The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-17 00:00:00

STATE OF GREECE,

TO TIIE EDITOR OF TIIE SUN.

Sir,—M. KehayaF, Greek Minister of Finance,
has forwarded to this committee the following
letter in connection with his report on the state of
the Greek Exchequer. This letter explains in a
very satisfactory way the present position of Greek
finance, and refers also to the important question
of the bonds of 1824-5, which have now so much
interest for the English public.-1 have the honour
to be, Sir, your obedient servant,
STEFANOS XENOS, Hon. Secretary.
Philhellenic Committee-rooms, 12, Charing-
cross, S.W., Sept., 16.

Ministry of Finance, Athens, Eept. 5, 1863.
My dear Sir,—M. Rouffos, the President of the Council
of Ministers, has communicated to me the translations you
forwarded to him of the letters of " A Philhellene," the
article of the limes, and also your answers. I must con-
gratulate you on the lucidity of your replies, which so easily
correct the erroneous opinions of "A Philhellene" regarding
the state of oar finances, I take advantage of this oppor-
tunity to forward you an explanation of the reasons that
induced me to draw up my financial report, and to point
out to you at the same time, more in detail, some of the
incorrect statements published on the subject.
When I asked from the National Assembly a credit for
the month of July (the entire Budget of 1863 could not yet
be voted), I took occasion to make a brief expose' of the
state of the National Exchequer and the consequent
necessity of contracting a loan. Having been asked at the
same time by one of the foreign ambassadors for a state-
ment of the monetary wants of the country, I hastened tc
publish, in the shape of a memorandum, the report I had
presented to the National Assembly. It was this report
which M. Rouffos forwarded to your committee. It is easy
to perceive that I did not intend it as an expose of the
Budget of the current year, or a picture of our future finan-
cial prospects, but simply as en answer to questions ad-
dressed to me, and a statement of the amount of loan required.
( the necessity for the loan is absolute.) That this is the real
character of the report is proved by the fact that I only speak
of our estimated possible revenues, and mention, en passant,
our trifling actual taxation as compared with other countries.
It is strange that "A Philhellene" should have mistaken
the report for the budget of the current year, making thereby
some grievous errors. In the first place, he supposes that
12,000,000 drachmas are a deficit of the present year; and
secondly, that 22,000,000 drachmas, which represent the
constant yearly revenue of the country during some years
past, should now be returned on the balance-sheet minus
6,000,000 drachmas. which "A Philhellene" regards as a
visionary property, though these 6,000,000 are the proceeds
of former arrears and revenue arising from the national pro-
perty. How incorrectly am I interpreted, and what strange
burdens are thrown on this unfortunate budget of 18631
As you yourself correctly observed in your letter, this de-
ficit of 12,000,000 drachmas will be better des3ribed as an
inheritance derived from the bad financial management of the
Governments of the fallen dynasty, which was hidden by
provisional loans, and by the refusal to meet acknowledged
engagements, particularly with foreign creditors. It is true
that a part of this amount represents monetary wants of the
present year, but this is not a deficit between expenditure
and revenue, but at rears of acknowledged and secured debts,
the collection of which is postponed by the anomalous state
of the country.
It surprises me to find that after having mentioned this in
my report, the deficit of 12,000,000 drachmas, arising from
explained causes, should still be characterised as a deficit
attachable exclusively to the year 1863. And what appears
still more extraordinary is the attempt to saddle even the
future with the same constantly recurring burdens.
I ask you whether, when a European State transfers
ancient loans, originating either in extraordinary expenses
or other causes, from a dette floUante into Consdidis, it is
as&umed that the capital of such loans is to form a regular
item in every future budget, or whether the interest only is
to appear there ? What else do we purpose doing than to
transter into Consolide's all the debts contracted before the
revolution of last year, and, at the same time, to cover by a
loan the extra wants which this revolution has created ?
I now come to the second erroneous argument of " A
Philhellene," which, I have no doubt, arises more from mis-
take than a deliberate wish to misrepresent. In concluding
my report, I wished, by contrasting the taxation in Greece
of 10s. a head with that of other countries, to show how
comparatively light our burdens are, and how, without be-
coming onerous, they may be still increased. For this reason
I divided the sources of revenue in .o two classes—firstly,
the revenues arising from the real taxes (16,000,000
drachmas) —and secondly, the revenues arising from the
income of the national property, and the arrears of taxes
remaining from former years, amounting to 6,000,000
drachmas. "A Philhellene" mistook their classification for
almodification, and, regarding the 6,000,000 crachmas arising
from the second source of revenue as vieionary, adopted
16,000,000 drachmas as the real yearly revenue of the
country.
I consider it scarcely necessary to add that the yearly
revenue of 6,000,000 drachmas which I placed in the second
class is much more likely to increase than to diminish, for,
as I stated in the report, the national property, valued at
more than 50,000,000 drachmas, and the arrears of debt to
the nation, amounting to 60,000,000 drachmas, guarantee
to the national treasury a yearly revenue of 6,000,000
drachmas, By a judicious arrangement, and with good
management of the national property, this sort of revenue
is capable of being vastly augmented.
Froin this you will perceive how exaggerated are the cal

