THE DISTRICT OF LIMASOL AND LANDOWNERS.
The port of Limasol will eventually become the chief commercial centre
of Cyprus, and in the depression of 1879 caused by drought and general
uncertainty it formed a favourable exception to the general rule. It may
be interesting to examine the position of the revenue during the years
inclusive from 1875 to 1878.
CUSTOMS.
Year. Revenue. Expenditure. Balance.
Piastres. Piastres. Piastres.
1875 964,839 164,663 800,176
1876 819,139 172,472 646,667
1877 1,340,643 169,506 1,171,137
1878 1,553,363 161,594 1,391,769
The exports from Limasol have been largely in excess of imports:--
Year Exports Year Imports
1875 77,022 1875 47,325
1876 59,895 1876 50,920
1877 93,805 1877 41,920
1878 101,457 1878 99,714
The principal articles of export from Limasol are wine and caroubs, and
the general production of these items has been as follows:--
Year. Okes. Year. Tons.
1875 Wine 4,811,732 1875 Caroubs 8,690
1876 " 3,710,884 1876 " 6,080
1877 " 2,208,617 1877 " 6,520
1878 " 5,795,109 1878 " 4,345
The different descriptions of wine and spirits produced in the
Limasol district during the last four years are as follows,
values in okes:--
Year. Raki or -------------------Wine.------------------
native brandy Commanderiea. Red Wine. Black Wine.
1875 467,711 173,946 85,008 4,056,067
1876 251,298 87,585 56,434 2,815,567
1877 181,269 45,522 38,563 1,943,290
1878 378,694 180,103 133,555 5,102,757
In the year 1878 the goods exported from Limasol may be approximately
represented by--
Cotton for Austria . . . . 10,000 okes valued at 500 pounds sterling.
Wool for France c. . . . . 9,500 okes valued at 560 pounds.
Rags for Italy . . . . . . 77,600 okes valued at 700 pounds.
Sumach in leaf for
Greece. . . . . 110,000 okes valued at 500 pounds.
Black wine for
Turkey. . . . 1,850,000 okes valued at 25,000 pounds.
Commanderia for
Austria . . . . 155,000 okes valued at 2,075 pounds.
Caroubs for
England, France,
Russia, and Italy . . . . 10,000 tons valued at 33,000 pounds.
Raisins for Austria,
France, and Turkey . . . . 90,000 okes valued at 850 pounds.
Skins for Greece . . . . . .9,800 okes valued at 1,025 pounds.
Sundries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . valued at 11,000 pounds.
Total value of exports. . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,210 pounds sterling.
The tobacco produced in the districts of Limasol and Baffo and at Lefka,
inclusive, is a mere trifle compared to the capabilities of the
island:--
In 1875 the crop amounted to 1,395 okes.
1876 " 1,280 "
1877 " 857 "
1878 " 1,731 "
This is only worth enumeration as an example of the utter insignificance
of the production, which should be an important item in the agricultural
wealth of the island. The greater portion of the tobacco consumed in
Cyprus is imported in bales from Salonica, and is consigned to
manufacturers who divide and classify the leaves, which are cut, and
formed into packets bearing the Custom House stamps, supplied upon
purchase. Limasol alone imports about 20,000 okes, which are forwarded
from Larnaca, where the duty is paid. No export duties of any
description are levied upon goods from this island.
The direct benefit to the Cypriotes conferred by the British occupation
was exhibited in the sudden rise of value both in real property and in
labour. The rental of houses within the principal towns was trebled, and
it would be difficult to establish an average price of land either in
towns, or upon the outskirts, as the prices demanded have been in most
instances fictitious, representing the desires of the seller, but in no
way verifying the actual selling value. I have only heard of a few small
plots that have changed hands at quadruple their former estimate, and as
a rule there are few buyers during this period of uncertainty respecting
the permanence of our occupation; but owners hold out in the hope of an
ultimate decision in favour of British absolute possession. In the town
of Limasol there has been a decided rise in the general value of
property, which is due to the steady improvement of the trade, and does
not represent a mere speculative impulse as in Larnaca, which has
suffered by a subsequent reaction. The municipal receipts of Limasol
have increased from 207 pounds sterling in the twelve months ending 30th
September, 1878, to 1718 pounds in the ten months of 1879. This has
certainly been due to the energy of Colonel Warren, R. A., the chief
commissioner of the district, to whom I am indebted for all statistics
connected with the locality.
