MINIATURE GOVERNMENTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2244, 4 March 1897, Page 49

MINIATURE GOVERNMENTS.

For us who live in the teeming cities of the greatest empire in the world it is difficult to realise that there are many States in existence which possess and exercise all the ; functions of independent powers, and yet are of less intrinsic importance than the average English provincial town. San Marino is, perhaps, the smallest republic in the world. Situated in the hills near Rimini, on the Adriatic, it is understood to have been founded by a pious mason of Dalmatia as far back as the fourth century. It consists of an area of 33 square mile?, and has a population of some 8000. A council of 20 "nobles," 20 townsmen, and 20 peasants, two of whose members act jointly as regents, bears the burden of the State's affairs, and there is an "army," in which the bulk of the soldiers are " generals." Titles and decorations can be had in San Marino for a consideration. The miniature Republic cf Andorra, in the Pyrenees', is smaller even than S*n Marino in point of population, b,ut occupies a larger area, embracing 175 square miles. It has only 6000 inhabitants, and its government consists of a council of 24 (elected by certain of the inhabitants', a judge, and two priests (who are appointed alternately by France and the Bishop of Urgel). Montenegro is one of those small principalities which can boast a history worthy of a noble people. Although the smallest, it is the most interesting ot ths Balkan States, and the sturdy race of mountaineers who form its people have always proved able to hold their own with Turkey or Austria. It has an area ot 3486 square miles, a great portion of which is barren, rocky ground, and a population of 220,000, or considerably less than the number of residents in Nottingham. Every male over 17 years is forced to serve in the army, which can muster nearly 30,000 men. The late Czar of Rassia is said to have called Prince Nicholas, the reigning Sovereign of Montenegro, " his only friend"! Bat Liechtenstein and Monaco are mere toy States when compared with Montenegro. The first-named principality is on the Upper Rhine, between the Tyrol and Swi'zerland, snd although it is under the suzerainty of Austria, it is an independent power to all intents and purposes. It has an area of 61 square miles, with a population of scarcely 10,000, who seem to be peculiarly favoured mortals, for they pay no taxes and are not liable to conscription. Offering such advaatanges, it is surprising that the population of Liechtenstein does not go up by leaps and bounds. Prices Johann II is the, mighty monarch ; the revenue of his State Is something over £10,000 a year, and it boasts a , debt of more than £5000. Monaco is notorious to all the world as the principality in which Monte Carlo is situated. It comprises a .narrow strip of territory on the Mediterranean, between France and Italy, and has an area of only eight square miles, and a population of about 15,000. It has an army of 126 men, but- we are not aware that they have ever Been anything more exciting than a row at the Casino. That gambling establishment is f Oßtered and encouraged by the State, since it supplies an important part of the revenue. Prince Albert was married to Lady Mary Douglas Hamilton, daughter of the eleventh Duke of Hamilton, in 18G9, but the Pope declared the marriage a nullity in 1880, and so the ruler of Monaco made a second match with the Ducheese de Richelieu in 1889. Before the confederation of the German Empire in 1871 Germany was composed of numerous petty States, mo6t of which have since lost their identity. It was one of these that an American traveller stigmatised as a mere " spot," and refused to pay custom to pass through, since it took but little extra time to go round it. A few of them still exist as separate States. The principality of Waldeck in Saxony is one of the smallest, having au area of 438 square miles, and 57,283 inhabitant?. Its income and expenditure stacd somewhere at £60.000, and it has a debt of upwards of £110,000. The Grand Dachy of Mecklenburg-Streliiz, in Bavaria, is rather* more important, comprising two detached pieces of territory covering an area of 1144 square miles, with a population of 97,978. There seems to be a laxity in the administration, as 1 no proper budget is kept ; but we are assured the finances are in good condition. Our own Duke of Edinburgh is the ruler of the Dachy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, also in Bavaria. It consists of 765 English square mile?, and has a population of 206,513, while the Crown revenue is about £35,000, and that of the Stale nearly eight times as much. The little weaknesses of these German States have been admirably satirised in Mr Gilbert's " Grand Duke." In Central and South America there are numerous Republics where the white populations would not fill an English market town, but where the territories under their control are immense. Take Nicaragua for instacce. While this, the largest State of Central America, has an area nearly 1000 square miles larger than England, it has a population of only 310,000, of whom about three-quarters are of mixed blood and the rest aborigines. Honduras, another Central, American Repnblic, with an area one and a-half times the size of Scotland, has a population of 440,000, of whom the vast majority are Indians. The Sandwich Islands, now also a Republic, comprise 6587 square miles, with a population of between 90,000 and 100,000, of whom not more than one in four is a white or of white descent. The immense disparity between areas and populations in Central and South America induces sociologists to think that in these vast territories of the West the destiny of the human race will be worked out.