| Articles. | 1904. | 1905. | ||
| Total value in francs. | Imported from the United Kingdom. | Total value in francs. | Imported from the United Kingdom. | |
| Cereals | 27,735,808 | none | 32,511,784 | none |
| Textiles | 17,999,344 | 10,762,464 | 13,460,620 | 5,497,172 |
| Raw minerals | 13,341,191 | 7,630,633 | .. | .. |
| Forest products | 10,146,500 | 9,769 | 12,254,190 | 61,309 |
| Wrought metals | 7,757,444 | 2,162,250 | .. | .. |
| Coals and pit-coal | 6,522,086 | 6,087,068 | 5,073,841 | 4,308,357 |
| Yarn and tissues | 4,739,819 | 2,504,667 | 8,021,523 | 6,838,079 |
| Fish | 4,992,615 | 2,394,224 | 1,014,164 | 186,072 |
| Raw hides | 4,558,101 | 478,965 | 3,909,657 | 215,745 |
| Various animals | 4,271,151 | none | 3,373,523 | 1,268 |
| Horses | 3,011,450 | none | 2,070,250 | none |
| Paper, books, &c. | 3,327,144 | 157,017 | 3,319,700 | 76,454 |
| Coffee | 2,957,601 | 293,610 | 3,060,904 | 107,296 |
| Sugar | 2,606,696 | none | 2,887,854 | 70 |
| Rice | 1,977,894 | 63,882 | 1,901,486 | 236,027 |
| Colours | 1,750,858 | 341,839 | 2,146,509 | 281,433 |
| Chief Articles of Exportation. | ||||
| Articles. | 1904. | 1905. | ||
| Total value in francs. | Exported to the United Kingdom. | Total value in francs. | Exported to the United Kingdom. | |
| Currants | 28,841,678 | 14,569,137 | 34,299,780 | 17,008,929 |
| Minerals and raw metals | 19,134,185 | 5,161,898 | 15,125,072 | 5,438,698 |
| Wines | 10,084,960 | 429,143 | 5,832,139 | 881,696 |
| Tobacco | 7,285,385 | 39,512 | 6,157,092 | 147,565 |
| Olive oil | 4,163,262 | 212,081 | 2,150,285 | 64,310 |
| Figs | 3,583,428 | 62,304 | 3,309,432 | 338,196 |
| Minerals and metals (worked) | 2,754,245 | 7,750 | 2,607,580 | 900 |
| Olives | 1,793,362 | 9,833 | 1,138,116 | 18,800 |
| Valonea | 1,558,678 | 200,849 | 1,917,014 | 146,927 |
| Cognac | 1,027,224 | 12,099 | 1,091,160 | 2,283 |
Public Works.—The important drainage-works at Lake Copais were taken over by an English company in 1890. The lake covered an area of 58,080 acres, the greater part of which is now rendered fit for cultivation. The drainage works consist of a canal, 28 kilometres in length, and a tunnel of 600 metres descending through the mountain to a lower lake, which is connected by a second tunnel with the sea. The reclaimed land is highly fertile. The area under crops amounted in 1906 to 27,414 acres, of which 20,744 were let to tenants and the remainder farmed by the company. The uncultivated portion affords excellent grazing. The canal through the Isthmus of Corinth was opened to navigation in November 1893. The total cost of the works, which were begun by a company in 1882, was 70,000,000 francs. The narrowness of the canal, which is only 24.60 metres broad at the surface, and the strength of the current which passes through it, seriously detract from its utility. The high charges imposed on foreign vessels have proved almost prohibitive. There are reduced rates for ships sailing in Greek waters. Up to the 31st of July 1906, 37,214 vessels, with a tonnage of 4,971,922, had passed through the canal. The receipts up to that date were 3,207,835 drachmae (mainly from Greek ships) and 415,976 francs (mainly from foreign ships). In 1905, 2930 vessels (2735 Greek) passed through, the receipts being 281,935 drachmae and 34,142 francs. The total liabilities of the company in 1906 were about 40,000,000 fr. The canal would be more frequented by foreign shipping if the harbours at its entrances were improved, and its sides, which are of masonry, lined with beams; efforts are being made to raise funds for these purposes. The widening of the Euripus Channel at Chalcis to the extent of 21.56 metres was accomplished in 1894. The operations involved the destruction of the picturesque Venetian tower which guarded the strait. A canal was completed in 1903 rendering navigable the shallow channel between Leucas (Santa Maura) and the mainland (breadth 15 metres, depth 5 metres). Large careening docks were undertaken in 1909 at Peiraeus at an estimated cost of 4,750,000 drachmae.
