Religion.- nations, as a great part of the Tatars, with the Fins, Satpoiedsv and
Oftiaks, the Mandfhurs, and Burats, and. Tungufes; and has' even
' paffed to the Coriaks, and Tpchuks/ and peqpdgyof the-eafferq ifles.^
The population indeed of Afialjc Ruffia, fearqely .exceeds, five mill^ns,
but many of the Chinefeare Sc&imanians/and the Tyftem is intimately,
conneded with' that of the Brahmins, or rather of Bo^dh. On the
eaftern coaft of the fea of Baikal.!* the rock of the Sbhamans?l^ d© L of
a Angular- ffiape: and among the inferior fpirits may be nanjed the
Garin, or aquatic fairies, the Ilguirkt thofe of .the earth, Temir;Kam
thofe of'the mountain's, and Vbdafch thofe of thfe fojefts. But*fe*|he
Schamamans admit dim'chief infernal deity'an&’ftis fubalferhs,'authors
of evil, fo they believe in one fugreme' uncreated - ^eqeficen^hemg,
who commits the management of the univerfe to-inferior deities,. wbo
ddegatepoittions of it to Tubaltem fpirits. With more phdofophy tkfey
might fuppofe that.evil cannot exift except, in matter; and tbatan. evil
fpirit is a. contradiaion ip terms». It might afford a fubjeft of curious enquiry
tQ inveftigate whether Schamanifm be the parent of the ;Boodian,
and Brahman fyftem, asfeme; feppofe, pjefetved in. its original-ftate
among, thefe barbarous tribe,*: or only a corruption, of thofe diffiffed
from ‘-Few literary tpfacs can be more intemftipg« as- it would
not.only embrace the. fourccs of the Hindoo mythology, but alfo thofe. of
. .claffical.paganifm. ' — - . - T V/A‘_"
The archiepiicopaj fee of Toholfk is the metropolitan,of Ruffian Alia
'mtb&imtih, and that of Aftracan in the fouth. There, is .'another fta
that’of Irkutfk and Netfliinflfc; and perhaps a t o others, of recent
foundation.
<Govensneut. tWD
wgSL apd Irkutfk in, .the «aft; 'The fmaïler i>royi»i?m are ® & > i i
^Population
Nerffiinfk, Yakutfk, and Ochotik- In the Si W. is the government!
.of, Gaucafus, with one.: or tv?® other divifions, intermingling Europ©
and' Afia, At a diftance. from the.capital the. government becomes .pro-
portionably. lax, and tribute is the chief mark.of fubjeaiom
The population of .Siberia cannot be computed, at above., three
millions and a-.half;3 fo that; Europe, can in future have littleto.appre-
* Tookc’3 Ruffia 1783. iii. ' 3 Xooke’s View, ji. 132,.
hend
4 9
hend from the ;jpataric, fwa^pis.,^ Small Ruffian colonies have been Colonies.
eftabliftied in feveral of the diftant provinces and Hies. The political Political im-
importance and relations of this part of the Ruffian empire chiefly relate Relation*,
to China and.,Tkpatw> The late emprefe had, it is faid, projected the
conqueft of Japan, which might perhaps have imparted a fpirit of in~
duftry/to, her continental pcfleffions in that quarterand it was com-*;
puted that 10,000 Ruffians could have conquered China. But the -
fubjedtion of many parts o f what was called Independent Tatary have
given to China a military frontier, and the proximity to Pekin the
•Capital, bring5 fó‘ mudh ’^fêatrer, the Chinêfe1 kfloTts’1- would be* fpeedy
and- probably 'decifive^'while me march of Ruffian reinforcements,
through fuch wide and barren regions, would beJ difficult and hazardous.
Invfadtj oh’ fettlingj thélaflöniiePjbtlïe R>uffianfe"were«etyerawed jjby
Tnpefior numbers^ th c # i^ p r q b aM e Aaf ‘diftént-ipérïbd %e
•*ivbr.i Amur, alfo galled -the; Oula,*may be eftablifhed as the
boundary. The cooquaft; of Japan, thoiigh more difficult than may
haveheen conceived, affords many commercial temptations, but that of
China would fqem too .vaft even for the imoft grafping ambition» It is
jal£o aflerted that the kte emprefsy ino cafe 'óf a war with /England» me-'
dhaited tö/IÉId dn army -fedm fier’Afiatife poflfefffohs* 'to Hindoftan,
through the provinces on the-eaft’df the Cafpian, by Samarcand, and
jGaftimir to the-'Oanges» This indeed would be -but atriflihg effort
compared witlithé tóatfèhes of Hingis, Timur, and Other oriental bhieft.
But the mode of warfare is greatly changed. When Voltaire inffigated
Cafharide to feizeCpnftantinbple, fhe replied Tteit^an? epiG pöet.ièafily
•might; but that modern armies confift of men who cat, and all her
power could : npt produce magarines -Tb» difficulty
ywo'idd be found &r,moreccogettt in a. march ^ixÊ.greater length, .except
that the powers in die north of India were, unanimous in the favour of
the Ruffians.