The position of a district chief commissioner was by no means enviable
in Cyprus. The pay was absurdly small, and he was obliged to institute
reforms both for sanitary and municipal interests which necessitated an
outlay, and increased the local taxation. The population had been led to
expect a general diminution of imposts upon the suddenly-conceived
British occupation, and the Cypriotes somewhat resembled the frogs in
the fable when the new King Log arrived with a tremendous splash which
created waves of hope upon the surface of the pool, but subsided into
disappointment; they found that improvements cost money, and that
British reforms, although they bestowed indirect benefits, were
accompanied by a direct expenditure. The calm apathy of a Cypriote is
not easily disturbed; he is generally tolerably sober, or if drunk, he
is seldom the "WORSE for liquor," but rather the better, as his usual
affectionate disposition may be slightly exaggerated, instead of
becoming pugnacious and abusive like the inebriated Briton. There are no
people more affectionate in their immediate domestic circle, or more
generally courteous and gentle, than the Cypriotes, but like a good many
English people, they have an aversion to increased taxation. Thus,
although the British commissioners of districts vied with each other in
a healthy ambition to exhibit a picture of paradise in their special
localities, the people grumbled at the cost of cleanliness and health
within their towns, and would have preferred the old time of
manure-heaps and bad smells gratis to the new regime of civilisation for
which they had to pay.
The Greek element is generally combustible, and before the first year of
our occupation had expired various causes of discontent awakened
Philhellenic aspirations; a society was organised under the name of the
"Cypriote Fraternity," as a political centre from which emissaries would
be employed for the formation of clubs in various districts with the
object of inspiring the population with the noble desire of adding
Cyprus to the future Greek kingdom. Corfu had been restored to Greece;
why should not Cyprus be added to her crown? There would be sympathisers
in the British Parliament, some of whom had already taken up the cause
of the Greek clergy in their disputes with the local authorities, and
the Greeks of the island had discovered that no matter what the merits
of their case might be, they could always depend upon some members of
the House of Commons as their advocates, against the existing government
and their own countrymen. Under these favourable conditions for
political agitation the "Cypriote Fraternity" has commenced its
existence. I do not attach much importance to this early conceived
movement, as Greeks, although patriotic, have too much shrewdness to
sacrifice an immediate profit for a prospective shadow. The island
belongs at this moment to the Sultan, and the English are simply tenants
under stipulated conditions. Before Cyprus could belong to Greece it
must be severed from the Ottoman Empire, and should England be
sufficiently wayward to again present herself to the world as the
spoiled child of fortune, and deliver over her new acquisition according
to the well-remembered precedent of Corfu, the monetary value of all
property in Cyprus would descend to zero, and the "Cypriote Fraternity,"
if householders or landowners, would raise the Greek standard over
shattered fortunes.
The total of population within the entire district of Limasol in 1879
represented 23,530, comprising 12,159 males and 11,371 females, of all
ages.
The following list is the official enumeration of animals and trees
within the same province:--
ANIMALS.
Cattle. Mules. Horses. Donkeys. Pigs. Goats. Sheep.
6,006 1,812 1,129 4,026 2,138 19,896 11,790
TREES.
Caroubs. Olives. Walnuts.
267,779 114,413 957
Natural pine and Cyprus forests, with oak, &c., not counted.
VINEYARDS.
Cultivated land. Uncultivated land.
40,642 donums. 114,650 donums. 21,180 donums.
According to this official statistical representation the cultivated
land would be in proportion to the population about five donums, or two
and a half acres, per individual.
The question of ownership of lands will eventually perplex the
government to a greater extent than many persons would imagine, and the
difficulty attending the verification of titles will increase with every
year's delay.
Before the British occupation, land was of little value, and an extreme
looseness existed in the description of boundaries and landmarks. In the
absence of fences the Cypriote can generally encroach upon any land
adjoining his limit, should it belong to the state. Every season he can
drive his plough a few paces further into his neighbour's holding,
unless prevented, until by degrees he succeeds in acquiring a
considerable accession. The state is the sufferer to an enormous extent
by many years of systematic invasion. Forest land has been felled and
cleared by burning, and the original site is now occupied by vineyards.
