THE WATERWAYS OF RUSSIA.
“The servitude of rivers is the noblest and most
important victory which man has obtained over the
licentiousness of Nature.”
—_Gibbon._
The Russian Empire is, in many respects, the most remarkable in the
world. With an area of more than eight and a half million of square
miles, and a population of 110 millions, it is larger than the whole
of the British Empire, including India, Canada, and Australia, and
is about seventy times the size of the British Islands alone. It is
natural that the internal transport of such a vast territory should
present problems of deep interest, and should tax the resources of
the engineers that have been from time to time occupied with their
determination. This has been more than ordinarily difficult because
of the vast distances to be traversed, and the inclement character of
the climate, which practically seals up navigation entirely over a
great part of the Empire for about six months of the year. Happily,
the Empire is provided with a very ample river system, having, indeed,
longer and deeper rivers than any other country in Europe, which means,
of course, that water transport is available over long distances,
without making any special or costly provision for that purpose.
The enormous distances over which merchandise has been carried in
pre-railway times, throughout the Russian Empire is justly regarded as
one of the most remarkable chapters in the history of transportation.
For many years previous to the commencement of the present century,
large quantities of iron, salt, gold and silver, furs and skins,
tallow, leather, marble and precious stones, in addition to the
special products of China, were carried from the latter country to St.
Petersburg, a distance of fully 2000 miles. The route adopted appears
to have been by the Selenga to the Baikal Lake, and thence by the
Angara to the Yenisey, where the merchandise was unloaded and carried
overland as far as the river Ket. By this stream it was carried to
the Obb, and thence up the Irtish and the Tobol, where it was again
unloaded, and carried overland to the Tchussovaia, where it was put on
vessels, and whence it was carried to the Kama and finally into the
Volga. Such a system of transport is probably unequalled for extent
and variety in any other part of the world, but the frequent removals
and trans-shipments on this and on other principal routes rendered it
a matter of urgent importance to connect the different waterways by
canal navigation, whereby the leading maritime routes could be joined
together.
When we consider the condition of the Russian Empire at the time
of Peter the Great, the semi-barbarism of its inhabitants, and the
comparatively limited resources at his disposal, the work planned
and achieved by Peter the Great[99] in the construction of canals is
little short of marvellous. It was he who planned the grand scheme for
uniting the Caspian and the Baltic with the Black Sea, by the junction
of the Volga and the Don. It was he, also, who began the Ladoga Canal
in 1718, although it was not completed until the reign of the Empress
Anne. This canal, as constructed, connected the Volkhof with the Neva
in a navigation of 67½ miles, with a uniform breadth of 70 feet, and a
mean depth of 10 feet in spring and 7 feet in summer. Peter the Great
connected Astracan and Petersburg by the canal of Vishni-Volotchok,
although the canal was afterwards considerably improved by the Empress
Catherine.[100] Peter the Great, who was the founder of Cronstadt, also
constructed a canal giving access to the harbour of that place. It was
not, however, completed in his lifetime. This canal, called after its
founder, is lined with brick, as is also another canal, completed soon
after the death of Catherine II., in order that vessels might be able
to load and unload stores at the gates of the magazines built on both
sides.[101]
In the time of Peter, and under his direction or sanction, many other
waterways were projected or improved in Russia. It was the aim of
that monarch to render transport universal and economical throughout
his wide dominions, and if his resources had been equal to his plans,
Russia would have taken the foremost place in everything relating to
water communication. In 1718, finding that the mouth of the Vistula was
so choked up with sand that even a small vessel had often difficulty
in passing over it, he caused a canal to be constructed, about
three-quarters of a mile in length, directly into the bay, having
a breadth of 120 to 180 feet in some places, and a depth of 13 to
15 feet. From the end of this canal, next the sea, there were piers
running out about 500 yards into the bay, whence ships could enter the
canal with almost any wind, and be perfectly secure—as, indeed, the
bay of Dantzic may usually be reckoned, having an excellent anchorage
ground, and being safe against all storms, those from the north-east
and east only creating any danger.
At the top of the canal just described, there were constructed flood
gates, or a sluice, to prevent the waters of the Vistula running in, or
choking it with sand. In the month of October, 1804, this sluice was
finished. It will admit vessels of 36 feet beam, and drawing not more
than 10 to 11 feet water. The ships thereby pass into the Vistula, and
thence they may proceed up to the mouth of the Mottlau; or to the town,
about four English miles; or they may lay in the Vistula close to the
shore, in a good depth of water.
