The Cypriotes Decline To Purchase From The English Stores,
As They Are Ignorant Of The Language, And The Goods Are Ill-Adapted To
Their Wants.
The first rush of commercial activity due to the political
movement in 1878 has subsided, and the trade will be represented chiefly
by the agricultural exports from the island until some more favourable
conditions of our occupation may induce a new impulse, and capitalists
may venture upon investments in Cyprus.
The mines of umber near Larnaca have been let, and it is by no means
improbable that an extension may in a few years be apparent in
enterprises of this description. Copper mines near Khrysokhus are being
opened, but the preliminary operations can afford no clue to the value
of the result. The umber is shipped exclusively to Holland for the
manufacture of paint, and the produce of Cyprus is considered to be the
finest quality. Although asbestos is reported to exist of a remarkably
long fibre and soft texture, I have never met with it except in the
coarse form which is common in many portions of the island, especially
on the Troodos range, where the base of this stone is a shining greenish
substance of a horny texture, which gradually terminates in bristles of
asbestos. I have also seen it in thin veins of metamorphic rocks,
glittering like silver, and when scratched with a knife, it resolves
into a downy condition like scraped cotton. All these mineral resources
require a special and minute investigation.
ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE IN CYPRUS FOR 1878-79.
Memorandum on the Revenue and Charges of the Island of Cyprus for the
Five Years from 1873-4 to 1877-8, under Turkish Administration, with an
Estimate for the Year 1878-9, including the Charges of British
Administration of the Island.
In submitting the enclosed statement of the accounts of Cyprus for the
past five years, with the estimate of revenue and expenditure for the
current official year, 1878-79, I propose to describe briefly the
character and operation of the several taxes of the island in the past,
and the considerations that have guided me in framing the estimate for
the present year.
Dimes, or Tithes on Produce of the Land.
This is the Government share of the produce of the land, and constitutes
by far the largest item in the revenue of the island. In the, year 1874
the tithe was raised to an eighth part, or 12 1/2 per cent on the
produce, but that was abandoned in 1876, and the tithe is all that has
been since levied with the sanction of the Turkish Government.
The unit of the Turkish revenue system is the village; then the nahie,
or group of villages; then the caza (canton); then the sandjak
(arrondissement); and, lastly, the vilayet, or province, under a
Governor-General, Director of Finance, and Council of Administration.
Throughout these several stages-from the village to the nahie, caza,
sandjak, and chief place of the vilayet-there are excellent rules for
the check and disposition of the revenues, but they are not observed.
Indeed, in the judicial, as in the revenue and financial administration
of the island, the organisation of establishments and rules of procedure
are commendable in every way, but the rules are unknown to, or ignored
by, the officials employed to administer them.
The tithes are farmed by the Turkish Government to merchants and
speculators in the spring of each year, when the ripening crops enable
all concerned to estimate the extent and quality of the year's produce.
The sale of the tithes (by villages, nahies, or cazas, as may be
preferred) commences in March and ends on the 15th June, and whatever
tithes then remain unsold the Government undertakes to recover through
its own agents.
When the sales are effected the tithe-farmer signs a bond for the
amount, payable in six monthly instalments, commencing from the 1st
August, with interest on instalments not paid at due date. Each
tithe-farmer is required to have a sufficient surety, who also signs the
bond and is jointly and equally responsible with the principal. After
conclusion of the agreement, the tithe-farmer proceeds at once to watch
the fields in which he is interested and to estimate the yield. He sees
the grain cut, threshed, heaped, and insists upon its remaining upon the
threshing-floor until his claim is satisfied-the claim always exceeding
the stipulated tenth. For wheat, barley, and other grains, arrangements
have to be made by the cultivators for transit to the nearest port of
embarkation, on terms more or less unfavourable to themselves. Their
cattle are taken away for transport when most required in their own
fields, and they have to bear all the expenses of transit, except the
expense of the first mile, which is paid by the tithe-farmers. For
fruit, vegetables, and other perishable articles, the tithe is commuted
in a money payment, respecting which there are usually disputes,
determinable by the local Kaimakam or head Government official of each
caza. The awards of these officials are always in favour of the
tithe-farmers, who are members of the Administrative Councils, or
otherwise persons of influence in the cazas comprised in their
respective engagements. Later in the year, or about the 15th August, the
vineyards are similarly visited by the tithe-farmers or their
representatives, and estimates of the produce are made by them and by
the cultivators. These estimates always differ, and are the subject of
constant disputes, which are referred to the Kaimakam, whose award is
generally in favour of the tithe-farmer. As the grape cannot be removed
until the claim is settled, the cultivator submits to the exactions of
the tithe-farmers rather than risk the deterioration or loss of his
stock, and is thus practically mulcted in proportions far exceeding a
tenth of the entire produce. The effect of these illegal exactions has
been to reduce the cultivation of the grape throughout the island.
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