AUSTRO-HUETGARIAN MONARCHY. 



43 



of the honor and prestige of the Empire. Even 

 this latter event could do no more than defer 

 for a short time the attainment of the object 

 in view ; and he cautioned his hearers not to 

 believe for one single instant in the word 

 "bankrupt." There was, he said, no justifi- 

 cation at all for applying such a term to the 

 financial position of Austro- Hungary. The 

 Budget and Financial law for 1878, as well as 

 the bill prolonging the provisorium of the com- 

 promise with Hungary until the end of May, 

 was adopted on the following day without de- 

 bate. 



The Austrian and Hungarian Delegations 

 met on March Vth. On the 9th the Govern- 

 ment presented to both Delegations a bill au- 

 thorizing an extra credit of 6(5,000,000 florins. 

 The preamble stated that in the present posi- 

 tion of affairs it was not impossible that ex- 

 traordinary measures might have to be taken 



for the protection of the interests of the 

 Monarchy. The sum asked for, however, was 

 not to be expended in completing the equip- 

 ment of the army. It was intended to afford 

 the Government the means by which, at the 

 right time and on its own responsibility, it 

 might " take such measures as, by the prompt 

 utilization of the advantages for which the or- 

 ganization of the army is alone fitted, to in- 

 sure the Monarchy against all danger and sur- 

 prise." In the afternoon Count Anrtrassy 

 made a statement to the Delegations, explain- 

 ing -the policy of the Government. In this 

 statement he said that in pursuing its exertions 

 to uphold the interests of the Monarchy by 

 pacific means, the Government could not ab- 

 stain from taking care that if the worst should 

 happen the necessary measures should be 

 adopted; for this reason the Government 

 asked for 60,000,000 florins. With regard to 



the attitude of the other Powers, it might 

 safely be stated that Austria's interests in the 

 East were at the present time identical with 

 those of Europe, and were on all sides recog- 

 nized as such. How far other Powers would 

 go in protecting those interests could not be 

 determined, and the programme of the Gov- 

 ernment could not be made the subject of dis- 

 cussion before the meeting of the Congress. 

 He specified in detail what he understood 

 under the name of Austro-Hungarian inter- 

 ests, and what changes could not be permitted 

 by Austria-Hungary. 



In a subsequent sitting of the Budget Com- 

 mittee of the Austrian Delegation, Count An- 

 drassy gave further information as to Eastern 

 affairs, and replied to several questions ad- 

 dressed to him by various delegates asking for 

 explanations which were to be regarded as of 



a confidential character, and not intended to 

 be entered in the protocol of the sitting. 

 Count Andrassy in his replies dwelt especially 

 upon the question of an Austrian occupation 

 of Bosnia, which he described as not com- 

 prised within the aims of the Austro-Hunga- 

 rian Government. He pointed out that to 

 guard against surprise was not the motive, 

 but only one of the motives of the demand 

 for a grant of 60,000,000 florins, and he added 

 that communication was made to Russia of 

 what constituted the interests of the Austro- 

 Hungarian Monarchy before the outbreak of 

 the war, and that the Russian Government 

 acknowledged that the statement was well 

 founded. He also entered into details in an- 

 swering the questions put to him as to the 

 objects of the partial mobilization projected in 

 June, 1877, and with regard to the support 



