GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



GREECE. 



403 



maize, sago, tapioca, rice, buffalo-hides, rattan, 

 gutta-percha. India-rubber, gambier, gum, cof- 

 fee, and tobacco. These are mostly the prod- 

 ucts of the islands of the Malaysian Archipelago 

 and of the peninsula outside of the Straits Set- 

 tlements. The total imports in 1886 amounted 

 to 21,776,714, and the exports to l8,0oo.- 

 240. The largest amount of trade is with Neth- 

 erlands India, which is nearly equaled by that 

 with Great Britain, the Malay Peninsula, and 

 Hong-Kong coming next, and after these Siam, 

 India, and British Burmah. 



On April 3, 1888, the war-ship "Caroline" 

 raised the British flag on Fanning, Christmas, 

 and Penrhyn Islands in the Micronesian archi- 

 pelago. The first-named was discovered in 

 1798 by an American sea-captain, Edmund 

 Fanning, and has been occupied since before 

 1855 by an Englishman who, with native labor, 

 cultivates the cocoanut-palm. Christmas Isl- 

 and, another coral lagoon island, lies near it, to 

 the southeast, in 2 north latitude and 158 

 east longitude. They are about equidistant 

 from the Samoan, the Hawaiian, and the So- 

 ciety groups. Large quantities of guano have 

 been taken from both Fanning and Christmas 

 Islands, but the old deposits are nearly ex- 

 hausted. Penrhyn Island, likewise of coral 

 formation, in 10 south latitude and 158 west 

 longitude, is larger than the others, having a 

 circumference of thirty-five miles, and may 

 prove a valuable acquisition commercially and 

 strategically, as it has a large, deep, and safe 

 harbor, and produces considerable quantities of 

 leche-de-mer and mother-of-pearl. It is also 

 useful as a port of refuge, as it Iks in the route 

 between Sydney and Panama, and near the 

 course tnken by mail steamers between Auck- 

 land and San Francisco. 



The Hervey or Cook Islands, lying south- 

 west of the Society group and southeast of 

 Samoa, in 20 south latitude and 160 west 

 longitude, were made a British protectorate in 

 the autumn of 1838. There are seven islands, 

 the largest of which are Rarotonga and Man- 

 gaia, each about thirty miles in circumference. 

 Both possess a good soil and rich vegetation. 

 On Mauki, one of the smaller islands, iron- 

 wood is found in large quantities. Hervey Isl- 

 and is a large atoll, covered with cocoanut- 

 groves. The Rarotongans are governed by a 

 queen. They are the most civilized, well-con- 

 ducted, and prosperous of all the Pacific island- 

 ers. The English Government refused their 

 prayer for a protectorate in 1864. Since then 

 the New Zealand authorities have repeatedly 

 recommended the annexation of the group. 

 Rarotonga has two small, but fairly secure har- 

 bors, and its annexation, like that of Fanning 

 and Penrhyn Islands, is due to its prospective 

 value as a coaling station and port of safety in 

 case the Panama Canal is completed. The 

 population of the Hervey Islands does not ex- 

 ceed 8,000. The protectorate was proclaimed 

 by the British vice-consul in Rarotonga on Oc- 

 tober 20, and afterward in the other islands. 



GREECE, a constitutional monarchy in South- 

 eastern Europe. After gaining its independ- 

 ence by a successful rebellion against Tur- 

 key, the kingdom was constituted in 1830 

 under the protection of England, France, and 

 Russia. The present sovereign, Georgiot I. 

 born Dec. 24, 1845, a son of King Christian of 

 Denmark, was elected King of the Hellenes in 

 1863, and in 1867 married Olga, daughter of 

 the Grand-Duke Constantine, brother of the 

 Emperor Alexander II of Russia. The heir- 

 apparent is Prince Konstantinos, Duke of Spar- 

 ta, born Aug. 2, 1868, who was betrothed in 

 September. 1888. to the Princess Sophie of Prus- 

 sia. The legislative power is lodged in a sin- 

 gle chamber. The members of the Boul6 or 

 Legislative Assembly, 150 in number, are elect- 

 ed for four years by universal suffrage. The 

 ministry, constituted May 21, 1886, was com- 

 posed of the following members : President of 

 the Council and Minister of Finance and of 

 AVar. C. Tricoupis; Minister of the Interior, 

 C. Lombardos ; Minister of Justice, D. S. Voul- 

 piotis ; Minister of Worship and Public In- 

 struction, P. Manetas ; Minister of Foreign Af- 

 fairs, E. Dragumis ; Minister of Marine, G.Theo- 

 tokis. M. Lombardos died on Sept. 5, 1888, 

 and M. Tricoupis assumed temporarily the 

 portfolio of the Interior. 



Area and Population. The area of Greece is 

 25,014 square miles, including 5,073 square 

 miles that were detached from Turkey under 

 pressure of the great powers in 1881. The 

 population probably exceeds 2,200,000. The 

 capital, Athens, had 84,903 inhabitants in 1884. 

 The vital statistics for 1882, the last year re- 

 ported, were as follow : Births, 43,157 ; deaths, 

 32.194; excess of births, 10.963; marriages, 

 11,186. The Hellenes constitute only about 

 one fourth of the Greek race, as there are 

 nearly 6,000,000 Greeks in European Turkey, 

 Asia Minor, and the Ottoman islands of the 

 Levant, and considerable trading colonies in 

 Northern Africa and various parts of the East. 



Commerce. The chief exports are dried cur- 

 rants, of which 270,000,000 pounds were pro- 

 duced in 1887; olive-oil; lead, of which the 

 mines at Laurium yielded 10,147 metric tons 

 in 1885; silver-ore: zinc; dye-stuffs; wines, 

 the export of which is increasing ; tobacco ; 

 wool; and sponges. The annexed province of 

 Thessaly is fertile and well cultivated, and pro- 

 duces large quantities of wheat and barley. 



A large part of the carrying-trade of the 

 Black Sea and the eastern parts of the Mediter- 

 ranean is under the Greek flag. The merchant 

 navy at the beginning of 1886 consisted of 72 

 steamers, having a tonnage of 36.272, and 

 3.141 sailing-vessels, of 225,224 tons, not in- 

 cluding 6,000 coasting-vessels. 



There were 320 miles of railroads in opera- 

 tion in 1887, while 56 miles were building, 60 

 miles more had been authorized, and 380 miles 

 in addition were projected. In the session of 

 18S8-'89 the Government proposed a network 

 in the Peloponnesus and a line to Larissa unit- 



