SETTLEMENT OF BULGARIAN REFUGEES

[Distributed to the Council and the Members of the League.] Official No. : O. 3 7 2. M. 158. 1930. II. [F.815.J Geneva, Ju ly 10th, 1930. LEAGUE OF NATIONS SETTLEMENT OF BULGARIAN REFUGEES Fifteenth Report the Commissioner of the League of Nations in Bulgaria Period from February 15th to M ay 15th, 1930. [Translation.] 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. Appendix No. 1 of the present report shows the position of the 1926 Refugee Settlem ent 7% Loan at April 31st, 1930, including th e accrued interest on the unexpended balance of th e loan which is on deposit in London and New York. The sterling value of the sums still available in foreign moneys is about 567,592. II. Y i e l d o f R e v e n u e s a s s ig n e d a s S e c u r it y f o r t h e L o a n. The am ounts paid into the account for revenues assigned as security for the 1926 7% Loan in February, M arch and April 1930 are shown below in leva: Monthly average of budget estimates Chapters of the budget Receipts Year 1929-30 Year 1930-31 February March April February-March April Chapter 15 (excise d u ty on alcohol, etc.).. Chapter 16 (excise duty n salt, etc.).., Chapter 21 (sale of m a tc h e s )... 2,044,805 22,675,175 6,201,000 2,046,130 31,437.577 7,578,000 3,849,203 25,855,808 9,279,000 6,666,666 25,416,666 9,166,666 5,416,666 27,500,000 9,583,333 Total.. 30,920,980 31,061,707 38,984,011 41,249,998 42,499,999 The receipts from th e assigned revenues are usually a t th eir lowest at this period of the year, they amounted to 120,229,284 leva in th e previous quarter, but fell to 100,966,698 leva in these three months. The service of the loan was, however, fully assured, since it required only about 42 m illion leva. The income from taxes etc., has been considerably affected lately by the present crisis and the general receipts of the Treasury have decreased as com pared w ith last year. Consequently, we yield from the assigned revenues was slightly lower during th e period under review th an during the corresponding period last year, when receipts am ounted to 105,574,963 leva. Sd!xT7 c- 75 (F.) 1.000 (A.) 7/30. Imp. Kundig. Series of League of N ations Publications II. ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL 1930. II. 25.

2 Paym ents by refugees as interest and for the repaym ent of expenditure incurred in settling them were (in leva) as follows : February March April Previous payments Total payments up to the end of April I n t e r e s t... A m ortisation... 55.991 3 i 9,57o 114,513 671,891 72,077 354,951 816,535 8,432,034 1,059,116 9,778,446 T otal... 375,56i 786,404 427,028 9,248,569 10,837,562 These paym ents, almost all of which still represent paym ents in advance, have remained at th e sam e level as in the preceding quarter. Paym ents in respect of th e few contracts which fell due (two years after signature) during this period were effected w ithout difficulty. In view of the present critical position, this is an encouraging sign of the refugees desire to carry out their obligations punctually. III. B u d g e t E s t im a t e s f o r t h e A s s ig n e d R e v e n u e s f o r t h e Y e a r 1930-31. The budget for the fiscal year 1930-31, voted by the Sobranje on May 13th, contains the following estim ates for receipts from the revenues assigned as security for the service of the 1926 7% Loan. (Leva) Estimates for the year 1930-31 ±Lstimates for the year 1929-30 Difference Chapter 15 (excise d u ty on alcohol, etc.) 65,000,000 80,000,000 15,000,000 Chapter 16 (excise d u ty on salt, etc.).. 330,000,000 305,000,000 + 25,000,000 Chapter 21 (sale of m atch e s)... 115,000,000 110,000,000 + 5,000,000 T o tal... 510,000,000 495,000,000 + 15,000,000 The annual am ount required for the service of the loan is about 170 million leva. The receipts from the assigned revenues in the past year, as com pared w ith the estimates for the year 1930-31, are as follows: (Leva) Estimates for the year 1930-31 Receipts in the year 1929-30 Difference Chapter 15 (excise duty on alcohol, etc.) Chapter 16 (excise d u ty on salt, etc.).. Chapter 21 (sale of m atch es)... 65,000,000 330,000,000 1X 5,000,000 57,942,232 346,193,326 110,874,353 7,057,7^ 4-16,193,326 4,125,647 T o tal... 510,000,000 515,009,911 + 5, 9,9n The estim ated receipts are, therefore, no greater than the actual receipts of the preceding year. The surpluses in Chapter 16 will, if they continue, offset the deficit in Chapter 15 which, as I have repeatedly stated in m y preceding reports,1 is m ainly due to the poor yield of the excise d u ty on alcohol. 1 Since the opening of the assign ed revenues account, there has every year been a regular decrease in the e s t i m a t e d receipts for Chapter 15. Estim ated receipts for Chapter 15: Year Leva 1926-27 120,000,000 1927-28 100,000,000 1928-29 80,000,000 1929-30 65,000,000 A

