of full age, paying taxes, are electors, and are divided into three Electoral Colleges. For the Chamber of Deputies, electors who are in possession of property bringing in 501. or upwards per annum vote in the first College. Those paying direct taxes to the State of 20 fr. or upwards annually vote in the second College, as well as persons exercising the liberal professions, retired officers, State pensioners, and those who have been through the primary course of education. The third College is composed of the remaining electors, of whom those not knowing how to read or write vote indirectly. For the Senate there are only two Colleges. The first consists of those electors having property yielding annually at least 807.; the second of those persons, otherwise eligible, but whose income from property is from 321. to 80l. per annum. Both Senators and Deputies receive a small daily payment during the session. The King has a suspensive veto over all laws passed by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The executive is vested in a council of eight ministers, and a President who is Prime Minister.

Wallachia is divided into seventeen, and Moldavia into thirteen districts (the Dobruja being excluded), each of which has a prefect, a receiver of taxes, and a civil tribunal. Of the total population of Roumania Proper 4,529,000 belong to the Orthodox Greek Church, 114,200 Roman Catholics, 13,800 Protestants, 8,000 Armenians, 6,000 Lipovani (Russian heretics), 400,000 Jews, 2,000 Mahometans. The government of the Greek Church rests with two archbishops, the first of them styled the Primate of Roumania, and the second the Archbishop of Moldavia. There are, besides, six bishops of the National Church, and one Roman Catholic bishop.

Education is free and compulsory wherever there are schools,' but is still in a very backward condition. In 1883 there were 2,743 primary schools, with only 124,130 pupils, or about 2 per cent. of the total population (in Great Britain the proportion is 12.3 per cent.). There are 8 normal schools, with 830 pupils: 54 high schools, with 7,993 pupils; 2 universities (Bucharest and Jassy), with faculties in law, philosophy, science and medicine, and having, in 1883, 97 professors and teachers and 705 students.

Revenue and Army.

The chief sources of revenue consist in direct and indirect taxes, and the profits derived from the extensive State domains and valuable salt-mines, and from the salt and tobacco monopolies. The capitation-tax is 48. 9d. per head, the number of persons paying it being 788,653 in 1883. There is an income-tax of 6 per cent. on houses, 5 per cent. for property farmed by a resident owner, 6 per cent. for property let by an owner resident in Roumania, and 12

per cent. for estates where owners reside abroad; and 5 per cent. on Government salaries. The following table shows the revenue and expenditure for the five years (ending March 31) 1882-86, the last year being the budget estimate:

The following are the budget estimates for 1886-87 :—

REVENUE.

Crown lands, &c.
Ministries:-
Public Works

Interior

Finance

War

Foreign Affairs

5,000,000

Justice

57,546,959

62,960

10,449,219

"

28,552,760

Public Worship

Justice

Public Worship
Foreign Affairs

Supplementary votes and
extraordinary credits

3,883,784 13,120,294

1,692,363 3,159,201

1,276,485

134,244,650

£5,371,786

The public debt of Roumania amounted on April 1, 1886, to 28,966,8647. Of the total amount more than half has been contracted for public works, mainly railways. The remainder has been contracted to cover deficits, reduce unfunded debt, and pay off peasant freeholds. There are only two loans, those of Messrs. Stern (94,2001. in 1886) and Oppenheim (403,8007. in 1886), in the London market, and these are to be redeemed by 1888 and 1889. The others are held to a large extent in Germany, a small portion in France, and about one-third in the country itself. The charge of the debt in the budget of 1886-87 is 2,301,8781. The debt amounts to about 5l, per head of population, and the interest to 78. 3d. The exports average 1l. 168. per head.

The army of Roumania consists of an active army, divided into Permanent and Territorial, with its reserve; the Militia; the Civic Guard, and the levée en masse. The active army in Roumania consists of 4 army corps (each of 2 divisions of infantry, 1 brigade

of light cavalry (Calarashi), 1 brigade of artillery, 1 battalion of engineers, 1 squadron of train, and 1 company of hospital corps), and 1 active division in the Dobruja. 1. Permanent Army.-Infantry: 8 regiments of 2 battalions of 4 companies each; 4 battalions of rifles. Cavalry: 2 regiments of hussars (Roshiori) of 4 squadrons, 1 regiment of gendarmerie in the Dobruja. Artillery: 5 regiments of field artillery, each of 7 batteries of 6 guns; 3 companies of artificers. Engineers: 2 battalions, each consisting of 2 companies of sappers, 1 company of miners, 1 telegraph company, and 1 company of pontoniers. Gendarmerie: 2 companies and 2 squadrons. Hospital Service; 80 officers, 18 employés and 4 companies. Administrative Troops: 40 officers, 3 companies of artificers, and 4 squadrons of train. Every retired officer is obliged to serve in the reserve until the age of 37. The strength of the permanent army in time of peace is 1,200 officers, 80 employés, 18,532 men, 2,945 horses, and 180 guns. 2. Territorial Army.-32 regiments of infantry (Dorobanzi) of 2, 3, and 4 battalions; 12 regiments of cavalry (Calarashi) of 5 and 6 squadrons each; 14 batteries of artillery, with 6 guns per battery; these latter perform the duties of firemen in time of peace. The total of the territorial army is 100,000 men and 84 guns. 3. The militia, consisting of 30 regiments of infantry. 4. The Civic Guard and the levée en masse, the strength of which is not definitely fixed.

