Theexpenditureofthecurrentyearbeingestimatedat52,000Pounds,andtherevenueat170,000Pounds,theresultingsurpluswillbe118,000
pounds。AnexaminationoftheaccountsofCyprus,forthefiveyearsprecedingtheBritishoccupation,enablesmetoaffirmthattheaveragesurplusofrevenueoverexpenditureinthatperiodwaslessthan100,000
Poundsperannum。ThefutureyearlycontributiontotheOttomanGovernmentfromthesurplusrevenuesofCyprus,undertheConventionofthe4thJune,1878,willnot,therefore,exceed,andmayfallshortof,thesumof100,000Pounds。NearlyonehalfofthisclaimforthecurrentyearwastakenbytheTurksfromsurplusrevenuebeforeourarrival。Weshalleasilymakeupthebalancefromtherevenuenowincourseofcollection。And,underordinaryconditions,thecurrentrevenuewillnotonlycovertheannualpaymenttothePorteandtheexpensesofadministration,butalsoprovideafairoutlayforroadsandsanitaryimprovements。
Signed
GEO。W。KELLNER,FinancialCommissionerofCyprus。
NICOSIA,CYPRUS,September25,1878。
ESTIMATEOFREVENUEANDEXPENDITUREFORTHEYEAR
1878-79——
NoRevenueAmountNoExpenditureAmount——
_L__L_
1Dimesortithesonpro-1PayoftheTurkishGo-
duceofland……72,000vernorofCyprusfor
partoftheyear,and
oftheBritishHigh
Commisionerfor
remainderoftheyear;
alsoSecretarial
Establishmentsforthe
entireyear。9,000
2Verghis,ortaxupon2FinanceandAccounts
property,professionsEstablishments……1,400
andtrades……22,000
3Taxforexemptionfrom
MilitaryService……9,0003LawandJustice,
includingInsularHigh
Court……2,000
4Sheeptax……11,0004AdministrativeEstab-
lishmentsofthesix
districtsofCyprus,
includingcostofcol-
lectionofdistrict
revenues,establish-
mentsofdistrict
JudicialCourts,&c……13,500
5customsDuties……13,4005CostofPrisons……3,000
6ExciseonTobaccoand6CostofMilitary
Spirits……16,850PoliceForce……16,500
7SaltMonopoly……15,1457CustomsandExcise
Establishments……5,000
8Miscellaneous,including8Miscellaneous,
taxonsaleandtransferincludingEducational
oflandedproperty,onEstablishments……1,600
measurements,oncon-_______
tracts,judicialfees
andfines,&c……10,605
TotalofEstimated
Expenditure……52,000
Surplus……118,000
GrandtotalEstimated_______
Revenue……170,000Grandtotal……170,000
________________________________________________________________
DETAILESTIMATEOFEXPENDITUREFORBRITISHAND
NATIVEESTABLISHMENTSINCYPRUSFOR1878-79,BritishEstablishments。
L。s。d。
CostoftheNicosiaDivision……1,844120
CostofotherfivedivisionsofCyprus,viz。,Larnaca,Famagousta,Limasol,Papho,andKyrenia……7,00000
FinancialCommissioner……66600
Judicialditto……60000
JudicialClerk,andcontingencies……20000
InterpreterofHighCourt……24000
DirectorofCustoms……51000
CustomsandExciseEstablishments……5,00000
HighCommissionerandofficeestablishments,travellingexpenses,includingfurniture,400L……5,70000
