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that Asiatic Turkey should be placed under British protection, to be defended, if necessary, by force of arms' against any invader, and that'in return, the Sultan promises to England to introduce necessary reforms, to be agreed upon later between the two Powers, into the government, and for the protection, of the Christian and other subjects of the Porte in these territories; and in order to enable England to make necessary provision for executing her engagement, his Imperial Majesty the Sultan further consents to assign the Island of Cyprus to be occupied and administered by England.' The promised reforms in Asia Minor have remained a dead letter. After the Treaty of Berlin English military consuls were appointed to the principal towns, under the direction of an English military officer. Voluminous reports from them have been published, which represent the condition of the Turkish administration in an unfavourable light, but their efforts to bring about amelioration proved ineffectual. The majority of them are now (1884) withdrawn.

Land in Turkey is held under four different forms of tenure, namely, 1st, as 'Miri,' or Crown lands; 2nd, as 'Vacouf,' or pious foundations; 3rd, as 'Mulikaneh,' or Crown grants; and 4th, as 'Mulkh,’ or freehold property. The first description the 'mìri,' or Crown lands, which form the largest portion of the territory of the Sultan, are held direct from the Crown. The Government grants the right to cultivate an unoccupied tract on the payment of certain fees, but continues to exercise the rights of seigniory over the land in question, as is implied in the condition that if the owner neglects to cultivate it for a period of three years, it is forfeited to the Crown. The second form of tenure, the vacouf,' was instituted originally to provide for the religion of the State and the education of the people, by the erection of mosques and schools; but this object has been set aside, or neglected, for several generations, and the 'vacouf' lands have mostly been seized by government officials. The third class of landed property, the 'malikaneh,' was granted to the spahis, the old feudal troops, in recompense for the military service required of them, and is hereditary, and exempt from tithes. The fourth form of tenure, the 'mulkh,' or freehold property, does not exist to a great extent. Some house property in the towns, and of the land in the neighbourhocd of villages is 'mulkh,' which the peasants purchase from time to time from the Government.

It is often stated in consular and other reports that the Mohammedan population of the Turkish empire is fast declining, but such statements should be received with caution. The malarious fevers of the country often cause inhabitants to desert their former homes and migrate to a more healthy locality. A large accession of population has taken place in Asia Minor, owing to the immigration of Moslem refugees from Bulgaria and East Roumelia.

Trade and Commerce.

The following table gives, according to a British Embassy Report, the value of the trade of Turkey in 1881-2, according to countries:

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In 1880-81 the total value of exports was 7,647,3477., and imports 16,062,7481. The principal exports in 1881-2 were :Fruit, fresh and dried, T1,577,2751.; mohair and wool, T866,0047.; valonia, T488,4181.; cereals, chiefly wheat and maize, T178,000l.; oil, T61,2891.; raw cotton, T35,9411.; raw silk, T88,8417. Among the leading imports were :-Calicoes, T238,7357.; cottons, T250,2701.; sugar, T116,7867.; wheat, T97,7371.; rice, T71,065l.; coffee, T76,1801.; muslins, T41,1697.; woollens, T47,8307.; nankeens, handkerchiefs, &c., T65,5801.; flour and bran, T40,2561.; beer and spirits, T41,6317.

The value of the commercial intercourse between the whole of the Turkish Empire, in Europe and Asia, and Great Britain during the ten years from 1874 to 1883 is shown in the following table:

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The staple article of export of the Turkish Empire to the United Kingdom, in recent years, has been corn. The corn exports of 1882 were of the total value of 747,9391., and 1,339,231l. in 1883. Of the latter amount 494,5877. was for wheat; 401,8221. for barley; 278,3997. for maize, and 164,6237. for other kinds of corn and grain. The exports of corn and grain of all descriptions from the Turkish Empire to Great Britain amounted to 2,319,480. in 1873; to 2,909,0147. in 1875; to 3,775,5281. in 1876; to 2,641,2261. in 1877; to 1,256,0987. in 1878; to 171,5227. in 1880; and to 306,5597. in 1881. Next to corn, in value, stand wool and goat's hair, valonia, opium, and raisins. Of wool and goat's hair, the exports to the United Kingdom, in the year 1882 amounted to 1,410,3277., and to 1,045,1777. in 1883; of valonia (dye-stuff) to 466,1247. in 1882, and 432,4231. in 1883; of opium to 261,590. in 1882, and 455,563l. in 1883; and of fruit, chiefly raisins and figs, to 791,7177. in 1883.

