CHAPTER III. EASTERN EUROPE. I. AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. AUSTRIA, with her strongly-marked class divisions and her many nationalities, each clamouring for home rule, has this year been troubled even more than usual by internal dissensions. On New Year's Day a deputation of peasants from Upper Austria waited upon Count Taaffe, the Premier of the Cisleithanian Ministry, to complain of the large proportion of the land-tax which the peasantry in that province was to be called upon to pay as compared with the amount demanded of the landowners. The Minister gave a conciliatory answer, which, however, did not satisfy the deputation, and on January 10 a meeting of 3,000 peasants was held at Linz to discuss the subject. It was decided that the deputies for the province should be called upon to bring the matter before the Reichsrath, and that those who should fail to do so should not be re-elected. The meeting also approved the statutes of a new society, to be called "The Upper Austrian Peasants' Union," which was to be formed for the purpose of promoting the interests of the peasants both in and out of Parliament. Similar societies were established in January and February in the other Austrian provinces; and a new interest-that of the peasantry as distinguished from the clergy and landowners-was thus added to the numerous ones which are incessantly in conflict with each other throughout the motley territories of the Austrian Empire. On January 15 a further change of Ministry took place at Vienna in an autonomist sense. Two Germans, Constitutionalists, the Minister of Justice, Streit and the Minister of Commerce, Kremer, were succeeded by Dr. Prazak and Baron Pino respectively, the former a Czech and the latter a pliant official who had served in the Federalist Ministries of Counts Potocki and Hohenwart. This incident was followed on January 18 by the creation of twelve peers, nearly all Ultramontanes or Federalists, evidently with the object of weakening the Centralist majority in the Upper House. The antagonism between the German Centralists and the Slavs now became exceedingly bitter, and manifested itself in an unseemly scene in the Reichsrath at the first meeting (February 14) of the committee appointed to consider the ordinance issued in the previous year by the Government regulating the use of the German and Czechish languages in courts of law. The Centralist leader, Dr. Herbst, having proposed the rejection of the ordinaner, Dr. Rieger replied on the part of the zeets, ing hat thes historical rights of Bohemia vere incontestable, ing taunting Dr. Herbst with having made a sham motion which had to preveCt, of success, merely for the purpose of raising a wry of lettres viICH Tuls might be heard beyond the frontiers of the wountry. sinuation was met with a storm of protesta from the party, after which all its members who were present left the room, The ruinance sad. DowENET. and the sitting had to be adjournei. ultimately to be accepted by the House, as were 16 everal other measures of less importance which were booked by the German deputies. The irritation among the latter at the series of detenta they had sustained again broke out at the string of May 29, turing a debate on a decision of the Supreme Court tenacing gerala elections for representatives of the class of antomen la Coper Austria to be invalid. Count Hoten va.. te lender of the Feveralist party, having proposed that a committee of the House stond be appointed to consider wherner i sovers had been encroamed upon by the above decision. Dr. Hems, nes to protest on bella.ź Referring to tie burea of the Centralists against this proposal article of the constitution of Lecember 21, 1967, will say that the Supreme Court is alone to tecide whether any parutuar case comes within its jurisdiction, he observed that Coft Hiter wants motion for the appointment of a committee to unsder the competency of the court to give a decision in the case in question was unconstitutional, and declared that the Centrals pany would not take any part whatever in the conadentive of set a motion. Dr. Herbst and the whole of the Centrals memven then left the House, and Count Hohenwart's motion was passed in their abwecke. Three days after, a motion introduced by the Federalist deputy Lienbacher for reducing the term i anedance in the elementary schools from eight years to six, led to a further demonstration où the part of the minority. Dr. Edward bees, a learned professor, who had until then been regarded as a politician of very moderate views, made a most violent speech on this occasion, in which he accused the majority of simozy and the Government of disgraceful and criminal conduct, and concluded with the apostrophe: Away with these men who ruin the Empire!" pointing at the same time to the Ministers bench. An indescribable tumult followed; the minority cheered, the majority hissed and groaned, and the people in the galleries whistled and clapped their hands. Ultimately the President, finding it impossible to restore order, had the galleries cleared, and the motion was then passed by the narrow majority of 156 to 149. Another subject which was the cause of much bitter party strife was a bill for establishing a Czechish university by the side of the ancient German one at Prague. This Bill was read a third time, the Germans all voting against it, on May 31. Some of the more moderate members of the Centralist party, headed by Herr Plener, wished to come to an understanding with the Czechs in the matter, as their desire to have a university of their own, in a town where at least as much Czechish is spoken as German, was not unreasonable; but Dr. Herbst and his followers would not hear of any compromise, and the party accordingly again assumed that irreconcilable attitude which has done them so much harm with the Austrian public. The Government, however, probably desiring to conciliate the Centralists, did not lay before the Upper House either the Bill for the Czechish university or the motion for reducing the period of attendance in elementary schools, and both were therefore dropped for the session, which closed on June 4. But this negative policy only inflamed the hatred between the German and Czechish races. On June 26 the German students of the university of Prague met to celebrate the establishment of a new society called "Austria," at a village called Kuchelbad, to which they proceeded