NOVO-NICOLAEVSK 109 



The proxtffiity of the river and the railway give 

 the town a decided advantage over Tomsk, the capital 

 of Siberia. Being the terminus of the mid-Siberian 

 railway, and the most central town in the whole 

 Government of Tomsk, where enormous quantities of 

 goods are transhipped for export, it is bound to 

 have a great future, and has, in fact, been found 

 to be more central than the capital, and therefoire 

 better adapted for purposes of trade. The develop- 

 ment of the majority of the Siberian towns situated 

 along the great waterways or in the vicinity of 

 the railway lines, is favoured by circumstances in 

 every way similar to those which have created the 

 monster cities of America. Prior to the construction 

 of the railway, Novo-Nicolaevsk was a village of 

 twenty -four households and about 104 "souls." In 

 six years the population had increased to 800, and 

 to-day it numbers about 35,000. An area of up- 

 wards of 32,000 acres of land and 2,682 sites for 

 building were granted to the population by the 

 Administration of the land belonging to His Imperial 

 Majesty's Cabinet. These can be obtained for a 

 term of thirty years, at an annual rental of from 

 5s. 6d. to 22s., according to the location, the 

 Administration reserving the right to raise the rent 

 10 per cent, after the expiration of six years. The 

 building sites may be rented by any one, irre- 

 spective of rank or class. Each building allotment 

 is 105 feet in length and 119 feet wide, which 

 accounts for the symmetrical plan of the town as 

 a whole. A fine brick church has been erected 

 in the centre of the settlement, and is dedicated 

 to the warrior saint, Alexander Nevsky, the cost of 

 erection having been borne by His Majesty and some 

 private individuals. The town contains 113 shops 

 and stores, some of them of brick. Of these four 

 are beer -houses, two wine-cellars, two restaurants. 



