AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 



71 



pies of Austria in asserting their nationalities, 

 and has received encouragement both from 

 Prague and from Vienna. The more moderate 

 look forward to the revision of the compact 

 securing parity with Hungary and to the resto- 

 ration of the rest of Dalmatia, with the port 

 of Fiume, so as to complete the " triune king- 

 dom " of Croatia, Dalmatia, and Slavonia. The 

 more ambitious patriots fix their hopes on a 

 triune empire, in which Great Croatia, em- 

 bracing the whole Serbic and Croatian popu- 

 lation in Croatia, Dalmatia, Slavonia, Carniola, 

 Carinthia, southern Styria, Istria, Bosnia, and 

 Herzegovina, shall take a coordinate position 

 with Austria and Hungary. 



The Serb Party. The incorporation of the 

 Military Frontier in 1883 imported a new ele- 

 ment into Croatian politics. This district, 

 containing nearly as large an area, and more 

 than half as many inhabitants, as Croatia, 

 was organized in military fashion to prevent 

 raids from the neighboring Turkish provinces. 

 Since Servia has been erected into an inde- 

 pendent kingdom'and Bosnia and Herzegovina 

 have been occupied by Austria-Hungary, the 

 reason for military administration is removed. 

 The bulk of the population is of Servian na- 

 tionality. The incorporated district sends 35 

 of the 158 members of the Croatian Diet. The 

 Serbic deputies, uniting with the Serbs already 

 in the Chamber, formed a group apart, which 

 played the same role in the Croatian Assembly 

 as the Croatian delegation in the Hungarian 

 Parliament, demanding in return for their votes 

 concessions in favor of their nationality and re- 

 ligion. Their reward was the recognition of 

 the autonomous rights of the Greek-Oriental 

 Church. The Croatiana have always shown 

 intolerance toward the religion and national 

 customs of their Serbic brothers. The inter- 

 vention of the Emperor formerly shielded the 

 latter from persecution. The Croatian Diet 

 refused to adopt the Hungarian statute of 1868, 

 granting religious and educational autonomy 

 to the Greek- Oriental Church, and passed a 

 school law intended for the suppression of the 

 Serbic schools. Since the incorporation of the 

 Military Frontier, the Serbs constitute 26 per 

 cent, of the Croatian population. Before the 

 passage of the act of 1884, all their religious 

 and civil rights were based upon ancient im- 

 perial privileges. The act recognizes the Greek- 

 Oriental Church, and legalizes the Serbic na- 

 tional schools under the supervision of the 

 clergy, with instruction in the Greek Orthodox 

 creed and the use of the Cyrillic alphabet. 



The Session of the Diet. The Hungarian Gov- 

 ernment suspended the Constitution, and ap- 

 pointed Gen. Ramberg Royal Commissioner, 

 with extraordinary powers, to restore order 

 after the outbreak of the insurrection that fol- 

 lowed the substitution of Hungarian for Cro- 

 atian inscriptions on the Government buildings 

 in Agram. After the suppression of the disturb- 

 ances, Count Khuen-H6dervary, a Hungarian of 

 German descent, was appointed Ban.; Pejache- 



vich, who had refused to restore the Hungarian 

 escutcheons, having resigned. When the Na- 

 tional Assembly came together in December, 

 1883, there was no Government party left. 

 Many went over to the Opposition, and those 

 who remained were too timid to defend the 

 course of the Hungarian Government. Mem- 

 bers who spoke in justification of the authori- 

 ties were hissed from the galleries and mobbed 

 in the street. The Starchevich party uttered 

 the most incendiary language, and allowed no 

 other sentiments to be heard. Soldiers and 

 gendarmes were posted in the chamber to 

 prevent violence, and the leaders of the Oppo- 

 sition were forcibly removed. After a month 

 of violent scenes, the Government obtained a 

 vote of indemnity for exceptional measures 

 taken during the insurrection, and a provisional 

 budget allowing them to collect taxes and pay 

 necessary expenses for six months, and then 

 dismissed the Assembly. After, confiscating 

 the chief organ of the Legalists and repressing 

 popular agitation, the Hungarian Government 

 adopted conciliatory measures, such as the em- 

 ployment of the people on public works to re- 

 lieve distress, and the authorization of rail- 

 roads in Croatia and the Military Frontier. 

 Before reassembling the Diet in May, the Ban 

 assured himself of a working majority by a 

 bargain with the Serbs. The inevitable ar- 

 raignment of the Hungarian ministry for a 

 breach of the Constitution in appointing a dic- 

 tator was framed in moderate terms. The 

 vote of censure pointed out that the Constitu- 

 tion could only be suspended by the crown, on 

 the recommendation of the Ban, and demanded, 

 as a guarantee against one-sided action in the 

 future, the appointment of deputations to con- 

 sider and declare the principles of the bilateral 

 compact between Hungary and the united 

 kingdoms of Croatia, Dalmatia, and Slavonia. 

 The budget was voted and the arm of the ex- 

 ecutive strengthened by the suspension of the 

 law making judges irremovable. The debates 

 grew more and more violent. The Speaker 

 again used arbitrary means to silence the patri- 

 otic fury of the Radicals. Students of the uni- 

 versity encouraged the defenders of national 

 rights, and, when the Government proceeded 

 to investigate these demonstrations, the pro- 

 fessors resigned. Magistrates and corporation 

 officials in various towns were dismissed on ac- 

 count of anti -Magyar demonstrations. In July 

 the session was again summarily closed. The 

 adjourned House came together in August to 

 complete the business of the session, which was 

 the last one of the triennial period. After 

 another week of conflict between unbridled 

 license and gag-rule, the Legislature was dis- 

 solved. The elections for the new Diet took 

 place in September. The result proved the 

 thorough disaffection of the Croatian people. 

 The National party, by putting forth all the 

 means of pressure at the disposal of the Gov- 

 ernment, obtained enough seats to make, with 

 the Serbs, a majority. They showed an actual 



