[D is t r ib u te d to the Council and the Members of the League.]

Official No Q . 3 7 2 . M . 1 3 7 . 1929- H . [F. 701.]

Geneva, A ugust 26th, 1929.

LEAGUE OF NATIONS

SETTLEMENT OF BULGARIAN REFUGEES

TWELFTH REPORT

of the Commissioner of the League of Nations in Bulgaria.

Period from M a y 15th to A ugust 15th, 1929.

A. Settlement of Bulgarian Refugees.

I. 1926 R e f u g e e S e t t l e m e n t 7 % L o a n .[Translation.]

Appendix I of the present report shows the position of th e 1926 Refugee Settlem ent 7 % Loan at July 31st, 1929, including accrued in terest on the unexpended balance of th e loan which is on deposit in London and New York.

On August 1st, the ac tua l expenditure and com m itm ents on con tracts signed or schemes approved am ounted to abou t four-fifths of th e net yield of th e loan. Refugee settlem ent is now, therefore, sufficiently advanced to enable us to confirm definitely th e opinion expressed b y us in a previous report, th a t it will be possible to carry th rough the proposed settlem ent scheme w ith the funds already available.

I I . Y i e l d o f R e v e n u e s a s s i g n e d a s S e c u r i t y f o r t h e L o a n .

The am ounts paid in to the account for revenues assigned as security for the 1926 7 % loan, in May, June and Ju ly , are shown below as follows in leva:

C hapters o f th e b u d g e t

R e c e ip t s M o n th ly a v e r a g e o f

b u d g e t e s t im a te s

1929-30M a y Ju n e J u ly

Chapter 15 (Excise d u ty on alcohol,e t c . ) .................................................

Chapter 16 (Excise d u ty on salt, etc.) Chapter 21 (Sale of m atches.) . .

T o t a l s ....................................

7,868,93628,327,883

9,765,000

9>I 45>74925,263,944

9,53i , 57i

8,608,78228,566,86410,162,571

6,666,66625,416,666

9,166,666

45,961,819 43,941,264 47,338,217 41,249,998

The sums paid in for th is q u arte r am ount to 137,241,300 leva, as against 115,422,302 leva during the corresponding period in 1928. The sum required for the service of the loan during tins quarter was 42,186,000 leva. The assigned revenue receipts have been im proving from year to year ever since the account was opened in Decem ber 1926. Though o ther factors have helped,

S,d,N- 1025 (F.) 830 (A.) 9 /29 . Imp. Kundig.Series of League of Nations Publications

II. ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL1929. II. 33.

th is increase is m ainly due to th e M inister of F inance’s general policy, during th e last tw o years, of m ore s tric t collection of taxes.

To th e above figures m ust be added paym ents m ade by refugees as in terest and for the repay­m ent of expenditure incurred on their behalf in settling them , viz.:

M a y J u n e J u ly

P r e v io u s p a y m e n ts

t o M a y 1 s t

T o ta l a t end o f J u ly

I n t e r e s t ................................A m o r t is a t io n .......................

38,209384,166

54,081487,365

I n L e v a

40,664 390,601

418,1344 ,691,275

551,0885,953,407

422,375 541,446 431,265 5,109,409 6 ,504,495

The sums refunded are transferred regularly each quarter to the Trustees of the loan, in conform ity w ith the stipulations of th e “ General Obligation ”, for th e am ortisation of the loan.

In our last report (page 2), we m entioned th e steps taken to app ly th e Molloff-Caphandaris agreem ent concerning paym ent for lands handed over to refugees who have abandoned their p ro p e rty in Greece. On Ju ly 31st last, the D irector of the Bulgarian Public D ebt, when issuing obligations to refugees established under th e loan, retained an am ount equivalent to the price of th e ir land (securities to th e nom inal value of 7,500,000 leva).

I I I . E x e c u t i o n o f t h e S e t t l e m e n t P l a n .

The present report covers a period which roughly m arks the end of the th ird year of settlement, as it was on A ugust 26th, 1926, th a t an advance of £400,000 was g ran ted b y th e B ank of England to the N ational Bank of Bulgaria, repayable out of th e yield of th e loan and destined to meet th e m ost urgent requirem ents. A part from the d istribu tion of seed and live-stock w ith the object of rendering as m any refugees as possible self-supporting, th e first year was m ainly a year of preparation . The necessary laws h ad to be passed for the creation of a single executive organ having wide powers. Experience has shown this organisation to be very effective. Then a general scheme had to be draw n up as provided in the Geneva Protocol. Though, of course, th e original scheme has h ad to be modified, its existence has obviated m uch useless effort by apportioning work and outlining program m es. F inally, th is first year saw the solution of w hat was perhaps th e m ost difficult problem in the establishm ent of th e refugees, a problem on which all other m atte rs depended : th e search for an d surveying of land suitable for th e settlem ent of the refugees.

There were no tangible results, therefore, such as th e final allocation of the land and the construction of houses, u n til well on in the sum m er of 1927. Since then, the work has been proceeding norm ally, a lthough it encounters various difficulties, and, a t the m om ent of writing, it would not be an exaggeration to say th a t the larger p art of th e problem has been solved. W e have not, up to the present, received an y notification of to ta l failure either am ong refugee communities or isolated settlers. This year, as last year, th e harvest has been indifferent and in some cases distinctly bad ; nevertheless, in spite of difficult living conditions, due principally to th e lack of drinking w ater in several villages— a s ta te of affairs which it has not yet been possible to rem edy—all the settled refugees have rem ained on their land, and none have abandoned the houses constructed for them and em igrated elsewhere. L ittle b y little , th e new village, a t first bare and monotonous, takes on a friendlier aspect ; th e refugee arranges his courtyard and p lan ts a few trees, adding a lean-to for th e farm yard anim als. His hom e is not so tid y and clean, though it m ay be more picturesque. In several d istricts, th e allo tted land, which is full of roots and overgrown with scrub, calls for a great expenditure of energy before it is properly ready for farm ing. Yet even in these inhospitable d istricts there has been no discouragem ent. Here, as elsewhere, the refugees

are obviously thankfu l to have found a hom e a t last, and are m anfully determ ined to wrest from th e soil a livelihood for them selves and their families.

(a) Seed.

A utum n sowings having been dam aged by frosts and, th e harvests in certain northern districts having been destroyed b y hail, fu rther seed had to be distributed, m ainly maize and millet, to the ex ten t of 1,588,667 kilogrammes.

(b) Live-Stock.

D uring the q u arte r 1,736 head of live-stock were purchased and d istribu ted to 1,089 families' Applications for 3,510 anim als have n o t been complied with. ,

The am ount of live-stock d is tr ib u te d from the beginning to ta ls 18,186 head, to the value 0 122,072,607 leva, allocated am ong 12,004 families.

— 3 —

Of these 18.186 anim als, 15,71:0 were, in accordance w ith th e settlem ent law, insured under the “ Insurance F und ’’ adm inistered by the D irectorate under th e conditions outlined in our n in th

report (page 2 (6)). Of the o ther 2,476 anim als, some w ere already insured by th e Central Co-operative Bank, while in o ther cases owners who h ad paid for their supplies of live-stock beforehand were no longer obliged to insure them .

On August 1st, th e incom e of the Insurance F u n d am ounted to 6,091,209 leva (5,711,360 leva premiums paid and 379,849 leva from the sale of dead anim als).

On th a t date, losses am ounted to 781 anim als, which are now being replaced a t a cost of abou t 5,155,50° leva. The difference between the assets and liabilities of the Insurance F u n d —935,709 leva—will be used to cover any losses of live-stock which m ay occur between August 1st and the end of the present year.

During th e first seven m onths of th e year, the dea th ra te am ong th e live-stock was 2.8 per cent. As the annual prem ium s are equivalent to 3 per cent of the value of the live-stock, th e income of the Insurance F und plus th e sum s derived from the sale of dead anim als will, if the dea th ra te remains unchanged, be sufficient to cover th e cost of replacing live-stock.

In spite of th e exceptionally hard w inter, the dea th ra te has rem ained low. This is due to most careful selection in buying, and also, v ery largely, to th e fact th a t th e buildings include a stable which effectively p ro tec ts the anim als against th e cold. In the early days of our work, opinions were divided as to w hether the refugees should be allowed to construct the stable themselves or w hether it should be built a t th e same tim e as the house; th a t is to say, solidly and with good m aterials. We decided in favour of the la tte r course, even a t the risk of slightly increasing the expenditure, though th a t, as we have shown, has been am ply counter-balanced by the preservation of th e live-stock.

(c) Supp ly of Material.

Of the 9,232 ploughs originally bought, abou t 1,100 still rem ain undistribu ted . A lthough these implements were carefully selected in view of local conditions (particularly as regards their weight in relation to th e charac ter of the soil and the s treng th of th e d raugh t anim als, which in Bulgaria is generally slight), th e refugees have never beenveryen thusiasticabou tthem , seem ingto prefer the wooden ploughs th e y m ake them selves. This is by no m eans an isolated exam ple of the hostility of the B ulgarian peasan t to m odern agricu ltural m ethods. The authorities have been steadily conducting propaganda on th is subject and there has been undoubted progress in th e last few years. The num ber of villages is constan tly increasing in which m echanical threshers have now taken the place of th e an tiqua ted m ethod of tread ing the ears of com on the threshing-floors with draught anim als passing backw ard and forw ard in every direction. We ourselves propose, in so far as our resources allow, and in agreem ent w ith th e B ulgarian G overnm ent, to organise, as one of the last phases of refugee settlem ent, some dem onstra tions of th e use of chemical fertilisers, etc., in one of th e m ost thickly-settled areas. The soil of Bulgaria is, generally speaking, highly fertile, and the various clim atic zones m ake it possible to cu ltivate th e different products of th e soil satisfactorily in th e different p arts of the country. B u t in m any districts there are signs of soil-fatigue due to lack of fertilisers or th e fau lty arrangem ent of crops. E v ery year th e question is becoming a more u rgent one for Bulgaria, as th e population and its requirem ents increase.

During the quarter, we have continued to d istribu te farm carts up to th e num ber of abou t9,000. All this m ateria l is constructed in the couh try ; in a g reat m any of th e villages one or m ore local craftsmen are th u s engaged. In certa in villages where such work is done on a considerable scale, the relatively large sum s of m oney thus brought in to circulation have given a visible im petus to local trade, to th e benefit of all concerned.

