Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/386

RUMANIA and there are many other manufactures of different kinds. Expensive freight rates and high customs are the chief hindrances to trade in Rumania. The total volume of the foreign commerce for 1900 was $129,300,000, Textiles stand far in the lead among the imports, and breadstuffs are by far the most important item in the exports. Other noteworthy items of the imports are metals and their manufactures, chemicals, drugs, and groceries; and fruits, vegetables, groceries, chemicals, wood and wooden wares, animals, and animal products figure to some extent among the exports. In the Rumanian commerce Belgium, Germany, and Austria-Hungary figure most extensively.

. The only important ports directly on the Black Sea are Sulina and Kustendje. The latter is a new port, but promises to become important. Far more important at present are the large commercial cities of Galatz and Braïla, at the head of deep-water navigation on the Danube. Braïla is the great wheat-exporting port of the country. In 1901 the vessels entering the ports were 29,296, with 8,187,927 tons. In 1902 the commercial marine of Rumania consisted of 391 vessels, of 75,440 tons, including 72 steamers, of 16,146 tons. A large number of steamboats and sailing vessels ply on the Danube, and much timber and grain is transported to the Danube by steamer, barge, or raft on the Sereth and the Pruth. The State owns all the railroads, of which about 2000 miles were in operation in 1903.

. Rumania is an hereditary constitutional monarchy. The present Constitution, enacted by a Constituent Assembly elected by the people in 1866, was amended in 1879 and again in 1884. According to its provisions the executive department is vested in the King, who has power of suspensive veto, and a Cabinet of eight members, including a Prime Minister. The legislative department is composed of a Senate and Chamber of Deputies, the members of both of which are chosen (in part indirectly) by electoral colleges, made up of all taxable citizens classified according to the amount of taxes paid, property owned, or educational qualifications. The Senate has 120 members, elected for a term of 8 years. The heir apparent, 8 bishops, and 2 representatives selected by the universities of Bucharest and Jassy are members of the Upper House. The Chamber of Deputies has 183 members, chosen for four years. Senators to be eligible must be 40 years of age and have an annual income of about $1800. Deputies must be 25 years of age. The Code of Napoleon is the basis of the legal system. For its local government. Rumania is divided into 32 districts. The capital of Rumania is Bucharest.

The revenues are derived from the indirect taxes (stamp, legacies, spirits, and beer taxes); direct taxes (real estate, building taxes, road tolls, licenses for the sale of spirits, and registration fees, trades); monopolies (tobacco, salt, matches, playing cards, and cigarette paper); sale of and revenue from public lands: and customs. In 1903-04 the revenue was approximately $44,000,000, and the expenditure $42,600,000. The public debt amounted on March 31, 1902, to $275,001,179.88. More than half had been contracted for public works, mainly railways. The foremost financial institution is the Rumanian National Bank, at Bucharest, with branches in the important towns. On December 23, 1900, it had a note circulation of $23,737,350.

. The gold standard was introduced in 1888. As geld coins are minted only in limited quantities, the short supply is widely supplemented by foreign pieces. The gold len (equaling one franc) is the unit of coinage, and the small change is of silver or bronze. The metric system of weights and measures is legalized, but Turkish denominations are used to some extent. For army, see ARMIES.

. The population of Rumania, by the census of 1899, was 5,912,520, of whom the Rumanians numbered 92.5 per cent. Bucharest had a population in 1899 of 282,071. The next largest town, Jassy, had 78,069 inhabitants.

. Orthodox Greek is the State religion, but all confessions enjoy full freedom. The State Church is independent of all ‘alien prelates,’ and the Metropolitan Primate is appointed by the legislative bodies and confirmed by the King. In 1899 there were 5,408,743 members of the Greek Church, 168,276 Catholics and Protestants, 269,015 Jews, and 43,740 Mohammedans. The percentage of illiterates is very high, the census of 1899 showing that 88.4 per cent. of the population could not read or write. Though education is ‘free and compulsory,’ no schools have as yet been established in many of the village communes. There are two universities—one at Bucharest, with about 80 professors and over 4000 students, and one at Jassy, with about 50 professors and 800 students.

. The Rumanians, or Wallachs, constitute a race whose origin has been much discussed and is still by no means clear. Only about half of the Rumanians inhabit the modern Kingdom of Rumania. The remainder are found in the neighboring regions of Eastern Hungary (mainly Transylvania), Bukowina, Bessarahia, Servia, and Bulgaria, besides scattered groups in other parts of the Balkan Peninsula. These smaller groups are rapidly disappearing among the surrounding peoples. The most important of the detached Rumanian communities is that inhabiting the Mount Pindus districts. These are called Tsintsars or Kutzo-Vlachs by their Macedonian neighbors, but their true name is Aramáni or Armáni, i.e. ‘Romans.’ The popular belief and claim of the Rumanians is that they are the direct descendants of the Roman colonists sent into the conquered province of Dacia (the modern Rumania) by the Emperor Trajan. This theory has been severely attacked by Rösler, Hunfalvy, and others, and seems questionable bath on historical and linguistic grounds. The Emperor Aurelian (270-275) withdrew the Roman colonists from Dacia to the south side of the Danube, and from that time until the thirteenth century Dacia was given over to the barbarian hordes, who swept over the country repeatedly. During this time the Roman language and culture seem to have disappeared, and the former was first reestablished in its modern form in connection with a northern movement of the Rumanians from the regions south of the Danube. This would seem to support the view that the final area of dispersion was to the south. and possibly in the neighborhood of the Pindus region. Here would also be the seat of the development of the language. Numerous linguistic characteristics seem to support this view. 