The evening times., 1899-01-20
Little Of the Soil Owned by
the Peasantry.
Taxes Due the Government Assessed
Upon Communities.
Imperial Attention Forced Upon the
Indifferent Attitude of the Til
Iers of the Soil.

| partly to be ascribed, he says, to the
| thriftlessness of the peasant class. which
thriftlessness has been variously attrib-
uted to climatic influences, to intemper-
| ance, to administrative methods, to the
| former condition of 'seryitude, to the mir
| or communal system of land tenure, etc.
The last named cause especially. Mr..
Peirce thinks, would be sufficient to ex-
plain general lack of seif-reiiant INDUS
| try among the people. He continues:
The land of the peasantry is not gen
orally owned bS them individually, except
| in certain districts of the Battle prov
| inces, of Little Russia, and Of Po.and, but
| is held by them in communities, or Mrs
| in which each taX-paying Individual ta3
| a share and for the taxes of which he is
| responsible The taxes due to the govern
| ment are assessed upon the number of
souls in the community, and upon the
same basis is allotted 10 it a certain
| quantity of land.
While in the more productive districts,
| and especially in the black-earth beit the
| effort on the part of the individual is TO
| secure as much land as possible, in the
northern and other unproductive districts
| the peasant tries TO shirk his communal
| responsibilities by presenting reasons why
| he should be allotted the minimum of
land.
Not infrequentiy the peasant seeks en-
ployment in the cities, either for the en-
tire year or, what is still more common
for the winter months only. This may
happen owing TO one OF mere of several
causes. He may be sent by the head of
the family to which he belongs 10 earn
money to assist in paying the Joint share
of their communal taxes, his allotment OF
land being, If the absence is during the
/ : N nlnr
members of the family, or he may, upon
his own account, desire TO add a little to
MS income, or even, finding his land un-
prohtaOle, he may abandon its cultivation
10 seek a livelihood in the city; but what
ever may be the cause of his absence from
| the mir, he does not escape his RESPONSE
| bility for the taxes. For while the CEN
| tral government permits the mir TO collect
the taxes from the individual, it also as
| sists il in so doing By keeping track of
/ him, and by returning him TO the mir, in
case CT his failure to remit his share and
| even by infiicting punishment, when the
| resources OF the mir in that respect fail
! TO compel him. Still further, tie COM
| plant of the head of family to the I;,ir
| that an absent member is not remitting
| his share of the taxes on the family alIct-
ment may cause the delinGTent's arrest
and return to his commune.
Individuals who misbehave themselves
| IN the city may also be sent back to their
| mir by administrative process. Thus
nave myself, says Mr. Pierce seen an in
soient and intractable servant brought al
once 10 perfect submission by the threat
| oil reporting him to the police and request
ing his return to his commune To rem
| der possible this control of the individual
requires a very careful system of enregis-
tratlon Thus, on taking up a new habita-
tlon every sojourner and inhabitant in a
city must be duly inscribed in the books
! OF ms police district, and for such enregIs-
| tratlon the proprietor of the house is held
| untable. As il not infreuuently han
! pens that the peasant, or 'muiik." knows
no other than his baptismal name and
that of his father, and sometimes not even
the latter. the difficulty of keeping track
OF individuals can be imagined Ivan
lTanovitch John. the son of john. o.
such mir, may be. and not infreuueutIy
/ Is. the sole designation he can give him
sell, and perhaps, even. he can ONLY saw
that he Is John, son OF soldier But the
name of the mir to which he belongs Is
inscribed on his passport when issued IL
him. and without this document he is not
permitted to remain in any city: nor. in
deed. is il easy for him 10 find any abiding
| place
| IL viii be seen, therefore that the mn
! jik is closely bound to the soil through
the medium of his mir. But. further. the
mir is Obliged 10 take care of him. II can
while he Is able TO labor, force him TO nav
his share OF the taxes; but if he becomes
! lncapacltated. it must at least keep him
| from starvation.
| The house of the mujik does not stand
| IN the middle of his little farm but in th.
| village street. and this building. with its
small surrounding lot. belongs to him or tc
| ms family; but the productive land lies
| sometimes yersts away from the village
and consists of a long narrow strip. O,
| perhaps several of such strips apportionet
| with view TO giving to each lot al
| equal share of the best and of the poorest
| soil
| The inevitable result is that the muijk
| Ieellng that at the end of period more OF
| less brief his allotment will be subject tc
| redistribution, in which, if he has i'm
proved ii by careful cultivation, expendinp
| upon 1t time and money with an eve to the
| future, the greater part of it will prob
apiy be taken from him, puts into his land
| only such cultivation as will give him. fol
| the existing season, the best returns. with.
out eXpending upon it capital or labor ot
which he is not to enjoy the full fruits
Hence. he piows but the top of his soil
not only to save labor. but that his manure
may be consumed by his own crop and moi
by future one. He has no attachment te
the SOIL 10 which he belongs, but which
does not belong to him. and he is devoid
OF that self-reliant independence which
characterizes the agricultural classes o.
other countries. If we add to this the abb
solute fatalism with which the mujik re.
CARDS every event of life, whether of goot
or evil fortune. We have, it would seem
combination of temperament and sur.
roundings well calculated to develop thrift
| lessness.
In those parts of Little Russia, the Bal
tic provinces, and Poland where the mi
system does not exist not only is th,
peasant more animated and cheerful, bu
much greater thrift prevails.
1t is row some months since the atten
ton OF the Emperor was directed to tn,
unfortunate condition of things existin.
IN many of the agricultural districts. ant
he has directed, net alone that materia
aid from his privy purse be literally ex
tended. but that full and exhaustive re
ports upon the entire condition of tb,
peasant in the various parts of the EN-
pire be furnished him, with a view to dis
covering the exact state of affairs. and. i
possible, the true causes to which are t,
be attributed the alleged distress. with ;
view TO its intelligent amelioration.
ANOTHER ANDREE SEARCH.