ABUSES CONNECTED WITH EXPLOITATION. 137 



and so has punishment with the lash, which consisted of 

 three thongs ; but punishment with birch rods is still 

 legal, and the village magistrates have authority to order 

 punishment with them to the extent of 25 strokes/ 



He added : ' In connection with my work in the forest 

 I frequently had occasion formally to lodge complaints 

 with the authorities against men in my employment get- 

 ting drunk, or otherwise leaving or neglecting their work, 

 and such was the punishment awarded for such offences ; 

 but it was of no avail, and I was pestered with my work- 

 men. One day a centurion, placed over a hundred men, 

 quietly said to me, " I do not know how you do it ; you 

 send in your complaint ; and they only laugh at you for 

 your complaints. The usage here is td send with your com- 

 plaint a three rouble note. Do this the next time, and 

 you will see the difference."' He did so, when to his 

 horror four soldiers were sent for ; the accused was laid 

 on his belly, with a small pillow for his head ; one soldier 

 took his seat upon his neck, another on his feet, his back 

 was bared, and the other two soldiers, one on each side, 

 inflicted the stripes according to the sentence, every one 

 of them drawing blood. The raw wound was then rubbed 

 with salt, and the man was left to do as he choose until he 

 might be again fit for work. 



My informant was horrified ; but never again had he 

 occasion to make complaint of his men. It is as likely as 

 not that it was at the instance of those who benefited by 

 the douceur that my informant was told of the national 

 usage in regard to a gift. 



So much for bribery in courts of justice, which is 

 referred to in passing as an indication of the universality 

 of the practice. 



Returning to bribery practised in the field, I may state 

 that the grant of wood to proprietors of extensive works 

 is made to enable them to supplement water-power by 

 steam, or to make use of this exclusively. No steam- 

 engine may be ued in Russia until it is certified by a 



