Chapter VII: Preface: To the Sixth Volume (6)

"During the whole of November things went from bad to worse.
The all-important 'Ausgleich' remained hard aground, and could
not be sparred off. Badeni's government could not withdraw the
Language Ordinance and keep its majority, and the Opposition
could not be placated on easier terms. One night, while the
customary pandemonium was crashing and thundering along at its
best, a fight broke out. … On Thanksgiving day the sitting was
a history-making one. On that day the harried, bedeviled and
despairing government went insane. In order to free itself
from the thraldom of the Opposition it committed this
curiously juvenile crime: it moved an important change of the
Rules of the House, forbade debate upon the motion, put it to
a stand-up vote instead of ayes and noes, and then gravely
claimed that it had been adopted. … The House was already
standing up; had been standing for an hour; and before a third
of it had found out what the President had been saying, he had
proclaimed the adoption of the motion! And only a few heard
that. In fact, when that House is legislating you can't tell
it from artillery-practice. You will realize what a happy idea
it was to sidetrack the lawful ayes and noes and substitute a
stand-up vote by this fact: that a little later, when a
deputation of deputies waited upon the President and asked him
if he was actually willing to claim that that measure had been
passed, he answered, 'Yes—and unanimously.' …

"The 'Lex Falkenhayn,' thus strangely born, gave the President
power to suspend for three days any deputy who should continue
to be disorderly after being called to order twice, and it
also placed at his disposal such force as might be necessary
to make the suspension effective. So the House had a
sergeant-at-arms at last, and a more formidable one, as to
power, than any other legislature in Christendom had ever
possessed. The Lex Falkenhayn also gave the House itself
authority to suspend members for thirty days. On these terms
the 'Ausgleich' could be put through in an hour—apparently.
The Opposition would have to sit meek and quiet, and stop
obstructing, or be turned into the street, deputy after
deputy, leaving the Majority an unvexed field for its work.

"Certainly the thing looked well. … [But next day, when the
President attempted to open the session, a band of the
Socialist members made a sudden charge upon him, drove him and
the Vice President from the House, took possession of the
tribune, and brought even the semblance of legislative
proceedings to an end. Then a body of sixty policemen was
brought in to clear the House.] Some of the results of this
wild freak followed instantly. The Badeni government came down
with a crash; there was a popular outbreak or two in Vienna;
there were three or four days of furious rioting in Prague,
followed by the establishing there of martial law; the Jews
and Germans were harried and plundered, and their houses
destroyed; in other Bohemian towns there was rioting—in some
cases the Germans being the rioters, in others the Czechs—and
in all cases the Jew had to roast, no matter which side he was
on. We are well along in December now; the new
Minister-President has not been able to patch up a peace among
the warring factions of the parliament, therefore there is no
use in calling it together again for the present; public
opinion believes that parliamentary government and the
Constitution are actually threatened with extinction, and that
the permanency of the monarchy itself is a not absolutely
certain thing!

"Yes, the Lex Falkenhayn was a great invention, and did what
was claimed for it—it got the government out of the
frying-pan."

_S. L. Clemens (Mark Twain),
Stirring Times in Austria
(Harper's Magazine, March, 1898)._

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897 (December).
Imperial action.

On the last day of the year the Emperor closed the sittings of
the Austrian Reichsrath by proclamation and issued a rescript
continuing the "Ausgleich" provisionally for six months.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1898.
Prolongation of factious disorders.
Paralysis of constitutional government.

Though scenes in the Austrian Chamber were not quite so
violent, perhaps, as they had become near the close of 1897,
the state of factious disorder continued much the same
throughout the year, and legislation was completely stopped.
The work of government could be carried on only by imperial
decrees. The ministry of Baron von Gautsch, which had
succeeded that of Count Badeni, attempted a compromise on the
language question in Bohemia by dividing the country into
three districts, according to the distribution of the several
races, in one of which German was to be the official tongue,
in another Czech, while both languages were to be used in the
third. But the Germans of the empire would accept no such
compromise. In March, Baron von Gautsch retired, and Count
Thun Hohenstein formed a Ministry made up to represent the
principal factions in the Reichsrath; but, the scheme brought
no peace. Nor did appeals by Count Thun, "in the name of
Austria," to the patriotism and the reason of all parties, to
suspend their warfare long enough for a little of the
necessary work of the state to be done, have any effect. The
turbulence in the legislature infected the whole community,
and especially, it would seem, the students in the schools,
whose disorder caused many lectures to be stopped. In Hungary,
too, there was an increase of violence in political agitation.
A party, led by the son of Louis Kossuth, struggled to improve
what seemed to be an opportunity for breaking the political
union of Hungary with Austria, and realizing the old ambition
for an independent Hungarian state.
{42}
The ministry of Baron Banffy had this party against him, as
well as that of the clericals, who resented the civil marriage
laws, and legislation came to a deadlock nearly as complete in
the Hungarian as in the Austrian Parliament. There, as well as
in Austria, the extension of the Ausgleich, provisionally for
another year, had to be imposed by imperial decree.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1898 (April).
Withdrawal from the blockade of Crete and
the "Concert of Europe."

See (in this volume)
TURKEY: A. D. 1897-1899.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1898 (June).
The Sugar Conference at Brussels.

See (in this volume)
SUGAR BOUNTIES.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1898 (September).
Assassination of the Empress.
Jubilee of the Emperor's reign.