A canal for heavy goods was constructed from Lübeck to the Elbe, where
it falls in at Lauenburg, passing through Möellon, being a distance
of from 35 to 40 English miles. Oddy reported in 1820 that “there are
about 100 boats constantly employed on this canal, and as many more may
be procured, nearly of an equal size and the same construction, long
and narrow, carrying about 90 shlb. of 280 lbs. each. These vessels are
generally from ten to twelve days going from Lübeck to Hamburg, having
only three men to navigate them, without the assistance of horses. The
freight is generally reckoned for the whole of one of these vessels,
100 marks current, from Lübeck to Lauenburg on the Elbe, and generally
from thence to Hamburg, one third more; for which the boatman are
responsible against damage or robbery. This canal has the advantage of
never suffering delay for want of water in summer, with which it is
supplied from the fine lake of Katzburg.”[102]
An extraordinary access of enterprise appears to have occurred in
Russia in or about the year 1796 in the construction of waterways
designed to connect the different rivers and seas within or bordering
upon the European dominions of that State. The Beresinski Canal was
commenced in 1797; the Swir Canal in 1795; the Maria Canal in 1796; the
Kamushuiski Canal was examined and ordered to be completed in the same
year; while in 1797 the State undertook the construction of a canal
from the Düna, below Riga, for the purpose of joining the Bay of Riga
with the Bay of Finland. To the same period belong the project of a
canal between Petersburg and Archangel; the Verroi Canal, designed to
unite the Lake Waggola and the Black Rivulet; the Welikoluki Canal,
designed to unite the rivers Neva and Dnieper with the Düna—a canal 81
miles in length; and the canals of Orel, designed to unite the rivers
Bolwa and Shisdra; the Sna and Zon, and the Nerussa with the Kromü.
This programme, comprehensive and liberal in its design, was only
partially carried out, owing to the want of sufficient resources.
The Baltic and the Caspian Seas were united more than half a century
ago by three different systems of canals—the first uniting the Neva
with the Volga by Lake Ilmen and the canal of Vishni Volotchok; the
second uniting the Neva with the Volga, by the Ladoga Canal, and by
the canals of Tichwin and Sjâs; and the third joining the same rivers
by Lake Onega and the Maria Canal, which unites the rivers Wytegra and
Kowspaga.
The first of these three systems connects the Caspian and the Black
Seas in a navigation of some 1434 miles. Ships or barges laden at
Astracan ascend the river Volga to Twer, and thence proceed up the
Twerza. After passing through the canal here, they descend the Msta
to Novgorod, and proceed thence down the Volkhof to the Ladoga Canal,
which connects with the Neva at Schlusselburg. Once on the Neva vessels
can proceed direct to St. Petersburg without unloading cargoes.
In the second canal system referred to there are three different
artificial waterways—those of the Tichwin, Sjâs, and Swir. The first
of these was constructed for the purpose of connecting the Sominka with
the Lid, which falls in the Tschagadosh, and thence into the Mologa,
which is connected with the Volga. The Swir Canal is a continuation
of that of the Ladoga, which unites the Volkhof with the Sjâs river.
The Swir Canal was completed in 1801, and in that year, according to
Oddy,[103] 650 vessels of all sizes passed through it. The chief member
of the third system is the Marian Canal, which was completed in 1801.
The Onega Canal, designed to join the rivers Wytegra and Swir was built
in 1808 to 1810. The Swir Canal, connecting the rivers Swir and Sjâs
was completed in the year 1806.
The Baltic and the Black Sea, like the Baltic and the Caspian, were
connected in the early part of the century by three different systems
of canal communication, which are equally remarkable. The first of
these, the Beresinski Canal, unites the Düna with the Dneiper, and
thereby joins the Bay of Riga with the Black Sea. The second unites the
Njemen with the Dneiper by the Ognisky Canal, and the Courland Canal.
The third system unites the western Bug with the Dneiper by the King’s
Canal.
The Beresinski Canal was commenced in the year 1797. The principal part
of the navigation was completed in 1801, but the canal was not entirely
finished until 1809. It forms a junction with the Dneiper, first by
the river Ulla, which falls into the Düna, then by the Sergatcha,
which falls into the Beresina, and finally into the Dneiper. The lakes
Beloje and Beresina, lying on the route, are utilised to facilitate the
connection.
