GREECE. 



301 



of state property, 1,942,142 drachmas from re- 

 payments and deductions, 472,000 drachmas from 

 telegraphs, 440,000 drachmas from lighthouses, 

 42,000 drachmas from schools, 5,79(5,321 drachmas 

 from various sources, and 1,046,940 drachmas 

 from extraordinary sources; total, 112,200,849 

 drachmas. The expenditures for 1900 were esti- 

 mated at 32,609,650 drachmas for the public debt, 

 117,300 drachmas for allowances, 185,000 drach- 

 mas for various obligations, 6,254,013 drachmas 

 for pensions, 1,325,000 drachmas for the civil list, 

 538,620 drachmas for the Boule, 2,424,122 drach- 

 mas for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 6,363,679 

 drachmas for the Ministry of Justice, 16,266,061 

 drachmas for the Ministry of the Interior, 5,214,- 

 047 drachmas for the Ministry of Worship, 18,308,- 

 586 drachmas for the Ministry of War, 7,824,948 

 drachmas for the Ministry of Marine, 2,157,220 

 drachmas for the Ministry of Finance, 10,511,392 

 drachmas for collection of taxes, and 3,898,830 

 drachmas for various purposes; total, 114,088,468 

 drachmas. The revenue for 1901 was estimated 

 at 115,734,159 drachmas, and the expenditure at 

 113,646,301 drachmas. The administration of the 

 regie and the collection of the assigned duties is 

 entrusted to a Greek company under the control 

 of the International Commission. 



In instituting the International Debt Commis- 

 sion the powers consented to a reduction of the rate 

 of interest on the gold debt and arranged a plan 

 of amortization. The gold debt on Jan. 1, 1900, 

 amounted to 701,967,000 drachmas, the annual 

 interest and amortization to 15,035,057 drachmas. 

 The paper debt, including 93,775,975 drachmas of 

 paper currency, amounted to 173,690,760 drach- 

 mas, requiring" 5,083,500 drachmas for interest and 

 amortization. The paper currency of Greece fluc- 

 tuates in value, no coin having been put into cir- 

 culation since 1884. Notes are 40 per cent, below 

 par on the average. The National Bank is privi- 

 leged to issue 88,000,000 drachmas. The amount 

 in circulation on Jan. 1, 1901, was 140,500,000 

 drachmas, with only 1,900,000 drachmas of gold 

 and silver to protect the issue, and no coin in cir- 

 culation. The reduction of the issue in annual in- 

 stalments has been decreed, beginning in 1900. 