On the 10th of September, Elizabeth, Empress of Austria and
Queen of Hungary, was assassinated at Geneva by an Italian
anarchist, named Luigi Luccheni, who stabbed her with a small
stiletto, exceedingly thin and narrow in the blade. The
murderer rushed upon her and struck her, as she was walking,
with a single attendant, on the quay, towards a lake steamer
on which she intended to travel to Montreux. She fell, but
arose, with some assistance, and walked forward to the
steamer, evidently unaware that she had suffered worse than a
blow. On the steamer, however, she lost consciousness, and
then, for the first time, the wound was discovered. It had
been made by so fine a weapon that it showed little external
sign, and it is probable that the Empress felt little pain.
She lived nearly half an hour after the blow was struck. The
assassin attempted to escape, but was caught. As Swiss law
forbids capital punishment, he could be only condemned to
solitary confinement for life. This terrible tragedy came soon
after the festivities in Austria which had celebrated the
jubilee year of the Emperor Francis Joseph's reign. The
Emperor's marriage had been one of love: he had suffered many
afflictions in his later life; the state of his realm was such
as could hardly be contemplated without despair; men wondered
if he could bear this crowning sorrow and live. But he had the
undoubted affection of his subjects, much as they troubled him
with their miserably factious quarrels, and that consciousness
seems to have been his one support.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1899 (May-July).
Representation in the Peace Conference at The Hague.

See (in this volume)
PEACE CONFERENCE.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1899-1900.
Continued obstruction by the German parties in Austria.
Extensive secession of German Catholics from their
Church, and its significance.
Withdrawal of the Bohemian language decrees.
Obstruction taken up by the Czechs.

During most of the year the German parties in the Austrian
Reichsrath continued to make legislation impossible by
disorderly obstruction, with the avowed purpose of compelling
the government to withdraw the language decrees in Bohemia. A
still more significant demonstration of German feeling and
policy appeared, in a wide-spread and organized movement to
detach German Roman Catholics from their church, partly, it
would seem, as a proceeding of hostility to the Clerical
party, and partly as a means of recommending the Germans of
the Austrian states to the sympathy of the German Empire, and
smoothing the approach to an ultimate union of some of those
states with the Germanic federation. The agitation against the
Catholic Church is called "Los von Rom," and is said to have
had remarkable results. "Those acquainted with the situation
in Austria," says a writer in the "Quarterly Review," "do not
wonder that in various parts of the Empire there is a marked
tendency among the German Catholics to join Christian
communions separated from Rome. Many thousand Roman Catholics
have recently renounced their allegiance to the Holy See.
Further secessions are announced as about to take place. The
movement is especially strong in great centres like Eger,
Asch, and Saatz, but has made itself felt also in Carinthia,
and even in coast districts. This is a grave political fact,
for it is a marked indication of serious discontent, and a
sure sign that some arrangement under which certain districts
of Austria might be joined to Germany would not be unwelcome
to a section of the people."

_Quarterly Review,
January, 1899._

In September the Austrian Ministry of Count Thun resigned, and
was succeeded by one formed under Count Clary-Aldingen. The
new premier withdrew the language decrees, which quieted the
German obstructionists, but provoked the Czechs to take up the
same rôle. Count Clary-Aldingen resigned in December, and a
provisional Ministry was formed under Dr. Wettek, which lasted
only until the 10th of January, 1900, when a new Cabinet was
formed by Dr. von Körber. In Hungary, Baron Banffy was driven
from power in February, 1899, by a state of things in the
Hungarian Parliament much like that in the Austrian. M.
Koloman Szell, who succeeded him, effected a compromise with
the opposition which enabled him to carry a measure extending
the Ausgleich to 1907. This brought one serious difficulty of
the situation to an end.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1899-1901.
Attitude towards impending revolt in Macedonia.

See (in this volume)
TURKEY: A. D. 1899-1901;
and BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1900.
Military and naval expenditure.

See (in this volume)
WAR BUDGETS.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1900 (February).
Attempted pacification of German and Czech parties by a
Conciliation Board.

"On Monday last [February 5] the German and Czech Conciliation
Board met for the first time in Vienna, under the presidency of
the Austrian Premier, Dr. von Körber, and conferred for two
hours. … Dr. von Körber is at the head of what may be called a
'business' Ministry, composed largely of those who had filled
subordinate offices in previous Ministries. It was hoped,
perhaps, that, since the leading politicians with a political
'past' could apparently do nothing to bring about a
settlement, men with no past, but with a capacity for
business, and in no way committed on the racial question,
might do better in effecting a working arrangement. The
appointment of this Conciliation Board seemed a promising way
of attempting such a settlement. Dr. von Körber opened
Monday's proceedings with a strong appeal to both sides,
saying: 'Gentlemen, the Empire looks to you to restore its
happiness and tranquillity.' It cannot be said that the Empire
is likely to find its wishes fulfilled, for when the Board came
down to hard business, the old troubles instantly revealed
themselves.
{43}
The Premier recommended a committee for Bohemia of twenty-two
members, and one for Moravia of fifteen members, the two
sitting in joint session in certain cases. Dr. Engel then set
forth the historical claims of the Czechs, which immediately
called forth a demand from Dr. Funke, of the German party,
that German should be declared the official language
throughout Austria. Each speaker seems to have been supported
by his own party, and so no progress was made, and matters
remain in 'statu quo ante.' The singularly deficient
constitution of this Board makes against success, for it seems
that the German Nationalists and Anti-Semites have only one
delegate apiece, the Social Democrats were not invited at all,
while the extreme Germans and extreme Czechs, apparently
regarding the Board as a farce, declined to nominate delegates
to its sittings. … There is unhappily little reason for
believing that the Board of Conciliation will effect what the
Emperor himself has failed to accomplish."

_Spectator (London),
February 10, 1900._

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1900 (June-December).
Co-operation with the Powers in China.

See (in this volume)
CHINA.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1900 (September-December).
Warnings by the Emperor.
Clerical interference in politics.
The attitude of Hungary.
Economic decline of Austria.
Pessimistic views in Vienna.
The pending elections.

The Vienna correspondence of the "London Times" seems to be
the best source of information concerning the critical
conditions that are prevailing in the composite Empire, as the
Nineteenth Century closes, and the events by which those
conditions are from time to time revealed. The writer, whose
reports we shall quote, is evidently well placed for
observation, and well prepared for understanding what he sees.

