338 



GREECE. 



and 1,053,583 females. The results of the latest 

 census show a total resident population of 2,418,000 

 in 1896. There are about 3,500,000 Greeks in Euro- 

 pean Turkey, 400.000 in Crete and the other islands 

 of the ^Egean, and 2,000,000 in Asia Minor. Athens, 

 the capital, had 107,251 inhabitants in 1889 and 

 128,000 in 1896. The number of marriages recorded 

 in Greece in 1890 was 19,899 ; of births, 78,226 ; of 

 deaths, 55,813. 



Finances. The estimated revenue receipts for 

 1895 were 91,331.118 drachma!, of which 19,706,908 

 drachmai were set down to direct taxation, 29,101.- 

 000 to customs and excise, 18,366,500 to stamps and 

 dues, 11,073,250 to monopolies, 3,644,560 to state 

 property, 994,900 to sales, 1,024,000 to repayments, 

 2,355,000 to arrears, 2,595,000 to elementary instruc- 

 tion, 1,200,000 to municipal police, 650,000 to inter- 

 national telegraphs, 300,000 to lighthouse dues, and 

 320,000 to extraordinary sources. The total expendi- 

 ture for 1895 was estimated at 90,150,380 drach- 

 mai, of which 21,926,326 drachmai were for the 

 public debt, 5,311,600 for pensions, 1,325,000 for the 

 civil list, 496,560 for the Chamber of Deputies, 

 2,024,119 for foreign affairs, 5,458,139 for justice, 

 11,110,984 for the interior, 7,643,618 for instruction, 

 15,359,250 for the army, 5,492,929 for the navy. 

 2,578,467 for finance, 9.349,384 for the collection of 

 revenue, and 2,074.000 for various purposes. The 

 public debt on Jan. 1, 1895, consisted of 470,034,- 

 822 drachmai of amortizable gold loans, compris- 

 ing the sinking-fund loans of 1880, 1884, and 1887, 

 the loan of 70,621,012 drachmai due to the three 

 powers, and a railroad loan of 59,926,500 drachmai : 

 34,778,960 drachmai of amortizable paper loans ; 

 155,000,000 drachmai of gold consols, issued in 1889 ; 

 31.801,295 drachmai of permanent debts issued in 

 1874, 1876, 1878, and 1880, and payable in currency : 

 16,800,000 drachmai of gold-currency debt; 102.- 

 000,000 drachmai of forced paper currency ; and a 

 floating gold debt of 14,194.075 drachmai: milking 

 the total liabilities 656,028,897 drachmai in gold and 

 168,580,255 drachmai in paper. In 1884 the sums 

 voted for interest were 8,532,768 drachmai in gold 

 and 12,002,140 drachmai in paper. By the financial 

 act of March 19, 1894, the Government was author- 

 ized to suspend the sinking fund of the gold debt 

 and pay only 30 per cent, of the interest. 



Defense. All able-bodied Greeks are liable to 

 military service. The period of active service is two 



?3ars, but it may be shortened by long furloughs, 

 he nominal strength of the active army in 1895 

 was 1,880 officers and 22,997 men, with 3,739 horses 

 and 120 field guns. The reserves include 104,500 

 men, and the territorial army numbers 146,000. 



The navy consists of 2 old ironclads carrying 

 Krupp guns, 8 armored cruisers armed with Canet 

 guns, 4 unprotected cruisers, 12 gunboats, and 17 

 torpedo boats, besides a torpedo vessel and 2 Nor- 

 denfeldt submarine boats. The personnel comprises 

 185 officers and 3,165 men. The navy is manned 

 partly by enlistment and partly by conscription for 

 two years among the seafaring population. 



