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terly opposed to it. On a motion of want of confidence in the House of Representatives on July 6 the Government commanded a majority of only 7 votes.

Fiji. The Governor of Fiji is Sir G. T. M. O'Brien. The island is divided into 16 provinces, each under a roko tui, or native chief. European commissioners reside in three of the provinces. The sugar, cocoanut, banana, and other plantations belong mostly to European settlers. British New Guinea. The British territory of New Guinea, including the Louisiade and D'Entrecasteaux islands, has an area of about 90,540 square miles, with 350,000 native inhabitants and 250 Europeans. The cost of administration, calculated at £15,000 a year, is guaranteed by the Queensland Government, but the governments of Victoria and New South Wales contribute equal shares and have equal control with Queensland over the administration. The territory is administered by the Lieutenant Governor, George Ruthven Le Hunte. The policy of withholding all lands for the use of the natives has been followed hitherto, and regulations forbidding the alienation of land were strictly enforced. However, in March, 1898, the Lieutenant Governor and his Council approved an ordinance enabling a company called the British New Guinea Syndicate to acquire and occupy an area not to exceed 250,000 acres, paying 28. an acre, with a view to the development of the territory by exploring and opening up Crown lands, cultivating the rubber plant and other tropical produce, and discovering and working mineral deposits. There were 397 vessels, of 20,702 tons, entered and 302, of 20,360 tons, cleared during 1898. Gold is mined in the Louisiade and Woodlark islands and on the mainland by 300 whites, who employ many natives. The value of the imports in 1898 was £46,971; exports, £49,859. The chief imports are foodstuffs, cloth, tobacco, and hardware. The exports, besides gold and pearls, are trepang, copra, pearl shells, and sandalwood.

The British Government, having in 1898 agreed to convey to a land syndicate a tract of land in New Guinea, rescinded the arrangement on account of the remonstrances of the governments of Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland, leaving these to settle with the syndicate the question of compensation. Another syndicate offered to take 100,000 acres, but the colonial statesmen do not consider the time ripe for making grants of land. Mr. Le Hunte, the new Lieutenant Governor, has prepared a scheme for the development of New Guinea.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, a dual monarchy in central Europe, composed under the fundamental law of Dec. 21, 1867, of the Empire of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary, inseparable constitutional monarchies, hereditary in the male line of the dynasty of Hapsburg-Lorraine or, in the event of the extinction of the male line, in the female line. The legislative power for affairs common to both monarchies-viz., foreign relations, military and naval affairs with the exception of the national territorial armies, common finance, commercial and railroad affairs concerning both monarchies, the customs tariff, the coinage, and the administration of the occupied Turkish provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovinais exercised by committees of the legislative bodies of both monarchies. These committees, which are called the Delegations, meet alternately in Vienna and Buda-Pesth, the two capitals. They are composed of 20 members elected annually by each of the two upper houses and 40

from each of the lower houses. The Austrian and Hungarian Delegations meet and vote separately, and in case of a disagreement they decide the question by a joint vote. The common ministers are responsible to the Delegations, and may be impeached for any dereliction of duty. The Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary is Franz Josef I, born Aug. 18, 1830, proclaimed Emperor of Austria on Dec. 2, 1848, when his uncle Ferdinand I abdicated in consequence of a revolutionary uprising, and crowned King of Hungary on June 8, 1867, when the ancient constitutional rights of that monarchy were reestablished. The heir presumptive is the Emperor-King's nephew, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, born April 21, 1865, son of the late Archduke Karl Ludwig and Princess Annunciata, daughter of the former King of Naples.

The ministers for the whole monarchy at the beginning of 1899 were as follow: Minister of Foreign Affairs and of the Imperial House, Count Agenor Maria Adam Goluchowski; Common Minister of War, Gen. Edmund, Edler von Krieghammer; Common Minister of Finance, Benjamin de Kallay.