The Ognisky Canal, which was finally completed in 1803, was built
largely at the expense of the Count of that name during the latter
years of the Polish republic. It is thirty-four miles in length, and
has ten sluices. For many years it afforded a passage for small craft
between Königsberg and the Black Sea. The canal joins the rivers Szzara
and Jasiolda, the first of which falls into the Njemen, and the latter
into the Pripecz, thereby opening a communication _viâ_ the Dnieper
with the Baltic and the Black Seas. The Governments of Lithuania,
Volhinia, Little Russia, and Polish Ukraine, have long sent their
produce by the Njemen to Königsberg and Memel, near which latter place
it falls into the Baltic. Nearly a hundred years ago it was proposed
to unite the Njemen with the Bay of Riga by a canal of ten versts in
length, which would unite the Nevesha with the Lavenna at the mouth of
the great Ada.
The last King of Poland began the canal which unites the western Bug
with the Dneiper, and which for that reason was called the King’s
Canal. It unites the Prima and the Muckawetz, but it has not been very
successful. As originally constructed, the canal had no sluices, and
being short of water in the summer, and frozen in winter, it was only
navigable in the spring months.
Another important maritime connection, to which great importance was
attached in the early part of the century, was that of the Bay of Riga
with the Bay of Finland. This connection was arranged for—first, by
joining the rivers Pemau and Narova by means of the Lake Peipus and the
canal of Fellin; second, by uniting the rivers Düna and Neva, by Lake
Ilmen and the Welikoluki Canal; and third, by joining the Düna and
Narova with the Peipus Lake, and the Verroi and Riga Canals.
Peter the Great attached much importance to effecting a junction of the
Black and the Caspian Seas. The distance between these two maritime
highways is about 400 miles, and the enormous trade that has recently
been developed in petroleum at Baku, on the Caspian Sea, would have
created a traffic for such a waterway that was never dreamt of in the
time of that Czar. The Iwanoff Canal was begun by Peter in 1700 for
the purpose of uniting the Don by means of Lake Iwan, with the river
Shat, which passes through the Upa into the Oka. The canal had been
carried from the Don into the valley of the Bobrucki, towards Cape
Iwan, and twenty-four sluices had been completed, when the work was
suddenly stopped, most probably because the means were insufficient
for its completion; but early in the present century the completion of
the canal was ordered by the Government. In 1716, Peter commenced the
Kamüshinski Canal, designed to unite the Don and the Volga, and thereby
to connect the Black and the Caspian Seas. Like the Iwanoff Canal, this
undertaking had been partially finished when it had to be discontinued,
apparently for engineering as well as for financial reasons, nor was it
until 1796 that its construction was again resumed.
_The Poutiloff Canal._—One of the most important canals in the
Russian Empire, as well as one of the most recently constructed is
that known as the Poutiloff Canal—a waterway built for the purpose of
converting the city of St. Petersburg into a port. This has hitherto
been rendered impossible by the defects of the bar of the river Neva.
Hence all traffic arriving at St. Petersburg from the interior, or
at Cronstadt from abroad, has had to be transhipped at great cost,
and with so much delay that Newcastle coal has often taken as long in
transit from Cronstadt to the capital, a distance of 18½ miles, as from
the North of England to Cronstadt. In 1872 a Commission reported upon
this canal, and the plan finally adopted was sanctioned and contracted
for in 1874; but, owing to losses of plant conveyed from England, the
works were not commenced till 1877. The canal starts from the Neva at
St. Petersburg, and, diverging from the estuary-channel, it proceeds
in a south-westerly direction for about 2 miles, and then curving
gradually round towards the north-west, it runs in a straight line to
Cronstadt. The canal is 207 feet wide at the bottom for the first part
of its course, and has a continuous embankment on the side of the Gulf
of Finland, and at places on the land side; at the termination of the
curve it unites with a branch canal, which will eventually rejoin the
Neva above St. Petersburg, and thence its navigable width is increased
to 275 feet, its depth being 22 feet throughout. The first part of the
straight portion is embanked on both sides, but for the last 10 miles
a navigable channel, 275 feet wide, has been dredged through the Gulf,
which has a depth there of only from 12 to 15 feet, while no banks have
been made.
[Illustration: THE POUTILOFF CANAL.]