It will be rem em bered th a t certain colonies of refugee fisherfolk were established along the Black Sea coast : a t Messemvria, Vassiliko, Sosopol and B urgas ; these refugees have been grouped into co-operative com m unities com prising abou t 180 families, who have received:

27 nets,27 sets of rope and cordage,46 fishing boats,

to the total value of ab o u t 5,300,000 leva, th e p roperty being owned jo in tly .

Formerly, B lack Sea fisheries were in th e hands of th e Greek coastal population, m ost of which has now em igrated. We were therefore very anxious to see w hat results our refugees would obtain with the tackle we h ad placed a t th e ir disposal. The result exceeded all expectations: m one single fishing season, th is spring, th e Messemvria group was able to earn 14 per cent of the value of its m aterial. W e are therefore proposing to add to th e equipm ent and, in particu lar, to provide each group w ith a m otor-boat, so th a t the fish m ay be tran sp o rted rap id ly to Burgas, an imprji-tant centre of consum ption and th e only m art th rough which th e in terior can be reached. Ihe Bulgarian G overnm ent is endeavouring in various w ays to encourage coastal fishing; there can be no doubt th a t here th ere are v ast riches to exploit, particu la rly if steps are tak en to develop special transport for fish, of which little is consum ed a t present.

(d) Houses.

The following tab le shows th e position on th e d a te when the present report was despatched:

H o u s e s S h ed s B y r e s

C o m ­p le te d

C o n tr a c te dfo r

C o m ­p le te d

C o n tr a c te dfo r

C o m ­p le te d

Contractedfor

B uilt b y p riv a te en te rp rise . . . B uilt on a m onopoly basis b y

the General D irectorate . . . B uilt b y th e refugees them selves

1,979

6917

2,104

527460

1,494

3733

1,676

432117

1,683

5814

1,902

45035s

T o t a l ........................... 2,065 3,091 1,564 2,225 1,755 2 , 7 1 0

Figures a t th e end of th e previous q u a r t e r ......................................... 1,831 2,854 1,444 2,107 1,441 2,556

The num ber of houses a t p resen t com pleted or in course of construction was, on August 15th, 5,156 according to th e above tab le . To th is figure should be added abou t 900 houses for the construction of which no offers were received when tenders were invited, and w hich therefore th e D irectorate will construc t itself. W e th u s arrive a t a to ta l of about 6,000 houses.

As m atters are proceeding—very satisfactorily on th e whole—we hope to be able, towards the end of th is year, to record th e com pletion of th e g reater p a r t of these houses. The difficulties which in th e past have caused so m any delays, such as th e problem of tim ber, no longer hamper our work owing to th e arrival of am ple supplies from abroad .

These 6,000 houses include abou t 500 houses in tended for refugees engaged in tobacco and silkworm cultivation . T hey are bu ilt on lines specially ad ap ted to th e purpose.

In previous years, th e w ork of establishing large com m unities of refugees was deliberately avoided, on th e ground th a t i t would be b e tte r to concentrate on th e m ost difficult p a r t of the task, nam ely, th e construction of houses for isolated un its or sm all groups scattered throughout a large num ber of a lready existing villages. As can readily be im agined, th e d istance separating the various w orkshops and th e difficulty of tran sp o rt raised a whole host of k n o tty problems, To quote only one figure, it should be borne in m ind th a t the constructions in tended for the refugees have had to be d istribu ted am ong m ore th a n 200 villages s itu a ted in every p a rt of the country.

This year we have begun to tack le th e problem of establishing large colonies. Of the 6,00c houses referred to above, to m ention only th e m ore im p o rtan t groups:

351 are a t Bela ' 246 a t Anhialo,125 a t Paparos, 315 a t Vassiliko and Achtopol.

All these localities are s itu a ted along th e B lack Sea coast.

W e h ad originally though t, when study ing th e general scheme, th a t it would be necessary to construct abou t 16,000 houses. Experience proves th a t th is figure, based on theoretical needs, will no t be atta ined . A num ber of refugees have been able to ob ta in houses for themselves, either ou t of revenue derived from th e land a llo tted to th em or from indem nities received for property abandoned in Greece. O thers prefer to live under m ore or less precarious conditions rather than burden them selves still fu rth e r w ith the price of a house. F inally , there is a t h i r d , though small, category of refugees who for some reason or o ther are disqualified from obtain ing relief under the loan. (The Settlem ent Law set ou t as an A nnex to our first repo rt provides for these cases.) E ight thousand requests have already been registered. If ano ther 1,500 to 2,000 requests come in as th e land, including drained areas, is being d istribu ted , we shall ob tain a total of9.000 to 10,000, which constitu tes th e outside lim it, as fa r as can be foreseen.

On th e o th er hand , whereas in 1927 we were able to construct houses a t a cost of roughly30.000 leva, th e price has been constan tly increasing owing to various necessary im p ro v e m e n ts ,

such as th e substitu tion of k iln-baked for sun-dried bricks; b u t m ain ly owing to th e progressive rise in th e cost of labour and m aterials, which has been particu la rly noticeable since last years earthquakes, th e price of a house has now m ore th a n doubled— 65,000 to 6 8 , 0 0 0 l e v a , or roughly£io°'

The position is a t present as follows :

Land.

D e p a r tm e n t S u rfa ce s u r v e y e d (d ecares)

S u rface d is tr ib u te d (decares)

N u m b e r o f fa m ilie s

A v e r a g e su r fa c e d is tr ib u te d

(decares)

B u r g a s .................. 561,119 444,010 10,824 41.02V a r n a ...................... 70,572 54,983 1,381 39.81V i d i n ...................... 9,100 8,929 282 31.66P e t r i t c h .................. 130,252 105,966 4,769 22.22V r a t c h a .................. 22,313 21,565 624 34-56P l o v d i n .................. 22,369 21,866 1,164 18.78P le v n a ...................... 19-335 17.230 518 33-26R ustchuk .................. 64,204 31,623 854 37-03T i r n o v o .................. 17,886 1 7 , 0 1 5 455 37-39H a sk o v o .................. 134,484 121,914 2,944 41.41Schumen . . . . . 42,396 38,533 1,m 34.68M astan la .................. 75,444 42,164 1,199 35-17

Total . . . . 1,169,474 925,798 26,125 35-43

Figures a t M ay 1st, 1929 1,126,153 863,074 24,454 35-93

The d a ta concerning th e work carried ou t last q u arte r is no t yet all to han d ; consequently, the figures in th e above tab le, which differ very little from those 'of th e previous report, do not reflect the true position.

This part of th e program m e, th e m ost essential one, which i t has been so difficult to set afoot, is now well on th e road to com pletion. I t will be te rm inated th is year as far as the installation of refugees in th e localities in which th ey are ac tu a lly resident is concerned.

We have no t, however, even begun to tak e an y action w ith regard to those who have to be transported from th e ir p resent locality in order to be installed on land which th e work now in progress should open up for drainage or irrigation. This, however, will n o t app ly to more th an2,000 or 3,000 families. These refugees could obviously n o t have been transferred before th e land was ready. Nevertheless, certain p rep ara to ry steps will have to be tak en to see th a t these migrations do no t subsequently h inder th e norm al progress of th e work.

The Land V aluation C om m ittee (see te n th report, page 5) began work on M ay 23rd, 1929, and has up to the present valued definitely, afte r enquiries on th e spot, th e estates of 2,012 families established in th e d ep artm en t of Burgas.

The question raised in our eleventh report (page 3 (c), paragraph 2) of land earm arked for the refugees bu t no t in conform ity w ith th e provisions of th e Geneva Protocol, which was considered by the Financial C om m ittee a t i ts las t session, s till aw aits solution.

(f) Ploughing and Clearing of Land.

Ploughing is now in progress over an area of 1,600 decares; when th is has been done, 46,196 decares will have been m echanically ploughed since th e w ork was begun. Possibly a few more lots may be ploughed, b u t we consider th a t , for all p ractical purposes, th is p a rt of th e p lan has now been fully carried out.

Up to the present, t h anks to the funds which have been advanced th em for th e purpose, the refugees have cleared 13,945 decares of scrub or woodland, while w ork is still in progress over 43,252 decares. This w ork has been done b y hand, so th a t progress has been ra th e r slow. I t has not been possible to use m achines, as no suitable ap p ara tu s exists in B ulgaria. E xperim ents will shortly be conducted in clearing land over sm all surfaces b y m eans of o rd inary agricultural tractors specially re -adap ted for th e purpose. If these experim ents succeed, it will be possible for a firm to undertake th e m echanical clearance of p a rt of th e 100,000 decares of scrub land which still have to be cleared.

The sums advanced d irect to th e refugees now am oun t to 11,913,000 leva.

(g) D rinking Water.

As the num ber of new colonies grows, certain problem s of general in terest, which were disregarded a t th e o u tse t in view of m ore pressing needs, are daily becom ing m ore urgent. One of these is how to provide accessible and regular supplies of drinking w ater. In certain areas lack of water am ounts to a veritab le disaster. N a tu ra l underground supplies are few an d fa r betw een, and sometimes do n o t exist a t all, so th a t th e peasan ts are obliged to utilise s tag n an t and unh ea lth y surface water, which varies according to th e rainfall. The situation in th is respect is particu la rly serious in the north-eastern p a rt of th e te rrito ry , know n as th e “ D eli-O rm an ” district. The

ulgarian Government has recently carried ou t a considerable am oun t of work in th is area, which as appreciably im proved th e situation .

— 6 —

We ourselves have under consideration a whole scheme for supplying refugee colonies with water. The program m e includes the repairing of old wells, the boring of new wells, the construction of sm all reservoirs and w ater channels. The expense is relatively low and is covered b y Article V of the Protocol of Septem ber 8 th , 1926:

“ All assistance given to refugees out of th e loan shall be on term s of repaym ent and no p a rt of th e loan m ay be used for any charitable purposes or for th e acquisition of land. Nevertheless, when settlem ents on a large scale are established, e.g., when villages are created, such disbursem ents of a general or social n a tu re m ay be m ade on such term s as the Commissioner m ay approve as m ay serve to prom ote the developm ent of these settlements and im prove th e hea lth conditions of th e population. ”

(h) Draining of Marshes.

1. Lower Plain of Karaboas.

As s ta ted in our form er reports, th e drain ing of th e K araboas P lain along th e D anube bank has been en trusted to th e D irectorate of Com pulsory Labour. The D irectorate began work on M ay 1st, b u t was alm ost im m ediately obliged to suspend operations on account of th e Danube floods. On Ju ly 7 th , the work recom m enced w ith 2,500 workm en, whose num bers will shortly be increased to 4,500, according to the term s of the con tract, which oblige th e contractor to increase th e num ber of workers a t his own cost if, for any reason, the work fails to progress according to schedule.

