The Press.
London, England, 1856-06-07 00:00:00

JUNE 7, 1856.

Nittraturt.

Commentaries on the Productive Forces of Russia.

By M. L. de Tegoborski. Vol 11. London :

LODgMari.S.
THE statesmen of Russia can possess little of
that sagacity with which the world credits
them if this work fails to open their eyes to
important views. The facts collected by the
author are irresistible. They show that the
whole political system of the Emperor Nicho-
las was a great mistake, and that by keeping
afoot an immense army, and by isolating his
empire by extravagant commercial restrictions,
he retarded that agricultural improvement,
which is the first condition of Russian pro-
gress. To give one instance. There is no
surer test of the industrial prosperity of a
people than their command of iron. A Go-
vernment which understood the true interests
of its people would prize iron above gold, and
would sooner think of imposing restrictions
on the import of the latter than of the former.
Iron is the true fertiliser of the earth. But
because Russia possesses some iron mines—
tliough much of the ore is of that finer sort
which it is profitable to export—enormous
ddties have been laid on the importation of
iron by land, and by sea its importation is
altogether prohibited. The consequences of
this policy are notable. In England the
e,onsumption of iron yearly for each person is
138 Russian lbs. ; in France, 43 lbs.; in Prus-
sia, 36 lbs.; in Austria, 12 lbs. ; and in Russia
only 9lbs. The author writes :

We find in the rural buildings of our western provinces
wooden nails taking the place of iron nails; and even
amongst easy if not wealthy proprietors, we find locks and
bolts at park-gates. and garden-doors, and sometimes at
farm-doors too, replaced by wooden latches, and hinges by
osier rings by which the doors are hung upon the posts,
whilst their richer brethren who use the metal grumble
sadly at its price. Throughout a great part of the empire,
farm-horses are without shoes, and farm-carts without tire ;
axles are of wood; spades cf wood covered with a thin
coating of iron, and in rainy districts the ploughshare
itself is wood, with an iron point.

A good test of the social condition of a
people is their consumption of colonial pro
duce. Russia is far behind other countries :
PER HEAD, IN RUSSIAN LBS.
Tea. Coffee. Sugar.
2.13 .. 1.40 .. 29 66
.. 0.014 .. 1.12 .. 9.50
.. 0.029 .. 10.45 .. 6.48
0.012 .. 3.53 .. 6.85
.. 0.001 .. 0.65 .. 2.84
.. 0.23 .. 0.14 .. 2.0

Great Britain] ..
France .
Belgium
Zollverein
Austria ..
Russia ..

As the Russian people are fonder of tea than
even the English, and as it is the luxury they
relish above all others, their limited consump
tion of this article is a striking proof of their
poverty Yet Russia possesses in abundance
the elements of agricultural prosperity, the
first condition of national wealth. The elaborate
tables given here of the exports of Russia
show where her strength really lies :

Grain forms three•tentha of the total value of the exports,
tallow an eighth, and flax more than ten per cent. Adding
to these three articles oleaginous grains, hemp, wool, and
building timber, we obtain for the seven a value of
77,387,000 roubles, or more than three-fourths of the whole
exports.
These exports of agricultural produce might
be increased indefinitely. Russia cannot buy
without selling. All commerce resolves itself
into barter.

Russia is as yet too poor, and too little ad-
vanced for manufactures, to flourish among
her people. "We have never," says M. Tego-
boraki, " met with Russian manufactured
" goods of any description at a price even
" approaching to that of similar foreign arti-
" cies." He speaks constantly of the want of
capital in Russia, and of the scarcity of mer
chants. The reason is obvious. Manufactures
for which the country is not yet prepared are
forced, while the one great manufacture for
which Russia is most favorably circumstanced
—agricultural produce—has been overlooked.
Can the statesmen of Russia fail to perceive
that for the due evolvement of her immense
resources Russia requires peace ? Not the
peace of the last reign, with its immense
army devouring the productive forces of the
empire, but a reign of peace which shall give
to the culture of the soil the labour of its suns,
and shall relieve a most patient, ingenious,
and orderly race from burdens which oppose