Communications.—Internal communication by roads is improving, though much remains to be done, especially as regards the quality of the roads. A considerable impetus was given to road-making under the Trikoupis administration. In 1878 there were only 555 m. of roads; in 1898 there were 2398 m.; in 1906, 3275 m. Electric trams have been introduced at Patras. Railways were open to traffic in 1900 for a length of 598 m.; in 1906 for a length of 867 m. The circuit of the Morea railways (462 m.) was completed in 1902; from Diakophto, on the north coast, a cogwheel railway, finished in 1894, ascends to Kalavryta. A very important undertaking is the completion of a line from Peiraeus to the frontier, the contract for which was signed in 1900 between the Greek government and the Eastern Railway Extension Syndicate (subsequently converted into the Société des Chemins de Fer helléniques). A line Connecting Peiraeus with Larissa was begun in 1890, but in 1894 the English company which had undertaken the contract went into liquidation. Under the contract of 1900 the line was drawn through Demerli, in the south of Thessaly, to Larissa, a distance of 217 m., and continued through the vale of Tempe to the Turkish frontier (about 246 m. in all). Branch lines have been constructed to Lamia and Chalcis. The establishment of a connexion with the continental railway system, by a junction with the line from Belgrade to Salonica, would be of immense advantage to Greece, and the Peiraeus would become an important place of embarkation for Egypt, India and the Far East.
In 1905 the number of post offices was 640. Of these 320 were also telegraph and 89 telephone stations, with 664 clerks; the remaining post offices possess no special staff, but are served by persons who also pursue other occupations. The Posts and telegraphs. number of postmen and other employees was 889. During the year there passed through the post 6,897,899 ordinary letters for the interior, 2,980,958 for foreign destinations, 2,788,477 from abroad; 540,411 registered letters or parcels for the interior, 309,907 for foreign countries, and 300,150 from abroad; 880,673 post-cards for the interior, 504,785 from abroad, and 187,975 sent abroad; 100,680 samples; 7,068,125 printed papers for the interior, 5,278,405 to or from foreign countries. Telegraph lines in 1905 extended over 4222 m. with 6836 m. of wires; 841,913 inland telegrams, 221,188 service telegrams and 129,036 telegrams to foreign destinations were despatched, and 169,519 received from abroad. Receipts amounted to 4,589,601 drachmae (postal service 2,744,212, telegraph and telephone services 1,845,389 drachmae) and expenditure to 3,954,742 drachmae.
