70 



AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 



should join the attacking power either by 

 ai-tive aggressions or by military measures in- 

 volving menace. The third clause provides 

 that the treaty should be kept secret, and only 

 be communicated to a third power by mutual 

 agreement, and contains an agreement that the 

 Emperor Alexander should be informed, in 

 case the Russian armaments assumed a menac- 

 ing character, that an attack against one 

 would be considered as directed against both. 



The animosity of the Russian press against 

 the Germans was rekindled by the publication 

 of the part of the treaty that was directed 

 against Russia. The Russian Government had 

 been informed of the terms of the alliance 

 some time before. The movement of Russian 

 cavalry and other troops toward the German 

 and Austrian frontiers had already begun, and 

 there was a general expectation that war would 

 break out in the spring. The Austrian dele- 

 gations voted a large credit, and the canton- 

 ments of troops on the Galician border were 

 soon more than equal to the Russian force, ex- 

 cept in cavalry. The fortresses were strength- 

 ened, and 200,000 huts were built to quarter 

 the soldiers along the frontier. 



The coolness existing in the latter part of 

 1887 between Russia and Germany, and the 

 menacing concentration of Russian troops on 

 the Polish frontiers, were partly the result of 

 an intrigue which was attributed, but not 

 actually traced, to Orleanists, who desired to 

 embroil Germany and France, and nearly suc- 

 ceeded in their purpose. The Czar came into 

 possession of a letter of the date of Aug. 27, 

 1887, bearing the supposed signature of Prince 

 Ferdinand of Bulgaria, addressed to the Count- 

 ess of Flanders, and imploring her to induce 

 her brother, the King of. Roumania, and the 

 King of the Belgians to use their influence, 

 the one with the Czar and the other at the 

 Au-trian court, on his behalf. He would not, 

 it is said in the letter, have accepted the Bul- 

 garian throne except for the secret encourage- 

 ment of Germany, and as a proof of this a 

 document was inclosed under the same cover 

 which was in the hand writing of Prince Reuss, 

 the German ambassador at Vienna, but un- 

 signed. This conveyed assurances that if the 

 Prince should decide to take possession of the 

 throne of Bulgaria, Germany was not in the 

 position at the moment to lend any official aid 

 or encouragement, but that, however hostile 

 the political acts of the German Government 

 might appear, the time would come when it 

 would reveal its secret sentiments and extend 

 its open support. In a second letter to the 

 Countess of Flanders complaint is made of the 

 changed attitude of Germany, but in a third the 

 Prince is made to say that, subsequent to the 

 meetings at Friedrichsruh with Kalnoky and 

 Crispi, Prince Bismarck had given him renewed 

 assurances. The misunderstanding occasioned 

 by this correspondence was dispelled when the 

 Czar passed through Berlin in November, 1887, 

 and stopped to pay his respects to his uncle, 



the Emperor Wilhelm, after having declined a 

 ceremonious interview at Stettin in September. 

 Being brought face to face with the German 

 Chancellor, he openly charged him with du- 

 plicity in enconrajring Ferdinand's course se- 

 cretly while officially condemning it as a con- 

 travention of the treaty of Berlin. Bismarck 

 declared the communication purporting to have 

 come from Prince Reuss to be a forgery, and 

 on inquiry it turned out that the entire corre- 

 spondence was fictitious. The concentration 

 of Russian troops did not immediately cease 

 after the exposure of the forged documents, 

 but there was soon an abatement of activity, 

 first on the part of Russia, and then on the 

 part of Austria, so that the Government did 

 not deem it necessary to call the delegations 

 together to ask of them an additional credit. 

 The assurance of the Czar that the military 

 movements lind no aggressive purpose did 

 more than anything else to quiet the war 

 alarm. Prince Bismarck, in a speech in the 

 Reichstag, on the German army bill, delivered 

 February 6, spoke of the fears that had arisen 

 during the past year as having more reference 

 to Russia than to France, and reviewed the 

 situation and the relations between Germany 

 and Russia. He expressed no fear on account 

 of the massing of Russian troops on the Ger- 

 man and Austrian frontiers, which he explained 

 by saying, " I conclude that the Russian Cabi- 

 net has arrived at the conviction, which is 

 probably well founded, that in the next Euro- 

 pean crisis that may take place, the weight 

 of Russia's voice in the diplomatic Areopagus 

 of Europe will be the heavier the further Rus- 

 sia has moved her troops toward the western 

 frontier." 



M. Tisza, in answer to an interpellation, said, 

 on January 28, that Russia, in pursuance of a 

 plan of military reorganization, had effected a 

 large displacement of troops toward the Aus- 

 trian frontier, which compelled Austria-Hun- 

 gary to take measures for her protection. 



Austria. The present Austrian Cabinet, which 

 was first constituted on Aug. 19, 1879, is com- 

 posed of the following ministers : Minister of 

 the Interior, Count Edward Taafe; Minister 

 of Public Instruction and Ecclesiastical Affairs, 

 Dr. Paul Gautsch von Frankenthurn, appoint- 

 ed Nov. 6, 1885; Minister of Finance, Dr. J. 

 Dunajewski ; Minister of Agriculture, Count 

 Julius Falkenhayn ; Minister of Commerce and 

 National Economy, Marquis von Bacquehem, 

 appointed July 28, 1886; Minister of Landes- 

 vertheidigung, or National Defense, Major- 

 General Count S. von Welsersheimb ; Minis- 

 ter of Justice, A. Prazak; without portfolio, 

 F. Ziemialkowski. 



The Reichsrath is composed of a House of 

 Lords, consisting of hereditary peers, princes 

 of the Church, and life-members, and an Elect- 

 ive Chamber, consisting at present of 353 depu- 

 ties, representing towns, chambers of com- 

 merce and industry, and rural districts. The 

 consent of the Reichsrath is necessary for all 