with their national badges, singing German national songs. This provoked the Czechs, who broke into the room where the German students were celebrating their festival, and a serious riot ensued, which lasted several days, and in which many people were wounded. The affair produced great consternation in Government circles at Vienna, and was considered so menacing to the public peace that a general officer, Chevalier von Kraus, was appointed Governor of Bohemia in place of the civilian Baron von Weber. It is remarkable that while the struggle of nationalities in Cisleithania was thus daily growing more fierce, in Hungary it had almost subsided. In the elections for the Hungarian Parliament, which took place towards the end of June, the Roumanian agitator Babes lost his seat, and the Servian Polit, who was one of the most dangerous of the anti-Magyars among his countrymen, met with a similar fate. In Transylvania especially the Government found a powerful supporter in the Roumanian Archbishop Miron Roman, who, in a circular to his clergy, strongly advocated the acceptance of the Hungarian constitution by the Roumanian inhabitants of the province, and praised the conciliatory spirit of the Government policy. M. Tisza indeed showed a far greater power of gathering round him men of various parties than the Prime Minister on the other side of the Leitha had done. Although the failure of the negotiations for a commercial treaty with Germany had considerably diminished the popularity of his Government, and extreme Conservatives like Sennyey and Bitto united with Radicals like Madarasz to overthrow him, the elections left his party in the House practically as strong as ever. During the month of July the Emperor, continuing the policy of conciliation, which had been the main cause of his visits to Bohemia and Galicia last year, made a journey in the provinces of Tyrol and Vorarlberg, where he was received with even more enthusiasm than had been manifested by his Czechish and Polish subjects. These provinces send to the Reichsrath nearly all the members of the German Clerical party, who, together with the Czechs and Poles, now constitute the majority in that body, and the Emperor's journey was therefore regarded as a Gemoderaa against the policy of the German seinna. to some extent the fact, for the Empere sold or fol toes ta the existence of his deas-and thing, of the Austrian Empire ne-mur ment of his subjects, the great mi vr opposed to the centralist party. Dovevnen. sonally a devout Cathons, though 1 a looks upon the Roman Cathos CureL 10 TX: the strongest support of La moda en. Catholic clergy as they are 1 AUSTI successful in his attempts to rear any The Viennese newspapers me & ar li the Czechs that the Govermer onbestet e ng an absurd quarrel arose between the because the new Egaca an agreement arrives a ser weg te Cabinets, was printed in German aur as formerly, in all the languages wp de 71 Czechs, on obtaining some of the Der Lie Le Pen geg Hungarian Minister of Fluates prouioning te sala e too, serious distruga Vox pas if t alities the Croatian, Kamal auf Ser sat Dalmatian Liet, the fire of win gene te svryra in Dalmatia with Crock vibe the autonomy for eart of the varie the Diet the deputies of these fite suria vente e they fell to Move and evniuer to bang at further cause of accent to the province in the pfun, of th 1 rendering them liable to serve in the Austrian army. By this decree, which was issued early in November, all the able-bodied men of these provinces were bound to take part in the defence of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy; an army corps was to be formed, to be employed both in war and in peace under the orders of the Emperor, and military service was made obligatory for three years in the line, and nine years in the reserve. Soldiers of the Mahomedan faith, however, were to form a separate detachment, with their own chaplains, surgeons, and commissariat. Nor was this the only subject of complaint. The Austrian authorities had not proved equal to the difficult task of governing a mainly Mahomedan population; and the Government at Vienna itself admitted the necessity of introducing a thorough reform in the administration of the occupied provinces. The Austrian Parliament re-assembled on November 14, and the old strife of parties was renewed. A reorganisation of the Opposition, however (now called "the united Left "), had taken place during the recess, and at the first great trial of strength, which took place on December 14, the Government received a decided check in both Houses. The question before the Upper House was Herr Lienbacher's proposal, already referred to, for reducing the compulsory term of elementary education from eight years to six. This, which is a cheval de bataille of the Clerical party in Austria, was rejected, notwithstanding the recent creation of fourteen Conservative peers. In the Lower House Dr. Herbst, the leader of the Opposition, proposed a committee to inquire into the relations of the Government with the new Länderbank, an institution founded by a company of French financiers under the management of M. Bontoux, which, it was alleged, had been treated with undue favour in official quarters. When the division was taken, it was found that the votes recorded for and against the motion were equal, so that it was only rejected by the casting vote of the President. About the same time a characteristic incident took place in the Hungarian Parliament, during a debate on the third article of the Austro-Servian Extradition Treaty, which provides that, though political offenders are to be exempt from extradition, such exemption is not to apply to those who attempt the life of the sovereign or of any member of his family. Several members of the extreme Left opposed this article, saying that regicide might in certain circumstances be justifiable. The Premier, M. Tisza, having warmly protested against this assertion, one of the Radical deputies exclaimed that M. Tisza had for seven years told falsehoods on the Opposition bench in order that he might for six years cheat as a Minister. The article was then accepted, amid much tumult, by a large majority; and after the sitting M. Tisza assembled a "court of honour," composed of men of all parties, to decide whether he was bound as a gentleman to demand personal satisfaction for the insult. The court decided that the insult was not of a kind to |