BULGAKIA. 



101 



Of lines neither owned nor guaranteed by 

 the Government, there were, at the beginning 

 of 1884, in operation, 2,570 kilometres, and in 

 course of construction, 567; total, 3,137 kilo- 

 metres. 



Telegraphy. There were in the empire, at the 

 end of 1883, 4,887 miles of telegraph, with 139 

 offices; and the number of dispatches trans- 

 mitted during the year 1882-'83 was 338,053. 

 The receipts of the department amounted to 

 1,220,182, and the expenditures to 1,880,244 

 milreis. Telegraphic communication with the 

 Argentine Republic, via Uraguayana, where 

 the Argentine and Brazilian wires connect, 

 was established February 2, 1883. Telegraphic 

 service with the Eastern Hemisphere is carried 

 on through the cables of the Brazilian Subma- 

 rine Telegraph Company, limited. The con- 

 cessions in favor of the American Telegraph 

 and Cable Company were declared lapsed, by 

 imperial decree, bearing date August 18, 1883, 

 and, on the same date, permission was granted 

 to the American citizens Henry Cummins, 

 George D. Roberts, and George S. Cox to open 

 up communication, by one or more submarine 

 cables, with the United States, the concession 

 to remain in force for twenty years, during 

 which period the Imperial Government could 

 not sanction the laying of any other between 

 Brazil and the United States. 



Telephone. The telephone was introduced 

 into Rio de Janeiro in 1882, and in January, 

 1883, concessions were granted for the estab- 

 lishment of telephonic communication in the 

 cities of Sao Paulo and Campinas. 



Post-Offlce. The number of letters, etc., that 

 passed through this department, in 1882-'83, 

 was 36,767,325, against 35,845,869 for the year 

 immediately preceding. The receipts of the de- 

 partment for the same year, 1882-'83, amount- 

 ed to 1,220,182 milreis, while the expenditures 

 reached 1,880,244. Deficits are the rule in the 

 Brazilian Post-Office Department, as may be 

 seen in the following table of receipts and 

 expenditures for the decade beginning with 

 1873-'74: 



BRITISH COLUMBIA. See DOMINION OF CAN- 

 ADA. 



BULGARIA, a constitutional principality in 

 eastern Europe, acknowledging the suzerainty 

 of the Sublime Porte. The National Assem- 

 bly, or Sobranje, is a single chamber elected by 

 direct universal suffrage, one member to every 

 10,000 inhabitants. The reigning Prince is 



Alexander I. of the grand ducal house of 

 Hesse, in the cadet line of Battenburg. In 

 1881, with the sanction of a Grand Sobranje, 

 or Constituent Assembly, the Prince assumed 

 extraordinary legislative powers for seven 

 years. On Sept. 20, 1883, when he restored 

 representative government, he appointed the 

 following ministers: President of the Coun- 

 cil and Minister of the Interior, Zankoff ; Min- 

 ister of Finance, Natchevich; Minister of 

 Foreign Affairs, Balabanoff ; Minister of Jus- 

 tice, Stoiloff ; Minister of Public Works, Iko- 

 lionoff; Minister of Public Instruction, Mal- 

 hoff ; Minister of War, Lieut.-Col. Kotelnikoff. 



Area and Population. The area of the princi- 

 pality is 63,972 square kilometres. The pop- 

 ulation, as determined in the census of Jan. 

 1, 1881, was 1,998,983. As regards religion, 

 68'8 per cent, were Christians, 30*7 per cent. 

 Mohammedans, and 0*5 per cent. Israelites ; in 

 respect to nationality, 66-7 per cent, were Bul- 

 garians, 30-6 per cent. Turks, and 2'7 per cent, 

 of other nationalities. In 1883 the emigration 

 of the Mohammedan element recommenced on 

 a large scale. The capital, Sofia, contained 20,- 

 541 inhabitants; Rustchuk, 26,867; Varna, 

 24,649 ; Shumla, 22,921. 



Commerce. The total imports in 1881 

 amounted to 58,467,100 francs, in 1880 to 48,- 

 223,637 francs ; the exports in 1881 to 31,819,- 

 900 francs, in 1880 to 33,118,200 francs. The 

 leading article of export is grain. Wool, tal- 

 low, hides, and timber are also exported. The 

 principal imports are textile manufactures, 

 iron, and coal. The only line of railroad com- 

 pleted runs between Varna and Rustchuk, 224 

 kilometres. The state has 2,408 kilometres of 

 telegraph lines in operation. 



The Army. The army law of 1879 compels 

 every Bulgarian to serve twelve years in the 

 army, four each in the active army, the re- 

 serve, and the Landwehr. The period of active 

 service has been shortened to two years in or- 

 der to form a reserve. The peace effective is 

 17,670 men. In case of war a field army of 

 36,000 troops can be raised. 



Politics and Legislation. When the restoration 

 of the Constitution of Tirnova was proclaimed 

 in September, 1883, the Extraordinary So- 

 branje, elected in December, 1882, was clothed 

 with full legislative powers. Its term came to 

 an end in January, 1884. Most of the work of 

 the Soboleff - Kaulbars ministry was recast. 

 The war budget was cut down by four million 

 francs. It was enacted that at least two com- 

 panies in every drujina should be officered by 

 Bulgarians, a measure that necessitated the 

 recall of all the Bulgarian officers attached to 

 the Russian army. , 



The fusion between the Conservative and 

 Liberal party having accomplished its object, 

 the overthrow of the Russian ministers, the 

 two Conservative members of the Cabinet, 

 Stoiloff and Natchevich, retired. Their suc- 

 cessors, Pomianoff and Sarafoff, were new to 

 office. The difficulty with the Russian Gov- 



