Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/219

 GREECE 205 most important mineral products are the mar- ble of Paros and the emery of Naxos, the lat- ter a government monopoly. The famous Laurian lead mines in Attica, recently re- opened by a Franco-Italian company, prom- ised so large a yield as to lead to a conflict between the government and the company, but the difficulty was settled by the purchase of the foreign interest by a Greek company. The sea-salt works yield annually about 253,- 000 cwt. of salt. The commerce of Greece is considerable, owing to the favorable situation )f the country. The imports and exports from 569 to 1871 were as follows: YEARS. Imports. Exports. 1669 $18 215 000 $12 073 000 1870 18,725 000 10 211 000 18T1 20,947,000 14,643,000 The most important articles of import were : breadstuff's, $4,940,000 ; manufactures, $3,570,- 000; skins, $1,669,000; sugar, $1,961,000; lumber, $808,000; animals, $530,000; cotton yarn, $453,000; coffee, $351,000; rice, $324,- 000. The most important exports were : cur- rants, $5,851,000; skins, $526,000; olive oil, $2,063,000; raw cotton, $221,000; figs, $700,- 000; oranges, $106,150; tobacco, $137,030; wine, $152,000 ; silk cocoons and raw silk, $252,000; soap, $89,000; lead, $689,000. The merchant navy at the end of 1871 num- bered 6,135 vessels, with an aggregate of 419,- 350 tons ; among which were more than 4,000 coasting vessels, and 12 steamers, with an ag- gregate of about 5,360 tons. The movement of shipping in 1870 and 1871 is shown by the following table : ENTRANCES AND CLEAR- ANCES. Years. Vessels. Tons. 1870 16757 2564964 94991 2'985 ? 520 Sea-going vessels 1871 21 758 3 205 619 Coasting vessels 105,612 3,960,790 The manufactures are few and unimportant. The prominent branches of industry are ship building, the manufacture of leather (chiefly on the island of Syra), silk and linen goods, sails and cordage, soap, liquors, and gold and silver embroideries. The first railway of Greece, connecting Athens with Piraus and Phalerum, and having a length of 7| m., was opened in January, 1869. A road connecting the port of Pirasus with Lamia, which will be 138 m. long, was begun in December, 1872; and a charter had been given for building a road from Athens to Kalamata, to be 170 m. long. In 1870 there were 992 m. of electro-magnetic telegraph, with an aggregate length of wires of 1,116 m. Submarine cables are in operation between Athens, Syra, Scio, Constantinople, and Candia. The number of post offices in 1870 was 135. The monetary unit is the new drachma, which is equal to 19'3 cents; it is divided into 100 leptas. The standard of weight is a cantar, equal to 124'13 Ibs. avoirdupois; it is divided into 44 oke, and subdivided into 400 old or 1,280 royal drams. The unit of long measure is the royal pit, equal to 1 metre or 3*2808 feet. Land is measured by the stadion, which is equal to 0-62 of an English mile. The constitution under which Greece is now governed bears date Nov. 17, old style (Nov. 29, new style), 1864. The throne is hereditary. The king attains his ma- jority when 18 years old. Before his acces- sion to the throne he must take the oath to the constitution, and within two months after the accession he must convoke the legislature. The successors to the present king, who is a Lutheran, must belong to the Orthodox church. The legislative power is shared by the king with a single chamber of representatives, called the boule, which is elected every fourth year ; in the session of 1871-'2 it consisted of 188 members. It meets annually on Nov. 1 (old style), and remains in session not less than three and not more than six months. It elects its own president and vice presidents. State offi- cers, mayors, and military officers in active ser- vice, are not eligible ; clergymen can neither be elected nor vote. The elections are by ballot with the use of balls, and each candidate must be put in nomination by the requisition of at least one thirtieth of the voters of an electoral district. The right of voting belongs to all citizens who are 21 years of age and have a property, a trade, or any fixed occupation. To be eligible as deputy, it is necessary to be 30 years of age and to own real estate. All citi- zens have equal rights and duties ; nobility has been abolished. The executive power is exercised by the king through responsible min- isters, of whom there are seven : of the interior, of finance, of justice, of education and ecclesi- astical affairs, of war, of marine, and of foreign affairs. For administrative purposes, the 13 nomarchies are subdivided into 59 eparchies and 351 demoi (communes). At the head of these divisions are nomarchs, eparchs, and demarchs ; the latter are, like the communal councils, elected for a term of four years. There is a court of cassation (the areopagus) at Athens, four courts of appeal (at Athens, Nauplia, Patras, and Corfu), 16 courts of primary jurisdiction, the court of assizes, 175 tribunals of justices of the peace, and a number of military and marine courts. The finances of the kingdom are in a very unfavorable con- dition. In the budget estimates the revenue generally shows a small surplus over the ex- penditures; thus in the estimates for 1873 the revenue was estimated at $6,928,000, and the expenditures at only $6,832,000; but in reality the expenditures since 1866 have ex- ceeded the revenue by about $2,700,000 annu- ally. Official returns giving the real income and expenses of the government have not been published since 1859. The funded debt amounted in July, 1870, to $65,000,000 (in-