The characteristics of the iron industry in 1901 and 1902 are: diminution in production, stoppage of many important iron-works and low price of metals.

The quantities of cast-iron, iron and steel worked in the above-mentioned regions of Russia for the last five years, in thousands of pouds, were:

The annual consumption of all sorts of iron, raw and wrought (reduced to pig-iron), is seen from the following table for the last five years::

The output of coal in all the coalfields of Russia was:-298,500 tons in 1860, 695,400 in 1870, 3,280,000 in 1880, 6,022,000 in 1890. The following table gives the output of coal in the different coalfields of Russia, for the two last years, in thousands of pouds.

Strong measures have been taken to increase the local consumption of Russian coal and coke by imposing a duty of 92d. per ton of coal imported through the Black Sea, 23d. through the Western frontier and Baltic Sea, and by reducing the tariffs of railway shipping of Russian coal from the Don mines. But a good deal of foreign coal and coke is still imported in Russia. The imports of coal and coke were-in 1900: coal, 240,040,000 pouds; coke, 33,874,000; in 1901: coal, 191,193,000 pouds; coke, 31,002,000. The annual consumption of coal per head is estimated at 370 lbs.

The petroleum industry of the Baku district is extending very rapidly. The following table gives the production of the oil fields of Balakhany, Sabunchi, Romany, Bibi-Eybat, and Binagadin, for the last five years, ín millions of pouds :—

Of the salt extracted in 1901, 52,941,401 pouds were from South Russia; 20,835,092 from the government of Astrakhan; 18,008,484 from the government of Perm; 5,623,983 from Siberia; 3,106,085 from Caucasia; 1,896,534 from the government of Orenburg; 1,114,134 from Transcaspian Province; the remainder being from Turkestan, North Russia, Poland and the new Kwang-Tung province.

The number of persons engaged in the making and working of metals was 494,591 in 1901; of these, 230,114 were in the Urals, 44,688 in central Russia, 44, 470 in Poland and the North-West, 114,087 in the South, 30,873 in the South-East, 13,619 in Caucasus, 9,165 in North and 7,575 in Siberia and Turkestan.

IV. MANUFACTURES.

In so far as manufacturing and mining industries were concerned, the years 1901 and 1902 may be considered to have not been very favourable. This was particularly the case in regard to the iron industry, the production of pig-iron being 177 million pouds in 1900, 172 million in 1901, and only 156 million in 1902, and the quantities of cast iron, iron and steel worked being 122 million pouds in 1900, 129 million in 1901, and only 117 million

in 1902.

The number of all kinds of manufactories, mines, and industrial establishments in European Russia (without Poland and Finland) was 30,029 in 1897, employing 2,098,242 workpeople, and producing a value of 2,839,144 roubles.

According to the estimates of the Department of Trade and Manufactures, which includes the mining industries, as well as those which pay excise duties (spirits, beer, sugar, and tobacco), the manufactories of the Empire having a yearly productivity of more than 1,000 roubles each appeared as follows:

The share capital of various financial, manufacturing, industrial, steamship, and other enterprises in operation in Russia, numbering 1181, was estimated at 1,736,856,000 roubles. (Nearly 20 per cent. represented the capital of foreign companies). The following is a list of the most important industrial enterprises :

:

1065

PRODUCTION AND INDUSTRY

The chief branches of the above were as follows in the year 1897 :

:

Roubles

Roubles Roubles Roubles 99,700,000 61,100,000 5,500,000 240,400,000 98,000,000 59,500,000 3,300,000 258,200,000 160,935,000 98,869,000 3,122,000 398,196,000 430,218,000

In 1889 the textile industries of Russia and Poland had 3,799,416 spindles and 191,290 looms. They were concentrated chiefly in the two governments of Moscow and Vladimir (yearly production 131,150,000 roubles, and more than one-half of the total cotton industry of Russia), Piotrkow in Poland (38,818,000 roubles), St. Petersburg (23,610,000 roubles), Kostroma and Esthonia (about 14,000,000 roubles each). The cotton industry proper is valued at 384,000,000 roubles per year.

In 1898 there were in Russia 580,254 tobacco plantations, of 167,293 acres, which manufactured 85,220 tons of tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, &c.

In 1894 the Crown undertook the retailing of spirits. This system now exists in all European Russia (since July 1, 1901), and in the governments and provinces of Tomsk, Tobolsk, Akmolinsk, Semipalatinsk, Terek, Kuban, and Daghestan (since July 1, 1902).

The monopoly is limited to the sale of spirituous liquors and is not extended to fermented beverages such as wine, beer, &c. The manufacture of spirits remains in the hands of private persons, and the distilleries are subject to the same regulations as under the excise.

The production of alcohol in the Russian Empire in 4 years (ending June 30) was: 1900, 86,052,000 gallons; 1901, 88,775,000 gallons; 1902, 82,850,855 gallons; 1903, 76,628,249 gallons.