IV. E x e c u t io n o f t h e S e t t l e m e n t P l a n. There was an unusually wet spring this year and, at th e tim e of sending th e report, settlem ent work had only just begun. The position has therefore rem ained almost unchanged during the quarter, and th e figures below are practically the same as those given in th e report. The General Directorate for the Settlem ent of Refugees has, however, taken th e necessary steps to ensure that, in spite of the delay in beginning the work, this y ear s program m e should be carried out that is to say, th at the greater p art of w hat has still to be done should be com pleted by the winter. I t seems, therefore, th at, unforeseen contingencies apart, only a little work remains for next year, such as the draining of the marshes, th e construction of th e railw ay and the building of houses in th e K araboas district. This w inter the refugees passed through an extrem ely difficult period. The effects of the poor harvest were keenly felt, and had not the General D irectorate distributed seed in some districts, the refugees would not have had enough food. I t is of good augury for the future of the work th a t, in spite of this fresh period of trial, the refugees have not allowed themselves to become disheartened and have retained unshaken th eir confidence in better times to come. Everywhere land has been put under cultivation, and m uch wooded ground was cleared during the winter to m ake it ready for th e spring sowing. It is too early as yet to express a definite opinion w ith regard to the coming harvest, b u t it promises so far to be an unusually good one, and there is reason to hope th a t the refugees will at last be rewarded for th eir persistence. (a) Various Supplies. Less seed was distributed during this quarter. Large quantities were supplied in the autum, when, as the result of th e very bad harvest, a large num ber of refugees had to be provided w ith seed. These supplies, th e accounts for which were draw n up only during these last m onths, amounted to 3,227,551 kilogrammes, representing 20,226,273 leva. Since the sta rt of th e work, 10,939,811 kilogrammes of seed (worth 65,102.416 leva) have been distributed. This spring, 708 head of livestock were delivered. The am ount of livestock distributed from th e beginning is as follows : Horses and mules Oxen and cows. Buffaloes.... Animals V alue 5,937 12,145 53,292,487 leva 71,492,112,, 2,510 15,375,001,, In the distribution of material there was 110 im portant change. 20,592 140,159,600 leva (b) Houses. The position at the tim e of sending th e report is sum m ed up in th e following table : Houses Sheds Byres Finished Contracted for Finished Contracted for Finished Contracted for Built by private enterprise... Built on a monopoly basis by the General Directorate for the Settlement of Refugees.. Built by th e refugees th e m s e lv e s... 3,339 365 174 2,241 958 400 2,546 279 129 1,495 893 268 2,905 309 137 2,051 577 308 T o t a l... 3,878 3,779 2,954 2,656 3,35 i 2,936 Figures at the end of the previous quarter... 3,73i 1,962 2,869 1,468 3,257 1,736 It will be seen from th e above figures th a t, while there has been little change in th e num ber houses finished, this y ear s building program m e has been considerably extended.

4 U p to the present, the num ber of applications for houses received is 9,330 N um ber of houses ready.... Num ber of houses now being built 3,878 3,779 7,657 Num ber of houses still to be b u i l t... 1,673 Now th a t the General D irectorate has acquired m ore experience in this kind of work, I expect th a t the obstacles form erly encountered (difficulties in connection w ith supplies of raw m aterials, disputes w ith th e contractors) will not recur, and th a t alm ost all the houses now building will be finished b y the autum n. The m ajority of the 1,673 houses still to be built, for which no provision has yet been made, are intended for refugees who are to be removed from the frontier zones and settled on land in the lower plain of K araboas. The building of these houses depends, therefore, upon the completion of the dyke, and it will h ard ly be possible to begin this work before next year. As I have said, building work began this year later th a n had been expected. Advantage was taken, however, of this forced delay to collect th e stocks of m aterial and place them on the sites. The price of houses under recent contracts are practically the same as last year, varying, for a finished house, between 65,000 and 78,000 leva, i.e., about 100. (c) Land. The position, which is practically th e sam e as at the end of th e previous quarter, is shorn in the following table : Departm ent Land surveyed (decares) Land allotted (decares) Number of families Average area allotted (decares) B u r g a s... 549,393 485,759 11,747 41-35 V arn a... 68,626 61,098 1,555 39-29 V id in... 8,929 8,929 282 31.66 P e tritc h... 120,470 110,352 4,952 22.28 V ratcha... 22,621 21,872 639 34-17 P lo v d iv... 24,505 23,971 1,290 18.58 P l e v n a... 18,761 17,201 517 33-27 R u s tc h u k... 47,789 32,043 855 37-47 S tara Z agora... 14,051 12,886 395 32.62 T irn o v o... 17,111 17,012 455 37-39 H a s k o v o... 156,876 131,729 3,012 43-73 S c h u m e n... 40,778 38,443 1,120 34-32 M a s t a n l a... 81,410 51,701 i, 44i 35-88 T o t a l... 1,171,320 1,012,996 28,260 35-84 Figures at February 15th, 1 9 3 0.. 1,164,787 T,008,755 28,249 3d -7* The L and V aluation Committee has done a great deal of work and it has valued the land of 20,900 families (14,146 at the end of the previous quarter). The General Directorate has draw n up plans of plots and presented them to th e owners (23,753). The area m echanically ploughed has increased from 50,570 decares to 57,263 decares. A total area of 39,000 decares has been cleared since the beginning, as com pared w ith 28,000 on F ebruary 15th. So far 48 million leva have been spent on the land 12,500,000 on mechanical ploughing, and 35,500,000 on clearing work. The position is unchanged. (d) Supply of D rinking Water. (e) Means of Communication. W ork having only just been resum ed a t the tim e of sending the report, there has been no im portant progress w ith regard either to the railways or to th e roads. I stated in m y last report th a t resort had been h ad to arb itratio n in order to settle the dispute5 w ith th e contractors for th e Rakovsky-M astanla Railway, due to th e rise in th e price of material5 and labour. A greem ent was finally reached ; th e sum to be paid to th e contractors, over an above the prices fixed b y the contracts, being settled a t approxim ately 15,500,000 leva. As I explained in th e sam e report, I decided th a t the expenses for the c o n s tru c tio n o ft line to be borne b y the loan should be restricted to th e sum laid down in the Settlement P an

