AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN MONARCHY. 



The movement of population in 1877 was as 

 follows : 



Of the total number of children born, 18,719 

 were still-born, and of these 16,781 were legit- 

 imate and 1,938 illegitimate. Of the live-born 

 children, 716,577 were legitimate and 105,513 

 illegitimate. Of the total number of children 

 J)orn, 440,074 were males and 412,562 females. 

 Of the total number of deaths, 355,429 were 

 of males and 324,405 of females. In regard to 

 age, 28 males and 34 females were upward of 

 100 years old at the time of their death. 



The number of professors and students (in- 

 clusive of non-matriculated hearers) was in 

 1878 as follows : 



The Austrian Reichsrath, immediately upon 

 reassembling after the holidays, discussed the 

 measures proposed by the Cabinet for the 

 Ausgleich or compromise with Hungary. Con- 

 ferences were held during January between 

 the Austrian and Hungarian Ministers, to ar- 

 range the differences still existing with regard 

 to the renewal of the commercial and customs 

 treaty between Austria and Hungary. An un- 

 derstanding was finally come to on all but one 

 point the increase of the import duties on 

 articles of consumption, especially coffee and 

 petroleum, devised with a view to increase the 

 revenue. The Austrian Ministry, though in 

 favor of the higher tax, did not think it could 

 carry it through the House, while the Hunga- 

 rian Ministers, for their Government, declared 

 they could not consent to another change in 

 the existing agreement, since it would endan- 



* In 1876. 



t Exclusive of the faculty of Evangelical theology. 



ger the passing of the tariff in the Diet, where 

 these fiscal imposts were looked upon as a com- 

 pensation for the increase of duties- on textile 

 fabrics, of which Austrian industry had almost 

 the exclusive benefit. On January 25th the 

 Austrian Ministers had a conference with the 

 presidents of the clubs of the different parlia- 

 mentary factions. Three of the clubs, con- 

 taining the majority of those who are called 

 supporters of the Government, refused to ac- 

 cept the bill. This conference was regarded 

 as decisive by the Ministers, and on the follow- 

 ing day, the 26th, they tendered their resig- 

 nations in a body. The Emperor accepted 

 them, but requested the Ministers to retain 

 office pending the appointment of their suc- 

 cessors. On February 5, Prince Auersperg, 

 in the House, read a letter from the Emperor, 

 calling upon the Cabinet to resume office, in 

 consequence of the imperative necessity of con- 

 cluding the compromise with Hungary. The 

 Minister stated that the Emperor had taken 

 this step only after having come to the con- 

 clusion that it was impossible to form a new 

 Ministry which could give sufficient guarantees 

 for the passage of the compromise us adopted 

 by the two Governments. In conclusion, he 

 said that the Government had felt itself bound, 

 in view of the gravity of the situation, to com- 

 ply with the request of the Emperor, and begged 

 the House to hasten the discussion of the com- 

 promise bills. On February 16, the Lower 

 House of the Reichsrath resolved by a large 

 majority to proceed to the special debate upon 

 the customs tariff, and on the 19th, by a vote 

 of 159 to 130, passed the bill, imposing a duty 

 of 20 florins on coffee. This was an important 

 victory for the Ministry, as the duty on coffee 

 was the one which was most bitterly opposed 

 in the Reichsrath, and which therefore threat- 

 ened to bring the negotiations for a compro- 

 mise to an end. 



On March 8th, Prince Auersperg stated in 

 the Lower House that the Government had 

 made searching investigation into the reported 

 execution of Polish subjects of Austria by the 

 Russian authorities, the result being that the 

 statements in question were totally uncon- 

 firmed. On the subject of the proposed Ber- 

 lin Congress, he declared that it only aimed 

 at the final settlement of Eastern affairs, and 

 that it was in that sense that the Austrian 

 Government had issued invitations to the Pow- 

 ers. Every other subject was therefore, he 

 said, excluded from European discussion. 



The budget was discussed in the Upper House 

 of the Reichsrath on March 28th ; and in re- 

 ply to the remarks of several speakers, Baron 

 Pretis, the Minister of Finance, said that he 

 had many years ago warned the House and the 

 public against taking a too sanguine view of 

 the financial position of the country. The 

 Government would, however, be able soon to 

 make the revenue and expenditure balance, 

 provided that they were not compelled to take 

 upon themselves fresh sacrifices for the defense 



