AUSTRIA. 



75 



i. We mu-t iitt.-iin (ho added) an umli- 

 I Mate ft' constitutional right, in onl.-r 

 :lu belief of the people in their political 

 .ires may la- strengthened, and in order 

 ;n.)iiu' tli. -in the consciousness may revive 

 iicir destinies rest in a just, proportion in 

 tlii-ir own hand-. A prosperous issue is only 

 le through union. All political parties 

 should earnestly unite in the thought that the 

 : in view is to render Austria great and 

 -fill. In the Lower House the president, 

 llorr (iiskra, in his opening speech, referred to 

 tin- period during which the constitution had 

 been Mispended, and reminded the House that 

 ii lia.l (litHeult duties to perform that the prin- 

 ciples of equal rights for all nationalities and all 

 religious professions, as well as real constitu- 

 tional government, must become realities. He 

 :I!M> declared that the compromise with Hun- 

 gary must in an equitable form be carried out 

 in both portions of the empire. 



The formal opening by the Emperor took 

 place on May 22d, who delivered on this oc- 

 a the following speech : 



I Ignored gentlemen of both Houses of the Reichs- 

 rath, with joyful satisfaction I see the Reichsrath 

 once more assembled around me responding to my 

 il. The royal and other countries called upon 

 hiM.' sent hither their elected deputies, from whose 

 patriotic cooperation I confidently expect fresh 

 guarantees for the welfare of the empire and of all 



untries which Providence has placed under my 

 M-.-pt;v. What I promised when I for the first time 

 saluud the Kck-hsrath from this place has remained 

 tin- unchangeable aim of all my efforts the estab- 

 lishment 01 constitutional institutions upon a sure 

 'KIMS. This is what I have unwaveringly kept in 

 \ ii-\v ; but precisely this object was not to be attained 

 without first bringing into accord the more ancient 

 constitutional rights of the kingdom of Hungary 

 with the fundamental laws granted by my diploma 

 of the 20th of October, 1860, and my patent of the 

 iStli of February, 1801. The sincere recognition of 

 thi.-. fact on the part of this portion of the empire 

 could alone secure to the other kingdoms and prov- 

 inces, equally full of devotion to the empire, the un- 

 disturbed enjoyment of the rights and liberties 

 granted to them by the fundamental laws, as well as 

 a progressive development in accordance with the 

 present age. The heavy blows of fortune which have 

 tallen upon the empire were warnings to act in con- 

 formity with this necessity. My efforts were not in 

 vain. A satisfactory arrangement has been found 

 for the countries of my Hungarian crown, which se- 

 rmvs their coherence with the rest of the monarchy, 

 the internal peace of the empire, and its position as 

 a great power abroad. I am animated by the hope 

 that the Reichsrath will not refuse its cons'ent to this 

 arrangement, and that an imperial and careful con- 

 sideration of all the circumstances in connection 

 therewith will serve to banish from this assembly 

 pprehenuoni which would cause me serious a_nxiety 



I not firmly persuaded that the honest good-will 

 of all parties will bring the new organization to a 



-t'ul issue. The past, the present, and the 

 future exhort us to vigorously apply ourselves to 

 tin- e.iinpletiiin of the work which nas been begun. 

 The Ueichsrath, upon whose patriotic devotion I 

 ivh, will, in tin- present urgent state of things, dis- 

 dain to shrink from the task of a prompt organiza- 

 tion of the relations of the State on the basis now 



1. and will refuse to follow instead an object 

 the fruitless pursuit of which could only offer fresh 

 experiments but no successful results. "The Ruichs- 



rath so must I expect from its justice will not 

 undcr-c-tiinatc the advantages which have already 

 become perceptible in Austria's position in tl 

 ropean equilibrium through the courae which I hare 

 initiated. The Rcichsrath's tried discrimination is 

 my guarantee, for it will finally not ignore how the 

 new order of things must have for consequence 

 equal security for the other kingdoms and provinces, 

 inasmuch as it surrounds with new and unshakable 

 guarantees the constitutional rights and liberties of 

 tin -provinces of the Hungarian crown. The reali- 

 zation, however, of this prospect is essentially de- 

 Eendent upon the consolidation of the fundamental 

 iws of the 20th of October, 1860, and the 26th of 

 February, 1861, in the countries whose representa- 

 tives are now reassembled here. The unconditional 

 election of deputies to the Reichsrath was, therefore, 

 also an absolute necessity ; but as the idea of cur- 

 tailing the existing right of the different kingdoms 

 and tlic provinces has been foreign to my mind, so 

 also have I had in view the granting to them, in 

 unison with the Reichsrath, of every extension of their 

 autonomy that will meet their wishes and can be ac- 

 corded without endangering the whole monarchy. 

 Therefore, in consideration of the arrangement ar- 

 rived at with the Hungarian representative assem- 

 bly, in so far as it relates to common affairs, they 

 will be at once submitted to you for adoption. The 

 amendments which have become necessary to my 

 patent of the 26th of February, 1861, together with 

 a bill establishing ministerial responsibility, and a 

 modification of paragraph 12 of the constitution cor- 

 responding with the constitutional requirements, will 

 also be laid before you. To these will be added other 

 bills, especially those announced to the Provincial 

 Diet, by our resolution of the 4th of February last. 

 The financial, affairs of the empire will claim your 

 most especial attention and constitutional cooper- 

 ation. You will receive full reports with regard to 

 the extraordinary measures which have been un- 

 avoidably necessitated, since the last session of the 

 Reichsrath, by the outbreak of the late destructive 

 war. Satisfactory provision has already been made 

 for the requirements of the current year, so that the 

 Reichsrath, freed from all demand and exigencies of 

 the moment, can at once devote itself to the solution 

 of the important and permanent financial questions 

 now submitted to its deliberations. In consequence 

 of the arrangement with Hungary, it is our urgent 

 care that no portion of our empire shall have cause 

 to complain of being disproportionately taxed. Hon- 

 ored gentleman of both houses of the Reichsrath, 

 to-day we are about to establish a work of peace and 

 of concord. Let us throw a veil of forgetfulness 

 over the immediate past, which has inflicted deep 

 wounds upon the empire. Let us lay to heart the 

 lesson which it leaves behind ; but let us derive with 

 unshaken courage new strength and the resolve to 

 secure to the empire peace and power. For this the 

 fidelity of my people, which has been manifested in 

 times of the most urgent need, is my best guarantee. 

 Let not the secret thought of revenge guide our 

 steps. A more noble satisfaction is reserved for us. 

 The better we succeed in our present efforts to 

 change the antagonistic feelings and enmities at 

 present existing, into esteem and respect, the sooner 

 the peoples of A-isti ia, whatever may be their nation- 

 ality or language, will rally round the imperial stand- 

 ard, and will cheerfully trust to the words of my 

 ancestor, that Austria will endure and prosper, un- 

 der the protection of the Almighty, until the most 

 distant time. 



The Reichsrath was chiefly divided into two 

 great parties, the " Constitutionalists," who 

 were moro or less supporters of the pro- 

 gramme of Baron von Beust, and the ''Feder- 

 alists" de-iring as large autonomy as possible 

 for the several provinces and nationalities, and 



