Page:EB1922 - Volume 30.djvu/514

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474
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA


numerous laws, many of which were important. Their discus- sion was generally conducted on a notably high plane and bore witness to a thorough and many-sided examination of the mat- ters requiring consideration.

Administration. According to the census of 1910 the pop. of Bosnia- Herzegovina on Oct. 10 1910 numbered 1,898,044 persons, of whom 52-4% were males and 47-6% females. As compared with the year 1895 the population showed an increase of 21 %. The civil pop. of the capital, Sarajevo, had risen from 38,000 to 51,900 per- sons. According to religion the population was divided as follows: 825,418 Serbian Orthodox = 43'5% 612,137 Moslems =32-3%

434,061 Catholics =22-9%

The remainder was composed of other religious creeds. According to occupation the figures were:

Agriculture 87%

Industry 5-5%

Trade and Commerce . . . . 3 % and in the public service and the liberal

professions in round numbers . . 2 %

Of the whole pop. from the age of seven upwards 87-84% were illiterate. The part taken in the public service by the indigenous element was on the increase (in 1908, 31 %; in 1910, 44-5% of all public officials).

Pupils of the secondary schools in Bosnia-Herzegovina who passed on to the universities or other higher educational institutions of the monarchy, on their return entered the Government service or the liberal professions.

The number of public schools in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the period 1910^-8 was, at its highest, as follows: 568 elementary schools, 4 higher elementary girls' schools, 3 training colleges for male and female teachers, 9 trade schools, I commercial academy, 2 technical schools, I special technical school, 4 grammar schools (Gymnasien), 2 higher Realschulen, I lower Realgymnasium, I mili- tary lower Realschule, 3 theological colleges.

In addition to these there were numerous denominational and private elementary schools, Turkish mektebs and medresses (lower and upper Moslem schools) and three private grammar schools. In 1911 the Diet unanimously decided upon compulsory school attend- ance for four years for children over seven years of age. In 1885 the Landesmuseum was founded, and provided with a modern building in 1912. It contains collections of scientific, artistic and historical interest. In 1912 was established the Bosnian and Herzegovinian Institute for research connected with the Balkan Peninsula. Worth attention are the Wissenschaftliche Mitteilungen aus Bosnien und Hercegovina, published by the Museum, of which the I3th and last volume appeared in 1916.

The Press underwent a rapid development. In 1914 there appeared 43 periodicals, six of which were daily papers, three weeklies, and 32 monthlies. Of these 38 were published in the Serbo-Croatian, two in German, and the rest in both languages. There was also a great increase in clubs and societies, which in 1913 numbered 833 with 102,000 members, one-third of them being Serb.

The Agrarian Question. Shortly before the opening of the Diet in 1910 a strong agitation had begun among the Kmets, i.e., peasants holding of the great landlords under the metayage system and, in some cases, by personal services in addition (see 4.280). In 1911 the Diet unanimously passed a law for the conversion of these tenancies into freeholds by voluntary agreement between landlords and tenants with Government assistance. For this purpose the Govern- ment was empowered to issue bonds (Kmetenablosungsobligalionen) , and a special office (Kmetenablosungsaml), akin to the Irish Land Commission, was established at Sarajevo to carry out the law. The process of redemption now proceeded rapidly. Whereas during the 33 years (1879-1911) 32,681 Kmet tenancies had been converted into freeholds at a cost of 29 million kronen, 13,371 were converted between June 1911 and the end of 1915. According to the calcula- tions of the Sarajevo office, redemption in this form, which proceeded without friction and had no unfavourable influence on the existing agrarian situation, would have been completed within 20 years.

Military Service. In the year 1913 a new military service law came into force in Bosnia-Herzegovina, by which the liability for military service was put on the same footing as that in Austria- Hungary. The Landsturm was not introduced into Bosnia-Herze- govina, but in its place the 2nd and 3rd Reserves were formed. Liability for military service began with the completion of the igth year of age, and ended in the year in which the man liable for service completed his 42nd year. By a law of 1915 the military service law was modified to make the liability for service for the duration of the war extend from the end of the i8th to the end of the soth year of age. The military establishment for Bosnia-Herzegovina comprised four infantry regiments and one Feldjager battalion.

