AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 



67 



because it had not been able to come to any 

 agreement regarding obligatory civil marring*?, 

 ami that the, resignation had fieen weepled by 

 i In- King. Count Szaparv, Baron Fejervary, 

 Dr. \\Vkerle, M. Tiszu, and M. Szell were sutn- 

 iiinned to Vienna to confer with the Emperor, 

 ;ui<l as a result of the conference, Dr. WcKerle, 

 l lie Minister of Finance of the outgoing Cabinet, 

 i lied upon to form a new ministry. 



Tli*' New Cabinet. On Nov. 16 the new 

 Cabinet was complete and received the sanction 

 of the Emperor. It was composed of the fol- 

 lowing members: President of the Council and 

 Minister of Finance, Dr. Wekerle; Minister of 

 Justice, M. Szilagyi; Minister of Public Wor- 

 ship and Instruction, Count Czaky ; Minister of 

 the Interior, M. de Hieronymi ; Minister of Com- 

 merce, M. de Lukacs ; Minister ad latum. Count 

 Louis Tisza; Minister of National Defense, 

 Han in Fejervary ; Minister of Agriculture, Count 

 Bethlen. Alexander Wekerle, born in 1850, is 

 the son of a German, who emigrated from 

 Wurtemberg to Hungary and became the stew- 

 ard of a large estate. He entered the Depart- 

 ment of Finance when only twenty-five years 

 old, and his abilities in financial matters soon 

 brought him promotion, his services being recog- 

 nized by eacn successive ministry. In 1887 he 

 was appointed Under Secretary of State in the 

 Cabinet of Koloman Tisza, and in 1889, when 

 the latter resigned his office as Minister of Fi- 

 nance, Dr. Wekerle was appointed to fill his 

 place. His ability was demonstrated by the 

 currency reform, passed in 1892. His appoint- 

 ment to the premiership met with general ap- 

 proval. His tendencies are strictly liberal, and, 

 being a bourgeois, the first Premier not connect- 

 ed with the aristocracy Hungary ever had, his 

 choice was hailed with delight by the masses. 



On Nov. 21 Dr. Wekerle submitted the pro- 

 gramme of the new Government to the Parlia- 

 ment. He declared that the new Cabinet ap- 

 proved of the line of foreign policy sanctioned 

 at the last session of the Delegations, which had 

 in view the safeguarding of the interests and 

 power of the monarchy on the basis of existing 

 treaties. Regarding the politico-religious ques- 

 tions, he remarked that the Government, while 

 desiring to maintain the interests of the state, 

 were at the same time anxious not to disturb the 

 peace with the Church, and wished that all pub- 

 lic institutions should be so organized as to offer 

 a lasting guarantee for the continuance of that 

 peace; that an arrangement in principle had 

 been made, with the approval of the Crown, for 

 the introduction of the state registration of 

 births, the recognition of the Jewish faith, and 

 the free exercise of all religions, and that the 

 bills dealing with these questions would be put 

 before the house in the course of the winter. 

 Touching marriage legislation, he said that the 

 Government had been able to arrive at an agree- 

 ment concerning the fundamental principle of 

 the marriage law and obligatory civil marriage, 

 a bill in connection with which was being pre- 

 pared. This bill would provide for general mar- 

 riage legislation binding on all faiths. 



Session of the Parliament. The new min- 

 ist ry had by no means an easy task before them. 

 Although the Liberals formed the majority in 

 the Representantentafel, yet even in their own 



ranks there were differences of opinion. The 

 great majority, under their leader, Koloman Ti- 

 x.a, approved of the programme of the (iov.-rn- 

 ment, while the minority believed in the ex-Pre- 

 mier's temporizing course. But as an offset the 

 Government gained the support of the National- 

 ists under Count Apponyi, who declared that his 

 party was in favor of obligatory civil marriage. 

 On April 26 two of the politico- religious bills \s ere 

 introduced in the Lower House. The civil regis- 

 tration bill brought in by the Minister of the Inte- 

 rior divides the country into about 4,500 districts. 

 The clergy are not competent to act as regis- 

 trars. These officials, who are to be appointed 

 and paid by the state, must be Hungarian citi- 

 zens who have passed the sixth grade at school. 

 Birth, marriage, and death registers are to be 

 kept separate. Regarding the children of mixed 

 marriages, the sons are to be brought up in the 

 religion of their fathers and the daughters in 

 that of their mothers, as provided by the law of 

 1868. The duty of reporting a birth devolves 

 upon, first the father, second the midwife, 

 third the medical attendant, fourth other wit- 

 nesses, and fifth the mother. Until the enact- 

 ment of an obligatory civil marriage law, regis- 

 tration of marriages is to be made upon evidence 

 of the certificate of the clergyman performing 

 the religious ceremony, which certificate he is 

 required to furnish. The special bill for the re- 

 ception of the Jewish faith, which was intro- 

 duced by Count Czaky, contains three para- 

 graphs. By the first the Jewish faith is official- 

 ly recognized ; by the second, conversions from 

 the Jewish to th'e Christian faith, and from the 

 Christian to the Jewish faith, are made lawful ; 

 the third gives the Jews, as a religious body, 

 civil rights equal with those of any other religious 

 body. On May 16 a bill was introduced providing 

 that all persons shall be at liberty to choose their 

 faith or religion, and to practice the same within 

 the limits fixed by the law and public morality. 

 Any confession desiring to be legally recognized 

 by the state must submit to the Government a 

 statement of its dogmatic and moral doctrines. 

 Should these be contrary to the laws of the 

 country or contain anything calculated to pre- 

 vent members from fulfilling their duties toward 

 the state, the Government is empowered to re- 

 fuse its recognition. The authorities may also 

 demand the removal of a clergyman guilty of any 

 action prejudicial to the state, and failing such 

 removal dissolve the religious body over which 

 he presides. The position of head or patron of 

 a religious community must not be held by a 

 foreigner or under foreign authority. Any re- 

 ligious body may hold property for church and 

 school purposes only. The exercise of political 

 and municipal rights is made independent of re- 

 ligion. If an individual desires to sever his af- 

 filiation with any religious society he must first 

 cancel all his indebtedness to such society. All 

 persons have the right to meet for religious 

 services. The bill does not apply to the Jewish 

 faith or any religion already recognized. 



The bill proposed by the Government for the 

 regulation of marriage has three principal 

 clauses, as follow : There shall be only one mar- 

 riage law, which shall be applicable to all re- 

 ligious denominations; civil marriage shall be 

 obligatory; marriage maybe dissolved by the 



