Chapter 18
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.