Commerce. The total value of the imports in 

 1895 was 106,822,000 drachmai. or francs, against 

 109,959,000 drachmai in 1894. The importation of 

 cereals was 27,581,000 drachmai; of cloth and yarns, 

 20,331,000 drachmai ; of coal, 7,318.000 drachmai ; 

 of drugs and chemicals, 6.914,000 drachmai; of 

 metals and minerals, 5,724,000 drachmai ; of timber, 

 4,635.000 drachmai ; of dried fish and caviare, 4,154,- 

 000 drachmai; of metal and stone manufactures, 

 3,631,000 drachmai; of skins. 2.984.000 drachmai; 

 of sugar, 2,909,000 drachmai : of paper, 2,522,000 

 drachmai; of coffee, 2.2S9.000 drachmai; of live 

 animals, 2,279,000 drachmai ; of rice, 2,110.000 drach- 

 mai; of glass and pottery, 1,231,000 drachmai ; mis- 

 cellaneous imports, 10,260,000 drachmai. The total 



value of exports in 1895 was 71,156,000 drachmai, 

 against 74.291.000 drachmai in 1894. The exports 

 of currants was valued at 21,807,000 drachmai ; of 

 metals and ores. is.r>2 7,000 drachmai ; of wine, 

 4,476,000 drachmai ; of olive oil, 3,183,000 drach- 

 mai : of figs, 2.884,000 drachmai ; of gallnuts, 

 2,340,000 drachmai; of tobacco, 2,011,000 drach- 

 mai ; of silk, 1,690,000 drachmai ; of sponges, 1,525,- 

 000 drachmai ; of olives. 1,391,000 drachmai ; of 

 brandy, 1,273.000 drachmai ; of fruits, 952,000 drach- 

 mai; miscellaneous exports, 8,991,000 drachmai. 



The commercial intercourse with foreign coun- 

 tries in 1894 is shown in the following table, giving 

 the values of imports and exports in drachmai : 



A crisis in the currant trade has had a serious ef- 

 fect upon the prosperil y of Greece. When a demand 

 for the dried currants produced only in Greece arose 

 in France, where they were used for the manufac- 

 ture of wine, a great area in the Morea was planted 

 out to the vines, and in fifteen years the crop was. 

 doubled. The French vintage then began to re- 

 cover, and to protect the native wine-growers the 

 French Government enacted decrees against manu- 

 factured wine and laid a heavy duty on Zante cur- 

 rants. The French demand. 'which had seemed to 

 be unlimited, suddenly vanished, and in conse- 

 quence the Morea produces 80.000 or 40,000 tons 

 of currants more than the world requires. Prices 

 have fallen so low that they scarcely cover the cost 

 of cultivation, and if the crisis continues, and no 

 new outlet for dried currants is found, the planta- 

 tions will have to be abandoned and the communi- 

 ties sunk in ruin. When the crop was about 130.000 

 tons, a quantity just sufficient to satisfy the normal 

 demand, the growers realized 50,000.000 drachmai 

 for their crop, but since the crop has increased to 

 170,000 tons, it is worth in the market only a little 

 over 25.000.000 drachmai. In 1895 a law was passed 

 requiring all exporters to deposit 15 per cent, of the 

 currants intended for export in Government stores, 

 where they will be used in making wine and spirits 

 in the country. Currant dealers abroad received 

 the bill favorably, but the Opposition in the Boule 

 loaded it with conditions and limited its duration 

 to a year. It succeeded nevertheless in keeping the 

 price of currants above a fixed figure. The crop of 

 1895 was 150.000 tons, of which 50,000 tons remained 

 in Greece. Great Britain is now the chief consumer, 

 taking half the total export, while France takes about 

 a fifth. 



Navigation. The merchant marine in 1894 con- 

 sisted of 125 steamers, of 134.687 tons, and 762 sail- 

 ing vessels, of 343.442 tons. During 1893 there were 

 5.778 vessels, of 2.214.764 tons, entered and 5.201. of 

 2.202.467 tons, cleared. Of t he vessels entered 2.639, 

 of 314,196 tons, were Greek. The Greeks have 

 large proportion of the carrying trade of Levantine, 

 Euxine, and Danubian ports. 



Communications. The length of railroads open 

 to traffic in 1894 was 555 miles, of which 92 miles 

 belonged to the Government. The building of 

 roads, of which there are now 2,043 miles, has re- 

 cently been prosecuted in earnest. The telegraphs,. 



