AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 



Al the opening Bitting of the Reichsrath, Oct. 

 IK, tin- I'rmir Minifter, Graf Taaffe, introduced 

 mi electoral reform lull practically granting uni- 

 \er-al manhood suffrage. The mt-.-iMiiv provides 

 tliat all who now have the franchise shall con- 

 tinue to po-M-ss it. and the right is to be extended 

 to all men of legal age who have gone through 

 the elementary schools or passed an equivalent 

 examination ; to all time-expired noncommis- 

 sioned officers and all those who have served in 

 the ranks in time of war and have the war medal; 

 to nil those who can read and write and have done 

 their duty as citizens in accordance with the 

 law ; and to all those having a sufficient knowl- 

 edge of one of the national languages, and who 

 can prove a residence of six months in the place 

 in which they are employed. The bill was a 

 complete surprise to all parties, and created a 

 sensation in Vienna. The German Liberals, the 

 Poles, and the Conservatives announced their 

 opposition to the bill. At the first reading of 

 the bill, on Oct. 23, Graf Taaffe declared the 

 measure a necessity for the state, inasmuch as it 

 was only by a timely and far-reaching extension 

 of the suffrage that it would be possible to avert 

 those grave perils with which society and the 

 whole order of the state were threatened by the 

 popular elements which had hitherto been de- 

 prived of political rights. The opposition to 

 the measure among the Deputies was so deter- 

 mined that its success seemed impossible, and 

 a dissolution of the Reichsrath was quite gener- 

 ally expected, but on Oct. 29 Graf Taaffe ten- 

 dered his resignation to the Emperor as the best 

 means of ending the deadlock. Prince Alfred 

 Windischgratz, President of the Upper House, 

 was sent for by the Emperor on the following 

 day and intrusted with the formation of a coali- 

 tion Cabinet. 



The New Ministry. The prince met with 

 much difficulty in the execution of his trust, but 

 after many conferences, in which Graf Taaffe 

 was freely consulted, the new Cabinet was an- 

 nounced, Nov. 5, as follows : President of the 

 Council, Prince Alfred Windischgratz ; Minister 

 of the Interior, Baron Bohnslaw von Widmann : 

 Minister of Public Instruction and Ecclesiastical 

 Affairs, Stanislaus von Madeyski ; Minister of 

 Finance, Dr. Ernst von Plener; Minister of 

 Agriculture, Graf Julius Falkenhayn ; Minister 

 of Commerce and National Economy, Graf 

 Franz Cronini; Minister of Justice, Graf Karl 

 Chorinski; minister without portfolio, Apollinar 

 von Jaworski. 



Universal Suffrage. The movement in be- 

 half of universal suffrage made considerable 

 progress in the monarchy during the year. The 

 Social Democracy agitated for it with great vigor 

 and persistency and carried with them the great 

 body of the working people, while many Liberals 

 have given in their adherence to the cause. In 

 Hohcmia the demand for the franchise has been 

 quite aggressive, though accompanied to some 

 extent with a demand for Bohemian state rights. 



At the general meeting of the Central Demo- 

 cratic Society of Vienna, the advanced wing of 

 the Liberal party, on June 30, a resolution was 

 unanimously adopted declaring it to be the 

 duty of all Liberal citizens to support the work- 

 ers *in their effort to obtain the suffrage. At 

 an open-air meeting near Reichenberg, June 

 VOL. xxxin. 5 A 



12, at which about 15,000 German and Bohe- 

 mian workmen were present, a resolution was 

 adopted in favor of universal suffrage for every 

 citizen, male and female, who has attained the 

 age of twenty years. On July 9 a great gather- 

 ing of the working classes of Vienna took place 

 at the town hall. The various divisions, num- 

 bering in the aggregate 30,000, displaying mot- 

 toe> in favor of universal suffrage, marched in 

 an orderly manner to the hall, where speeches 

 were made and resolutions demanding universal 

 suffrage adopted. This was the first demonstra- 

 tion of the kind in Vienna that has taken place 

 with the permission of the authorities. The agi- 

 tation has not been confined to the cities and 

 large towns, but has been carried with consider- 

 able apparent success into the rural districts, 

 among the peasants and small farmers. 



Labor Difficulties. A large meeting of the 

 unemployed was held in Vienna on the night of 

 Dec. 1, 1892. The language used by the speak- 

 ers was of such a threatening character that the 

 police put an abrupt end to the proceedings. On 

 Dec. 4, labor demonstrations were held at Neu 

 Larchenfeld and Wahring, at both of which work 

 was vehemently demanded. A strike occurred 

 among the Vienna joiners in the latter part of 

 April, and several strikes among the Bohemian 

 coal miners. These last led to a collision with 

 the police, in the course of which several miners 

 were shot down and a large number of arrests 

 made. In Auerust a strike occurred among the 

 workmen, some 1,500 in number, employed in a 

 soap and candle factory in a suburb of Vienna. 

 This strike called together a large mob from the 

 rabble of the city and resulted in a series of riots 

 lasting for three days. The police were attacked 

 with stones and repeatedly dispersed the mob. 

 The police used their swords, and many on both 

 sides were seriously injured. An announcement 

 was made early in July that the Austrian Gov- 

 ernment proposed to introduce a bill for the es- 

 tablishment of labor chambers, by means of which 

 the working classes would be accorded a certain 

 measure of representation in Parliament. The 

 present Chamber of Deputies is composed of four 

 groups representing respectively the great landed 

 proprietors, the towns, the rural districts, and the 

 chambers of commerce and industry. To these 

 four classes the proposed bill would add a fifth, 

 composed of representatives of the labor cham- 

 bers. Such a measure has been advocated by the 

 Liberal party in Austria for the past seven years. 

 While it is a fact that the measure would give 

 to the millions of Austrian working people only 

 about as many deputies as now represent 139 

 landowners of Moravia, the workers seem in- 

 clined to accept the new chambers as a central 

 controlling body, at the same time adhering to 

 their demand for suffrage. 



Hungary. The Kingdom of Hungary, the 

 Transleithan monarchy, includes Hungary prop- 

 er, Croatia-Slavonia, and Transylvania. The 

 Hungarian Parliament, or Orszuggulos, has legis- 

 lative authority for Hungary and Transylvania, 

 and also for Croatia and Slavonia in matters of 

 common concern. The Parliament consists of 

 the Magnatentafel, or House of Magnates, and 

 the Representantentafel, or House of Represen- 

 tatives, having equal and concurrent powers. 

 The Upper House is composed of the hereditary 