In a dispatch of September 14, he notes the significance of a
reprimand which the Emperor had caused to be administered to
the Archbishop of Sarajevo, for interference in political
affairs:

"The chief of the Emperor's Cabinet called the Archbishop's
attention to newspaper reports of a speech made by him at the
close of the Catholic Congress recently held at Agram, in
which he was represented to have expressed the hope that
Bosnia would be incorporated with Croatia at the earliest
possible date. As that question was a purely political one and
foreign to the sacred vocation of the Archbishop, and as its
solution fell exclusively within the jurisdiction of certain
lay factors, and more especially within the Sovereign
prerogatives of his Majesty, the chief of the Cabinet was
instructed, in case the reports were correct, to communicate
to his Grace the serious warning and firm expectation of the
Emperor that his Grace would abstain in future, both in word
and deed, from interference in political questions. As was to
be expected, this sharp reprimand to an ecclesiastic of such
high position and repute has made a great sensation. It meets
with warm approval from the entire Hungarian Press. … There
is, on the other hand, bitter mortification in Clerical
circles. It is evidently felt that the warning to abstain from
politics may be of more than mere local and individual
significance."

In another dispatch on the same day the correspondent reported
a still more significant imperial utterance, this time from
the Emperor's own lips: "Yesterday the Emperor, who is
attending the manœuvres in Galicia, received the Polish
Parliamentary Deputation and, addressing their president,
informed him that the dissolution of the Reichsrath and the
coming elections were the last constitutional means which
would be employed by his Government. That implies that, if the
new Parliament will not work, the Constitution will be
suspended. … The dissolution of the Reichsrath takes place in
opposition to the wish of the moderate element of all parties,
who did their utmost to dissuade the Prime Minister from
taking such a drastic measure. The opinion of those who did
not approve of dissolution is that in the absence of a new
suffrage the next Parliament will prove more unruly than the
last. … Yesterday's Imperial warning requires no comment.
It means no more than it says—namely, an eventual suspension
of the Constitution. It does not point to any alternative
regime in case the Parliamentary system should break down.
Indeed, there is nothing to show that any such alternative has
been under the consideration of the Emperor and his Ministers. No
less an authority than Dr. Lueger, the Anti-Semitic
burgomaster of Vienna, has just expressed his opinion on the
subject to a local journalist in the following words:

'I am firmly convinced that nobody, not a single man in
Austria, including all statesmen and Parliamentary
politicians, has the faintest idea of how the situation will
develop.'"

A few days later (September 25) the "Times" correspondence
summarized an important speech by the Hungarian statesman,
Count Apponyi, to his constituents, in which the same forecast
of a political catastrophe in Austria was intimated. Count
Apponyi,—"after dwelling upon the importance of maintaining
the Ausgleich, remarked that affairs in Austria might take a
turn which would render its revision indispensable owing
either to a complete suspension of the constitutional system
in Austria, the maintenance of which was one of the conditions
of the arrangement of 1867, or such modifications thereof as
would make the existing form of union between the two
countries technically untenable or politically questionable.
In either case the revision could only confirm the
independence of Hungary. But even then Count Apponyi believed
that by fallowing the traditions of Francis Deák it would be
possible to harmonize the necessary revision with the
fundamental principles of the Dual Monarchy. It would,
however, be a great mistake to raise that question unless
forced to do so by circumstances. Count Apponyi went on to say
that the importance of Hungary, not only in the Monarchy but
throughout the civilized world, was enormously increased by
the fact that it secured the maintenance of Austria-Hungary,
threatened by the destructive influence of the Austrian chaos,
and thus constituted one of the principal guarantees of
European tranquillity. The peace-abiding nations recognized
that this service to the dynasty, the Monarchy, and the
European State system was only possible while the
constitutional independence and national unity of Hungary was
maintained. It was clear to every unprejudiced mind that
Hungarian national independence and unity was the backbone of
the Dual Monarchy and one of the most important guarantees of
European peace. But the imposing position attained by Hungary
through the European sanction of her national ideal would be
imperilled if they were of their own initiative to raise the
question of the union of the two countries and thus convert
the Austrian crisis into one affecting the whole Monarchy."

{44}

An article in the "Neue Freie Presse," of Vienna, on the
hostility of the Vatican to Austria and Hungary was partially
communicated in a despatch of October 11. The Vienna journal
ascribes this hostility in part to resentment engendered by
the alliance of Catholic Austria with Italy, and in part to
the Hungarian ecclesiastical laws.

See above: A. D. 1894-1895.

It remarked: "Never has clericalism been so influential in the
legislation and administration of this Empire. The most
powerful party is the one that takes its 'mot d'ordre' from
the Papal Nunciature. It guides the feudal nobility, it is the
thorn in the flesh of the German population, it has provoked a
20 years' reaction in Austria, and, unhindered and protected,
it scatters in Hungary that seed which has thriven so well in
this half of the Monarchy that nothing is done in Austria
without first considering what will be said about it in Rome."
A day or two later some evidence of a growing resentment in
Austria at the interference of the clergy in politics was
adduced: "Thus the Czech organ, inspired by the well-known
leader of the party, Dr. Stransky, states that a deputation of
tradespeople called on the editor and expressed great
indignation at the unprecedented manner in which the priests
were joining in electoral agitation. They added that they
'could no longer remain members of a Church whose clergy took
advantage of religious sentiment for political purposes.' The
Peasants' Electoral Association for Upper Austria has just
issued a manifesto in which the following occurs:—'We have for
more than 20 years invariably elected the candidates proposed by
the Clerical party. What has been done during that long period
for us peasants and small tradespeople? What have the Clerical
party and the Clerical members of Parliament done for us? How
have they rewarded our long fidelity? By treason. … We have
been imposed upon long enough. It is due to our self-respect
and honour to emancipate ourselves thoroughly from the
mamelukes put forward by the Clerical wirepullers. We must
show that we can get on without Clerical leadingstrings.'"

