SAN MARINO

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23332, 26 October 1937, Page 10

SAN MARINO

SMALLEST INDEPENDENT STATE MIXTURE OF ANCIENT AND MODERN HAPPY AND INDUSTRIOUS RACE (Special to Daily Times) AUCKLAND, Oct. 25. The oldest and smallest independent State in the world, San Marino, in Northern Italy, has, by special permission of the late King George V. a Scotsman as its Minister and Consul-general in London. He is Mr M. A. Jamieson, who arrived with Mrs Jamieson from Sydney by the Awatea on an extended visit to New Zealand. A country without a public debt and with a happy population that has an aristocracy with traditions of over 1000 years behind it, San Marino is only 38 square miles in extent, according to Mr Jamieson, wha has represented the country in London since 1922, and whose office carries with it the title of commen datore. In spite of its diminutive size, it maintains a permanent "army” or militia of 1000 men equipped on modern lines, has its own form of government, its own laws, and issues distinct coinage and postage stamps. Historical Associations “ San Marino has no seaboard, the nearest part to the coast being 14 miles from the Adriatic,” Mr Jamieson said in an interview. “To the north it is bounded by the River Rubicon, famous in history and now known as the Marrecia. An ancient walled city bearing the same name as the State is the main centre. It stands on the summit of Monte Titano, and a sturdy fortress that once guarded the city against invaders is still in existence, being used at present as a prison. The city is reached by a railway that winds in laborious figure-of-eight turns through the heart of the mountain, which has been tunnelled through and through to enable locomotives to pull trains up the steep grade. Modern motor roads have been built in San Marino, and the old city is a strange mixture of things ancient and modem. “The State has been independent for 16 centuries,” Mr Jamieson continued, “and it is rich in historical associations. The famous soldier Garibaldi, harrassed by Austrians, took refuge in San Marino, and the house he occupied still _ stands. It was from the capital city that, in 1849, he issued his famous proclamation disbanding his army.

Peculiar Communal System “Although it is so small, San Marino produces a particularly fine strain of cattle, olives and wines, and, in addition, there are extensive quarries from which comes valuable building material. Farm hands and land owners work together on a peculiar communal system, under which the workers receive a fixed proportion of the goods produced or their value. Each year there is an annual accounting, records being kept of the expenses of and the returns from crops, and then a division is made, the workers being given their share. Under this system there is every incentive to work hard, and it is a common sight to see a labourer with his wife and family in the fields from dawn to dark. “The people of San Marino, who speak Italian, are a very happy race, and musical, and are noted for their honesty,” Mr Jamieson concluded. “There is no public debt and taxation is very light.” Mr Jamieson represented San Marino at both the Silver Jubilee and Coronation. He was received by the late King at the jubilee celebrations and by the present King at the Coronation, and, on behalf of the State he represents, he handed to each of the monarchs the Order of San Marino, an honour rarely conferred.