The herald., 1894-04-28
PINHEAD REPUBLICS,
MOST OF THEM IN EUROPE OR ON
ISLANDS OF THEssEA.,

The Smallest In Area Is.LittIoEIore Thar
Square Mile land theesmaIlest In Popu,
lation Numbers Eifty-five. .souls-simpIs
Forms of fGovernment.
When q person speakssof small repub~
lies, he is supposed to mean those Of
South America. and Europe, which ara
marked on every'map and described in
every cyclopglia printed since they have
become republics. Theafaet is, the world
is spottedNWith small republics that ara
never heard of, some so small that they
seem more like needle points than PIN
heads. A fgw of them are known to the
most learned teachers of geography, but
the majorityof ahem would set the mosa
of these teachers a-tasl1 which would re.l
quire more 4tlTn a,single days research.
These little republics are found on is
lands so dimiButige that theyare mark
ed only on navigahors' charts and again
between and in the center of kingdoms.
In area they run from less than square
milo mp tcabout 100. Inpopulation they
run from 56peopie up to but little more
than thatnany hundreds They are all
republics in that they are governed by
the people, buttheir plans of governments
show great many novelties.
To Tavolara may be accorded the dis
tinction Of being the smallest republic
in pointof population on the face of the
globe. Itsis situated oman island about
five miles long by flve-eighths Of mile
in width f3nniles,off the northeast coast
of Sardinia. Its population numbers
about 55 people The principal oocupa-
ton of the inlE1mtants is fishing, the
land being titled Gully enough to supply
the needs of the Islanders The possess
sion and absolute Sovereignty of the is-
land of Tawolna:a was formally granted
by King Charles Albert of Sardinia to
the Bartolec1rf qsnmilyain 1886, and for
more than half a century Paul l, king
of Tavotara, reieEed. over it in peace.
On the 3oth of EIay, 1882, King Paul
died of heart disease, sitting in his chair.
like the Emperor Vsspasian, vainly en-
deavoring t0write viii. His last words
were a. request .thsasnone of his relatives
should succeed him ON the throne of the
island and.that itsiAhabitants be allow-
ed to. gewern themselves. None of the
relatives ever filed claim, and on
March n, 1885, the islanders held a
mass rnedting and decided TO establisha
republic. The matter was simple one
for Them A.constitutibn wasdrawn up,
which giEas, by the wgy, equal suffrage
to womevland also. protidesfor elec-
tion of a piEsiLAntlevery sixsyears. The
president rcesives no SALARY and is adj
vised by q, eoaneiIof six theraembers of
which arc eiacteEl by the people. There
is no payland- no tperluisiEes attached to
any OF tlae Offices. The Independence of
Tavolara was fo=mafly recognized by
Italy in 1887, but there is nothing on
the recorSwlricht ichtshowsanyother coun-
try having taken nptice oft.
If we were lrHiging the countries by
their area, shentoG oG0ast1nustb be awardr
ed the hone1s. Brtw~hile its area is not
one-third as gueatsas that Of Tavolars
its populafiaSis.aE s--s,v ss1y -'seh -,
sotssl ..r,-1alaer 81 .l4rFes Q allig apot-
I3o. 'ctoust t.isssit1aneEbon the fat top Of
q mountain insehe.L .LOWer Pyrennes ant,
occupies, an.areaeof Lut q fraction over !
mile. The republic has existed since
164S and disrecog1riRisas an independent
state by both ETanee and Spain. The
governnlent1is. veseedsin q council, con.
sisting of 12'membeUs, who serve seven
years.
This council elects from its numbe1
one who disckaeges the duties of chie1
executive. Hesacts as fax collector, as.
SCISSOR, judge, etc, but;fnom all his aots
thereis an appealto the bishop of Las
runs IN the valley below. Other than
these there are no officers, not even
clergyman Neither is there a4cemeI
terry or any public institution whatever.
The passawhich IeRds TO the adjacent
Spanish, paTfEha of Eaa11z1sas sossteep thA
the -carryfag. Of fsaheary htndens is4an i'm,
possibility. The ilfhabitauts of1f1fs tir5
mountain republic haEe built .aAchufa
therefore. .desRp wlfich they Ellae heavy
articles and fhsSbD4iesaof their dead I'd
the. .cematery Indeedthegood
inhabitauisaog tk[SsDusE. E.aReeEapize n1An
ried and hurled IN Tlae neaSRy OssaH
valley. Since the iseuzsfeeuth cnLdi9yJ
the pepulations hassva1ieEbu httle, ami
bition aalda desitesto see thsTVorld caik
ing the nnraSHapturesome from this res
public in the clouds The fnzaabifanH
are long lived sandrobusk areaShapherds
and weaNersso Of, cloth and seesnSe SezTtirGN
contentedswith their lot, haMfng htAN
ambition eitFieri for riches on powe&s
Their Language 4is daqRatnt IpiEtureSOl
French ana Cztaintifap Spaniah,
Anothsrrapnllic of dwarf DrcBprticna
is that Of Frapcasiile. an islsard an tha
New Hebrides gronp. situated east a
Australia andSashnEE distagGe month q
New Caiedcnia. Hsccntafns an area d
some e5 miles, land It's popuAstion eerS
sists of.abouts 4Bwhitessand H0enativeA
The island ssSss tfaTfnerIy a colony q
France, butsitss aadenandeiceswas guar
anteed it in 1879 HssgcEerraneate cott
sists of,a ,rrssiSleutp afvisolMc McpunnA
of eisht, cheeen by the pecasA Tp
president, who is atr iprssezgb "a Mr. 1
D. Polk. asniatiye1of. CHS, cpuuatys is ;aY
pointed a judge, froff tva1ose dectsfoM
there issnnSppea1. EBual suffrage 'is.e4
tendedstesslL Wtitelcr 'blsck, male os
female, lra,yawete, but only the wh3A
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. Theisfahd repub
lie is in a sIyros larous' coiiditiGp and car
ries on q. good trade with France. ST
Louis Globe ]1enocrat.
The iybices of Nations.
The Tartarsa are ,supposed tohave, "a
-n.-1l i