On a recent visit we found th a t th is im portan t undertak ing was organised on a very satisfactory basis. W e will give a m ore detailed account in our nex t report, when we shall be able to base our conclusions on a longer period of work.

The draining of the K araboas P lain is a m a tte r of prim ary im portance for th e settlement scheme since, of the 170,000 decares of land to be reclaim ed, 85,000 will be utilised for th e settlement of about 2,000 families tak en either from th e fifty-kilom eter fron tier zone o r from villages of the in terio r in which th e y cannot be installed owing to lack of suitable land.

The land is of exceptionally high quality , and in certain drained areas i t has been possible this year to ob ta in tw o crops. W e have seen there recen tly the m ost splendid crops of Ind ian com im aginable.

2. Stralja and Messemvria Marshes.

The w ork of drain ing these tw o m arshes situa ted in the departm ent of Burgas is progressing norm ally according to th e con trac to r’s plans. U p to J u ly 1st, th e sum s paid were 1,777,443 leva for M essemvria and 685,205 leva for S tralja .

3. M andra Marsh.

W e have approved th e estim ate for th e draining of the M andra m arsh to th e sou th of Burgas. T enders will be called for shortly . The estim ate am ounts to 28,500,000 leva. The work will p ro tec t from periodical inundation 17,000 decares, of which a p a r t has a lready been allotted to 236 families who are a t present unable to ob tain an adequate yield from th e ir estates. We should add th a t the villages near M andra are those—in th e departm en t of B urgas—in which malaria is m ost ra m p a n t; th e elim ination of these m arshes will considerably im prove the situation.

(i) M eans of Communication.

1. The Rakovsky-Mastanla Railway.

W ith th e re tu rn of the fine w eather, all th e w orkshops have again sprung in to life. The perm anent w ay has reached K ilom eter 52 a t the entrance of th e long tunnel ; it cannot be taken any fu rth er un til the tunnel has been completed. The gallery of th e tunnel was pierced a t the beginning of Ju ly . I t will now have to be lined afte r it has been enlarged to its norm al size.

On A ugust 1st, the expenditure incurred from th e outset am ounted to 149,721,387 leva in work and supplies on th e basis of contracts and 38,037,013 leva for work carried out by the R ailw ays A dm inistration itself. On th e above date , the various contracts signed by the D irectorate-G eneral for th e Settlem ent of Refugees am ounted to 250,030,000 leva.

2. Roads.

Department of Burgas. — The E lkovo-K avakli road is finished.T he fourteen-kilom eter section on the road from M alko-Tirnovo to Burgas will be c o m p le te d

in a few weeks.The contractor engaged in constructing the Vassiliko-Kupris road has, as a result of financial

difficulties, h ad to suspend w ork afte r com pleting tw o-thirds of the road. Probably the D i r e c t o r a t e

of Bridges and Highways will itself com plete the work.On August 1st, 6,376,460 leva h ad been expended on these three roads.

— 7 —

When we decided to assist in improving com m unications in th e south of th e D epartm ent of Burgas, we asked th e B ulgarian Governm ent to com plete the work undertaken under the loan so that Burgas should be joined up by carriage-roads to Malko-Tirnovo on the one hand and Vassiliko on the other. The D irectorate of Bridges and Highways has consequently taken steps to ensure the construction of the two roads B urgas-K upria and Burgas-Malko-Tirnovo.

Thus, before the end of nex t year, the refugee colonies in the neighbourhood of Vassiliko and Malko-Tirnovo will possess good roads to Burgas which are absolutely necessary for the developm ent of an area rich in virgin forests.

Department of Varna. — The projected work on the Bela-V arna road should m ake it possible to finish this road for 14 kilom eters from Bela. U p to the present, the contractor has m erely supplied the m aterial ; paym ents up to A ugust 1st only am ounted to 281,000 leva.

(j) Health.

The encouraging results obtained last year by the Burgas Malariological In s titu te have been definitely confirmed b y the observations m ade in the course of the present cam paign. According to the following sta tistics com m unicated b y the In s titu te , th e proportion of sufferers has still further decreased, although th e num ber of blood samples exam ined microscopically is m uch greater.

Y ear

M o n th o f M ay M o n th o f J u n e

M ic r o sc o p icte s t s

P o s i t i v e c a se s d e te c te d

% M ic ro sc o p ict e s t s

P o s i t i v e c a se s d e te c te d

%

I927 . . 3,555 5 9 9 16.0 4,204 742 13-91928 . . 1 3 ,4 3 0 1 , 2 4 3 9.2 8,883 704 7-91929 . . 18,402 936 5 1 18,634 9 5 6 5 1

Circumstances have nevertheless been d istinc tly favourable th is year. As a result of abundan t rainfall in May and June, larva breeding-places increased. The larva-destroying cam paign therefore became a fa r m ore difficult ta sk th a n it was last year, when th e drought had dried up almost all stagnan t w aters. M osquitoes were so ab u n d an t th a t a violent recrudescence of m alaria was to be feared ; in spite of th is, th e situation has still fu rth e r im proved. In these circum ­stances, it would not be an exaggeration to say th a t the m ethods followed b y the B urgas In s titu te on the basis of Professor Swellengrebel’s m ethods have given very encouraging results. We only need mention th a t, in th e report which he addressed to us after his first journey of enquiry in th e Department of Burgas, Professor Swellengrebel referred to the repugnance shown b y the refugees a t being settled in these unhealthy districts.

Three years have passed and the colonies founded in w hat were then desolate plains are now fully productive, their fu tu re developm ent giving no cause for anxiety .

We th ink it only righ t to add th a t these results were largely due to the g reat in terest which the Health Section of the League and its em inent specialists have invariab ly displayed in our undertaking.

Many lessons are to be draw n from th e experim ent. I t proves, failing evidence to th e contrary , that a successful cam paign can be conducted against th is disease which exerts so baneful an influence on the coun try ; since, w herever it is ram pant, it d irectly affects th e yield of th e soil by lowering the peasants’ w orking capacity . In each of th e m alaria zones, a well-run hea lth centre w ith relatively slight resources ought to be able, b y applying appropriate m ethods in th e light of the experience gained at Burgas, to ob tain favourable results in a relatively short period.

We should m ention, while on th is subject, th e first efforts of the A nti-m alaria Centre installed in the Sveti-V ratch area to the no rth of P e tritch . The w ork has now begun under th e direction of Dr. Collins, D irector of th e Rockefeller F oundation H ealth Centre a t Petritch . The investigations in May and Ju n e proved th a t the hea lth situation was extrem ely bad , as th e following figures show:

M a y J u n e

Microscopic exam ination of blood sam ples.Positive cases ......................................................P ercen t .

1,227278

22.65

The task is, therefore, a considerable one ; b u t we are certain th a t a t P e tritch , as a t Burgas, our °ctors’ efforts will be crow ned w ith success.

— 8 —

B. 7 y2% Stabilisation Loan of 1928.

The accounts of th is loan a+ J u ly 31st are set ou t in A ppendix I I .

I . A s s i g n e d R e v e n u e s .

The following sum s (in leva) were paid a t th e N ational B ank in to th e earm arked account during the last q u arte r:

M a y J u n e J u ly M o n th ly b u d g e t e s t im a te s

I 60,262,000 I 35 ,7 IO ,788 1 4 2 ,3 9 4 ,0 9 9 113,333,333

Receipts for th e q u arte r am ounted to 438,366,887 leva, or m ore th an six tim es the sum necessary for th e service of th e loan, th e surplus over budgeted estim ates am ounting to about98,000,000 leva.

These im p o rtan t surpluses reflect the position of the trad e balance during th e first months of th is year, which period has been characterised b y an increase in im ports as com pared with the corresponding period last year.

I I . E m p l o y m e n t o f t h e L o a n .

1. £1,100,000 block (Article V I , Paragraph 2 of the Protocol) . 1

On M ay 15th last th ere rem ained from th is block a surp lus in th e earm arked account with theN ational B ank of B ulgaria of 48,904,982 leva.

In agreem ent w ith th e Chairm an of the F inancial Com m ittee [cf. his le tte r of M ay 28th, 1929), th is sum was released and used as follows:

L e v a

P ay m en t of certain budget arrears th e details of which weresubm itted to u s ................................................................................. 44,638,803

T ransfer to th e earm arked account for com m unications; usedfor road construc tion ........................................................................ 4,266,179

48,904,982

As a result of these tw o transfers, th e account of th is p a r t of th e loan is definitely liquidated and th e provisions of Article V I, P aragraph 2, of th e Protocol of March 10th, 1928, have been com pletely fulfilled.

2. £1,250,000 block (Article V I I of the Protocol).(a) Railways.

A Council resolution of Ju n e 8th, 1928, authorised the Commissioner to release th e necessary funds for expenditure on ways of com m unication afte r th e B ulgarian Governm ent h ad proceeded to reorganise th e Railways A dm inistration on a satisfactory basis. The relative law, which had been exam ined a t Geneva as fa r back as December 1928, and then finally d rafted b y jo in t agreement betw een th e R ailw ays A dm inistration and th e Commissioner’s Office, was passed on Ju n e 25th last.

The proposed reform s are based on th e suggestions set out in the report of M. Regnoul, an expert who has stud ied th e situation on the spot, and, generally speaking, th ey follow the lines proposed in th e F inancial Committee. On one point, however— a fundam ental one, since it concerns not only th e m anagem ent of the railw ays them selves b u t also th e principle of unity in the adm inistration of public finances—th e te x t contains a departure from th e principles laid down at Geneva. In conform ity w ith th e Council resolution, which instructs th e Commissioner to consult th e F inancial Com mittee, if necessary, as to w hether th e reorganisation is adequate, th e Committee

will have th is point laid before it a t its nex t session.The te x t of th e law on th e reorganisation of th e Bulgarian Railways A dm inistration is appended

to th e present report (Appendix III) .No m oney from th e yield of th e loan has been released ap a rt from th a t referred to in the

previous report (34,693,000 leva). I t had been g ran ted before the voting of th e law in order to avoid fu rth er loss of tim e, and after we h ad been assured th a t th e proposed reforms would be in

1 T h e e x p r e s s io n “ P e n s io n F u n d ” (E le v e n th R e p o r t , p a g e 4 , I I , 1 , lin e 6) i s in c o r r e c t a n d s h o u ld rea d : “ Pay®elt o f s u m s d u e t o th e P e n s io n F u n d

— 9 —

accordance w ith th e principles laid down. In addition to th is sum, which has now been almost entirely expended, there are large com m itm ents in respect of con tracts concluded and a great number of docum ents have been prepared for the supply of m ateria l or the execution of work under the program m e.