The bribery and corruption that pervaded all classes of officials prior
to the British occupation enabled an individual to silence the local
authority, while he in many instances more than doubled his legal
holding. The absence of defined boundaries has facilitated these
encroachments. According to an official report this difficulty is dwelt
upon most forcibly as requiring immediate investigation. The vague
definition in title-deeds, which simply mentions the number of donums,
affords no means of proving an unjust extension; such terms are used as
"the woods bounded by a hill," or "the woods bounded by uncultivated
land," and this indefinite form of expression leaves a margin of
frontier that is practically without limit, unless the invader may be
stopped by arriving within a yard of his nearest neighbour. My
informant, Colonel Warren, R. A., chief commissioner of Limasol, assured
me that some holders of land in his district, whose titles show an
amount of ninety donums, lay claim to ten times the area. There is
hardly a proprietor who does not occupy a ridiculous surplus when
compared with his title-deeds, and the encroachments are even now
proceeding.
This system of land-robbery was connived at by the officials for a
"CONSIDERATION;" old title-deeds were exchanged for new on the
application of the holder, and the seals of the venal authorities
rendered them valid, at the same time that hundreds of acres were
fraudulently transferred from the state. When the intention of a British
occupation was made public, a general rush was made for obtaining an
excess over the amount defined in the title-deeds, by the swindling
method; and the extent to which this plunder was extended may be
imagined from the fact that 40,000 such documents were awaiting the
necessary signatures when, by the arrival of the British officials, the
Turkish authority, who could not sign the deeds with sufficient
expedition, was dismissed, and the false titles were invalidated.
The monasteries and the vacouf (Turkish religious lands) lay claim to
lands of vast and undefined extent, which are mystified by titles and
gifts for charitable purposes, surrounded with clouds of obscure usages
and ancient rules that will afford a boundless field for litigation. In
fact, the existing government has arrived at the unpleasant position of
being excluded from the land, nearly all of which is claimed either by
individuals or religious institutions.
The arrangement of this most serious question will stir up a nest of
hornets. The equitable adjustment would demand a minute survey of the
various districts, and a comparison of the holdings with the title
deeds; but what then? It is already known that the holdings are in
excess, and where is the legal remedy that can be practically applied?
If the actual letter of the law shall be enforced, and each proprietor
shall be compelled to disgorge his prey, there will be endless
complications. In England, twenty-one years' uninterrupted possession,
with occupation, constitutes a valid title. In Cyprus the extended
holdings have in many instances been inherited, and have remained
unquestioned as the acknowledged property of individuals, while in other
cases they have been more recently acquired. The question will comprise
every possible difficulty, and can only be determined by a special
commission officially appointed for a local investigation throughout
each separate district.
This will be a labour of years, and the innumerable intricacies and
entanglements will test the patience and HONESTY of interpreters in a
country where bribery has always opened a golden road for an escape from
difficulty, while our own authorities are entirely ignorant of the
native language. It is this lack of natural means of communication viva
voce which increases the already awkward position of high officials: the
power of speech belongs to the dragoman alone, and a great gulf exists
between the English and the Cypriote, who represent the deaf and dumb in
the absence of an interpreter. The old song "We have no money," is the
now stereotyped response to all suggestions for district schools, but if
we are to retain Cyprus, one of the most urgent necessities is the
instruction of the people in English. It is not to be expected that any
close affinity can exist between the governing class and the governed,
in the darkness of two foreign tongues that require a third person for
their enlightenment. In many cases secrecy may be of considerable
importance, and the conversation should be confined to the principals,
but the third person must invariably be present as interpreter, and
unless he is a man of the highest integrity he will not lose an
opportunity of turning his knowledge of state secrets to account for his
own advantage. Throughout the Levant it is difficult to find men who
combine the rare qualities necessary for a confidential dragoman; such a
person would be invaluable, as he would represent all the cardinal
virtues, at the same time that he must possess a natural aptitude for
his profession, and a store of patience, with the most unruffled temper.
