70 



AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 



a subject of comment. Though the beginning 

 of the conference was reported to have been 

 formal to a marked degree, a more cordial man- 

 ner was noticed after an interview between 

 Count Kalnoky and M. de Giers. A motive 

 for a rapprochement was surmised to exist in 

 the critical relations between England and Rus- 

 sia. If the war that was with difficulty avoided 

 a few months before should yet ensue, the local- 

 ization of the conflict in Asia would lie within 

 the objects of the league of peace. Yet, even 

 if Germany adhered to such a policy, Austria 

 might be tempted to seek to cripple her rival 

 in eastern Europe, and to form new combina- 

 tions that would further her plans at the cost 

 of Russia. If Austria and Germany have 

 agreed to exert pressure upon the Porte to 

 maintain neutrality and keep the Dardanelles 

 closed in the event of an Anglo- Russian war, 

 then Russia has a motive for promising to 

 give room to Austrian expansion in the direc- 

 tion of the ./Egean, to cease crossing the aims 

 of Austrian policy in the Balkans, and to abate 

 her pretensions to be the protector of all the 

 Slavic peoples a theory that has aggravated 

 internal troubles as among the Ruthenians, the 

 Czechs, and other Slav nationalities, of Aus- 

 tria, and even in Prussia, lately, among the 

 Wends of Silesia, besides creating external dif- 

 ficulties in the path of Austrian development. 



Shortly before the meeting at Kremsier the 

 Austrian and German Emperors came together, 

 according to their annual custom, at Gastein, 

 on August 9, amid courtly and popular festivi- 

 ties. Their meeting was followed by a con- 

 ference at Varzin between Count Kalnoky and 

 Prince Bismarck, who communicated with the 

 Austrian and Russian Chancellors at their sub- 

 sequent conference in Kremsier. 



Mr. K pi ley. Mr. Keiley, whose appointment 

 as American Minister to Italy was canceled on 

 account of the objections of the Italian Gov- 

 ernment, was accredited as Minister to Vienna. 

 The Austrian Government likewise intimated 

 that it would prefer not to receive him, partly 

 on account of his ultramontane views that were 

 offensive to a friendly government. As this 

 ground was not satisfactory to an influential 

 circle in Austria, and touched upon a delicate 

 question which all desired to leave at rest, 

 another reason of opposite import was found 

 in the laxity of his Catholicism that had per- 

 mitted him to marry a lady of Jewish race who 

 was not a Catholic. Secretary Bayard addressed 

 a note to the Austrian .Government, in which 

 he commented on the unreasonableness of race 

 or religious distinctions, and, intimating that a 

 temporary cessation of diplomatic intercourse 

 would be no calamity, he let the appointment 

 stand. The European press showed no sym- 

 pathy with the American view, and commend- 

 ed the usage among the governments of Europe 

 of fir.st ascertaining whether a proposed dip- 

 lomatic representative is a persona grata before 

 making the formal nomination. 



Tariff War with Germany. The protective poli- 



cy of Prince Bismarck took a direction so di- 

 rectly antagonistic to Austrian productive inter- 

 ests in 1885 that severe reprisals were contem- 

 plated. His anti-Austrian policy was initiated 

 some time before by closing Germany to Aus- 

 tro-Hungarian cattle, a measure that was fol- 

 lowed by a war of railroad tariffs. In 1885 the 

 " sound egotism " of his commercial policy car- 

 ried him to the point of imposing a sur-tax of 

 three marks per one hundred kilos on cereals, 

 and raising the timber duties. At a conference 

 of the Austrian and Hungarian Ministers in 

 February, it was decided to raise the grain, 

 flour, and malt duties to the rates contem- 

 plated in Germany, and also to increase the 

 duties on woolen fabrics and a great number 

 of other industrial products. By the subse- 

 quent decision of the legislature, retaliatory 

 measures were given up for the present. The 

 object of the tariff war inaugurated by Ger- 

 many was to extort concessions from Austria 

 for the benefit of German industry. The Hun- 

 garians desired either an abatement of the 

 tariff on German manufactures or heavy duties 

 on grain and cattle that would shut out the 

 products of Roumania and other countries and 

 render the Austrians as dependent on them 

 for their food-supply as they were dependent 

 on Austrian industry. Hungarian statesmen 

 proposed a customs union with Germany, a 

 scheme which the German Chancellor is sus- 

 pected of harboring. Since the immediate har- 

 mony of the industrial and agricultural inter- 

 ests of the two empires could not be expected, 

 the plan was suggested of maintaining lesser 

 protective rates between one another and a 

 high common tariff against the world outside. 



Austria. The legislative powers in Austria, 

 or Cisleithania, are divided between the Cen- 

 tral Diet or Reichsrath and the 17 Provincial 

 Diets representing the separate states compos- 

 ing the monarchy. The upper house of the 

 Reichsrath is composed of 13 princes of the 

 blood royal, 53 territorial nobles, 10 archbish- 

 ops and 7 prince-bishops, and 105 life-members 

 appointed by the Emperor. The lower house 

 is composed of 85 deputies representing landed 

 proprietors, 116 representing towns, 21 repre- 

 senting chambers of trade, and 131 represent- 

 ing rural communes. The deputies are elected 

 for six years. If the house is dissolved, new 

 elections must take place within six months. 

 All laws relating to recruiting and military 

 service must have the consent of the Reichsrath ; 

 all laws relating to trade and commerce, cus- 

 toms, banking, posts, telegraphs, and railroads 

 require its co-operation ; and estimates of rev- 

 enue and expenditure, bills relating to taxation, 

 loans, and conversion of the public debt, and 

 the general control of the debt, must be subject- 

 ed to its examination. Either house can ini- 

 tiate legislation. All laws must pass both 

 houses, and receive the approval of the head of 

 the state. 



The Cabinet of Ministers is composed as fol- 

 lows: Premier and Minister of the Interior, 



