* Exclusive of the Bay with an area of about 200 square miles, and the neutral zone with an area of about 2,500 square miles, and population of 1,200,000. GREECE.

successors must be members of the Greek Orthodox Church.

The Constitution of Greece, adopted October 29, 1864, vests the whole legislative power in a single chamber, called the Boulé, consisting of 207 representatives, elected by manhood suffrage for the term of four years. Representatives must be at least 30 years of age, and electors 21. The elections take place by ballot, and each candidate must be put in nomination by the requisition of at least one thirtieth of the voters of an electoral district. At the election of 1881 there were 460,163 voters on the list, being 1 voter in every 4.3 of the pop

Greece, a province of the Turkish Empire since the commencement of the 16th century, gained its independence in the insurrection of 1821-29, and by the Protocol of London, of February 3, 1830, was declared a kingdom, under the protection of Great Britain, France, and Russia. Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg having declined the crown of Greece, on the ground that the boundaries proposed were insufficient, and especially excluded the island of Crete, it was offered to, and accepted by, Prince Otto of Bavaria, who ascended the throne January 25, 1833, being under the age of eighteen. He was expelled from the King-ulation; the number who voted was 306,957, dom, after a reign of 29 years, in October, 1862, which event was followed by the election, under the directing guidance of the three protecting Powers, of the present sovereign.

The King, according to Art. 49 of the Constitution of 1864, attains his majority upon completing his eighteenth year. Before he ascends the throne, he must take the oath to the Constitution in the presence of the ministers, the sacred synod, the deputies then in the metropolis, and the higher officials of the realm. Within two months at the most the King must convoke the Legislature. If the successor to the throne is either a minor or absent at the time of the King's decease, and no Regent has been appointed, the Legislative Chamber has to assemble of its own accord within ten days after the occurrence of that event. The constitutional royal authority in this case has to be exercised by the ministerial council, until the choice of a Regent, or the arrival of the successor to the throne. The present sovereign is allowed, by special exception, to adhere to the religion in which he was educated, the Protestant Lutheran faith, but his heirs and

or 66 per cent. of the voters. The Boulé must meet annually for not less than three, nor more than six, months. No sitting is valid unless at least one half of the members of the Assembly are present, and no bill can pass into law without an absolute majority of members. Every measure, before being adopted, must be discussed and voted, article by article, thrice, and on three separate days. But the Legislative Assembly has no power to alter the Constitution itself; particular provisions may be reviewed after the lapse of ten years, with the exception of "fundamental principles." The Chamber of Deputies, unless specially convoked at an earlier date, for extraordinary occasions, must meet on November 1 (old style) of every year. The deputies are paid 2,000 old drachmai (equal to 1,800 new drachmai, or 721.) each per session; for an extra session the allowance varies according to its length from 201. to 721.

The Ministry is as follows:

President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Minister of Interior, Worship, and Instruction.

Minister of Marine.

Minister of War.

Minister of Finance.

Minister of Justice.

benefit of the nation, or, finally, should pay taxes to the annual amount of 3,000 lire, or 1207. In 1897, there were 372 senators. By the electoral law of March 28, 1895, electors

The Ministers of Finance and Justice are for deputies to the Lower House are all citinot members of the Cabinet.

Religion. The great majority of the inhabitants of the Kingdom are adherents of the Greek Orthodox Church. Before the census of 1889 there were 1,902,800 belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church; 14,677 other Christians, mainly Roman Catholics; 5,792 Jews; and 24,165 Mohammedans. By the terms of the Constitution of 1864, the Greek Orthodox Church is declared the religion of the State, but complete toleration and liberty of worship is guaranteed to all other sects. Nominally, the Greek clergy owe allegiance to the Patriarch of Constantinople, though he now exercises no governing authority; he is elected by the votes of the bishops and optimates subject to the Sultan; his jurisdiction extends over Thrace and other countries, including Bosnia, as well as the greater part of Asia Minor. The real ecclesiastical authority, formerly exercised by him in Greece, was annulled by the resolutions of a National Synod, held at Nauplia in 1833, which vested the government of the Orthodox Church, within the limits of the Kingdom, in a permanent council, called the Holy Synod, consisting of the Metropolitan of Athens and four archbishops and bishops, who must during their year of office reside at the seat of the executive. The Orthodox Church has nine archbishops and eight bishops in Northern Greece; six archbishops and six bishops in the Peloponnesus: one archbishop and five bishops in the islands of the Greek Archipelago; and five archbishops and ten bishops in the Ionian Islands. There are 161 monasteries and nunneries, with

2,620 monks and 485 nuns.

