Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/1022

 970 GREECE

The main items of the budget for 1920-21 are given as follows : —

Revenue Drachmai ;

Expenditure

Drachmai

Ordinary ....

Extraordinary

Loans ....

491,125,728

69,954,022

472,500,000

War, ordinary War, extraordinary Other war expenses

Total war expenditure. Othei expenditure, including debt service

Total expenditure

211,878,307

285,432,1S0

84,805,000

Deficit ....

1,033.579,740 205,180,014

532,115,487

7'V,. 044, 2ti7

1,29S,759,754

1,298,759,7'.4

The outstanding external debt of Greece amounted on December 31, 1920, to 3,282,986,597 drachmai, the principal items in which were the live per cent, loan of 1833, 47,646,011 drachmai ; old gold loan, 447,790,500 drachmai; new gold loan, 001,205,500 drachmai ; temporary loans, 402,679,350 drachmai.

In accordance with the peace preliminaries between Greece and Turkey and the Greek Law of Control of March, 1898, the financial commission of dele- gates representing Germany, Austria- Hungary, France, Great Britain, I ta ly and Russia (the mediating Powers) is established at Athens in direct relation with the Greek Minister of Finance (Germany and Austria- Hungary are not now represented). The public debt of Greece is in large measure under the control of this commission. To this commission were assigned, for the payment of the interest on the external debt, the revenues from the salt, petroleum, matches and playing-cards monopolies, the duties on tobacco, cigarette paper, Naxos emery, the stamp duty, and the import duties at the port of Piraeus. In their report for 1920 the Commissioners announce an income of 123,662,707 drachmai, of which the receipts from monopolies were 65,630,414 drachmai, and the Piraeus customs 58,032,293 drachmai.

The collection of the assigned revenues and the administration of the monopolies is entrusted to a Greek Company, called the "Societe de Regie des Revenues affectes au Service de la Dette Publique," which is under the control of the international commission.

By Agreements dated February 10, 1918, the Governments of Great Britain, the United States and France agreed to advance to the Hellenic Government credits as follows -.—Great Britain, 14,700,OOOZ. ; France, 410,000,000 francs ; and the United States, 48,239,267 dollars. The control of the Fund thus created was lodged in an Inter-allied Financial Commis- sion and an Inter-allied Military Commission sitting at Athens. Of the sum agreed upon, there lias been actually paid by January, 1921, 7,000,000/. by Great Britain, 30,000,000 francs by France, and 15,000,000 dollars by the United States.

Defence.

I. Army.

Military service in Greece is compulsory and universal, with very few exemptions (laws of 1867, 1896, 1904, and November 30, 1914). It commences in the 20th year, and lasts for the long period of 31 years. The normal term of service in the active army was 3 years for the cavalry and artillery and 2 years for the infantry, ice., followed by 21 years in the