ABUSES CONNECTED WITH EXPLOITATION. 135 



destination. I believe officials destroy letters for the sake of 

 the stamps, and destroy others to prevent discovery. Some 

 time since I sent from the Ural 50 roubles (£5), and re- 

 gistered or insured the letter. This never reached its 

 destination. I sent a registered letter of inquiry, but 

 received no reply. I then sent the quittance or certificate. 

 This got lost ! and there was an end of the matter. 



' Not long ago I sent a parcel to Yaroslav of the same value 

 50 roubles (£5), and I sent the quittance by post; but it 

 never reached its destination. As the parcel was sent by 

 carrier and not by post, I recovered this after a great 

 deal of botheration — making affirmation and signing docu- 

 ments, &c, I have lost scores of letters and papers that I 

 know of What may it be with others of which I know 

 nothing ! I take in the Manchester Guardian. I lose 

 upon an average one paper a week. I sent for 50 printed 

 copies of a letter from me which had been printed in the 

 Crewe Guardian. They cost me 10s 6d, but I never 

 received them. I sent for two gross of steel pens of a 

 particular kind. I received three dozen. The letter had 

 been opened and resealed by officials. Nice. Isn't it? 

 But I must stop or I might fill a book with my unplea- 

 sant experience in Russia. It is of no use trying to 

 recover anything in Russia ; if you hav-e not documentary 

 evidence, verbal testimony is not taken, if not confirmed. 

 Every man is treated as a liar until the contrary is proved. 

 Try if you can get any redress. N obody here thinks of 

 doing so.' 



I did try ; and I formally reported to the post-office 

 my suspicion, founded on lengthened experience, that the 

 letter had never left Russia, and that I desired enquiry to 

 be made there. The answer bore that every thing prac- 

 ticable had been done in this country ; but that in Russia no 

 enquires were made by the officials after lost letters unless 

 they had been registered. This is in accordance with every 

 thing connected with the Government of Russia. 



The contents of the letter had nothing to do with 

 the detention of it, though some suspicion of what 



