EARTH, THE. 



EASTERN QUESTION, THE. 261 



The development of the railroads of the 

 world will be found in the following table. The 

 statements for the years 1830-'70 are accord- 

 ing to Dr. G. Stunner, " Geschichte der Eisen- 

 bahnen" (1872): 



The average increase per year was as follows : 



V. Postal and Telegraph Statistics of the 

 World. The postal and telegraph statistics of 

 the world were as follows: 



EASTERN QUESTION, THE. The Eastern 

 question has again risen to prominence in Eu- 

 ropean politics ; it has been the most conspic- 

 uous topic in the negotiations and events of an 

 international character that have occurred since 

 1875 ; and through 1877 so occupied the atten- 

 tion of all the great Powers, except France, 

 as to throw all other foreign questions into the 

 background. It is therefore a fitting time to 

 review its present condition and aspects. The 

 last especial notice which has been given to 

 this question in the ANNUAL CYCLOPAEDIA was 

 in the volume for 1871, when the demands 

 of Russia for a revision of the clauses of the 

 Treaty of Paris in reference to the Bosporus 

 and the Dardanelles, and the revision at the 

 London Conference of 1871, were recorded. 

 By that revision, Russia gained the right to 

 build and maintain a fleet in the Black Sea a 



right which was denied by the terms of the 

 original treaty. After the London Conference, 

 matters in reference to the Eastern question 

 were comparatively quiet until the insurrec- 

 tion in Herzegovina broke out, in 1876. Only 

 a few events occurred to call to mind the ex- 

 cited discussions of the past, and they were 

 comparatively insignificant, and their effect 

 upon the bearing of diplomatic affairs was 

 hardly perceptible. The settlement of the de- 

 mands of the Bulgarians for the autonomy of 

 the ecclesiastical organization in 1873 gave 

 the Powers occasion to make representation 

 of their views, but it was effected without pay- 

 ing attention to their suggestions. Russia ob- 

 tained liberal concessions from the Porte re- 

 garding the rights of Russian subjects domi- 

 ciled in Turkey, the negotiations relating to 

 which were marked with a great appearance 