The Common Budget.-The cost of the administration of common affairs is borne by the two halves of the monarchy in a proportion settled by an agreement between the Austrian Reichsrath and the Hungarian Parliament. This agreement, called the Ausgleich, has been revised and renewed every ten years, but when the last period expired in 1897 the two legislative bodies were unable to reach an understanding. Negotiations were continued, and in the meantime the provisions of the last Ausgleich were continued temporarily as a modus vivendi. By this, after the proceeds of the common customs were deducted from the sum required, Hungary first paid 2 per cent. of the remainder, and then the balance was contributed by the two monarchies, the Austrian portion being 70 per cent. and the Hungarian 30 per cent. In 1898 the total sanctioned expenditure was 162,625,000 florins-the revenue from customs, 46,673,000 florins; Austria's contribution, 79,543,000 florins; Hungary's contribution, 36,409,000 florins. The budget estimates of revenue for 1899 were 132,000 florins from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2,660,389 florins from the Ministry of War and Marine, 5.169 florins from the Ministry of Finance, and 164,378,382 florins from customs and matricular contributions-total, 167,175,940 florins. The estimated expenditures were 4,194,100 florins of ordinary and 80,100 florins of extraordinary expenditure by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 132,468,237 florins of ordinary and 11,217,014 florins of extraordinary expenditure for the army, 11,195,260 florins of ordinary and 5,746,000 florins of extraordinary expenditure for the navy, 2,126,404 florins of ordinary and 10.780 florins of extraordinary expenditure by the Minister of Finance, and 138,045 florins for the Board of Control.

The dual monarchy contracts no loans, but the general debt existing in 1867, of which 2.757,449,395 florins were outstanding in June, 1898, requires 126,284,691 florins annually for interest and amortization, which is divided between the two halves of the monarchy, Austria paying 95,973,852 florins and Hungary 30,310,839 florins. The common floating debt on June 30, 1898, amounted to 182,672,730 florins, of which amount 120,892,780 florins consisted of the common paper currency.

The revenue of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 1898 was estimated at 19,244,250 florins, more

than sufficient to cover the cost of administration, estimated at 19,185,820 florins.

The Army. The period of service in the Austro-Hungarian army is three years in the line and seven years in the reserve. Those not drawn for active service are enrolled in the supplementary reserve, the Ersatztruppen, or in the Landwehr. After completing the whole term in the common army, the discharged soldiers are enrolled for two years in the Landwehr or national army, called the Honved in Hungary, and after that they can be called out for the defense of the nation as members of the Landsturm until they are forty-two years old. For those enrolled at once in the Landwehr at the age of twentyone the period of service is twelve years. Landwehr in time of peace is only called out periodically for instruction and exercise. The annual contingent for the common army is 59,211 in Austria and 43,899 in Hungary; total, 103,100. The annual contingent for the Landwehr is about 10,000 in Austria and 12,500 in Hungary.

The

The common army on the peace footing in 1898 had 3,738 officers and 3,843 men in the staff, 1,536 officers and 7,680 men in the military establishments, 9,454 officers and 177,109 men in the infantry, 1,874 officers and 45,506 men in the cavalry, 1,636 officers and 28,152 men in the field artillery, 412 officers and 7,760 men in the fortress artillery, 575 officers and 9,918 men in the pioneers, 79 officers and 2,854 men in the sanitary corps, and 393 officers and 3,253 men in the train. The Austrian Landwehr had 2,168 officers and 20,657 men in the infantry and 196 officers and 1,899 men in the cavalry; the Honved, 2,132 officers and 20,797 men in the infantry and 390 officers and 4,200 men in the cavalry. The total peace strength was 24,583 officers and 333,628 men, or 358,211 of all ranks, with 47,757 horses and 1,048 guns. The war strength is 45,238 officers and 1,826,940 men, with 281,886 horses and 1,864 field guns. The infantry is armed with the Mannlicher rifle, having a caliber of 8 millimetres and 5 cartridges in the magazine, the cavalry with the saber and a repeating carbine, and the artillery with 9- and 7-centimetre bronze guns.