5 300 million leva. The paym ents already made am ount to 255 million leva, and to these m ust now be added the increase in th e prices paid to the contractors. Consequently, a sum of 29,500,000 leva is still available. It is understood th a t the expenses th a t will necessarily be incurred in opening the line shall be charged to the railways budget. (f) D raining of Marshes. (i) The construction of the dyke in th e lower plain of Karaboas is being pushed forward rapidly, the Danube spring floods having been less serious th an usual. It will be rem em bered th a t this im portant work was entrusted to th e D irectorate of Compulsory Labour. There is now every reason to expect th a t it will be com pleted by the tim e anticipated. A t present, 2,900 workmen are employed, and th e num ber will be increased to 4,500 on Ju ly 1st. (ii) The draining of the Messemvria m arsh is proceeding regularly and according to programme. This is not the case w ith the Stralja and Mandra m arshes. At S tralja, only 15 per cent of the work had been completed at the end of seventeen m onths. The undertaking has had to be wound up, and negotiations have been opened w ith a view to m aking th e D irectorate of Compulsory Labour responsible for th e continuation of th e work. At M andra, after seven m onths work, hardly any progress has been made, and the General D irectorate will probably be obliged to cancel the contract. (g) Health. 1. Anti-malaria Campaign. The anti-m alaria service, established in 1927 in the Department of Burgas under Professor Swellengrebel s plan, was taken over, as arranged, by the Public H ealth A uthority on April 1st. I stated in m y last report th a t the expenses which would be incurred in com pleting certain work undertaken last year would be m et b y a supplem entary credit for health expenses of 2,500,000 leva, which was approved by th e Financial Committee at its Jan u a ry 1930 session. We have also been obliged to provide for the m aintenance of p art of the medical staff until the autumn, in order to facilitate the transition from the old to th e new organisation. The additional expenses for the Burgas anti-m alaria service, which have thus been m ade chargeable to th e loan, am ount to 1,865,750 leva: For san itary w o r k... 1,390,250 For staff expenses... 475,500 2. Extension of our Health Services. In accordance w ith the request received from the Bulgarian Government in Septem ber last, the H ealth Organisation of the League of Nations appointed an expert Professor Jessner, of Breslau to enquire into th e conditions for an extension of the health services in the D epartm ent of Burgas. Professor Jessner, accompanied by Dr. Olsen of the Secretariat, came to Bulgaria in April. After visiting th e area, Professor Jessner worked out a plan which will be laid before the Health Organisation. Professor Jessner intends to supervise the carrying out of the plan, and proposes to spend several weeks in the D epartm ent of Burgas next summer. We are extremely grateful to Professor Jessner for th e valuable assistance he is kindly giving us in improving the health of the people of this district, where such a large num ber of refugees is settled. The expenditure th a t will necessarily be incurred in the establishm ent of the new service, and its maintenance until April 1st, 1931 (when it will be taken over by the Public H ealth A uthority), have not yet been fully ascertained, but will probably exceed the credits provided for. After 1,865,750 leva have been appropriated for the winding-up of our share of the work in the antimalaria campaign, out of the supplem entary credit of 2,500,000 leva approved by the Financial Committee, only 634,250 leva remain for the proposed extension. The expenditure on Professor Jessner s programme will probably considerably exceed this sum. Leva B. 7 1 4 % Stabilisation Loan of 1928. The position of the 7 % % 1928 Loan at April 30th, 1930, is shown in Appendix II of this report. The available am ount on deposit at London and Paris in foreign exchange is about *,695,000. I. Y i e l d f r o m t h e A s s ig n e d R e v e n u e s. During February, March and April 1930, th e sums received by way of revenues assigned as security for the loan were (in leva) as follows : Monthly average of budget estimates Year 1929-30 Year 1930-31 February March April (Feb.-March) (April) 51,736.154 66,311,028 59,602,648 113,333,333 108,333,333