(b) Roads.

The road-m ending program m e now calls for a sum of 172,700,000 leva. As a result of differences in exchange, and a fte r handing over to th e railw ays the to ta l am ount provided under M. Regnoul’s plan (672,300,000 leva), the sum available only am ounts to 167,700,000 leva. The Bulgarian G overnm ent has decided to tak e the o ther 5,000,000 leva required from th e in terest accumulated on non-expended surpluses from the £1,250,000 block on deposit abroad. In addition, as mentioned above (Chapter II , paragraph 1), 4,266,179 leva will be transferred from th e £1,100,000 block for road-m ending; th is la tte r sum will be used exclusively for th e actual repair of roads.

We have again pointed out to th e B ulgarian G overnm ent th a t it is absolutely necessary, for various reasons, to avoid all fu rthe r delay in carrying out the program m e which, as far as we are aware, entails no difficulty. The loan was issued nearly eight m onths ago and the Bridges and Highways A dm inistration has up to th e present only ac tually expended a sum of abou t 15,000,000 leva. Since our action, plans and docum ents have been prepared for work covering ra th e r more than half the program m e, b u t the tim e spent on th e exam ination of tenders and o ther formalities will still fu rther lim it the period during which work can be done.

3. £500,000 block (Article V I I (A) of the Protocol).

During the last quarte r, th e D irectorate for th e Relief of E arth q u ak e Sufferers, a body set up to do reconstruction work, has subm itted to us for approval a series of schemes based on the programme outlined b y us in our las t report, slightly modified owing to th e necessity for carrying out certain ad m itted ly urgent work.

The expenditure definitely approved since th e beginning is equal to 258,000,000 leva or 76 per cent of th e to ta l— 336,000,000 leva. Tenders have been called for and contracts have been concluded up to a to ta l of 145,000,000 leva.

We have released and placed a t the disposal of the D irectorate of Relief 50,000,000 leva to cover preliminary expenditure, which, on A ugust 1st, am ounted to 18,935,882 leva. In short, on August 1st, the position was as follows :

Expenditure C o m m itm e n ts Sums actuallyapproved on contracts expended

Public b u ild ings............................ 1 7 7 ,2 0 6 ,5 0 0 1 2 9 ,1 5 5 ,4 8 3 1 3 ,0 5 9 ,7 1 7Roads and b rid g es ....................... 4 5 ,5 3 0 ,0 0 0 2 4 ,0 9 3 ,8 2 0 8 0 9 ,9 0 2Railways and telegraph instal­

lations .................................... 1 3 ,8 6 0 ,0 0 0 5 ,389,350 2 ,3 0 3 ,0 1 3W ater c o n d u i t s ........................... 1 0 ,4 2 1 ,0 0 0 2 ,2 7 3 ,2 6 2 7 1 3 ,2 5 0Regulation of w ater courses. . 1 1 ,3 0 0 ,0 0 0 4 ,5 2 5 ,0 0 0 2 ,0 5 0 ,0 0 0

2 5 8 ,3 1 7 ,5 0 0 1 4 5 ,4 3 6 ,9 1 5 1 8 ,9 3 5 ,8 8 2

Thanks to the ac tiv ity of the Relief D irectorate, the m ost urgent reconstruction works— i.e., schools and hospitals— will have been executed th is year.

I I I . B u d g e t .

We now possess th e final d a ta regarding th e results of the year 1928-29, as prepared on June 30th la s t. The figures published in the preceding report were those for the accounts ending on March 31st, 1929 (for th e year April 1st, 1928-March 31st, 1929) ; b u t, as we pointed out, the budget system in force in B ulgaria allows, subject to certain restrictions, expenditure m ade during the three m o n th s following on the financial year— i.e., up to Ju n e 30th—to be included in the accounts for the financial year ended a t March 31st. The figures supplied by th e M inistry of Finance are the following :

R e s u l t s o f th e o r d in a r y b u d g e t fo r th e y e a r

1 928-29 , as a t J u n e 3 0 th , 1929

Receipts ....................... 7,171,356E x p e n d i tu r e .................. 6,470,928

S u r p l u s ........................... 700,428

The results already registered have therefore been m ain tained : th ere have been im portan t surpluses in receipts and an equally appreciable decrease in expenditure.

We explained in th e previous report th e reasons for which th e above accountancy surplus es not properly reflect th e position of th e Treasury. A fter corrections and sub tractions under th e

various items set ou t in th e previous report, th e ac tual surplus am ounts to 431,379,200 leva.

B u d g e te s t im a te s fo r D iffer e n c es

19 2 8 -2 9

In o o o ’s o f le v a

6,787,700 + 383,6566,757,839 —286,911

29,861 +670,567

IO --

The essential basis of financial reform, budget equilibrium , has therefore been fully maintained th roughout the last quarter. The m easures to ensure a b e tte r budgetary system , which were inaugurated afte r th e signing of the Protocol for th e S tabilisation Loan, are gradually coming into force, and the M inistry of Finance is tak ing every care to see th a t th ey are carried in to effect.

There is an increasing tendency to adopt them as current practice in th e accountancy of the various branches, which has resulted in greater order and clarity . The work of th e various organs is th u s greatly facilita ted and th is is one of th e reasons, and b y no m eans th e least, for hoping th a t these new m ethods will now be regularly followed.

The results of the first three m onths of th e present year were slightly lower th an th e estimates, though they are considerably in advance of those for the corresponding period last year. The following are the figures com m unicated by th e M inistry of Finance:

N a tu r e o f r e c e ip tsA c tu a l r e c e ip ts

A p r il 1 s t t o J u n e 3 0 th , 1928

A c tu a l r e c e ip ts A p ril 1 s t to

J u n e 3 0 th , 1929

3 / i2 t h s o f th e 1929-30

e s t im a te sDifferences

Direct t a x e s .............................................Indirect t a x e s .........................................D u t i e s ......................................................Fines and co n f isc a tio n s .......................Railways and p o r ts ................................Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones .S ta te D o m a in .........................................Share of the Communes in teachers’

s a la r ie s ........................................Miscellaneous revenue...........................Receipts on account of p ast budgets .

146,093,916650,170,696169,747,060

18,425,283

85,158,25254,652,080

63,704,62930,699,38266,209,345

I n o o o ’s

145,871,396806,390,635216,009,072

22,665,850

102,554,172107,112,854

81,539,23923,820,54892,083,769

o f le v a

230,000,000 704,500,000 179,250,000

23,250,000 35,000,000 72,500,000

124,500,000

119,250,000146,787,50050,000,000

--- 84,128,604+ 101,890,635 + 36,759.072

— 584,150— 35,000,000 + 30,054,172

— 17,387,146

— 3 7 ,7 ! 0 , 761

— 122,966,952 + 42,083,769

1,284,680,643 1,598,047,535 1,685,037,500 — 86,989,965

The slightly lower figure as com pared w ith the estim ates m ust no t be taken in too literal a sense ; from th e po in t of view of the en try of revenue, the first m onths of the fiscal y ea r—coming before the h arv est— are generally no t the best. A num ber of taxes are due a t definite periods and m oreover th e budget for railw ays and ports, which is now separate from th a t of th e S ta te , having been vo ted b y P arliam ent a fte r some delay, it m ay be assum ed th a t th e contribution estimated for th e first th ree m onths a t 35,000,000 leva will be m ade up before th e year ends. There is therefore no reason to suppose (failing any new evidence to th e contrary) th a t th e present financial year will no t be as favourable as las t year. One of th e m ost characteristic sym ptom s of the relative affluence of th e T reasury is th e fact th a t th e S ta te has not had to discount T reasury bills a t the N ational B ank since J a n u a ry 5th , 1929—an operation which was fairly frequent in form er tim e s - and th a t on th e co n tra ry the las t bills in circulation (100,000,000 leva) were paid on A pril 1st, 1929,

The budget of th e R ailw ay and P ort A dm inistration cam e in to force on Ju ly 2nd last. It has been prepared in accordance w ith the provisions of the law for th e reorganisation of this adm inistration (Appendix I I I ) . In order to allow the adm inistration m ore in itia tive and elasticity in m anagem ent, the expenditure has been grouped into m ain chapters w ithout any d eta iled paragraphs. In add ition " runn ing expenses ” include costs for m aintenance and renewal, and also th e annual service of the debt to th e S ta te, estim ated in th e law a t abou t 3,990,000,000 leva (£5,955,000).

T R esu lts for^ va 1 9 2 8 - 2 9

R eceipts are estim ated a t ............................................. 1,437,246,238E xpend itu re a t ............................................................................. 1,280,401,188

Giving a surplus o f .............................................. I 57>845>°50

The ac tual runn ing account is as follows :R e c e ip ts .................................................................... 1,193,300,000 1,222,349,¥E x p e n d i t u r e ........................................................... 1,039,008,614 760,137.666

I.e., a surplus o f .............................................. 154,290,386 4 6 2 , 2 1 2 , 2 1 0

The difference betw een th e budget estim ates for running expenses and those of the general budget is accounted for b y receipts and expenditure under “ funds ” .

The budget of the R ailw ays and P orts A dm inistration also includes a special section for capital

expenditure to be m ade out of the 1926 7 % and 1928 7 % % loans.If we tak e in to account only th e running expenditure— 1,039,008,614 leva, added to the State

budget expenditure for th e year 1929-30 (not included in th e special incorporated lunds)6,274,804,000 leva—we ob tain a to ta l of 7,313,812,614 leva exceeding by 313,812,614 leva lim it of 7,000,000,000 leva which th e S ta te undertook not to exceed under th e Protocol of Mar

— II —

ioth, 1928. The railw ays adm inistration sta tes th a t it will be able to effect sufficient economies this year to re-absorb th is large surplus expenditure.

We hope in th e subsequent report to be able to give an account of the steps— at present m erely under consideration—for the execution of certain im portan t stipulations contained in the Protocol. Some of the essential points being considered are the creation of a new system of public accountancy, a complete and perm anent system of treasu ry control, and dismissal of officials. O ther questions, though they are provided for m ore particu larly in the s ta tu te s of th e N ational Bank, will have to be solved m ainly b y th e M inistry of Finance. These are also being exam ined and include the question of concentrating all public funds in th e N ational Bank. The la tte r po in t raises an important problem which has already been touched upon in th e F inancial Committee : w hether it would be desirable to abolish certain agencies or branches of th e N ational B ank which for years now have shown only a deficit and which constitu te a heavy charge on the B an k ’s budget. On th e o ther hand, these agencies p lay an im portan t p a r t in drainage and in the collection of S tate revenue so that careful though t will have to be given to setting up some o ther organisation in their place. It will be seen th a t these are a series of m ore or less in terdependent questions which it will be by no means easy to solve.