The Greek army has recently been in a state of transition. Its condition has never been satisfactory, partly owing to the absence of systematic effort in the work of organization, partly owing to the pernicious influence of political Army. parties, and in times of national emergency it has never been in a condition of readiness. The experience of the war of 1897 proved the need of far-reaching administrative changes and disciplinary reforms. A scheme of complete reorganization was subsequently elaborated under the auspices of the crown prince Constantine, the commander-in-chief, and received the assent of the Chamber in June 1904. During the war of 1897 about 65,000 infantry, 1000 cavalry, and 24 batteries were put into the field, and after great efforts another 15,000 men were mobilized. Under the new scheme it is proposed to maintain on a peace footing 1887 officers, 25,140 non-commissioned officers and men, and 4059 horses and mules; in time of war the active army will consist of at least 120,000 men and the territorial army of at least 60,000 men. The heavy expenditure entailed by the project has been an obstacle to its immediate realization. In order to meet this expenditure a special fund has been instituted in addition to the ordinary military budget, and certain revenues have been assigned to it amounting to about 5,500,000 drachmae annually. In 1906, however, it was decided to suspend partially for five years the operation of the law of 1904 and to devote the resources thus economized together with other funds to the immediate purchase of new armaments and equipment. Under this temporary arrangement the peace strength of the army in 1908 consisted of 1939 officers and civilians, 19,416 non-commissioned officers and men and 2661 horses and mules; it is calculated that the reserves will furnish about 77,000 men and the territorial army about 37,000 men in time of war.
Military service is obligatory, and liability to serve begins from the twenty-first year. The term of service comprises two years in the active army, ten years in the active army reserve (for cavalry eight years), eight years in the territorial army (for cavalry ten years) and ten years for all branches in the territorial army reserve. As a rule, however, the period of service in the active army has hitherto been considerably shortened; with a view to economy, the men, under the law of 1904, receive furlough after eighteen months with the colours. Exemptions from military service, which were previously very numerous, are also restricted considerably by the law of 1904, which will secure a yearly contingent of about 13,000 men in time of peace. The conscripts in excess of the yearly contingent are withdrawn by lot; they are required to receive six months’ training in the ranks as supernumeraries before passing into the reserve, in which they form a special category of “liability” men. Under the temporary system of 1906 the contingent is reduced to about 10,000 men by postponing the abrogation of several exemptions, and the period of service is fixed at fourteen months for all the conscripts alike. The field army as constituted by the law of 1904 consists of 3 divisions, each division comprising 2 brigades of infantry, each of 2 regiments of 3 battalions and other units. There are thus 36 battalions of infantry (of which 12 are cadres); also 6 battalions of evzones (highlanders), 18 squadrons of cavalry (6 cadres), 33 batteries of artillery (6 cadres), 3 battalions of engineers and telegraphists, 3 companies of ambulance, 3 of train, &c. The artillery is composed of 24 field batteries, 3 heavy and 6 mountain batteries; it is mainly provided with Krupp 7.5 cm. guns dating from 1870 or earlier. After a series of trials in 1907 it was decided to order 36 field batteries of 7.5 cm. quick-firing guns and 6 mountain batteries, in all 168 guns, with 1500 projectiles for each battery from the Creuzot factory. The infantry, which was hitherto armed with the obsolete Gras rifle (.433 in.), was furnished in 1907 with the Mannlicher-Schönauer (model 1903) of which 100,000 had been delivered in May 1908. Hitherto the gendarmerie, which replaced the police, have formed a corps drawn from the army, which in 1908 consisted of 194 officers and 6344 non-commissioned officers and men, but a law passed in 1907 provided for these forces being thenceforth recruited separately by voluntary enlistment in annual contingents of 700 men. The participation of the officers in politics, which has proved very injurious to discipline, has been checked by a law forbidding officers below the rank of colonel to stand for the Chamber. In the elections of 1905 115 officers were candidates. The three divisional headquarters are at Larissa, Athens and Missolonghi; the six headquarters of brigades are at Trikkala, Larissa, Athens, Chalcis, Missolonghi and Nauplia. In 1907 annual manœuvres were instituted.
