GREECE. 



461 



GREECE, a kingdom in Southeastern Europe. 

 In 1861, it was divided into (Prefectures) De- 

 partments: the names, area, population, and 

 capitals, are exhibited in the following table : 



Of the inhabitants, 552,414 lived upon the 

 Peloponnese; 318,535 on the main land; 225,- 

 861 upon the islands. In 1863, the territory 

 of Greece was enlarged by the annexation of 

 the Ionian Islands. A complete list of these 

 islands, with their territory in geographical 

 square miles, is given in the following table : 



The population of the Ionian Islands was, in 

 1862, as follows : 



Corfu 75,532 



Paxo 5,025 



8'ta Maure 20,043 



Ithaca 11,348 



Cephalonia 70,541 



Zante 88,627 



Cerigo 13,007 



284,123 



The reigning sovereign is George I., king of 

 the Hellenes, born December 24th, 1845, the 

 second son of the present king, Christian IX., 

 of Denmark, and elected king of the Hellenes 

 by the Assembly of Athens, March 18th (30th), 

 1863 ; accepted the crown, through his father 

 (then Prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonder- 

 burg-Glticksburg), and King Frederick VI. of 

 Denmark, acting as his guardians, June 4th, 

 1863 ; landed in Greece, November 2d, 1863. 



By decision of the Greek National Assem- 

 bly, of May 15th, 1863, a civil list of 12,000,- 

 000 drachmas, or 41,860, was settled on King 

 George I., to which the Governments of Great 

 Britain, France, and Russia, added 4,000 each, 

 making the total income of the new sovereign 

 of Greece 53,860 per annum. By decree of 

 the National Assembly of March 18th, 1863, 

 the legitimate successors of King George I. 



*Tho islands marked with a star are those from which the 

 Ionian Islands are often called the " Republic of the Seven 

 Islands." 



must profess the tenets of the orthodox Church 

 of the East. The election of the king took place, 

 t.nder the guardianship of the three great Pow- 

 ers, embodied in the protocol of a conference 

 held at the British Foreign Office, June 5th, 

 1863. In the protocol the Principal Secretary 

 of the Queen of England declared that if the 

 union of the Ionian Islands lo the Hellenic 

 kingdom, after having been found to be in ac- 

 cordance with the wishes of the Ionian Parlia- 

 ment, should obtain the assent of the courts 

 of Austria, France, Prussia, and Russia, the 

 British Government would recommend to the 

 Government of the United States of the Ionian 

 Islands, to appropriate annually a sum of 10,- 

 000 sterling, for the purpose of augmenting the 

 civil list of his Majesty, George I., king of the 

 Greeks. 



The Constitution of the kingdom, introduced 

 in consequence of the revolution of September 

 3d, 1843, was modified by a decree of the Pro- 

 visional Government, of December 4th, 1862, 

 which proclaimed universal suffrage, and a re- 

 duction of the age of electors from twenty-five 

 to twenty. The executive is divided into six 

 departments, namely : the ministries of the in- 

 terior ; of finance ; of justice ; of public wor- 

 ship; of war, and of foreign affairs. A presi- 

 dent of the council superintends the delibera- 

 tions of the ministry, as chief functionary of 

 the Government. The following heads of de- 

 partments were appointed on November 6th, 

 1863, after the arrival of King George I. at 

 Athens: Minister of the Interior, and Presi- 

 dent of the Council, Bulgaris ; Minister of Fi- 

 nance, Drosos ; Minister of Justice, Dramanto- 

 pulos; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Belyami; 

 Minister of Public "Worship, Petzalis. 



The budget of the year 1862, voted by the 

 Chambers which were closed on August 23d, 

 1861, estimated the expenses at 24,785,795 

 drachmas, and the receipts at about 22 million 

 drachmas. The deficit in the treasury, in July, 

 1863, was estimated by the minister of finance 

 at about 10,700,000 drachmas.* The public 

 debt was, in 1860, as follows : 



Drachmas. 



Loan of 1832, guaranteed by the Three Protect- 

 ing Powers, to Mr. Rothschild 44,444,107 



Advanced by the three Powers 66,142,698 



Total 110,586,805 



Debt to Bavaria, 1,529,333 florins. To this 

 must be added a debt contracted in 1824, at 

 London, to Jacob and Samson Ricardo; the 

 interior debt, and the one to the bank Capo 

 D'Istria; the amount of all of which is not 

 known. The debt increases annually about 

 3,800,000 drachmas. 



The army, at the close of 1863, was entirely 

 disorganized. The navy consisted of 31 vessels, 

 carrying 154 guns, and having 415 horse power. 



The movements of shipping, in 1860, was as 

 follows : 



Vessels. Tonnage. 



Arrivals 77,958 2,298,153 



Departures 78,107 2.821,043 



* fi.78 drachmas are equivalent to $1. 