6 The decrease in receipts from th e assigned revenues which began in th e previous quarter (when these receipts came to 281,926,561 leva) became still more m arked in the last three months, the to tal sum received being only 177,649,830 leva, as com pared w ith 360,804,753 in the corresponding period last year. The drop in im ports has m eant a rapid falling-off in Customs receipts, which will continue w ithout any appreciable change so long as it is not possible to dispose of the stocks accumulated in the country as a result of last y ear s excessive im ports. The service of th e loan was, however, assured w ithout any difficulty, since only about 72 million leva (approxim ately 40 per cent of the available sum) were employed for this purpose. Receipts from the assigned revenues for the year ended on M arch 31st, 1930, com pared with the estim ates, were as follows: (Leva) Chapter of the budget Budget estimates for the year 1929-30 Receipts in the year 1929-30 Difference C hapter 11 (im port d u tie s )... Chapter 12 (export d u tie s )... Chapter 13 (3% ad valorem ta x on exported g o o d s )... C hapter 14 (warehousing and statistical dues)...... 1,185,000,000 80,000,000 10,000,000 85,000,000 1,236,209,845 63,113,528 3,833,527 103,965,125 + 51-209,845 16,886,472 6,166,473 + 18,965,125 T o t a l... 1,360,000,000 1,407,122,025 + 47>!22,025 D uring these twelve m onths, th e service of the loan required about 291 million leva, that is to say, approxim ately only one-fifth of th e to tal assigned revenues. II. B u d g e t E s t im a t e s f o r t h e A s s ig n e d R e v e n u e s f o r t h e Y e a r 1930-31. The budget for the fiscal year 1930-31 contains the following estim ates for receipts from revenues assigned as security for the 7 % % 1928 Loan: (Leva) Chapter of the budget Estimates for the year 1929-30 Receipts in the year 1929-30 Difference Chapter n (import d u t i e s )... C hapter 12 (export d u t i e s )... C hapter 13 (3 % ad valorem ta x on exported g o o d s )... C hapter 14 (warehousing and statistical d u e s )... 1,200,000,000 40,000,000 60,000,000 1,236,209,845 63,113,528 3,835,527 103,965,125 36,209,843 2 3,113,528 3,835,527 43,965>I25 T otal.. 1,300,000,000 1,407,122,025 107,122,025 There are no longer any receipts under C hapter 13, as a result of the application of the law of Ju ly 1st, 1929, on trad e in foreign exchange, which abolished the 3% ta x on goods. The law on exports, voted on March 27th, 1930, exem pted certain products from payment of export duties and various o ther taxes. The estim ated receipts under Chapters 12 and 14 were consequently reduced. In accordance w ith the stipulations of Article II (4) of th e Protocol of March 10th, 1928, the Trustees of th e 7 % % 1928 Loan agreed to th e two laws above mentioned. I I I. E m p l o y m e n t o f t h e L o a n. i. 1,250,000 Sterling Block for Means of Communication (Article V I of the Protocol)- (a) Railways : The following figures sum m arise the position a t F ebruary 1st, 1930: T otal works a u th o r is e d... 630,000,000 Value of contracts concluded and w ork undertaken on a m onopoly basis b y the A d m in istra tio n... 480,000,000 Sums already allotted to th e r a i l w a y s... 389,693,207 Leva

7 (b) Roads. The progress has not been so satisfactory as we had hoped, and it is now certain th a t a large part of the program m e cannot be completed until next year. Out of a to tal credit of 176,266,179 leva, com m itm ents am ount to only 119,209,300 leva, which the actual expenditure (excluding an advance of 10,000,000 to th e D irectorate of Compulsory Labour), viz., 11,310,758 leva, is still negligible. I regret th a t m y suggestions for hastening th e drawing up of th e plans, to which I referred in my last report, have not been adopted by th e A dm inistration of Bridges and Highways. Additional undertakings have been entrusted to th e D irectorate of Compulsory Labour, representing an increase, according to the specifications, of 3,440,000 leva. The following figures sum m arise th e position at April 30th, 1930: Expenditure Commitments Sums actually approved on contracts expended (a) B y contracts: (in leva) R o a d s... 57,760,000 49,779,300 8,292,503 B ridges... 54,800,000 39,221,000 3,018,255 (b) By the Directorate of Compulsory Labour: R o a d s... 35,540,000 30,209,000 10,000,0001 (c) Purchase of material: Motor t a n k s... 1,000,000 149,100,000 119,209,300 21,310,758 2. 500,000 Sterling Block for Reconstruction of the Devastated Areas (Article VIIA of the Protocol). The to tal expenditure hitherto approved is 350,669,100 leva, a larger sum than the proceeds from the block earm arked for the devastated areas 336 million leva. In point of fact, as I have explained in preceding reports, savings are always effected as compared with the specifications when the contracts are actually placed, and the to tal com m itments will not exceed the equivalent of the 500,000. Except for th e construction of a bridge over the M aritza, which will not be completed until next year, all the work will, unless unforeseen circumstances arise, be finished by the winter. The following figures summarise the position at M ay 1st, 1930: (Leva) Expenditure approved Commitments on contracts Sums actually expended Public buildings... Roads and b r i d g e s... Railways... Water c o n d u its... Regulation of riv e rs... Overhead and various expenditure... 267,448,100 46.725.000 7.375.000 10.421.000 9.700.000 9,000,000 229,578,084 39,334,820 6,342,850 9,694,262 8,825,000 139,291,641 13,172,549 5,854,072 4,975,184 6,533,9 37 3,353,454 ----- T o t a l... 350,669,100 293,769,016 173,180,837 IV. B u d g e t. According to particulars given b y th e M inistry of Finance, the 1929-30 budget results (including the budget for railw ays and harbours, th e " special funds incorporated in th e budget and the 1 Advance on account for the work to be carried out.

