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2. OF GREAT BRITAIN IN RUSSIA.

Ambassador-Right Hon. Sir Charles Hardinge, G.C.M.G., K.C. V.O., C. B., appointed March 4, 1904.

Councillor.-Cecil Spring-Rice.

Military Attaché.-Lt. Col. Hon. H. D. Napier.

Naval Attaché.-Captain S. A. G. Calthorpe, R.N.
Consul.-O. Wardrop.

There are also British consuls-general (C. G.), consuls (C.), or vice-consuls at Abo, Archangel, Baku, Batûm (C.), Berdiansk, Fredrickshamn, Cronstadt, Helsingfors, Kiev (C.), Kerch, Libau, Mariupol, Moscow (C.), Narva, Nicolaiev, Novorossiisk, Odessa (C.G.), Pernau, Poti, Revel, Riga (C.), Rostov (C.), Sebastopol, Taganrog, Theodosia, (C.), Warsaw (C. G.), Windau.

FINLAND.

The Government of Finland and her relations to the Empire have been described under the heading of Local Government, and its area and population are given with the area and population of the Russian provinces. Of the total area 11.15 per cent. is under lakes. In 1890 the postal administration of Finland was subjected to the Russian Ministry of Interior.

Population.

The gradual increase of the population is seen from the following :

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In 1900 the population consisted of 2,352,990 Finns, 349,733 Swedes, 5,939 Russians, 1,925 Germans, 1,300 Laps, etc,

Of the total population there were at end of 1900:-Lutherans, 2,662,171; Greek Orthodox and raskolniks, 46, 466; Roman Catholics, 755; Baptists, etc., 3,170.

The chief towns, with population, of Finland are (1902):-Helsingfors (with Sveaborg), 100,812; Abo, 40, 493; Tammerfors, 38,739; Wiborg, 33, 210; Uleåborg, 17,096; Björneborg, 15,630; Nikolaistad (Wasa), 16,609; Kuopio, 12,683.

The movement of the population in five years was as follows:

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The births and deaths are exclusive of still births, numbering, in 1902, 2,324 or 2.6 per cent. of total births.

Emigration, 1899, 12,075; 1900, 10,397; 1901, 12,561; 1902, 23,152.

Instruction.

In 1904 Finland had 1 university, with 2,508 students (526 ladies); in 1903, 1 polytechnic, 421 students; 1902, 48 lyceums (25 State), 9,473 pupils ; 23 real schools (elementary and borough schools), 1,505 pupils; 37 girls' schools, 4,761 pupils; in country, 1,998 higher primary schools, with 88,963 pupils; in 37 towns, primary schools with 917 teachers and 29,903 pupils; 8 teachers' schools, with 1,264 pupils; there are besides 7 navigation schools, with 173 (1903) pupils; 9 commercial schools, with 618 pupils; 36 primary trade schools, with 1,482 (1902) pupils; 11 higher, with 1,101 (1902) pupils; and 10 industrial, with 692 (1903) pupils; 24 agricultural, 28 dairy schools, 19 cattle-managers' schools, and 12 horticultural schools with 1,169 (1902) pupils. The school age is from 7 to 15 years.

There were, in 1903, 71 Swedish, 128 Finnish, 3 Swedish-and-Finnish, 1 German, and 1 Russian newspapers and reviews published.

Pauperism and Crime.

The number of paupers in 1902 supported by the towns and the village communities was 74,821 (2.7 per cent. of the population); and the total cost was 4,064,394 marks.

The prison population, at the end of 1902, was 2,283 men and 569 women, while the number of sentences pronounced, in the first instance, for crimes was 26,026, and for subjects of contention 39,641.

Finance.

The receipts for 1903 were 112,097,546 marks (11,714,251 marks being taken from the reserve fund) and expenditure the same (9,206,727 marks being left for the next year, and 3,910,958 marks disposed for the funds). Of the revenue, 6,031,715 marks came from direct taxes; 41,424,294 marks indirect taxes. The chief items of expenditure are: military affairs, 1,239,095 marks; civil administration, 7,803,591 marks; worship and education, 10,704,980 marks; communications, 29,159,211 marks; public debt, 6,042,356 marks; construction of railways, 16,539,253 marks; commerce and industries, 3,434,589 marks; agriculture, 4,091,074 marks, etc.

