Report by Mr. Horace Rublee, Minister Resident of the United States, on the revision of the Constitution of Switzerland, dated Berne, July 3, 1871; in 'Papers relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States." 8. Washington, 1871.

Report by Mr. Beauclerk on the commercial position of Switzerland, dated Berne, July 23, 1878; in Reports by H.M.'s Secretaries of Embassy and Legation.' No. IV. 1878. 8. London, 1878.

Report by Mr. G. Jenner, Secretary of Legation, on the general condition of British trade with Switzerland, dated Berne, December 6, 1873; in 'Reports by H.M.'s Secretaries of Embassy and Legation.' No. III. 1874. 8. London, 1874. Report by Sir H. Rumbold on the finances of Switzerland, dated Bern, April 29, 1879; in 'Reports by H.M.'s Secretaries of Embassy and Legation.' Part IV. 1879. 8. London, 1879.

Reports on exports from Switzerland to the United States, in 'Reports from the Consuls of the United States.' No. XXXI. July 1883. Washington, 1883. Report by Mr. Thornton on Cattle in Switzerland, in Reports of H.M.'s Secretaries of Embassy.' Part I. 1883. London, 1883.

Report by Mr. Conway Thornton on Watchmaking in Switzerland, in 'Reports of H.M.'s Secretaries of Legation.' Part I. London, 1884.

2. NON-OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS.

Almanach Fédéral Suisse pour 1884. Berne, 1884.

Bericht der Basler Handelskammer. Basel, 1884.

Bericht über Handel und Industrie von Zürich. Zürich, 1884.

Harfin (J.), Statistische Tafel der Schweiz, 1881. Fol. Zürich, 1882. Gisi (Dr. Wilh.), Zeitschrift für schweizerische Statistik. Herausgegeben von der Schweizerischen Statistischen Gesellschaft, mit Mitwirkung des eidgenössischen Statistischen Bureaus. 4. Bern, 1879-84.

Grote (George), Letters on the Politics of Switzerland. 8. London, 1876. Kolb (G. Fr.), Beiträge zur Statistik der Industrie und des Handels der Schweiz. 8. Zürich, 1869.

Lombard (Dr. H. C.), Répartitions mensuelles des décès dans quelques cantons de la Suisse. 4. Bern, 1868.

Maguin (H.), Notes et documents sur l'instruction populaire en Suisse. 8. Paris, 1878.

Officieler Katalog der Schweizerischen Landesaustellurg. Zürich, 1883. Rapport du Chemin de fer du Gothard. Zürich, 1883.

Wirth (Max.), Allgemeine Beschreibung und Statistik der Schweiz. Im Verein mit gegen 60 Schweizerischen Gelehrten und Staatsmännern herausgegeben. 3 Vols. 8. Zürich, 1871-75.

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 Jan. 11, 1870.

II. Zekić Sultana, born Jan. 12, 1871.

III. Naimé Sultana, born August 5, 1876.
IV. Abdul-Kadir Effendi, born Feb. 23, 1878.
V. Ahmed Effendi, born March 14, 1878.

Brothers and Sisters of the Sultan.

I. Mohammed Murad Effendi, born Sept. 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. Fatimé Sultana, born Nov. 1, 1840; married, Aug. 11, 1854, to Ali-Ghalib Pasha, third son of Reschid Pasha; widow, Oct. 30, 1858; remarried, March 24, 1859, to Mehemed Noury Pasha.

III. Djemilé Sultana, born Aug. 18, 1843; married, June 3, 1858, to Mahmoud-Djelal-Eddin Pasha, son of Ahmet Feti Pasha. IV. Mehemmed-Reshad Effendi, born November 3, 1844; heirapparent to the throne.

V. Ahmet-Kemaleddin Effendi, born December 3, 1847.

VI. Medihié Sultana, born Nov. 21, 1851; married to the late Mahmud Pasha, son of Halil Pasha.

VII. Nur-Eddin Effendi, born April 14, 1851.

VIII. Suleiman Effendi, born November 21, 1860.

IX. Fehimé Sultana, born January 26, 1861.

X. Wahieddin Effendi, born January 12, 1862.

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.

The civil list of the Sultan is variously reported at from one to two millions sterling. To the Imperial family belong a great number of crown domains, the income from which contributes to the revenue. The whole income, public and private, is nevertheless reported to be altogether insufficient to cover the expenditure of the Court and Harem, numbering altogether over five thousand individuals.

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 :

The average reign of the above thirty-five rulers of the Turkish

empire, during a period of more than five centuries and a half, amounted to sixteen years.

Constitution and Government.

