ON THE CZAR'S HIGHWAY. 9 1 



of souls and the number of houses in the com- 

 munity. 



To the St. Petersburg government the mir is an ad- 

 ministrative and financial unit. Instead of collecting 

 taxes directly from the individual, the government 

 collects them from the mir. The mir, not the indi- 

 vidual, is assessed ; and if the community contains one 

 or fifty "souls," incapable of meeting their obligation, 

 the burden of their delinquency has to be borne by 

 their neighbors. The taxes are collected by the sta- 

 rosta, or mayor, of the mir, and paid over by him to an 

 agent of the provincial government. 