The public debt on January 1, 1904, amounted to 142,936,836 marks, as against 85,130,944 marks on January 1, 1890. The debt is most at 3 and 3 per cent. interest.

Industry.

The land was divided in 1901 into 122,848 farms, and the landed property was distributed as follows:-Less than 12 acres cultivated, 33,755 farms, from 12 to 62 acres, 62,677 farms, from 62 to 250 acres, 23,983 farms; more than 250 acres, 2,433 farms. Small farms, 67,083.

The crop of 1902 was in hectolitres :—Wheat, 27,801; rye, 3,115,461; barley, 1,278,520; oats, 5,352,814; potatoes, 5,390,910; flax, 1,454 tons; hemp, 464 tons.

Of domestic animals Finland had at the end of 1902:-Horses, 316,486; horned cattle, 1,406, 299; sheep, 942,186 ; swine, 210, 473; reindeer, 128,913; goats, 6,803; poultry, 514,743.

In

The crown forests cover 13,581,385 (1902) hectares. Their maintenance cost 741,959 marks, and the income derived from them was 3,692, 415 marks. 1902 there were 305 saw mills with water motors, and 339 steam mills, as against 117 in 1888. They give occupation to 20,258 workers, and their aggre

gate production was 2,564,492 cubic metres of timber, as against 3,003,354 cubic metres in 1889.

The annual produce of pig-iron and iron, in metric tons, for five years,

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Finland had in 1901, 8,218 large and small manufactures, employing an aggregate of 95,855 workers, and yielding an aggregate product (exclusive of flour mills) of 316,522,087 marks (12,660,8837.). The chief were :

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The total number of steam engines was in 1901, 1.135; horse-power, 47,076.

Commerce

The exterior trade of Finland appears as follows, in thousands of marks francs) :

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Germany

67,000 15,900

84,700 18,700

97,462

20,311

Great Britain

22,400 6,700

Spain

France

Various

Total

25,600 52,400
6,300 15,600
3,300 16,700 4,100 16,100
4,400 11,400 7,800 23,600 10,130 25,439

215,600 186,900 234,100 202,700 267,484 213,730

27,120

64,272

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The chief articles of export are: timber (127,000,000 marks in 1903, as against 91,200,000 in 1898), butter (23,600,000), paper, paper mass, and cardboard (25,500,000), iron and iron goods (1,800,000), textiles, leather, hides, tar, and pitch.

The chief imports were :-Cereals (79,400,000 marks), coffee (10,500,000), sugar (8,400,000), iron and ironware (11,600,000), cotton and cottons (14,700,000), machinery (10,800,000), chemicals leather ware, tobacco, colours, and oils.

Shipping and Navigation.

The number of vessels which entered and cleared the ports of Finland in 1903 was as follows:

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The Finnish commercial navy numbered on January 1, 1904, 2,365 sailing vessels of 285,463 tons, and 322 steamers, 55,019 tons; total, 2,687 vessels of 340,482 tons.

Internal Communications.

For internal communications Finland has a remarkable system of lakes connected with each other and with the Gulf of Finland by canals. The number of vessels which passed along the canals in 1902 was 33,225; the receipts from vessels, 628,272 marks; and expenditure, 381,539 marks.

In January, 1904, there were 2,014 miles of railways, all but 175 miles belonging to the State. The traffic upon the States railways in 1902 was 7,258,086 passengers and 2,313,300 tons of goods. The total cost of the State railways to the end of 1902 was 279,867,000 marks. The total revenue of the same in 1902 was 26,931,000 marks, and the total expenditure 23,081,000 marks.

Finland had 1,272 post-offices in 1903, and revenue and expenses were respectively 4,318,803 and 3,400,549 marks; united letters and post-cards, 26,329,892; samples, and printed packets, 3,687,722; newspapers, 22,320,087.

The 242 savings-banks had on December 31, 1902, 157, 410 depositors, with aggregate deposits of 89,011,479 marks.

Money, Weights, &c.

The markka of 100 penni is of the value of a franc, 94d.

is gold, and the markka, though not coined in gold, is the unit.

The standard

Gold coins are 20 and 10-markka pieces. They contain 2903225 grammes

of fine gold to the markka.

