' The pay of the officials is very moderate. The chief of the section receives 1350 roubles a yea^ The Stolonchalnicks, or heads of tables, clerks presiding over the writers or copyists, are in three sections. Two receive 900, two 824, and four 750 roubles. The adjuncts or assistants do not all receive the same amount of pay, but salaries ranging to from 300 to 674 roubles a year. The commissioner has, in addition to his salary, an allowance of 400 roubles a year for travelling expenses, and the assistants have one of 300 roubles.
' Notwithstanding the small number of the officials in the Forest Administration, and the small salaries paid to them, and the salary of the director not being included in the account, the expenses have amounted to the following sums: —
In 1868, subsequent to the reduction in the number of officials, 27,210 roubles.
1867, previous to that reduction,.... 31,245,,
Giving as the average of the four years, - 30,557 roubles.
' Each forest administration is divided into four subdivisions, with officials bearing corresponding titles; one of these is the under forester, on whom is devolved the charge of sales and fellings. Of these there are in all 192.
' When the forest is not large, and is unimportant, they employ as under foresters warders, who receive the designation of controul guards, and a somewhat higher pay than the other warders, discharging as they do all the functions of under foresters. Of these there are 22 in all. In accordance with this, the whole of the Crown forests are divided into 214 sub-divisions, to each of which an under forester is appointed, with an average of 2*1 desatins for each.
' Of forest warders there are 92 mounted guards; but the principal ward and responsibility rests on the foot guards, of whom there are 1072, giving to each a district of 6GO desatins, which, considering the populousness of many places, is a ward of very considerable extent. In view of this, in the more dangerous wards there are also under guards, of whom at present there are 345.
' The local forest administrations in the different Governments are classified as those of forests, and those of subforests. The number of the whole is 63, in which are included those of the latter category, the distinction depending on the size of the forests. The forest administrations are committed to chief foresters, or Oberforst- Meisters, each of whom has an assistant supposed to act as his clerk, with the small salary of from 90 to 100 roubles. Generally young men, who have newly entered the forest service on leaving the school of forestry, hold such appointments. The sub-forests are under the charge of Forst-
AREA, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT, &c. 43
Meisters, sometimes called Sub-foresters, [a designation not to be confounded with that of under forester, another class of officials of whom mention will be made. They, like the ecclesiastical officials designated bishops and archbishops in Russia, are equal in power in their own sphere without any subordination to authority of the Oberforst- Meisters, and take their inferior rank from the comparatively lesser importance and magnitude of their charge alone.]
' If we divide the whole area of 710,000 desatins equally amongst the whole of the warders employed, it gives us not less than 500 desatins, which is no small area for a man to guard in those forest estates, which are surrounded by villages in close proximity to them. And notwithstanding thefts of all kinds being carried on by the population of the locality, and the difficulty of keeping watch and ward, the warders are badly paid. The head warders, for instance, receive an annual salary of from 22 to 45 roubles, and there are some in the service who are only allowed a rouble and a half — [at the present rate of exchange, three shillings per annum!]
'The assistant warders receive from 1 to 18' roubles, but with 7J desatins of land and a free house. With the great scarcity of provisions in Poland, and the poor soil in these small allottments, the condition of such men was very bad, so bad that it is difficult not to believe that many of them do abuse their official power to make up their insufficient salary.
'Unhappily the continued abnormal condition of the country since 1865 and 1866 prevents us from estimating at their true worth the services of these warders. And although when astounded by the great loss occasioned by theft we cannot attribute this entirely, directly or indirectly, to the warders, it is a fact that on the guarding of the forests being entrusted to the troops the thefts were at once diminished nine-tenths.
In 1865 the estimated value of the wood stolen was 99,840 roubles.
But in 1867 it fell to 15,902 „
The total loss in these three years was - 258,592,,