It is my opinion that the Emperor does too much for some of his subjects in the eastern part of his dominions.  In Kamchatka and along the coast of the Ohotsk sea the people are supplied with flour at a low price or for nothing, a ship coming annually to bring it.  It has been demonstrated that agriculture is possible in Kamchatka.  When I asked why rye was not raised there, one reply was:  “We get our flour from government, and have no occasion to make it.”  Now if the government would furnish the proper facilities for commencing agriculture, and then throw the inhabitants on their own resources, I think it would make a decided change for the better.  A self-reliant population is always the best.

Some of the colonists on the Amoor went there of their own accord, induced by liberal donations of land and materials, while others were moved by official orders.  In Siberia the government can transfer a population at its will.  A whole village may be commanded to move ten, a hundred, or a thousand miles, and it has only to obey.  The people gather their property, take their flocks and herds, and move where commanded.  They are reimbursed for losses in changing their residence, and the expense of new houses is borne by government.  A community may be moved from one place to another, and the settlers find themselves surrounded by their former neighbors.

The Cossacks are moved oftener than the peasants, as they are more directly subject to orders.  I found the Cossack villages on the Amoor were generally laid out with military precision, the streets where the ground permitted being straight as sunbeams, and the houses of equal size.  Usually each house had a small yard or flower garden in its front, but it was not always carefully tended.  Every village has a chief or headman, who assigns each man his location and watches over the general good of his people.  When Cossacks are demanded for government service the headman makes the selection, and all cases of insubordination or dispute are regulated by him.

A Cossack is half soldier and half citizen.  He owes a certain amount of service to the government, and is required to labor for it a given number of days in the year.  He may be called to travel as escort to the mail or to an officer, to watch over public property, to row a boat, construct a house, or perform any other duty in his power.  In case of war he becomes a soldier and is sent wherever required.  As a servant of government he receives rations for himself and family, but I believe he is not paid in money.  The time belonging to himself he can devote to agriculture or any other employment he chooses.

The Cossacks reside with their families, and some of them acquire considerable property.  A Russian officer told me there were many wealthy Cossacks along the Argoon river on the boundary between Russia and China.  They trade across the frontier, and own large droves of cattle, horses, and sheep.  Some of their houses are spacious and fitted with considerable attempt at luxury.  The Amoor settlements are at present too young to possess much wealth.