On the 26th of October the writer summarized a report that day
published by the Vienna Stock Exchange Committee, as
furnishing "fresh evidence of the disastrous effects of the
prolonged internal political crisis." "The report begins by
stating that the Vienna Stock Exchange, formerly the leading
and most important one in Europe, and which, in consequence of
the geographical situation of the town, was called upon to be
the centre of financial operations with the Near East, has for
years past been steadily declining. Every year the number of
those frequenting the Bourse diminishes, and there has been an
annual decrease in the amount of capital that has changed
hands. Of late years, and particularly within the last few
months, this has assumed such dimensions that it has become an
imperative duty for the competent authorities to investigate the
causes of the evil and to seek a remedy. It is recognized that
the deplorable domestic situation has largely contributed to
the decline of the Bourse. The deadlock in the Legislative
Assembly has occasioned stagnation in industry and commerce,
whereas outside the Monarchy there has been an unprecedented
development of trade. Further prejudice has been caused by
what is called in the report the anti-capitalist tendencies,
which represent all gains and profits to be ill-gotten. The
profession of merchant has been held up by unprincipled
demagogues as disreputable. The authorities are reproached
with having encouraged those tendencies by undue tolerance."

Early in November, the Vienna letters began accounts of the
electioneering campaign then opening, though elections for the
new House were not to take place until the following January:
"Every day," wrote the correspondent, "brings its contingent
of electoral manifestos, and all parties have already had
their say. Unfortunately, nothing could be less edifying. It
may be said of them all that they have profited little by
experience, and it is vain to search for any indication of a
conciliatory disposition among Czechs or Germans, Liberals or
Clericals. One and all are as uncompromising as ever, and
neither the leaders nor the rank and file are prepared to
reckon with the real exigencies of the situation, even to save
their own Parliamentary existence. The feudal nobility, who
stand aloof from Parliamentary strife, have alone lost nothing
of their position and influence. They disdainfully refuse to
take either the requirements of the State or the legitimate
wishes of the Crown into account. They are preparing in
alliance with Ultramontanism to hold their own against the
coming storm. Their action in the pending electrical campaign
is of an occult nature; their proceedings are seldom reported
by the newspapers, and when they meet it is by groups and
privately.

"The political speeches which have hitherto been delivered in
various parts of the country are bewildering. The Germans are
split up into several fractions, and even on the other side
there have been separate manifestos from the Young Czechs and
also from the Old Czechs, who have long ceased to play a part
in the Reichsrath. It is confusion worse confounded, in fact
complete chaos. The prospect of a rallying of the
heterogeneous and mutually antagonistic groups on the basis of
resistance to Hungarian exigencies, though possible, is not
yet at hand, whatever the future may reserve. … The words of
warning that came from the Crown as to this being the last
attempt that would be made to rule by constitutional methods
has clearly failed to produce that impression among
Parliamentary politicians which might justly have been
anticipated. Not even the most experienced and best informed
among the former members of the Reichsrath are disposed to
make any prophecy as to what will follow the dissolution of
the next Chamber."

{45}

In the following month, a significant speech in the Reichsrath
at Buda-Pesth, by the very able Hungarian Prime Minister, M.
Szell, WIIS reported. "He foreshadowed the possibility of a
situation in which Austria would not be able to fulfil the
conditions prescribed in the Ausgleich Act of 1867 with regard
to the manner of dealing with the affairs common to both halves
of the Monarchy. He himself had, however, made up his mind on
the subject, and was convinced that even in those
circumstances the Hungarians would by means of provisional
measures regulate the common affairs and interests of the two
States, 'while specially asserting the rights of Hungary and
its independence.' Another version of this somewhat oracular
statement runs as follows:—'Hungary, without infringing the
Ausgleich law, will find ways and means of regulating those
affairs which, in virtue of the Pragmatic sanction, are common
to both States, while at the same time protecting her own
interests and giving greater emphasis to her independence.'
Dr. Szell added:—'When the right time comes I shall explain my
views, and eventually submit proposals to the House.
Meanwhile, let us husband our strength and keep our powder
dry.' The self-confident and almost defiant tone of this
forecast, coming from a responsible statesman accustomed to
display such prudence and moderation of language as M. Szell,
has made a profound impression in Austria. It assumes the
breakdown of the Austrian Parliamentary system to be a
certainty, and anticipates the adoption by Hungary of
one-sided measures which, according to M. Szell, will afford
more effective protection to its interests and confirm its
independence. This seems to be interpreted in Vienna as an
indication that the Hungarian Premier has a cut and dry scheme
ready for the revision of the Ausgleich in a direction which
bodes ill for Austria. The gravity of the Ministerial
statement is recognized by journals of such divergent views as
the semi-official 'Fremdenblatt,' the pan-Germanic and
Anti-Semitic 'Deutsche Zeitung,' and the 'Neues Wiener
Tagblatt,' which is the organ of the moderate German element.
The 'Neues Wiener Tagblatt' frankly acknowledges that, in
addition to all her other cares, Austria has now to consider
the crucial question of the form which her relations with
Hungary will assume at no distant date. Commercial severance
and declarations of independence are, it says, being discussed
by the initiated sections of the community in both countries,
as if it were a matter of merely economic concern, instead of
the greatest and most perilous political problem that the
Monarchy has been called upon to solve since the establishment
of the Dual system, which, in spite of its complexity, has
worked well for such a long period. The 'Neues Wiener
Tagblatt,' nevertheless, admits that things have now reached a
stage at which economic severance is no longer impossible." In
a subsequent speech on New Year's Day, M. Szell declared that
it "would be a fatal mistake to sever the ties which had so
long connected the two countries, as the objects for which
they were called into existence still remained and their
fundamental basis was not shaken."

