AUSTRIAN ELECTORAL SYSTEM. 



49 



exclusively from a diversity, more or less in- 

 tense arid profound, of ideas and political, so- 

 cial, or religious aspirations, but is incessantly 

 nourished by old national memories and the 

 old prejudices of race. 



" Centralists" and "Federalists" compose the 

 radical denominations of parties. Apart from 

 the dualism of Austro-Hungary, the state is a 

 unit, and derives its expression from the Consti- 

 tution of December, 1867. By the force of that 

 instrument, the empire is based upon a single 

 government, with two representative Houses 

 and one responsible minister. This condition 

 of affairs was effected by the Germans, and 

 they desire not only to preserve but to extend 

 and develop it. Not satisfied with placing in 

 the hands of the (general Government, whose 

 seat is at Vienna, all the principal interests of 

 the monarchy, nor witli having modeled to 

 their liking and arranged to their profit the 

 electoral system, they aspire to secure the pre- 

 dominance of the German spirit and German 

 culture everywhere, or rather to Germanize 

 Austria entirely. As M. de Kaiserfeld lately 

 said in the Diet of Styria, who afterward was 

 made President of the Reichsrath : "Austria 

 should be a German state in language and edu- 

 cation; the German should be spoken by all 

 persons, and serve as a political bond to all the 

 races and nationalities of the empire ; the unity 

 of language, an expression and symbol of the 

 state, is the sine qua non condition of the ex- 

 istence even of Austria. Consequently, all the 

 citizens, whatever may be their mother-tongue, 

 Czechs, Moravians, Slovaks, Poles, Rutheni- 

 ans, Slovens, Roumans, and Italians, should sub- 

 mit to the baptism of the German school, if 

 they desire to take a part in the public affairs 

 of the state." This was the demand of Kai- 

 serfeld in the name of his party. Some one 

 answered : " You desire to Germanize the em- 

 pire ; you are not Austrians, you are Germans." 

 He protested in reply, " There are no Aus- 

 trians in Austria only Germans ! " The ob- 

 jects of the German party are the same at this 

 day. Although the Constitution proclaims the 

 equality of languages, yet a profound discon- 

 tent has arisen under the just concessions in 

 that respect made to Bohemia and Moravia. 

 For the purpose of a reaction against these 

 measures, and definitely to secure to the Ger- 

 man language the ascendency over the other 

 idioms, the Progressives have obtained the ex- 

 amination of a special committee on proposi- 

 tions, tending, in the first place, to regulate by 

 law the use of languages in Bohemia, and, sec- 

 ondly, to recognize the German as the official 

 language of the state. 



Thus centralism consists in the political and 

 social leadership of the German race for the 

 very existence of the state. But their parti- 

 sans do not all go to this length. The Central- 

 ists, properly so called, do not limit their uni- 

 fying aspirations to Cisleithania ; they cross 

 the river, and desire to rupture the compro- 

 mise with Hungary. Instead of that arrange- 



ment, already twice confirmed, they desire to 

 substitute a "personal union," and, conse- 

 quently, to abolish the common delegations. 

 Others, on the contrary, yield to the existing 

 relations, and desire to preserve the political 

 and administrative division, so that the dualism 

 of Austro-Hungary shall remain. 



In the face of German centralism, federal- 

 ism raises itself, with claims of effecting ad- 

 vantages to the nationalities, and especially the 

 Slav nationality. As there are two groups 

 among the Centralists, so likewise the Feder- 

 alists are subdivided into two factions on the 

 basis of more or less extensive claims. The 

 Federalists, especially those of Bohemia and 

 Moravia, are, like the ultra-Germans, but un- 

 der another designation, and for another ob- 

 ject, the avowed adversaries of dualism. To 

 that agreement which, according to their 

 views, has violated their historical right in de- 

 stroying the equilibrium between the states 

 essentially distinct and independent of each 

 other they seek to substitute a general federa- 

 tion embracing all the countries of the empire, 

 including Hungary. This is a complete nega- 

 tion of the supremacy of Austria, and involves 

 the destruction of the constitutional charter. 

 In 1877 Count Beleredi said, " Historical Aus- 

 tria, which God has designated in this world to 

 be the protector of the Church, the guardian 

 of the rights and liberties of these countries 

 and peoples, should become a confederation of 

 states, united by solemn compacts, under the 

 scepter of the illustrious house of Hapsburg." 



The other faction of "autonomists," on the 

 contrary, do not desire to disturb the general 

 organization of the empire, nor the compro- 

 mise with Hungary. They look, in the first 

 place, to the rights of their respective coun- 

 tries, for the advantage of which they demand 

 an extension, in different degrees, of their inde- 

 pendence, such as is already more or less con- 

 sistent with constitutional law. Among these 

 the Poles must be classed, who, in hatred of 

 Russia, dread the exaggerations of Slavism, and 

 who, while desiring a large autonomy forGalicia, 

 desire to preserve Austria strong and powerful. 

 Nevertheless, if there exists a real difference 

 between the Federalists and the Autonomists, 

 yet in the daily discussions it is not apparent. 



As in Germany the " Particularists " belong 

 to the ranks of the Conservatives, whether 

 Catholic or Protestant, while the partisans of 

 centralism are grouped under the flag of lib- 

 eralism, so in Austria the Federalists, in the 

 general acceptation of the term, are the Con- 

 servatives, and the Centralists the Liberals. 

 However, it should be observed that the inter- 

 mingling is not absolutely complete between 

 the Autonomists and the Conservatives, nor 

 between the Centralists and the Liberals. The 

 flag of the Federalists shields in effect the 

 young Czechs and the Poles ; all of the former, 

 and a very large number of the latter, pay hom- 

 age in different degrees to liberal ideas. The 

 tendency to autonomy unites them with the 



