390 



HUNGARY. 



ILLINOIS. 



as there was an earnest desire to retrench ex- 

 penditure, as the Diet had shown its readiness 

 to increase taxation, and as the friendly rela- 

 tions with the other powers had strengthened 

 since 1872, when the Diet met. 



The elections for the new Diet took place 

 in July and the first days of August, and re- 

 sulted in a complete victory for the Govern- 

 ment, which carried about 350 of 416 seats. 

 Of the opposition about 18 belonged to the 

 Conservative, 21 to the Radical (extreme Left) 

 party, and the remainder to the party of Na- 

 tionalities. The Croatian Diet, which sends to 

 the Hungarian Diet 34 deputies, also chose 

 supporters of the Hungarian Government by 

 an overwhelming majority. The new Diet was 

 opened by the Emperor on August 31st. The 

 speech from the throne pointed out that in al- 

 most every department of legislation vigorous 

 and searching measures were required, and 

 that arrangements regulating the country's 

 finances appeared to be specially imperative, 

 inasmuch as the safety of Hungary's existence 

 as a state required the establishment of a 

 financial balance at the earlist fitting moment. 

 Hopes were held out that after certain reforms 

 had been accomplished, the Administration 

 would succeed in overcoming the difficulties of 

 the occasion. The speech mentioned in par- 

 ticular the bills which would be introduced for 

 improving the administration of justice, the 

 completion of the network of railways in Hun- 

 gary, the reform of the Upper House, the set- 

 tlement of questions relating to religion and 

 marriage, the solution of the banks questior, 

 and the negotiations between the trans-Leithan 

 and cis-Leithan portions of the monarchy re- 

 specting the conventions concluded for ten 

 years in 1867 and 1868. With regard to for- 

 eign countries the speech said: "Our cordial 

 relations with foreign powers justify us in 

 hoping that, notwithstanding the circumstances 

 which have recently arisen, peace will be main- 

 tained, and that you will therefore be able to 

 apply yourselves undisturbed to your legislative 

 tasks." The speech was received with loud 

 and prolonged cheering. Both Houses adopted 

 addresses in reply to the speech from the throne 

 after only short debates. Even Sennyey, the 



leader of the Right, announced that he would 

 make no systematic opposition to the Govern- 

 ment, and would support it in financial ques- 

 tions. The Minister of Finance announced 

 that he intended to get rid of the deficit by 

 means of a general income-tax of 3 per cent, 

 and by means of a new loan. The deficit of 

 the next year he estimated at 16,000,000 florins. 



On October 20th, Baron Wenckheim, having 

 resigned as prime-minister, was succeeded by 

 Tisza, the remainder of the ministry retaining 

 their seats. The appointment of Tisza to the 

 head of the Administration was received by the 

 country with almost unanimous and enthusias- 

 tic applause. The new prime-minister an- 

 nounced in the Diet that he desired to renew 

 the customs treaty with cis-Leithan Austria, so 

 far as it was favorable to the interests of Hun- 

 gary ; if the latter demanded it, he would pre- 

 fer a separate customs territory. On November 

 30th he announced, in reply to an interpella- 

 tion, that Hungary had given its consent to 

 notifying England of the termination of its 

 commercial treaty with the Austro - Hunga- 

 rian monarchy. Notice had also been given 

 to cis-Leithan Austria, on November 29th, of 

 a termination of the customs treaty between 

 the two sections of the empire, because it had 

 been found impossible to arrive at .an agree- 

 ment in regard to the consumption tax. When 

 a member of the extreme Left asked the Minis- 

 ter of Public Worship to introduce a bill pro- 

 viding for religious liberty, Tisza replied that 

 this was for him a question only of opportune- 

 ness, not of principle. In December both 

 Houses of the Diet adopted the income-tax and 

 the new loan proposed by the Government. 



In April the Minister of Public Worship 

 Pechy, issued an ordinance, in which he an- 

 nounced that after January 1, 1876, the Hun- 

 garian language would be the official language 

 in every branch of public administration, and 

 that every officer would be dismissed who had 

 an insufficient knowledge of it. He demanded 

 a knowledge of the Hungarian language on the 

 part of every officer, as a proof of correct 

 sentiments. The ministerial act gave great 

 offense to all the non-Magyar nationalities of 

 the empire. 



ILLINOIS. The twenty-ninth biennial ses- 

 sion of the Illinois Legislature began on the 

 6th of January and continued 100 days, com- 

 ing to an adjournment April 15th. It consist- 

 ed of 24 Republicans, 24 Democrats, and 3 In- 

 dependents in the Senate, and 70 Republicans, 

 56 Democrats, and 27 Independents in the 

 House. Several days were consumed in or- 

 ganizing the House, and Mr. E. M. Haines, an 

 Independent, was finally chosen Speaker. The 

 session was characterized by an unusual lack 

 of harmony, and was remarkably barren in re- 



sults. Of 612 bills introduced in the House 

 and 374 in the Senate, only 37 House and 50 

 Senate bills were passed, and none of these 

 were of special importance. There was from 

 the start an alleged coalition of the Democrats 

 and Independents, and it was announced that 

 they would endeavor to repeal the registry 

 law and the law creating the Board of Public 

 Charities, would abolish the Board of Equali- 

 zation, and repeal or completely remodel the 

 law regulating the liquor-traffic. A very large 

 portion of the time was occupied in attempts 