The Greek fleet consisted in 1907 of 3 armoured barbette ships of 4885 tons (built in France in 1890, reconstructed 1899), carrying each three 10.8-in. guns, five 6-in., thirteen quick-firing and smaller guns, and three torpedo tubes; Navy. 1 cruiser of 1770 tons (built in 1879), with two 6.7-in. and six light quick-firing guns; 1 armoured central battery ship of 1774 tons (built 1867, reconstructed 1897) with two 8.4 in. and nine small quick-firing guns; 2 coast-defence gunboats with one 10.6-in. gun each; 4 corvettes; 1 torpedo depôt ship; 8 destroyers, each with six guns (ordered in 1905); 3 transport steamers; 7 small gunboats; 3 mining boats; 5 torpedo boats; 1 royal yacht; 2 school ships and various minor vessels. The personnel of the navy was composed in 1907 of 437 officers, 26 cadets, 1118 petty officers, 2372 seamen and stokers, 60 boys and 99 civilians, together with 386 artisans employed at the arsenal. The navy is manned chiefly by conscription; the period of service is two years, with four years in the reserve. The headquarters of the fleet and arsenal are in the island of Salamis, where there is a dockyard with naval stores, a floating dock and a torpedo school. Most of the vessels of the Greek fleet were in 1907 obsolete; in 1904 a commission under the presidency of Prince George proposed the rearmament of the existing ironclads and the purchase of three new ironclads and other vessels. A different scheme of reorganization, providing almost exclusively for submarines and scout vessels, was suggested to the government by the French admiral Fournier in 1908, but was opposed by the Greek naval officers. With a view to the augmentation and better equipment of the fleet a special fund was instituted in 1900 to which certain revenues have been assigned; it has been increased by various donations and bequests and by the proceeds of a state lottery. The fleet is not exercised methodically either in navigation or gunnery practice; a long voyage, however, was undertaken by the ironclad vessels in 1904. The Greeks, especially the islanders of the Aegean, make better sailors than soldiers; the personnel of the navy, if trained by foreign officers, might be brought to a high state of efficiency.
The financial history of Greece has been unsatisfactory from the outset. Excessive military and naval expenditure (mainly due to repeated and hasty mobilizations), a lax and improvident system of administration, the corruption of political parties Finance. and the instability of the government, which has rendered impossible the continuous application of any scheme of fiscal reform—all alike have contributed to the economic ruin of the country. For a long series of years preceding the declaration of national insolvency in 1893 successive budgets presented a deficit, which in years of political excitement and military activity assumed enormous proportions: the shortcomings of the budget were supplied by the proceeds of foreign loans, or by means of advances obtained in the country at a high rate of interest. The two loans which had been contracted during the war of independence were extinguished by means of a conversion in 1889. Of the existing foreign loans the earliest is that of 60,000,000 frs., guaranteed by the three protecting powers in 1832; owing to the payment of interest and amortization by the powers, the capital amounted in 1871 to 100,392,833 fr.; on this Greece pays an annual sum of 900,000 fr., of which 300,000 have been granted by the powers as a yearly subvention to King George. The only other existing foreign obligation of early date is the debt to the heirs of King Otho (4,500,000 dr.) contracted in 1868. A large amount of internal debt was incurred between 1848 and 1880, but a considerable proportion of this was redeemed with the proceeds of the foreign loans negotiated after this period. At the end of 1880 the entire national debt, external and internal, stood at 252,652,481 dr. In 1881 the era of great foreign loans began. In that year a 5% loan of 120,000,000 fr. was raised to defray the expenses of the mobilization of 1880. This was followed in 1884 by a 5% loan of 170,000,000 fr., of which 100,000,000 was actually issued. The service of these loans was guaranteed by various State revenues. A “patriotic loan” of 30,000,000 dr. without interest, issued during the war excitement of 1885, proved a failure, only 2,723,860 dr. being subscribed. In 1888 a 4% loan of 135,000,000 fr. was