8 sum paid by the Greek G overnm ent 130 million leva under the Molloff-Caphandaris Convention) were, as appears from the closed accounts at March 31st, 1930, as follows : Results of the budget for the year 1929-30, Budget estimates ended a t March 31st, for the year Difference 1930 1929-30 R e c e ip ts... 7,580,876 7,933,450 352,574 E x p e n d itu r e... 6,482,939 8,725,960 2,243,021 Book s u rp lu s... 1,097,937 792,510 1,890,447 In order to ascertain the actual Treasury position at M arch 31st, the following sums must be deducted from the anticipated surplus : In thousands of leva Book s u rp lu s... 1,097,937 (a) E xpenditure under th e extraordinary budget of 1927-28 and 1 9 2 8-2 9... 28,280 (b) Expenditure on account of supplem entary credits voted during the w a r... 113,061 (c) Orders and com m itm ents 011 account of th e year 1 9 2 9-3 0 7 5 8,6 6 4 ------------ 900,005 A ctual s u r p l u s... 197,932 According to Article VI of th e Protocol of March 10th, 1928, th e Bulgarian Government was to keep the 1929-30 budget (excluding the special funds) w ithin the lim it of 7,000 million leva. E xpenditure has am ounted to 6,482,939,000 leva, to which must be added th e expenditure not yet actually effected, viz., 900,005,000 leva. The to tal expenditure under the ordinary budget and the railways budget was 7,382,942,000 leva. D educting the special funds (223 millions), expenditure am ounts to 7,159 million leva, a slightly higher figure th an the m axim um fixed. The actual surplus m ay be reduced as a result of the budget system in force, which allows expenditure m ade during the three m onths following on the financial year i.e., up to June 30th to be included in the accounts for the financial year ended at March 31st. Further, a supplem entary budget of 463 millions was voted on April 3rd, 1930. It is specially laid down in the finance law on the supplem entary budget th a t expenditure on account of this budget is to be m et by the savings effected on the ordinary budget, as also by the surplus receipts of this budget. The following table shows the receipts collected during the year 1929-30 : Results of the year 1928-29 Results of the year 1929-30 Estimates for the year 1929-30 + or in the year 1929-30, as compared with the estimates Direct t a x e s... 706,064 5 7 4,6 1 9 920,000 345,380 Indirect t a x e s... 2,797,763 2,807,416 2,8l8,000 10,583 D u t i e s... 748,413 803,230 717,000 + 86,231 Fines and co n fiscatio n s... 103,853 85,970 93,000 7,029 Railways and h a r b o u r s... --- 140,000 140,000 Posts, telegraphs, telephones... 275,672 293,998 290,000 + 3,99s S tate dom ain and capital.... 240,543 362,033 498,000 135,966 Share of the communes in teachers s a la r ie s... 449,454 5 1 5,2 0 3 477,000 + 38,203 Miscellaneous revenue... 114,587 92,004 121,000 28,996 Revenue from closed budgets.. 439,423 4 1 5,9 4 7 200,000 + 215,947 T o t a l... 5,875,774 5,950,426 6,274,000 323,575 9 8 -Sgri; F u n d s... 275,597 242,427 466,150 223,723 R a ilw a y s... 1,205,263 1,258,023 1,193,300 + 64,723 Sum paid by the Greek Government - 130,000 I + 130,000 G rand t o t a l... 7,356,634 7,580,876 7,9 3 3,4 5 0 352,574 The 140 million leva entered under the heading Railways in th e estim ated re c e ip ts for th e year 1929-30, represents th e sum paid by th e railw ays under th e new railw ay o rg a n is a tio n law, in am ortisation o f th eir debt t o th e State. The corresponding deficit should disappear when t railw ays have draw n up th eir balance-sheet and profit an d loss account for th e year 1929-30. 1

À 9 The above figures show th a t receipts were very much lower th an th e estim ates. This is directly due to the economic crisis, which, b y paralysing production in all its branches, quickly reduced the tax-paying capacity of the country. As already stated, the drop in im ports led to a rapid falling-off in Customs receipts, which represent alm ost one-sixth of the to tal receipts. Further, the Governm ent was obliged to postpone collection of the land ta x and house d u ty until next year, since these taxes cannot be collected before the harvest. There were considerable surpluses in the first m onths of th e year, but deficits appeared in the autum n and rapidly increased. In the last three m onths th e yield was particularly poor, as is shown by th e following table. Receipts of the ordinary budget Year 1929-30 Year 1928-29 Difference J a n u a r y... 376,259 435,882 59,623 F e b ru a ry... 4 6 0,4 5 7 497>6i 3 37>T56 M a r c h... 388,714 545,4*9 I 57>7 5 T o t a l... 1,285,430 1,478,914 193,484 The receipts in the last three m onths of the year 1929-30 represent only 72 per cent of the budget estim ates. In the corresponding period last year, th ey am ounted to 116 per cent of the estimates. There will be no perm anent im provem ent until the economic crisis is past in all probability in the autum n, when the harvest, which so far promises to be a very good one, has been gathered. In the meanwhile, th e budget m ust be strictly adhered to and the policy of economy initiated by the Finance M inister m ust be carried out m ore energetically th an ever. The results of the railways budget have, on the other hand, been satisfactory, although, since October 1929, there has been a considerable falling-off in receipts, due both to the economic crisis and to the seasonal decrease in traffic. Results of the Railways budget railways budget for estimates the year 1929-30, for the year Difference as shown on March 1929-30 31st, 1930 Receipts... 