Instruction.- All children between the ages of five and twelve years must attend school, but the law is not well enforced in country districts. Of the army recruits 30 per cent. are illiterate, and 15 per cent. can read only.

There are (1892) 2,745 primary schools, 295 secondary schools, and a university. The total number of teachers is 3,680, and of pupils, 139,385, of whom 22, 100 are females. There are 2 agricultural schools in Greece with, together, 51 pupils. In 1895 an industrial and commercial school, with 40 teachers, was opened at Piræus to give instruction in the industries relating to wine, spirits, beer, soap, perfumes, dairy-keeping, cattle and silkworm rearing, and in the duties of commercial clerks. In 1895 the University of Athens had 2,987 students, of whom 967 studied medicine, 1,327 law, 516 philosophy, 51 theology, 124 chemistry. Of the total number 604 were from abroad, chiefly from Turkey,

ITALY.

zens over twenty-one years of age who can read and write and who possess one or other of the following qualifications: they must have reached a certain standard in elementary education; or must pay not less than 19.80 lire in direct (including provincial) taxation; or, if peasant farmers, must pay annually at least 500 lire of rent, or be managers, with a share in the profits, of farms on which direct (including provincial) taxes of not less than 80 lire are paid; or, being occupants of lodgings, shops, etc., in towns, pay an annual rent ranging from 150 lire in communes of 2,500 inhabitants to 400 lire in communes of 150,000 inhabitants. Non-commissioned officers and men in the army have no vote while under arms. Members of academies, professors, persons who have served their country under arms for two years, and numerous other classes are qualified to vote by their position. The number of deputies is 508, or 1 to every 57,000 of the population (census 1881). In 1896 the number of enrolled electors was 2,120,909, exclusive of the electors temporarily disfranchised on account of military service (39,029 in 1895). At the general election in March, 1897, the number of those who voted was 1,241,486, or 58.5 per cent. of those who had the right to vote. For electoral purposes the whole of the Kingdom is divided into 508 electoral colleges or districts, and these again into several sections. No deputy can be returned to Parliament unless he has obtained a number of votes greater than one sixth of the total number of inscribed electors, and than half the votes given. A deputy must be thirty

by the electoral law. Incapable of being elected are all salaried Government officials, as well as all persons ordained for the priesthood and filling clerical charges, or receiving pay from the State. Officers in the army and navy, ministers, under-secretaries of State, and various other classes of functionaries high in office, may be elected, but their number must never be more than forty, not including the ministers and the under-secretaries of State. Neither senators nor deputies receive any salary or other indemnity, but are allowed to travel free throughout Italy by rail or steamer.

The present Constitution of Italy is an ex-years old, and have the requisites demanded pansion of the "Statuto fondamentale del Regno," granted on March 4, 1848, by King Charles Albert to his Sardinian subjects. According to this charter, the executive power of the State belongs exclusively to the Sovereign, and is exercised by him through responsible ministers; while the legislative authority rests conjointly in the King and Parliament, the latter consisting of two Chambers--an upper one, the Senato, and a lower one, called the "Camera de' Deputati." The Senate is composed of the princes of the royal house who are of age, and of an unlimited number of members, above forty years old, who are nominated by the King for life; a condition of the nomination being that the person should either fill a high office, or have acquired fame in science, literature, or any other pursuit tending to the

The duration of Parliament is five years; but the King has the power to dissolve the Lower House at any time, being bound only to order new elections, and convoke a new meeting within four months. It is incumbent upon

the executive to call the Parliament together annually. Each of the Chambers has the right of introducing new bills, the same as the Government; but all money bills must originate in the House of Deputies. The ministers have the right to attend the debates of both the Upper and the Lower House; but they have no vote unless they are members. The sittings of both Chambers are public; and no sitting is valid unless an absolute majority of the members are present.