The Vienna journals, on that New Year's Day of 1901, reviewed
the past and surveyed the prospects of the future in gloomy
and pessimistic tones. Heading its article "Progress
Backward," the "Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung" said: "It is true
that Austria has at her disposal a larger and more efficiently
trained army than ever. The natural resources of the country
have been better developed than in the past. The progress of
the century has not been without influence upon ourselves.
But, whereas other nations are more vigorous, greater, and
mightier, we have become weaker, smaller, and less important.
The history of the world during the second half of the past
century has been made at our expense. … In the new partition
of the world no room has been reserved for Austria. The most
important events which will perhaps give the world a new
physiognomy are taking place without Austria's being able to
exercise the slightest influence thereon. We are living upon
our old reputation, but in the long run that capital will
prove insufficient."

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1900 (December).
Census of Vienna.

See (in this volume)
VIENNA: A. D. 1900.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1901.
Parliamentary elections.
Weakening of the Clerical and Anti-Semitic parties.
Gains for the ultra-radical German parties.
Disorderly opening of the Reichsrath.
Speech of the Emperor from the throne.

From the parliamentary elections held in January the Clerical
and Anti-Semitic parties came back to the Reichsrath shorn of
about one-third of their strength, while the various radical
factions, especially those among the Germans, appear to have
made considerable gains. Even in the Tyrol, one of the
strongest of the Clerical leaders, Baron Di Pauli, was
defeated, and in Vienna the Anti-Semitic majority was cut to
less than one-fourth of what it had been three years before.
"The Pan-Germanic group," writes "The Times" correspondent
from Vienna, "which only numbered five in the last Parliament,
now musters 21. It will be remembered that it openly advocates
incorporation with the German Empire, and as a preparatory
measure the wholesale conversion of the German population of
Austria to Protestantism. It has hitherto been to a certain
extent boycotted by the other German parties, being excluded
from their so-called union for mutual defence and joint
action." "But the programme which had thus been boycotted by
the bulk of the German members has been the most successful of
all in the recent general election. The position of its
leading representative, Herr Schönerer, has been so
strengthened that he has been able to impose upon the whole
group the title of Pan-Germanic Union, and to enforce the
acceptance of the principle of 'emancipation from Rome.' The
latter demand caused a certain hesitation on the part of some
of his new followers, who, however, ultimately decided to
adopt it, although not to the full extent of renouncing the
Roman Catholic faith, as Herr Schönerer and his principal
lieutenant, Herr Wolf, themselves had done. At a conference of
the party its programme was declared to be the promotion of
such a federal connexion of the German provinces of Austria
with the German Empire as would furnish a permanent guarantee
for the maintenance of the German nationality in this country.
The party would oppose every Government that resisted the
realization of that object, and it could not participate in
any manifestations of loyalty while such a Government policy
was maintained. At the same time, the party regarded it as
their obvious duty to emancipate themselves from Rome in a
political but not religious sense—that is to say, to free
themselves from the influence of the Roman Curia in affairs of
State.

{46}

"This boycotted party and programme now threatens to win the
voluntary or enforced adherence of the advanced section of the
other German groups which had hitherto declined to commit
themselves to such an extreme policy. The most moderate of all
the German parties, that of the constitutional landed
proprietors, has felt called upon to enter an energetic and
indignant protest against the foregoing Pan-Germanic
programme. While they are convinced supporters of the
Austro-German alliance, they unconditionally reject
aspirations which they hold to be totally inconsistent with
the tried and reliable basis of that agreement, and which
would constitute an undignified sacrifice of the independence
of the Monarchy. They further decline to make their
manifestations of loyalty to the Sovereign dependent upon any
condition; and they strongly condemn the emancipation from
Rome movement as a culpable confusion of the spheres of
religion and politics, and an infringement of the liberty of
conscience which is calculated to sow dissension among the
German nationality in Austria.

"It now remains to be seen to which side the bulk of the
German representatives will rally; to that of the Moderates,
who have re-affirmed their devotion to the Dynasty and the
existing Constitution, or to that of the Pan-Germanic
revolutionaries, who have decided to make their manifestations
of loyalty dependent upon the adoption by the Crown of their
programme.

"The outlook has thus undergone, if anything, a change for the
worse since the last Reichsrath was dissolved. The only
reassuring feature of the situation is that the fall of the
Ministry is not a primary end with any of the parties in the
Reichsrath. Dr. von Körber, who is a politician of great tact
and experience, has avoided friction on all sides."

The opening session of the newly elected Reichsrath was held
on the 31st of January, and the disorderly temper in it was
manifested upon a reference by the President to the death of
Queen Victoria, which called out cries of hostility to England
from both Germans and Czechs.

"In the course of the proceedings some of the members of the
Extreme Czech fraction warned the Prime Minister in
threatening terms against introducing a single word hostile to
the Czech nation in the coming Speech from the Throne. They
also announced their intention of squaring accounts with him
so soon as the Speech from the Throne should be delivered. The
whole sitting did not last an hour, but … what happened
suffices to show that not only the Pan-Germanic Union, but
also the Extreme section of the German People's party and a
couple of Radical Czechs, are ready at a moment's notice to
transform the Reichsrath into a bear garden."

On the 4th of February the two Houses of the Reichsrath were
assembled at the Palace and addressed by the Emperor, in a
speech from the throne of which the following is a partial
report: "His Majesty referred to various features of
legislation, including the Budget, the revision of the Customs
tariff, the promotion of trade, industry, and navigation, the
protection of the working classes and the regulation of the
hours of labour, the Government railway projects and the
Bosnian lines, and Bills for the regulation of emigration, the
construction of dwellings for the lower classes, the
repression of drunkenness, the development of the University
system and other educational reforms, and a revision of the
Press laws—in fact a whole inventory of the important
legislative arrears consequent upon the breakdown of
Parliament.

