228 



EASTERN ROUMELIA. 



works. It is estimated that the public revenue 

 in future years will amount to 22,606,000 lei, or 

 $4,384,000 per annum, and the expenditure to 

 21,000,000 lei, or $4,074,000, leaving an annual 

 surplus of 1,606,000 lei, or $310,000. 



Eastern Roumelia was created by the Treaty 

 of Berlin, signed June 13, 1878. It was or- 

 dered that the province to be formed south of 

 the Balkans should remain under the direct 

 authority of the Sultan, but should have a 

 Christian governor-general. It was further 

 ordered that no irregular troops should be 

 used in the defense of the province, while in- 

 ternal order was to be maintained by native 

 troops. According to the Constitution of 1879, 

 the legislative power is in the hands of a single 

 Chamber, called the Provincial Assembly. It 

 is partly official, partly elective, and partly nom- 

 inated by the Go/ernor. The official members 

 are the principal judicial and ecclesiastical dig- 

 nitaries, nine in all ; the elective members num 

 her thirty-six, while ten are nominated by the 

 Governor. The Assembly meets annually. 



The agitation for a union of the province 

 with Bulgaria grew in importance in 1880. 

 The gymnastic societies, which had been or- 

 ganized during the Russian oceupation, were 

 the principal promoters of this movement, and 

 in their ardor committed some great excesses 

 on the Mohammedan population. As early as 

 September, 1879, the International Commis- 

 sion had advised their dissolution, and Aleko 

 Pasha, before his journey to Constantinople in 

 November, 1879, issued an order to that effect. 

 But the societies continued to exist, new out- 

 rages were perpetrated, and the Pan- Bulgarian 

 movement increased daily in importance. In 

 consequence of the new complications of the 

 Porte in the Greek and Albanian question, in 

 the spring of the year, the movement began 

 to assume formidable proportions. A tax was 

 openly collected from the inhabitants, Russia 

 sent money and arms, and Bulgaria loaned 

 forty thousand imperials. The gymnastic so- 

 cieties drilled their members in the use of arms 

 without any attempt at concealment, and large 

 numbers of armed men gathered at Ai'dos, in 

 the north of the Balkan Mountains, for the 

 pretended object of suppressing the Circassian 

 robbers. On May 29th the East Roumelian 

 and Bulgarian leaders of the movement had a 

 secret conference at Slivno, at which it was 

 even proposed to thank Aleko Pasha for his 

 Bulgarian sentiments, to request him to leave 

 Philippopolis, and to call upon Prince Alexan- 

 der of Bulgaria to take possession of Eastern 

 Roumelia. It was resolved to organize a 

 " Union Committee for Southern Bulgaria," 

 and to prepare a rising of the Bulgarians in 

 Macedonia. At a public meeting held in Phil- 

 ippopolis in August, a Macedonian aid society 

 was organized, ostensibly to collect money to 

 build Bulgarian schools in Macedonia, but in 

 reality to prepare every tiling for the rising in 

 Macedonia, for which Bulgaria was to furnish 

 the arms and ammunition, and Eastern Rou- 



melia the money. Aleko Pasha did nothing to 

 check these movements, and, feeling his im- 

 potency in the matter, asked to be relieved 

 from his post. His petition, however, was not 

 granted. 



The Legislative and Executive bodies in East 

 Roumelia have been engaged chiefly in matur- 

 ing measures for the material organization and 

 development of the province. The people have 

 been disturbed considerably by the agitation 

 for union with Bulgaria which was indus- 

 triously promoted by the gymnastic societies 

 and political emissaries, and by jealousies be- 

 tween Bulgarians and Greeks and Turks, which 

 provoked frequent conflicts and an insurrec- 

 tion of the Turkish population in the Kirdjeli 

 district. Much suffering prevailed during the 

 winter on account of the scarcity of provisions, 

 and attracted the continued sympathy and ac- 

 tivity of foreign committees for relief. 



An antagonism arose in the Provincial As- 

 sembly at the beginning of January against 

 the Governor-General, Aleko Pasha, because 

 he had refused to sanction certain measures 

 which had been voted for reducing the expendi- 

 tures of the Government. Aleko Pasha threat- 

 ening to resign, the difficulty was arranged by 

 a compromise. Orders were issued by the 

 Governor - General a few days afterward for 

 the partial demobilization of the militia, the 

 greater part of which had hitherto been on a 

 war footing. The measure was intended to 

 secure economy, and at the same time to con- 

 solidate the military organization of the prov- 

 ince. 



The Provincial Assembly met in extraordi- 

 nary session March 21st, and was opened by 

 the Governor-General. Aleko Pasha, with a 

 speech, in which he invited the deputies to give 

 careful consideration to the provisions of the 

 budget, to the projected railway line, to the 

 press law, and to the proposal for the estab- 

 lishment of an agricultural bank. The House 

 elected M. Ouechoff President, and M. Strans- 

 ly and M. Groneff Vice-Presidents. An in- 

 come-tax law was passed, declaring that every 

 native of the province excepting the clergy, 

 teachers, soldiers, policemen, paupers, and wid- 

 ows who had lost their husbands during the 

 war should contribute to the revenue accord- 

 ing to a fixed scale. Besides the classes of 

 persons mentioned above, churches, mosques, 

 schools, orphanages, and charitable institutions 

 were also exempted from taxation. Foreign- 

 ers were required to pay on income accruing 

 from real estate, the annual yield of the same 

 being estimated at six per cent, on the market 

 value of the land. Due provision was made 

 for the assessment of income in each commune, 

 and a double appeal was allowed against an 

 unjust as?essment. The tax was made paya- 

 ble in monthly installments of one twelfth, and 

 each commune was permitted to retain three 

 per cent, on the amount collected as its com- 

 mission. The tax-payers were divided into 

 twelve classes, of which the first class includes 



