In those mines and prisons are gathered together the very finest and noblest and capablest multitude of human beings that God is able to create.

Now if you had that kind of a population to sell, would you offer it to a despotism?
No, the despotism has no use for it; you would lose money.
A despotism has no use for anything but human cattle.

But suppose you want to start a republic ?" "Yes, I see.

It's just the material for it." "Well, I should say so! There's Siberia with just the very finest and choicest material on the globe for a republic, and more coming--more coming all the time, don't you see! It is being daily, weekly, monthly recruited by the most perfectly devised system that has ever been invented, perhaps.

By this system the whole of the hundred millions of Russia are being constantly and patiently sifted, sifted, sifted, by myriads of trained experts, spies appointed by the Emperor personally; and whenever they catch a man, woman or child that has got any brains or education or character, they ship that person straight to Siberia.