The natives dread the interpreter, they know full well that one word
misunderstood may alter the bearing of their case, and they believe that
a little gold judiciously applied may exert a peculiar grammatical
influence upon the parts of speech of the dragoman, which directly
affects their interests. There are, no doubt, men of honour and great
capability who occupy this important position, at the same time it is
well known that many interpreters have been found guilty; the exceptions
proving the rule, and exhibiting the extreme danger and general
disadvantage in the ignorance of the native language. It cannot be
expected that the English officials are to receive a miraculous gift of
fiery tongues, and to address their temporary subjects in Turkish and in
Greek; but it is highly important that without delay schools should be
established throughout the island for the instruction of the young, who
in two or three years will obtain a knowledge of English. Whenever the
people shall understand our language, they will assimilate with our
customs and ideas, and they will feel themselves a portion of our
empire: but until then a void will exclude them from social intercourse
with their English rulers, and they will naturally gravitate towards
Greece, through the simple medium of a mother-tongue. Limasol must
perforce of its geographical advantages become the capital of Cyprus. As
I have already described, the port may be much improved. The
neighbouring country is healthy, and well covered with trees; the
landscape is pleasing, and the new road opens a direct communication
with the mountain sanatorium. The most important exports of the island
are produced within the district, and, as might be expected, the result
of commercial enterprise is exhibited in the increased intelligence and
activity of the Limasol inhabitants. It is highly to be desired that
this favourable position should become the seat of government. Although
the troops in 1879 are camped among the barren rocks beneath the
pine-forests upon Mount Troodos, at an elevation of about 5800 feet
above the sea, there is no necessity for a station at so extreme and
inconvenient an altitude in north latitude 35 degrees. The general
unhealthiness of the troops upon the first occupation of the island
during the summer and autumn of 1878, determined the military
authorities to arrange the new camp at the greatest altitude practicable
with a regard to the supply of water, but the experience gained in 1879
proves that a permanent camp, or barracks, may be equally healthy at a
lower and more convenient level. This fact would establish an additional
advantage in the selection of Limasol for headquarters, as the troops
would be in the immediate neighbourhood at all seasons. Colonel Warren,
R.A., who had been the prime mover in all the improvements that had been
made in Limasol since the British occupation, was promoted on 1st August
to the position of chief of the staff under Sir Garnet Wolseley's able
successor, Major-General Biddulph, C.B., R.A., and the district thus
lost its leading spirit. In reforming abuses and promoting progress,
Colonel Warren had not entirely escaped the usual fate of men who are in
advance of their age. The unflinching determination to administer the
laws without fear or favour to all classes had infringed upon the
assumed immunities of the Greek Church, which had always received
deferential consideration from the Turkish government, and although
actually liable to taxation, the right had never been enforced. This is
a curious contradiction to the vulgar belief in Mussulman intolerance
and bigotry; the Greek Church not only enjoyed a perfect freedom under
the Turks, but the bishops were assisted in obtaining a forced tribute
from their flock by the presence of Turkish zaphtiehs (police), who
accompanied them during their journeys through the diocese.
An interference with Church property or established rights is certain to
create a buzzing of the ecclesiastical bees, who will swarm against the
invader with every sting prepared for action. As the case was
investigated by a special court of inquiry, and terminated, as might
have been expected, completely in favour of Colonel Warren, it is not
necessary to enter upon minute details; but, as the plaintiff was the
Bishop of Citium, and this first public attack created a peculiar
agitation that will probably be repeated, it may be interesting to
examine the actual position of the Greek Church as it existed during the
Turkish administration.
The Church in Cyprus is represented by an Archbishop and three Bishops
as the acknowledged heads. The diocese of the former comprises Lefkosia,
Famagousta, and the Carpas districts, while the three Bishoprics are
those of Larnaca or Citium, Kyrenia, and Baffo.
The revenues of the Archbishop amount to about £2000 a year, and the
necessary expenditure for staff, schools, &c., to £1500. The Bishopric
of Baffo is the richest, with a revenue of about £1000; at the same time
the outgoings are small, amounting to £300 a year for the payment of his
staff, and one-fifth of the expenses of a public school.
