Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1871.djvu/501

 AREA AND POPULATION.

465

The stem of the vessel projects about 4 feet beyond the upper deck at the water line. The ' Osman Ghazy ' is propelled by hori- zontal engines of 900 horse-power, and armed with 24 guns. Twenty of these are 68-pounders, and the remaining four, which are placed on the upper deck, 110- pounders. The next two power- ful ironclads are the twin screw-steamers ' Avni Slab,' or ' Help of God,' and the ' Moyini Zaffer,' or ' Aid to Victory ' ; the first built at the Thames ironworks, and the second by Samuda Brothers, Poplar, and both launched in June 1869. Each of these vessels is 230 feet long, and 36 feet broad, of a burthen of 1,400 tons, and with engines of 600 horse-power. Both are clad in heavy armour, of an average thickness of 5^ inches, and carry lour 12-ton rifle Armstrong guns in a central battery, the construction of which admits of the guns being fired ahead and astern without the aid of a turret. The two ironclads are stated to possess the highest speed of any vessels of war of the same tonnage.

The navy of Turkey was manned, in 1869, by 30,000 sailors and 4,000 marine troops. A considerable number of the superior officers of the fleet are foreigners by birth, and almost all received their education at foreign academies, particularly in France, the naval organisation of which country has been taken as a model for that of Turkey. The crews are raised in the same manner as the land forces, partly by conscription, and partly by voluntary enlist- ment. The time of service in the navy is eight, or three years longer than in the army.

Area and Population.

The area and population of Turkey are known only by estimates, and not as the result of scientific measurement and of a general census. Enumerations of the people took place in 1844 and in 1856, but it is generally stated that they cannot lay claim to any degree of exactness. According to the former return — held to be the most correct of the two — the total area of the empire, including the tributary provinces, comprises 86,288 geographical, or 1,812,048 English square miles, the extent and population of the several geo- graphical divisions in Europe, Asia, and Africa being given as follows : —

Divisions

Area in Engl, sq. m.

Population

Pop. to sq. m.

Turkey in Europe. Turkey in Asia Turkey in Africa

Total.

207,438 660,870 943,740

15,500,000

16,050,000

3,800.000

75

24

4

1,812,048

35.350,000 | 20