IV. N a t i o n a l B a n k .

A ppendix IV a ttach ed shows th e position of th e N ational B ank of Bulgaria a t the end of each of the last th ree m onths.

The tendency tow ards credit expansion which was first observed a t th e beginning of th e year, and which was untim ely and (considering th e tim e of year and th e proportions which it seemed likely to assume) even dangerous, began in May and Ju n e once m ore progressively to assert itself. At the end of June, discounted bills and advances together to ta lled as m uch as 1,630 million leva— 1,020 millions for th e discounted bills and 610 millions for th e advances. On th e sam e date last year, the discounted bills holding was shown in th e balance-sheet a t 365 millions. The tw o dates are clearly n o t s tric tly com parable, since, in Ju n e 1928, a considerable proportion of th e assets of the Bank were tied up, one of the objects of th e stabilisation loan since floated being to secure to the Bank a g rea ter degree of liqu id ity and thus enable it to m ake its proper contribu tion to the economic life of the country . I t is true, nevertheless, th a t the above figures indicate, for the period to which th ey relate, a too rap id increase in th e credit facilities accorded b y th e B ank, especially as, side by side w ith th is m ovem ent, th e net to ta l of th e foreign gold currency holdings has steadily diminished, and these tw o m ovem ents are closely in terdependent. The n e t loss during th e last quarter was m ore th a n 500 million leva.

The B ank’s B oard of D irectors realised th a t its p rim ary aim m ust be cautiously to facilita te a gradual re tu rn to norm al conditions, and to seek to coun terac t th e obvious tendency tow ards credit inflation, b y every m eans in its power. I t therefore decided to increase th e discount ra te to 10 per cent as from Ju ly 2nd, 1929, and a t the sam e tim e tak e steps to ensure a m ore careful selection of th e paper accepted for discounting. These m easures are th e ones which have proved most effective for th e purpose ; and it seems th a t th ey ought to have been in troduced earlier— as soon as the m ovem ent began.

From the beginning of Ju ly un til A ugust 7 th (the d ate of th e last balance-sheet), the discounted bills holding rem ained stable in th e neighbourhood of a m illiard, whilst the am ount of th e advances fell to 527 millions on A ugust 7 th.

The decrease in the la tte r item is m ainly due to th e gradual elim ination of th e transactions prohibited under the new sta tu tes . Thus, advances on security, m ortgages, transfers, etc., which totalled 312 millions on Decem ber 31st, 1928, were shown a t 232 millions only in th e balance-sheet on June 30th. These accounts m ust be liquidated to th e am ount of 25 per cent each half year.

The advances on com m odities, still au thorised for tw o years from the coming in to force of the new statutes (Article 79), also ten d to decrease. I t would seem th a t the Bulgarian G overnm ent ought to prepare, b y suitable legislative m easures and in particu la r b y th e in troduction of certain amendments to th e law on security , for the transfer to th e p rivate banks of these operations which the National B ank will no longer be in a position to effect from D ecem ber 1930.

An exam ination of th e d istribu tion of th e investm ents of th e N ational B ank during th e last year shows certain in teresting changes, as indicated by th e following figures, which are given in the form of a percentage of the to ta l investm ents :

J u n e 3 0 th , 1928 J u n e 3 0 th , 1929

% %C o m m e rc e ............................................................... 27 25I n d u s t r y .................................................................... 35 26B a n k s ........................................................................ 31 46V a r i o u s .................................................................... 7 3

The restrictive m easures adopted b y th e B oard of the B ank caused a certain am ount of anxiety at the outset, especially as th ey were introduced a t a tim e when considerable funds were required to finance crops; b u t the difficulties were not very serious or of long duration , th e private banks appearing to have, a t th e instance of th e N ational Bank, concentrated th e ir funds on the real economic needs of th e m om ent—in p articu la r export trad e— and to have restric ted som ewhat

— 12 —

th e resources available for purchases of com m odities abroad, which have assum ed considerable proportions since th e beginning of th e year.

As we have said above, th e to ta l of th e foreign gold currency shown in the balance-sheet has fallen by ra th e r more th an 500 m illion leva during th e las t th ree m onths and, in spite of th e tendency of th e circulation (plus sight com m itm ents) to fall, th e percentage of cover steadily fell to 43.20 (the lowest figure) on A ugust 7 th , last.

In spite of the fact th a t th e m onopoly of the exchange m arket was som ewhat modified by a law which cam e in to force a t the beginning of Ju ly (see eleventh report, page 9), the satisfaction of the foreign currency requirem ents is still a heavy charge upon the N ational Bank. These require­m ents have been considerable since the beginning of the year, largely exceeding those for the corresponding periods of the preceding years : a t the present tim e, the sum appearing in the balance-sheet under th e heading “ Foreign gold currency ” roughly corresponds to the estimated am ount of the short term credits invested in the country.

V. S t a t i s t i c s .

(According to the d a ta of the N ational Bank.)

F ir s t h a lf 1928

(a) Foreign Trade (in thousands of leva) :

I m p o r t s ...................................................... 3,536E x p o r t s ...................................................... 2,748

— 788

The to ta l volum e of foreign trad e has been steadily growing during the last few years, and the above figures show th a t th is continued during the first six m onths of the curren t year. In 1928, im ports and exports together am ounted to a sum equivalent to nearly four tim es the amount of the im ports and exports in 1920. The ra tio of im ports to the to ta l has appreciably increased since 1927, being 48% in 1927, 53% in 1928 and 56% during the first six m onths of 1929. The expenditure effected a t hom e during the last few years on the streng th of the 7% loan 1927 and th e 7% % loan 1928 has h ad the effect of increasing the purchasing power of the coun try ; and the w ork undertaken for th e settlem ent of refugees, th e reconstruction of th e ruins caused by the earthquake and the repairs to lines of com m unication (railways and roads), have led to considerable im ports of m aterial.

The position w ith regard to the trade balance entails a heavy charge upon th e foreign exchange holding of the N ational B ank, which has been particu larly h ard h it since the beginning of the year. E ach year the pressure becomes greater, and the position calls for serious consideration. I t seems th a t the possibilities of increasing and varying the o u tp u t of th e soil are still very great, and that fu rth e r efforts could still be m ade to facilitate exports and secure m arkets for hom e products.

A fter the alarm caused by th e severe w inter and th e la te cold, which seriously dam aged the w heat and barley corps, the la test reports on th is y ea r’s harvest are fairly favourable. The maize crop promises to be excellent, and th is product is of the first im portance for export trade.

(b) Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices (1914 = 100).

19 2 7 1928 1929

M a r c h ................................ 2,773 3,021 3,290J u n e ............................... 2,756 3,078 3,245S e p te m b e r ....................... 2,881 3,051D e c e m b e r ...................... 2,943 3,210

y e a r192 9

4 , 0 9 73,108

— 989

— 13 —

Appendix I.

S t a t e m e n t o f t h e S p e c i a l A c c o u n t o f t h e 7 % R e f u g e e S e t t l e m e n t L o a n

o f 19 2 6 , a s a t J u l y 31ST, 1929 .

S te r lin gb lo c k

(a) Nominal A m ount:£2,400,000$4,500,000

(b) Net A m o u n t .......................... 2,112,000

(c) Deduct :

s. d.

Redemption of 1912-13 Treasury Bonds . .

Half-year’s reserve. . . Miscellaneous expenses:

stam ps, p rin ting of bonds, e tc .....................

(d) Add: Interest

£ s- 625,889 11

90,000 0

d. 6 0 1

D o lla rb lo c k

$

3 ,915 ,000 .-

1 6 8 ,7 5 0 .— 1

Y ie ld in L e v a

49,474 4 i 765,363 15 7

£1,346,636 4 5 $3,746,250.—

94,275 18 4 278.885.06

£1,440,912 2 9 $4,025,135.06(e) Subtract:

Amounts re le a s e d ............................................. 769,558 4 1 2,722,016.29

(f) Amounts released........................ ..................................................................................... 879,202,7342Placed a t disposal of:

1. The D irectorate for the Settlem ent of Refugees . . . .

2. The Governm ent (for the recons­truction of devast­ated areas.) . . .

L e v a

768,824,302

45,000,000

813,824,302

(g) Equivalent of the half-year’s reserve in leva

813,824,302

6 5 -3 7 8 ,4 3 2

8 3 ,8 5 1 ,8 7 5 1

Available s u r p lu s ...................................................... £671,353 18 8 $1,303,118.77 149,230,307(deposited in (deposited in (deposited w ith

London) New York) the N ationalB ank of

Bulgaria)

Appendix II.

S t a t e m e n t o f t h e 7 % % S t a b i l is a t i o n L o a n o f 1 9 2 8 , a s a t J u l y 31ST, 1929 .

Nominal a m o u n t ....................................Net a m o u n t .............................................Deduct: Stam p duties, and other

expenses.............................................

N e t y i e l d ..........................

S te r lin g b lo c k

£ s. d.

1.800.000 O O1.656.000 O O

40,575 10 O

D o lla rb lo c k

$

13,000,00011,960,000

49,250

F r a n c b lo c k

F r e n c h F r a n c s

130,000,000121,550,000

5 ,200,000

£1,615,424 10 o $11,910,750 Fr. 116,350,000

E quivalent in leva (a t the exchange ra tes ob tain ing onJu ly 31st, 1 9 2 9 ) ........................................................................ 3,358,661,277

Utilised up to Ju ly 31st, 1929 ...................................................... 2,264,427,028

Surplus available on th a t date 1,094,234,249

e 1 The e q u iv a le n t o f t h e h a lf -y e a r ’s r e se r v e w a s r e fu n d e d b y th e B u lg a r ia n G o v e r n m e n t o u t o f th e p r o c ee d s o f th e a uisation L oan in e x e c u t io n o f p a r a g r a p h 2 o f A r t ic le V I o f th e P r o to c o l o f M arch 1 0 th , 1928 ( I t e m 6 o f A n n e x I I I

to that Protocol).

Not including a sum of -£24,144 os. id . , w h ic h w a s used directly to p a y in sterling for material supplied for th e ovsky-Mastanla R a ilw a y .

— 14 —

I.e., £1,043,924 ios. od., deposited w ith the B ank of England.Fr. 20,045,686.50, deposited w ith the B ank of France.L eva 290,266,182, deposited w ith the N ational B ank of Bulgaria.

