n other reasons why he should not be chosen, and accordingly
requests to be excused. But his protestations are not listened to, and
the proceedings terminate. A new Village Elder has been duly elected.

Far more important than the elections is the redistribution of the
Communal land. It can matter but little to the Head of a Household how
the elections go, provided he himself is not chosen. He can accept
with perfect equanimity Alexei, or Ivan, or Nikolai, because the
office-bearers have very little influence in Communal affairs. But he
cannot remain a passive, indifferent spectator when the division and
allotment of the land come to be discussed, for the material welfare of
every household depends to a great extent on the amount of land and of
burdens which it receives.

In the southern provinces, where the soil is fertile, and the taxes do
not exceed the normal rent, the process of division and allotment is
comparatively simple. Here each peasant desires to get as much land as
possible, and consequently each household demands all the land to which
it is entitled--that is to say, a number of shares equal to the number
of its members inscribed in the last revision list. The Assembly has
therefore no difficult questions to decide. The Communal revision list
determines the number of shares into which the land must be divided, and
the number of shares to be allotted to each family. The only difficulty
likely to arise is as to which particular shares a particular family
shall receive, and this difficulty is commonly obviated by the custom of
drawing lots. There may be, it is true, some difference of opinion as
to when a redistribution should be made, but this question is easily
decided by a vote of the Assembly.

Very different is the process of division and allotment in many Communes
of the northern provinces. Here the soil is often very unfertile and the
taxes exceed the normal rent, and consequently it may happen that the
peasants strive to have as little land as possible. In these cases such
scenes as the following may occur:

Ivan is being asked how many shares of the Communal land he will take,
and replies in a slow, contemplative way, "I have two sons, and there
is myself, so I'll take three shares, or somewhat less, if it is your
pleasure."

"Less!" exclaims a middle-aged peasant, who is not the Village Elder,
but merely an influential member, and takes the leading part in the
proceedings. "You talk nonsense. Y