HUNGARY. 



387 



ers afford a hope that the new Diet, which will 

 before long be convoked, will be able to prose- 

 cute the labors it has commenced, amid the 

 blessings of peace. The leader of the Left, 

 Ghiczy, declared that he would retire from pub- 

 lic life. In a full review of -the political situa- 

 tion, he defended the principles of the Left, but 

 at the same time uttered warnings against some 

 dangerous practices used for obtaining popular 

 favor both on political and financial questions. 



The election for a new Diet of Croatia ended 

 in the beginning of June. Among the mem- 

 bers elected, 48 belonged to the National Cro- 

 atian party, 27 were Unionists (favorable to 

 the continuing union with Hungry), and 4 

 undecided. Of the " viril votes " (members 

 who belong to the Diet in virtue of their office 

 or nobility, namely: 9 arch bishops and bishops, 

 7 Obergespans [presidents of counties], and 41 

 magnates), the majority were supposed to be 

 friendly to the Government ; but, at all events, 

 a majority of the whole body was believed 

 strongly to favor the Slavic tendencies in Cro- 

 atia. 



The elections in Hungary proper began in 

 June, and ended toward the close of July. The 

 Hungarian Diet is elected for a term of three 

 years, and the election, lasting several weeks, 

 is generally attended with a great deal of ex- 

 citement. Most of the time is needed for the 

 registration of the electors, which is done at 

 every election. A special apparatus is created 

 for this purpose, as well as for the elections 

 themselves. In each county and borough the 

 community elect a special committee, which 

 has the whole management of the elections, to 

 the exclusion of the magistrates. This prelim- 

 inary election gives rise, from the first mo- 

 ment, to an agitation scarcely inferior to that 

 produced by the election of the members 

 themselves, for the result of this latter is be- 

 lieved to depend, to a large extent, upon the 

 former. The law leaves great latitude to the 

 special committee, and the defeated party gen- 

 erally complains that its defeat is more due 

 to skilful operations of the committee than to 

 the real opinions of the majority of voters. 

 The electoral qualifications being of many 

 kinds, and rather vaguely worded, it may give 

 to them in every single case any interpretation 

 it likes. For instance, in boroughs, a house 

 worth 300 florins entitles to a vote, but the 

 standard of value which would be the rating 

 of it is not indicated. Thus, the registering 

 committee may deal with this qualification as 

 party purposes may require : and there is but 

 a nominal appeal from this decision. After 

 the votes have been registered, the county or 

 town is divided into as many electoral dis- 

 tricts as there are members to be chosen. 

 This division into districts has, in the main, re- 

 mained as it was first made by the counties 

 and towns in 1848, but it may always be cor- 

 rected so as to shift the votes, taking them 

 away where they may not be required, and 

 adding them where they may turn the scale. 



Another important decision which lies in the 

 hands of the committee is the fixing of the 

 polling-place for each district, which may be 

 done so as to make the polling most conven- 

 ient to the party to which the majority of the 

 committee belong, and as inconvenient as pos- 

 sible to the adverse party. Another power of 

 the committees is the decision whether the 

 voting should be open or by ballot. The law 

 of 1848 says distinctly that the vote should be 

 given openly, as the custom has been from 

 time immemorial in all elections in Hungary, 

 and the question arose in former Diets whether 

 an election which was made by ballot was not 

 illegal ; but the Diet, without saying that it 

 was legal, allowed it to stand, so that now it is 

 optional in each constituency. At the present 

 elections, as in former ones, in most constitu- 

 encies open voting was adopted, and the way 

 in which the ballot was managed in those con- 

 stituencies which adopted it was by no means 

 calculated to gain friends for it among those 

 who wish to put an end to corrupt practices. 



When the elections closed in July, it was 

 found that the majority of the Deakist party 

 was larger by about 17 votes than it had been 

 in the preceding Diet. The non-Magyar 

 " nationalities " (Slavi and Roumanians) had in 

 several instances gained new members; but 

 the Left lost so many seats as to strengthen 

 the majority f^r the Deakists. Deak himself 

 was reflected m the central district of Pesth, 

 by 1,100 against 130 votes. The announce- 

 ment of this result was the signal for an en- 

 thusiastic demonstration, and M. Deak, in reply 

 to the congratulations of the people, delivered 

 a speech, which was received with immense 

 cheering. 



The new Croatian Diet was opened at 

 Agram, on June 15th, by the royal commis- 

 sary, Archbishop Michailovic. After long ne- 

 gotiations between the National party and the 

 Unionists, a compromise was successfully con- 

 cluded between the latter and a part of the 

 former, who, although demanding a thorough 

 revision of the relations of Croatia to Hungary, 

 yet consented to the continuance of the union. 

 The points on which the two parties agreed 

 were laid down in an address to the Emperor, 

 which was presented by a deputation at Vien- 

 na, on July llth. The reply of the Emperor 

 directed attention to the fact that Croatia al- 

 ready had received, by the " union law of 

 1868," a large share of provincial self-govern- 

 ment, but, at the same time, intimated that the 

 work of revision might be continued. 



The Hungarian Diet was opened, on Sep- 

 tember 4th, by the Emperor Francis Joseph in 

 person. The speech from the throne urges 

 perseverance in the work of internal reform, 

 and congratulates the kingdom and empire on 

 their happy relations with foreign powers. 

 The ministry was slightly modified, Dr. Th. 

 Pauler, late Minister of Public Instruction and 

 Worship, being appointed Minister of Justice, 

 vice Herr von Bitto, who had resigned ; Herr 