The Bishopric of Larnaca or Citium is valued at about £900 a year, but
the expenditure is confined to £200. That of Kyrenia is about the same
as Citium. There is no possibility of determining an exact figure, as
these revenues are dependent upon voluntary payments, which cannot be
enforced by any statute; but there is a "Berat" (decree) which invites
the local authorities to render the bishops assistance in the collection
of their revenues, without the absolute enforcement of any payments. No
amounts due to the bishops for either canonical, ecclesiastical, or alms
(Zitia), can be recovered through a court of law. On the other hand, the
all-powerful countenance afforded by the Turkish government represented
by public functionaries (zaphtiehs), who accompanied the bishops during
their diocesan visits upon a tour of collection, was a moral influence
that succeeded in extorting the unwilling fees. In case of a defaulting
village, it is said that a bishop has been known to suspend the
functions of the priest until the necessary payments should be completed
by his parishioners, who, thus temporarily cut off from all ghostly
comfort, hastened to arrive at a pecuniary compromise.
The monasteries are an important institution throughout Cyprus, and
there is a decided difference between the monks of these establishments
and the general priesthood. The monks are supposed to devote their lives
to charitable objects; they are not allowed to marry, and they have a
superior education, as all can read and write. On the other hand, the
priests are grossly ignorant, and it is computed that only a quarter of
their number could even write their own names. These are allowed to
marry one wife, but they cannot re-marry in the event of her decease;
they are generally poor to a superlative degree, and are frequently
obliged to work for hire like common labourers. Should a man desire to
become a priest, it is only necessary that he should be recommended by
the inhabitants of his village as a person of good reputation that would
be suitable for the office: he is then ordained by the bishop upon
payment of a fee of about one hundred piastres (or 150), and he is at
once at liberty to enter upon his duties. These ordination fees are a
temptation to the bishops to increase the number of priests to an
unlimited extent, and the result is seen throughout Cyprus in a large
and superfluous body of the most ignorant people, totally unfitted for
their position.
The monasteries vary in their revenues, as they have derived their
possessions at different periods from grants of land, or private gifts,
or legacies. In like manner with the bishops, although they cannot
legally compel the villagers to pay according to their demands, they
assumed a power which by long sufferance had become recognised by the
ignorant peasantry, who reluctantly acceded to their claims. I have
myself witnessed an altercation between the monks and shepherds on the
mountains upon a question of cheeses and goats, which the former claimed
as annually due to the monastery; it appeared that prior to the British
occupation they had been able by threats to extort this demand, but the
shepherds had now determined to free themselves from all payments beyond
those which the law compelled, and they resisted the priestly authority,
before which they had hitherto remained as slaves. This spirit of
independence that has been so quickly developed by the equity of British
rule will probably extend, and may seriously interfere with the revenues
of the Church, should the population determine to abide by their legal
status and refuse the ordinary fees. It cannot be expected that either
bishops, monks, or priests regard this change with satisfaction, and in
their hearts they may sigh for the good old times of a Turkish
administration, when the Greek Church of Cyprus was an imperium in
imperio that could sway both the minds and purses of the multitude,
untouched by laws or equity, and morally supported by the government.
The most important monastery in the island is that of Kykou; this is
situated upon the mountains at an elevation of 3800 feet above the sea,
and it comprises an establishment of sixty monks, with a gross revenue
from various properties in different portions of the country estimated
together with donations at about £5000 per annum. The monastery of
Mahera estimates its revenue at £2000; that of Fameromeni at Nicosia, at
£2000 without any expenditure, as the three monks, together with one
servant, are paid by the extra incomes of the Church. There are many
monasteries throughout the island, and all with the exception of Kykou
and St. Andrea, at the eastern point of Cyprus, pay a certain portion of
their revenue to the bishop of the diocese. The two monasteries I have
excepted are perfectly independent of all ecclesiastical control in
revenue and finance. Considerable caution will be necessary in arranging
the land question with these numerous establishments, which have
hitherto enjoyed a peculiar independence. Up to the present time the
income of the bishops has been derived from the annual payments from
monasteries, by the canonical tax paid by every church; from the alms
(Zitia), which is a tax levied upon all crops; from the dish exposed for
offerings in church while they officiate, and from various ordination
fees and marriage licences. From the inquiries I made in various
dependable quarters, the bishops are not generally beloved either by the
monks, priests, or public; but this absence of appreciation may be due
to the continual demands upon the funds of monasteries and the pockets
of the peasantry, more than to any personal peculiarities of character.