1,258,023 1,193,300 + 64,723 E x p e n d itu r e... 789,679 1,280,771 491,092 Book s u rp lu s... 468,344 87,471 + 565,815 The balance-sheet and profit and loss account for th e past year had not yet been drawn up at the tim e of sending this report. The results of the first y ear s adm inistration under the new system cannot yet, therefore, be ascertained w ith certainty. Very probably, however, the anticipated surplus a t March 31st will, even if reduced, be enough to m eet th e liabilities incurred by the railways under the reorganisation law. The ordinary budget for the new financial year was voted on M ay 13th, 1930. It is sum m arised in the following tab le : Expenditure Revenue Head of S t a t e... 75,486 Public d e b t...2,290,000 Audit o f f i c e... 21,818 Foreign Affairs and Public W orship... 144-500 Interior and Public H ealth.. 442,396 E d u ca tio n... 898,760 F in a n ce... 192,500 J u s t i c e... 207,054 W a r... 1,087,040 Commerce, In d u stry and Labour 135,451 Agriculture and Dom ains... 200,600 Public W o r k s... 393,669 Railways... 54 >7 3 "osts, Telegraphs and Telephones 227,500 A ero n au tics... 36,706 Bulgarian Commissariat for R e p a r a tio n s... 37,000 D irect t a x e s... 942,000 Indirect taxes... 2,731,000 D uties... 759,000 Fines and confiscations.... 89,000 Railways and ports... 125,850 Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones 306,000 Revenue from th e domains and c a p i t a l... 530,000 Share of the communes and the salaries of schoolm asters... 485,000 Miscellaneous... 806,000 Receipts on account of past b u d g e t s... 226,000 6,445,186 incorporated F u n d s... 5 5 3,6 5 7 T otal....... 6,998,843 T o t a l... 6,999,850

10 The ordinary budget for the year 1930-31 (including special funds and sums paid by the Greek Government), compared w ith the preceding year as a t M arch 31st, 1930, is as follows : Results of the Budget estimates year 1929-30 as a t for the year March 31st, 1930 1930-31 Receipts... 6,322,853 6,999,850 E x p e n d itu r e... 5,693,260 6,998,843 No im portant change, as com pared w ith th e preceding year s budget, was introduced by the finance law on the 1930-31 budget. Certain provisions of this law should, however, be mentioned. The Minister of Finance is required, in view of the present difficulties in collecting taxes, to effect a to tal saving of 500 millions as com pared w ith th e estim ated expenditure. G overnm ent clerks engaged by th e day are no longer to be employed. No paym ent to a foreign country m ay be made w ithout w ritten authorisation by the Finance Minister, who is further directed to draw up during th e year regulations establishing officials salaries on a uniform basis. A t the tim e of sending th e report, the railw ays budget for the year 1929-30 had not yet been laid before the Sobranje. V. N a t io n a l B a n k. The B ank has continued th e policy th a t it adopted in view of the difficulties caused by last y ear s poor harvest. A restriction of credits is still justified as a necessry consequence of the present critical state of affairs, which although there are signs th a t an early improvement m ay be hoped for still renders th e greatest caution im perative. B y May 15th, industrial investm ents were reduced to a to tal of 1,048 millions, viz. : 680millions for bills and 368 millions for advances. A t the beginning of the quarter, industrial investments represented 1,237 millions, having reached their highest point since the stabilisation 1,718 millions on October 31st, 1929. The net am ount of gold exchange used as cover further declined from 576 to 344 millions (it should be noted th a t gold exchange holdings have rem ained practically stable since May 31st, when th ey am ounted to 366 millions). As against this, th e B ank s to ta l exchange holdings, including, not only gold exchange used as cover, but also all other exchange, have not greatly altered 759 millions on May 15th, as com pared w ith 773 millions on February 15th. Following activity in the tobacco m arket, there was a slight rise in exports in th e last m onths, while imports, on the other hand, show a heavy decline. I t m ay therefore be inferred from the present trend of foreign trad e th a t th e depression which has influenced exchange holdings since th e beginning of 1929 is becoming less m arked. It would be rash to express a definite opinion now w ith regard to the value of the next harvest. The prospects, which are a t present excellent, will it is to be hoped be borne out by the results. W inter cultivation was carried out