"The following passage occurs in the further course of the
speech: 'The Constitution which I bestowed upon my dominions
in the exercise of my free will ought to be an adequate
guarantee for the development of my people. The finances of
the State have been put in order in exemplary fashion and its
credit has been raised to a high level. The freedom of the
subject reposes upon a firm foundation, and thanks to the
scholastic organization and the extraordinary increase of
educational establishments general culture has reached a
gratifying standard, which has more especially contributed to
the efficiency and intelligence of my army. The Provincial
Diets have been able to do much within the limits of their
jurisdiction. The beneficial influence of the constitutional
system has penetrated as far as the communal administrations.
I am thus justified in saying that the fundamental laws of the
State are a precious possession of my loyal people.
Notwithstanding the autonomy enjoyed by certain kingdoms and
provinces, they constitute for foreigners the symbol of the
strength and unity of the State. I was, therefore, all the
more grieved that the last sessions of the Legislature should
have had no result, even if I am prepared to acknowledge that
such business as affected the position of the Monarchy was
satisfactorily transacted by all parties.'

"The Emperor then expressed his regret that other matters of
equal importance affecting the interests of Austria had not
been disposed of. His Majesty made an appeal to the
representatives of the Reichsrath to devote their efforts to
the necessary and urgent work awaiting them, and assured them
that they might count upon the Government. All attempts at the
moral and material development of the Empire were, he said,
stultified by the nationality strife. Experience had shown
that the efforts of the Government to bring about a settlement
of the principal questions involved therein had led to no
result and that it was preferable to deal with the matter in
the Legislature. The Government regarded a generally
satisfactory solution of the pending language question as
being both an act of justice and a necessity of State.
Trusting in the good will manifested by all parties, the
Ministry would do its utmost to promote a settlement which
would relieve the country of its greatest evil. At the same
time, the Cabinet was under the obligation of maintaining
intact the unity of language in certain departments of the
Administration, in which it constituted an old and well-tested
institution. Success must never again be sought through
paralysing the popular representation. The hindrance of
Parliamentary work could only postpone or render quite
impossible the realization of such aspirations as most deeply
affected the public mind. The Sovereign then referred to the
damage done to the interests of the Empire by the obstacles
placed in the way of the regular working of the Constitution,
and pointed to the indispensable necessity of the vigorous
co-operation of Parliament in the approaching settlement of
the commercial relations between the two halves of the
Monarchy. The speech concluded with a warmly-worded appeal to
the representatives to establish a peace which would
correspond to the requirements of the time and to defend as
their fathers had defended 'this venerable State which accords
equal protection to all its peoples.'"

{47}

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1901 (March).
Continued turbulence of the factions
in the Austrian Reichsrath.
Outspoken aim of the Pan-Germans.

At this writing (late in March), the disgraceful and
destructive conflict of reckless factions is still raging in
the Austrian Reichsrath, and the parties have come to blows
several times. The hope of the German extremists for a
dissolution of the Empire seems to be more and more openly
avowed. On one occasion, "a Czech member, Dr. Sieleny, having
accused the Pan-Germans of wistfully glancing across the
frontier, Herr Stein, a member of the Pan-Germanic group,
replied, 'We do not glance, we gaze.' Being reproached with
looking towards Germany with an ulterior motive, the same
gentleman answered, 'You Czechs want to go to Russia, and we
Germans want to go to Germany.' Again, on being told that he
would like to become a Prussian, he exclaimed, 'I declare
openly that we want to go to the German Empire.' Finally, in
reply to another remark, Herr Stein observed that everybody in
the country who was an Austrian patriot was stupid."

----------AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: End--------

AUTONOMY, Constitutional:
Granted by Spain to Cuba and Porto Rico.

See (in this volume)
CUBA: A. D. 1897 (NOVEMBER);
and 1897-1898 (NOVEMBER-FEBRUARY).

AYUNTAMIENTOS.

Town councillors in Spain and in the Spanish American states.

See (in this volume)
CUBA: A. D. 1901 (JANUARY).

B.

BABYLON: Exploration of the ruins of the city.

See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH:
BABYLONIA: GERMAN EXPLORATION.

BABYLON: Railway to the ruins.

See (in this volume)
TURKEY: A. D. 1899 (NOVEMBER).

BABYLONIA: Archæological Exploration in.

See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: BABYLONIA: AMERICAN EXPLORATION.

BACHI, BASHEE ISLANDS, The American acquisition of.

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JULY-DECEMBER).

BACTERIAL SCIENCE, Recent.

See (in this volume)
SCIENCE, RECENT: MEDICAL AND SURGICAL.

BADENI, Count: Austrian ministry.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1895-1896.

BADEN-POWELL, General R. S. S.: Defense of Mafeking.

See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE FIELD OF WAR):
A. D. 1899 (OCTOBER-NOVEMBER); and 1900 (MARCH-MAY).

BAGDAD, Railways to.

See (in this volume)
TURKEY: A. D. 1899 (NOVEMBER); and JEWS: A. D. 1899.

BAJAUR.

See (in this volume)
INDIA: A.D. 1895 (MARCH-SEPTEMBER).

BALFOUR, Arthur J.:
First Lord of the Treasury in the British Cabinet.

See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1894-1895; and 1900 (NOVEMBER-DECEMBER).

BALFOUR, Arthur J.:
Tribute to Queen Victoria.

See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1901 (JANUARY).

BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES, The.

