CYPRUS. 



233 



of Cyprus. Considerable herds of cattle, sheep, 

 and goats are kept, and mules of a good breed 

 are numerous. According to reports made 

 shortly after the island was occupied by the 

 British, about one fourth of the land had been 

 cultivated. The land in the north was mostly 

 held by peasant proprietors, but there were a 

 few estates reaching an extent of three thou- 

 sand acres. The ordinary crop-bearing ground 

 was worth about $15 an acre, and cotton-pro- 

 ducing ground $50. The exports exceeded the 

 imports by more than a million dollars. 



The administration of the several local coun- 

 cils and law courts had been exercised by Mos- 

 lem and Christian officers, all of whom were 

 elected by the people. The revenue of the 

 island is derived principally from agricultural 

 tithes, duties on wine, stamps, a sheep tax, and 

 the salt monopoly. Its amount has not been 

 accurately reported ; it was roughly estimated 

 in the British consular reports in 1872 at 300,- 

 000, but it appears by the same authority to 

 have fallen to less than two thirds of that sum 

 in 1874-75. Von Loher, in April, 1877, esti- 

 mated the revenue for the year at 16,670,000 

 piasters, or $716,810. 



Cyprus was anciently the seat of the chief 

 worship of the Grecian goddess Aphrodite or 

 Venus. The Phoenicians introduced the wor- 

 ship of Astartej the Greeks found this wor- 

 ship established, and adopted it, appropriating 

 it to their own goddess, who, they fabled, was 

 born of the sea-foam at Paphos. A temple of 

 the goddess was established at this point, 

 where the worship became famous for its las- 

 civious rites and the demoralizing influence it 

 was said to have had on the character of the 

 people. The visit of Saul with Barnabas and 

 John to the island, and their successful preach- 

 ing at Salamis an<J Paphos, are recorded in the 

 Acts of the Apostles. It was here that the 

 name of Saul appears to have been changed to 

 Paul. Later, the island was associated with 

 the names of numerous saints of the early 

 Christian Church. The independence of the 

 Church of Cyprus of every other ecclesiastical 

 jurisdiction was granted in the fifth century, 

 and has been preserved ever since. The 

 church is of the Greek rite, and is under the 

 jurisdiction of an archbishop, who resides at 

 Nicosia, and has under him three suffragan 

 bishops. Several cloisters exist, which are 

 richly endowed and but lightly taxed. 



A prodigious number of antiquities have 

 been excavated by General Di Cesnola, late 

 Consul of the United States to the island, from 

 the ruins of the ancient temples and the tombs 

 of the island, the character of which has been 

 fully described in previous volumes of the 

 "Annual Cyclopaedia." These antiquities are 

 ascribed to a period ranging from about 1200 

 B. o. to the close of the Greek domination ; 

 they embrace thousands of specimens of the 

 Phoenician and Grecian epochs, and are re- 

 garded as of the very highest value, in that 

 they ehow in a continuous collection from the 



same region the progress of ancient art 

 through many hundred years. The most abun- 

 dant collections of antiquities were obtained 

 from the ruins of the ancient cities at Idalium, 

 Golgos, Curium, and Amathus. 



The population of Cyprus is variously esti- 

 mated at from 120,000 to 250,000. Two thirds 

 of the inhabitants are of the Greek race and 

 attached to the Orthodox Church, and one 

 third are Mohammedans. The Mohammedans 

 are partly Turks, who live mostly in the towns 

 (as Nicosia, Famagusta, Paphos, &nd Leuca), 

 partly Neo-Muslims, w^ho are of Greek origin, 

 speaking Greek, and similar in character to the 

 native Christians. The Greeks have a high 

 character for morality and honesty, are intelli- 

 gent, and are remarkable for the harmony of 

 their family life and their fidelity and devoted- 

 ness to their family relations. Schools, ac- 

 cording to Von Loher, did not exist until 

 about thirty years ago. Now, training schools 

 are established in most of the important towns ; 

 and Larnaka, Nicosia, and Limasol have schools 

 of three grades, with courses of instruction 

 embracing history, geography, and Greek lit- 

 erature. 



It was stipulated by the treaty of June 4, 

 1878, between England and Turkey, that if 

 Russia, holding Batoum, Ardahan, Kars, or any 

 of them, should at any future time attempt to 

 take possession of any further Turkish terri- 

 tory in Asia, England should join the Sultan 

 in defending it by force of arms ; in return 

 for which guarantee the Sultan engaged to in- 

 troduce necessary reforms, to be agreed upon 

 between the two powers, into his dominions; 

 " and, for the protection of the Christian and 

 other subjects of the Porte in these territories, 

 and in order to enable England to make neces- 

 sary provisions for executing her engagement," 

 the Sultan further consented "to assign the 

 island of Cyprus to be occupied and adminis- 

 tered by England." An annex to the conven- 

 tion provides that if Russia restores to Turkey 

 the conquests it made in Armenia during the 

 late war, Cyprus shall be evacuated by Eng- 

 land, and the convention shall be at an end. 

 In a communication to Sir A. H. Layard, dated 

 May 30th, detailing the reasons which induced 

 the Government to conclude this treaty, Lord 

 Salisbury explained that the disintegration 

 of the Asiatic dominions of the Porte, which 

 would be promoted by the mere occupation 

 of the captured towns, even if it were not 

 brought about more directly by Russian agents, 

 could not be accepted without an effort to 

 avert it. Military measures to replace the 

 ceded fortresses were not practicable, and the 

 only provision which could in any case furnish 

 a substantial security for the stability of Otto- 

 man rule was an engagement, on the part of a 

 power strong enough to fulfill it, that any fur- 

 ther encroachments by Russia upon it would 

 be prevented by force of arms. The British 

 Government was also anxious to see reforms 

 instituted in the Turkish administration, and 



