Switzerland. Number of offices, 1,997. In the telephone service there were 276 exchanges, 28,846 subscribers, 7,368 miles of line, and 47,564 miles of wire. The receipts of the telegraph and telephone services amounted (1897) to 7,887,190 francs, and the expenses to 7,512,741 francs. Money and Credit. From 1850 to 1894 the coins issued by the Swiss Confederation were of the nominal value of 65,245,766 francs, 23,000,000 francs being in 20-franc gold pieces, 10,630,000 francs in 5-franc silver pieces, and 25,000,000 francs in fractional silver pieces, while 6,615,766 francs were in nickel and copper coin. In 1897 the issue was of the nominal value of 8,190,000 francs, 8,000,000 francs being in 20-franc gold pieces, and the remainder in nickel and bronze coin. On December 31, 1897, there were 34 banks with a paid-up capital of 164,275,000 francs, and note issue of 222,450,000 francs. For 1897 the average of their general monthly balances was : Banks of issue are subject to Federal inspection; the notes of 20 banks (cantonal) are secured by the cantons; of 9 banks, by deposit of securities; of 4 banks (of limited operation), by portfolio. Money, Weights, and Measures. The Franc, of 10 Batzen, and 100 Rappen or Centimes, = £1 sterling. The 20-franc piece is 900 fine, the 5-franc silver piece is 900 fine, the silver 2-franc, franc, and half-franc are 835 fine. Switzerland belongs to the Latin Monetary Union. = 110 lbs. avoirdupois. 220 lbs. avoirdupois. The Arpent (Land) The Centner, of 50 Kilogrammes and 100 Pfund The Quintal = 100 Kilogrammes 8-9ths of an acre. = The Pfund, or pound, chief unit of weight, is legally divided into decimal Grammes, but the people generally prefer the use of the old halves and quarters, named Halbpfund, and Viertelpfund. Diplomatic and Consular Representatives. 1. OF SWITZERLAND IN GREAT BRITAIN. Minister Resident.-Charles D. Bourcart. Secretary.-F. de Salis. 2. OF GREAT BRITAIN IN SWITZERLAND. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.-Fred. R. St. John, appointed January 1, 1893. Consul-General at Zurich; Consuls at Berne and Geneva; Vice-Consul at Lausanne. Statistical and other Books of Reference concerning Switzerland. 1. OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. Annuaire Statistique de la Suisse. Berne. Bibliographie der Schweizerischen Landeskunde. Bern. In progress. Feuille fédérale suisse. Bern. Foreign Office Reports. Annual Series and Miscellaneous Series. 8. London. Geschäftsberichte des Schweizerischen Bundesraths an die Bundesversammlung. Berne, 1897. Resultats du compte d'état de la Confédération suisse pour l'année 1897. 4. Berne, 1898. Schweizerische Statistik. Herausgegeben vom Statistischen Bureau des Eidgenöss. Departments des Innern. Bern, 1897. Statistique du commerce de la Suisse avec l'étranger. Berne. Annual. Statistisches Jahrbuch der Schweiz. Bern. Annual. Voranschlag der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft für das Jahr 1897. Bern, 1898. The Armed Strength of Switzerland, by Colonel C. W. Bowdler Bell; issued by the Intelligence Division of the War Office. London, 1889. 2. NON-OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. Adams (Sir F. O.), and Cunningham (C. D.), The Swiss Confederation. 1889. Almanach fédéral suisse pour 1896. Berne, 1896. Baedeker's Handbook for Switzerland. 17th edition. 8. Leipsic, 1897. Baker (Grenfell), The Model Republic: a History of the Rise and Progress of the Swiss People. London, 1895. Bericht über Handel und Industrie der Schweiz. Erstattet vom Vorort des Schweiz. Handels-und-Industrie Vereins. (Annual.) Zurich. 2 Blumer-Heer (J. J.), Handbuch des schweizerischen Bundesstaatsrechtes. 2 vols. 8. Schaffhausen, 1863-64. Staats und Rechtsgeschichte der schweizerischen Demokratien. parts. 8. St. Gallen, 1850-59. Conway (Sir W. M.), The Alps from End to End. London, 1895. Conway (Sir W. M.) and Coolidge (W. A. B.), Climbers' Guides. London, 1892, &c. Curti (E.), Geschichte der schweizerischen Volksgesetzgebung. 2nd ed. Zürich, 1885. Daendliker (Carl), Geschichte der Schweiz. 2 vols. Zürich, 1892. [Condensed Eng. Trans. by E. Salisbury. London, 1898.] Dawson (W. S.), Social Switzerland. London, 1897. Dent (C. T.), Mountaineering. 4. London, 1892. Deploige (S.), Le Referendum en Suisse. 8. Brussels, 1892. [Eng. Trans. London, 1898.] Dubs (Jacob), Das oeffentliche Recht der schweizereien Eidgenossenschaft. 2 pts. 8. Zürich, 1878. James (E. J.) (Translator), The Federal Constitution of Switzerland. 8. 1890. Philadelphia, Jay (Raoul), Etudes sur la question ouvrière en Suisse. 8. Paris, 1893. MacCrackan (W. D.), The Rise of the Swiss Republic. 8. London, 1892. Magnenat (J.), Abrégé de l'Histoire de la Suisse. 2nd Ed. 8. Lausanne, 1878. Murray's Handbook for Switzerland. 