588 



ROUMANIA. 



Navigation. There were 26,246 vessels, of 

 5,701,177 tons, entered at Roumanian ports dur- 

 ing 1899, and 25,876, of 5,200,487 tons, were 

 cleared. The merchant marine consisted of 382 

 vessels in 1899, of 69,072 tons, and of these 55, of 

 12,785 tons, were steamers. The number of ves- 

 sels cleared from the Sulina mouth of the Danube 

 in 1899 was 1,056, of 1,070,367 tons. 



Bailroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. There 

 were. 1,932 miles of railroad belonging to the 

 Government in 1900, and 432 miles were being 

 constructed or surveyed. The gross receipts in 

 1899 were 46,197,750* lei, and the operating ex- 

 penses 37,500,000 lei. The total capital expendi- 

 ture was 717,627,000 lei. 



The number of letters that passed through the 

 post-office in 1899 was 12,566,288; of postal cards, 

 8,273.018; of newspapers, etc., 29,220,893. 



The length of telegraph-lines in 1899 was 4,300 

 miles, with 11,100 miles of wire. The number of 

 messages transmitted in that year was 2,238,049. 

 There were 885 miles of telephone-lines and 3,310 

 miles of wire. The number of conversations in 

 1899 was 913,046. 



Political Events. The Chamber and Senate 

 in the beginning of January, 1901, agreed to a 

 commercial convention that had been made with 

 Greece containing a favored-nation clause w r hich 

 after April 1, 1903, can be terminated in nine 

 months on notice being given by either party. 

 Commercial treaty relations between the two 

 countries were broken off in 1887 in consequence 

 of a controversy over the will of a wealthy man 

 named Zappa. Since then Greek products have 

 paid under the general tariff an average duty of 

 10 per cent, on entering Roumania, while Rou- 

 manian goods under the Greek general, tariff have 

 paid from 30 to 145 per cent, ad valorem to be 

 admitted into the Greek market, to the decided 

 disadvantage of the Roumanian milling and tim- 

 ber interests. Under the new treaty Roumania has 

 the advantage in trade, as Greek imports into 

 Roumania are small, and in compensation the 

 Roumanian Government grants to Greek educa- 

 tional and religious establishments in Roumania 

 the rights of corporate bodies, provided these 

 rights are exercised subject to Roumanian laws, 

 but such corporations are not allowed to hold real 

 estate in Roumania. 



The program of financial reform proposed by 

 the Government was rejected by the Chamber, 

 and consequently on Feb. 8 the Carp Cabinet 

 tendered its resignation to the King, who on Feb. 

 9 commissioned Cantacuzene to form a new min- 

 istry. The Conservatives had still a majority in 

 Parliament. After the defeat of the Cantacuzene 

 Cabinet in July, 1900, it was believed that the 

 new combination brought about by Carp would 

 be able to carry through the financial measures 

 which, although exceedingly unpopular, appeared 

 to be the only means of extricating the Govern- 

 ment from the financial difficulties in which it 

 had been floundering for several years. Carp, 

 however, soon found himself at odds with a sec- 

 tion of the majority, and the Committee of the 

 Chamber appointed *to study the question of new 

 taxation condemned the ministerial plan. The 

 problems to be solved were to restore the equilib- 

 rium in the finances without crushing the peo- 

 ple with fresh imposts, to introduce indispensable 

 economic reforms, and to put an end to the odious 

 persecution of the Jews. The crisis had been 

 brought about by the action of the Old Conserva- 

 tives under Cantacuzene, with whom the group of 

 Tony Jonesco acted in concert, in practically re- 

 nouncing the compact existing with the Juni- 

 mists, or Young Conservatives, of whom Carp was 



the leader. The unpopularity of the proposed new 

 taxes and of the disposal by the Government of 

 state property was the chief cause of the dissen- 

 sions among the Conservatives. The Liberals un- 

 der Sturdza at the same time .profited by the 

 popular discontent over heavier taxation and 

 started a vigorous agitation in the country, de- 

 nouncing the Government especially for aliena- 

 ting the property of the state. Cantacuzene was 

 unable to form a ministry, and two sections of 

 the Conservative party, being confronted with the 

 prospect of a Liberal regime under Sturdza, con- 

 cluded to make up their differences. On Feb. 13 

 Carp withdrew his resignation and resumed the 

 direction of the administration on the understand- 

 ing that the Government scheme of taxation 

 would be approved by the Chamber. This expec- 

 tation was not realized. The committee of the 

 Chamber again condemned the tax scheme, and 

 on Feb. 26 Carp once more tendered the resigna- 

 tion of the Cabinet to the King after the Chamber 

 by 75 votes to 74 had rejected his financial policy. 

 Sturdza formed a Cabinet on Feb. 27, as follows: 

 President of the Council, Minister of Foreign Af- 

 fairs, and Minister of War ad interim, Demeter 

 Sturdza; Minister of the Interior, M. Aurelian; 

 Minister of Justice, C. J. Stoicesco; Minister of 

 Public Works, Joan Bratiano; Minister of Pub- 

 lic Instruction, Spiro Haret; Minister of Finance, 

 G. D. Palladi; Minister of Domains, M. Missir. 

 The formation of a Liberal ministry entailed the 

 dissolution of the Chamber and the election of a 

 new one. Sturdza pronounced against new taxa- 

 tion and proposed to bring about the equilibrium 

 of the budget by various economies amounting 

 to 20,000,000 lei. If these should not suffice he 

 would consent to increase taxation to the extent 

 of 5,000,000 lei, whereas Carp had proposed a com- 

 paratively slight reduction of expenditure and the 

 imposition of several new taxes calculated to 

 produce a surplus of 6,000,000 or 7,000,000 lei. 

 The Old Conservatives objected to some of the 

 proposed imposts, especially to a tax on licenses for 

 professions. The harmony which was apparently 

 reestablished was broken again when Carp, re- 

 plying to complaints raised by Sturdza against 

 the Old Conservatives for having practised ob- 

 struction when he was Prime Minister in the last 

 Liberal Cabinet, declined to accept responsibility 

 for their past conduct. Parliament was dissolved 

 on March 1, and the elections began on March 26. 

 The new Chambers met on April 6. The new 

 Minister of Finance made the budget balance at 

 218,500,000 lei, reducing expenditures from 245,- 

 325,000 lei in the previous year. Retrenchments 

 amounting to 25,000,000 lei were effected by cut- 

 ting down salaries and pensions and reducing 

 expenses in all the departments. Every one had 

 to sacrifice something. The King voluntarily sur- 

 rendered a proportionate share of the civil list. 

 The war budget was cut down 5,600,000 lei, which 

 caused 12 generals on the active list to resign. 

 No new taxation was proposed, but existing taxes 

 were increased so as to produce 6,000,000 lei more. 

 The session was closed on April 10, immediately 

 after the adoption of the budget. An extraordi- 

 nary session of Parliament was opened on June 

 27, the object of which was the settlement of 

 several questions touching the situation and the 

 defenses of the country, the amendment of the 

 public instruction law, and the ratification of the 

 extradition treaty with Austria. Extraordinary 

 credits amounting to 72,500,000 lei were voted by 

 the Chamber, but annulled by the Senate. The 

 interest on the public debt was met out of the 

 ordinary revenue. Among the retrenchments which 

 the Government decided upon was the reduction 



