appears that from 1863 to 1881 the number of drink shops was reduced by degrees from 257,531 to 146,000. A spontaneous movement, with details of which I was furnished at the time, led to the destruction by the peasants of many kabaks, or drinking shops, in view of their emancipation, for enjoying the full benefit of which they maintained drunkenness must cease. Previously the Baron had to support the aged serf ruined by drink, now it would fall upon his family and neighbours to do so; and a clear head and a firm hand they said would be needed to enable them to make the most of their anticipated freedom. Thus they reasoned, and upon these views they acted somewhat riotously. Madame Novikoff writes: —
'After the death of the late Emperor the movement against drunkenness suddenly reappeared even stronger than before. In the outburst of sorrow caused by that ' Parricide ' (as it was sometimes called by the lower classesj, many village communes determined, as a sign of their grief, to close the drinking-shops. In three places in the government of Pskov a resolution to this effect was signed by 227 heads of families, and it was decided to close compulsorily all the public-houses, which have been taking 50,000 roubles a year from the population. In the government of Penza, where the governor has energetically striven to close these shops, the villagers declared in favour of abolishing them for ever. Three villages in the government of Vilna, moved chiefly by religious motives, did the same thing. General sympathy greeted that movement, for, as a rule, the smaller the number of drinking-shops the greater is the prosperity of the place. According to an interesting monograph of MM. Bektieff and KhvostofT on the economical position of Yeletz in the Ural, an examination of nineteen communes showed that, as a rule, the number of ruined homes corresponded to the number of public-houses in a commune. They mentioned two places as examples. The village of Jarnova possessed 203 homesteads and three public-houses. The soil was good; the holdings of each peasant averaged 4| desatins per head. They paid two roubles per desatin. After the public- houses had been open for some time, 13 per cent, of these peasants were entirely ruined, 25 others had no horse, and 53 had not even a cow. As the possession of at least one horse and one cow is the minimum of prosperity, 78, or 38 per cent., of the peasants of Jarnova had not even attained that minimum. Contrasted with this sad spectacle of poverty was the state of the smaller village of Petrovskoye, which fortunately was without any public-houses. Of its 55 homesteads only one was entirely ruined, and only 4 were without a cow. Yet the peasants only owned 2 desatins of land, and paid for it 3 roubles 73 kopecs. Thus, although they had to pay more per desatin, and only owned half the quantity of land held by those of Javnovo, only 7 per cent, are below the minimum of prosperity, as against 38 per cent, in Jarnovo.
' The same contrast, MM. Bektiff and Khvostoff report is to be found in all the other villages they examined. The wine-shops (kabaki] are now regarded as the village cancers, and some of my friends in Russia would be enthuastic supporters of the United Kingdom Alliance. Mr. KatkofFs Moscow Gazette publishes almost daily long columns in favour of very drastic measures against too great facilities for the sale of wine. Mr. AkaskofFs Huss is just as emphatic on the subject. But it is only natural for such enlightened and cultivated patriots as those two to take such a course. Let me mention two others, who although they have risen from the lower classes, may nevertheless play an energetic part in the direction of this question. I mean Mr. Tichomiroff and his uncle Mr. Labsine. At present they are at the head of their large manufactory at Bogorodsk, near Moscow. They employ a great number of workmen, but they will never engage a single man who is not a total abstainer. Extra tea is willingly provided, and the wages are rather higher than usual, but still the results economically and morally are most excellent. Both Tichomiroff and Labsine are men of very deep religious feeling, devoted to their country, genuine enthusiasts. The former has taken an active part in the Commission of Experts, and his speech impressed his audience with his simple and fervid eloquence. His invectives against the drink-shops were exceedingly vigorous, and really made him a very valuable ally in the temperance reformation.