TravellingallowancesforHighCommissioner……30000
Re-organisedPoliceForcefortheIslandofCyprus,includingpay,rations,andclothing……11,00000
TemporarytranslatorstobehereafterabsorbedinCivilEstablishmentsandcontingenciesinconnectiontherewith……1,34000
Miscellaneous……60000——
35,00000
NativeEstablishments。
Add。Piastres。
ExpensesofTurkishEstablishment2,609,549
Deduct。
PayofMutessarifforsixmonths,60,000piastres;Zaphtiehsforsixmonths,500,000piastres;Pensionersandcorrespondence&c……637,549——
1,972,00017,00000
TotalcostofBritishandNativeCivilEstablishmentsinCyprus……52,00000
ESTIMATESOFREVENUEANDEXPENDITUREIN
CYPRUSFOR1879-80。
ESTIMATEOFREVENUE,1879-80
NatureofRevenue。Estimate,1879-80。
PiastresL
Tithes8,640,000
Verghis3,400,000
Militaryexemption1,080,000
Sheeptax1,220,000
Miscellaneous2,000,000
Customs2,800,000
Excise2,128,000——
Total21,268,000==177,233
ESTIMATEOFEXPENDITURE,1879-80。
Designation。AnnualCostLs。d。Ls。d。
ESTABLISHMENTSOFTHECENTRAL
ADMINISTRATION。
TheHighCommissioner,ExecutiveandLegislativeCouncils11,106170
TheDepartmentofFinanceandAccounts2,12700
TheDepartmentofLawandJustice4,985120
DISTRICTESTABLISHMENTS。
TheDistrictofNicosia4,45380
“Larnaca4,58530
“Famagousta3,03580
“Limasol3,30640
“Papho2,95900
“Kyrenia2,13100
CustomsandExcise4,636180
Police23,241140
Prisons2,583170
Miscellaneous1,00000
Expensesofcollectionoftaxeshithertosoldtotax-farmers5,00000——
TotalofEstablishments。75,15210
PaymentunderagreementwiththePorteabout96,00000
InterestonmoneyborrowedforPublicWorks,shownintheannexedSchedule,say1,20000
ExpensesoftheSurvey1,99000——
TotalExpenditure174,34210
APPENDIX。
SCHEDULES。
ROUGHDETAILOFTHEROADSTOBECONSTRUCTEDINTHE
FINANCIALYEAR1879-80。?
FromNicosiatocutthroughthefortificationsatthePaphoGate,makingaraisedcausewayoverditchandaroadconnectingitwiththeGovernmentOfficeattheHighCommissioner'sresidence,andwiththemainroadfromNicosiatoLarnaca,about21/2miles800
FromNicosiatoKyrenia,about16miles1,100*
FromVassiliatoHaiGroschKyreniadistrict,about22miles1,600*
FromLarnacatoLimasol,about40miles6,000*
FromLimasoltoPapho,about39miles5,000&
ChrysokoutoLevka,about32miles5,000&
NicosiatoFamagousta,about35miles4,000^
FamagoustatoTrichomo,about15miles1,000^
ToimprovethetracksbetweenTrichomoandCarpas,35miles2,700^
RebuildculvertsonLarnaca-Famagoustaroad200^
ImprovingcountryroadsinLarnacadistrict900^
GapinMountainroadfromLarnacatoMessaria,tomakeitpracticableforcarts100^——
Total28,400
*Notfinishedforcarts。&Notcommenced。
^Mostofthesehavenotbeencommenced,August1879。
ROUGHDETAILOFNEWBUILDINGSTOBECONSTRUCTEDIN
THEFINANCIALYEAR1879-80。
Estimatedcost。?
