The Drachma, of 100 lepta, was, by the abolition of forced paper currency in November 1882, made equivalent to the franc of the Monetary League (25 22 francs = £1 sterling). In 1885, however, the forced paper currency was renewed, so that the drachma is now equivalent to about 8td. Diplomatic Representatives. 1. OF GREECE IN GREAT BRITAIN. Minister Resident.-Dr. J. Gennadius. acre. There are Consular representatives of Greece at Cardiff, Dublin, Glas. gow, Liverpool, Manchester, Southampton, Calcutta, Malta. 2. OF GREAT BRITAIN IN GREECE. Envoy and Minister.-Hon. Sir Edmund J. Monson, K.C.M.G., C.B., appointed February 1, 1888. Secretary.-W. H. D. Haggard. There are British Consuls at Corfu, Patras, Piraeus, Syra. Statistical and other Books of Reference concerning Greece. 1. OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. Commerce de la Grèce avec les pays étrangères pendant l'année 1888. Athènes, 1889. The Finances of Greece. Speeches delivered by H E. M. Charilaos Tricoupis in introducing to the Hellenic Chamber the Budgets for 1887 and 1888. London, 1886-87. Report by Mr. R. G. Watson, Secretary of Legation, on the State of Education and the Obstacles of Material Progress in Greece, dated Athens, January 20, 1872; in Reports of H.M.'s Secretaries of Embassy and Legation.' No. I. 1872. 8. London, 1872. Report by Sir Horace Rumbold on the Budget of 1885, and the General Condition of the Greek Finances, in 'Reports of H.M.'s Diplomatic and Consular Agents Abroad.' Part IV. Folio. London, 1885. Report by Mr. W. H. D. Haggard on the Finances of Greece, No. 472, 'Diplomatic and Consular Reports.' London, 1889. Report on the Trade of Patras in 1888 in No. 457; Piraeus in No. 474; Syra in No. 557; Volo in No. 559 of 'Diplomatic and Consular Reports,' 1889. Statistique de la Grèce. Mouvement de la Population, 1884. Athens, 1888. Trade of Greece with the United Kingdom, in Annual Statement of the Trade of the United Kingdom with Foreign Countries and British Possessions for the year 1888.' Imp. 4. London, 1889. 2. NON-OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. Bernardakis (A. N.), Le présent et l'avenir de la Grèce. 8. Paris, 1870. von den ältesten Zeiten bis auf die Gegenwart dargestellt. 4. Leipzig, 1870. Carnarvon (Earl of), Reminiscences of Athens and the Morea. 8. London, 1870. Cusani (F.), Memorie storico-statistiche sulla Dalmazia, sulle isole Ionie e sulla Grecia. 2 vols. 8. Milano, 1862. Digenis (Basile), Quelques notes statistiques sur la Grèce. 8. Marseille, 1878. Dora d'Istria (Mme.), Excursions en Roumélie et en Morée. 2 vols. 8. Paris, 1865. Kirkwall (Viscount), Four Years in the Ionian Islands: their Political and Social Condition, with a History of the British Protectorate. 2 vols. 8. London, 1864. Mansolas (Alex.), Rapport sur l'état de la statistique en Grèce présenté au Congrès International de Statistique de St.-Pétersbourg en 1872. 8. Athènes, 1872. Mansolas (A.), La Grèce à l'exposition universelle de Paris en 1878. 8. Paris, 1878. Maurer (G. L. von), Das Griechische Volk in öffentlicher und privatrechtlicher Beziehung. 3 vols. 8. Heidelberg, 1835. Murray's Handbook for Greece. 2 vols. London, 1884. Reclus (Elisée), Géographie universelle. Vol. I. Paris, 1877. Schmid (Dr. Julius), Beiträge zur physicalischen Geographie von Griechenland. 3 vols. 8. Leipzig, 1864-70. Sergeant (Lewis), New Greece. 8. London, 1878. Tuckerman (Charles K), The Greeks of To-day. 8. London, 1873. GUATEMALA. (REPÚBLICA DE Guatemala.) Constitution and Government. THE Republic of Guatemala, established on March 21, 1847, after having formed part for twenty-six years of the Confederation of Central America, is governed under a Constitution proclaimed December 1879, and modified October 1889. By its terms the legislative power is vested in a National Assembly, renewed by half every year by universal suffrage. The executive is vested in a President, elected for six years. President of the Republic.-General Manuel Barillas, elected President March 15, 1886, for six years. The administration is carried on, under the President, by the heads of six departments-of Foreign Affairs, of Interior, of Public Works, of War, of Finance, and of Public Instruction. Area and Population. The area of Guatemala is estimated at 46,800 English square miles. According to a census of 1880, there were at that date 1,224,602 inhabitants, and 1,427,116 on January 1, 1889 (on the basis of surplus of births, which is misleading). About 60 per cent. are pure Indians, most of the remainder being half-caste, there being very few descendants of Europeans. Guatemala is administratively divided into 22 departments. The marriages in 1888 were 5,028; births, 60,214; and deaths, 27,231. Owing to an imperfect system of registration the number of deaths given is considerably below the actual number. About one-half the births among the whites and one-fourth among the Indians were illegitimate. Capital of the Republic and seat of the government is Guatemala la Nueva, with 65,796 inhabitants (1889), a tenth of them of European origin. Other towns are Quezaltenango, 20,000, and Chimaltenango