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Show Miscellanv Wee Republics Not on the Map. There are a number of republics of which we never hear, and of the very existence of which most people are ipnorant. There are states in various . parts of Europe so isolated from the rest of the world that they might as well be on the moon. Indeed, few maps bear any trace of them. But for all that j they are very important communities in themselves and can boast of a prosperous existence which would be a credit to any state, especially nowadays. One of the most interesting of these Tom Thumb republics is St. Geust, in one of the most Inaccessible parts of the Basses-Pyre- 1 nces, which so far as area is concerned enjoys the distinction of being the small- I est self-governed state in the world. It; is hardly a square mile in area. The population pop-ulation numbers 130, who rule themselves mainly owing to the fact that the little state is so hard to get at that no one will take- the trouble to alter its constitution. consti-tution. Perched on a rockv mountain, St. Geust has such a steep descent that when anyone dies it is impossible to have an ordinary funeral. A coffin could not be carried down the mountain side, and consequently the inhabitants have cut a groove into the faceof the rock, and the coffin is made fast to a rope and allowed to slide down to the cemetery in Ossan valley val-ley below, where all baptisms and marriages mar-riages are performed. The president of St. Geust, who, by the way, Is also tax collector, assessor and judge, is elected by a council of twelve, who are chosen for five years by the people, the little republic having been ruled for more than 2000 years through a "Council of Elders." El-ders." About 150 miles from St. Geust is to be found the republic of Andorra, an almost inaccessible state of about 7000 Inhabitants, in the eastern Pyrenees. Andorra was declared a free state as long ago as the ninth century by Charlemagne. Charle-magne. The republic is governed by its own representatives, who constitute a sovereign council of twenty -four members, mem-bers, which council elects a president every four years. The chief occupation of the Andorranos is agriculture, cattle breeding, trade in wool and charcoal and smuggling. At the same time they are good-natured, hard-working, hospitable people, and, needless to say, are prepared to defend with a standing army of 1100 men. The smallest republican state in regard to population is Tavolara, a nttle-known nttle-known island about five miles long, with an average width of half a mile, situated off the north coast of Sardinia. Many maps and geography books totally ignore the existence of this state. Yet it is a free and independent republic of about seventy inhabitants, who are their own rulers. The people of Tavolara declared their independence as recently as 18S6, the island having previously been made over in 1S36 by King Charles Albert of Sardinia to the Eartoleoni family. Baltimore Balti-more American. |