These last sums are stated in drachmas,* but as we have omitted noticing a payment made out of the proceeds of the loan, to Mr. Eynard, the banker of Count Capodistrias, and some other items, we are within the mark when we say, that about twentyfive millions of francs were expended by the three powers, and by Bavaria, with the advice and consent of Great Britain, before a single dollar of the loan reached the hands of the Greeks. Besides this, the accounts of the Greek revenue since the establishment of the monarchy prove that the expenses entailed on Greece by the Bavarian troops, volunteers, and civil officials, by the civil list of the king, and by the diplomatic missions which the royal dignity was supposed to require at Paris, London, St. Petersburg, Munich, Madrid, and Constantinople, considerably exceed the sum of fifteen millions of francs. So that Greece, far from receiving any pecuniary advantage from the loan, has been a very serious sufferer. Indeed, it appears that Greece has only received about ten millions of the loan of sixty millions, in order to cover the deficit which has occurred in the budget since the year 1832, and that the remaining fifty millions have been expended, either in the manner we have stated above, or in payment of the interest and sinking fund of the loan, as it became due. In the month of June, 1836, Russia proposed "that the funds accruing from the third instalment of the loan should be appropriated exclusively to the payment of the interest and sinking fund of the loan during the next five or six years." This strange proposition to retain Greece in perpetual thraldom, by increasing her debt unnecessarily, was not adopted by the other powers; but Greece has not been a great gainer by the modifications they introduced.

The revenues of Greece average about thirteen millions of drachmas. Of this sum, about two millions are absorbed by the expense of collection, for a worse financial system than that of the Greek monarchy cannot be found, one million is wasted on the exorbitant civil list of King Otho; so that only ten millions remain to defray the current expenditure of a government which has an army of five thousand men, and a fleet manned by two thousand sailors. Capodistrias governed Greece with a revenue of about four millions, and the increased expenses of the monarchy were imposed on the country by the

*There is a difference of more than ten per cent. between the franc and the drachma;-six drachmas are equal to our dollar.

three powers, and fostered and encouraged by Great Britain, during the lavish expenditure of the English party, in 1835 and 1836. It is, therefore, an act of political iniquity as well as open hostility, for Great Britain to hold Greece responsible for the whole of the loan of sixty millions. No court, either of law or equity, would condemn a private individual standing in the position of Greece towards the protecting powers, to repay more than the sum which these guardians can prove was actually employed for the maintenance of their ward. Now Greece can show, that if those having the power had paid due attention to the Greek finances, ten millions of francs, or even drachmas, would have covered the deficits in the Greek budgets up to the end of 1836, when the allies commenced the issue of the third series of the loan, to pay themselves the interest and sinking fund of two former series spent under their authority.

It is really lamentable to behold France, Great Britain, and Russia, the three great powers of Europe, which so rarely combine to confer any benefit on the human race, uniting in the closest alliance to keep the Greek population in perpetual thraldom by a financial juggle. They reduce the king they have appointed to a worthless pageant, the government to a trembling deputy, and they destroy the future hopes of the nation. That they have all soiled their fingers with the ink of the Greek accounts, is undeniable; but it was reserved for the unquiet spirit and restless hands of Lord Palmerston to daub with this ink the blushing cheeks of Britannia.

The question here suggests itself, why do the great powers exert themselves so determinedly to retain the Greek nation. in a state of subserviency? The explanation must be sought in the unsettled state of the East and the critical position of the Ottoman empire. The Sultan still rules over more than three millions of Greek subjects, and each of the allies entertains some hope of making the condition of the Greek population useful to advance its own projects of ambition, should any sudden event cause a revolution in the Ottoman empire. The anti-Greek policy of Great Britain during the administration of Colletti, whether at Athens, Corfu, or Constantinople, has, however, seriously injured the popularity of that power among the whole Greek nation. At a moment when the consolidation of internal order and the advancement of social improvement was the prayer of every Greek, British diplomacy stepped forward to produce financial confusion, in order to drive Collet

ti from office, at the risk of involving Greece in civil war and anarchy.

In the meantime, Russia, who can hardly be supposed to view the establishment of a free people in the Levant with much favor, has sufficient prudence to leave to England the unpopular task of arresting the progress of Greece. Russia knows well that the feeble and trimming policy of the French government will effectually prevent France from affording Greece the aid necessary to develop her moral resources in such a manner as to open a new destiny to the Greek race; and she already perceives that the hostility of Great Britain will in all probability soon involve Greece in such a state of anarchy as must drive both the people and the king to throw themselves at the feet of Russia, and refer the settlement of their affairs to her arbitration.