Every Roumanian from his 21st to his 46th year is obliged to serve either in the permanent army 3 years of active service and 5 in the reserve, or in the territorial infantry 5 years of active service and 3 in the reserve, or in the territorial cavalry 4 years of active service and 4 in the reserve. The entry into the permanent or territorial army is decided by lot. All young men not taken for the conscription form part of the militia. After completing their service in the permanent or territorial army, all are enrolled in the militia until their 36th year. Inhabitants of towns serve in the Civic Guard till the age of 46, and those of the country from their 36th to their 47th year form part of the levée en masse. The army is also kept up to its strength by enlisting volunteers and re-engaging the men in the reserve. The army is being reorganised on the territorial system; the country will be divided into five districts, to each of which will be attached a corps d'armée, subdivided into 2 divisions of 2 brigades of 2 regiments.

Roumania has in the navy the Mircea, a composite brig of 345 tons; there are besides 2 avisos, 2 gunboats, 3 steamboats, 1 torpedo vessel, 3 torpedo-boats, and 3 police-sloops for the Danube. In 1883 it was resolved to spend 600,000l. in fortifications, mainly for the defence of Bucharest.

Area and Population.

The area and population of Roumania are only known by estimates. According to official returns made in 1876 and 1877, the total area embraced 45,642 English square miles, of which 27,500 square miles came to the former Wallachia, and 18,142 to Moldavia. The total population of Roumania was estimated in the same returns at 5,073,000, comprising 2,618,136 males and 2,454,864 females.

By the Treaty of Berlin, signed July 13, 1878, Roumania ceded to Russia that portion of the territory of Bessarabia taken from Russia under the Treaty of Paris of 1856. At the same time the Principality received, in addition to several islands in the Danube, the territory known as the Dobruja, with an area of 4,203 square miles, and a population officially estimated (1883) at 150,587.

The total actual area is 48,307 square miles, and the estimated population is 5,376,000. The Roumanian is a Latin dialect, with many Slavonic words; it was introduced by the Roman colonists who settled in Dacia in the time of Trajan. The people themselves, though of mixed origin, may now be regarded as homogeneous. Roumanians are spread extensively in the neighbouring countriesTransylvania, Hungary, Servia, Bulgaria; their total number probably reaches 8 millions. Included in the population of Roumania Proper are 400,000 Jews, 200,000 Gipsies, 85,000 Slavs, 39,000 Germans, 29,500 Hungarians, 8,000 Armenians, 2,000 French, 1,000 English, besides about 3,000 Italians, Turks, Poles, Tartars, &c. The total population of the Dobruja is estimated at 106,943, comprising 31,177 Roumanians, 28,715 Bulgarians, 16,493 Turks, 10,058 Lipovani (Russian heretics), 9,165 Greeks, 6,540 Tartars, 6,162 Russians, 2,471 Germans, and 1,051 Jews.

The number of births, deaths, and marriages, with surplus, or otherwise, of births over deaths, was as follows (excluding the Dobruja) in each of the five years from 1881 to 1885 :

Not included in the births and deaths in 1885 are comprised 2,196 still-born, or about 1 per cent. of the total births. The illegitimate births are about 5 per cent. of the total number.

The following are the principal towns, with population at the

end of 1876. The capital and seat of the Government, Bucharest, had 221,805 inhabitants; Jassy, 90,125; Galatz, 80,763; Botochani, 39,941; Ploesti, 33,170 inhabitants; Braila, 28,272; Berlad, 26,568; Crajova, 22,764; Giorgevo, 20,866; Focsani, 20,323; Piatra, 20,000.

Trade and Commerce.

The following table shows the value of the commerce for the last five years:—

In 1871 the value of the imports was 3,317,0881., and exports 7,107,3117. The following, according to Roumanian returns, shows the value of the commerce in 1884 of the leading countries with which Roumania deals:

The following are the values of the leading articles of import and export in 1884 :

According to the British Trade Returns the total imports of British home produce into Roumania in 1884 amounted to 948,5231., and in 1885 to 791,8857., and the total exports of Roumania to Great Britain to 3,134,9267. in 1884, and 2,757,9261. in '1885.

The principal British imports into Roumania are cotton goods and yarn, 462,430l. in 1884, and 487,1791. in 1885, and iron, wrought and unwrought, 215,710. in 1884, and 78,8717. in 1885.