AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 



go too far in their demands for German su- 

 premacy in the monarchy for the German Lib- 

 erals to act with them. The proper strength 

 of the latter is thus reduced to 105 votes. The 

 Ruthenian agitation in Galicia failed to secure 

 more than a single seat. In Oarinthia and 

 Croatia the Slovenes wrested several seats from 

 the German party. The Polish representation, 

 including two doubtful Ruthenians, numbers 62. 



Czech Agitation. The exasperation shown by 

 the Germans at the triumph of Czech ideas 

 provoked the Czechs to demonstrations as 

 angry as those that took place during the 

 heat of the struggle for the recognition of 

 their national language. The American Gov- 

 ernment was drawn into an inconvenient po- 

 sition in connection with this internal Aus- 

 trian question. Mr. Phelps, the former Ameri- 

 can consul at Prague, was obnoxious to the 

 Czechs on account of his supposed German 

 sympathies, and when a report was transmitted 

 to the State Department at Washington by 

 Consul-Gen eral Weaver in Vienna, which criti- 

 cised the extravagant national aspirations of 

 the Czechs, he was credited with its author- 

 ship. His recall by President Cleveland was 

 gratifying to the numerous citizens of the 

 United States of Bohemian birth. The ap- 

 pointment as his successor of Mr. Carl Jonas 

 pleased them still more. He formerly edited 

 a Czech newspaper in Racine, Wis., in which 

 he advocated the extreme Bohemian state- 

 rights doctrine and showed Panslavistic lean- 

 ings and hostile feelings toward Austria. On 

 this account the Austrian Foreign Office de- 

 clined to issue his exequatur. 



The visit of an American deputation of 153 

 Czechs to attend a performance in the new 

 National Theatre at Prague was the occasion of 

 noisy demonstrations on June 15. An assault 

 was committed, August 24, on a party of Ger- 

 mans who assisted at the dedication of a gym- 

 nasium at Koniginhof. In the autumn rna- 

 no3uvres at Pilsen, in Bohemia, quarrels oc- 

 curred between German and Czech soldiers, 

 and a riot broke out in camp. 



Labor Troubles. In May four men were sen- 

 tenced to long terms of imprisonment, after a 

 trial without a jury, under the new law, for 

 an anarchist conspiracy in Wiener Neustadt. 

 In Prague twenty-four Socialist miners were 

 tried by jury and most of them convicted of 

 lesser offenses. Subsequently a store of dyna- 

 mite and apparatus was discovered in the wood 

 where they met. The arrest of two Socialists 

 caused a serious riot at Trebitsch, in Moravia, 

 on July 13. 



A serious labor riot occurred at Brunn, June 

 16. Some of the work-people claimed that 

 the new law fixing the working-day at eleven 

 hours includes the pauses for meals within 

 those eleven hours, or at all events the half- 

 hour for the afternoon meal. The burgomas- 

 ter, when appealed to, decided against them, 

 but they went on strike, stoned the lights in 

 the factories where work was continued, were 



joined the next day by the rest of the opera- 

 tives, and fought with the military. The 

 workmen subsequently demanded a ten-hour 

 working-day; and, after causing much agita- 

 tion throughout Austria, accepted as a com- 

 promise ten hours for half the week. Fifty- 

 three workmen were arrested for taking part 

 in the riots, on thirty -four of whom heavy sen- 

 tences were inflicted, and on the remainder 

 light punishments. 



The enforcement of the new law against 

 Sunday labor affected many interests injuri- 

 ously. A number of trades were exempted for 

 the public convenience, but the newspapers 

 were obliged to discontinue Monday editions, 

 and Jews were denied the exemption claimed 

 on the ground of having another holy day. 



The Jauner-Kuffler Frauds. A commercial 

 scandal in Vienna excited great interest when 

 it transpired and during the trial of the par- 

 ticipants, which took place in September. The 

 most important of the swindlers, Lucas Jauner, 

 committed suicide when detected. He was a 

 director in the South Austrian Escompte Com- 

 pany and manager of the bank. He was per- 

 suaded by Kuffler, a Jewish speculator, to ad- 

 vance funds of the company for the latter's 

 speculations, nearly 2,000,000 florins. That 

 amount was sunk by Kuffler, who handled 

 14,000,000 florins of the company's funds be- 

 tween 1882 and 1885. Amtschler, a clerk in 

 the employ of the corporation, was implicated 

 and charged with making false entries. Kuf- 

 fler bought up bad notes and had them dis- 

 counted by Jauner, and before they fell due 

 borrowed money from the bank to buy them 

 back. When the bank accounts were audited 

 he supplied securities and money to cover up 

 the losses. Kuffler speculated rashly in sugar, 

 and lent money to Bohemian sugar-refiners, 

 notably the firms of Weinrich and Tschinkel, 

 that afterward failed. His operations were on 

 an enormous scale. He was convicted, and 

 sentenced to seven years' penal servitude, 

 while Amtschler was acquitted. 



Hungary. The legislative authority resides 

 in a Diet composed of two chambers, the House 

 of Magnates and the House of Representatives. 

 The former was composed in 1884 of 2 princes 

 of the blood, 50 archbishops and other digni- 

 taries of the Roman and Greek churches, 692 

 peers and dignitaries, 5 regalists of Transylva- 

 nia, and 2 deputies from Croatia. By the law 

 of 1885 the composition of the house was 

 greatly altered. Out of the 251 noble families 

 in Hungary, 206 held seats in the old House of 

 Magnates. In the reformed Chamber the 3,000- 

 florin qualification clause reduces this number to 

 91, but among these there are 21 families repre- 

 sented by from 3 to 16 members each and sev- 

 eral others by 2 members. The total number 

 of hereditary seats is reduced to 200. The new 

 class of life-peers numbers 30, who were se- 

 lected partly from the ranks of science, art, 

 industry, and commerce, and partly from po- 

 litical and official circles. Out of the class of 



