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SERVIA. 



King Milan Obrenovich abdicated on March 6, 

 1889, in favor of his son Alexander I, born Aug. 

 24, 1876, and appointed a regency of three mem- 

 bers to carry on the Government until the King 

 shall be eighteen years old. The Regents are 

 Jovan Ristich, Gen. J. Belimarkovich, and Gen. 

 K. S. Protich. The composition of the ministry 

 in the beginning of 1890 was as follows : Presi- 

 dent of the Council and Minister of Foreign Af- 

 fairs, Gen. Sava Gruich ; Minister of Finance. 

 Dr. M. Vuich; Minister of Agriculture and 

 Commerce, K. Tauchanovich ; Minister of the 

 Interior. J. Djaja ; Minister of War ad interim, 

 J. Ristich ; Minister of Public Instructien, A. 

 Nikolich ; Minister of Justice, M. Djordjevich ; 

 Minister of Public Works, M. Jossimovich. 



Area and Population. The area of the 

 kingdom is 48,589 square kilometres. The esti- 

 mated population in the beginning of 1890 was 

 2,096,043, comprising 1,072.210 males and 1,023,- 

 827 females. The number of marriages in 1889 

 was 21,753 ; of births, 93,724 ; of deaths, 54,093 ; 

 excess of births, 39.631. 



Finances. The budget estimates for 1890 

 make the total revenue 46,196,865 dinars or 

 francs, of which 20,966,391 dinars are derived 

 from direct imposts, 4,000,000 dinars from cus- 

 toms, 2,610,000 dinars from tobacco, salt, and spir- 

 its, 2,000,000 dinars from the courts of justice, 

 4,774,164 dinars from monopolies, 2,700,000 

 dinars from state property, domains, railroads, 

 posts, and telegraphs, and 9,146,312 dinars from 

 other sources. The total expenditures are made 

 to balance the receipts, the largest items being 

 19,307,295 dinars for the debt, 9,646,104 dinars 

 for the army, 3,320,170 dinars for worship, in- 

 struction, and justice, and 2,776,555 dinars for 

 pensions and grants. 



The capital of the debt on Jan. 1, 1889, stood 

 at 255,146,520 dinars, of which 127,640,000 dinars 

 were raised to build the Servian sections of the 

 international railroads. 



The Army. The law of Jan. 31, 1889, makes 

 military service compulsory and universal. It 

 begins with the age of twenty-one and lasts one 

 year in the active army, of which only the caders 

 exist in time of peace, nine years in the reserve, 

 ten years in the first ban and ten years in the sec- 

 ond ban of the national militia. The country is 

 divided into 5 military districts. There are 75 

 battalions in the active army and its reserve 

 numbering about 70,000 infantrymen, 30 squad- 

 rons or 3,500 cavalry, 57 batteries, counting 

 7,000 men, with 282 field pieces, and 24 compa- 

 nies of engineers, numbering about 3,500 men, 

 which makes a total strength of 84,000 men. 

 The territorial militia is believed to number 

 about 70,000 infantry, organized in 120 battal- 

 ions, and 3,500 men of other arms. The substi- 

 tution of a national army for the professional 

 soldiery of King Milan has increased the fight- 

 ing strength of Servia, the use of which will de- 

 pend more henceforth on the uncertain political 

 moods and uncontrolled aspirations of the peo- 

 ple. In the summer of 1890 an experimental 

 mobilization of 60,000 men was tried, and was 

 pronounced a success, and in the autumn some 

 thousand Beidan rifles from Russia were distrib- 

 uted among the two bans of the militia. The 

 cavalry has been armed with lances, after the 

 Russian model. 



Commerce. The total value of the imports 

 in 1889 was 34,843,000 dinars, and of the exports 

 39,066,000 dinars. Of the exports 14,029,000 

 dinars consisted of agricultural and horticultural 

 products, 2,216.000 of articles of food and drink, 

 16,308,000 of animals and animal products, 3,- 

 002,000 of hides and skins, and 1,693,000 of tim- 

 ber. The important export trade in Servian 

 hogs with Austria-Hungary was for months 

 stopped by prohibitive regulations on the Hun- 

 garian border. The stoppage of this trade, which 

 averages 24.000,000 dinars a year, was in reality 

 an act of reprisal for the vexatious policy of the 

 Radical Government toward the Vienna Cabinet. 

 In September, 1890, after long negotiations, mu- 

 tual commercial concessions were agreed on and 

 the prohibition was removed by the Hungarian 

 Government. The regulations were based os- 

 tensibly on sanitary considerations, and to secure 

 their abolition the Servian Government engaged 

 to subject pigs to eight days' inspection before 

 granting certificates of health, without which 

 they can not be imported into Hungary. It 

 also agreed to close its frontier against the im- 

 portation of Roumanian swine. A treaty of 

 commerce with Russia had been negotiated,' but 

 the arrangement with Austria-Hungary, by which 

 Servia promised to concede to no other state 

 more favorable commercial treatment prior to 

 Sept. 17, 1892, than she grants to that empire, 

 prevented its ratification. A similar obligation 

 binds her to extend most- favored-nation treat- 

 ment to Germany till June 25, 1893. In the 

 mean time the Servian Government allows the 

 importation of Russian goods at the rates of duty 

 that are applied to Austro-Hungarian and Ger- 

 man merchandise, which must not exceed 20 per 

 cent, of the duties fixed in the general tariff. 

 Negotiations for a commercial convention with 

 Bulgaria were broken off in the early part of the 

 year, and afterward, in consequence' of the Min- 

 chevich affair (see BULGARIA) diplomatic inter- 

 course was almost entirely suspended. The ten 

 years' treaty of commerce with Great Britain, 

 which expired on Feb. 7, 1890, was replaced by 

 a temporary convention, and this was subse"- 

 quently extended till Jan. 1, 1893, a year longer 

 than the original term. 



Communications. The Servian railroads 

 have a length of 526 kilometres. 



The post-office in 1889 forwarded 3,025,000 in- 

 ternal, 1,813,000 foreign, and 224,000 transit let- 

 ters, 143,000 postal cards, 3,156,000 papers and 

 circulars, and 170,000 letters with declaration of 

 value and postal money orders. The telegraphs 

 in 1889 had a length of 2,912 kilometres, with 

 4,930 kilometres of wires. The number of dis- 

 patches was 496,088, of which 340,062 were in- 

 ternal, 139,973 international, and the rest official 

 or in transit. The receipts of the post-office in 

 1889 were 469,928 dinars, and the expenses 517,- 

 024 dinars. The telegraph receipts were 512,- 

 320, and the expenses 501,120 dinars. 



The Legislative Session. The Skupshtina 

 that was prorogued on May 2 accomplished im- 

 portant changes in the system of government. 

 A restoration of Russian influence was evidenced 

 by the supplies of Berdan rifles obtained from 

 the Russian Government and by the regard paid 

 to Russian wishes in the framing of the new ec- 

 clesiastical law. The new laws were shaped 



