GREECE. 



GUATEMALA. 



339 



including cables, had a total length of 4.781 miles 

 in the beginnini: i>f 1 Mi"), with .">>:;(> miles f wire. 

 Tin ; ~ ''~>. s 7i> internal and 197.569 interna- 



tional telegrams sent during 1*94. The post office 

 in INK:; conveyed 8,791,000 internal and 5.287000, 

 international letters and postal cards, and 5,058,000 

 internal and '2, 919.000 international newspapers, cir- 

 culars, and samples. The postal receipts were 

 1. 542.^44. and expenses 1.570.1 '21 francs; the tele- 

 graph receipts in 1894 were 1.062,985, and expenses 

 1,803,458 francs. 



(.'urrencj'. Greece joined the Latin monetary 

 union in 1888. A forced paper currency was issued 

 in 1877 and succeeding years. In December, 1884, 

 the redemption of specie payments was decivcd. 

 but in September, 1885, the 'notes were reissued. 

 In June, 1886, notes of less than 5 drachma! were 

 authorized. The Xational, Ionian, and Epiro-Thes- 

 salian Banks have authority to issue notes, which 

 are declared legal tender, up to the amount of 88,- 

 000,000 drachmai, including 14.000,000 drachmai of 

 fractional currency. The notes of the Xational 

 Bank in circulation on Sept. 1, 1895, amounted to 

 108.200.000 drachmai. 



The Boule. The death of Trikoupis, in April, 

 left the Opposition party with no leader when the 

 Chamber opened its session on Nov. 5. The budget 

 was drawn up as usual to show a surplus, 95,344 

 drachmai of revenue and 93,753.000 drachmai of 

 expenditure, but a deficit was expected. No ar- 

 rangement had been reached with the foreign cred- 

 itors, who had disappointed Delyannis in rejecting 

 the best terms that Greece could offer, with taxa- 

 tion at the maximum and expenditure reduced to 

 the lowest possible limit. Negotiations were still 

 pending. In regard to the Cretan question, the 

 Premier said that Greece and Crete must remain 

 quiescent until the pledge of the powers to enforce 

 the execution of the recently conceded Cretan re- 

 forms was definitely belied. While the Opposition 

 parties were raising a heated discussion and in- 

 veighing against the Government on account of its 

 apathy toward Crete, the King announced in a re- 

 script the necessity for military manoeuvres on a 

 large scale, the withdrawal of troops from police 

 duties, the summoning of 12,000 men from the re- 

 serve, and the need of a more modern rifle. The 

 proposals made by Delyannis to the bondholders 

 differed fundamentally from those of Trikoupis. who 

 proposed to pay to the creditors either a fixed per- 

 petual annual sum or a rate of interest that would 

 be increased with the return of prosperity. Del- 

 yannis was willing to grant a certain proportion of 

 the /'/.* i-nlues. or the improvement of revenue and 

 gain by a reduction of the agio, proposing to add 

 to the sum set aside for the service of the debt an 

 amount equivalent to two fifths of the surplus yield 

 of the specially conceded revenues, and one fourth 

 of the profit to be gained by the conversion of the 

 interest money from paper into gold in case of a 

 fall in the rate of exchange. His proposals were 

 rejected by the bondholders' committee in Paris, 

 and the subsequent correspondence he declined to 

 lay before the Boule. 



Olympic (iaino. The revived Olympic games 

 attracted 129 contending athletes from foreign 

 countries, including 42 Germans. 23 Englishmen. 21 

 Americans, 18 Frenchmen. 7 Italians. 6 Swedes, 6 

 Austrians. 5 Danes, and 1 Australian. The Stadion 

 was restored, forming an immense auditorium, with 

 an ample arena made in marble. The games began 

 on April 6. the anniversary of the declaration of 

 Greek independence. They were preluded by a 

 choral ode written by M. Samara-, a (rreek com- 

 poser. K. Garret, of Princeton College, bore away 

 the prize for throwing the discus from the Greek 

 champion, and also that for putting the weight. 