The Navy. The fleet in 1899 consisted of 1 second-class and 7 third-class battle ships, 8 vessels for port defense, 1 first-class, 3 second-class, and 8 third-class cruisers, 12 gunboats, and 32 first-class, 31 second-class, and 8 third-class torpedo boats. Of the newer constructions, the most notable are the barbette ships Monarch, Wien, and Buda-Pesth, displacing 5,550 tons, with 10.6inch Harveyized armor over the vital parts, armed with 4 9.4-inch, 6 5.9-inch quick-firing, and 14 47-millimetre quick-firing guns, with 4 torpedo tubes, and having engines of 8,500 horse power, capable of speeding 17 knots. A similar battle ship of 7.800 tons displacement is under construction, and one of 8,000 tons displacement has been begun. Built on the model of the cruiser Maria Theresa, launched in 1893, the larger Kaiser Karl VI, of 6,250 tons displacement, was launched in 1898, having 10.6-inch armor, engines of 12,300 horse power, giving a speed of 20 knots, and an armament of 2 9.4-inch, 8 5.9-inch quick-firing, and 18 other machine guns. The torpedo cruiser Zenta, lately launched, will be followed by another. The programme of construction, which follows out the original plan of a purely defensive fleet of the highest efficiency, provides for a total force of 15 armor clads between 6,000 and 9,000 tons, 7 second-class cruisers ranging between 4,000 and 7,000 tons, 7 cruisers between 1,500 and 2,500 tons, 15 torpedo gunboats, and 90 torpedo boats of the various classes.

Commerce and Production.-The total value of the special imports into the customs territory, including both monarchies and Bosnia and Herzegovina, was 755,300,000 florins in 1897, and the total value of exports was 766,200,000 florins. The values of the chief imports in the special commerce were 50,769,000 florins for raw cotton, 40,186,000 florins for cereals, 38,503,000 florins for wool, 31,382,000 florins for coal and fuel, 26,238,000 florins for coffee, 25,971,000 florins for tobacco, 22,110,000 florins for hides and skins, 21,427,000 florins for leather, 19,662,000 florins for machinery, 19,374,000 florins for metals other than iron, 18,932,000 florins for woolen yarn, 17,978,000 florins for wine, 14,218,000 florins for silk goods, 13,359,000 florins for eggs, 11,292,000 florins for silk manufactures, 11,240,000 florins for live animals, and 10,317,000 florins for cotton yarn. The values for the principal exports were 61,382,000 florins for sugar, 43,921,000 florins for eggs, 39,975,000 florins for cereals, 37,770,000 florins for lumber, 27,289,000 florins for timber, 26,857,000 florins for lignite, 25,174,000 florins for horses, 24,453,000 florins for malt, 22,428,000 florins for glassware, 20,335,000 florins for live animals, 18,464,000 florins for woolen goods, 17,033,000 florins for hides and skins, 16,208,000 florins for leather gloves, 9,787,000 florins for staves, 9,463,000 florins for feathers, 8,334,000 florins for shoes, 7,296,000 florins for beer, and 4,436,000 florins for wine.

The value of the gold and silver coin and bullion imported during 1897 was 99,867,928 florins; exports, 51,651,584 florins.

The amount of the trade in 1897 with the principal countries is shown in the following table, giving the values of the imports from and the exports to each country in florins:

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The special imports of Hungary from all countries, including Austria, in 1897 were 554,814,000 florins in value; exports, 540,980,000 florins. The chief imports were cotton goods for 62,170,000 florins, woolen goods for 38,797,000 florins, clothing for 16,901,000 florins, wine in casks for 15,219,000 florins, silk goods for 12,295,000 florins, refined sugar for 10,742,000 florins, and coffee for 9,632,000 florins. The chief exports were wheat, barley, and maize for 84,379,000 florins, flour for 84,007,000 florins, cattle, pigs, and horses for 70,403,000 florins, wine in casks for 17,040,000 florins, cask staves for 10,456,000 florins, eggs for 8,125,000 florins, and wool for 7,150,000 florins. The imports from Austria were 428,756,000 florins, and exports to Austria 412,113,000 florins in value; imports from Germany were 27,565,000 florins, and exports to Germany 50,956,000 florins; imports from Great Britain were 5,025.000 florins, and exports to Great Britain 11,115,000 florins.

The export trade of Austria has been languishing for some time as the result of the active

competition of Germany and other countries. The merchants called upon the Government to adopt a vigorous commercial policy that would help them to secure fresh markets, especially in China, where other governments have actively supported the enterprise of their citizens. The Minister of Commerce responded by establishing subsidized commercial agencies abroad, working in connection with export syndicates at home. An industrial council, recently created to keep the Government in touch with the views and needs of the manufacturers, had failed to realize expectations. The Government in the naval estimates provided for the construction of new vessels in deference to the demands of the mercantile community for an increase in the navy. The chambers of commerce and industry bespeak more radical and wide-reaching reforms, such as the reduction of taxes on trade, the remission of duties on raw materials, discriminating railroad rates in favor of manufacturers and exporters, subventions and bounties, relaxed state control and supervision, the repeal of laws for the protection of labor, etc. One of the chief grievances of Austrian industrialists is the active interposition of the Hungarian Government for the purpose of building up industries at their expense. There are no such labor laws in Hungary as in Austria, no hampering legislation or heavy taxation affecting capital, and the Government, by offering special privileges and immunities, has endeavored to induce Austrian manufacturers to establish plants in Hungary. To attract the Vienna silk industry and the textile industries of Bohemia the Hungarian authorities have even offered subventions.