and Guatemala la Antigua, each 14,000. Religion. Roman Catholicism is the prevailing religion; but all other creeds have complete liberty of worship. Instruction. Primary education is obligatory, maintained by the State, free and secular. The sum spent on education in 1887-88 (ending June 30) was 525,625 dollars, of which 253,927 dollars were for primary education. In 1887 there were 93,627 children of school age. At the end of 1887 there were, according to official statements, 1,030 primary schools of all kinds, with 1,242 teachers, attended by 49,247 pupils. There were in addition seven high and normal schools with 1,185 pupils (315 females), a number of special schools, besides several private schools. Crime. In 1888, 703 persons were sentenced for serious crimes, and 15,047 for misdemeanours. Finance. The net public revenue in the year 1888 was 4,580,264 dollars, and expenditure 4,577,404, the extraordinary receipts amounting to 1,802,403 dollars. About half of the revenue is from customs, and one-third from taxes on spirits, tobacco, &c., while over three-fifths of the expenditure is for public debt, instruction, and war. For 1890 the estimate of revenue is 5,060,000 dollars, and the expenditure 4,610,675 dollars 1,343,074 being for finance and public credit, 1,154,189 for army, and 710,364 for instruction. The internal consolidated debt of Guatemala on January 1, 1889, was returned at 6,143,010 dollars; non-consolidated 2,338,345; foreign debt 922,7007.; or a total (at 6 dollars = 11.) of 2,227,5381. During 1888 the floating debt incurred was 137,5527., for which the Government issued paper money to be used in paying taxes and duties. Defence. The army of Guatemala, the cost of which is about one-tenth of the total public expenditure, consists nominally of 3,500 officers and men There is, besides, a reserve militia of 67,300 officers and men. Production and Industry. The number of owners who possess immovable property of the value of more than 1,000 dollars in 1885 was returned at 6,157, the total value of these holdings being given at 38,741,431 dollars. The soil in general is exceedingly fertile. The chief agricultural products are coffee 588,440 quintals in 1888; sugar 24,979,450 kilograms; maize, average product, 200 million lbs.; wheat 40 million lbs.; rice 4 million lbs.; also cacao, cotton, tobacco (800,000 lbs.), rubber, banana, and coco-nuts. In 1885 Guatemala possessed 117,880 horses, 45,501 mules, 494,130 cattle, 460,426 sheep, 194,776 pigs, 30,370 goats, the total value of all animals being given at 18,623,316 dollars. Gold, silver, lead, tin, copper, and other minerals exist, but are little worked. Commerce. The following are the statistics of trade, in dollars, in the years 1884-88, including bullion and specie: 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 3,829,651 3,788,135 3,537,399 4,241,408 5,459,568 4,937,941 6,069,646 6,719,503 9,039,391 7,239,977 The chief imports in 1888 were gold, 1,617,824 dollars; silver, 274,998 dollars; cottons, 1,017,263 dollars; woollens, 257,805 dollars; silk, 159,646 dollars; flour, 161,427 dollars. The imports from Great Britain were valued at 1,442,071 dollars; from the United States, 814,788 dollars; from France, 432,275 dollars; from Germany, 657,531 dollars; South America, 727,447 dollars; Central America, 406,952 dollars. The chief exports are coffee, valued at 6,595,181 dollars, sugar 308,828 dollars, hides 141,932 dollars in 1888. The sugar and fruit trades have recently been considerably developed. The value of the commercial intercourse of the Republic with the United Kingdom is not reported in the Board of Trade Returns, which summarise, under the heading Central America,' the commerce of the five States of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and San Salvador, with Great Britain. The commercial intercourse of the whole of Central America' with the United Kingdom is shown in the following table: The principal articles exported from Central America to Great Britain in the year 1888 were coffee, of the value of 892,5297., and indigo, of the value of 200,034%. The staple article of British produce imported into Central America consists of cotton manufactures, amounting to 638,7987.; iron, wrought and unwrought, 69,1737.; machinery, 25,1107. in 1888; woollens, 49,2781. Shipping and Communications. In 1888, 453 vessels of 547,911 tons entered, and 442 of 546,515 tons cleared, the ports of the Republic. Of the former 354 were North American and 37 English. There is a line of railway from San José through Escuintla to the capital (72 miles), and a line from Champerico to Retalhuleu (27 miles). There are a few good roads, but away from the railway most of the traffic is on mule-back. There were in 1888, 157 post-offices. The number of letters and post cards carried in 1888 was 1,888,676; registered articles, 58,364; papers, printed matter, samples, &c., 2,576,345. Of telegraphs there were 1,923 miles, with 93 offices, in 1888; the number of messages was 457,009. Money, Weights, and Measures. The money, weights, and measures of Guatemala, and the British equivalents, are: MONEY. |