contracted, secured on the receipts of the five State monopolies, the management of which was entrusted to a privileged company. In the following year (1889) two 4% loans of 30,000,000 fr. and 125,000,000 fr. respectively were issued without guarantee or sinking fund; Greek credit had now apparently attained an established position in the foreign money market, but a decline of public confidence soon became evident. In 1890, of a 5% loan of 80,000,000 fr. effective, authorized for the construction of the Peiraeus-Larissa railway, only 40,050,000 fr. was taken up abroad and 12,900,000 fr. at home; large portions of the proceeds were devoted to other purposes. In 1892 the government was compelled to make large additions to the internal floating debt, and to borrow 16,500,000 fr. from the National Bank on onerous terms. In 1893 an effort to obtain a foreign loan for the reduction of the forced currency proved unsuccessful. (For the events leading up to the declaration of national bankruptcy in that year see under Recent History.) A funding convention was concluded in the summer, under which the creditors accepted scrip instead of cash payments of interest. A few months later this arrangement was reversed by the Chamber, and on the 13th December a law was passed assigning provisionally to all the foreign loans alike 30% of the stipulated interest; the reduced coupons were made payable in paper instead of gold, the sinking funds were suspended, and the sums encashed by the monopoly company were confiscated. The causes of the financial catastrophe may be briefly summarized as follows: (1) The military preparations of 1885-1886, with the attendant disorganization of the country; the extraordinary expenditure of these years amounted to 130,987,772 dr. (2) Excessive borrowing abroad, involving a charge for the service of foreign loans altogether disproportionate to the revenue. (3) Remissness in the collection of taxation: the total loss through arrears in a period of ten years (1882-1891) was 36,549,202 dr., being in the main attributable to non-payment of direct taxes. (4) The adverse balance of trade, largely due to the neglected condition of agriculture; in the five years preceding the crisis (1888-1892) the exports were stated to amount to £19,578,973, while the imports reached £24,890,146; foreign live stock and cereals being imported to the amount of £6,193,579. The proximate cause of the crisis was the rise in the exchange owing to the excessive amount of paper money in circulation. Forced currency was first introduced in 1868, when 15,000,000 dr. in paper money was issued; it was abolished in the following year, but reintroduced in 1877 with a paper issue of 44,000,000 dr. It was abolished a second time in 1884, but again put into circulation in 1885, when paper loans to the amount of 45,000,000 dr. were authorized. In 1893 the total authorized forced currency was 146,000,000 dr., of which 88,000,000 (including 14,000,000 dr. in small notes) was on account of the government. The gold and silver coinage had practically disappeared from circulation. The rate of exchange, as a rule, varies directly with the amount of paper money in circulation, but, owing to speculation, it is liable to violent fluctuations whenever there is an exceptional demand for gold in the market. In 1893 the gold franc stood at the ratio of 1.60 to the paper drachma; the service of the foreign loans required upwards of 31,000,000 dr. in gold, and any attempt to realize this sum in the market would have involved an outlay equivalent to at least half the budget. With the failure of the projected loan for the withdrawal of the forced currency repudiation became inevitable. The law of the 13th of December was not recognized by the national creditors: prolonged negotiations followed, but no arrangement was arrived at till 1897, when the intervention of the powers after the war with Turkey furnished the opportunity for a definite settlement. It was stipulated that Turkey should receive an indemnity of £T4,000,000 contingent on the evacuation of Thessaly; in order to secure the payment of this sum by Greece without prejudice to the interests of her creditors, and to enable the country to recover from the economic consequences of the war, Great Britain, France and Russia undertook to guarantee a 2½% loan of 170,000,000 fr., of which 150,000,000 fr. has been issued. By the preliminary treaty of peace (18th of September 1897) an International