RebuildtheKonakofNicosia3,000
“KonakandprisonatPapho。600
“MudirateatChrysokou70
“Custom-house,Policebarracks,andKonakatLimasol1,500
TheMudirateofKilanitoberebuiltatPlatraes500
Repairstovariousbuildings330——
Total6,000
APPENDIX。
ESTIMATEOFREVENUEANDEXPENDITUREFORTHEFINANCIALYEARENDING31stMARCH,1880,FORTHEDISTRICTOFBAFFO。
KindlysuppliedbytheChiefCommissioner,CaptainA。G。Wauchope,42ndHighlanders。
RevenueNo。1——TithesofKuklia?,100
“Ballo2,800
“Khrysokus3,400
“2——“SilkProduction760
“CaroubProduction333
“3Sheeptax?,760
Swinetax2502,010
“4——WeighingandMeasuringtax100
“5——CourtFees226
RegistrationofProperty120
InlandRevenueStamps80
“6——CustomsandExcise1,000
“7——Verghi3,747
Askeriafreedomfrommilitaryservice708
“8——Miscellaneous100——?6,484——
EXPENDITURE。
No。1——BritishEstablishment,includingInterpreters?,330
“Nativedo。do。540
“2——HousesforCommissionerandAssistantdo。?0
Stationery47
TravellingExpensesofallofficers140277
“3——Pettyrepairs?00,Publicworks?20220
“4——MilitaryPolice3,200
Prison?14,DaaviCourt?71285
“5——CustomsandExcise280
“6——TithingExpenses880
“7——ExpensesofSheeptax?7,Pigtax?5,WeighingandMeasuring?8120
“8——CollectingLocustEggs120——
7,252
BalanceofsurplusRevenue9,232——?6,484——
SILKCULTIVATIONOFBAFFO。
“Thisyearthepeasantsbroughttothemarket34,000okesofSilk93,500lbs。cocoons,whichrealisedtothemabout6,800L。Thesecocoonswereboughtbythreemerchantsexceptingabout2,500okesofsilkwoundbythepeoplehere。“……“Youareawarethatthecocoonbeforebeinginafitstatetoexportmustbedried,andduringtheprocessagreatshrinkagetakesplace,whichvariesconsiderablyaccordingtotheoriginalqualityofthecocoon。Thisyearthecocoonwasexcellentandtheshrinkagesmall;31/2wetcocoonsequalling1
dry,whilelastyear5wetequalled1dry。
“Itisuponthedriedcocoonthatthetitheisfixed。Whenthecocoonisgoodandthepricelikewise,thereisverylittlewindingdonehere。“
“ItiscomputedthattheCaroubtreesintheBaffodistrictnumberabout40,000。OfOlivetreesIcannotgiveyouanythinglikeaguess;Ishouldonlybemisleadingyou。“
Signed,“A。G。WAUCHOPE。“
Itwillberemarkedthatnooutlayiscontemplatedforroad-makingorrepairsofbridges,norforanyofthenecessarypublicworks,asthegeneralrevenueoftheislandcannotaffordthelocalexpenditure。Thisotherwiseprosperouslittleprovincewouldbeself-sustaining,assufficientincomewouldberealisedfortheannualoutlayrequiredforroad-makingandotherimprovements。TherecannotbeatruerexampleoftheerrorinourConventionwiththePortebywhichwehaveagreedtothesurplusrevenueexhibitedbytheTurkishsystemofaccountsinanaverageoffiveyears。TheBaffoestimatesshowasurplusof9232L。uponthefinancialyear,butthereistheforcedneglectofallnecessaryimprovementsowingtothetermsofouroccupation,whichrobthecountryofabout100,000L。annually。AccordingtothefiguresoftheBaffoforecastofrevenueandexpenditure,CypruscanaffordtopaytheamountofrentaltothePorte,butthisistothedetrimentofallpublicworks,whichwillrendermaterialprogressimpossible,atthesametimethattheincubusofTurkishtaxationwillbepermanent。
JUDICIALADMINISTRATION。
ByanOrderinCouncilon14September,1878,powersweregivenfortheadministrationofCyprusbyaHighCommissionerappointedbyHerMajesty,togetherwithaLegislativeCouncilconstitutedaccordingtoClauseVI。:-
“TheLegislativeCouncilforthesaidislandshallconsistoftheHighCommissionerforthetimebeing,andofsuchotherpublicofficersandpersonswithinthesame,notbeinglessthanfourormorethaneightinnumber,asshallbenamedordesignatedforthatpurposebyherMajesty。“
