ALTAI 131 



to interfere with the commercial development of the 

 nation, and these holidays could, with advantage, be 

 considerably reduced in frequency. 



I had read before leaving England of the riots 

 of the students at Tomsk, so that when I arrived 

 at Novo-Nicolaevsk, I was prompted to satisfy my 

 curiosity on the subject by sounding every one from 

 whom I thought I would be likely to obtain trust- 

 worthy information as to the cause and probable 

 effect of these disturbances. The riots had been 

 said to have been of so serious a character that 

 the faith of the Central Authorities in the Governor 

 of Tomsk had been severely shaken, and it was 

 rumoured that he was about to be removed from 

 his post. The following version of the occurrence 

 was given to me by a member of the Russian nobility 

 who was living in banishment at Novo-Nicolaevsk, 

 and was substantiated by several members of an 

 English family also residing there. It was after- 

 wards confirmed by the owner of a gold mine at 

 Tomsk, himself an American, some three weeks after 

 it was given to me. I feel confident therefore that 

 it is substantially correct. 



A student of Tomsk University was suspected by 

 some of his fellow-students of being a spy m the 

 pay of the Government. They reported to the 

 Director of the university and demanded an in- 

 vestigation. The Director complied with their 

 demand and, having convinced himself that there 

 was no foundation for the charge, called the students 

 together and told them the conclusion at which he 

 had arrived. The matter might have ended here, 

 but the student against whom the accusation had 

 been brought complained to the chief magistrate and, 

 in the result, brought an action for defamation of 

 character against several of his fellow -students. On 

 the 1 8th February, 1903, the day of the trial, 