The executive power is exercised, under the King, by a ministry divided into 11 departments, as follows:

1. President of the Council and Interior.

2. Minister of Foreign Affairs

3. Minister of the Treasury.

4. Minister of Finance.

Minister of

Under the Roman Pontiff, the Catholic episcopal hierarchy in Italy consists of 49 archbishoprics and 220 bishoprics besides the 6 cardinal bishoprics near Rome. Of these prelacies, 76 are immediately subject to the Apostolic See, 12 being archbishoprics. Thus there are altogether 37 metropolitan sees, the average number of suffragan sees to each metropolitan being about 4. Every archbishop or bishop is appointed by the Pope, exequatur is necessary for his installation. The number on the advice of a council of Cardinals; but the royal of parishes in 1881 was 20,465; of churches and chapels, 55,263; of secular clergy, 76,560.

The immense wealth of .he Italian clergy has greatly dwindled since the year 1850, when the Siccardi bill, abolishing external ecclesiastical jurisdiction and clerical privileges, passed the Sardinian Chambers. This law was extended, in 1861, over the whole Kingdom, and had the effect of rapidly diminishing the numbers as well as the incomes of the clergy.

5. Minister of Justice and of Ecclesiastical A law for the entire suppression of all religious houses

Affairs.

6. Minister of War.

7. Minister of Marine.

In 1865 there were in Italy 2,382 religious houses, of which 1,506 were for men and 876 for women. The number of religious persons was 28,991, of whom 14,807 were men and 14,184 women. The mendicant orders numbered 8,229 persons, comprised in the above-mentioned total. throughout the Kingdom was adopted by the Italian Parliament in 1866. This law provided a small pension to all religious persons who had taken regular vows before January 18, 1864. Several monasteries were temporarily set aside for such monks, friars, or nuns as

8. Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Agri- might wish to continue their conventual life, the in

culture.

9. Minister of Public Instruction.
10. Minister of Public Works.
11. Minister of Posts and Telegraphs.

mates, when come down to a certain number, to be drafted off to another house, and so again, until all finally died out. All collegiate chapters were likewise dissolved. The lands and goods of these suppressed bodies were appropriated by the State.

See and Church of Rome.-The "Statuto fondamentale del Regno" enacts, in its first article, that "the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion is the sole religion of the State." By the Royal decree of October 9, 1870, which declared that "Rome and the Roman Provinces shall coustitute an integral part of the Kingdom of Italy," the Pope or Roman Pontiff was acknowlformer rank and dignity as a sovereign prince. Furthermore, by a bill that became law May 13, 1871, there was guaranteed to His Holiness and his successors forever, besides possession of the Vatican and Lateran palaces and the villa of Castel Gandolfo, a yearly income of 3,225,000 lire or 129,000l., which allowance (whose arrears would in 1899 amount to 93,525,000 lire, or 3,741,0007.) still remains unclaimed and unpaid.

Local Government.-The two principal elective local administrative bodies are the communal councils and the provincial councils. According to the law of February 10, 1889, each commune has a communal council, a municipal council, and a syndic. Both the communal councils and the municipal councils vary accord-edged supreme head of the Church, preserving_his ing to population, the members of the latter being selected by the former from among themselves. The syndic is the head of the communal administration, and is a Government official; he is elected by the communal council from among its own members, by secret vote, in all the chief communes of provinces and districts, and in other communes having more than 10,000 inhabitants. In other communes the syndic is appointed by the King from among the communal coun- Supreme Pontiff.- Leone XIII. (Gioacchino Pecci), cilors. Each province has a provincial council and a born at Carpineto in the diocese of Anagni, March 2, provincial commission, the members varying according 1810, son of Count Luigi Pecci; consecrated Archbishop to population. The council elects its president and of Damiata, 1843; Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium, 1843-46; other officials. The provincial commission is elected by Bishop of Perugia, 1846; proclaimed Cardinal, Decemthe council from its own members. It conducts the ber 19, 1853; elected Supreme Pontiff, as successor of business of the province when the latter is not sitting. Pio IX., February 20, 1878; crowned, March 3 following. Both communal and provincial councilors are elected for He is, therefore, now 88 years old, and has filled the five years, one fifth being renewed every year. The Pontifical throne for 20 years. communal council meets twice and the provincial once a year in ordinary session, though they may be convened for extraordinary purposes. All communal electors are eligible to the council except those having an official or pecuniary interest in the commune. Persons not resident in the province, or having no solid interest in it, or who do not pay taxes on movable property, as well as officials in any way interested in the province, are ineligible to the provincial councils. Electors must be Italian citizens, twenty-one years of age, and able to read and write, be on the Parliamentary electoral list, or pay a direct annual contribution to the commune, of any nature, or comply with other conditions of a very simple character.