Silver coins are 2, 1, 1, and 1-markka pieces.

Copper coins are 10, 5, and 1-penni pieces.

The paper currency is exchangeable at par against gold.

The metric system of weights and measures is universally employed in Finland.

PROVINCE OF KWANG-TUNG.

By an agreement, signed March 27, 1898, Russia has obtained from China a lease of Port Arthur and Ta-lien-wan, with the adjacent seas and territory to the north. The duration of the lease is to be 25 years, but may be extended by mutual agreement. Within the whole land and water area leased, the control of the civil, military and naval forces, is vested in a Russian governor. All Chinese military forces are withdrawn; Chinese residents may withdraw or remain; but Chinese accused of crime shall be handed over to be dealt with by the nearest Chinese official. To the north of the territory leased there will be a zone where Chinese jurisdiction will continue, but where Chinese troops may not be quartered without the consent of Russia.

In August, 1899, the leased territory was made a province with the name of Kwang-Tung; in August, 1903, new administrative arrangements were made, the Amur district and the Kwang-Tung territory being formed into a special vice-royalty, while the North Coast Province was declared an Independent District. In 1904 the viceroy was recalled to St. Petersburg and the whole territory of Kwang-Tung was occupied by Japan.

Port Arthur, the capital of the vice-royalty, and a naval port for menof-war, was regarded as an impregnable stronghold. New docks were constructed, the rock being cut into to enlarge the inner harbour. At the southern extremity of this port a new town, Dalniy, was built and is connected by rail with the trans-Siberian railway system. Dalniy is now in decay and Port Arthur capitulated to the Japanese on January 2, 1905.

Statistical and other Books of Reference concerning Russia. 1. OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS.

Russian.

Administration: Official Messenger. By Ministry of the Interior (Daily).

Agriculture: Annual Statement respecting Crops in Russia. By Central Statistical Committee. (Last issue: Crops in 1903. Published in 1904).-Report on Forestry in 1902. Ministry of Agriculture and State Domains, 1904.

Census of 1897: Repartition of inhabited places of Russian Empire according to the number of inhabitants of each place. Central Statistical Committee of the Ministry of the Interior. St. Petersburg, May, 1902.

Finance: Vestnik Finansov. By Ministry of Finance (Weekly).-Report of the State's Control for 1903. St. Petersburg, 1904.-Report of the Minister of Finance for 1905.Bulletin Russe de Statistique financière et de Legislation.-Statistical Reports of Ministry of Ways of Communication. -Annual Reports on State Bank, on the Nobles' Bank, and on the Peasantry Bank for 1902. By A. Golubeff.-Report Statistics of Mortgages in Russia for 1902. By A. Golubeff. 1904.

List of Manufactures in European Russia. 1903.-Collection of Reports of Factory Inspectors for 1902. St. Petersburg, 1904.

of

Instruction; Statistical Data of Elementary Schools in the Russian Empire. St. Petersburg.-Data as to Agricultural Schools. St. Petersburg, 1902.-Report Department of Mines. St. Petersburg.-Report of the Procurator of the Holy Synod. St. Petersburg.-Report of General Director of Military Schools.-Report of General Director of Cossack Army. These are annual publications.

Justice Statistics concerning Judicial Institutions. St. Petersburg, Annual.-Collection of Statistical Data concerning Criminal Affairs in 1901. St. Petersburg, 1904.Reports on Prison Administration.-Law of the new organisation of Peasants' Tribunals in the Baltic Provinces. By Ministry of Justice. 2 vols. 1889.-Laws issued in 1889 concerning Peasants' Institutions and Justices of the Peace. By Ministry of the Interior.

1890.

Mines Annual Report of Department of Mines for 1901. St. Petersburg, 1903.Maps of the Gold Mines of Siberia and the Urals. 1897.-Information published by the Statistical Bureau of the Congress of Mineholders (Coal). 1904.-Collection of Statistical Data Concerning the Iron Industry. Monthly. (December No. 1903, gives figures for 1903).-Information published by the Statistical Bureau of the Congress of Naphtha workers of Baku for 1903.

Navy Annual of the Ministry of the Navy.-Institutions of the Navy. 18 vols. 1888.

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