under very good conditions, and circumstances were favourable for the spring sowings. From th e only crop the q u an tity of which can at present be anticipated the colza crop, largely exported more th an 20 million kilos will be obtained. If, therefore, the expectations of th e 1930 harvest are fulfilled, it will be possible to export large quantities and, even should world prices rem ain a t last year s level, a considerable yield from exports m ay be counted upon from the autum n onwards. The reduction of the N ational B ank s commercial credits was m ade easier by th e stagnation th a t still prevails in every branch of th e country s economic life. Business is slack, and business men who have discharged their existing liabilities decline to contract fresh ones. The opposition to the N ational B ank s policy which, as I stated in m y last report, was a t first almost violent, has been succeeded by a more objective understanding of th e facts. The various credit houses have m oreover greatly restricted their investm ents and increased their available funds. In spite of the com parative easiness of capital, the rate of interest has rem ained practically at last year s level, and th e world reduction in m oney rates has not, on account of th e crisis, had any great effect. There has been a w e lc o m e advance in the tendency of the credit houses tow ards concentration (in particular, the three leading purely Bulgarian banks have lately am algam ated). A law exem pting am algam ation proceedings from duties and taxes has been voted ; and this rationalising policy cannot be too m uch encouraged. The depreciation of th e leva led to th e creation of an unduly large num ber of sm all and insecurely established banks which, now th a t norm al conditions have been restored, find it very difficult to carry on, and would, if m aintained in their present state, be an obstacle to th e organisation of banking on m ore rational lines. An im portant step recently taken by th e Co-operative General B oard 1 should be m e n tio n e d here. The co-operative m ovem ent in Bulgaria is deeply rooted, and has greatly developed since th e war, as will be seen from the following figures. T w enty per cent of the active population belong 1 The Co-operative General Board, the research and supervisory organ of the co-operative societies, whic?! set up by the law on the Co-operative Central Bank, is an autonomous institution, which is in direct relations wi ^ Ministries and D epartm ents with regard to questions with which it is concerned. I t includes the members of the of the Co-operative Central Bank, and representatives of the co-operative societies elected a t the societies' annual cong

II to the co-operative societies, and on December 31st last the credits of these societies w ith the banks to which co-operative credits are entrusted (the A gricultural B ank and the Co-operative Central Bank) am ounted to 1,898 millions, while the societies' own resources were 2,485 millions. The results obtained by the Bulgarian co-operative societies are, however, clearly not as good as they should be in comparison w ith the work done. A general reform of the system is called for, and, with this end in view, the Co-operative General Board has directed a com m ittee specially appointed for the purpose (including representatives of the Governm ent D epartm ents and of the co-operative societies) to examine w hat reforms should be introduced into the organisation and work of the societies in order th at they m ay give larger returns. F urther, the Board has decided to lav the conclusions of this enquiry before the Economic and Financial Section of the League and to ask the latter to assist it in achieving its object. This action on the p art of the Co-operative General Board is an im portant step forward in the economic reconstruction of Bulgaria. VI. L e g is l a t io n. Article 3 of the Stabilisation and M onetary Law fixed at 68o/ioooths the fineness of the silver coins to be put in circulation. This fineness was reduced to 500/ioooths by a law voted on February 26th, 1930, am ending Article 3 of the first m entioned law. V II. St a t is t ic s. (Supplied by the N ational Bank.) A. Foreign Trade in the First Four Months. Im ports. Exports. 1928 2,318,382 r,943,34i 1929 2,398,586 2,019,792 1930 r,45o,995 1,967,431 375,041 378,794 + 516,436 B. Wholesale Price Index Numbers. (19x4 == roo.) March.. June... September December 1928 1929 1930 3,021 3,290 Jan u a ry. 3,107 3,078 3,245 February.... 2,990 3,05r 3, m March... 2,732 3,210 3,076 April...... 2,721 C. Total of Protested Bills. 1st q u arter. 2nd quarter. 3rd quarter. 4th q u arter. 1928 1929 1930 318,508 302,793 860,686 289,699 372,042 41:2,053 5n,245 411,634 937,335 1,431,894 2,123,415 860,686 Appendix I. Sta tem en t o f t h e S p e c ia 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 1926, a s a t A p r il 30TH, 1930. (a) A ominal amount : Sterling block s. d. Dollar block Yield in leva 2,400,000 $4,500,000 (b) Net amount. 2,1 1 2,0 0 0 o 0 3,9 1 5,0 0 0.