A ppendix I I I .

L a w o n t h e O r g a n i s a t i o n a n d A d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f t h e B u l g a r i a n S t a t e R a i l w a y s and

P o r t s s a n c t i o n e d b y U k a s e , No. 10, o f J u n e 2 8 t h , 1929 , a n d p u b l i s h e d i n t h e OfficialGazette, No. 83 , o f J u l y i 6 t h , 19 2 9 .

C h a p te r I . — A d m i n i s t r a t i o n .

Article 1. — The M inister for Railways, Posts and Telegraphs is responsible for the adm inistration of th e B ulgarian S ta te railw ays and ports.

Article 2. — The Bulgarian S ta te railw ays and ports shall be adm inistered w ith a view to the economic developm ent of the country and th e com m ercial yield of th e railways and ports.

Article 3 . — The D irectorate-G eneral shall be th e cen tral au th o rity for railways and ports.

Article 4. — The D irectorate-G eneral for Railways and P orts shall organise m otor-lorry and o ther m otor tran sp o rt services in th e country , e ither d irect or by g ran ting concessions, whenever such m ay be desirable in th e in terests of traffic.

I t m ay give permission, w ithin the railw ay and po rt areas, for th e construction of hotels, buffets, bookstalls, etc.

Article 5. — The D irectorate-G eneral shall conclude w ith the o ther railw ay administrations, o r adm inistrations working in conjunction w ith the la tte r, agreem ents governing th e ir mutual relations, settling ou tstand ing accounts, etc.

Such agreem ents shall come in to force afte r approval, according to th e ir nature , by the Sobranje or b y th e M inister for Railways, Posts an d Telegraphs.

Article 6. — A t the head of th e D irectorate-G eneral there shall be a D irector-G eneral appointed by royal ukase. The D irector-G eneral shall be in suprem e charge of all services; he shall allocate work between th e services and shall, in agreem ent w ith the directors concerned, coordinate th e ir work. H e shall tak e such action as m ay be necessary to ensure th e regular running of the services for which he is responsible. He shall be in d irect touch w ith the M inister, and shall represent the D irectorate-G eneral in its relations w ith th ird parties.

W ithin a year as from th e coming into force of the present law, th e cabinet shall, acting on the report of th e M inister for Railways, Posts and Telegraphs, tak e th e necessary steps to appoint th e Director-G eneral for a fixed period.

Article 7. — The central adm inistration of th e D irectorate-G eneral of Railways and Ports shall be subdivided into directorates, divisions and sections.

Article 8. — The directors shall be appoin ted b y royal ukase, whereas th e divisional and sectional heads, including the staff in charge of receipts, shall be appoin ted b y the Minister for Railways, Posts and Telegraphs. All these officials shall be in charge of their particu lar services and shall ensure th e ir proper running. They shall be responsible for th e application of laws, regulations, and ordinances.

Article 9 . — A perm anent Council shall be set up w ithin the D irectorate-G eneral, consisting of the D irector-G eneral, the directors, divisional and sectional heads, the legal adviser an d the inspectors-general. The Council m ay be variously composed according to the na tu re of the questions to be discussed.

The D irector-G eneral shall act as President of the Council.

Article 10. — The Council shall deal w ith the following questions a t the instance of the Minister for Railways, Posts and Telegraphs or of the D irector-G eneral :

(a) The p reparation of d ra ft laws, regulations and ordinances;(b) The d ra ft budget ;(c) Extension and im provem ent of railw ay lines and ports, rolling stock, vessels,

constructive works, etc.;(d) New railw ay lines and new ports;(e) Railw ay tim e-tables;(/) Railw ay and p o rt ra tes ;(g) Any o ther questions which the M inister or th e D irector-G eneral m ay desire to

subm it to it.

M inutes shall be k ep t of th e Council’s discussions and these m inutes shall be s u b m i t te d by th e Director-G eneral for the approval of th e Minister.

Article 11. — F or questions of general in terest, there shall be constitu ted as an advisory bod) a ttach ed to the M inistry for R ailw ays, Posts, and Telegraphs, a special Council for Railways and Ports.

— 15 “

This Council shall be composed as follows :

(a) T he Director-G eneral and the directors;(b) A representative of the M inistry of Finance, a representative of the M inistry for

War, a representative of the M inistry of Commerce, In d u stry and Labour and a representative of the M inistry of Public W orks;

(c) Two representatives of Cham bers of Commerce and Industry , and two represen ta ­tives of the Commercial Exchanges, nom inated by these groups ;

(d) A representative of the Bulgarian Engineers’ and A rchitects’ Association;(e) Two representatives of the B ulgarian M erchants U nion, nom inated by th e U nion;(/) Three specially qualified persons to be chosen b y the M inister for Railways, Posts

and Telegraphs.

Article 12. — The M inister for Railways, Posts and Telegraphs shall ac t as President of the : pedal Council, or, in his absence, the D irector of Railways and Ports.

Article 13. — O rdinary sessions of the special Council shall be convened by the M inister for Railways, Posts and Telegraphs a t least twice a ye r. The Council m ay also be convened in extraordinary session.

Article 14. — Members of the special Council, no t being railw ay officials, shall be en titled to -enumeration for attendance a t each m eeting, a t ra tes to be determ ined by the M inistry for Railways, Posts and Telegraphs.

Article 15. — The special Council shall consider the following questions and give its advisory opinion on them :

1. Basic principles for railw ay and port tariffs;2. Railw ay tim e-tables;3. C onstruction of new lines and new ports and im portan t im provem ents to existing

railway lines and ports ;4. Any o ther questions which m ay be laid before i t by the M inister for Railways,

Posts and Telegraphs.

The agenda of the m eetings of the special Council shall be prepared by the M inister for Railways, Posts and Telegraphs.

C h a p ter I I . — S t a f f .

Article 16. — In order to ensure the operation of the B ulgarian S ta te railways and ports services, provision shall be m ade in the budget for an adequate num ber of railw ay and p o rt agents and employees.

According to the requirem ents of constructional w ork on new lines and ports, the num ber of the permanent staff for which provision is m ade in the budget m ay be increased b y the addition of temporary staff, which shall be employed as long as m ay be necessary.

A tem porary staff, which shall be appointed in accordance w ith a p lan approved by the Cabinet on the report of the M inister for Railways, Posts and Telegraphs, shall be paid from the credits available for fresh constructional work.

Allowances and travelling expenses for perm anent and tem porary staff, engaged on the construction of new lines and ports, shall be paid from the credits available for such constructional work. The am ount shall be determ ined, in accordance w ith the conditions obtaining in th e w ork­shops and the na tu re of the work, b y the Cabinet, acting on the report of the M inister for Railways, Posts and Telegraphs.

Article 17. — In order to ensure efficient work, all B ulgarian S ta te railw ay and po rt agents, employees and officials, shall be required to possess the necessary technical training, th is being ascertained by m eans of exam inations held in accordance w ith th e special regulations.

Article 18. — In pursuance of regulations approved b y the M inister for R ailw ays, Posts and Telegraphs, certain B ulgarian S ta te railw ay and port employees shall receive, in lieu of travelling

! expenses, board and lodging allowances, reckoned per kilom etre travelled.

Article 19. — In conform ity w ith Article 67 of the law relating to S ta te employees and officials, Bulgarian State railw ay and port agents, employees and officials shall receive bonuses, in order to encourage them to take due in terest in their work.

The locomotive staff shall receive bonuses for economies in fuel and lubricating m ateria l during journeys. On the o ther hand , they shall be liable to fines for m ateria l consumed in excess of the quantities fixed b y the regulations governing such consum ption. This clause shall no t apply to unskilled workers.

As regards Bulgarian S ta te railw ay and port agents, employees and officials, the application of Articles 66 and 68 of the law relating to S ta te employees and officials shall be ensured by specialregulations.

Article 20. — B ulgarian S ta te railw ay and p o rt employees, agents and officials shall be en titled to medical treatm ent and m edicine in re tu rn for a fixed m onth ly sum deducted from their salaries.

Article 21. — B ulgarian S ta te railw ay and p o rt agents, employees, officials and workm en and their families shall be en titled to trave l free or a t reduced rates, in v irtue of a special regulation.

The following shall be en titled to trave l free or a t reduced ra tes on a basis of reciprocity : workmen, agents, employees and officials of foreign railw ay adm inistrations or foreign shipping companies. This benefit m ay, on a basis of reciprocity, be extended to the m em bers of their families.

— i6 —

Article 22. — A m utual assurance and relief fund shall be established for th e B ulgarian State railw ay and port staff, in conform ity w ith s ta tu te s approved b y the M inister for Railways, Posts an d Telegraphs.

All B ulgarian S ta te railw ay and p o rt agents, em ployees an d officials m ust be members of th is fund. Form er agents, employees and officials m ay also be mem bers, in accordance with the conditions laid down in th e s ta tu te s of the fund.

C hap ter I I I . — B u d g e t .

Article 23. — T he budget of th e Bulgarian S ta te railw ays and ports shall be a legislative act by which provision shall be m ade and au th o rity given for th e ir receipts and expenditure.

The budget year shall begin on April 1st and shall end on M arch 31st of the following year.The budget shall be divided in to tw o p arts— th e budget of th e railw ays and the budget of

th e ports.

Article 24. — T he budget of the railways shall be subdivided in to four chap ters :

C hapter I .—B udget for constructional w ork, extensions to rolling-stock and other equipm ent.

C hapter I I .— O perating budget.C hapter I I I .—B udget for th e auxiliary services.C hapter IV .—Credits budget.

Article 25. — T he d ra ft budget draw n up b y th e M inister for R ailw ays, Posts and Telegraph shall be subm itted to the Sobranje in accordance w ith th e procedure governing o ther S ta te budgets, b u t in a condensed form, w ithout division in to paragraphs (the to ta l sum s being indicated by chapters).

To each ch ap te r of th e budget shall be appended, for inform ation, an exp lanato ry table of expenditure on sta ff and receipts.

The Sobranje shall sanction th e d ra ft budget b y a special law.

Article 26. — D uring the budget year, th e M inister for R ailw ays, Posts and Telegraphs may, if necessary, tran sfer credits from one p arag rap h to ano ther in th e sam e chap ter, w ithout a fresh vote of the Sobranje.

Article 27. — The first ch ap te r of th e railw ays budget shall include expenditure for construction and engineering works on th e new lines, supp lem entary work on existing lines ant additions to th e rolling-stock and o ther equipm ent on these lines.

