Al'STRIA HUNGARY. 



69 



Vienna Municipal Election. In the latter 

 part <>f 1S95 the repeated re-election of Dr. LiiLT'T. 

 the Anti-Semite agitator, as burgomaster of Vienna 

 1 inueli excitement, for the Emperor refused 

 lotion the election, and finally dissolved the 

 municipal council. The elections took place on 

 27. 1*96. resulting in the return of a stronger 

 Anti-Semite majority. 96 to 42. The new council 

 elected Dr. Lfiger burgomaster for the fourth time 

 on April 17. A few days later the Emperor sum- 

 moned him to his presence. In his audience with 

 the Emperor Dr. Luger announced his readiness 

 to renounce the post of burgomaster, to -which 

 some other member of his party would be chosen 

 while he himself would be elected first deputy 

 burgomaster, an office that can be held without 

 imperial ratification. Dr. Luger had become even 

 more obnoxious than when first elected, as he rep- 

 resented the clerical and national antagonism to 

 Hungary and its Government, which he and his 

 followers declared to be in the hands of Jews and 

 Free Masons. When, later, the Emperor opened 

 the Millennial Exposition in Buda-Pesth, and a large 

 delegation of Austrian Liberals went there, the 

 Anti-Semites denounced as traitors all Austrians 

 who attended the Magyar festival. A Vienna mer- 

 chant named Strobach. who was elected burgomas- 

 ter on May 6. took pains to state in his speech of 

 acceptance that he acted on the advice of Dr. 

 Luger. to whom he would give up the place when 

 the right time comes. He declared that he consid- 

 ered it his duty to assist the Christian population 

 to recover the position that they never ought to 

 have lost. 



When Dr. Luger was elected for the first time, in 

 May, 1895. he was unable to control a working ma- 

 jority in the council, and for that reason refused to 

 take office. The Windischgratz ministry dissolved 

 the municipal council and placed the capital under 

 an imperial commissary, with nominated council- 

 ors, in order to give the electors an opportunity for 

 reconsidering their opinions. The intervention of 

 the Government aroused resentment, and in the 

 election of September. 1895. the German Liberals 

 were completely routed. In October. Dr. Luger 

 was again chosen burgomaster, this time by !i3 

 votes out of 137. Count Badeni. who had suc- 

 ceeded Prince Windischgratz as Premier, having 

 from the beginning revealed unmistakably his hos- 

 tility to the Anti-Semitic agitation, refused to Dr. 

 Luger the necessary imperial sanction, but a fort- 

 night later the municipality re-elected him by 

 practically the same number of votes. The munici- 

 pality was immediately dissolved, but the inhabit- 

 ants stubbornly refused to modify their opinions. 

 Consequently the newly elected council was more 

 ardently devoted to Dr. L Hirer and his programme 

 than the preceding one. The retreat of the Gov- 

 ernment, marked by the intercession of the Empe- 

 ror, greatly strengthened the position of Dr. Luger 

 and the Anti-Semites, who were henceforth openly 

 countenanced by the leaders of parties supporting 

 the Government, feudal Conservatives and Ultra- 

 montane clericals, from which the Anti-Semites 

 were recruited, as well as from the Christian Social- 

 ists and the Social Democrats. 



Electoral Reform. The long-expected fran- 

 chise bill that was introduced by the Badeni minis- 

 try in 1 S 96 and carried by a good majority in the 

 Reichsrath is a compromise between universal 

 suffrage and the defense of property interests. The 

 extreme Socialists were far from satisfied with it. 