"The States of the Balkan Peninsula, ever since the practical
disruption of European Turkey after the war of 1877-78, have
been in a condition of chronic restlessness. Those who desire
the repose of Europe have hoped against hope that the new
communities which were founded or extended on the ruins of the
Ottoman dominion in Europe would be able and willing to keep
the peace among themselves and to combine in resisting the
intrusion of foreign influences. These expectations have been
too frequently disappointed. The lawlessness of Bulgaria and
the unsettled state of Servia, more especially, continue to
constitute a periodical cause of anxiety to the diplomacy of
Europe. The recent murder at Bukharest of Professor
Mihaileano, a Macedonian by birth and a Rumanian by
extraction, appears to be a shocking example of the teaching
of a school of political conspirators who have their centre of
operations at Sofia. These persons had already combined to
blackmail and terrorise the leading Rumanian residents in the
capital of Bulgaria, where the most abominable outrages are
stated to have been committed with impunity. Apparently, they
have now carried the war, with surprising audacity, into the
Rumanian capital itself. Two persons marked out for vengeance
by the terrorists of Sofia had previously been murdered in
Bukharest, according to our Vienna Correspondent, but these
were Bulgarians by birth. It is a further step in this
mischievous propaganda that a Rumanian subject, the occupant
of an official position at the seat of the Rumanian
government, should be done to death by emissaries from the
secret society at Sofia. His crime was that, born of Rumanian
parents in Macedonia, he had the boldness to controvert in the
Press the claims of the Bulgarians to obtain the upper hand in
a Turkish province, where Greeks, Turks, Bulgarians,
Albanians, and Serbs are inextricably mixed up. Professor
Mihaileano had probably very good reasons for coming to the
conclusion that, whatever may be the evils of Ottoman rule,
they are less than those which would follow a free fight in
the Balkans, ending, it may be, in the ascendency of Bulgarian
ruffianism.

"It is for this offence that M. Mihaileano suffered the
penalty of death by the decree of a secret tribunal, and at
the hands of assassins sent out to do their deadly work by
political intriguers who sit in safety at Sofia. The most
serious aspect of the matter, however, is the careless and
almost contemptuous attitude of the Bulgarian Government. The
reign of terror at Sofia and the too successful attempts to
extend it to Rumania have provoked remonstrances not only from
the government at Bukharest, but from some of the Great
Powers, including Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy. … There
is only too much reason to fear, even now, that both the
Bulgarian Government and the ruler of the Principality are
afraid to break with the terrorists of Sofia.
{48}
Political assassination is unfortunately among the traditions
of the Bulgarian State, but it has never been practised with
such frequency and impunity as under the rule of Prince
Ferdinand. … His own conduct as a ruler, coupled with the
lamentable decline of the spirit of Bulgarian independence,
which seemed to be vigorous and unflinching before the
kidnapping of Prince Alexander, has steadily lowered his
position. The Bulgarian agitation—to a large extent a sham
one—for the 'redemption,' as it is called, of Macedonia is a
safety-valve that relieves Prince Ferdinand and those who
surround him from much unpleasant criticism. …

"The situation in the Balkans is in many respects disquieting.
The Bulgarian agitation for the absorption of Macedonia is not
discouraged in high quarters. The hostility of the Sofia
conspirators to the Koutzo-Wallachs, the Rumanians of
Macedonia, is due to the fact that the latter, being a small
minority of the population, are ready to take their chance of
equal treatment under Turkish rule, subject to the supervision
of Europe, rather than to be swallowed up in an enlarged
Bulgaria, dominated by the passions that now prevail in the
Principality and that have been cultivated for obvious
reasons. Russia, it is believed, has no wish to see Bulgarian
aspirations realized, and would much rather keep the
Principality in a state of expectant dependence. Servia and
Greece would be as much embarrassed as Rumania by the success
of the Bulgarian propaganda, and Austria-Hungary would regard
it as a grave menace. Of course the Turkish government could
not be expected to acquiesce in what would, in fact, be its
knell of doom. … In Greece, the insubordination in certain
sections of the army is a symptom not very alarming in itself,
but unpleasantly significant of latent discontent. In Turkey,
of course, the recrudescence of the fanaticism which
periodically breaks out in the massacres of the Armenians
cannot be overlooked. A more unfortunate time could not be
chosen for endeavouring to reopen the Eastern question by
pressing forward the Bulgarian claim to Macedonia. Nor could a
more unfortunate method be adopted of presenting that claim than
that of the terrorists who appear to be sheltered or screened
at Sofia."

_London Times, August 23, 1900._

See, also (in this volume),
TURKEY: A. D. 1899-1901.

BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES:
Bulgaria.

On the 15th of July, 1895, M. Stambouloff, lately the powerful
chief minister in the Bulgarian government, but now overthrown
and out of favor, was attacked by four assassins, in the
streets of Sofia, and received wounds from which he died three
days afterwards.

The increasing influence of Russia in Bulgaria was manifested
unmistakably on the 14th of February, 1896, when Prince Boris,
the infant son and heir of the reigning Prince Ferdinand, was
solemnly baptised into the Orthodox Greek Church, the Tzar of
Russia, represented by proxy at the ceremony, acting as
sponsor. This is understood to have been done in opposition to
the most earnest remonstrances of the mother of the child, who is
an ardent Roman Catholic, the father being nominally the same.

BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES: Montenegro:
Recent changes.