Religion.-The Roman Catholic Church is, nominally, the ruling State religion of Italy; but many Acts of the Legislature, passed since the establishment of the Kingdom, and more especially since the suppression of the Supreme Pontiff's temporal government, have subordinated the power of the Church and clergy to the authority of the civil government, and secured freedom of worship to the adherents of all recognized religions. However, scarcely any other positive creed as yet exists but Roman Catholicism. At the census of 1881, of the

The election of a Pope ordinarily is by scrutiny. Each Cardinal in conclave writes on a ticket his own name with that of the Cardinal whom he chooses. These tickets, folded and sealed, are laid in a chalice which stands on the altar of the conclave chapel; and each elector approaching the altar repeats a prescribed form of oath. Thereupon the tickets are taken from the chalice by scrutators appointed from the electing body; the tickets are compared with the number of Cardinals present, and when it is found that any Cardinal has two thirds of the votes in his favor he is declared elected. Should none have received the needful number of votes, another process is gone through, viz., access-so called because any Cardinal may accede to the choice of another by filling up another ticket made for that purpose. The present Pontiff, Leone XIII., was chosen almost unanimously. He is regarded as the 263d Pope (or thereabouts) from St. Peter.

The rise of the Roman Pontificate, as an avowed temporal sovereignty, dates from the year 755, when Pepin, King of the Franks, gave to Pope Stefano III. the Exarchate and Pentapolis (or Romagna), conquered from the Lombards, to which Charles the Great added part of Tuscany and Sabina; and three centuries later Countess

692,000 souls.

Matilda of Tuscany bequeathed to the Holy See her ample territories. Rome, however, with the Roman duchy, came practically under the Pope's civil dominion in the days of Gregorio the Great (590-604). In 1860 the whole Pontifical State comprised an area of about 16,000 square miles, with a population of 3,125,000 souls; thenceforth, until 1870, about 5,000 square miles and The Bishop of Rome, or Pope, by Roman Catholics accounted Vicar of Jesus Christ upon earth, and, in that office, Successor of St. Peter, is the absolute and irresponsible ruler of the Roman Catholic Church, regarded as the whole Christian Church here below. His ex cathe to be infallible, and against his judgments there is no appeal. Every baptized person is held to be spiritually subject to hini, and his jurisdiction over such to be immediate. The Roman Pontiff has for advisers and coadjutors the Sacred College of Cardinals consisting, when complete, of seventy members, namely, six cardinalbishops, fifty cardinal-priests, and fourteen cardinaldeacons, but hardly ever comprising the full number. In January 1899 the Sacred College consisted of six cardinal-bishops, forty-five cardinal-priests, and five cardi

dra definitions on matters of faith or morals are held

nal-deacons.

the now ruling (de jure) sovereign overthrew, after a short war, the power of the Shogun (the de facto sovereign), who had held the ruling power in successive families since the twelfth century; and in 1871 the feudal system (Hōken Seiji) was entirely suppressed. The sovereign bears the name of Kōtei, or Emperor; but the appellation by which he is generally known in foreign countries is the ancient title of Mikado, or The Honorable Gate."

By the Imperial House Law of February 11, 1889, the succession to the throne has been definitely fixed upon the male descendants. In case of failure of direct descendants, the throne devolves upon the nearest Prince and his descendants.

The system of government of the Japanese Empire was that of an Absolute Monarchy. A Constitution was, however, promulgated on February 11, 1889.