 and looked forward with confidence to a further 

 extension of the franchise. They condemned it 

 notwithstanding the fact that it would give to the 

 Labor party a dozen seats in the Reichsrath. in 

 which it had as yet no representation at all. The 



problem of framing an electoral bill that would 

 pa<* tin' Keichsrath wa* not ea^y. for Count TaafiVs 

 fall was liroiiglit about by the same question, and 

 the project of electoral reform worked out by 

 the coalition ministry that came after him never 

 came to a vote. Count Badeni's bill was not in- 

 tended to promote the special interests of any of 

 the parties actually represented in the Reichsrath, 

 and it went just far enough to save these parties 

 from the stigma of persistently ignoring the legiti- 

 mate demands of the working class. The existing 

 class representation by which the 353 seats were 

 filled was maintained in its integrity. The bill 

 created 72 new seats, making a total of 425. The 

 large landed proprietors still have 85. the towns 118, 

 the chambers of commerce and industry 21, and 

 the rural communes 129. The new seats are 

 given to representatives of the general body of elec- 

 tors, a new category, comprising all male citizens 

 twenty-four years of age who have an independent 

 residence in the district extending over six months. 

 The controlling commissioners of election created 

 by the bill receive no pay. and yet are compelled to 

 accept the duty. Numerous amendments offered 

 by the various parties were rejected, and the bill 

 went through in its original form, supported by the 

 Liberal, the Conservative, the Young Czech, and 

 the Italian parties, while it was opposed by the 

 Democrats, a part of the German Xationalist party, 

 and a minority of the Socialists. 



Hungary. The kingdom of Hungary includes 

 politically Transylvania, united with it in legisla- 

 tive and administrative union, and Croatia-Slavonia, 

 which possesses autonomy in internal religious, 

 educational, and police affairs. The Hungarian 

 Parliament consists of a House of Magnates, in 

 which 181 hereditary peers, who pay 3.000 florins a 

 year land taxes, 84 life peers. 41 archbishops, bish- 

 ops, and other dignitaries of the Roman and Greek 

 churches. 11 clerical and lay represeiitatives of the 

 Protestant communions. i7 official members. 3 

 delegates from Croatia-Slavonia, and 19 archdukes 

 have seats, and the House of Representatives, con- 

 taining 453 members, elected by all male citizens 

 above the age of twenty who pay a certain small 

 direct tax or have a certain moderate income. Of 

 the members. 413 represent Hungarian towns and 

 districts, and 40 are from Croatia and Slavonia. 



The Cabinet, which is collectively responsible to 

 Parliament, consisted in the beginning of 1896 of 

 the following members : President of the Council. 

 Baron Desiderius Banff v, who formed the ministry 

 on Jan. 15. 1895 : Minister of Finance, Dr. Ladislau's 

 de Lucacs : Minister of National Defense, Baron 

 Geza Fejervary, who has held office since Oct. 2s. 

 1**4 : Minister at the Royal Court, Baron Samuel 

 Josika : Minister of the Interior. Desiderius de 

 Perczel; Minister of Education and Ecclesiastical 

 Affairs. Dr. Julius de Wlassics : ^Minister of Justice, 

 Dr. Alexander Erdlye : Minister of Industry and 

 Commerce. Ernest de Daniel ; Minister of Agri- 

 culture, D. Ignatius de Daranyi : Minister for 

 Croatia and Slavonia. Emerich de Josipovich. 



Finances. The Hungarian budget for 1896 

 makes the total revenue 473,064,398 florins, includ- 

 ing 10,420,298 florins of transitory revenue. Of 

 ordinary revenue 308.984,881 florins come from 

 the Ministry of Finance. 129.141.9<i9 florins from 

 the Ministry of Commerce. 16.142.193 florins from 

 the Ministry of Agriculture. 1.532.9(31 florins from 

 the Ministry of Education. 1.313.083 florins from 

 the Ministry of the Interior. 778.469 florins from 

 the Ministry of Justice. 35*. 784 florins from the 

 Ministry of National Defense, and 800 florins from 

 ministry ad Inh/x. The land tax in 1895 was esti- 

 mated at 34.306.000 florins : building tax. 10.960.000 

 florins; industrial tax, 20,960,000 florins; tax on 



