The record-union., 1897-03-14

49,
IN war and in commerce. Before the
revolution, says Bickford- Smith, Greece
had about 10000 tons shipping, but
was left in 1888 with very few ships.
IN 1891 Galaxidi, for instance. that had
been reduced to ninety ships from $50,
had % steamers and 4,772 ships, with
tonnage of 275,664 So along all her
borders Greece knows how to rule her
waters as well as her land
In the matter of Government Greece
has not been SO fortunate. From 1873 to
1868 She was the subject of sad story
of revolt and misgovernment. BY ira
dition and geographical formation
Greece is democratic, but with indie
pendence the patriots were unable to
committed the blunder of placing at
their head Outstanding Corfiote to ad-
minister over the liberated States. The
man was inspired by the spirit of an alb
solute monarch, and as result he was
assassinated. Then the Greeks, thougA
knowing themselves to be democratic
committed another folly and flew 70 a
klngshlp, and in order to win their favor,
permitted the Powers to chose the King
They set over them a green German
boy of II, with brigade of Bavarian
mobiles to control and direct him and for
nine years there was misgovernment if
anything. worse than ever. Then came
the constitutional Government with the
boy at the head but with the Bavarian
backing dismissed. The King proved a
failure, however, and in. 1862 he got no.
tice to quit, and the present ruler,
George of Denmark, walked in. Under
him for thirty-ive years there has been
fair sailing, with stability in the Gov
eminent and high hope for the future.
Under the Greek Constitution there is
universal manhood suffrage, legislation
by single chamber unchecked by an
upper house, which is a bad condition,
and would be disastrous under a less
wise and discreet ruler than George, the
Dane. Worst of ALL in Professor
Blackie's estimation, has been the army
of professional politicians in Greece, far
outnumbering the need, living on pay
and place as the party in power distri-
butes them. Under such conditions
the throne of Greece is no
easy seat, but George has pre-
vented social earthquakes, and by
uniting himself with Russian Princess,
Greek in her ecclesiastical kinship, he
has been kept in favor with the greatest
Of the Powers. These two have given
to Greece Princes and a Princess, the
growth of Greek soil, insuring the ma
ton from having to beg from door to
door among the courts Of Europe for
rulers.
Though the Constitution is one sided
and there is too much democracy,
Blackie found as he wrote the greatest
difficulty for Greece in her system of
finances and in the national debt. The
latter outweighs all other burdens in
present embarrassment and in appre-
hension for the future However, there
was in 1894 a ray of hope Though
Greece is heavily in debt, she has some
thing to show for all she has borrowed;
many miles of railway and a very re-
spectacle navy, a rapidly developing
commerce, State equilibrium and i'm
proving budgets each year, so that Law
in his report on the state of Greece drew
most hopeful pictures for the Grecian
future.
In religion Blackie found Greece in
1894 in happy condition, free from
sacredotal conceit and unreasonable
dogmatism, but not ideal in moral influ-
ence that should flow from a healthy
Christian Church, and in danger of god
less contagion from France. But in edu
bition, and the people are of one voice
and mind in presenting themselves to
the world in an intellectual garb worthy
of their classical descent. Her educa-
tional system is in no respect inferior to
that of the most highly cultivated coun-
tries of Europe. In this judgment Pro-
fessor Blackie gives us more to hope for
and more to admire in Greece than any
thing else, if we accept only the limitless
and uncompromising patriotism of the
Greeks.
The lamented scholar closes his paper
with a lofty tribute to the living vigor
of Greek literature through all the trials
of the nation. He does a service to pub
lie intelligence when he disabuses the
mind of readers of the belief that the
| modern Greek language is a debased
and corrupted form of the ancient, SO
thought to be of little modern utility. On
the contrary. he holds that the educated
Greeks should not be judged by the local
dialect of Lancashire. The Greek lam
guage is not corrupted; it has horror Of
any strange word. Such slight changes
as have taken place In the language are
merely the looping off of superf1uous
branches from a tree of exuberant
growth, and compensated by the daily
edition Of fresh branches from its own
native root. He declares that to learn
Greek one must use the living language
rather than the dead grammar, and
that a few months of living alliance with
Greek mind and tongue is better than as
many years of purely bookish regime.