InClauseXXI。:-
“TheHighCommissionermayconstituteandappointallsuchJudges,JusticesofthePeace,andothernecessaryofficersinthesaidislandasmaylawfullybeappointedbyherMajesty,allofwhomshallholdtheirofficesduringherMajesty'spleasure。“
ItwasagreedwiththePorte:-
“I。ThataMussulmanreligioustribunalMehkemeiSherishallcontinuetoexistintheisland,whichwilltakeexclusivecognizanceofreligiousmatters,andofnoothers,concerningtheMussulmanpopulationoftheisland。
“II。ThataMussulmanresidentintheislandshallbenamedbytheBoardofPiousFoundationsinTurkeyEvkaftosuperintend,inconjunctionwithadelegatetobeappointedbytheBritishauthorities,theadministrationoftheproperty,funds,andlandsbelongingtomosques,cemeteries,Mussulmanschools,andotherreligiousestablishmentsexistinginCyprus。“
TheTurkishlawcourtswerepreservedintheiroriginalconstructionunderthesupervisionoftheCommissionersofthesixdistricts:——
Lefkosia,Larnaca,Famagousta,Baffo,Limasol,Kyrenia。ThesecourtsaretheIdariandDaavi,theTemizorsupremecourtsittinginLefkosia。TheIdariandDaavicourtsexistindependentlyineachdistrict。TheCadiisjudgeintheIdari,whichiscomposedofthreeMussulmansandtwoChristianselectedbythepopulation,andthiscourtisspeciallypresidedoverbytheBritishCommissioner,andallcasesindetailaretranslatedandenteredintheregister。TheDaaviMedjlisorcourtconsistsoffivemembers——theCadi,twoMussulmans,andtwoChristians。
AnappealfromthedecisionsofthesecourtscanbemadetotheHighCourtofTemizatLefkosia,thedecisionofwhichisfinal,onlysubjecttotheinfluenceofClausesXXII。andXXIII。inpowersgrantedtotheHighCommissionerbyOrderinCouncilof14September,1878:-
“XXII。TheHigh。Commissionermay,asheshallseeoccasion,inherMajesty'snameandonherbehalf,granttoanyoffenderconvictedofanycrime,inanycourt,orbeforeanyJudge,Justice,orMagistratewithinthesaidisland,afreeandunconditionalpardon,orapardonsubjecttosuchconditionsasmayatanytimebeawfullythereuntoannexed,oranyrespiteoftheexecutionofthesentenceofanysuchoffenderforsuchperiodastohimmayseemfit。“
“XXIII。TheHighCommissionermay,asheshallseeoccasion,inherMajesty'snameandonherbehalf,remitanyfines,penalties,orforfeitureswhichmayaccrueorbecomepayabletoher,providedthesamedonotexceedthesumoffiftypoundssterlinginanyonecase,andmaysuspendthepaymentofanysuchfine,penalty,orforfeitureexceedingthesumoffiftypoundsuntilherMajesty'spleasurethereonshallbemadeknownandsignifiedtohim。“
MIGRATORYBIRDS。
ThebirdsofpassagethatvisitCyprusexceptingswallows,exhibitapeculiarityintheirinsignificantnumberscomparedwiththeirmigrationsuponthemainlandsofAsia,SouthernEurope,andAfrica。ThebustardsthataresocommoninTurkeyandAsiaMinorareseldomseen。
ThegreycranefrequentlypassesoverCypruswithoutrestinguponitslongflight,andinthemonthofMarchitsloudcrymaybeheardsofarintheblueskythatitisdifficulttodistinguishtheflocksoftheselargebirdsatthestupendousheightoftheirairyroadtowardsthenorth。Evenshouldthecranescondescendtorestforashortintervalduringanunfavourablewind,theyleaveonthefirstopportunity。Ihavefrequentlyheardthemhighinairtravellingthroughoutthenight——thusduringnightanddaytheyhavebeensailingnorthwardstomakethemostoffairwindandweather。
Thesand-grouseistobeseenoccasionallyontheplainsofMessaria,butneverinthequantitiesthataremetwithinotherneighbouringcountries。Woodcocksarescarce,andthosewhichareshotmusthavehaltedintheislandduringtheirpassageenrouteforothershores。
