58 



AUSTRO-IIUNGARIAN MONARCHY. 



neighbors. Ho gives assurances that the Em- 

 peror, as well as the people of the monarchy, 

 welcomes the united Germany with warm 

 sympathy, and with the wish that the unity 

 of Germany may promote the welfare of Aus- 

 tria. The same sentiments Count Beust em- 

 phatically repeated in a speech made on Janu- 

 ary 31st, in the sitting of the Austrian dele- 

 gation at Pesth, when, in reply to the Pole, 

 Klaczka, he denounced a policy of revenge as 

 one that never had borne good fruit. At the 

 same time, he strongly urged an increase of 

 the defensive forces of the country, and thus 

 defined the foreign policy of the Government: 

 Our policy will be one of prudence and reserve, 

 and, at the same time, of most decided endeavors to 

 maintain, strengthen, and act in accordance with the 

 good relations which have been entered into with a 

 great neighboring power. But who can pretend to 

 loreshadow the exact limits which one's hopes and 

 wishes would prefer to lay down for the great and 

 unexpected reconstitution of things that has sprung 

 out of recent events? Under these circumstances it 

 does not suffice for a state that has no other aim than 

 self-preservation to be content with the conscious- 

 ness of this one idea, which is not injurious to its 

 neighbors. Safety is only certain when this policy 

 is seen to be, not the emanation of conscious weak- 

 ness, but the expression of one's free will. If we 

 have done nothing to oppose or impede the recon- 

 struction of Germany ; if we have met this recon- 

 struction of the German nation with nothing but a 

 friendly welcome ; if we have endeavored to regulate 

 our relations with another neighboring state without 

 neglecting pur own interesta/but at the same time 

 without being actuated by other than conciliatory 

 motives ; if, finally, toward a third power we have 

 shown ourselves friendly, and full of respect for its 

 independence, and even did not recoil before the 

 necessity of violating sentiments which in our own 

 country we hold in esteem, then others must and will 

 know that we are all the more entitled to expect that 

 in our own home we shall be let alone, and that if 

 attacked we will at all times be ready to defend our- 

 selves. The dearly-bought fruit of recent occur- 

 rences is the establishment of an equal perception 

 of these facts, the consequent necessity of making 

 demands upon the resources of the country in both 

 portions of tlie empire, and the creation ot the only 

 possible^ patriotism, one that cements the different 

 nationalities of Austria. 



The home policy of the empire was at the 

 beginning of the year 1871 in a most unsettled 

 condition. The resignation of the cis-Leithan 

 ministry, presided over by Count Potocky, took 

 place in February, but it was not known from 

 which party its successor would be taken. The 

 expected reorganization of the ministry took 

 place on February 7th, when the Emperor ap- 

 pointed Ilohenwart Minister of the Interior, 

 with authority to form a new cabinet. Other 

 decrees at once followed, appointing Holzge- 

 than, Minister of Finance; Schaeffle, Minis- 

 ter of Commerce ; Jirecek, Minister of Public 

 Works and Public Schools; and Baron von 

 Scholl, Minister of War. With regard to the 

 policy to be pursued by the new ministry, the 

 Official Gazette, of Vienna, remarked that the 

 aew ministry would give fair play to all legiti- 

 mate provincialism, but that there wouJd be no 

 more compromise with separatism at the ex- 

 pense of unity. It would uphold the Consti- 



tution, but w r ould propose to Parliament the 

 enaction of laws partially extending the legis- 

 lative and administrative autonomy of the em- 

 pire, and introduce a bill providing for direct 

 elections, and enlarging the rights of electors. 

 The ministry would offer a strong opposition 

 to all obstacles in the way of its success. At 

 the same time the Emperor, by an autograph 

 decree, granted full amnesty for all political 

 and press offences committed to the 7th of 

 February. Most of the new ministers were 

 comparatively unknown as politicians, but it 

 was generally understood that they would 

 chiefly endeavor to come to a full understand- 

 ing with the leaders of the Czechs and those 

 of the clerical party. When the Reichsrath 

 reassembled, on February 20th, a statement 

 of their policy was submitted, from which it 

 was apparent that its chief feature would be 

 to initiate measures for the alleviation of un- 

 necessary restriction upon the autonomy of 

 the provinces. The ministry showed a de- 

 cided dislike to the demonstrations of sympa- 

 thy with the German Empire in the war with 

 France ; on the other hand, however, a promi- 

 nent man of the liberal German party, Anton 

 von Schmerling, was appointed president of 

 the Herrenhaus. A bill proposed by the min- 

 istry, for enlarging the legislative initiative 

 of the provincial diets, was rejected in the 

 Reichsrath, by 85 against 55 votes; and on 

 May 26th the Reichsrath, by 93 against 66 

 votes, adopted an address to the Emperor, in 

 which the ministry was charged with seeking 

 to undermine the Constitution. The Emperor, 

 on May 30th, received a deputation presenting 

 the address, but in stern words declared his 

 approval of the conduct of the ministry. This 

 failure of the Liberal Constitutional party to 

 overthrow the ministry spread considerable 

 discouragement in its ranks ; and when a mo- 

 tion was made, not to grant the appropriations 

 demanded, it was rejected (June 9th) by 77 

 against 67 votes. Some consolation for the 

 threatening attitude of the cis-Leithan minis- 

 try was derived by the German liberals from 

 the foreign policy steadfastly advocated by the 

 Chancellor of the Empire, Count Beust. His 

 speech, made on July 1st, in the Austrian dele- 

 gation, met with a warm approval from all 

 parties in the country except the Catholics, 

 who are of course dissatisfied with the policy 

 of non-intervention practised toward Italy. It 

 produced so good an impression on the delega- 

 tion, that the whole of the budget of the For- 

 eign Department, including the item for secret- 

 service money, was passed without question. 

 The following are the most important passages 

 of this speech : 



Our policy for the last few years has always been 

 free from all external influences ; and it is mainly 

 due to this circumstance that many sources of com- 

 plication contained in the Treaty of Prague have 

 been avoided, thus paving the way for a peaceful 

 development and consolidation of affairs. Even 

 before it had been officially constituted, the new 

 German Empire made overtures to us in terms full 