The fundamental laws of the empire are based on the precepts of the Koran. The will of the Sultan is absolute, in so far as it is not in opposition to the accepted truths of the Mahometan religion, as laid down in the sacred book of the Prophet. Next to the Koran, the laws of the 'Multeka,' a code formed of the supposed sayings and opinions of Mahomet, and the sentences and decisions of his immediate successors, are binding upon the sovereign as well as his subjects. Another code of laws, the 'Canon nameh,' formed by Sultan Solyman the Magnificent, from a collection of 'hatti-sheriffs,' or decrees, issued by him and his predecessors, is held in general obedience, but merely as an emanation of human authority.

The legislative and executive authority is exercised, under the supreme direction of the Sultan, by two high dignitaries, the 'Sadrazam,' or Grand Vizier-sometimes styled, in modern appointments, the 'Bash Vekil,' or Prime Minister-the head of the temporal Government, and the 'Sheik-ul-Islam,' the head of the Church. Both are appointed by the sovereign, the latter with the nominal concurrence of the 'Ulema,' a body comprising the clergy and chief functionaries of the law, over which the Sheïk-ul-Islam' presides, although he himself does not exercise priestly functions. Connected with the 'Ulema' are the 'Mufti,' the interpreters of the Koran. Ulema comprise all the great judges, theologians and jurists, and the great teachers of literature and science who may be summoned by the Mufti. The principal civic functionaries bear the title of Bey, Effendi, or Pasha.

The

Forms of constitution, after the model of the West European States, were drawn up at various periods by successive Ottoman Governments, the first of them embodied in the 'Hatti-Humáyoun of Sultan Abdul-Medjid, proclaimed February 18, 1856, and the most recent in a decree of Sultan Abdul-Hamid II., of November 1876. But the carrying out of these projects of reform appears entirely impossible in the present condition of the Ottoman Empire.

The Grand Vizier, as head of the Government and representative of the Sovereign, is President of the Medjliss-i-Hass, or Privy Council, which corresponds to the British Cabinet. The Medjlissi-Hass consists of nine members, besides the Prime Minister, namely:-1, the Sheikh-ul-Islam; 2, the Minister of War; 3, the Minister of Finance; 4, the Minister of Marine; 5, the Minister of Commerce; 6, the Minister of Public Works; 7, the Minister of Police; 8, the Minister of Justice; and 9, the Minister of Public Instruction. There were constant ministerial changes

in recent years, the average term of service of the members of the Divan not amounting to more than four months.

The whole of the empire is divided into Vilayets, or governments, and subdivided into Sanjaks, or provinces, and Kazas, or districts. A Vali, or general governor, who is held to represent the Sultan, and is assisted by a provincial council, is placed at the head of each government. The provinces and districts are subjected to inferior authorities, under the superintendence of the principal governor. All subjects, however humble their origin, are eligible to, and may fill, the highest offices in the state. Birth confers no privilege, as all true believers are equal in the eye of the law.

Religion and Education.

The adherents of the two great religious creeds of the Turkish dominions in Europe and Asia, as reduced in its limits by the Treaty of Berlin, signed July 13, 1878, are estimated to consist of sixteen millions of Mahometans, and of five millions of Christians. The Mahometans form the vast majority in Asia, but only one-half of the population in Europe. Recognised by the Turkish Government are the adherents of seven non-Mahometan creeds, namely:-1. Latins, Franks, or Catholics, who use the Roman Liturgy, consisting of the descendants of the Genoese and Venetian settlers in the empire, and proselytes among Armenians, Bulgarians, and others. 2. Greeks: 3. Armenians; 4. Syrians and United Chaldeans; 5. Maronites, under a Patriarch at Kanobin in Mount Lebanon; 6. Protestants, consisting of converts chiefly among the Armenians; 7. Jews. These seven religious denominations are invested with the privilege of possessing their own ecclesiastical rule. The bishops and patriarchs of the Greeks and Armenians, and the 'Chacham-Baschi,' or high-rabbi of the Jews, possess, in consequence of those functions, considerable influence.

The Mahometan clergy are subordinate to the Sheikh-ul-Islam. Their offices are hereditary, and they can only be removed by Imperial iradé. The priesthood, however, in the strict sense of the word, meaning a separate class, to whom alone the right of officiating in religious services belongs, cannot be said to exist in Turkey. Not only may officers of the State be called upon to perform the rites, but any member of the congregation, who has the requisite voice and is of reputable character, may be desired to take the place of the Imam, and either recite verses of the Koran or lead the prayer. Owing to the fact that the Koran constitutes the code of law and charter of rights, as well as the religious guide of the followers of Mahomet, there is a close connection between the ministers of religion and the professors and interpreters of the law.

The Koran and Multeka encourage public education, and, as a