Navigation. The number of vessels entered at ports of Austria during 1896 was 100,873, of 11,771,345 tons, and the number cleared was 100,856, of 11,774,758 tons. The Austrian merchant navy on Jan. 1, 1897, comprised 12,115 vessels, of 215,258 tons, of which 181, of 145,154 tons, were steam vessels and 11,934, of 70,104 tons, were sailing vessels. Of the total number 253, of 174,507 tons, were engaged in foreign commerce, 1,526, of 22,345 tons, were coasting vessels, and 10,336, of 18,406 tons, were fishing and other small craft.

The number of vessels entered at Hungarian ports during 1897 was 18,700, of 1,844,385 tons; cleared, 18,679, of 1,848,586 tons. The Hungarian commercial marine on Jan. 1, 1898, numbered 502 vessels, of 67,879 tons, and of these 70, of 45,630 tons, were steamers, while 432, of 22,249 tons, were sailing vessels. Of the total number 76, of 62,224 tons, were engaged in ocean commerce, 153, of 5,228 tons, in the coasting trade, and 273, of 427 tons, were fishing craft.

Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. The state railroads in Austria had a length in 1897 of 4,594 miles; lines belonging to companies but operated by the Government, 933 miles; lines owned and operated by companies, 5,844 miles; total length, 10,438 miles. The total cost was 2,662,716,000 florins. The number of passengers transported in 1896 was 105,201,000; tons of freight, 100,000,000; receipts, 263,955,000 florins; operating expenses, 153,896,000 florins.

The state lines of railroad in Hungary on Jan. 1, 1898, had a length of 4,758 miles; companies' lines worked by the state, 3,268 miles; lines owned and worked by companies, 1,763 miles; total length, 9,784 miles. The total capital expenditure was 1,241,804,000 florins; number of passengers in 1897, 56,982,000; freight carried, 35,724,000 tons; receipts, 121,236,000 florins; expenses, 66,060,000 florins.

The Austrian post office in 1897 carried 809,770,210 letters and postal cards, 113,036,520 samples and books, and 95,533,400 newspapers. The receipts were 44,650,851 florins; expenses, 40,705,717 florins.

The Hungarian post office carried in 1897 letters and postal cards to the number of 236,825,000, 92,635,000 newspapers, 43,253,000 samples and book packets, 18,015,000 money and postal orders of the total value of 502,604,000 florins, and 18,114,000 parcels and money letters.

The telegraph lines of the Austrian Government had in 1897 a total length of 31,484 miles, with 92,052 miles of wire. The number of messages dispatched was 13,771,084.

The Hungarian telegraph lines had in 1897 a total length of 13,375 miles, with 64,515 miles of wire. The number of dispatches sent during the year was 13,396,578.

The New Ausgleich.-The commercial treaty between Austria and Hungary, which expired by limitation of time in 1897, has been continued provisionally pending the conclusion of a new treaty, or Ausgleich, which the Hungarians insisted should be made with the co-operation of the Austrian Reichstag, because the Hungarian Constitution makes the continuance of constitutional, parliamentary conditions in Austria a requisite for all treaty arrangements between the two halves of the dual monarchy. Aside from that, it was feared that any compromise reached with the Austrian Government acting under Article XIV of the Austrian Constitution-the emergency paragraph which empowers the Government to provide for the conduct of affairs by legislative decrees in case of a temporary interruption of parliamentary rulemight be upset afterward by the Reichstag when regular parliamentary government should be resumed. The dismissal of the Reichsrath on Feb. 1, 1899, when it was found that the deadlock could not be broken, almost put an end to hopes of making a new Ausgleich between the two Parliaments. Koloman Szell took the premiership in Hungary in May, with the mission of negotiating a temporary Ausgleich with the Austrian Government, to be confirmed by executive decree under the emergency paragraph if the consent of the Austrian Parliament could not be obtained. Naturally the Hungarian legislators demanded that under these conditions the financial and economic interests of Hungary should be protected to the utmost extent. Many of the provisions had already been arranged in previous negotiations. On the demand of Hungary it had been agreed that when the commercial treaties with Germany and other countries expire in 1903 new ones should only be concluded till 1907, when the Ausgleich would also expire, leaving Hungary then free to resume her commercial independence, if desirable, and make separate treaties with foreign countries in consonance with her individual interests. The sugar-bounty system was continued. The Hungarian Government now refused to continue the customs union with Austria longer than 1903, unless in the meantime the normal activity of the Austrian Reichsrath should be resumed and it should become possible to complete the arrangements between the two Legislatures, as provided for by the Constitution. The Austrian Government in accepting this hard condition argued that the charter of the Austro-Hungarian Bank should also be made to terminate in 1903. The Hungarian Government desired, on the contrary, to continue the arrangement with the common bank for ten years, and the Austrian ministry, after

