SERVIA. 



735 



Gen. Horvatovich, who after tlie Servian 

 war was recalled from the St. Petersburg mis- 

 sion to take the chief command of the army, 

 and given the portfolio of the Ministry of War 

 in order to develop a scheme for the complete 

 reorganization of the military forces, resigned 

 his seat in the Cabinet in February, 1887, be- 

 cause M. Garashanin objected to his plans as 

 being too costly. Another cause of difference 

 was that the Prime Minister insisted on con- 

 trolling appointments to high commands in the 

 army. Gen. Topalovich succeeded Gen. Hor- 

 varovich as Minister of War. The Minister of 

 Public Works tendered his resignation at the 

 same time, and was succeeded by Gen. Michael 

 Bogitchevich, the burgomaster of Belgrade. In 

 April the Cabinet was weakened by the retire- 

 ment of M. Mijatovich, the Minister of Finance, 

 on account of difficulties arising out of the to- 

 bacco monopoly. M. Garnshanin proposed the 

 entire reconstruction of the Cabinet, but the 

 King insisted that the ministers should remain 

 in office. At length M. Garashnin found it 

 impossible to continue longer his unpopular 

 administration, and in the beginning of June 

 the whole Cabinet resigned. The King did not 

 send for M. Theodorovich, the chief of the 

 Radical party which had gained the victory in 

 the elections of the preceding year, but first 

 called on Nikola Cristich to form a Cabinet, 

 nnd when he declined intrusted the task to 

 Jovan Ristich, the representative of the pro- 

 Russian party with which Queen *Natalie was 

 identified, and who had been the chief antago- 

 nist of King Milan and his policy. On June 13 

 a ministry was formed which was composed 

 as follows: President of the Council and Min- 

 ister of Foreign Affairs, Ristich ; Minister of 

 the Interior, Milojlovich ; Minister of Public 

 Instruction and Worship, Vasiljevich ; Minister 

 of Justice. Avakumovich; Minister of Agricult- 

 ure and Commerce, Molosavljevich; Minister 

 of Finance, Vujich ; Minister of Public Works, 

 Velimirovich; Minister of War ad interim, 

 Gen. Bogitchevich. Col. Gruich was subse- 

 quently appointed to the Ministry of War, 

 returning from St. Petersburg where he was 

 Servian minister to assume the duties of the 

 office. The new Prime Minister hastened to 

 give assurances that the change of government 

 did not signify the inauguration of a policy 

 hostile to Russia. He announced a programme 

 embracing four points : (1) the revision of the 

 Constitution ; (2) the maintenance of good rela- 

 tions with all foreign states; (3) economy in 

 the public expenditure; (4) the honorable ful- 

 fillment of all engagements entered into with 

 other countries. On June 15 the Skupshtina 

 was dissolved, and new elections were appoint- 

 ed for September. The anti-Austrian sentiment 

 which had much to do with the political crisis 

 was aggravated by the vexatious restrictions 

 placed upon Servian exports of cattle and swine 

 to the dual monarchy in the interest of the 

 Hungarian stock- breeders, who were accused 

 by an Austrian member of the Delegations of 



discovering cattle-disease in Servia whenever 

 the Hungarian cattle-market was overstocked. 

 The cession of the tobacco monopoly to Aus- 

 trian capitalists had contributed to the un- 

 popularity of the Garashanin Cabinet by adding 

 to the prevalent jealousy of the economical 

 domination of Austria. In order to smooth over 

 the difficulties that might arise from the return 

 of the old enemy of Austria to the head of the 

 Government, King Milan, after the constitution 

 of the new Cabinet paid a visit to the Emperor 

 at Vienna. Queen Natalie, who had separated 

 from her husband for reasons partly domestic 

 and partly political, had gone to Russia with 

 her son, the Crown Prince, previously to the 

 change of government. One of the last diplo- 

 matic acts of the Garashanin ministry was to 

 follow the similar proceeding of the Roumanian 

 Government in presenting a remonstrance or 

 inquiry at St. Petersburg in regard to the action 

 of the Russian minister at Belgrade, M. Persi- 

 ani, in interfering in Servian politics and en- 

 couraging anti-dynastic movements. The re- 

 tiring Cabinet had also adopted the sharp 

 retaliatory measure against Turkey of prohibit- 

 ing from May 13 the trading operations ot 

 Turkish subjects in Servia because the Porte 

 had not been willing to conclude a commercial 

 treaty. Incursions of Arnauts into Servian 

 territory gave occasion lor a menacing note 

 from M. Ristich to the Government fit Constan- 

 tinople. In the early part of June the Servian 

 frontier post at Dabishevsky was attacked by 

 Albanian marauders, who killed the command- 

 ing officer of the Servians. A few days later 

 400 Arnauts plundered the village of Dabinovac 

 and killed two Servians before they were driven 

 back by the frontier guards, who killed a num- 

 ber of the raiders and captured two flags. 



M. Ristich gave orders that there should be 

 no official interference in the elections, which 

 took place in the latter part of September. 

 The result was again a victory for the Radicals, 

 who elected 85 members out of 15(5, while the 

 Liberal or Ministerial party elected only 44 

 members. The remaining scats went to neu- 

 trals or independents, the Progressists, who 

 followed M. Garashanin and formed his major- 

 ity in the late Skupshtina, having retired alto- 

 gether from the electoral contest. The Radicals 

 demanded that the 52 seats that were to he 

 filled by appointment should be divided between 

 the Liberals and themselves, and the King was 

 inclined to nominate 26 members from each of 

 the two parties, but M. Ristich insisted on re- 

 tiring at once if that were done, since it would 

 leave him without a majority. The matter was 

 compromised by giving 36 seats to Ministerial- 

 ists and 16 to Radicals. 



The Skupshtina was opened on December 4. 

 The King in the speech from the throne dwelt 

 on the good relations that existed with all the 

 powers, especially the neighboring states, and 

 their recognition of the correctness of Servia's 

 attitude, which left her the opportunity to 

 bestow her attention on internal reforms and 



