AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 



69 



HEAM or KXFKNPITURr. i:.,i 



,,i,tlatu* 54.190 



v tor Croatia 8fl,OiO 



Int.. nor 11.f-98.2l5 



i nance 00,670,554 



miiicrce 50,898,714 



.rk-ulture 18,000,505 



,.i worahlpand Instruction 7,24,o.V< 



MlnUtryof.lustu-.- 12,094,8W 



Ordinary expenditure 842,571,190 



Transitory expenditure 8,180,072 



Invt-MtmentB 11,701,787 



lonliimry common expenditure (1,520,1)44 



Total expenditure 809,004,548 



Ilunirary's special debt has grown from 719,- 

 r>l l.(HK) florins in 1875 to 1,582,259,000 florins in 

 1800. 



Parliamentary Session. The time of Par- 

 liament was largely taken up in the session of 

 1891 with a determined struggle over a Govern- 

 ment bill to reform the administration of coun- 

 ties. The bill was approved by the great land 

 owners, although it curtailed their privileges, 

 and by many of the champions of popular rights, 

 because it was designed to reform gross abuses 

 in the local administrations and in the electoral 

 system. Under the feudal arrangements that 

 have obtained hitherto, the landed gentry, large 

 and small, have had full control of the local 

 government in their districts, the selection of the 

 county officials, nominally elective, and a decisive 

 influence in national elections. The Govern- 

 ment proposed to make the chief county officers 

 and the magistrates nominees of the Crown. 

 The responsible leader of the Opposition sup- 

 ported the principle of the bill, but the extreme 

 Opposition, composed largely of the petty nobil- 

 ity, whose prerogatives were at stake, denounced 

 the measure as an attempt to destroy the electoral 

 franchise by giving the Government power to 

 put electioneering agents in the chief local of- 

 fices, and also es the abrogation of ancient rights 

 of local self-government. ^ Count Szapary gave 

 a public promise that as soon as the bill was 

 passed he would introduce another to secure full 

 freedom of voting. Count Apponyi expressed 

 himself as satisfied with this pledge. The ex- 

 treme Opposition declared that they would not 

 let the bill pass without the insertion of electoral 

 safeguards. One of their demands was that dis- 

 puted elections should be decided by the law 

 courts, and not by the Parliament; and the 

 Prime Minister promised to bring in a bill to 

 accomplish this, and to establish a tribunal for 

 the settlement of disputes between the authori- 

 ties and private persons. The Administrative 

 Reform bill was introduced before the close of 

 May. A week was consumed in discussing its 

 title, several weeks were spent in debating its 



Srinciple, and three more were given up to the 

 rst clause. Ten substitute bills were offered by 

 members of the Opposition for the mere purpose 

 of obstruction, wnich was continued after the 

 Government had redeemed its promise* by oflVi- 

 ing bills to remove the trial of electoral petitions 

 to the Supreme Court, and to forbid official ac- 

 tivity in elections and insure the freedom of the 

 popular vote. The latter measure disqualifies 

 candidates and disfranchises electoral districts 

 for bribery, but allows a certain liberty in treat- 

 ing, on the plea that to rural voters who are 



brought a long distance from their homes some 

 accommodation should IN- L-ivcn. The bill, win. h 

 runs for eight y<ar~. coiitnins a clause, intended 

 to check the growth of the Socialist ami Anli-Se- 

 in it ic movement, which disqualifies a member who 

 within three months previous to his election shall 

 in speech or print have excited to hatred against 

 nationalities or creeds or denounced the insti- 

 tutions of marriage or property, or promised a 

 general distribution of public projM-rty or private 

 wealth. To influence the debate. Deputy Unon, 

 of the Extreme Left, quoted what he said was 

 the secret oath taken by Hungarian Cabinet 

 ministers, an antique formula pledging absolute 

 obedience and devotion to the monarch. There 

 was no hope of passing the 278 clauses of the 

 Administrative Reform bill, and when the princi- 

 ple of the bill had been approved by a vote of 

 188 to 88, the ministry resorted to an unusual 

 expedient. On Aug. 4 Count Szapary announced 

 the withdrawal of the original bill and the sub- 

 stitution of another, consisting of two clauses 

 the first empowering the Government to appoint 

 certain classes of county officials, and the second 

 authorizing the Government to adopt such regu- 

 lations in regard to the details of the new coun- 

 ty government as in its discretion seem best. 

 Count Albert Apponyi and the Moderate Oppo- 

 sition pronounced this device unconstitutional ; 

 but Count Szapary persisted, and succeeded in 

 carrying the substitute bill by the vote of the 

 Liberal majority on Aug. 9. The other business 

 of the session was got through with, and on 

 Aug. 17 the Parliament was prorogued, to meet 

 again on Oct. 3, preparatory to the assembling of 

 the delegations in Vienna. 



Postal Congress. The fourth -congress of 

 the Universal Postal Union met at Vienna on 

 May 20, 1891, and dissolved on July 4. The 

 treaty arrangements between the members of the 

 Union respecting rates of postage and charges 

 for forwarding mails by ship or land convey- 

 ance, were revised and consolidated in a new 

 convention that will go into operation on July 

 1, 1892. To secure the entrance into the Union 

 of the Australasian colonies, the Congress offered 

 to accord to them the position of separate states, 

 which was already enjoyed by the Indian Empire 

 and the Dominion of Canada, On their account 

 also the question of reducing both letter rates 

 and transit charges was put aside to be consid- 

 ered by the next congress. In regard to this 

 question some of the plenipotentiaries expressed 

 themselves in favor of abolishing all charges for 

 forwarding mails between countries belonging 

 to the Union by the sea or land service of a 

 third country and of establishing a single uni- 

 form rate of international postage. An innova- 

 tion in international rates and arrangements 

 was the rule adopted that every country of the 

 Union shall henceforward supply the public 

 with post cards with prepaid replies. It was 

 further decreed that recipients of underpaid 

 letters must not be charged more than the full 

 rate of postage. Another rule was laid down 

 that when countries charge a higher rate than 5 

 cents a half-ounce for letters sent over the sea, 

 tln-y must make the rate uniform for all desti- 

 nations that are reached under equal conditions. 

 This will affect Great Britain, from which the 

 postage to British colonies has been 2$ d., but to 