F. A. Lane, Curtis. .Jameson, and other college ath- 

 letes from Princeton. T. K. Burke, of Boston, and 

 other Americans gained prizes in the foot i. 

 one of which was won by the Australian amateur 

 Flack. In lifting the Dani>h competitor was fir*!. 

 and in fencing a Frenchman won the contest with 

 the foils. In a dash on a bicycle a French con- 

 testant was the victor, and in an all-day race an 

 Austrian. In exercises on the parallel bars, the 

 fixed bar. and the vaulting horse, and in turning 

 on the horizontal bar. German athletes were vic- 

 torious. A German wrestler bore off another prize. 

 Greek marksmen excelled in rifle and pistol shoot- 

 ing. The long foot race from Marathon was won 

 by a young Greek named Louis, who was loaded with 

 honors for his admirable performance. At the final 

 feast, on April 15, olive branches and medals were 

 distributed among the victors by the King, to whom 

 one of the contestants from Oxford University ad- 

 dressed a Pindaric ode. The athletic meeting of 

 1900 will be held in Paris. The American athletes 

 in parting presented a memorial to the King, asking- 

 thai the Olympic games be perpetuated at Athens. 

 M. Averoff, of Alexandria, who gave 1,000.000 

 drachmai for the restoration of the Stadion, offered 

 to contribute 500.000 drachmai yearly until the 

 structure was completed in Pentelic marble. The 

 Government decided to ask the Boule to provide 

 for a celebration of the Olympic games every fourth 

 year in the intervals between the games that the 

 international committee intend to hold. 



GUATEMALA, a republic in Central America. 

 The members of the Xational Assembly are elected 

 for four years by universal male suffrage. The 

 President is elected for six years. For the term 

 ending March 15. 1808. J. M. Reyna Barrios was 

 elected. 



Area and Population. Guatemala has an area 

 of 63.400 square miles. The population was esti- 

 mated in 1895 at 1.800.000, about three fifths of 

 whom are pure Indians and the rest of mixed white 

 and Indian blood, with a very small proportion of 

 pure whites. There were 5.735 marriages. <>4.73s 

 births, and 27.020 deaths in 1893. The capital is 

 Guatemala la Xueva. which has a population of 85,- 

 000, of whom 70.000 a re of European origin. Educa- 

 tion is free and compulsory, and in 1893 there were 

 43.789 children in 1.304 Government schools. 



Finances. For 1894 the revenue collected was 

 $11,831.815, nearly half of it from customs, a third 

 from monopolies of spirits and tobacco, and a sixth 

 from other taxes. The expenses of the Govern- 

 ment in 1894 -were $13,577,034, of which 70 per 

 cent, went for the debt, the army, and education. 

 The revenue fo?- the year ending June 30. 1^96. was 

 estimated at $12,483,000, of which $6,706.000 are 

 from customs: and the estimated expenditure is 

 sin.7ii5.442. The budget for 1897 estimates the 

 total revenue at sl4.7Mi.000, of which s.751.000 

 comes from customs. 1.9 11. 000 from taxes. s::.7'.m.- 

 000 from monopolies, and 328.000 from other 

 sources. The total expenditure is estimated at 14,- 

 4(14.^40. of which 1.741.734 are a<- i-ned to the in- 

 terior and justice. 267.290 to foreign a Hairs, sfi.475.- 

 143 to finance. 1.243.994 to the department of 

 Fomento, including public works, agriculture, tele- 

 graphs, and roads, $2,655,461 to war. 1.812.536 to 

 public instruction, and 268.'' S 2 to miscellaneous 

 expenditure. 



The foreign debt in May. 1895. amounted to 

 '.>-?. 700 sterling, and the' internal consolidated 

 debt to $6,025,900, equal to 964.144. An arrange- 

 ment was made with the bondholders whereby both 

 debts were unified into a new consolidated debt of 

 1.600.000. bearing 4 per cent, interest and secured 

 by a special tax on the exports of coffee. Other 

 loans not included in this arrangement amount to 