The most important article of British import into Turkey is manufactured cotton. The imports of cotton and cotton yarn amounted to 5,229,0387. in 1874; to 4,646,3431. in 1875; to 4,875,0087. in 1876; to 4,605,8401. in 1877; to 6,087,6377. in 1878; to 5,963,9851. in 1879; to 5,831,8167. in 1880; to 4,580,2821. in 1881; to 5,027,1767. in 1882; and to 5,234,5147. in 1883. Besides cotton goods, the only notable articles of British export were woollens, of the value of 313,8531.; iron, wrought and unwrought, of the value of 233,9027.; copper, wrought and unwrought, 131,2681.; and coals 165,7941. in the year 1883.

The mercantile navy of the Turkish Empire is comparatively small. In 1883 it consisted of 10 steamers of 8,866 tons, and 391 sailing vessels of 63,896 tons; besides a considerable number of small coasting vessels. In 1882, 16,567 vessels of 6,399,181 tons entered the port of Constantinople; of these, 3,424 vessels of 3,156,013 tons were British.

The foundation of a railway system constructed at the cost of the State was laid in 1865, at the end of which year there were 46 English miles of railway open for traffic. At the end of 1869, the number of miles open for traffic was 113, and at the end of June 1873 it had increased to 562. The total length of railways open for traffic on January 1, 1877, was 1,137 miles, of which 965 miles were in Europe, and 172 miles in Asiatic Turkey. Through the cessions of territory ordered by the Treaty of Berlin, the length of the railways in Europe was reduced in 1878 to 786 English miles, and the total length in the Empire to 958 miles. The following is a list of the various lines in Europe and Asia which were open for traffic in 1882 :-

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The length of telegraph lines in Turkey in 1884 was 14,617 miles, and the length of wires 26,060 miles. The total number of despatches carried from March 13, 1882, to March 12, 1883, was 1,259,133, of which 475,991 were official despatches, 1,009,322 internal, and 249,811 international. There were also received in transit 44,736 despatches. The number of telegraph offices amounted to 464, of which 358 were internal, 105 for internal and external purposes, and 21 for railway uses. The clerks in the Telegraph mustered 3,281. The receipts amounted to 245,3217., and the working expenses to 199,0757. in the year 1878.

There are 702 Turkish offices in the Empire, but owing to the fusion of many of them with the telegraph office, the staff consists of 544 clerks only. Of these offices 215 are wayside stations, and stable 1,600 horses. During the year 1882-3 the number of objects which passed through these offices was 2,578,030, of which 656,325 were official and 424,268 destined for abroad, leaving, for general circulation in the interior 1,500,000, or about one letter a year for every 15 inhabitants. The number of objects received from abroad by these offices is put down at 335,703. By far the larger number of objects for and from foreign destinations, and from ports to ports in the Empire, pass through the foreign post-offices belonging to Great Britain, Austria, Germany, France, and Russia.

The Turkish Government has for the last few years tried to improve its external postal relations so as to do away with the necessity of the foreign post-offices. But all its attempts have been made at the expense of the internal system, which can, in fact, hardly be called a system at all. It was, however, successful in closing the Egyptian and Greek post-offices.

TRIBUTARY STATES.

I. EGYPT.

SEE PART II.-Africa.

II. BULGARIA.

Reigning Prince.

Alexander I., born April 5, 1857, son of Prince Alexander of Hesse, brother of the Empress of Russia (see page 156); entered the German army in 1870, and the army of Russia in 1877. Elected Prince of Bulgaria by unanimous vote of the Constituent Assembly, April 29, 1879; assumed the government, June 28, 1879.

The Prince has the grant of an annual civil list of 600,000 lei, or 24,000l., with maintenance of a palace, or 'konak,' at Sofia.

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It is enacted by the constitution of 1879 that the Prince must reside permanently in the Principality. In case of absence, he must appoint a Regent, who will have his rights and duties determined by a special law. The Princely title being hereditary falls on the eldest son. In case the Prince succeeds in his minority, a Regency will be appointed until his majority.' By amendments to the Constitution adopted by the Assembly in 1883 a regency is to consist of three regents, two to be elected by the National Assembly. When the heir-apparent comes of age the National Assembly is to fix the amount of the civil list.

Constitution and Government.

The Principality of Bulgaria was created by the Treaty of Berlin, signed July 13, 1878. It was ordered by Art. 1 of the Treaty that Bulgaria should be 'constituted an autonomous and tributary Principality under the suzerainty of His Imperial Majesty the Sultan. It will have a Christian Government and a national militia.' Art. 3 ordered, The Prince of Bulgaria shall be freely elected by the population and confirmed by the Sublime Porte, with the consent of the Powers. No member of any of the reigning Houses of the Great European Powers can be elected Prince of Bulgaria. In case of a vacancy in the Princely dignity, the election of the new Prince shall take place under the same conditions and with the same forms.'

By the constitution of 1879, the legislative authority was vested in a single chamber, called the National Assembly of Bulgaria. The members of it are elected by universal manhood suffrage, at the

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