The central administration of the Roman Catholic Church is carried on by a number of permanent committees called Sacred Congregations, composed of Cardinals, with Consultors and Officials. There are now twenty sacred Congregations, viz.: Inquisition or Holy Office, Consistorial, Apostolic Visitation, Bishops and Regulars, Council, Residence of Bishops, State of Regulars, Ecclesiastical Immunity, Propaganda, Propaganda By this Constitution the Emperor is the for Eastern Rite, Index, Sacred Rites, Ceremonial, Reg-head of the Empire, combining in himself the ular Discipline, Indulgences and Sacred Relics Examination of Bishops, Fabric of St. Peter's, Lauretana, Ex-rights of sovereignty, and exercising the whole traordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, Studies. of the executive powers with the advice and Instruction.-The State regulates public instruction, and maintains, either entirely or in conjunction with assistance of the Cabinet Ministers, who are the communes and provinces, public schools of every responsible to him, and are appointed by himgrade. Every teacher in a public institution maintained by the State, or by any other public body, must have the self. There is also a Privy Council, who dequalifications required by law; and in all public insti- liberate upon important matters of State when tutions not belonging to the State, the same programme must be followed, and the same rules observed. No they have been consulted by the Emperor. private person can keep a school without having ob- The Emperor can declare war, make peace, tained the authorization of the State. and conclude treaties. The Emperor exercises the legislative power with the consent of the Imperial Diet. It is the prerogative of the Emperor to give sanction to laws, to convoke the Imperial Diet, to open, close, and prorogue it, and to dissolve the House of Representatives. The Imperial Diet consists of two Houses, a House of Peers and a House of Representatives. Every law requires the consent of the Imperial Diet. Both Houses may respectively initiate projects of law, can make representations to the Government as to laws or upon any other subject, and may present addresses to the Emperor.

Justice. In Italy, justice in penal matters is administered in the first instance by the Pretori, by the penal Tribunals, and by the Courts of Assize; on appeal, by the penal Tribunals, and by the Courts of Appeal. The highest court is the Court of Cassation, which confines itself to inquiring whether the forms prescribed by law have been observed.

The Pretori have jurisdiction concerning all delicts (delitti) punishable by imprisonment not exceeding three months, or banishment not exceeding one year, or by fine not exceeding 1,000 lire and all misdemeanors (contravenzioni). The penal Tribunals have jurisdiction in the first instance in offenses (delitti) (excepting offenses for which the Code establishes a minimum of five years) punishable by imprisonment from ten months to ten years, or by fine exceeding 1,000 lire. The Courts of Assize, which in most cases have juries, have jurisdiction inall proceedings concerning serious offenses delitti)punishable by imprisonment for life (ergastolo) or by imprisonment from ten to twenty-four years, or by minimum imprisonment exceeding five years. They have exclusive jurisdiction concerning offenses against the internal and external security of the State, and all press offenses. Appeal is allowed to the penal Tribunals from the sentences of the Pretori, and to the Courts of Appeal from those of the penal Tribunals. The Court of Cassation has power to annul, for illegality, sentences passed by the inferior Courts, and to decide questions of jurisdiction or competency, Italy is divided, for the administration of justice, into twenty appeal court districts, each of which is subdivided into tribunal districts, 162 in all, and these again into mandamenti, each with its own magistracy (Pretura), 1,548 in all.

JAPAN.

The Japanese claim that their empire was founded by the first Emperor Jimmu 660 B. C., and that the dynasty founded by him still reigns. It was revived in the year 1868, when

The House of Peers is composed of (1) male members of the Imperial family of the age of 20 and upwards; (2) princes and marquises of the age of 25 and upwards (11 princes and 28 marquises); (3) counts, viscounts, and barons of the age of 25 and upwards, and who have been elected by the members of their respective orders, never to exceed one fifth of each order (80 counts, 355 viscounts, 29 barons); (4) persons above the age of 30 years, who have been nominated members by the Emperor for meritorious services to the State or for erudition; (5) persons who shall have been elected in each Fu and Ken from among and by the 15 male inhabitants thereof, of