364 



GREECE. 



perceived the value of the mounds of debris 

 which the old miners had rejected, and, with- 

 out further delay, entered into negotiations 

 with the Paredre and Chinotis, or village head- 

 man and his council. They found that some 

 of the property was in dispute between the 

 village and the Government. They completed 

 the purchase with the village, determining to 

 make it right with the Government afterward. 

 A treaty of purchase was formally made, and 

 the whole village turned out to celebrate the 

 event in rejoicings and festivities. The ex- 

 plorers returned to Athens and found no diffi- 

 culty with the Government, who guaranteed 

 them possession of the property, irrespective 

 of the results of the pending dispute, upon 

 the payment of a further sum of 10,800 francs. 

 At the same time they obtained from the Gov- 

 ernor the concession of the right of exploring 

 the ancient mines existing over a certain ex- 

 tent of the Commune of Laurium, and the right 

 to the ores of argentiferous galena which exist 

 in their neighborhood. Having great ex- 

 perience and abundant capital at their disposal, 

 they soon realized their most sanguine ex- 

 pectations. In a few years a town of 3,000 

 inhabitants sprang up on the shores of the 

 once-deserted bay. Ships from all countries 

 and in considerable numbers anchored in its 

 waters ; England, France, and Italy, supplied 

 mechanicians, blacksmiths, carpenters, etc. ; 

 labor flocked from all parts of Greece and the 

 islands ; upward of forty miles of macad- 

 amized road, the best in Greece, were con- 

 structed, and tramways and a railway seven 

 miles long connected the mines with the port. 

 This sudden conversion of a desert into a 

 source of such vast wealth excited the cupidity- 

 alike of the Greek Government and the bri- 

 gands to whom it grants its protection. One, 

 signing himself Kytzos, Prince of Attica, de- 

 manded 50,000f. of black mail from the com- 

 pany as the price of leaving them alone, but 

 lie was killed before he had an opportunity of 

 putting his demands into execution. Spafios, 

 who succeeded Kytzos and Arranitakis, also 

 attempted on one occasion to seize the Direc- 

 tor-General of the Mines, and a pitched battle 

 was on the point of being fought between a 

 Greek company and the Franco-Italians, 

 which was only averted by the arrival of 

 troops from Athens. Public feeling at last got 

 so worked up in Greece at the sight of a num- 

 ber of foreigners exporting their mineral 

 wealth and pocketing the profits, that the 

 Government was forced to pass a law declaring 

 all scoria and debris of old mines Government 

 property, and giving the law a retrospective 

 effect, on the strength of which they claimed 

 not merely an exorbitant tax from the Lau- 

 rium Company for the future, but a sum of 

 2,000,000f. for back payment for the eight 

 years before the law was made. This the 

 company refused to pay, and the diplomatic 

 agents of the two Governments found them- 

 selves compelled to interfere to protect their 



subjects from so extortionate a demand. The 

 Greeks continued more obstinate as they per- 

 ceived the richness of the prize won by the 

 foreigner, the value of which was estimated 

 by their own official reports at a milliard of 

 francs. The company, in despair of being 

 able to continue to work their property in 

 security, offered at last to sell for 14,000,000f. 

 to the Greek Government what the latter had 

 valued at a milliard. An agreement to this 

 effect was made with the ministry, which prom- 

 ised to bring in a bill authorizing the sale. At 

 the last moment, however, it perceived no such 

 bill would be carried, and attempted to post- 

 pone it. The King would not permit this breach 

 of faith, and the ministry, rather than face the 

 inevitable defeat which it would entail, re- 

 signed. He was, in July, succeeded by Deli- 

 georgis, who has written a memorial defending 

 the law and receding from the agreement of his 



Eredecessor. He has proposed, indeed, to abol- 

 ih the law, and let the question be tried by the 

 judges. His cabinet was composed of Ypsilanti, 

 as Minister of Foreign Affairs; Christides, Min- 

 ister of Finances ; Grivas, Minister of War ; 

 Perosso, Minister of the Navy ; Zambelli, 

 Minister of Public Worship. In August, the 

 Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Public Wor- 

 ship resigned, and were replaced by M. Spilio- 

 takes and M. Mavrokordatos. The French 

 and Italian ministers (in September) decidedly 

 rejected a circular, in which the Greek Gov- 

 ernment explained its views, declared its dis- 

 cussion closed, and proposed that the matter 

 should be submitted to arbitration or arrange- 

 ment. 



The following is an accurate summary of the 

 " identical note " recently presented by tin 

 representatives of France and Italy, at Athei 

 to the Greek Government, in reply to 

 statement drawn up by the latter with respe( 

 to the Laurium affair: The Greek Govern- 

 ment, by a new interpretation of the law 

 1871, sought to remove the question from the 

 region of diplomacy by referring it to the 

 decision of the law courts. The French and 

 Italian representatives cannot consider that 

 view as a proper mode of arrangement. They 

 remind the Greek Government that the Lau- 

 rium Company was in peaceable possession of 

 the lands conceded to them when that Govern- 

 ment, without any valid reasons, took upon 

 itself to forbid the working of the ecwlades by 

 resorting to exceptional measures and arbitrary 

 resolutions. In the face of such proceedings 

 France and Italy had a right to intervene 

 diplomatically on behalf of _ their respective 

 subjects, the victims of a positive confiscation. 

 The law of 1871 deprived the Greek courts of 

 all power of deciding the question, and a ref- 

 erence to those courts would be absolutely . 

 illusory, for on the sitting of the Chamber, on 

 the 27th of April, 1871, M. Deligeorgis obtained 

 the adoption of the law in its existing terms, 

 "to close the door against any judicial inter- 

 pretation." Thus, the Greek Government, 