There are stories of neglect of duty and misappropriation of funds
intended for charitable purposes, which I should decline to believe
possible among ecclesiastics of such devout principles and high
position. The Archbishop is much beloved, and is loudly praised by all
classes of the inhabitants, to whom he owes his election as supreme head
of the Church after the following manner:-
In the event of death, the vacant see of Cyprus is represented by the
Bishop of Baffo, and the new archbishop must be elected by the people.
The bishop occupies the position of president of an ecclesiastical
council, to which representatives are sent from every district, charged
with the votes of the inhabitants in favour of the archbishop. Upon his
election, the approval and confirmation of his appointment must be
obtained by an imperial decree before the archbishop can officiate. In
the same manner every bishop is elected by the people of the district,
and their representatives are sent to Nicosia, where the archbishop
presides over his council, or court; but the new bishop must also be
confirmed in his position by an imperial decree.
Should an archbishop be guilty of any crime, either civil or
ecclesiastical, he may be deposed by the head of the Church at
Constantinople, acting in conjunction with the Turkish government, at
the request of the inhabitants of Cyprus.
Bishops may be deposed by the archbishop, who would in such a case
assemble the Synod, composed of the heads of clergy in his presidency.
Before this tribunal a bishop would be summoned to appear in case of an
accusation, and the trial would take place in open court; the power of
punishment or absolution remaining in the hands of the archbishop.
The Turkish government appears to have held a peculiar position in
relation to the Greek Church in Cyprus, as, although acting in
conjunction and in harmony with the customs of the inhabitants, it
reserved the right of supreme authority in special cases; thus at
various epochs the Turkish government deposed the Archbishops
Chrissanthon and Panareton, hanged the Archbishop Kipriano, and banished
the Archbishops Joachim and Damaskino.
From the universal complaints, there can be little doubt that the
schools that should be established from funds specially invested for
that purpose in the hands of certain monasteries, bishops, &c., are
grossly neglected, and it has already been suggested that a commission
should be instituted by the British authorities, under the presidency of
the archbishop, for a rigid investigation of the resources of all
monasteries and the ACTUAL revenue of bishoprics, together with the
disbursement of all sums that should have been expended either for
education or for charitable purposes.
The tithes exacted by the bishops from the peasantry add seriously to
the imposts of ordinary taxation, and there is every probability of a
reform being demanded by the inhabitants at the hands of the British
administration. When under Turkish rule, the Greek Church enjoyed not
only perfect freedom, but an immunity from taxation, as, although they
were legally liable, the law was never enforced upon the clergy. The
English government has determined upon the observance of all laws by all
classes, and the Church has awakened to the fact that there is no
exception.
"From the earliest times the Greek Church of Cyprus has enjoyed an
especial degree of independence; in the reign of the Emperor Zeno, A.D.
473, exceptional privileges were conceded to the Archbishop of Cyprus,
who, although he owns the supremacy of the Patriarch of Constantinople
over the orthodox Greek Church, claims to be entirely independent of him
as regards Church discipline; he wears purple, carries a gold-headed
sceptre, has the title of Beatitude, signs in red as the Greek Emperors
were wont to do, and uses a seal bearing a two-headed imperial eagle. It
is said that these dignities were conferred in consequence of the
fortunate discovery at Salamis of the body of St. Barnabas, with a copy
of the Gospel of St. Matthew, which precious relic was sent to
Constantinople, and in return the Emperor confirmed the Church of Cyprus
in its absolute independence, and gave the archbishop the above
privileges."* (*Savile's Cyprus, p. 142.)
St. Paul and St. Barnabas visited the island A.D. 45, and the conversion
of Sergius Paulus, the proconsul at Paphos, by their preaching, was the
first seed of Christianity implanted in Cyprus at the period when the
inhabitants were steeped in heathenism; but some of the superstitions at
present existing are hardly less degrading than pagan rites, and in the
kissing of the Virgin's cave at Trooditissa for the purpose already
described, we can trace an affinity with the ancient worship of Venus.