"The accession of territory obtained under the Berlin Treaty
has already begun to alter the character of the country. The
area of the Principality has been almost doubled, and fertile
valleys, tracts of rich woodland and a strip of sea-coast have
been added to the realm of Prince Nikolas. Montenegro is now
something more than the rocky eyrie of a warlike clan, and the
problem of its commercial development constantly occupies the
mind of its ruler. The state of transition is reflected in the
aspect of the capital. A tiny hamlet in 1878, Tzetinye now
bears witness to the growth of civilisation and to the
beneficent influence of a paternal despotism. … Nikolas I.,
'Prince and Gospodar of free Tzrnagora and the Berda,' is the
most picturesque and remarkable figure in the South Slavonic
world. Descended from a long line of heroes, the heir of the
Vladikas, he has, like them, distinguished himself in many a
hard-fought conflict with the hereditary foe. In the field of
poetry he has also won his triumphs; like his father Mirko,
'the Sword of Montenegro,' he has written lyric odes and
ballads; like his ancestor, the Vladika Petar II., he has
composed historical dramas, and his poems and plays hold a
recognised place in contemporary Slavonic literature. The
inheritor of a splendid tradition, a warrior and a bard,
gifted by nature with a fine physique and a commanding
presence, he forms the impersonation and embodiment of all
that appeals most to the imagination of a romantic and
impressionable race, to its martial instinct, its poetic
temperament, and its strange—and to us
incomprehensible—yearning after long-vanished glories. … Any
attempt to describe Prince Nikolas' work as an administrator
and a reformer would lead me too far. The codification of the
law, which was begun by his ancestors, Danilo I. and Petar I.,
has been almost completed under his supervision. … The
suppression of the vendetta is one of the greatest of the
Prince's achievements. … Crime is now rare in the
Principality, except in the frontier districts, where acts of
homicide are regarded as justifiable, and indeed laudable, if
perpetrated in payment of old scores, or if the victim is an
Albanian from over the border. Primary education has been made
universal, schools have arisen in every village, and lecturers
have been appointed to explain to the peasants the advantages
of learning. Communications are being opened up, and the
Principality, which a few years since possessed nothing but
mule-tracks, can now boast of 138 miles of excellent
carriage-road, better engineered and maintained than any I
have seen in the Peninsula. The construction of roads is
viewed with some apprehension by the more conservative
Montenegrins, who fear that their mountain stronghold may lose
its inaccessible character. But the Prince is determined to
keep abreast of the march of civilisation. Nine post-offices
and thirteen telegraph stations have been established. The
latter, which are much used by the people, will play an
important part in the next mobilization of the Montenegrin
army. Hitherto the forces of the Principality have been called
together by stentorian couriers who shouted from the tops of
the mountains. A great reform, however, still remains to be
attempted—the conversion of a clan of warriors into an
industrial nation. The change has been rendered inevitable by
the enlargement of the bounds of the Principality, and its
necessity is fully recognised by the Prince.
{49}
Once the future of the country is assured, his order will be
'à bas les armes.' He is aware that such an edict would be
intensely unpopular, but he will not flinch when the time for
issuing it arrives. Every Montenegrin has been taught from his
cradle to regard warfare as his sole vocation in life, and to
despise industrial pursuits. The tradition of five hundred
years has remained unbroken, but the Prince will not hesitate
to destroy it. So enormous is his influence over the people,
that he feels confident in his ability to carry out this
sweeping reform."

_J. D. Bourchier,
Montenegro and her Prince
(Fortnightly Review, December, 1898)._

BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES: Montenegro:
New title of the Prince.

On the 19th of December, 1900, at Tzetinye, or Cettigne, "the
President of the Council of State, in the presence of the
other Ministers and dignitaries and of the members of the
Diplomatic Corps, presented an address to the Prince of
Montenegro praying him, in token of the gratitude of the
Montenegrin people for the benefits which he had conferred on
them during his 40 years' reign, to take the title of Royal
Highness. The Prince acceded to the request, and, replying to
the President, thanked all the European rulers who on this
occasion had given him a fresh proof of their friendship by
their recognition of his new title. After the ceremony a Te
Deum was celebrated in the Cathedral, and the Prince
subsequently reviewed the troops, receiving a great welcome
from the people."

_Telegram,
Reuter's Agency._

BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES:
Servia.

In January, 1894, the young king, Alexander, called his
father, the ex-king, Milan (abdicated in 1889—see, in volume
1. BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES: A. D. 1879-1889), to Belgrade
to give him help against his Radical ministers, who had been
taking, the latter thought, too much into their own hands. The
first result was a change of ministry, soon followed by a
decision from the synod of Servian bishops annulling the
divorce of ex-King Milan and Queen Natalie; by a public
announcement of their reconciliation, and by an ukase from
King Alexander, cancelling all laws and resolutions which
touched his parents and restoring to them their rights and
privileges as members of the royal house. This, again, was
followed, on the 21st of May, by a royal proclamation which
abolished the constitution of December, 1888, and restored the
old constitution of 1869. This was a tremendous step backward, to
a state of things in which almost no protection against
arbitrary kingship could be found.

For some years the ex-king exercised considerable influence
over his son, and was again an uncertain and much distrusted
factor in the troubled politics of southeastern Europe. In
1898 the son appointed him commander-in-chief of the Servian
army, and he is said to have ably and energetically improved
its efficiency during the brief period of his command. A
breach between father and son was brought about before long,
however, by the determination of the latter to marry a lady,
Madame Draga Maschin, considerably older than himself, who had
been lady-in-waiting to his mother; while the father was
arranging a political marriage for him with a German princess.
The young king married his chosen bride in August, 1900, and
guarded his frontier with troops to bar the return of his
father, then sojourning at a German watering place, to the
kingdom. It was a final exile for the ex-king. He visited
Paris for a time; then went to Vienna, and there, on the 11th
of February, 1901, he died, at the age of 47.

BALLOONS, Declaration against explosives from.

See (in this volume)
PEACE CONFERENCE.

BALTIC and NORTH SEA CANALS.

See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1895 (JUNE); and 1900 (JUNE).

BANK OF FRANCE: Renewal of privileges.

See (in this volume)
MONETARY QUESTIONS: A. D. 1897.

BANKING: Its effect on the Nineteenth Century.

See (in this volume)
NINETEENTH CENTURY: THE TREND.

BANKRUPTCY LAW, National.

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JULY 1).

BARBADOS: Condition and relief measures.

See (in this volume)
WEST INDIES, THE BRITISH: A. D. 1897.

BARCELONA: A. D. 1895.
Student riots.