There were, on July 1, 1903, 2,358 distilleries in the Russian Empire

(2,328 in European Russia), as against 2,232 (Empire) and 2,203 (European Russia) on July 1, 1902.

There were 274 sugar works in Russia in 1903 (231 in 1895), and 1,346,071 acres were under beetroot (865,862 acres in 1895). The output of refined sugar was in 1902–3, 1,180,293 tons (684,721 tons in 1895).

There were in Russia and Poland, in 1895, 3,854 flour mills, each yielding more than 670 cwt. of flour per year. Their total production was 35,100 tons per diem. There were 979 steam mills producing 1,076,000 tons of flour, and 4,020 water mills, 1,209,000 tons. Most of the latter have steam motors in Out of the above, 497 mills (1,000,000 tons) used rollers for grinding.

reserve.

Commerce.

The trade of the Russian Empire is carried on chiefly through its European frontier, through the Black Sea frontier of the Caucasus, and with Finland. Of 225,342,000 roubles of customs duties levied in 1901, 204,716,000, or 90.8 per cent., were levied at these three frontiers, and only 20,626,000, or 9.2 per cent., at the Asiatic frontiers.

The Russian import duties are all specific and cannot be briefly summarised, but as they seem to be in general heavier than those of any other country, a number of examples may be given. On wool the duty is from 198, 84d. to 21. 19s. 1d. per cwt.; on woollen yarns from 41. 38. 9d. to 5l. 128. 4d. per cwt.; on woven woollen goods, from 8. 138. per cwt. on carpets, 107. 168. 3d. on coarse blankets, and 11l. 158. 11d. on hosiery, to 267. 168. 9d. on plain woollen tissues, and 587. 198. 7d. on shawls. Felt, cloth list, &c., for use in factories, are liable to duty of only 21. 118. 1d. per cwt. On cotton yarn and thread the duties range from 21. 178. 2d. to 51. 188. 3d. per cwt., and on cotton tissues, from 71. 108. 9d. to 291. 38. 3d. per cwt. On linen, hemp, and jute yarns and thread they are from 31. 48. 11d to 5l. 188. 3d. per cwt.; on sacking, 17. 88. 2d.; on matting, 2l. 28. 3d.; on sail-cloth, 47. 63. 6d., and on linen tissues from 77. 178. 3d. to 30l. 138. 5d. per cwt. On machine-made lace, oi whatever substance, the duty is 617. 188. 7d., and on hand-made lace, 132l. 148. 1d. per cwt.

On pig-iron the duty per cwt. is 28. 114d.; on bar-iron 4s. 11d.; on sheet-iron 68. 5d. to 158. 3d.; on cast-iron manufactures, from 5s. 11d. to 138. 94d.; on wire, 31s. 6d. Agricultural machinery, worked by steam, is free, bnt if worked by hand is liable to a duty of 48. 11d. per cwt. On locomotives the duty is 178. 9d. per cwt.; on tools and implements, 10s. 10d.; on cutlery, from 3l. 58. to 18l. 188. 4d. per cwt., the duty on knitting needles being 77. 18. d., and on sewing needles 12. 158. 7d. per cwt.

Coal and coke are admitted duty-free at the White Sea ports, but at the Baltic ports and on the western land frontier the duty on coal is 1s. 11 d. per ton, and on coke, 28. 11d. per ton. At the Black Sea ports the duty on coal is 78. 11d., and on coke 118. 10d. per ton.

On hides, on leather, on boots, shoes, and gloves, on paper and paste-board, lead-pencils, and pens, there are heavy import duties, but pictures and unbound books in foreign languages are (subject to the Censor's regulations) admitted free. Wheat is duty-free, but most other food imports are taxed. On butter the duty per cwt. is 48. 11d.; on cheese, 21. 138. 2d.; on cured herring, 48.; on fish prepared in oil, 27. 18. 10d. Living cattle are free, but on salt-beef, as well as on hams and bacon, there is a duty of 78. 104d. per cwt. On brick tea the duty is 8d. per lb. and on other teas 18. 10d., but in the case of Indian and Ceylon teas the rate is increased by one penny per lb. On coffee raw the duty is 11. 188. 5d. per cwt.; roasted, 2l. 198. 1d.; on sugar raw it is 298. 7d.; refined, 398. 5d. per cwt. tobacco raw the rate per cwt. is 11l. 78. 7d.; manufactured, 381. 68. 9d.; cigars and cigarettes, 941. 78. 4d.

On

The treaty of Commerce and Navigation of 1859 between Russia and Great Britain (including British Possessions) is terminable on 12 months notice by the Government of either country. It provides that no higher duties may be imposed on imports from either country into the other than are payable on like articles, the growth, produce, or manufacture of any third country. The meaning of this stipulation was contested on the imposition of a countervailing duty on Russian sugar by the Indian government in 1899, and also in connection with the agreement between the parties to the Internations] Sugar Convention in 1902-03.