Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition | Page 7

was thus raised to upwards of
450,000,000 fr. The Eastern Rumelian tribute and the rent of the
Sarambey-Belovo railway, if capitalized at 6%, would represent a
further sum of 50,919,100 fr. (£2,036,765). The national debt was not
disproportionately great in comparison with annual revenue. After the
union with Eastern Rumelia the budget receipts increased from
40,803,262 leva (£1,635,730) in 1886 to 119,655,507 leva (£4,786,220)
in 1904; the estimated revenue for 1905 was 111,920,000 leva
(£4,476,800), of which 41,179,000 (£1,647,160) were derived from
direct and 38,610,000 (£1,544,400) from indirect taxation; the
estimated expenditure was 111,903,281 leva (£4,476,131), the principal
items being: public debt, 31,317,346 (£1,252,693); army, 26,540,720
(£1,061,628); education, 10,402,470 (£416,098); public works,
14,461,171 (£578,446); interior, 7,559,517 (£302,380). The actual
receipts in 1905 were 127,011,393 leva. In 1895 direct taxation, which
pressed heavily on the agricultural class, was diminished and indirect
taxation (import duties and excise) considerably increased. In 1906
direct taxation amounted to 9 fr. 92 c., indirect to 8 fr. 58 c., per head of
the population. The financial difficulties in which the country was

involved at the close of the 19th century were attributable not to
excessive indebtedness but to heavy outlay on public works, the army,
and education, and to the maintenance of an unnecessary number of
officials, the economic situation being aggravated by a succession of
bad harvests. The war budget during ten years (1888-1897) absorbed
the large sum of 275,822,017 leva (£11,033,300) or 35.77% of the
whole national income within that period. In subsequent years military
expenditure continued to increase; the total during the period since the
union with Eastern Rumelia amounting to 599,520,698 leva
(£23,980,800).
Communications.--In 1878 the only railway in Bulgaria was the
Rustchuk-Varna line (137 m.), constructed by an English company in
1867. In Eastern Rumelia the line from Sarambey to Philippopolis and
the Turkish frontier (122 m.), with a branch to Yamboli (66 m.), had
been built by Baron Hirsch in 1873, and leased by the Turkish
government to the Oriental Railways Company until 1958. It was taken
over by the Bulgarian government in 1908 (see History, below). The
construction of a railway from the Servian frontier at Tzaribrod to the
Eastern Rumelian frontier at Vakarel was imposed on the principality
by the Berlin Treaty, but political difficulties intervened, and the line,
which touches Sofia, was not completed till 1888. In that year the
Bulgarian government seized the short connecting line
Belovo-Sarambey belonging to Turkey, and railway communication
between Constantinople and the western capitals was established. Since
that time great progress has been made in railway construction. In 1888,
240 m. of state railways were open to traffic; in 1899, 777 m.; in 1902,
880 m. Up to October 1908 all these lines were worked by the state,
and, with the exception of the Belovo-Sarambey line (29 m.), which
was worked under a convention with Turkey, were its property. The
completion of the important line Radomir-Sofia-Shumen (November
1899) opened up the rich agricultural district between the Balkans and
the Danube and connected Varna with the capital. Branches to Samovit
and Rustchuk establish connexion with the Rumanian railway system
on the opposite side of the river. It was hoped, with the consent of the
Turkish government, to extend the line Sofia-Radomir-Kiustendil to
Uskub, and thus to secure a direct route to Salonica and the Aegean.

Road communication is still in an unsatisfactory condition. Roads are
divided into three classes: "state roads," or main highways, maintained
by the government; "district roads" maintained by the district councils;
and "inter-village roads" (mezhduselski shosseta), maintained by the
communes. Repairs are effected by the corvée system with requisitions
of material. There are no canals, and inland navigation is confined to
the Danube. The Austrian Donaudampschiffahrtsgesellschaft and the
Russian Gagarine steamship company compete for the river traffic; the
grain trade is largely served by steamers belonging to Greek merchants.
The coasting trade on the Black Sea is carried on by a Bulgarian
steamship company; the steamers of the Austrian Lloyd, and other
foreign companies call at Varna, and occasionally at Burgas.
The development of postal and telegraphic communication has been
rapid. In 1886, 1,468,494 letters were posted, in 1903, 29,063,043.
Receipts of posts and telegraphs in 1886 were £40,975, in 1903
£134,942. In 1903 there were 3261 m. of telegraph lines and 531 m. of
telephones.
Towns.--The principal towns of Bulgaria are Sofia, the capital
(Bulgarian Sredetz, a name now little used), pop. in January 1906,
82,187; Philippopolis, the capital of Eastern Rumelia (Bulg. Plovdiv),
pop. 45,572; Varna, 37,155; Rustchuk (Bulg. Russé), 33,552; Sliven,
25,049; Shumla (Bulg. Shumen), 22,290; Plevna (Bulg. Pleven), 21,208;
Stara-Zagora, 20,647; Tatar-Pazarjik, 17,549; Vidin, 16,168; Yamboli
(Greek Hyampolis), 15,708; Dobritch (Turkish Hajiolu-Pazarjik),
15,369; Haskovo, 15,061; Vratza, 14,832; Stanimaka (Greek
Stenimachos), 14,120; Razgrad, 13,783; Sistova (Bulg. Svishtov),
13,408; Burgas, 12,846; Kiustendil, 12,353; Trnovo, the ancient capital,
12,171.