We have very little to say concerning the conduct of France. Her policy seems to be confined to keeping Colletti in office and obtaining from the king as many crosses and stars for Frenchmen as his majesty can be induced to part with. For the internal improvement of Greece, France has not done more than her colleagues. No measures have been recommended to check the corruption of the general government, nor to prevent the pillage of the large revenues of the Greek municipalities. Oligarchy is supported in the communes, and all the absurdity of a double election of mayors and aldermen; while universal suffrage exists as regards the legislature. No internal improvements are made; and from what we have seen of Athens, the capital of Greece, we are inclined to think, that, with one of the largest palaces in Europe, it has the filthiest streets and worst police that ever disgraced an overgrown village. Yet Athens has large local revenues, and four deputies in the house of representatives.

The Greek nation, when separated entirely from its rulers, offers to our contemplation a more cheering scene. The revolution owed its success to the mass of the population; their enthusiasm and endurance secured the liberty of Greece. The army and navy were utterly inadequate to encounter the forces of the Sultan in a protracted war, and the government had neither the talents nor the resources required to contend with the Pasha of Egypt; the people alone, by their persevering spirit of resistance, rejected the idea of defeat, and clung to their independence. Nor has the popular energy relaxed since the establishment of the monarchy, though it has now taken a

more peaceful direction. Whatever progress Greece has made in political and social civilization under the government of King Otho, must be attributed to the efforts of the people, striving on the one hand to push forward their listless rulers, and on the other to elude the efforts of the European powers to retard their advance. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, if we find the progress of Greece in the career of improvement to be rather eccentric. While towns are rebuilt; while commerce and trade are advancing; while the press is free, and the number of publications daily increasing; while one class, in short, is occupied with trade, commerce, art, and literature, another remains scattered over the greater part of the kingdom, pursuing the labors of agriculture in poverty and ignorance. While the towns of Athens, Syra, Nauplia, and Patras equal any towns of their size in Europe, in social culture, the rural population in their immediate vicinity continues in the most primitive condition. This superiority in the social position of the inhabitants of the towns must be attributed to the influence which public opinion acquires wherever free institutions exist with any density of population, and to the freedom with which knowledge is allowed to circulate. In Greece, not only is the press perfectly free, but even the importation of books, whether in the Greek or any other language, is not subjected to the smallest duty. Education in the towns is therefore more common than either in the south of France, in Spain, Italy, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, or Malta; and books of sterling value are much more common. The booksellers' shops of Athens may be compared with those of Malta, Corfu, and Gibraltar, with great advantage to the Greeks. Wherever the population is sufficiently compressed to enable it to enjoy the advantages of a rapid communication of ideas, there knowledge has produced unity of action. In the country, on the other hand, the extreme thinness of the agricultural population, and the great physical difficulties in the way of frequent intercommunication, have left the inhabitants of extensive districts in

*Some information on the state of education in Greece, previous to the revolution in 1843, will be found in an article by Monsieur Ampère, of the Acadé mie Française, which appeared in the Revue des deux Mondes, 1er Avril, 1843: "De l'instruction publique et du mouvement intellectuel en Grèce." At present there are two French and sixteen Greek newspapers published in the kingdom. Since 1843, about sixty-three octavo volumes have been printed at Athens alone, on scientific, historical, moral, and religious subjects, besides a much greater number of political pamphlets. There are also presses at Syra, Nauplia, and Patras.

Greece deprived of all the advantages of moral and political culture, as well as of elementary education. To place the independence of Greece on a solid basis, the first step must be to improve the condition of the agricultural classes.

To do this effectually, the assistance of the government is indispensable. The legislature must commence by prohibiting the farming of the tithes, and by repealing all the revenue laws which render the government, in virtue of its claim for one tenth as a tax, the virtual masters of the whole crop. If agriculture is ever to improve in Greece, it cannot be until the cultivator obtains the absolute disposal of all his agricultural arrangements. What can farmers do in the way of improvement, who are compelled to ask permission to commence the harvest and to house the crop? It is true, that Mr. Colletti made an attempt lately to put an end to the system of farming the tithes. The English party, however, succeeded in throwing out his bill, in the expectation of compelling him to resign. Colletti, however, aware of the popularity of his measure, ventured to dissolve the chamber, though the budget had not been passed; and so well had he estimated the popular indignation at the conduct of the opposition, that not one of the members who had sacrificed the advantage of their country to party and diplomatic intrigue succeeded in being reelected.

Our space will not allow us to enter into any statistical details concerning Greece, for such details must be extremely minute in order to reveal the strange varieties of civilization and the strong social contrasts that exist in the different classes of the population. As there can be no doubt, however, that the future fate of the Greeks as a nation will depend more on their own personal exertions and individual qualities than on the combinations of the feeble monarchy now existing,-it is of some importance to notice the actual state of education. The general field of religious and moral culture demands a far more extensive and searching investigation than we can bestow. We shall therefore confine our observations to the University of Athens, which has become the living fountain of knowledge to the whole Greek race.

*For statistical information we must refer to "Greece as a kingdom, or a statistical description of that country, drawn up from official documents and other authentic sources, by Frederic Strong, Esq., consul at Athens, for their majesties the kings of Bavaria and Hanover. London. 1842. 8vo. This work is unfortunately very imperfect, but the chapters on religion and education may be consulted with profit.