carrying on prolonged negotiations, gave way on this point also.

Austria. The legislative body is the Reichsrath, consisting of the Herrenhaus, or House of Lords, in which 19 princes of the imperial family, 9 archbishops, 8 prince bishops, 66 territorial nobles, and 153 life members have seats, and the House of Deputies, composed of 425 members, who are elected for six years, 85 by the territorial aristocracy, 118 indirectly by the towns, 21 by the chambers of trade and commerce, and 129 indirectly by the rural districts, and 72 directly by all male citizens of towns and rural communes who pay 4 florins a year in direct taxes or possess educational or other qualifications. The representation of the provinces is unequal, varying from 1 member to 29,694 inhabitants in Salzburg to 1 to 89,188 in Galicia. Lower Austria sends 46 members; Upper Austria, 20; Salzburg, 6; Styria, 27; Carinthia, 10; Carniola, 11; Triest, 5; Goricia and Gradisca, 5; Istria, 5; Tyrol, 21; Vorarlberg, 4; Bohemia, 110; Moravia, 43; Silesia, 12; Galicia, 78; Bukowina, 11; Dalmatia, 11.

The Austrian ministry formed on March 7, 1898, was composed as follows: President of the Council and Minister of the Interior, Graf Franz von Thun-Hohenstein; Minister of Public Instruction and Ecclesiastical Affairs, Graf BylandtReydt; Minister of Finance, Dr. J. Kaizl; Minister of Agriculture, Baron von Kast; Minister of National Defense, Field-Marshal Graf Zeno von Welsersheimb; Minister of Justice, Dr. J. von Ruber; Minister of Railways, Dr. H. Ritter von Wittek; Minister of Commerce, J. di Pauli, Baron von Treuheim; without portfolio, Ritter von Jedrzejovicz.

Area and Population.-The Austrian dominions have a total area of 115,903 square miles, with a population estimated at the end of 1896 at 25,249,203, comprising 12,467,738 males and 12.781,465 females. The number of marriages in 1897 was 202,936; of births, 968,280; of deaths, 646,620; excess of births, 294,952. The number of emigrants in 1897 was 37,215. Vienna, the Austrian capital, had 1,364,548 inhabitants at the last decennial census.

The emigration from Austria-Hungary in 1896 was 67,456 persons, of whom 45,327 went to North America, 11,389 to Brazil, and 220 to the Argentine Republic. In 1897 the total number of emigrants was 37,215. According to United States immigration statistics, 34,196 Austrians and 30,898 Hungarians arrived in 1896, 18,006 Austrians and 15,025 Hungarians in 1897, and 23.118 Austrians and 16,662 Hungarians in 1898. The term of military service is still three years in Austria-Hungary, and to avoid conscription about 30,000 young men escape over the border every year according to estimates of the military authorities. Most of them go to the United States, where there are believed to be over 100,000 men who should be in the army or the reserves. They pass the frontier by means of forged passports furnished by foreigners, who make a business of aiding their escape.