T he sam e chap ter of the budget shall include th e credits to cover expenditure. These shall be derived from the proceeds of Joans and long-term credit operations and from th e receipts provided under th e special laws for the construction of new lines and th e extension and improvement of existing lines, and also from p a r t of th e an n u a l profits of th e railw ays.

Article 28. — The F inance Bill or special laws shall au thorise th e conclusion of loans or other long-term credit operations, the negotiations for which shall be conducted b y the Finance Minister, in agreem ent w ith the M inister for R ailw ays, Posts and Telegraphs. These loans or credits shall constitu te a charge upon th e Treasury. The con tracts concluded as a resu lt of these negotiations shall come in to force a fte r ratification b y th e Sobranje.

Article 29. — The conditions governing tran sp o rt on th e B ulgarian S ta te railw ays are laid down in th e tran sp o rt regulations of th e said railw ays and in th e tariffs, which m ust contain the details for th e app lication of these regulations.

Article 3 0 . — All the ra ilw ay tariffs shall be d raw n up b y th e D irectorate-G eneral and approved by th e M inister for R ailw ays, P osts and Telegraphs.

F or the conveyance of passengers and artic les belonging to S ta te adm inistrations, at least th e cost price of th e tran sp o rt shall be collected in accordance w ith a tariff approved b y the Cabinet. The conveyance of soldiers and m ilitary m ateria l shall be governed b y a special regulation issued b y the D irectorate-G eneral in agreem ent w ith th e M inister for W ar and approved b y the Cabinet.

The services rendered b y th e o ther S ta te adm in istrations to th e B ulgarian S ta te Railways shall be paid for b y th e la t te r a t prices fixed b y th e C abinet.

Article 31. — Carriage charges not paid in respect o f goods ac tu a lly conveyed and regarding

which t h e D irectorate-G eneral has, w ith in a period of six m onths, sen t a rem inder to th e accoun tan ts

concerned, shall be collected from th e persons who have received the goods, by m eans of requisitions

issued b y sta tionm asters and heads of w arehouses and approved b y th e D ire c to r-G e n era l.

The requisitions approved b y th e D irector-G eneral shall be final and no t subject to appeal to o ther au thorities. As such, th e y shall have executive force and shall be carried ou t by the State collectors in accordance w ith th e procedure re la ting to th e collection of d irect taxes, within a period of th ree m onths as from th e d a te on w hich such requisitions were issued. The collectors shall receive 2 per cen t of th e sum s collected.

Article 32. — The receipts of th e railw ays shown in th e second chap ter of the railw ay budget shall be determ ined on th e basis of th e probable traffic and of th e tariffs to be applied during tW budget year.

— 17 —

Article 33. — The second chap ter of th e budget shall authorise th e credits needed to cover the expenditure for th e operation of th e railways. This expenditure includes expenditure for the renewal of p lan t, rolling-stock and o ther equipm ent.

The credits for operating expenditure shall be sufficient to ensure the efficient running of the traffic, due regard being had to th e public in terest as to safety, speed and regularity of th e services.

Article 34. — F o r th e exact d istribu tion of the renewal expenditure, a renewal fund shall be set up and be adm inistered in accordance w ith a special regulation w hereby th e receipts shall be put down to operating expenses.

Part of th e annual profits (Article 39) shall be paid to th e renew al fund in order to accelerate the renewal of rolling-stock and p lan t as m uch as possible.

The proceeds of th e renew al fund shall bear in terest.The renewal fund shall be credited w ith the value of th e old m aterial w ithdraw n from service

at the time of renewal, re-utilised or sold.

Article 35. — The th ird chap ter of th e budget shall include th e budgets of the auxiliary services : equipm ent workshops, im pregnation workshops, prin ting, etc.

Provision m ay be m ade in the budgets of th e auxiliary services for th e credits needed for the purchase of m aterial and for th e staff of these services.

These credits shall be covered by th e value of the m ateria l supplied to o ther services and th a t of the articles m anufactured b y these services.

The gross profits of the auxiliary services shall be en tered in th e second chap ter of th e budget under the heading “ R eceipts of the B ulgarian S ta te railw ays and ports ” .

Article 36. — The funds of the Bulgarian S ta te railw ays and ports shall consist of:

Renewal fund;Reserve fund for the railw ays only;Fire insurance fund;Railw aym en’s housing fund, hea lth establishm ents, holidays and pensions ;F und for the construction of new lines and new ports;Fund for extending, im proving and equipping ra ilw ay stations and ports.

The Minister for Railways, Posts and Telegraphs m ay, in agreem ent w ith the Finance M inister and with the approval of th e Cabinet, authorise th e creation of fresh funds or the suppression of existing funds.

Article 37. — The fou rth chap ter of the budget includes the appropriations for the D irectorate- General of the Bulgarian S ta te R ailw ays and Ports.

These funds shall be deposited w ith the N ational B ank of Bulgaria, which shall adm inister them, in agreement w ith th e M inister for Railways, Posts and Telegraphs, as m ay be best calculated to produce interest.

Article 38. — In terest and sinking fund on S ta te debts in respect of loans for the construction of the railway system , the purchase of rolling-stock, supplies and equipm ent, and also 011 sums for the repayment of advances under the general budget to cover provisional deficits, shall be shown in the profit and loss account of the railways.

The balance ou tstanding of all the S ta te debts was 3,990,000,000 leva as a t Decem ber 31st,

I Between now and the end of 1978, th e Bulgarian S ta te railways shall redeem th is am ount, I carrying 5 per cent in terest b y progressive instalm ents and a t th e average ra tes for paym ents of I interest and sinking fund on S ta te loans.I The table of paym ents and average ra tes for the redem ption of the railw ay debt shall be I drawn up by agreem ent betw een the M inister for Railways, Posts and Telegraphs and the Finance I Minister, and then approved b y th e Cabinet.I All expenditure in respect of in terest and sinking fund on S ta te debts contracted afte r I December 31st, 1928, arising out of loans concluded on the in itia tive of the D irectorate-G eneral of I the B u lg a r ia n S ta te Railw ays and Ports, shall be shown in th e annual profit and loss account of the I Bulgarian State railways.I As regards the o ther S ta te debts incurred afte r D ecem ber 31st, 1928, th a t p a r t of the in terest lan d sinking fund which the Sobranje shall have fixed, in consideration of the financial position of I the railways, a t the tim e of the ratification of the contracts relating to these loans or the voting I of the law on the budget of the B ulgarian S ta te railways and ports shall be shown in the annual I profit and loss account of the railways.I The service of in terest and sinking fund on the S ta te debts m entioned in the present article■ shall be effected b y the adm inistration of the public deb t for the account of the D irectorate-G eneral ■o f the Railways and P orts, which shall pay the necessary sum s to the T reasury w ithin the periods ■ l a i d dow n by the said adm inistration.

I Article 39. — T en per cent of the profits of the profit and loss account shall be paid to the ■reserve and renewal funds. The balance shall be utilised b y the M inister for Railways, Posts and ■jelegraphs for the construction of new lines in accordance w ith a program m e draw n up by him ■a n d approved by the Cabinet.

■ Article 40. — F or the covering and regular d istribu tion of the deficits on the annual profit and ■ o s s account of the railways, a reserve fund, adm inistered b y special regulation, shall be constituted.

— i8 —

The receipts from the reserve fund shall be derived from:

(a) P aym ents under A rticle 39;(b) In terest on the am ount of the fund.

The reserve fund m ay am ount, w ith com pound interest, to not m ore th an 20 per cent of the annual average operating receipts of th e railways during the last five years.

Article 41. — If the available assets of the reserve fund are no t sufficient, th e sums needed to cover losses shall be entered as expenditure in th e S ta te budget as an advance. The methods of reim bursing the sums thus charged to the S ta te budget shall be determ ined by agreement between the M inister for R ailw ays, Posts and Telegraphs and the F inance Minister.

Article 42. — All the tariffs of th e ports shall be draw n up by the D irectorate-G eneral and approved by th e M inister for Railw ays, Posts and Telegraphs.

E stim ates of th e receipts of the ports shall be entered in the operating budget of the ports, on the basis of the probable traffic and the tariffs to be applied during the budget year.

Article 43. — The receipts of the ports shall be utilised to cover the operating expenditure of th e ports, which shall include expenditure on th e renewal of fixed p lan t, vessels, lighthouses, supplies and equipm ent.

The surplus operating receipts of the ports shall be entered as receipts in the annual budget of the State.

Any operating deficits of th e ports shall be en tered as expenditure in the annual budget of th e State.

In te rest and sinking fund on S ta te debts incurred for the construction of ports, as also subsidies to shipping and o ther m aritim e undertakings, shall be a charge upon the Treasury.

Article 44. — T he provisions of Articles 25, 26 and 36 shall apply to th e budget of the ports.

Article 45. — As from the budget year 1929-30, a tw elfth of th e to ta l expenditure estimates entered in the railw ay and p o rt budgets shall be credited, in each m onth ly budget approved by the F inance M inister, to th e railw ays and ports ; to th is sum shall be added the unexpended balance of the credits authorised on account of the budget of the previous m onth.

The sums thus m ade available from one m onth to another shall continue to be deposited with th e N ational B ank of B ulgaria for th e account of the Treasury and held a t th e disposal of the D irectorate of the Railways.

Article 46. — The budget aud it office a t th e D irectorate-G eneral of the B ulgarian State R ailw ays and P orts shall be responsible to th e Finance M inister, and shall re ta in the attributions and obligations provided for in the law relating to the budget, accountancy and contracts.

The expenditure of th e railways and ports shall be audited in conform ity w ith th e principles laid down in th e Law on the Central A udit Office and th e Law on D epartm ental A udit Offices and also the Law on the B udget, A ccountancy and C ontracts, w ithout prejudice to th e provisions of the present law.

C h a p te r I V . — A c c o u n t a n c y a n d S u b m i s s i o n o f A c c o u n t s .

Article 47. — The accounts of th e Bulgarian S ta te railways and ports shall be k ep t separate from those of the o ther S ta te adm inistrations.

Article 48. — T he accounts of th e railways and ports shall be k ep t according to th e principles of book-keeping b y double entry . Special regulations shall be issued on th is subject afte r approval b y the Cabinet.

Article 49. — T he first balance-sheet of the railw ays and ports shall be draw n up and approved by the M inister for Railways, Posts and Telegraphs, as a t April 1st, 1929.

T he value of the fixed p lan t of the railw ays and ports, their rolling-stock, supplies and equipm ent, shall be brought in a t cost. The degree of depreciation of these assets shall be ascertained and debited in the balance-sheet, as a fixed am ount in th e renewals fund.

