44 



AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN MONARCHY. 



which the Government anticipated from the 

 other European Powers at the Congress. He 

 emphatically denied that it had been intended 

 to ask for provision for a mobilization without 

 any mobilization being effected; and he fur- 

 ther declared that the Government^ by no 

 means contemplated ordering a mobilization 

 of the army as soon as the grant of 60,000,000 

 florins had been approved. It certainly re- 

 quired to be provided with the means of show- 

 ing the world that the Monarchy was capable 

 of protecting its interests in a practical man- 

 ner; but to institute a military force in 

 presence of the Congress, from whose delib- 

 erations a satisfactory understanding was an- 

 ticipated by all to appear before it at great 

 cost in a state of warlike preparation, only 

 ultimately to disarm would be a proceeding 

 for which the Government could not assume 

 the responsibility. To those who maintained 

 that it was too late to mobilize, he should feel 

 inclined rather to reply that he considered it 

 much too soon. In connection with this ques- 

 tion, 'he gave a denial to ail the newspaper 

 statements of actual measures of mobilization 

 having been taken, of the ordre de fiataille 

 having been drawn up, etc., all which reports 

 were absolutely unfounded. 



On March 12th the Hungarian Delegation 

 passed, by a unanimous vote, the bill of credit 

 brought in by the Government. At the first 

 sitting on the 10th, the members of the various 

 fractions of the opposition represented in the 

 Delegation determined to make their vote de- 

 pendent on the explanations of the Minister 

 for Foreign Affairs in reply to questions they 

 would put ; but while doing so they wished it 

 to be understood that, even though they were 

 not ready to vote the money in the form de- 

 manded, still, whatever might be the differ- 

 ences of opinion between the Government and 

 individual members of the Delegation, the mo- 

 ment the honor and interests of the country 

 were at stake, the Ministry might reckon upon 

 the support of all parties. After hearing, 

 therefore, the explanations of the Minister, 

 all those who had previously deferred their 

 vote gave it in favor of the grant of 60,000,000 

 florins, in the form which the reporter chosen 

 by the majority had proposed. This form was 

 somewhat different from that suggested by the 

 Government ; for while the latter merely au- 

 thorized the common Ministry, in case of ur- 

 gent and unavoidable necessity, to provide for 

 any extraordinary expenditure required by the 

 army to the extent of 60,000,000 florins, the 

 other declared that in case Eastern affairs 

 should render the -mobilization of the army 

 absolutely and urgently necessary for the pur- 

 pose of more energetically defending the in- 

 terests of the Monarchy, the common Ministry, 

 while bound to appeal at once to the legisla- 

 tive bodies for their cooperation, was author- 

 ized in concert with the two Ministries of Aus- 

 tria and Hungary to incur meanwhile, on its 

 own responsibility, the expenses required for 



this measure, to the amount of 60,000,000 

 florins. In the Austrian Delegation the debate 

 was continued until the 21st, and after some 

 remarks from Count Andrassy, who said that 

 the vote was necessary to maintain the posi- 

 tion of the Monarchy as a great power, the 

 grant of 60,000,000 florins was adopted by a 

 vote of 39 to 20. 



On May 28th Count Andrassy read a state- 

 ment to the Austrian Delegation explaining 

 the manner in which a portion of the credit 

 vote of 60,000,000 florins was to be employed. 

 He said that, even though an agreement were 

 established upon European questions, compli- 

 cations might arise which would imperil Aus- 

 trian interests. It was intended shortly to re- 

 enforce the troops in Dalmatia and Transyl- 

 vania, and possibly to make other dispositions 

 for the protection of the communications. 

 There was a prospect of the early meeting of 

 a Congress, and the Government would use 

 their endeavors in behalf of the peace of Eu- 

 rope, and to guard the interests of the Mon- 

 archy. 



On May 29th Count Andrassy answered the 

 question put to him in the Delegations about 

 the treaty of San Stefano. In both bodies the 

 question was the same namely, whether the 

 Minister for Foreign Affairs would indicate the 

 points he deemed incompatible with Austrian 

 interests, and the modification or eventual abo- 

 lition of which he had set himself as a task ; 

 the answer likewise was almost identical in 

 both Delegations. The first and main conten- 

 tion of the Government was that what should 

 follow the war was a real, not a nominal peace, 

 and that what was done should not conceal the 

 germs of further disturbance and future com- 

 plications. From this point of view the extent 

 which Bulgaria was to have, according to the 

 treaty, was open to great objections. Neither 

 Austria-Hungary nor any other Power in Eu- 

 rope could well be opposed to the progress and 

 advancement of those regions, but a large, com- 

 pact State there in favor of one nationality at 

 the expense of others was itself too artificial a 

 creation, containing no guarantees of stability 

 whatever. No European Power could well 

 stand up for the maintenance of the territorial 

 integrity and the status quo in Turkey, because 

 it could scarcely take upon itself the responsi- 

 bility for this; but, on the other hand, it was 

 in the interest of every Power that what re- 

 mained to Turkey should be provided with the . 

 conditions absolutely necessary for its exist- 

 ence, and from this point of view likewise the 

 Bulgaria of the treaty was objectionable. An- 

 other objection referred to clause 8 of the treaty, 

 which relates to the transition period and con- 

 tains the stipulation for a two years' occupa- 

 tion of Bulgaria, a correspondingly long occu- 

 pation of Roumania, and right of way through 

 that country. Now, this time was much longer 

 than was required. Apart from all other con- 

 siderations, so lengthy an occupation would 

 create a state of uncertainty tending to perpet- 