Finances. The revenue of the Austrian Government in 1896 amounted to 741,442,000 florins, and the expenditure to 737,387,000 florins. For 1898 the budget estimate of revenue was 723,221.759 florins, and of expenditure 722.872,831 florins. The sanctioned estimates for 1899 make the revenue 760,754,838 florins, of which 767,600 florins are receipts of the Reichsrath and Council of Ministers, 1,412,109 florins are taken in by the Ministry of the Interior, 398,362 florins by the Ministry of Defense, 7,136,242 florins by the

Ministry of Education and Worship, 549,664,788 florins by the Ministry of Finance, 52,721,270 florins by the Ministry of Commerce, 129,828,620 florins by the Ministry of Railroads, 15,293,050 florins by the Ministry of Agriculture, 1,135,111 florins by the Ministry of Justice, 489,602 florins from pensions, subventions, etc., 1,057,080 florins from the state debt, and 851,000 florins from various sources. The total expenditure is estimated at 760,286,793 florins, of which 4,650,000 florins are for the imperial household, 78,307 florins for the imperial Cabinet, 2,568,231 florins for the Reichsrath and Council of Ministers, 23,300 florins for the Supreme Court, 126,162,876 florins for contributions to common expenditure, 28,142,972 florins for the Ministry of the Interior, 25,196,170 florins for the Ministry of Defense, 31,473,776 florins for the Ministry of Worship and Instruction, 131,681,228 florins for the Ministry of Finance, 49,783,310 florins for the Ministry of Commerce, 107,526,190 florins for the Ministry of Railroads, 19,357,914 florins for the Ministry of Agriculture, 29,210,791 florins for the Ministry of Justice, 175,500 florins for the Board of Control, 31,693,465 florins for pensions, subventions, etc., 171,929,683 florins for the state debt, and 633,080 florins for management of the debt.

Austria's special debt amounted on July 1, 1898, to 1,470,788,879 florins, of which 1,466,528,424 florins represent consolidated debt and 4,260,555 florins floating debt. The annual charge for interest and amortization of the special debt is 74,580,058 florins.

Political Affairs.-The conflict between the Germans and the Czechs made the parliamentary session at the beginning of 1899 a constant succession of broils and tumults. The German Opposition obstructed legislative business completely from the time that the Reichsrath met on Jan. 17. Motions were made to impeach the entire Cabinet. Interpellations regarding the treatment of German students at the University of Prague were made in an interminable succession and discussed at great length. When tired of talking the obstructionists demanded a roll call on every motion that they or the Ministerialists offered. The ministry withdrew all controversial projects of legislation, including the most important bills, in the hope of accomplishing some slight part of its programme, but the Opposition prevented anything from going through, and the German constituencies gave their hearty approval to this course of action. When the court at Prague decided that the language ordinances were constitutional, the Moderate members of the German party lost all the restraining influence that they had possessed. On Jan. 27 members of the warring parties came to blows when the Czech leader Kramarz, who was vice-president of the house at the time of the suspension of a sitting by gendarmes during the Badeni administration, was interrupted in his speech with shouts of "Bring in the police! The German factions, with the exception of the Pan-Germanic group, met to formulate their demands, and these were utterly irreconcilable with the minimum claims of the Czechs. The Government had hoped to renew the Ausgleich with Hungary. The Hungarian Diet till now had insisted that the new Ausgleich must be arranged between the two Parliaments, and the provisional extension of the old one could not be prolonged beyond the current year. The Government was compelled, however, to resort once more to the application of Article XIV of the Constitution, by which the government

