64 



AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 



and the payment from the Hungarian treas- 

 ury, 1,998,235 guldens, leaving 99,911,763 gul- 

 dens to be assessed on the two monarchies. 



Foreign Affairs. The reconciliation of Aus- 

 tria and Russia is Prince Bismarck's last and 

 greatest achievement in the interest of Eu- 

 ropean peace. The war-cloud that overcast 

 Europe upon the conclusion of the Austro- 

 German alliance parted with the failure of 

 Russia and France to join in a counter-alliance. 

 But in the Balkan Peninsula, Russia contin- 

 ually stirred the elements of disturbance, and 

 by secret machinations and half-disguised 

 manifestations of dissatisfaction and jealousy 

 endeavored to thwart the political and com- 

 mercial progress of Austria and the German 

 people in southeastern Europe long after her 

 own internal dangers and the strength of the 

 Central European League afforded a double 

 preventive against the predicted struggle be- 

 tween the Slav and the Teuton. The open 

 encouragement of the Herzegovinian insur- 

 gents in the Russian press showed the danger 

 of the situation. The bond of sympathy be- 

 tween the Slav races and the position of the 

 Czar as the traditional protector of the Balkan 

 peoples creates for both powers a situation of 

 perplexity and embarrassment. The fixing of 

 boundaries to their several spheres of interests, 

 so as to obviate jealousy and misunderstanding, 

 is the only mode of meeting in a pacific spirit 

 the difficulties that must arise. The circum- 

 stances of the Herzegovinian insurrection, and, 

 still later, the favor shown by the Czar to the 

 Prince of Montenegro, and the marriage of 

 the daughter of the latter to the Servian pre- 

 tender, showed the will and the power of Rus- 

 sia to throw obstacles in the path of Austria. 

 A change in the attitude of Russia was observ- 

 able in the autumn of 1883, when the Russian 

 troops were ordered back from the German 

 frontier. In January M. de Giers visited 

 Vienna, after conferring with Bismarck at 

 Varzin, a fact which proved the sincerity of 

 the rapprochement. When the three Emperors 

 met at Skiernievice in the autumn (see GER- 

 MANY), it was seen that a degree of concord has 

 been reached, which clarifies the atmosphere 

 in southeastern Europe, and dispels the dan- 

 gers of the Eastern question in that quarter. 

 The basis of the Austro-Russian understanding 

 is not known. If Russia has secured the ac- 

 quiescence of the German powers in the union 

 of Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia, she has 

 saved her honor in gaining the dearest point of 

 the San Stefano Treaty, and can extend her 

 commercial enterprise and political influence 

 in the direction of Constantinople, while leav- 

 ing Austria scope to win the Serbs and Alba- 

 nians, and continue her slow advance toward 

 the JEgean. The question of the division of 

 the Balkan Peninsula belongs to the remote 

 future. Thus far Russia has only succeeded 

 in vexing Austria in the western Balkans, 

 while on the other side Austro-German com- 

 binations, depending on the jealousies of the 



youthful states of Roumania and Bulgaria, and 

 upon the personal predilections of their rulers, 

 have no lasting basis. If Austria-Hungary ex- 

 ceeds the provisions of the Berlin Treaty by 

 incorporating Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia 

 will naturally seek compensation in the quarter 

 where her greatest interests lie. A cessation 

 of the intrigues and rivalries of the two 

 powers in all the petty states of the Balkan 

 Peninsula would conduce to healthier political 

 conditions in those principalities. The meet- 

 ing of the Emperors in September does not 

 signify the admission of Russia to the Austro- 

 German military alliance, but, according to the 

 explanation of Tisza in the Hungarian Parlia- 

 ment, assurance of peaceful relations similar 

 to those between Italy and the allied empires. 

 The Occupied Provinces. The Turkish prov- 

 inces, placed under Austro-Hungarian admin- 

 istration by the Treaty of Berlin, have a total 

 area of 61,065 square kilometres. The popula- 

 tion of Bosnia and Herzegovina, according 

 to a census taken in 1879, is 1,158,440, com- 

 prising 496,761 Greek Catholics, 448,613 Mo- 

 hammedans, 209,391 Roman Catholics, 3,426 

 Israelites, 249 of other creeds. The population 

 of the Sandjak of Novi-Bazar is 168,000. 



Among the conditions of the friendly under- 

 standing between Austria and Russia, which 

 was sealed by the meeting of the three Em- 

 perors at Skiernievice, is supposed to have been 

 the withdrawal of Russian objections to the 

 complete annexation of the occupied prov- 

 inces, in return for which Austria will place 

 no hindrance in the way of the union of Bul- 

 garia and Eastern Roumelia. The Imperial 

 Government is probably in no haste to proceed 

 to the incorporation of Bosnia and Herzego- 

 vina, not only because of the difficulty as to 

 which of the two monarchies they should be 

 attached, or whether they should be adminis- 

 tered as an imperial province, but for fear of 

 provoking the ill-will of the Mohammedans and 

 hindering the extension of Austrian influence 

 in the Balkan Peninsula by the reforms that 

 must be carried out in order to insure the 

 well-being and contentment of the rayahs. 

 Under the convention of April, 1879, the Aus- 

 tro-Hungarian Government undertook merely 

 to administer the laws as they stood. The 

 evils that drove the Christian peasantry re- 

 peatedly to rebellion and provoked the inter- 

 ference of Europe remain the same. The lot 

 of the rayah is in fact harder than under the 

 pashas. The rents and tithes are collected 

 more rigorously and punctually by the Austrian 

 officials, and to these burdens are added the 

 tobacco monopoly and indirect taxes and the 

 obligatory military service, the introduction of 

 which led to the Herzegovinian insurrection. 



The cause of Bosnian troubles has always 

 been agrarian. "When the Osmanlis first con- 

 quered the country, the land was divided into 

 three parts, one of which was retained by the 

 Sultan ; one held as Vakuf, or ecclesiastical 

 property, the revenues of which are to this 