Financial Commission, composed of six representatives of the powers, was charged with the payment of the indemnity to Turkey, and with “absolute control” over the collection and employment of revenues sufficient for the service of the foreign debt. A law defining the powers of the Commission was passed by the Chamber, 26th of February 1898 (o.s.). The revenues assigned to its supervision were the five government monopolies, the tobacco and stamp duties, and the import duties of Peiraeus (total annual value estimated at 39,600,000 dr.): the collection was entrusted to a Greek society, which is under the absolute control of the Commission. The returns of Peiraeus customs (estimated at 10,700,000 dr.) are regarded as an extra guarantee, and are handed over to the Greek government; when the produce of the other revenues exceeds 28,900,000 dr. the “plus value” or surplus is divided in the proportion of 50.8% to the Greek government and 49.2% to the creditors. The plus values amounted to 3,301,481 dr. in 1898, 3,533,755 dr. in 1899, and 3,442,713 dr. in 1900. Simultaneously with the establishment of the control the interest for the Monopoly Loan was fixed at 43%, for the Funding Loan at 40%, and for the other loans at 32% of the original interest. With the revenues at its disposal the International Commission has already been enabled to make certain augmentations in the service of the foreign debt; since 1900 it has begun to take measures for the reduction of the forced currency, of which 2,000,000 dr. will be annually bought up and destroyed till the amount in circulation is reduced to 40,000,000 dr. On the 1st of January 1901 the authorized paper issue was 164,000,000 dr., of which 92,000,000 (including 18,000,000 in fractional currency) was on account of the government; the amount in actual circulation was 148,619,618 dr. On the 31st of July 1906 the paper issue had been reduced to 152,775,975 dr., and the amount in circulation was 124,668,057 dr. The financial commission retains its powers until the extinction of all the foreign loans contracted since 1881. Though its activity is mainly limited to the administration of the assigned revenues, it has exercised a beneficial influence over the whole domain of Greek finance; the effect may be observed in the greatly enhanced value of Greek securities since its institution, averaging 25.76% in 1906. No change can be made in its composition or working without the consent of the six powers, and none of the officials employed in the collection of the revenues subject to its control can be dismissed or transferred without its consent. It thus constitutes an element of stability and order which cannot fail to react on the general administration. It is unable, however, to control the expenditure or to assert any direct influence over the government, with which the responsibility still rests for an improved system of collection, a more efficient staff of functionaries and the repression of smuggling. The country has shown a remarkable vitality in recovering from the disasters of 1897, and should it in future obtain a respite from paroxysms of military and political excitement, its financial regeneration will be assured.
The following table gives the actual expenditure and receipts for the period 1889-1906 inclusive:
| Year. | Actual Receipts. | Actual Expenditure. | Surplus or Deficit. |
| Drachmae. | Drachmae. | Drachmae. | |
| 1889 | 83,731,591 | 110,772,327 | − 27,040,736 |
| 1890 | 79,931,795 | 125,932,579 | − 46,000,784 |
| 1891 | 90,321,872 | 122,836,385 | − 32,514,513 |
| 1892 | 95,465,569 | 107,283,498 | − 11,817,929 |
| 1893* | 96,723,418 | 92,133,565 | + 4,589,853 |
| 1894 | 102,885,643 | 85,135,752 | + 17,749,891 |
| 1895 | 94,657,065 | 91,641,967 | + 3,015,098 |
| 1896 | 96,931,726 | 90,890,607 | + 6,041,119 |
| 1897** | 92,485,825 | 137,043,929 | − 44,558,104 |
| 1898*** | 104,949,718 | 110,341,431 | − 5,391,713 |
| 1899 | 111,318,273 | 104,586,504 | + 6,731,769 |
| 1900 | 112,206,849 | 112,049,279 | + 157,570 |
| 1901 | 115,734,159 | 113,646,301 | + 2,087,858 |
| 1902 | 123,949,931 | 121,885,707 | + 2,064,224 |
| 1903 | 120,194,362 | 117,436,549 | + 2,757,813 |
| 1904 | 121,186,246 | 120,200,247 | + 985,999 |
| 1905 | 126,472,580 | 118,699,761 | + 7,772,819 |
| 1906 | 125,753,358 | 124,461,577 | + 1,291,781 |
| * Reduction of interest on foreign debt by 70%. | |||
| ** War with Turkey. | |||
| *** International Financial Commission instituted. | |||