GREE1CE. 



341 



German bondholders insisted that not only 

 should the monopolies, the tobacco tax, and the 

 stamp duties be reserved to secure the payments, 

 which Tricoupis was willing to concede, but that 

 the administration of these revenues should be 

 supervised by a eaisse managed by their agents. 

 This was the control again in another and more 

 questionable form, for the agents of these finan- 

 ciers, having the custody of the revenues, could 

 use them to control the price of gold and hold 

 the Government at their mercy. The delegates 

 accepted the limitation imposed by Tricoupis in 



and reaffirmed their demands, while Tricoupis, 

 when the Boule assembled in November, said 

 that the Government would never consent to a 

 surrender of revenues or agree to a division of 

 surplus revenue. 



The Session. The session of the Boule, which 

 ended on March 25, was entirely unproductive. 

 The debates were the most acrimonious that had 

 ever taken place, each party casting up to the 

 other the financial difficulties of the Government. 

 The Government had a plan for the relief of the 

 currant-growers, who were embarrassed through 



EFFECTS OF THE EARTHQUAKE AT ALALANTI. 



regard to guarantees, which was that they were 

 not to be of a nature to interfere with the finan- 

 cial administration of the country or to com- 

 promise its independence, thus precluding foreign 

 control. The London bondholders met on Aug. 

 14, under the presidency of Sir John Lubbock, 

 to consider the provisional arrangement that 

 they had made with the Greek minister, who of- 

 fered certain additional taxes as security and 32 

 or 35 per cent, as the initial payment, with a 

 gradual increase up to 60 per cent, in twenty- 

 three or in twenty-eight years, together with a 

 sinking fund calculated to redeem the debt 

 within sixty years, also the return of the mo- 

 nopoly money. The French and German bond- 

 holders having demanded that if the assigned 

 revenues improved and yielded more than the 

 30 or 32 per cent, interest, the surplus should 

 be divided between the Government and the 

 bondholders, whose moiety should go half to in- 

 crease of interest and half to the sinking fund, 

 the British bondholders decided to stand by the 

 others. The committees met in Paris on Oct. 1 



the great decline in the price of their product 

 consequent upon overproduction, and were com- 

 pelled to borrow from usurers at 150 per cent. 

 The plan was, to establish a monopoly company 

 which should loan money at 8 per cent, and 

 acquire in behalf of the Government the sur- 

 plus crop for distilling or other purposes in order 

 to insure a good export price for the remainder. 

 The production had been stimulated by the de- 

 mand for the article as a material for wine when 

 the vintages of France suffered from the phyl- 

 loxera, and then was checked by protective 

 duties imposed in France and by fiscal duties in 

 Belgium and other countries. This project was 

 defeated by the vote of the Chamber. No other 

 bills were passed except the budget. When the 

 Boule came together in February, after recess 

 and at various times during the rest of the ses- 

 sion the Opposition members, led by Ralli, ab- 

 sented themselves from the Chamber whenever 

 they could prevent a quorum being counted, 

 whi'ch is an absolute majority of members elected 

 to the Boule. 



