Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1913.djvu/1074

 952 GREECE

present sovereign is allowed, by special exception, to adhere to the religion in which he was educated, the Protestant Lutheran faith, but his heirs and successors must be members of the Greek Orthodox Church,

Constitution and Government.

The Constitution of Greece, adopted October 29, 1864, vested the whole legislative power in a single chamber, called the Bule, consisting of 235 representatives, elected by manhood suffrage (in the proportion of 1 for every 12,000 inhabitants) for the term of four years. In 1911 the Constitution was modified and a substitute for a second chamber was adopted in the re-establishment of the Council of State. The functions of the Council will be the elaboration of Pro jets de Loi and the annulling of official decisions and acts which may be contrary to law. The new Constitution came in force on June 1, 1911. The deputies must be at least 25 years of age and their number has been fixed at 181. The elections take place b)'' ballot, and each candidate must be put in nomination by the requisition of at least one-thirtieth of the voters of an electoral district. The Bule must meet annually for not less than three, nor more than six, months. No sitting is valid unless at least one-third of the members of the Assembly are present, and no bill can pass into law without an absolute majority of members. Every measure, before being adopted, must be discussed and voted, article by article, thrice, and on three separate days. A revision of any non-fundamental provisions of the new Constitution may be demanded, after the lapse of ten years, by an ordinary Parliament by means of two votes passed by a two-thirds majoiity, provided that the second vote shall not be taken until at least one month after the first, and provided also that such revision shall be carried out by a newly-elected Chamber. The Chamber of Deputies, unless specially convoked at an earlier date, for extraordinary occasions, must meet on October 1 (old style) of every year. The deputies are paid 1,000 drachmai each per session except those living in Athens, who receive only 800 drachmai. In case of absence extending over more than five sessions, the deputy has 20 drachmai per session taken from the total amount due to him.

Chamber of Deputies (March 26, 1912) : Ministerialists, 147 ; Opposi- tion, 34 (8 supporters of M. Theotokis, 3 of M. Zaimis, 7 of M. Mavro- michalis, 8 of M. Rallis, and 8 are Independents).

The Ministry, appointed October 19, 1910, is as follows : —

Premier and Minister of War. — M. Venezelos.

Minister of Foreign Affairs. — M. Coromilas.

Minister of the Interior. — M. Repoulis.

Minister of Finance. — M. Alexandre Diomidis.

Minister of Commerce and Agriculture. — M. 3IichaIako2-)onJn.<i.

Minister of Justice. — M. Raktivan.

Minister of Public Instruction. — M. Tsirimokos.

Minister of Marine. — M. Stratos.

Area and Population.

At the census of 1879 Greece had a population (including that of Thessaly in 1881) of 1,973,768 ; in 1889, 2,188,008 ; in 1896, 2,433,806 ; on October 27, 1907, 2,631,952. In 1896 the population consisted of 1,266,816 males and 1,166,990 females; in 1907, 1,324,942 males and 1,307,010 females.

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