SnipeareverynumerousinthemarshesofLimasolsaltlakes,Morphu,Famagousta,Kuklia,andLarnaca。Quailsareneverplentiful,andareinferiorinconditiontothoseofEgyptandSouthernEurope。WildducksaretobeseenonthelakenearFamagoustaandatLimasol。Thewood-pigeons,anddoves,togetherwithfly-catchers,arriveinApril,butneverinlargenumbers。
ReturnofVillages,Population,etc。,ofFamagoustaDistrict。
VillagesChurchesMosquesTurksChristiansTotalNaleiehofFamasousta9*2066853,9784,663
“Carpas3646133,4707,16810,638
“Messaria6866294,86112,43417,295
113132489,01623,58032,596
*IncludesFamagoustatown。
PiastresLs。d。
Thetaxesfortheyear1878amountedto1,370,221=11,418104
ThisbeingpaidinCoimeataveryvariablerate,itisscarcelycorrecttoreducetheamountstosterling。
Thetithesofthisdistrictwerefarmedoutin1878for……25,00000
Revenuethereforewas36,418104
Thetaxesfortheyear1879amountto……10,37990
ThisdoesnotincludeindirecttaxessuchasCustoms,say……1,00000
11,37990
Itisimpossibletocalculatethetithesyetforthisyear1879。FromFamagoustathechiefexportsarecorn,fromMessaria,donkeys,fruit,andpottery,thetwolatterchieflyfromVaroshia。
Cyprus:TrooditissaMonastery,4400feetabovethesea21September,1879。
Messrs。Macmillan&Co。
MYDEARSIRS,IfIamintimetosecurethelasteffortsoftheprinterperhapsthisletterinitsintegritymayconveytheinformationwhichtheautumnalseasonhasafforded。Thedifficultyofallwritersuponstrangecountriesliesintheirshortexperience。Eachmonthexhibitsthechangesofnatureinseasons,meteorologicalphenomena,andvegetation;
thusthefulltwelvemonthsshouldformthedataforadetaileddescription。IclosedmyaccountofCyprusinAugust;sincewhichfruitshaveripenedandvariouschangeshavedeveloped——allhaveaffordedinformation。
Taxationinkind,andGovernmentvaluationofproducewhilegrowing,hasbeenacryingevilthatIhaveendeavouredtobringbeforethepublicasoneofthoseinstancesofinjusticewhichstampstheoppressivesystemoftheTurkishadministration;thisunfortunatelyhasnotyetbeenabolishedbytheBritishGovernment。Ihavealreadydescribedthearbitraryandunjustlawsthatfettertheall-importantwinetrade,whichistheprincipalindustryofLimasol;butsinceIforwardedthemanuscripttoEnglandIhavemyselfwitnessedthemiserableeffectsofthepresentlawsduringtheadvanceoftheseasoninripeningtheproduceofthevineyards。
ThreeweeksagoIwalkedforsomehoursthroughtheboundlessextentofgrapecultivationatthefootofthemountainsbelowthevillageofPhyni;atthattimethecropwasripe,andshouldhavebeengathered。
Thebunchesofdarkredwereequaltothefinesthot-housegrapesofEngland,bothinweightandinsizeofberries;theblackwereabouttheaverageoftheBlackHamburg;thewhiteweresmallerandaboutthesizeofthecommon“sweet-water。“AdayortwoagoIagainvisitedthesamevineyards;thegrapeshadnotbeengathered,andIcomputedthatatleastone-thirdofthecropwasdestroyedbythedelay。Themagnificentbunchesofdarkredwereforthemostpartshrivelled,one-halftheberriesuponeachclusterbeingreducedtotheappearanceofraisins,andutterlydevoidofjuice,whilemanyoftheothervarietieswerecompletelywithered。Theexplanationgivenbythepeoplewassimpleenough——“Theofficialvaluerhadnotappeared,andwithouthiscertificatenograpescouldbegathered。“Thereareonlythreevaluerstoanextensivedistrict,anditisphysicallyimpossiblethattheycanperformtheirduties,evenweretheyinclinedtoattendwhensummonedtoeachvillage,intheabsenceofsomespecialinducement。Theactuallabourofwalkinguptheabruptinclinesuponthemountainsideswhichconstitutethevineyardsismostformidable,andatleastfourtimesthestaffisnecessary,ofyoungandcapablemen,ifthevaluationofthecropistobetakenwithdueconsiderationtotheinterestsofthegrower。ThedistressingresultthatIhavemyselfwitnessedinthepartialdestructionofthecropscanadmitofnoexcuse,butitexhibitsapainfulexampleofmal-administrationintheruinattendantuponaTurkishsystemoftaxation。
