GOVERNMENT AND LAW. 



97 



* Exclusive of the Bay with an area of about 200 square miles, and the neutral zone with an area of about 

 2,500 square miles, and population of 1,200,000. 



GREECE. 



Greece, a province of the Turkish Empire 

 since the commencement of the 16th century, 

 gained its independence in the insurrection of 

 1821-29, and by the Protocol of London, of 

 February 3, 1830, was declared a kingdom, 

 under the protection of Great Britain, France, 

 and Russia. Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg 

 having declined the crown of Greece, on the 

 ground that the boundaries proposed were in- 

 sufficient, and especially excluded the island 

 of Crete, it was offered to, and accepted by, 

 Prince Otto of Bavaria, who ascended the 

 throne January 25, 1833, being under the age 

 of eighteen. He was expelled from the King- 

 dom, after a reign of 29 years, in October, 

 1862, which event was followed by the election, 

 under the directing guidance of the three pro- 

 tecting Powers, of the present sovereign. 



The King, according to Art. 49 of the Con- 

 stitution of 186-1, attains his majority upon 

 completing his eighteenth year. Before he 

 ascends the throne, he must take the oath to 

 the Constitution in the presence of the minis- 

 ters, the sacred synod, the deputies then in the 

 metropolis, and the higher officials of the realm. 

 Within two months at the most the King must 

 convoke the Legislature. If the successor to 

 the throne is either a minor or absent at the 

 time of the King's decease, and no Regent has 

 been appointed, the Legislative Chamber has 

 to assemble of its own accord within ten days 

 after the occurrence of that event. The con- 

 stitutional royal authority in this case has to 

 be exercised by the ministerial council, until 

 the choice of a Regent, or the arrival of the 

 successor to the throne. The present sover- 

 eign is allowed, by special exception, to adhere 

 to the religion in which he was educated, the 

 Protestant Lutheran faith, but his heirs and 



successors must be members of the Greek Or- 

 thodox Church. 



The Constitution of Greece, adopted Octo- 

 ber 29, 1864, vests the whole legislative power 

 in a single chamber, called the Boul6, consist- 

 ing of 207 representatives, elected by manhood 

 suffrage for the term of four years. Repre- 

 sentatives must be at least 30 years of age, and 

 electors 21 . The elections take place by ballot, 

 and each candidate must be put in nomination 

 by the requisition of at least one thirtieth of 

 the voters of an electoral district. At the 

 election of 1881 there were 460,163 voters on 

 the list, being 1 voter iu every 4.3 of the pop- 

 ulation ; the number who vbted was 306,957, 

 or 66 percent, of the voters. The Boule" must 

 meet annually for not less than three, nor 

 more than six, months. No sitting is valid 

 unless at least one half of the members of the 

 Assembly are present, and no bill can pass into 

 law without an absolute majority of members. 

 Every measure, before being adopted, must be 

 discussed and voted, article by article, thrice, 

 and on three separate days. But the Legisla- 

 tive Assembly has no power to alter the Con- 

 stitution itself ; particular provisions may be 

 reviewed after the lapse of ten years, with the 

 exception of " fundamental principles. " The 

 Chamber of Deputies, unless specially con- 

 voked at an earlier date, for extraordinary 

 occasions, must meet on November 1 (old 

 style) of every year. The deputies are paid 

 2,000 old drachmai (equal to 1,800 new'dra- 

 chmai, or 72/.) each per session ; for an extra 

 session the allowance varies according to its 

 length from 20/. to 72/. 



The Ministry is as follows : 



President of the Council and Minister of 

 Foreign Affairs. 



Minister of Interior, Worship, and Instruction. 



