SERVIA. 



SEVENTH-DAY BAPTIST CHURCH. ?41 



Notwithstanding this, the Radicals were gen- 

 erally victorious. The King then annulled 

 the elections, and ordered new ones to be held, 

 under the supervision of three royal commis- 

 sioners in each of the 430 circumscriptions. 

 In these the Radicals achieved still greater 

 successes. The Liberals did not maintain the 

 alliance with the Progressists at the polls, but 

 aided the Radicals. In the final elections, 

 which were postponed till December 16, nearly 

 three quarters of the seats went to Radicals. 

 The Liberals elected about 100 of the 623 

 members of the Great Assembly, and the Pro- 

 gressists not more than 60. Before convoking 

 the Assembly, the King required every mem- 

 ber to give a written promise that he would 

 vote for the Constitution as drafted by the 

 commission. The Radicals, under the lead of 

 Gen. Gruich, stood out especially for the re- 

 linquishrnent by the King of the risrht to con- 

 clude alliances and military conventions with- 

 out the consent of the Skupshtina, and when 

 he yielded on this and some other points, the 

 bulk of the party agreed to accept the com- 

 promise Constitution. The session of the 

 Grand Skupshtina was opened on December 

 30. A rayal ukase declared that no discus- 

 sion would be allowed, and no amendment 

 proposed, but that the Constitution must be 

 accepted or rejected as a whole. The Radicals 

 were inclined to insist on having the Skup- 

 shtina meet annually, without requiring the 

 King's summons. They also wished to take 

 away from the King the power to declare war, 

 and many were pledged to vote for the aboli- 

 tion of the standing army, and wished at least 

 to obtain a considerable reduction in the mili- 

 tary establishment. The King had already 

 surrendered the right to allow foreign armies 

 to cross Servian territory without the consent 

 of the Assembly. The limitation of the time 

 that was allowed to the King to continue pro- 

 visionally the budget of the previous year with- 

 out convoking the Skupshtina to three months, 

 was likewise a concession on the King's part, 

 as the old Constitution allowed a full year. 

 The Radicals objected particularly to the elect- 

 oral system in the new Constitution, which 

 provides that in the 10 zupanias into which 

 the country is divided the deputies shall be 

 elected by scrutin de lixte, in the proportion 

 of one to every 4,500 tax-payers, that voting 

 shall be by ballot, and that three members 

 from each zupania must be graduates of uni- 

 versities. Notwithstanding the objectionable 

 features, fewer than 100 of the Radical deputies 

 proved irreconcilable, and voted against the 

 Constitution, which was adopted. 



The direct active franchise under the new 

 Constitution is given to all citizens paying 

 15 dinars in direct taxes, and the passive fran- 

 chise to persons whose taxes amounted to 30 

 dinars. Every elector is eligible to the Skup- 

 shtina. All parties approved the removal of 

 the disqualifications of advocates and state 

 pensioners, including ex-micisters who, under 



the old Constitution, were not allowed to sit 

 in the Chamber. In the place of deputies ap- 

 pointed by the King, a class of official deputies 

 is created, consisting of the members of the 

 Council of State, the bishops, generals on the 

 retired list, and the presidents of the Courts of 

 ,tion and Appeal. The Skupshtina has 

 the initiative in legislation. A significant arti- 

 cle provides for a regency of the King's selec- 

 tion in case of his abdication, showing the 

 earnestness of King Milan's desire to retire 

 from his difficult position before involving his 

 dynasty in his fall. The Great Skupshtina 

 will hereafter consist of double the number 

 of deputies in the ordinary Assembly, and 

 its functions will comprise the consideration 

 of questions affecting the throne, the election 

 of a regent in a case of its vacancy, and 

 constitutional revision. The Council of State 

 will consist of eight members nominated by 

 the King and an equal number chosen by the 

 Skupshtina for life, whose duties will be to 

 draw up bills and administrative decrees, and 

 nominate candidates lor judges of the Supreme 

 Court and the Courts of Cassation and Appeal. 

 Courts are declared absolutely independent, and 

 judges irremovable. The zupanias are to have 

 autonomous organization for matters relating 

 to roads and communications, sanitary and 

 financial requirements, and schools. The Ser- 

 vian Church is declared independent and auto- 

 cephalous, and its head shall bear the title of 

 Patriarch. All religions are free. The liberty 

 of the press is guaranteed, and newspapers 

 may be founded without a deposit of caution 

 money. No citizen shall be arrested or have 

 his house searched without a warrant. For- 

 eigners may possess any kind of property in 

 Servia and may be employed in the state serv- 

 ice. Public instruction is gratuitous and com- 

 pulsory. No titles of nobility may be borne 

 by Servian citizens. No pensions may be 

 granted without a special act of the Skup- 

 shtina. "While he retains the right of declaring 

 war and making peace, the King can not con- 

 clude negotiations involving the payment or 

 exaction of a war indemnity or the cession or 

 acquisition of territory without summoning the 

 Skupshtina. 



SEVENTH-DAY BiPTIST CHCRCH. The statis- 

 tics of this Church as presented to the General 

 Conference in August were incomplete. They 

 gave the whole number of members as 8,337, 

 but the returns of the contributions for the 

 several purposes of the Church were defective 

 and unsatisfactory. Seventy - five Sabbath- 

 schools returned 5,754 members, including offi- 

 cers and teachers and pupils. The revenue and 

 expenditure of the Education Society were bal- 

 anced at $46,557. It received reports from Al- 

 bion (Wisconsin) Academy and Normal Insti- 

 tute ; Milton (Wisconsin) College, and Alfred 

 ( New York) University. The last two of these 

 institutions have endowment funds amounting 

 together to $148.000. Young men and youn<r 

 women are admitted on an equal footing to all 



