Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1894-07-18
P1NHEAD REPUBLICS.
HosT OF THE1 ~ EUROPE OF on
ISLANDS OF TIE SEA


Forms ~ Governments
When person speaks Of small repub-
lies. be i supposed 70 mean those Of
South America and Europe, which are
marked On every map and described in
y every cyclopedis printed since they have
become republics. The fact is, the world
l. spotted with small republics that are
never heard Of. some 80 small that they
sesIa more like neelle points than pin
heads A few Of them are known % the
most learned teachers II geography, bat
the majority of them would set the most
0f these teachers tax which would re
quire more than a single days research
i These little republics are found On Is
lands 50 diminutiye that they are marx
ed only On navigatOrs' charts and again
between and in the center Of kingdoms
I r. area they run from less than square
mile mp 70 abCzt 100. In population they
run from 50 people Up 70 but little more
I than that many hundreds They are ali
republics in that they are governed by
the people, but their plans Of government
Z snow a great many novelties
{ To TayOlara may be accorded the dis
tinction Of being the smallest republic
I in point Of population ON the face Of the
/ globe. 1t is situated On an island about
five miles long by fve-eighths Of mile
/ in width 13 miles of the northeast coast
Of Sardinia Its population numbers
I about 50 people. The principal occupa-
I tion Of the inhabitants is fishing, the
/ land being titled only enough to supply
I the needs Of the islanders. The posses
sion and absolute Sovereignty Of the is
/ land Of TavOlara was formally granted
/ BY King Charles Albert Of Sardinia to
/ the Bartolecni family in 1896, and for
more than half century Paul /, king
Of Tavolara, reigned over it in peace.
On the goth Of May, 1882, King Paul
died Of heart disease, sitting in his chair,
/ like the Emperor Vespasian, vainly en-
/ deaYcring 10 write will His last words
were a request that none Of his relatives
/ should succeed him on the throne Of the
1 island and that its inhabitants be allow
/ cd to govern themselves None Of the
relatives ever filed claim, and ON
| March 27, 1886, the islanders held a
mass meeting and decided to establish
republic. The matter was a simple one
| for them A constitution was drawn up,
which gives. by the way, equal suffrage
/ TO women and also provides for the cleo
ton Of president every six years. The
/ president receives no salary and Is ad-
vised by council Of six, the members of
which are elected by the people. There
is no pay and no perquisites attached to
any Of the offices. The independence OF
Tavolara was formally recognized by
Italy in 1887, but there is nothing on
the records which shows any other coun-
try having taken notice Of it.
If we were Judging the countries by
their area, then 10 Goust must be award
| ed the honors. But while its area is not
! one-third as great as that Of Tavolara
its population is over twice as much, the
total number Of inhabitants being about
| 1870. Goust is situated ON the fat top of
mountain in the Lower Pyrennes and
occupies an area of but fraction over
mile The republic has existed since
164S and is recognized as an independent
state by both France and Spain The
government is vested in a council, con-
sisting Of IL members, who serve seven
years.
This council elects from its number
one who discharges the duties of chief
executive. He acts as tax collector, as
sessOr, judge, etc, but from all his acts
J there is an appe4 20 the bishop of La
runs in the valley below. Other than
these there are no officers, not even
a clergyman. Neither is there a ceme-
terry or any public institution whatever.
The pass which leads to the adjacent
| Spanish parish Of Laruns is so steep that
the carrying Of heavy burdens is an i'm
possibility. The inhabitants of this tiny
mountain republic have built a chute,
| therefore, down which they slide heavy
articles and the bodies Of their dead 10
the cemetery far below. Indeed the good !
inhabitants Of Goust are baptized, mar
ried and buried in the nearby Ossan |
valley. Since the seventeenth century |
the population has varied but little, am
bition and desire TO see the world call |
ing the more venturesome from this re-
public in the clouds The inhabitants |
are long lived and robust, are shepherds |
and weavers Of cloth and seem entirely |
oontented with their lot, having little |
ambition either for riches or power. |
Their language is a quaint mixture Of |
French and Catalonian Spanish.
Another republic Of dwarf proportions |
is that Of Franceville, an island in the |
New Hebrides group, situated east Of
Australia and a short distance north of |
New Caledonia. 1t contains an area of
some 50 miles, and its population con-
sists Of about 40 whites and 500 natives.
The island was formerly colony Of |
France. but its independence was guar
anteed it in 1879. Its government con-
sists Of president and advisory council
Of eight, chosen by the people. The
president who is at present Mr.. r.
d. Polk, native Of this country, is APP
pointed a judge from whose decisions
there is no appeal. Equal suffrage is ex-
tended to all. White or black, male or
female, may vote, but only the white
male may hold Office The island repub-
lfs. In.