The value of th e equipm ent and stocks in h an d shall be b rough t in a t cost or a t m arket price whichever is the higher.

Article 50. — The D irectorate-G eneral shall d ra ft the annual adm inistrative report of the railw ays and ports, which shall be subm itted , no t la te r than th e end of the six th m onth following th e close of the budget year, b y the D irectorate-G eneral to th e M inister for R ailw ays, Posts and Telegraphs.

T he following shall form an in tegral p a r t of th e adm in istrative report : T he annual accounts for constructional work, operating accounts, accounts for th e auxiliary services, th e funds, the profit and loss account and the balance-sheets of the railw ays and ports.

The annual Statistical Bulletin of the railw ays and ports shall be appended to the annual adm inistrative report.

The annual balance-sheets of th e railways and ports shall also be published in the OfficeJ Gazette, w ithin the period laid down in parag raph 1 of the present article. M onthly statistical

— 19 —

in fo rm ation on the railw ays and ports shall be published in the Official Gazette a t the same tim e as Treasury Bulletin.

Article 51. — The agents, employees and officials of the railways and ports shall be responsible for the sums, valuables and m ateria l en trusted to their care.

They are only relieved of th e ir responsibility in the case of loss or dam age resulting from a criminal act, an act of God, or specially unfavourable conditions obtaining a t the tim e of their duties.

The details relating to the application of the present Article shall be laid down in the relevant regulations of the various services of th e railways and ports.

Article 52. — The accounts of all th e accoun tan ts of the B ulgarian S ta te railw ays and ports shall be checked by th e D irectorate-G eneral of the R ailw ays and Ports.

In the case of accountan ts of Category I I (Article 69 of th e Law on th e Budget, A ccountancy and Contracts), the final app roval of their accounts shall be pronounced b y th e C entral A udit Office, on the basis of th e inform ation furnished to it by th e D irectorate-G eneral of the Railw ays and Ports.

The Central A udit Office has th e righ t to supervise th e work of the employees of the Directorate-General of the Railw ays and Ports who verify the accounts subm itted by the accountants of Category II .

Note. — The accounts of the w arehouse-depots, which were not aud ited for the years p rio r to the financial year 1920-21 inclusive, shall be verified by th e com petent departm ental aud it offices. The accounts since th e financial year 1921-22 shall be verified b y th e D irectorate-G eneral. The accounts of the o ther w arehouses not h itherto audited shall be verified by th e D irectorate-G eneral, which shall begin w ith th e first accounts established in conform ity w ith the regulations on central accounting in force since Ja n u a ry 21st, 1922.

C h a p ter V . — C o n t r a c t s .

Article 53. — Purchases and con tracts for th e account of th e railw ays and ports shall be governed by th e provisions of th e chap ter en titled " C ontracts ” in th e Law on the B udget, Accountancy an d C ontracts, and b y th e provisions of th e present chapter.

With th e a u th o rity of the Cabinet, expenditure m ay be incurred in respect of operations carried out and paid for during th ree consecutive financial years.

Article 54. — The purchases, sales and con tracts shall be effected as occasion arises in the cases specified in (a) — (n) of A rticle 156 of th e Law on th e B udget, A ccountancy and C ontracts, and on the report (with exp lanato ry m em orandum ) of the D irector-G eneral, and w ith the previous consent of the M inister for R ailw ays, Posts and Telegraphs, in th e following cases:

(a) W here no offers were received, when tenders were first invited, or if it was im possible to reach an agreem ent as to prices ;

(b) In respect of purchases of m ateria l and spare p a r ts for upkeep and repairs to the rolling-stock and fixed p lan t of the ra ilw ays and ports.

Before negotiations are opened for purchases effected and contracts concluded as occasion arises, the following provisions shall be observed :

(a) F o r purchases and con trac ts of a value of less th a n 100,000 leva, th e au th o rity of the Director-General of R ailw ays and P orts m ust first be obtained ;

(b) F o r purchases and con tracts of a value of 100,000 to 2,000,000 leva, the au th o rity of the M inister for R ailw ays, Posts and Telegraphs m ust first be ob tained ;

(c) F o r purchases and con tracts of a value of m ore th an 2,000,000 leva, th e au th o rity

I of the Cabinet m ust first be obtained.

Article 55. — T he execut1on of work and th e m anufactu re of articles subject to a State monopoly shall be au thorised in pursuance of th e provisions of {a), {b) and (c) of tie preceding article, when their value exceeds 50,000 leva.

Article 56. — As regards the railw ays and ports, th e value of th e co n trac ts for work and of the purchases provided for in A rticle 161 of th e Law on th e Budget, A ccountancy and C ontracts, m ay not exceed 50,000 leva a year.

At the beginning of each financial year, th e M inister for Railw ays, Posts and Telegraphs shall fix the maxim um value of th e w ork and purchases of th is k ind which m ay be effected b y th e various services.

Article 57. — The law on th e annual budget of the railw ays and ports m ay con tain special provisions relating to co n trac ts and purchases for the construction of ra ilw ay lines and ports, and tor important supp lem entary w ork on existing lines and in existing ports.

C h a p ter V I . — F i n a l P r o v i s i o n s .

Article 58. — The details governing th e application of th is law shall be determ ined b y specialregulation.

Special regulations shall be issued for the organisation of th e various services working w ith th e ectorate-General an d for th e application of th e provisions of th e present law relating to special

matters.

The regulations shall be approved b y the M inister for Railways, Posts and Telegraphs and sanctioned by royal ukase.

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Article 59. — The following are cancelled b y th e present law:

(a) The law on the operation of the railw ays and ports sanctioned by R oyal Ukase No. 2, of J an u a ry n t h , 1908, and th e am endm ents there to sanctioned by Royal U kase No. 47 0f May i8 th , 1913.

(b) A rticle 5 of the chap ter of the law on extensions to the railw ays and ports, sanctioned by Royal U kase No. 5 of Ju n e 19th, 1925.

(c) The provisions of th e laws authorising free journeys and journeys a t reduced rates on the B ulgarian S ta te railw ays.

(d) All laws and provisions which are co n tra ry to th e term s of the present law.

Article 60. — The present law shall come in to force on th e d a te of its publication in theOfficial Gazette.

Appendix IV.

P o s i t i o n o f t h e N a t i o n a l B a n k o f B u l g a r i a .

A s a t M a y 3 1 s t , 192 9

A s a t J u n e 3 0 th , 1929

A s a t J u ly 3 1 st, 1929

L e v a L e v a L ev a

Assets :I . Gold coin and bullion . . . 1 ,3 6 0 ,9 7 7 ,1 3 6 1 ,3 6 8 ,4 2 0 ,4 9 3 1 ,378 ,813 ,0672. S i l v e r ......................................... 1 7 0 ,4 1 4 ,8 1 9 1 7 0 ,4 1 4 ,8 1 9 170,413 ,631

3 - Foreign gold exchange . . . 1 ,7 8 8 ,0 9 8 ,2 3 9 1 ,5 7 2 ,6 8 3 ,4 8 0 1 ,3 6 7 ,3 2 9 , 1 3 7

4 - O ther foreign exchange . . . 3 0 6 ,7 6 6 ,7 0 8 3 2 1 ,1 9 5 ,7 0 0 262 ,640 ,986

5 - B ulgarian coinage (smallchange)................................ 9 8 ,6 9 3 ,8 2 9 9 8 ,3 3 9 , 9 6 8 9 6 ,5 9 6 , 1 3 3

6. Bills of exchange and prom is­sory notes:

Commercial bi l l s. . . . 9 4 9 ,8 4 2 ,2 2 1 1 ,0 2 0 ,5 9 1 ,7 2 1 1 ,002 ,515 ,761T reasury b i l l s .................. — — —

7 - A dvances :To th e G overnm ent . . — - —

O ther advances . . . . 5 7 3 ,1 5 7 , 2 1 6 6 1 3 ,8 9 4 ,8 9 0 534 ,138 ,462

8. S ta te deb t ................................ 3 ,6 4 5 ,2 4 1 ,5 7 3 3 ,5 7 8 ,3 5 4 , 4 0 4 3 ,5 4 6 ,0 9 6 , 8 8 4

9 - In v e s tm e n ts ............................... 2 9 3 ,1 0 9 , 3 0 3 2 9 6 ,3 2 5 ,1 4 7 289 ,188 ,490

10. Buildings and equipm ent . . 3 3 ,6 4 4 ,6 6 2 3 4 ,5 2 0 ,8 3 0 34 ,638,53011. O ther a sse ts ................................ 3 0 1 ,1 4 2 ,7 0 8 293,39 ! ,8 0 6 309,999 ,155

T otal A ssets....................... 9 ,5 2 1 ,0 8 8 ,4 1 7 9 ,3 6 8 ,1 3 3 ,2 6 0 8 ,992 ,371 ,240

Liabilities :12. C apital paid u p ....................... 5 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 5 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 500,000,000

13- Reserve f u n d s ........................... 1 ,1 7 1 ,1 8 8 ,2 3 3 1 ,1 7 0 ,8 2 6 ,4 9 9 1,169,123 ,795

I 4 - N otes in circulation . . . . 3 ,9 7 7 , 1 5 5 , 1 4 5 3 ,9 7 1 ,7 8 9 ,2 0 2 3 ,974 ,443,35215- O ther sight liabilities, in le v a . 2 ,8 7 5 ,6 0 0 ,9 9 0 2 ,7 2 8 ,7 9 5 ,2 1 5 2 ,3 0 9 ,3 I 3 ,9 8 4

16. D eposits in leva a t notice . . 4 5 8 ,4 3 8 , 5 3 9 4 5 5 ,0 4 4 ,2 4 4 4 5 4 ,5 2 0 , 9 0 3

1 7 - Foreign exchange liabilities . 1 7 4 ,5 6 3 , 3 2 9 1 3 6 ,3 5 3 , 2 4 3 140,984,115

18. O ther l i a b i l i t i e s ....................... 3 6 4 ,1 4 2 ,1 7 9 4 0 5 ,3 2 4 ,8 5 5 443,985,089

T otal liabilities . . . . 9 ,5 2 1 ,0 8 8 ,4 1 7 9 ,3 6 8 ,1 3 3 ,2 6 0 8 ,992 ,371,240

Cover :(P roportion of gold and silver, plus

net am ount of foreign gold ex­change, to banknotes in circula­tion , plus sight liabilities) . . . 4 5 .8 9 % 4 4 -4 0 % 44-17%

D iscount r a t e .................................... 9 % 9 % 10% fromJ u ly 2nd, 1929^