Three basins, formed by widening the canal at certain places, have
been provided for the export and import trade, having a total area of
430 acres; but it is considered that these will not afford sufficient
accommodation. Between 1877 and 1882, 5,304,000 cubic yards were
excavated, out of a total of about 8,700,000 cubic yards. The working
season, however, at St. Petersburg is short, and only one hundred and
twenty-five days can be reckoned upon in the year, making an average
of 8480 cubic yards per day. Water was admitted into the canal in the
presence of the Emperor Alexander III. in November 1883; but the canal
was not made available for the passage of vessels until 1884. The canal
is reported to have greatly promoted the commercial prospects of the
capital. This was much required, as, previous to the construction of
the Poutiloff Canal, only vessels of very small size and light draught
could ascend the Neva for the purpose of loading and unloading at
St. Petersburg, while those of more than very limited draught were
compelled to stop at Cronstadt, and discharge or load there. The cost
of sending goods from Cronstadt to the capital was calculated at more
than the freight from England,[104] without taking into account the loss
of time, which often amounted to ten or fourteen days, and sometimes
more.
The Poutiloff Canal was constructed by the Russian Government, at a
cost of about a million and a quarter sterling, and has been thrown
open free of tolls. The points A and B on the plan, where warehouse
accommodation has been provided, are in communication by rail with all
the railways going out of St. Petersburg, and can also be approached by
lighters with cargo for transport. It is expected that the canal will
cause merchant-ships ultimately to abandon Cronstadt entirely.
At the St. Petersburg end of the canal, a Government Commission
recommended some years ago, that two basins would be required, each 22
feet deep, and capable of holding 90 steamers and 70 sailing vessels,
with a third basin, having a depth of 10½ feet, in order to accommodate
the barges arriving from the interior. The cost of these works has been
estimated at over a million sterling. There has been a good deal of
controversy as to the proper location for the port of St. Petersburg
at the end of the canal. The original proposal was to erect the docks
and basins at the head of the canal, close to the Poutiloff Ironworks,
but the Ministry of Finance is reported to have favoured a project for
constructing a port on the opposite side of the river—that is on the
right bank—on the ground that it would be much less expensive. But the
utility of the canal has already been so greatly proved, that the docks
originally projected will be likely to be insufficient before long.
About 2500 ships are stated to be annually employed in the foreign, and
700 in the local transport trade of the capital.[105]
_The Perekop Canal_ is another recent undertaking of the Russian
Government. According to ‘Reports of the Consuls of the U.S.A.,’ dated
July 1888, Russia had then begun with the excavation of the Strait of
Perekop, which connects the Crimea with the Russian continent. The
canal is to go from Perekop to Goutschar, Sivash, and Genitschesk, and
is to be 111 versts long. It will be 65 feet broad and 12 feet deep.
At each end of the canal a port will be built. It is stated that the
85,000,000 roubles necessary for the undertaking have been found. The
shortest road from Genitschesk to the northern ports of the Black
Sea will be through the canal. The voyage from Odessa to Maripol is
at present 434 sea miles long; through the canal it will be only 295
miles. The work will take five years to complete. When the canal is
finished, it will be easy for Russia to send her ships through the
Sea of Azov to Otschakow, to the mouth of the Dnieper, and to Odessa,
because they will no longer have to sail round the Crimea, and they
will thereby avoid the risk of being captured by foreign ships in case
of war. The chief reason for building the Perekop Canal is stated to be
the necessity for getting coal from the Don districts for the Russian
fleet.[106]
_The Baltic and White Sea Canal._—The latest project put forward with
a view to extending and completing the canal system of Russia is that
of an artificial connection between the Baltic and the White Seas. The
principal port on the White Sea is Archangel, which is situated on
the Dwina, about 30 English miles from its mouth. The building of St.
Petersburg took away from Archangel a considerable part of its trade
with European countries. The harbour of Archangel is, moreover, none of
the best, and the bar at the entrance of the Dwina is said to have only
about 14½ feet of water, so that ships which draw more water must be
loaded out in the roads by lighters. Nevertheless, the shipping trade
of Archangel is still considerable, and it is believed that it would be
greatly promoted by a direct connection with the Baltic. The projected
canal is estimated to cost 10 millions of roubles (1,000,000_l._),
and the length of the canal will be 210 versts. General Ignatieff is
said to have declared in favour of the undertaking, and the Russian
engineers who have reported upon it state that it is easily feasible.