culations of "A Philhellene,' who rais's our expenditure
to £1,500,000, and lowers our revenue to £500,000.
When the contemplated loan is negotiated, I am positive
that everythingwill be satisfactorily arranged, both aaregards
the deficit of 12,000,000 drachmas, and also every expense
connected with the reception of our new Icing. The fears
of a deficit in the next three months are wholly groundless
—in the first place, because these three months fall at the
end of the year, a period when most of the taxes become
due ; and secondly, because the arrival of the Ring will re-
establish order, which will enable the outstanding taxes to
be collected. I must inform you at the same time that the
loan taken from our National Bank of 3,500,000 drachmas,
which we intend to settle out of the proceeds of the new
ofofraenigunnleomanpe,citsendoptupbalyicadbiffile immediately—and
ediitas payment may be tely—and even, in case
post-
poned.
I must not pass over in silence the blame which "A
Philhellene" throws on the National Assembly for having
reduced the land-tax. This reduction was dictated by a
spirit of justice towards all the tax-paying classes, and this
reduction is compensated for by a proportionate impost on
articles hitherto untaxed,
What most surprises me is the effort made unsuccessfully
it is true, but still made--by "A Philhellene," to mix up
with my report the question of the old loans. My report
had no other object than to show the unavoidable necessity
of a loan in order to cover the present monetary difficulties
of the country, and was wholly unconnected with the sub-
ject of those bonds. My fervent desire was, and now more
than ever is, to see the just demands of all the creditors of
ilsed
be established, namely,
the Greek Treasury satisfied as soon as possible. This de-
sire is dictated by a sense of justice as well as by the con-
viction that such a mode of proceeding would tend to the
realw h i
ch wellbeingatsti
n u iof
hs the
civilised v country, I know very well that the
resources of the kingdom cannot be developed, unless that
public credit—a fact which I must confess was unfortu-
nately lost sight of by the different Governments of the
fallen d 3 nasty. But this subject could not be made an item
in my report, as nothing was yet definitely decided regard-
ing it by the legislative bodies, and, such being the case, I
think "A Philhellene" ought to have been satisfied with
gs e nations
what I said regarding the ancient creditors of our country.
In conclusion, I have reason to hope that the information
which I have forwarded to you in this letter, though brief,
will suffice for the present to enlighten public opinion in
England regarding the state of our finances.
Accept, my dear Sir, the assurance of my sincere friend-
ship. E. J. KEHA.YAS,
M. Stofanos Xeno3, Hon. Sec. Philhellenic
Committee, London.
In

SUPERSTITION PS SOMERSETSIIIRE.—A sad in-
stance of moral depravity, and a proof that the once
popular belief in witchcraft has not entirely died out in our
country villages, came before the magistrates of tho Bridge-
water Divisional Petty Sessions last week. The facts came
out in a charge of assault preferred by two women—a mother
and daughter—of Auntspill, against another woman of the
same place, and from the evidence it appeared that the de-
fendant (Ann Hogg) had for a long time considered herself
"hag ridden "—that is, she had experienced queer sensa-
tions, non-orthodox maladies, &c. She had for some time
before had occasion to"fall out" with the complainants
(Charlotte and Caroline), and in consequence her ignorance
had led her to put down these feelings and illnesses to the
credit of a power possessed by the complainants. With this
idea uppt-rmost in her mind she had resources to the specific
e defendant
on
the Hunt-
coutter.charm of "drawing blood" from the bewitcher,
which operation was described by the elder of the com-
plainants nine o'clock on the
evening
of t
Hunt-
spill-road, and she came behind me and ran *something in
my shoulder. It was semething sharp. Neither of a spoke.
When I took off my dress there was blood. When she
pricked me she accused me of being a witch. It appears
that this " infallible " remedy for.ozee "failed," but the
hLs Between
nit.
I nit eight
the htend and
failure did not in the least affect her belief that she was be-
witched, for she on the next day stabbed the daughter on
the arm with a needle, and drew blood from her also.—
Western Daily Preset