Fisheries.—Fishing is an important industry. Over 7,000 families are en gaged in it, employing over 10,000 boats. The chief fish taken is Baltic herring. The catch in 1918 amounted to 9,000 tons.
Transportation.—For inland commu nication Finland has a remarkably developed system of lakes, which are connected with each other and with the Gulf of Finland by canal. Over 60,000 vessels pass along the canal yearly. There are about 2,60') miles of railway, prac tically all of which belong to the State.
Banking and Finances.—There were in 1917 437 savings banks with 462,771 depositors, with deposits of nearly £25, 000,000. In addition to the State Bank, there were in 1919 22 banks and 7 land mortgage banks. The deposits of all private banks amount to about 3,000, 000,000 marks. The mark has a normal value of about 20 cents.
Finances.—The estimated revenue for 1920 was £52,443,026, and the estimated expenditure £55,843,563. The consoli dated debt on Jan. 1, 1919, amounted to 662,196,837 marks, of which the foreign debt comprised 329,217,278 marks.
Education.—The system of education is well developed. There is a university at Helsingfors and another at Abo, which, however, is entirely Swedish. This was opened in 1919. There are 70 lyceums, 37 elementary schools for boys and girls, 25 girls' schools, 35 prelimi nary schools, and 46 popular high schools. In the country there are 3,391 primary schools of higher grade, with 157,215 pupils. In the primary schools of lower grade are 75,332 pupils. There are pri mary 8chools in 38 towns, with 43,357 pupils. In addition there are a large number of special schools, including commercial schools, navigation schools, trade schools, technical schools, agricul tural schools, etc. The school age in the primary schools is from 7 to 15 years. There were in 1919-1920 in all schools 215,995 pupils, with about 6,000 teachers.
Army.—The army is based on con scription and is formed in accordance with a law enacted in February, 1919. It consists of three divisions and one inde pendent brigade. Subordinate to the army command are also heavy artil lery, flying, automobile, and intelligence troops. The coastal defense consists chiefly of three artillery coast regiments. There is practically no fleet. In addition to the regular army there is an organi zation of Civic Safety Corps, in which about 100,000 men are enlisted. The regular army includes about 36,600 men and the volunteer about 105,000 men.
Government.—On Dec. 6, 1917, Fin land was proclaimed an independent and sovereign state by the House of Repre sentatives. It was recognized by most of the leading powers. The National Par liament consists of one chamber of 200 members, chosen by direct and propor tional election, in which all who are en titled to vote have an equal vote. The suffrage is possessed by all Finnish men and women who have reached their twenty-fourth year. Every citizen en titled to vote is eligible to the House of Representatives. The Diet exists for three years, unless sooner dissolved. The president is elected for six years by the vote of the citizens.
History.—The origin of the Finns is to a large extent unknown. They are thought to have been driven northward from the Volga at the beginning of the 8th century. In the 12th century began the long struggle with the Swedes which lasted over 100 years and ended in the subjection of the Finnish people to Swedish sovereignty. Finland remained for over 500 years as a part of Sweden.
The people enjoyed a practical self-gov ernment and developed an intelligent civilization. Finland was frequently a battle ground in the war between Russia and Sweden. As the Finnish frontier is only 33 miles from Petrograd. Russia de sired to possess the country in order to complete its defenses. This wish was realized in 1809, when Sweden ceded to Russia the Grand Duchy with the Aland Islands. Finland was guaranteed the preservation of its laws, constitution, and religion. This pledge was kept until 1897, when the Russian Government began a series of systematic attacks cul minating in 1899 in an edict which re moved from the Finnish Diet all matters affecting the Grand Duchy, in common with Russia proper. An attempt to Rus sianize the country was carried on in the following years with great severity. The people resisted, and in 1905 revolution ary agitation in Russia was supported in Finland. The Czar granted the Diet its old privileges and this was followed by a period of quiet. Women were given the suffrage and other radical changes in the government were made. The government of Russia, however, continued hostile to the self-rule of Finland, and in 1910 a law was passed stipulating that the Rus sian Duma and the Imperial Council had sole power in matters affecting Russia and Finland together. This practically deprived Finland of home rule. On July 20, 1917, the Diet declared the independ ence of the country. The Russian Pro visional Government in August of the same year ordered the dissolution of the Diet and the summoning of a new one to meet on November 1. Shortly after the meeting of the Diet the Kerensky government fell and on Dec. 9, 1917, the country was proclaimed an independent republic. There followed a period of civil war between the Red Guards (Bol sheviki) and the White Guards (pro Germans). The Finnish authorities seized the Red Guards and executed many of them. Disturbances continued until the signing of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty between Germany and the Bol shevik Government. Four days later Germany signed a treaty with Finland and German troops were sent into Fin land. There was a strong attempt to establish a monarchy, but this was op posed by the people. The country re mained under the practical domination of Germany during 1918. General Man nerheim, the organizer of the Finnish White Guard became Regent in Decem ber of that year. He used severe meas ures in ridding the country of Bolshe vists and conditions gradually turned to a liberal policy. Professor Staahlberg was elected president of the republic, defeating General Mannerheim on July 5, 1919. A constitution was formulated and the republic was established on a firm basis. In 1920 and 1921 a contro versy was carried on between Sweden and Finland as to the disposition of the Aland Islands. A plebiscite was held according to the conditions set down by the Peace Conference and it was main tained by Sweden that this indicated an overwhelming majority in favor of Swe dish sovereignty. Finland declared, how ever, that the islands had been adminis tered as a part of the Finnish province for more than a century and that the majority of them lay nearer the Finnish coast than to the Swedish coast. A commission was appointed by the Council of the League of Nations to make in quiries and submit recommendations as a basis for peaceful settlement.