 The International Commission reported for the 

 third year of its operations, ending Jan. 13, 1901, 

 receipts amounting to 1,756,220 drachmas in gold 

 and 54,539,811 drachmas in paper, and expendi- 

 tures amounting to 1,359,917 drachmas in gold 

 and 49,878,553 drachmas in paper. On Jan. 1, 

 1901, the gold debt had been reduced to 697,554,- 

 000 drachmas, the paper debt to 171,424,980 drach- 

 mas. The proceeds of the revenues assigned to 

 the commission were 32,342,713 drachmas, not 

 including the Piraeus customs, which are handed 

 over to the Government, being regarded as an ad- 

 ditional guarantee. The revenues handled by the 

 commission exceeded the fixed estimate by 3,442,- 

 713 drachmas, which with 1,073,617 drachmas 

 realized as profit on the rate of exchange enabled 

 the commission to augment the interest paid on 

 the monopoly and funding loans by 4 per cent., 

 and on the other groups by 2 per cent. The rate 

 of exchange fluctuated between 149 and 173, the 

 mean rate of 164 being 8 points higher than in 

 1899 owing to the exhaustion of the loan guar- 

 anteed by the powers, bad harvests, an adverse 

 balance of trade, the decline of Greek credit as 

 the result of the war with Turkey, and the excess 

 of the forced currency. The currency, however, 

 should in the opinion of the commission be with- 

 drawn gradually, and not at once by means of a 

 financial operation, which might involve the coun- 

 try once more in economic difficulties and create 

 a new era of instability. The amount withdrawn 



annually according to the plan I.Iial. tlic com- 

 mission put in force in 1900 is 2,000.000 dnu-hmas, 

 which it is believed can be increased in \ i. w of 

 the unexpected growth of the rcvcmn- \\iih the 

 effect of improving the rate of exchange ni<l. by 

 showing that the Government is prepared to n-nkc 

 sacrifices for the restoration of normal UK, unary 

 conditions, Greek credit in general. The ine.n a>'e 

 of the tobacco duty in March, 1900, caused a 

 diminution of consumption and a loss of revenue, 

 which the Government had to make good to tlie 

 Debt Commission below a minimum agreed upon. 

 The company having the monopolies is charged 

 with the commission of administering those rev- 

 enues unsatisfactorily, and introducing politics 

 into the appointment of its personnel. The meas- 

 ures for the prevention of fraud and contraband 

 traffic which the commission recommended were 

 rejected by the Chamber. The Government in 

 1901 asked the Chamber to vote 2,500,000 drach- 

 mas a year for naval construction and 1,500,000 

 drachmas annually for 12 field and 12 mountain 

 batteries and 60,000 Mannlicher rifles. The Inter- 

 national Commission has agreed to a loan for 

 the construction of the Pirseus-Demerly Railroad, 

 the service of which will be 3,763,512 drachmas 

 a year, and for another loan to complete the line 

 from Pyrgos to Kyparissa and Meligala in the 

 Morea. 



The Army and Navy. The Greek army is in 

 process of reorganization. The Crown Prince was 

 appointed commander-in-chief with the rank of 

 lieutenant-general by the law of April 6, 1900, 

 which placed the army under his inspection. 

 There are 3 divisions, containing 10 regiments of 

 infantry, 8 battalions of euzonoi, or riflemen, 3 

 regiments of cavalry, 3 regiments of field-artillery, 

 and 1 regiment of engineers. The nominal peace 

 strength in 1899 was 26,108 men, but the actual 

 strength was about 10,000 less. Every Hellene is 

 liable for service, and those who are not drawn 

 pay a tax varying from 100 to 1,000 drachmas, 

 and are enrolled in the reserve of the active army 

 and trained for three months. The period of 

 service is two years in the active army, ten years 

 in the reserve, eight years in the National Guard, 

 and ten years in its reserve. The nominal 

 strength in 1900 was 62 officers in the Ministry of 

 War and the general staff, 873 officers and 13,180 

 men in the infantry, 96 officers and 1,448 men in 

 the cavalry, 216 officers and 2,584 men in the artil- 

 lery, 101 officers and 1,381 men in the engineers, 

 380 officers and 479 men in the administrative 

 services, 28 officers and 105 men in the military 

 schools, and 139 officers and 4,108 men in the 

 gendarmerie; total, 1,894 officers and 4,108 men, 

 with 3,916 horses and 180 guns. The infantry 

 have Gras rifles, the cavalry carbines of the same 

 construction, and the artillery Krupp guns. The 

 war strength of the active army is about 82,000 

 men, and of the National Guard 96,000 men. 



The navy comprises 5 armor-clads, the principal 

 ones being the French-built steel-belted cruisers 

 Hydra, Spetsai, and Psara, of 4,885 tons, armed 

 with 3 10.6-inch, 5 5.9-inch, 1 4-inch, and 4 9- 

 pounder Canet guns, with 7 6-pounder quick-firers 

 and numerous smaller ones. There are 7 large 

 and 44 small torpedo-boats. 



Commerce and Production. Wheat, barley, 

 and corn are the principal agricultural crops. The 

 Zante currant is the most important product for 

 export. The olive and the grape are cultivated 

 extensively, and the crop of figs is important. 

 Tobacco is raised also for export, and cotton is 

 grown to some extent. Valonea from the na- 

 tive acorn-tree, a useful tanning material, is an 

 important export. In accordance with the reten- 