_Lake Onega Canal._—Another project that has for some time past found
a great deal of favour in Russia is that of a waterway from the White
Sea to the Baltic by way of Lake Onega. Communication already exists
between the two seas, but it is by a roundabout water route, starting
from Archangel, and running up the Dwina to a point near Vologda.
A canal would reduce this distance of nearly 1500 miles to about
one-third of that figure. The estimated cost of the canal is about
750,000_l._ The project is one that received the consideration of Peter
the Great, who, as we have already seen, was the greatest canal-maker
that Russia has produced.
_The Volga and Don Canal._—The new canal between the Volga and the Don
will be 53 versts in length, and is estimated to cost 2,780,000_l._ The
canal will commence at the Volga, 7 feet below the level of the Black
Sea, and will terminate at a point of the river Don which is 119 feet
higher than that water. At its tenth verst from the river Don the canal
will traverse the river Karpooka, and at the twenty-fourth verst it
will pass the Krivomoozquiski Station of the Volga-Don Railway. Here
a basin for shipping will be provided. The canal subsequently runs
parallel with the railway until it reaches the river Tchervlenoi, a
branch of the Karpooka. From this point the watershed of the Volga and
the Don will be cut through, the deepest cutting being 140 feet. The
soil, however, is sandy, and is easily dealt with. A rapid descent is
made at the end of the canal, where there will be a fall of 270 feet
in 6 miles, and where thirteen locks, each 6½ metres deep, will be
constructed. The total amount of earth to be excavated is estimated at
2,780,000 Russian cubic fathoms. It is proposed to construct each lock
large enough to contain at one time two vessels, severally 210 feet
long, 42 feet broad, and 7 feet deep.
_The Hyegra and Kovja Canal._—In July 1886, a new canal, which forms
an important link in the chain of canals that connect the Caspian and
the Baltic was opened. This canal is 15 miles in length, 70 feet wide,
and 7 feet deep. It joins the rivers Hyegra and Kovja. Upwards of
20,000 labourers were employed in the undertaking, together with three
dredging machines, but the greater part of the work was done by hand.
The quantity of excavation required was upwards of 270,000 Russian
cubic fathoms of earth. Some of the cuttings were 30 feet in depth. The
undertaking did not, however, present any engineering difficulties of
importance.
The traffic of the Caspian Sea is now very considerable, having been
enormously increased within recent years by the development of the
petroleum trade of Baku, and of the wealth of the minerals and other
natural productions that are common to that region. The Baltic is a
natural and the most convenient outlet for a great part of this trade,
although pipes have been laid from the Caspian to the Black Sea, in
order to discharge the petroleum into ships navigating that waterway.
_The Proposed Black Sea and Azov Canal._—During the summer of 1888 the
Russian Government complied with a demand for a concession, made by the
Black Sea and Azov Canal Company, for the right to construct a canal
intended to connect the Don basin and the Sea of Azov with the Dneiper
basin and the Black Sea. The length of the proposed canal is stated
to be a little over 26 English miles, and the cost is estimated at 3½
millions sterling. The mean depth proposed is about 14 feet. The work
of construction is expected to occupy about four years.
It has been remarked as a singular phenomenon that whereas the canal
traffic of England has relatively diminished, that of other countries
has been maintained. This has been explained by the fact that in other
countries the distances are generally greater, and the canals are more
like rivers than the narrow waters usual in our own country. On Russian
canals, for example, barges range in length from 100 to 300 feet, and,
instead of being mere lighters, they are to all intents and purposes
the counterparts of ocean-going steamships. Large-sized steamers can
proceed from the Neva through the canal system to the Volga, and
descend thence to the Caspian Sea. Again, it is no unusual thing for
barges of 500 or 1000 tons burden to start from some stream in the Ural
Mountains with the floods of spring, and reach the river Neva in the
autumn—a journey of nearly 1000 miles.
