See also League of Nations Armaments (Geneva, 1928). (G. G. A.) Area and Population.—Under the terms of the Peace Treaties arising from the World War Rumania's area and popu lation were more than doubled. Nearly 83% of the people are engaged in agriculture, forestry and kindred rural pursuits. The total area of the country and the population are distributed as follows Agriculture.—The 24,238,076 hectares of Rumanian agri cultural and forest land are distributed as follows :— Before the War, Rumania was still a country of large estates and one of the principal wheat exporting countries of Europe. After the emancipation of the peasants in 1864, they were granted from time to time allotments from Crown Lands but such grants were never sufficient to satisfy the general land hunger. Distri bution was equally unsatisfactory in the case of Bessarabia under the Russian and Transylvania under the Austro-Hungarian Em pire, but the Bukovinan peasants had been more fortunate in obtaining possession of a considerable share of the land. It was found expedient in 1920 to pass an Expropriation Law for Bessarabia, which was rapidly followed by similar laws for the Old Kingdom (1921) and for Transylvania and the Bukovina (also 1921), whereby provision was made for the total expro priation of absentee landlords, foreigners, mortmain estates and for partial expropriation of large landed properties. For purposes of comparison with the present Agrarian Reform Laws, it may be useful to reproduce a statistic compiled by Monsieur Ionescu Sisesti as to the distribution of arable land in the Old Kingdom in 1905:— To give effect to the post-war Agrarian Reform Laws official statistics show that a total of 16,50o estates (6,055,863 hectares) have been broken up, while litigation is in progress for the ex propriation of a further hectares. Not all of the land expropriated however has been handed over to the peasants as will be seen from the following :— while the following table shows the distribution of the popula tion by trades, other than agriculturists; and includes workmen The thousands of peasants who took over the land in the first years of the agrarian reform were unskilled in management, in adequately organised on the co-operative side and lacked both the machinery and capital required for successful farming. Although it may be assumed that with the passage of time the peasant is now better able to exploit his land and has acquired wider ex perience, nevertheless the shortage of money, the impossibility of cheap loans, and the heavy fall in the world price of cereals are all conditions which have combined to retard progress. Added to these unfavourable economic factors, the bad harvests of 1927 prevented any progress towards the pre-war cereal production of the territories under review, as will be seen from the follow ing table :— A measure which affected the industry greatly was the Mining Law of 1923 which nationalised the sub-soil, restricted the hold ings of foreign Companies and thus countered foreign exploita tion at the expense of national enterprise. New oil-bearing lands could only be obtained in concession with Government consent. Under the Rumanian Company Law of the same period, sixty per cent of all invested capital must be Rumanian, while two-thirds According to Rumanian economists, the division of the land will ultimately lead to increased total production, but not neces sarily attaining the pre-war production of wheat.
A reliable index to Rumania's prosperity agriculturally is the number of animals maintained. In taking the following table into consideration territorial changes must also be considered :— Rural Co-operation.—As a result of the post-war agrarian legislation the functions of the co-operatives underwent change. The whole organisation had been destroyed by the Central Powers and it was found necessary to commence de novo. The Central
Credit Bank has a capital of 12,000,000 lei of which two-thirds were found by the State. The nominal capital was increased in 1923. The rural societies provide the peasants with seeds, ma chinery, etc.: and in many cases make arrangements for the col lection and export of produce. There were at the end of 1926 over 4,000 societies with a total of 915,388 members. Even with the limited assistance which these societies are enabled to extend to the peasant farmer, there is no doubt that they are doing good work and, were it not for them, the peasant would be unable even to raise sufficient from the land he possesses to keep himself and his dependents. As it is, with the scarcity of money, high rates of interest and the complete lack of long-term credits for the pur chase of implements, seeds, etc.: the peasant is able to do justice neither to himself nor to his land. Especially is this the case in Bessarabia where, as a result of an extremely bad harvest in 1927, wheat and maize had actually to be imported into the province for alimentation and seed reserves.
of the Board of Directors must be natives. Rumanians must also be employed in all industrial concerns, cause having to be shown for the importation of foreign technical and clerical assistance. The majority of the foreign Companies conformed to the pro visions of the new Laws and, in the oil industry at least, it has been found that the new system was practicable. Those Companies not conforming were subject to obstruction, being ineligible for grants of State oil lands. The Maniu Government which took office in the autumn of 1928 expressed their intention of revising the Bratianu policy in regard to the mining rights.
The other principal mineral riches are coal, natural gas and salt, while there are, in a lesser degree, deposits of asphalt, amber, gold and silver, pyrites, copper, lead, antimony, mercury, man ganese, chrome, bauxite and iron.
The coal supply was formerly insufficient for home require ments and supplies, chiefly from Poland, were imported. However, coal output is increasing and since 1925 Rumanian coal has been protected by a high tariff imposed on foreign coals.
According to official statistics, the annual coal output for the years 1924 to 1926 was as follows:— With the annexation of Transylvania, Rumania acquired the coal, iron, gold, silver, lead and copper mines of the province. The whole of the ore is handled in the three metallurgical works in the province which are State-owned. The development of the mines is delayed owing to the lack of coking coal.