad or in Russia, in gold, 835,301,825 r., at 1 r. 50 c., equivalent to

C.-Serf-liberation loans.

D.-Polish debt

16,684,50825,026,762 paper

42,457,673

E-Bank-note circulation not covered by bullion

Total debt in paper roubles

During the year 1887 a new four per cent. foreign loan was concluded, to the amount of 100,000,000 roubles, the obligations having been issued at 84 for 100.

The destruction of public credit, through an unlimited issue of paper money, is of old standing. In the reign of Catherine II., the first attempt, on a large scale, was made to cover the annual deficits by a very liberal supply of paper roubles, the sum total of which at the death of the Empress, 1796, amounted to 200,000,000. During the subsequent wars with France and Turkey, new emissions of paper followed, with the consequence that in 1815 the notes had fallen to less than a fourth of their nominal value, one silver rouble being worth four roubles eighteen kopecks in paper. Great efforts were now made by the Government to improve this state of things by withdrawing a portion of the paper from circulation. After ten years of improved financial management, there remained, however, still 600,000,000 of notes, circulating at the rate of three paper roubles to one silver rouble. As a final remedy, the Imperial Government withdrew, in 1843, the whole of the old paper money, introducing, in its stead, a new form of bank notes, with forced currency. By these and other means, particularly the establishment, in 1859, of a State bank, the Bank of Russia, under the control of the Minister of Finance, the nominal value of the paper money was considerably raised, with a prospect of the resumption of specie payments in the course of a number of years; but it has fallen again, so that the official calculation is now (Dec. 1887) 1.67 paper rouble for one silver rouble.

The Grand-duchy of Finland had a revenue of 45,768,129 marcs (1 marc = 1 franc), and expenditure of 42,924,007 mares in 1887. Its total debt on January 1, 1887, amounted to 71,244,638 mares. The special budgets of Poland ceased in 1867, on the final incorporation of the kingdom with Russia.

The annual receipts of the Provincial Assemblies (the zemstvos), which were 32 million roubles in 1881, reached 36 million in 1883, of which 26.7 million were levied in land taxes, 36 million

from various other taxes, and 3.2 million from taxation of trade. Of the 585,300,000 acres which pay the land tax, 235,000,000 acres belonging to peasants pay an average of 6-3 kopecks per acre, while the 351,000,000 acres belonging to landlords pay an average of 3.3 kopecks per acre. The aggregate expenses of the zemstvos reached the same year 36,723,931 roubles, that is, an average of 16 rouble per male of population. Out of that 18 per cent. were spent for the provincial administration, 26 per cent. for hygiene and medical help, and 16 per cent. for education.

The aggregate Budgets of the towns of the Empire, exclusive of Finland, reached in 1883 48,052,786 roubles of income, and 47,380,085 roubles of expenditure. Only 5 towns have each an income above one million roubles. The aggregate debt of all towns reached in 1882 26,842,177 roubles.

Army and Navy.

1. Army.

The armed forces of Russia were drawn, previous to the year 1874, from the classes of peasants and artisans, partly and principally by means of a conscription, partly by the adoption of the sons of soldiers, and partly by voluntary enlistment. In January 1874, a law of military re-organisation was sanctioned by the Emperor. This law orders an annual conscription, to which all men who have completed their twenty-first year, and are not physically incapacitated, are liable. Immunity from service by the purchase of substitutes is prohibited under the new regulations. They fix the period of service in the army at fifteen years, six of them in active service, and nine years in the reserve. The men remain with the colours only as long as will be required to keep up the force at its full complement, and during the remaining period they are sent on furlough. After acquitting themselves of their six years' service, the soldiers pass over into the reserve for another period of nine years, during which they are liable to serve only in time of war. If called out during these nine years, the younger men of the reserve are employed in active operations, the older ones being set apart to form a reserve to reinforce the garrisons of fortresses. In time of peace, the men of the reserve are called out only for short periods of drill, undergone near their ordinary places of residence. To enable the educated classes to free themselves from compulsory conscription, and also to provide the requisite number of officers, and persons fit to serve in the supplementary branches, young men possessed of a certain degree of education are permitted to enter from their 17th year as volunteers for a short period of