The canals of Russia were for a long time, and are still to a
considerable extent, largely navigated by flat-bottomed barques, of
considerable length, but seldom more than 4 feet in depth, and drawing
from 20 to 30 inches of water. “Their rudder,” it is said, “is a long
tree like an oar. In case of leakage, instead of a pump they put up
a rough cross-bar, from which is slung, by means of a rope, a wooden
scoop, with which they throw out the water. These vessels are rudely
constructed, purposely for conveying only one cargo. They cost from
100 to 300 roubles each (20_l._ to 60_l._), and when they arrive at
Archangel, Petersburg, or Riga, and their cargoes are discharged, they
are sold or broken up for firewood or other purposes, seldom fetching
more than from 20 to 50 roubles.”[107]
_The Canals of Finland._—Finland has a considerable wealth of lake
navigation, which has been connected by canals to the great gain
of local commerce. One of these is the canal of the Samia, which
connects a chain of lakes with the Gulf of Finland by a waterway
37 miles long, with a fall of 260 feet. The fifteen locks are all
of substantial masonry, and are fitted with wooden gates, the use
of iron in connection with the stonework being dispensed with as
much as possible, on account of its considerable changes of volume,
due to the great range of temperature to which it is exposed. The
masonry, though built in hydraulic cement, suffered considerably
from the severe cold of winter; but in the year 1870 the plan was
adopted of covering the lock chambers by means of 2-inch planks, and
allowing the water to flow perpetually through the two gate sluices.
Snow is allowed to accumulate over the temporary covers, and as the
water running through has a mean temperature of 39° Fahrenheit,
the lock chambers are readily kept at a temperature a little above
the freezing-point. The levels between the locks are kept full all
winter. The practice of running out the water is stated by a recent
writer to be destructive to the banks.
The canal of the Pielis connects two lakes; it is 40 miles long, and
has a fall of 62 feet, surmounted by ten wooden locks. The crib-work of
the walls is loaded with stone, and not clay or earth, as is commonly
the case, in consequence of which the woodwork is not forced out of
place by the expansion of the frozen filling, and does not rot so
quickly.
From all that has already been put forward, it must be evident that
Russia has long been fully alive to the importance of developing
her maritime resources, and especially her system of inland water
transport. The total canal mileage of Russia has been estimated by Sir
Charles Hartley at about 200 miles(?), and he remarks that, “in most
instances, they have been formed with but little difficulty across the
gentle undulations of the great watershed, thus uniting the head waters
of rivers which have their outlets at opposite extremities of the
Continent.”[108]
_The River Systems of Russia._—No reference to the water transport of
Russia would be complete unless it included the river-system of that
interesting country, which is stated to be navigable to the extent of
19,000 miles. Rafts, however, can use such waterways to the extent of
38,000 miles. The chief rivers of Russia are the Volga, with a drainage
area of 563,000 miles, and a course of over 2000 miles, making it the
longest river in Europe; the Ural, with a drainage area of 95,000
square miles, and a course of 1446 miles; the Dwina, with a drainage
area of nearly 100,000 miles, and a course of 650 miles; the Petchora,
with a drainage area of 127,000 miles and a length of 915 miles; the
Don, with a drainage area of 170,000 square miles, and a length of 980
miles; and the Dneiper, with a drainage area of 204,000 square miles,
and a length of 1060 miles. In the summer these rivers, with their
collateral canals, transport immense quantities of raw material to
the south and west, and carry back manufactures of different kinds in
exchange. In the winter, however, their navigation is generally closed,
and traffic is carried either by railway or by road. There are, of
course, many smaller streams, such as the Düna, 470 miles long; the
Neva, 34 miles long; the Dneister, 640 miles in length; and the Bug,
with a course of 430 miles.
FOOTNOTES:
[99] Peter the Great, as is well known, was a keen observer of
everything that tended to open up the internal commerce of a country,
and especially of all that tended to advance maritime progress, in
which he took a deep interest. When Peter was residing in England
canal navigation was hardly yet begun, but many rivers had been
canalised, including the Aire and Calder, the Trent, the Witham, and
the Medway.
[100] For additional information on this subject consult Tooke’s
‘View of the Russian Empire,’ vol. i., and Cox’s ‘Travels in Poland
and Russia,’ vol. iii.
[101] Article “Canals,” in ‘Rees’s Encyclopædia.’
[102] Oddy’s ‘European Commerce,’ p. 292.
[103] Oddy’s ‘European Commerce.’
[104] Report by Her Majesty’s Ambassador at St. Petersburg,
Commercial series, No. 2 1884.
[105] Paper read in 1886 before the Society for Promoting Russian
Trade.
[106] London _Economist_, July 14, 1888.
[107] Oddy’s ‘European Commerce,’ p. 69.
[108] ‘Inland Navigation in Europe,’ March 1888.