18th ed. 8. London, 1898. Muydin (B. van), Histoire de la Nation Suisse. 2 vols. Lausanne, 1896-97. Oechsli (W.), Die Anfange der schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft. 8. Zürich, 1891. Read (Meredith), Historic Studies in Vaud, Berne, and Savoy. 2 vols. London, 1897. Reclus (Elisée), Nouvelle Geographie Universelle. Vol. III. 8. Paris, 1878. Reymond (H.), Etudes sur les Institutions civiles de la Suisse. 8. Geneva, 1885. Richman (I. B.), Appenzell: Pure Democracy and Pastoral Life in Inner-Rhoden. London, 1895. 8. Rilliet (Albert), Les Origines de la Confédération Suisse-Histoire et Légende. Geneva and Bále, 1868. Histoire de la Réstauration de la Republique de Genève. 8. Geneva, 1849. Seippel (P.) (Editor), La Suisse au XIXme Siècle. Lausanne, 1898. Stead (R.) and Hug (L.), Switzerland. In 'Story of the Nations' Series. 8. London, 1890. Umlauft (F.), The Alps. Translated by L. Brough. 8. London, 1889. Vincent (J. M.), State and Federal Government in Switzerland. 8. Baltimore, 1891. Vulliemin (L.), Histoire de la Confédération Suisse. 2 vols. Lausanne, 1879. Whymper (E.), Scrambles amongst the Alps, 1860-69. London, 1893.-Chamounix and the Range of Mount Blanc. 2nd ed. London, 1897.-Zermatt and the Matterhorn. London, 1897. Wirth (Max), Allgemeine Beschreibung und Statistik der Schweiz. Im Verein mit gegen 60 Schweizerischen Gelehrten und Staatsmännern herausgegeben. 3 vols. 8. Zürich, 1871-1875. TONGA. King George II., born June 18, 1874; succeeded his great grandfather, George Tubou, in 1893. There is a Legislative Assembly which meets every two years, composed one half of hereditary nobles, who hold their office subject to good behaviour, and half of representatives elected for three years by the people, every adult male who has paid his taxes and is not criminally incapacitated being qualified to vote. Treaties of friendship and trade have been concluded with Great Britain, Germany, and the United States. The kingdom consists of 3 groups of islands, called respectively, Tonga, Haapai, and Vavau, and lies between 15° and 23° 30′ south, and 173° and 177° west, its western boundary being the eastern boundary of Fiji. Area, 374 square miles; population, 1893, 17,500, including 250 foreigners, mostly British. Capital, Nukualofa. The revenue, chiefly from customs, a poll tax and leases (no land being sold), is estimated at 20,000l., or 100,000 dollars annually; the expenditure is regulated so as to leave a small surplus. Native produce consists mostly of copra, mats, tapa, a textile from bark, combs, and fishing nets. Imports, 1896, 90,9157.; 1897, 74,5617. ; exports, 1896, 94,3987.; 1897, 64,8917. The imports included drapery, 20,5637.; bread stuffs, 8,3341.; timber, 4,9017.; and the exports, copra, 54,6017.; green fruit, 2,8857.; fungus, 1767., in 1897. Of the imports there came from Auckland, 27,2417.; from Sydney, 42,3361.; from Samoa, 2,6517.; from other Pacific islands, 2,3307. Of the exports there went to Auckland, 4,6971.; to Sydney, 13,2857.; to the Azores, 21,9357.; to Ponta Delgada, 22,1897. Tonnage entered, 1896, 89,702 tons; 1897, 81,400 tons. In 1897, of the tonnage entered, 70,798 tons were British, 7,895 tons Norwegian, 2,260 tons Swedish, and 447 Danish. The returns for 1897 have been injuriously affected by the murrain in 1896 and a severe drought in 1897. Gold and silver coins of Great Britain, United States, and Germany are legal tender. The weights and measures are the same as in Great Britain. Accounts are kept in dollars, shillings, and pence. H.B.M. High Commissioner and Consul-General for the Western Pacific.— Sir G. T. M. O'Brien, K. C. M. G. Deputy-Commissioner and Vice-Consul at Tonga.-R. B. Leefe. Foreign Office Reports on the Trade of Tonga. Annual Series. London. TURKEY AND TRIBUTARY STATES. (OTTOMAN EMPIRE.) Reigning Sultan. Abdul-Hamid II., born September 22, 1842 (15 Shaban 1245), the second son of Sultan Abdul Medjid; succeeded to the throne on the deposition of his elder brother, Sultan Murad V., August 31, 1876. Children of the Sultan. I. Mehemmed-Selim Effendi, born January 11, 1870. II. Zekić Sultana, born January 12, 1871. III. Naïmé Sultana, born August 5, 1876. IV. Abdul-Kadir Effendi, born February 23, 1878. V. Ahmed Effendi, born March 14, 1878. VI. Naïlé Sultana, born January 8, 1884. VII. Mehemmed Burhan Eddin Effendi, born December 19, 1885. Brothers and Sisters of the Sultan. I. Mohammed Murad Effendi, born September 21, 1840; proclaimed Sultan of Turkey on the deposition of his uncle, Sultan Abdul-Aziz, May 30, 1876; declared by the Council of Ministers to be suffering from idiocy, and deposed from the throne, August 31, 1876. II. Djemilé Sultana, born August 18, 1843; married, June 3, 1858, to Mahmoud-Djelal-Eddin Pasha, son of Ahmet Feti Pasha; widow. III. Mehemmed-Reshad