CRETE. 



233 



to 2,119,512, was scaled down by an arrange-, 

 ment with the bondholders in 1888, and when 

 the Government had defaulted again in 1895 a 

 new settlement was reached in March, 1897, by 

 which interest accrued since January, 1895, \vas 

 cleared off by an immediate payment of 31,5(52, 

 and a promise of annual installments of 5,000 

 for twenty years, the interest was reduced to 3 

 per cent, on 525,000 and to 2J per cent, on 

 1,475,000 of bonds, and amortization at the 

 rate of 10,000 a year was deferred till 1917. 

 The amount of the foreign debt in 1898 was 

 2,095,000. The internal debt, which has been 

 paid off at a rapid rate, was only 1,110,784 pesos 

 in 1897. 



Navigation. The number of vessels entered 

 during 1896 at the ports of Limon and Punta 

 Arenas was 476, of 471,125 tons. The shipping 

 belonging to Costa Rica in 1898 consisted of 3 

 steamers, of 600 tons, and 2 sailing vessels, of 

 551 tons. 



Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. The 

 railroads have a total length of 131 miles, con- 

 sisting of a section of the projected interoceanic 

 railroad running from Limon to Alajuela, a dis- 

 tance of 117 miles, and the beginning of the 

 western section from Punta Arenas to Alajuela, 

 built as far as Esparza, 14 miles, and now being 

 pushed farther. Other lines are in contemplation. 



The telegraph lines in 1897 had a length of 

 917 miles. 



CRETE, an island in the Mediterranean, form- 

 ing an autonomous province of Turkey. The last 

 insurrection of the Christians against Ottoman 

 rule, occasioning an invasion of the island by 

 Hellenic volunteers, led to the interference of the 

 great powers. In 1896 the naval forces of Aus- 

 tria, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Rus- 

 sia blockaded the coast to prevent the arrival 

 of arms and re-enforcements, and military detach- 

 ments occupied the ports to preserve order. The 

 Germans and Austrians afterward withdrew from 

 the blockade. The Sultan finally granted autono- 

 mous government, and before November, 1898, 

 withdrew all the Turkish garrisons. A provi- 

 sional scheme of administration was put in force, 

 while the officers in command of the troops of 

 occupation proceeded to disarm the people. The 

 Sultan nominated a governor, with the title of 

 High Commissioner, accepting for this office at 

 the instance of the powers Prince Georgios of 

 Greece, second son of the King of the Hellenes, 

 born June 24, 1869. He assumed office on Dec. 

 21, 1898. 



Crete is a mountainous island, having very 

 fertile valleys and lowlands. The area is 3,326 

 square miles, with a population of 294,190. The 

 majority of the people have always been Chris- 

 tians of the Greek race and language. The island 

 was once a dependency of Venice, and after the 

 Ottomans took possession in 1669 many of the 

 inhabitants went over to Islam. During the in- 

 surrection and immediately afterward a part of 

 the Moslems emigrated. At the restoration of 

 peace there were 88,000 left. Crete produces fruits 

 and nuts, olives, wine, tobacco, cotton, and silk. 



The Russian proposal of the appointment of 

 Prince Georgios, communicated on Oct. 26, 1898, 

 was not cordially seconded by all the co-operating 

 powers, and was extremely distasteful to the Sul- 

 tan, signifying the gravitation of Crete to Greece 

 and the eradication of the rights and institutions 

 of the Mohammedan population of the island. 

 Finally, however, it was accepted as the best 

 solution of the question. Prince Georgios ac- 

 cepted the nomination as High Commissioner in 

 December, 1898, and in January, 1899, the inter- 



national condominium was terminated and the 

 naval forces were withdrawn. The mission of the 

 foreign admirals lasted nearly two years, involv- 

 ing the blockade of a difficult coast, the occupa- 

 tion and military administration of the most 

 important inhabited places and districts, tin- 

 forcible suppression of violent outbreaks between 

 the warring elements of the population, the arbi- 

 tration of their differences, and even the organixa- 

 tion of a system of law and administration. An 

 international military force was retained to pre- 

 serve order pending the organization of an in- 

 digenous police. The Council of the High Com- 

 missioner, consisting of 6 Christians and 3 Mo- 

 hammedans, was appointed early in January. 

 The Mohammedans who had been driven from 

 their homes in the country districts and had 

 taken possession of houses in the towns belong- 

 ing to Christians were removed, and as soon as 

 the Christian peasants who had taken refuge in 

 Greece and the islands began to return the pro- 

 cess of driving the Mohammedans from the island 

 was commenced. The Prince exhorted the Mo- 

 hammedans to return to their home and resume 

 their former vocations, assuring them of the 

 friendly and brotherly disposition of their Chris- 

 tian neighbors and the protection of the inter- 

 national troops. Those, however, who had lost 

 their property or were without means of support 

 were compelled to emigrate, while the Christians 

 whose villages had been destroyed were provided 

 for. The Prince in his proclamation hinted at a 

 desire for the emigration of the Mohammedans, 

 saying that they were free to depart, and could 

 have passports for the asking. The Christians 

 everywhere, catching at this suggestion, began to 

 make the position of their Mohammedan neigh- 

 bors unbearable. When a decree was issued in 

 the beginning of February for the removal of the 

 Moslems at Canea to their own districts about 

 1,300 more demanded permission to emigrate, as 

 their lands had in many cases been leased to 

 Christians, and they had no implements to till 

 the ground. The Mohammedans that were crowd- 

 ed in the towns could not return to their villages 

 without aid, for their houses and plantations 

 were destroyed. The British authorities at 

 Canea, fearing the economic* effects of a general 

 exodus, followed by the ultimate return of many 

 of the emigrants in a state of destitution, refused 

 to give passports till two months had expired. 

 When this period terminated in January more 

 than 3,000 obtained passports. The Prince ap- 

 pointed a commission of 16 persons to draw up 

 a constitution for the new autonomous govern- 

 ment. In the memorandum addressed to the 

 Prince by the powers the institution of a National 

 Assembly, in which all Cretan elements would 

 be represented, was made the condition of his 

 appointment, and he was enjoined to organize in 

 accord with this National Assembly a system of 

 autonomous government capable of assuring an 

 equal measure of security to life and property and 

 the free exercise of both religions. The new Con- 

 stitution created a Chamber of Deputies elected 

 by the inhabitants, except 10, who are nominated 

 by the High Commissioner. The Council of the 

 High Commissioner, appointed in January, con- 

 sisted of 12 Christians and 4 Moslems. The Con- 

 stitution was submitted to an extraordinary Na- 

 tional Assembly, which came together on Feb. 

 21. M. Sphakianaki was elected president. It 

 decided that the officers of the new gendarmery 

 should be Europeans. Greek was declared to be 

 the official language of the country. The mili- 

 tary force of the island was to consist of a mu- 

 nicipal guard, service in which was made com- 



