When I hear of the birth of a new republic in the family of nations, memory is certain to recall the Pennsylvania school-teacher's composition. There is no doubt, I say to myself, that the secret underlying the formation of so many little representative governments is to be found in the closing sentence, at once so eloquent and so musical—"An single republick is better as towsand kingsdoms." There are many republics that are not mentioned in the school-books, and in this article I have brought together some of the queerest facts concerning only a few of them.
About fifteen miles northeast of Sardinia is the smallest of the little republics—that is, the smallest in point of population. Tavolara is an island five miles long and about half a mile wide. It contains a population of 55 men, women, and children; and every six years the grown people of the republic, men and women together, go to the polls and elect a President and a Congress of six members. The island of Tavolara was a part of the kingdom of Sardinia until 1836, when the King presented it to the Bartoleoni family. From 1836 to 1882 the little monarchy was governed by King Paul I., but in the latter year he died, and in 1886 it became a republic. Its independence was recognized by Italy in 1887, and no doubt other great countries would have paid it a similar honor had they known of its existence. It is a very modest little republic, without army or navy, and its inhabitants, instead of troubling their neighbors, live the quiet lives of fishermen.
The republic smallest in area is Goust, which is less than one-third the size of Tavolara, although it has a population of 130 souls. It has been a republic since 1648, and enjoys the distinction of being recognized by France and Spain. Goust, with its territory of a mile in extent, covers the flat top of a mountain in the lower Pyrenees, and is governed by a President, who is elected every five years. He is also judge, tax-collector, and assessor. Goust has no church or clergyman, but worships in another country more than a mile away. All baptisms and marriages are performed there too, and all citizens of Goust who die are slid down to the cemetery in the Oasau valley and buried there.
East of Australia and north of New Caledonia is the republic of Franceville, an island with an area of about eighty-five miles. Its inhabitants number 550, of whom 40 are whites and 510 natives. It was once a colony of France, but in 1879 it was declared independent, and its people at once adopted a republican constitution. It is governed by a President and a council of eight elected by the people—black and white, men and women. Only white males hold office. The President elected recently is R. D. Polk, a native of Tennessee, and a relative of James K. Polk, one of the Presidents of our own republic.
In the western part of North Carolina is a perfectly organized republic independent of both State and national governments. It is known as the Qualla Reserve, and is the home of about 1000 of the Cherokee Indians belonging to the Eastern branch. The Reserve has an area of 50,000 acres, or 82 square miles, of the richest valley land of the State, lying along the Ocona, Lufta, and Soco creeks. The President of the little republic is elected every four years. He receives a salary of $500 a year, but when at Washington on business for the republic he gets $4 a day extra. He is called Chief, and none but a Cherokee of more than thirty-five years is eligible to the chieftainship. When he is absent his duties are performed by an Assistant Chief, whose salary is $250 a year. The Chief has a cabinet of three secretaries, and the Congress comprises two delegates from every 100 members of the tribe. All Cherokee males of sixteen and all white men who have Indian wives have the right to vote. The constitution provides for the maintenance of a public school, in which both English and Cherokee are taught. The inhabitants of the Reserve are intelligent, fairly well educated, law-abiding, and industrious.
The queer little Italian republic of San Marino, with its 33 square miles of territory and its population of 6000, lies up in the eastern spurs of the Apennine Mountains. It is governed by a Grand Council of 60, who are elected for life, and two Presidents, one of whom is appointed by the Council, the other elected by the people. The little republic has an army of 950 men, who are employed only as policemen. San Marino is the only country in the world that prohibits the introduction of the printing-press. The city of San Marino, with a population of 1700, is one of the queerest old towns in the world. It has undergone no change in 500 years. The republic of San Marino began in 1631.
A little bit larger than San Marino in population, but six times as large in area, is the republic of Andorra. It lies in a valley of the eastern Pyrenees between France and Spain. It became a free state in 819. It is governed by a Sovereign Council of 24 members, elected by the people, and a Syndic, or president, chosen for life by the Council. It has an army of 1100 men, and one big gun planted in the centre of the republic. This gun carries a ball twenty miles, and Europe trembles at the thought of its being fired. In Andorra, the capital, is the palace—a stone building several hundred years old. Here the Councilmen meet. The ground-door is the stable where their horses are kept and fed by their masters themselves. The floor above contains the dining-room, the Senate-chamber and the public school, and the dormitory is on the third floor. Here are kept the archives of the republic, which no one but a native can read. They are kept in a vault to which there are seven great keys, which are held by seven deputies. The schoolmaster of Andorra is the barber, and also the secretary of the Senate; the Mayor is a farmer; the barber shaves customers only on Sunday; and every citizen is a soldier of the republic at his own expense.
Another little republic, of which little can be said because so little is known of it, is Mansuet. It covers four square miles, and is tucked away between Aix-la-Chapelle and Vermus. There are 3000 people in Mansuet, but they are proud; they inhabit a lovely country, and they have enjoyed the rights of republican citizens since the year 1688. Mansuet is free and independent under the protection of Germany, and has an army of three soldiers. A President and a Council of five govern it.
The latest addition to the galaxy of little republics is Hawaii. It is very young yet, as it was born on our birthday—the Fourth of July. We'll hear more about it later on.