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can be carried on by decrees. Not only was the minority strong and aggressive, but the majority divided and wavering, so that in a snap vote the ministry found itself actually in a minority of one the day before it closed the session. The chances of a truce between the rival nationalities did not improve after the return to the mild absolutism of Article XIV, although the Social Democrats were the only ones who cried out against the reactionary and despotic character of this provisional method of government, now become chronic. The Poles and the German Clericals, who formed part of the Government majority, were growing restive under the control of the Czechs before the prorogation, and yet these, although the members of the German party who a year or so before were in favor of compromise were now united with the extremists against any concession, became more exorbitant in their demands, exciting the resentment even of the lesser nationalities, such as the Slovenes and the Italians. The Germans, as a matter of policy, were not willing to accept a compromise favorable to themselves in the language question, even if such could be obtained from the Government after prorogation, because the language ordinances were ordinary administrative decrees, but if new ones were issued while Article XIV was in force it would require an act of Parliament to repeal them. The Pan-Germanic party, headed by Herr Schönerer, began to extend its influence among the hitherto loyal Catholic peasantry, who were incensed against their Clerical leaders and the Catholic hierarchy on account of their political alliance with the Czechs. The movement took the form of wholesale conversions to the Protestant Evangelical and the Old Catholic faiths. Many of those that renounced the Roman Catholic faith for political reasons under the lead and direction of the PanGermanic leaders, who kept a list of persons ready at the opportune moment to announce their conversion to Protestantism, were still loyal to the dynasty, and were not ready to follow these in their ultimate plans for the separation of the German provinces from Austria and their annexation to the German Empire. The German Government gave no countenance to the Austrian separatists' designs, and prevented their finding an echo in Germany; but the conversions to Protestantism were openly aided and encouraged by the Evangelical community in Germany, although the High Consistory of the Evangelical Church in Austria adopted a hostile attitude toward the movement. There were numerous conversions in January in Linz, the chief town of Upper Austria, and more in succeeding months. In northern Bohemia a large number of German Catholics changed their religion on national grounds. The cry of “Away from Rome!" was taken up in Gratz, the capital of Styria, where not 1 per cent. of the population were Protestants. Although aristocratic ladies placed obstacles in the way of a meeting that was announced to be held in a public hall, a large assemblage gathered eventually to hear Old Catholic orators preach emancipation from Rome, until the proceedings were stopped by the police, because one of the speakers spoke of the Old Catholic movement as an expression of the spirit of German nationalism. The Peasant League of the Alpine provinces, which combined a general Agrarian programme with certain German Nationalist features, such as the adoption of German as the language of the state, a customs union with Germany, a merely personal union with Hungary, and the exclusion from Austria of Galicia, Buko

wina, and Dalmatia, which would be erected into autonomous provinces, thus relieving the finances of the Austrian state, was suppressed by the Statthalter of Gratz on the ground that it had enrolled German subjects as members. This league was founded to resist the absorption of the small farms by the great landholders, who in upper Styria convert them into game preserves. The agitation, which was started by Baron Rokitansky, a member of the Styrian Diet, spread through Styria, Salzburg, Upper Austria, and the German districts of other provinces wherever the peasant proprietors, whose freeholds were already heavily mortgaged, were so reduced by the general agricultural depression that thousands of farms were sold under the hammer every year. The denunciation of the league by the priests had created a prejudice against the clergy among the peasantry, and gave occasion for the adoption of the Old Catholic creed by Catholics who had no other grounds, either religious or national, for abandoning the faith to which they were as deeply attached as the priests themselves. The policy of making concessions to the Slavs at the cost of the Germans in other parts of Austria caused profound mortification even in the Tyrol, the most loyal of the Austrian provinces, where there is no Slav element. The same policy produced a similar effect among the Austro-Italian population of the coast lands. Political radicalism also gained ground in all parts of the country, and the growing distress of the peasantry made them accessible to the Social Democratic propaganda, which was not a serious danger to political institutions so long as it was confined to the industrial population. The Socialists had worked hand in hand with the anti-Clerical element in the last elections in Styria. The Government intended to issue a new decree regulating the language question under paragraph 14, but the reception of an announcement to that effect discouraged such an attempt. The Diet of Lower Austria passed a resolution approving the language ordinances as an absolute necessity in the interest of the Germans and in that of Austria, but rejecting all attempts to settle the language question through any channel but the laws of the empire. When the provincial Diet of Bohemia met on March 14 the German members remained absent. The Tyrolese Diet passed German Nationalist resolutions. In the first quarter of 1899 there were 2,600 renunciations of the Roman Catholic faith, and in succeeding months changes of religion took place at an increasing rate, but by summer the movement seemed to have spent its force. The religious movement was not a new manifestation in Bohemia, where religion and politics have already been interwoven. When the Germans controlled the Government in Austria under the Auersperg ministry many Czechs embraced the Russian Orthodox religion and built a Russian church in Prague. The Catholicism of the Czechs is of a very liberal stripe, and some of the lower clergy, preserving the Hussite tradition, have habitually been in opposition to the higher episcopal authorities. The Thun ministry has authorized the erection of a statue to John Huss in Prague to please a popular demand among the Czechs, although the_Taafe and Badeni Cabinets and the previous Liberal Cabinets, out of consideration for the Catholic clergy, refused to sanction this glorification of the Protestant national hero of the Czechs. The Germans of Bohemia have shown such indifference in religious matters that a change of faith for political reasons is an easy process for them.

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