Public Health. In the field of public health the Diet decreed in 1914 the extension of the Territorial hospital in Sarajevo, and the erection of larger hospitals in the chief town of each district (Kreis) and of smaller hospitals in the chief town of each sub-district (Bezirk), and granted 12 million kronen for this purpose. The execution of this decree was interrupted by the war, but an open-air

hospital for tuberculous patients was erected in Sarajevo. The water supply of Sarajevo was extended, and in 1 1 towns a water supply was either newly provided or extended. The cooperation of the town councils in the sphere of public health and other adminis- trative affairs was of considerable importance. The budget of the Sarajevo town council for 1914 made a demand for 4 million kronen, those of all the other town councils together 5 million kronen. In many places electric light was introduced.

Justice. In the sphere of justice the independence of judges in the exercise of their judicial functions, and their security of tenure, were established by law, together with the responsibility of the judges for damage caused by a breach of their professional duty. Inspectors of the law courts were introduced, the setting up of a house of correction for women in Zenica was decreed, and law courts erected in Sarajevo which included all the courts in Sarajevo and the prison. In 1914 an audit office was set up to supervise the expenditure of the administration.

Agriculture. The most important branch of production in Bosnia- Herzegovina had always been agriculture', in which 87% of the population were employed. The efforts of the Government for the improvement of agriculture (agricultural departments, schools of viticulture and fruit culture, ploughing demonstrations, loans for implements, instruction in agriculture, schools of rural economy, Sunday instruction) were continued.

The statistics of the harvest for the most important crops in 1914 were: Cwt

Wheat 2,024,000

Barley 1,400,000

Oats 2,171,000

Maize 6,272,000

Among fruit crops the leading one is that of plums, which was always of the highest importance. The crop statistics of this kind of fruit fluctuated greatly:

1912: in a raw state 330,715 cwt.

1914: in a raw state 6,877,000 cwt.

Of the 1914 crop there were also 2,161,000 cwt. dried plums; 25,600 cwt. were converted into Lequar (pulp) and 1,570,000 cwt. devoted to immediate consumption. The residue was used for making the liqueur known as Shvovitz.

Stock-breeding plays a great part in the agriculture of Bosnia- Herzegovina, being favoured by the extraordinarily rich production of hay. The census of cattle in 1910 produced the following figures for live stock :

Horses, asses and mules .... 228,831 head

Cattle 1,309,922 head

Goats 1,393,068 head

Sheep . . 2,499,422 head

Pigs 527,271 head

Industries and Manufactures. Industry is rapidly developing in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and is principally directed towards the ex- ploitation of the natural resources of the country, e.g. in forestry, mining, and manufactures of chemicals and tobacco. To forestry and mining in particular great importance attaches. The total area under forest in Bosnia amounts to 50% of the whole, or 9,800 sq. m., 75'8 % of which are State forests, the rest private property or Vakuf belonging to Moslem religious foundations; 60% of the woodlands are marked out for timber forests. The exploitation of these woods supports many great forestry establishments employing large cap- ital. In 1913 there were in the country 31 steam saw-mills, whose plant for transportation of wood comprised 176 m. of gravitation lines and 630 m. of steam railways. In the period 1913-6 1,230,000 tons of forest products were exported, a value of 83-5 million kronen.

Among mining industries the first place is occupied by the coal mines, financed by the Territorial treasury, of Tuzla, Zenica, Kakanj- Doboj, Breza, Banjaluka, Ugljevik, and Maslovare which produced on an average 800,000 to 1,000,000 tons of coal yearly. Of these mines Maslovare was newly opened in 1917.

Bosnia's production of iron ore is rich. From 1891 onwards Vares had already been occupied in the production of ore and its conversion into pig-iron and other foundry products, but the working of the great ore deposits of Ljubija near Prijedor was only begun during the war, and the raising of the necessary capital (about 16 million kronen) undertaken. The works can cope with a daily production and transport of 300 waggonloads of ore. The deposits consist of a high-grade iron ore showing a proportion of up to 50 % of iron.

In 1912 a Geological Institute was set up, the most important task undertaken by which was the construction of a new geological map of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The general map was planned to consist of six sheets on a scale of 1/200,000, and in 192 1 the sections Sarajevo and Tuzla had been issued.

Among the chemical and other industries existing in 1910-8 were: one alkali factory, one carbide and chloride of lime factory, one salt distillery, one cellulose factory, one petroleum refinery, one alcohol distillery, several breweries, a sugar manufactory and, finally, four tobacco factories.

For the protection of workmen compulsory sickness insurance was introduced in 1910, and preparations were completed for legislation as to compulsory accident insurance for workmen. An industrial inspector had already been appointed before this.