Somepersonsmaysuggestthatthedriedandwitheredgrapeswouldbesaleableasraisins:thisisnotthecase。Raisinsarenotmerelydriedgrapes,asisgenerallysupposed,butthebunchofwell-ripenedberriesisdippedinastrongsolutionofpotash,andistheneithersuspendedorismoregenerallylaiduponamattodry。InCyprusthegrowersseldompurchasepotash,buttheydiptheirgrapesinaleyproducedfromtheashesofcertainwoods。
Thevineyardsatthisseasonareswarmingwithaspeciesofbeccaficos,andthepopulationarebusyincatchingthesedeliciousbirdswithstickssmearedwithbird-lime。Itisaspeciesoffinch,alittlelargerthanthechaffinch,theplumageabrownishgrey;whenpluckedthebodyismuchlargerthanthecommonbeccaficos,butresemblesitinextraordinaryfatnessanddelicacyofflavour。Thenativespreservethembyboilingincommanderiawine,andtheyarehighlyappreciated。ThesemustbeaddedtothemigratorybirdsofCyprus。
Theacornsarenearlyripe,andIamassuredbythemonksthateventheseinsignificantproductionspayataxof6d。perkiloabout32
lbs。,andthecropisvaluedaccordinglybythespecialauthority。
Therearethreevarietiesoflargetimberoaksinadditiontotheilexandthepricklyholly-leavedoak。Theacornsoftheilexandholly-
leavedspeciesaresmall,butthoseofthethreesuperiorspeciesvaryinsize,allbeingmuchlargerthanthoseofEngland,whileonevarietymeasuresnearlythreeinchesinlength。Thisisusedasfood,withnootherpreparationthansimpleroasting,andisconsideredtobesuperiortochestnuts。TheAncientBritonsusedtheacornasanarticleoffood,andprobablyitwasgroundintoflourafterthebitterprinciplehadbeenextractedbysoakinginrunningwater,inthesamemannerthatmanyvarietiesofwildyamsaretreatedbythenativesinAfrica。InadditiontotheuseoftheacornasasubstituteforchestnutsbytheCypriotes,thelargespecieswhenroastedblackmakesexcellentcoffeewithoutanyadmixtureoftherealberry。Allthevarietiescanbeusedforthispurpose,butthatalreadynamedispreferredassuperiorinflavour。TheEnglishpoorarenotcleverinadaptation,andareknowntobestronginprejudicesrespectingarticlesofdiet,butitappearsstrangethattheuseoftheacornhasbeenentirelyneglectedasanaidtothebulkofpurecoffee,whichwouldeffectaconsiderablesavinginthehousehold,iftheadulterationtookplaceathome。
AfewdaysagoIwasconversingwiththeoldmonkuponthequestionof“Chittimwood,“andIsuggestedmyowntheory,“thatSolomonrequiredthehighly-scentedcypressofthisisland“fortheTemple。Myvenerableinformantdeclared“thatawoodexiststothisdayinCypruswhichissupposedtobetheoriginalspeciesreferredtoinScripture;
thisisapinewhichisonlyfounduponthemountainsbetweenKykuandKhrysokhus。Thegrainandsurfacewhenplanedareexceedinglycloseandsmooth,andthetimberisstronganddurable,farexceedinginqualityallothervarieties。“ThenativenameforthistreeisKandro。Ihavesentamonktogathertheconesofthistree,whichIshallsendtoEnglandforseed,togetherwithasampleofthefoliage。
Sincerelyyours,SamuelW。Baker。
Sept。24,1879。
P。S。Mymessengerhasjustreturnedwithabranchandconesofthetree,whichisonlyfounduponthemountainsbetweenKykuandKhrysokhus。
Thereisnolongeradoubt。ItisabeautifulspeciesofCedar。
S。W。B。
End