Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/737

* BULGAEIA. 653 BULGAKIA. nually. Besides coal, salt is also niineil, and stone is quarried. Commerce a>'1) TR.NSPORTATio?r. The chief exports of the eoimtrj' are grain, animals and their products, tobacco, fruits, cloth, and attar of roses. The imports consist mostly of textiles, metal products, arms, and coal. The trade is mostly in the hands of Greeks. Austrians, Ru- manians, and Jews, and the countries participat- ing in it most are Austria-Hungary, Germany, Great Britain, Kraiice. and Turkey. The volimie of commerce shows a considerable decline during the last years of the Nineteenth Century. The value of the inipoi'ts averaged over $13,000,000 for 1S!16-1'J00. and ransed from over $10,000,000 in 1897 to less than >8.000.000 in 1900. The exports averaged during 1890-1900 over .$13,500,- 000. ranging from nearlv .$20,000,000 in 1896 to less than ^lO.-'iOO.OOO in 1900. Bulgaria has seven seaports and nine river ports, with a total annual shipping of about 5,000.000 tons. The chief financial institution of Bulgaria is the National Bank, with headquarters at Sofia and branches at the more important towns. It has a capital of 10.000,000 francs ($1,930,000) and the right to issue gold and silver notes not ex- ceeding 13,000,000 francs ($2,509,000). There arc also a large number of agricultural banks ■with an aggregate capital of $6,000,000. The railway mileage of Bulgaria is rather small in comparison with the area of the country. Includ- ing the railways of Eastern Rumelia, the total length in 1900 was 980 miles, of which nearly 800 miles belong to the State. Sofia, the capital, is connected by rail with Constantinople and the chief centres of Continental Europe. GovERXiiEXT. In accordance with the treaty adopted by the Eurojiean Powers at the Berlin Congress of 1878, Bulgaria was constituted an hereditary and constitutional monarchy under the suzerainty of and tributary to the Turkish Government. Eastern Rumelia. prior to 1885 an autonomous province of the Ottoman Emj^ire and administered by a Christian Governor, ap- pointed by the Turkish Government, was put, in 1886, under the direct supervision of the Prince of Bulgaria, and is at present practically a part of Bulg-aria. The Constitution of Bulgaria, adopt- ed in 1879, and amended in 18ii3, places the execu- tive power in the hands of the Prince, while the legislative power is shared by him with the National Assembly, or Sobranje, which consists of a number of deputies — one for every 20.000 of population — elected by universal manhood suf- frage. All legislative measures passed by the As- sembly must receive the sanction of the Prince to l>econie laws. The initiative may be taken both by the Prince and by the Assembly. In extraordinary cases the Grand Assembly (Great Sobranje) is convened, consisting of double the number of deputies of the ordinaiy Assembly, and elected in the same manner. The Jlinistry is responsible both to the Prince and the Assembly, and is di- vided into eight departments. The Ottoman Em- pire is represented by a commissioner. For ad- ministrative purposes Bulgaria is divided into 22 districts or ohriiffn. subdivided into 85 oknlici. All of them are administered by local councils elected by the people. For the administration of justice there are district courts and justics of the peace, which have been instituted following Rus- sian occupation. There are also three courts of appeal and a Supreme Court in Sofia, the capital. Education is free and compulsory between the ages of 8 and 12. The cost of maintaining the scliools is covered by the State and by the muni- cipalities and village communities. There are some 4700 elementarv schools, with 8000 teachers and nearly 350,000 pupils; Ki gymnasia. 120 lower middle schools, and 21 special and tech- nical schools. The university at Sofia has three faculties and is attended by over 350 students. The annual budget at the beginning of this cen- tnrj- exceeded the sum of $18,000,000. Tiie reve- nue is derived chielly fnmi direct and indirect taxes and from taxes en commerce and industries. The public debt of Bulgaria amounted at the end of 1900 to over $43,500,000. mostly at C per cent. In 1899 the Bulgarian Government was authorized to convert the entire debt into one 5 per cent, loan of a nominal amount of $50,180,- 000. Military sen-ice is obligatory for every able-bodied male resident, while those unfit for active service are obliged to pay an annual tax ranging from 10 to 200 francs for ten years. The period of actual service is only two years in infantry regiments and three years in other arms, and the yearly number of recruits is esti- mated at 16,000. The armed strength of Bul- garia is estimated at nearly 210,000 men, includ- ing 6 regiments of cavalry, 6 regiments of field artillery, and 3 battalions of garrison artillery. The navy of Bulgaria consists of a few steam- ships of from 400 to 800 tons, one torpedo gun- boat, two armored gunboats used for the defense of the Danulie. and several small steamboats. See .-Vkmies and Navies. The Bulgarians, who constitute the bulk of the population of Bulgaria, are a different people from the ancient Bulgars who settled in the region twelve centuries ago (see paragraph on Hi.sroBT). Linguistically, they constitute a branch of the South Slavic stock (see Bulgarian LangT'age). They may now be termed an ethnic group, made up of Slavic (Teuto-Slavic). Gothic (Teutonic), and Mongoloid (Finno-Tatar) ele- ments, to which Mussulman and Greek have added a consideiable percentage. The Bulgarian nationality numbers about 4.000.000 souls, of whom about three-eighths live outside of Bul- garia — in Turkey. Russia, Rumania, and Austria- Hungary. The bulk of them belong to the (Jreek Church ; but there are several hundred thousand ^Mohammedan Bulgarians, called Pomaks, who are found mainly in the Rhodope Mountains, in Turkish territory. The population of Bulgaria, including that of Eastern Rumelia, was 3..310,713 at the census of 1893, and 3.733,189 at the census of 1900. Ra- ciallv the population was divided in 1893 into 2.50.5.326 Bulgarians, 569,728 Turks, 62.628 Ru- manians, .58,518 Greeks. 52,132 gyjisies, 27,.531 Spanish Jews, 16.290 Tatars, and 18.560 con- sisting mostly of foreigners from European conn- tries. The ( onstitution of Bulgaria guarantees religious freedom: but the Greek Orthodox is recognized as the National Church, and numbers among its adherents by far the largest part of the population, including the Prince's familv. The clergy of both the national and theothercliurches are paid by the State. Next to the Greek Ortho- dox Clmrcli. with 78.7 per cent, of the population, the Mohammedan has the largest number of ad- herents — 19.4 per cent. lliSTOKV. Modem Bulgaria includes the greater part of the Roman Province of MoBsia