Effendi, born November 3, 1844; heir-apparent to the throne. IV. Senihé Sultana, born November 21, 1851; married to the late Mahmud Pasha, son of Halil Pasha. V. Medihe Sultana, born 1857; married (1) 1879, to Nedjib Pasha; widow 1885; (2) April 30, 1886, to Férid Pasha. VI. Wahid-Uddin Effendi, born 1860. VII. Suleiman Effendi, born January 12, 1861. The present sovereign of Turkey is the thirty-fourth, in male descent, of the house of Othman, the founder of the empire, and the twenty-eighth Sultan since the conquest of Constantinople. By the law of succession obeyed in the reigning family, the crown is inherited according to seniority by the male descendants of Othman, sprung from the Imperial Harem. The Harem is considered a permanent State institution. All children born in the Harem, whether offspring of free women or of slaves, are legitimate and of equal lineage. The Sultan is succeeded by his eldest son, but only in case there are no uncles or cousins of greater age. It has not been the custom of the Sultans of Turkey for some centuries to contract regular marriages. The inmates of the Harem come, by purchase or free will, mostly from districts beyond the limits of the empire, the majority from Circassia. From among these inmates the Sultan designates a certain number, generally seven, to be Kadyn,' or Ladies of the Palace, the rest, called 'Odalik,' remaining under them as servants. The superintendent of the Harem, always an aged Lady of the Palace, and bearing the title of 'Haznadar-Kadyn,' has to keep up intercourse with the outer world through the Guard of Eunuchs, whose chief, called 'Kyzlar-Agassi,' has the same rank as the Grand Vizier, but has the precedence if present on state occasions. By We first hear of the Turks in the year 844 A.D., when they migrated from Tartary into Armenia, but they only came into prominence about 1030 A.D. Under Othman, the founder of the present dynasty, they, under the name of Othman, or Ottoman Turks, made themselves masters of several places in Asia, captured Nicea, and made Broussa their capital (1326). Their first appearance in Europe was in 1080, when a body of 2,000 crossed the Bosphorus to assist the Emperor Botoniates against his rival. the end of the fourteenth century they had reduced Thessaly, Macedonia, and Bulgaria, and were the acknowledged rulers of nearly all Western Asia. Constantinople was first besieged by the Turks in 1392, but was not taken till 1453. It has since been the capital of the Turkish Empire. Mohammed II., its conqueror, subdued Trebizond, Wallachia, Bosnia, Illyria, and the Morea. Under Bajazet II. and Selim I. Egypt was totally subdued, and Syria, Circassia, and Moldavia passed under Turkish rule. In 1522 Solyman I. subdued Rhodes, and in 1525 invaded Hungary and invested Vienna. This siege had to be raised, and was followed by a series of reverses. The territory under Turkish rule in Europe alone then extended over 230,000 square miles. Ever since, the glory of the empire has waned. In 1595 the Turks were driven out of Upper Hungary and Transylvania, and for a time out of Moldavia and Wallachia. In 1769 war broke out against Russia, ending in the expulsion of the Turks from the Crimea, the extension of the Russian frontier to the Bug and Dnieper, the partial independence of the Danubian principalities, and the acquisition by Russia of the right of a free passage for their fleet through the Dardanelles. In 1806 war with Russia was again re sumed, and resulted in the extension of the Russian frontier to the Pruth (1812). The Greek war for independence (1822-28) ended, owing to the interference of the foreign Powers, in the loss of that kingdom. In 1833 Russia' was successful in arresting the progress of Mehemet Ali Pasha of Egypt, but the hold of Turkey over Egypt was from that time nominal. By the Treaty of 1841, Turkey was virtually placed under the protection of the Great Powers, who guaranteed its integrity and independence. The RussoTurkish war of 1854-56, in which Turkey was assisted by Great Britain and France, resulted in the abolition of the Russian protectorate over the Danubian principalities and the exclusion (up to 1870) of Russian vessels of war from the Black Sea. In 1858 Moldavia and Wallachia united to declare what was practically their independence. The war against Russia in 1876 resulted in the loss of Bulgaria, Eastern Roumelia, Thessaly, and a strip of Eastern Armenia, also in the entire independence of Roumania, Servia, and Montenegro, and in the administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria and of Cyprus by England. The following is a list of the names, with date of accession, of the thirty four sovereigns who ruled Turkey since the foundation of the empire and of the reigning house : |