with
reverence by the people, the Vladika was respected by neither the one
nor the other. At present the office is vacant, none having been
appointed since the demise of the last who occupied the episcopal chair.
That event occurred in the commencement of 1861, and his attempts at
extortion were so frequent and undisguised, that his death must have
been felt as a great relief by the people. Petitions were sent at that
time to Constantinople, praying for the appointment of a Slavish
Metropolitan; but, independently of the difficulty of finding anyone of
sufficient education among the Bosnian clergy, political considerations
have induced the Porte to prevent the Patriarch complying with the
demand; for, however bad in other respects they may have been, the
Metropolitans have always remembered that their allegiance was due to
the Patriarch of Constantinople, and not to the schismatic branch of the
Greek Church, over which the Czar exercises both temporal and spiritual
sway. Were a Slavish Metropolitan appointed, Russian influence would be
dangerously augmented, and the task of transferring the allegiance of
the people from their proper ecclesiastical head to the Russian Emperor,
as has been attempted in Bulgaria, would here become easy of
accomplishment.

In the N. and W. the Romish faith finds the greatest number of
supporters, who look to Austria as their guiding star in all matters
connected with religion. In their ranks are comprised the
agriculturalists and artisans of the province, few being engaged in
commerce. As regards education or enlightenment they are no farther
advanced than their Greek compatriots: few can read or write their own
language, and the knowledge of any other tongue is most exceptional.
Learning, in its broader sense, is indeed confined exclusively to the
convents, and, until very recently, no attempt of any kind was made by
the priests to promote a desire for education or advancement among the
people, their whole thoughts being bent on self-aggrandisement, and the
acquisition of personal wealth. Careful enquiry has established the fact
that no less than 60,000_l._ is annually paid in fees, penances, and
gifts to the Church by the Roman Catholic section of the population; and
we may fairly infer that the Greek priests extort an equally large sum.
Of late schools have been established in different parts of the
province, but the subjects of education are too confined to work any
salutary change in