368 GEEAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



GREECE. 



bills, 12 tramway bills, 35 bills for the improve- 

 ment of towns, and 6 for the erection of 

 bridges and subways, the remainder being 

 principally bills for the extension of patents, 

 for the improvement of private estates. Two 

 personal bills viz., Beamish's Divorce and the 

 Gregory Heirlooms bills received the royal 

 assent, as well as one under the title of the 

 " Brighton and London Sea- water Supply Bill." 

 The great majority of the above measures be- 

 came law ; but 54 failed to receive the royal 

 assent; 23 of them, after passing the Lords, 

 where they originated, did not reach a first 

 reading in the House of Commons. 



In July, Earl Derby decided, with a view to 

 the reorganization of the consular service in 

 Turkey, Persia, and Egypt, to institute a corps 

 of student dragomans, to be selected by open 

 competition, and instructed in Oriental lan- 

 guages at the public expense. The dragoman 

 and consular services in those countries were 

 eventually to be amalgamated; and admission 

 to them should be obtained by passing through 

 the grade of student dragoman. These are to 

 be selected by open competition, after exam- 

 ination by the Civil Service Commissioners, 

 who will give public notice beforehand of the 

 subjects of such examination, and of the time 

 when it will be held. They will proceed, as 

 soon as possible after their appointment, to 

 Constantinople, where they will be under the 

 orders of the British Embassador, and of a 

 member of the embassy specially appointed to 

 superintend them. They will be provided, at 

 the public expense, with lodgings in the neigh- 

 borhood of Constantinople, and also with in- 

 struction in languages, and shall receive a sal- 

 ary of 200 a year. They are to devote them- 

 selves, in the first place, to the study of the 

 Turkish, Persian, and Slav languages, and of 

 Mussulman law ; and, in the next place, they 

 are to qualify themselves for the public service. 

 They will, when qualified, be eligible for em- 

 ployment as dragomans and in the consular 

 service in the East, as vacancies occur. 



The eleventh triennial conference of the 

 Society for the Liberation of Religion from 

 State Patronage and Control (known as the 

 Liberation Society) was held 'in London, April 

 30th. Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, M. P., presided. 

 The President, in his opening address, put for- 

 ward the claim that a great advance had been 

 made in the views advocated by the society 

 within a few years; then, the principle for 

 which the society contended (disestablishment) 

 was now admitted in many cases, even by its 

 opponents ; and the question was fast becom- 

 ing one mainly of policy. The receipts of the 

 society during the past year had been 15,035 

 13*. 5d., and its expenditures 14,873. The 

 report of the society reviewed the results of 

 its operations since its lastjprevious triennial 

 meeting. Its plans had been extended, and it 

 had attracted a largely increased degree of 

 public attention. It had now 35 local agents, 

 and had carried on its work in the rural par- 



ishes as well as in the larger towns. About 

 2,600 meetings had been held in the three 

 years, and the subject of disestablishment was 

 now discussed in connection with other or- 

 ganizations. Between five and six millions of 

 publications had been distributed. Of the 

 100,000 which it had been resolved to raise, 

 upward of 42,000 had been received and ex- 

 pended, " and the rest would come in when it 

 was wanted." Under the head of " Parliamen- 

 tary Work," the Endowed Schools and Educa- 

 tion acts, and the Universities and Burials 

 bills, were referred to. The Patronage act had 

 had the effect of stimulating the movement in 

 Scotland, where the society was about to act 

 with increased vigor. A resolution of sym- 

 pathy was passed with Mr. Gladstone's efforts 

 in behalf of the Christian subjects of the Porte, 

 with a protest against the Government aiding 

 Turkey. 



The British Empire was considerably en- 

 larged in 1877 by the annexation of the Trans- 

 vaal Republic, in South Africa. The territory 

 thus acquired embraces 114,358 square miles, 

 with an estimated population of 315,000. (See 

 TBANSVAAL REPUBLIC.) 



GREECE,* a kingdom of Southeastern Eu- 

 rope. Reigning King, George I., King of the 

 Hellenes, born December 24, 1845, second son 

 of the reigning King of Denmark ; elected 

 King of the Hellenes by the National Assem- 

 bly at Athens, March 18 (30), 1863 ; accepted 

 the crown June 4, 1863 ; declared of age by a 

 decree of the National Assembly, June 27, 

 1863 ; married, October 27, 1867, to Olga, 

 daughter of Grand-duke Constantine of Rus- 

 sia, born August 22, 1851. Issue of the union 

 are. three sons and two daughters : Constan- 

 tinos, Duke of Sparta, born August 2, 1868 ; 

 George, born June 25, 1869 ; Alexandra, born 

 August 30, 1870 ; Nicholas, born February 9, 

 1872 ; Maria, born March 3, 1876. 



The area of the kingdom amounts to 19,353 

 square miles ; the population, according to the 

 census of 1870, to 1,457,894 persons. 



In the budget for 1877 the revenue was es- 

 timated as follows (1 drachma = 19.3 cents) : 



Drachmas. 



1. Direct taxes 11,605,000 



a. Land tax, tithe 8.5<>0,000 



6. Duty on cattle and pastures 1,245,000 



c. Duty on beehives 60,000 



d. Licenses 950.000 



e. Taxes on edifices 850,000 



2. Indirecttaxes 18,155,000 



a. Customs 18.400.000 



6. Stamp 4.200.000 



c Miscellaneous 555.000 



8. Produce of national property 2.580,000 



4. Public service 1,155,000 



a. Posts 650.000 



b. Telegraphs 500.000 



c. Printing-office 4,800 



5. Sale of national property 8,000.000 



6. Miscellaneous receipts 956.000 



7. Ecclesiastical receipts 296,000 



8. Arrears 1,500,000 



Total revenue $89,247,000 



* See ANNUAL CYCLOPAEDIA of 1874 for statistics on the 

 population of large cities, on nationalities, on religious de- 

 nominations, and on education; and ANNUAL CYCLOPEDIA 

 of 1876 for commercial statistics. 