(c) Deduct: R edem ption of 1912 to s. d. 19x3 Treasury Bonds. 625,88911 6 H alf-year s reserve.. 90,000 0 o 1 168,750. 1 Miscellaneous expenses : stam ps, printing of bonds, e tc...49,474 4 1 ------------------ 765,363 15 7 (d) Add : 1,346,636 4 5 3,746,250. I n t e r e s t... 112,030 10 6 316,821.29 (e) Subtract: 2 1,458,666 14 11 4,063,071.29 Am ounts released... 969,558 4 1 3,686,420.51 (f) Amounts released in l e v a... 1,147,003,3972 Placed at disposal of : (1) The D irectorate Leva for th e Settlem ent of Refugees... 1,068,824,302 (2) The Governm ent (for the reconstruction of devastated areas)... 45,000,000 -------------------- 1,113,824,302 1,113,824,302 ---------------------- 33,179,095 (g) Equivalent of the half-year s reserve in le v a... 83,851,875 Available B a la n c e... 489,108 10 10 $376,650.78 Leva 117,030,970 (Deposited in (Deposited in (Deposited with London.) New York.) the N ational Bank of Bulgaria.) Appendix II. S t a t e m e n t o f t h e 7 y2 % St a b il is a t io n L o a n o f 1928 a s a t A p r il 30TH, 1930. Sterling Dollar French francs block block block s. d. f Nominal a m o u n t... 1,800,000 0 0 13,000,000 130,000,000 N et a m o u n t... 1,656,000 0 0 11,960,000 121,000,000 Deduct : Stam p duties and expenses.. 39,286 7 0 49,250 5,200,000 T o t a l... 1,616,713 13 0 11,910,750 Fr. 116,350,000 Leva E quivalent in l e v a... 3,365,249,061 A d d... 5,000,000 3 T o t a l... 3,370,249,061 Utilised up to April 3 0 t h... 2,666,982,630 Surplus available on th a t d a t e... 703,266,431 1 The equivalent of the half-year's reserve was refunded by the Bulgarian Government out of the proceeds of the Stabilisation Loan in execution of paragraph 2 of Article VI of the Protocol of March 10th, 1928 (Item 6 of Annex 1 to th at Protocol).. 2 N ot including a sum of 24,144 os. id. which was used direct to pay in sterling for material supplied for t Rakovsky-Mastanla Railway. " the 3 The equivalent of interest collected by the Bulgarian Government on money deposited abroad and paid into loan account to make up the sum earmarked for road improvement (see twelfth report, page 9, (6) Roads). 4 This figure represents : (a) The unexpended balance of the block of 1,250,000 earmarked for improvement of means of c o m m u n ic a tio n, namely : Leva 75,164,013 deposited with the National Bank of Bulgaria; Frs. 6,311,483.30 deposited with the Bank of France ; 645,213 13s. od. deposited with the Bank of England. s ( >) The unexpended balance of the block of 500,000 earmarked for the reconstruction of d e v a s t a t e d a namely : Leva i6r,ooo,ooo deposited with the National Bank of Bulgaria.

13 Appendix III. P o s it io n o f t h e N a t io n a l B a n k o f B u l g a r ia. As at Feb. 28th, 1930 (in leva) As at March 31st, 1930 (in leva) As a t April 30th, 1930 (in leva) Asse s. T. Gold coin and bullion... I,399-636,339 1,403,529,763 1,407,407,892 2. S ilv e r... 169,962,221 169,962,221 169,962,221 1- Foreign gold e x c h a n g e... 521,470,137 366,458,277 332,283,777 4' Other foreign e x c h a n g e... 202,798,962 351,387,870 404,498,343 5- Bulgarian sm all co in a g e... 87,589,057 87,238,359 87,224,470 6. Bills of exchange and promissory notes : Commercial B i l l s... 838,786,379 808,201,920 731,741,040 Treasury B i l l s... --- 7- Advances : To th e G o v e rn m en t... _ --- O ther advances... 452,740,018 437,000,773 377,937,559 8. State debt... 3,340,302,000 3,339,302,000 3,339,302,ooo Q. In v e s tm e n ts... 267,587,286 266,782,926 267,707,418 10. Buildings and e q u ip m e n t... 26,043,368 26,227,228 26,359,190 II. Other a s s e t s... 241,573,296 251,647,291 308,012,120 Total A s s e ts... 7,548,489,067 7,477,738,632 7,452,436,033 Liabilities. 12. Capital paid u p... 500,000,000 500,000,000 500,000,000 13- Reserve F u n d s... 1,251,782,014 1,251,592,755 1,253,051,275 r4- Notes in circulation... 3,147,651,165 3,350,397-575 3,302,085,147 Other sight liabilities, in leva... 1,886,673,428 1,780,003,228 1,737-008,743 16. Deposits, in leva, a t notice.... 319,406,439 317,699,973 3x4,597,029 I?. Foreign exchange liabilities.... 169,851,622 41,722,083 63,558,1x7 18. Other lilabiities... 273,124,379 266,322,016 282,135,719 Total lia b ilitie s... 7,548,489,067 7,507,738,632 7,452,436,033 Cover : (Proportion of gold and silver, plus net amount of foreign gold exchange, to bank notes in circulation plus sight liabilities)... 38.16% 37% 36.64% Discount r a t e... 10% 10% 10%