The communes hold their lands, which are not of very large extent, under a different tenure. Each commune owns a certain amount of pasture land and woodland, which is held in perpetuity, and for which no rent is paid either in cash or kind. Every member of the commune has the right of grazing his cattle on the parish pasture-grounds, and of cutting fuel from the parish woods. As the population increases, and as land becomes more valuable, the commune tenure will probably have to be altered. For the present, the system works fairly well, and is popular with the country.
Midhat Pasha
The condition of the peasantry has also been improved by the establishment of the Caisses Agricoles, which owe their origin to Turkish rule, and which have been largely developed under the recent administration. When poor Midhat Pasha—a sort of Oriental Hamlet, born in an evil hour for himself, to try and set right a world that was out of joint — lived at Rustschuk, as Governor- General of the vilayet of the Danube, one of his many measures of reform was the establishment in Bulgaria of Mutual Assurance Associations for the development of local industries. The land-owners in each district were compelled to contribute a certain sum, calculated in proportion to the amount of the tithe at which they were assessed, into a common fund. This fund was placed under the control of a certain number of the leading inhabitants of each locality, who were partly elected and partly nominated by the administration. The funds so raised were employed in making advances to the farmers within the district, who required advances for the improvement of their lands. The advances were made on personal security. As the administrators had to deal with funds to which they themselves were large subscribers, and as they were necessarily well acquainted with the pecuniary position of any borrowers who applied for advances, there was little risk of the funds of the Caisses being imprudently invested. When Bulgaria was declared independent, the native Government found these institutions in working order, and has since largely increased their number. There are now not far from a hundred of these Caisses to be found in the country, possessing an aggregate capital of ^600,000, and having power to borrow loans from the National Bank. None of these institutions have ever actually failed to meet their liabilities, though naturally enough several of them have invested portions of their funds unwisely, have made bad debts, and have thereby diminished their available resources. Still, on the whole, they have done good work, they have enabled farmers in many instances to tide over bad times without resorting to the native usurers, who charge exorbitant rates of interest, and they have acquired the confidence of the general public As a proof of this, I may mention that the Sobranje has recently passed a law authorizing the guardians of children under age to invest the trust funds at their disposal in the Caisses Agricoles.
