50 



AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 



with the mission of seeking a working compromise 

 between the conflicting nationalities. It was com- 

 posed as follows: President of the Council and 

 .Minister of the Interior, Dr. Korber; Minister of 

 Railroads, Dr. von Wittek; Minister of Finance, 

 Dr. Bohm von Bawerk; Minister of National De- 

 fense, Field-Marshal Graf Zeno von Welsersheimb; 

 Minister of Agriculture, Councilor Giovanelli; 

 Minister of Justice, Baron Sprens von Booden; 

 Minister of Commerce, Baron Call von Kulmbach- 

 IJoscnhurg; Minister of Public Instruction and 

 Worship. Dr. von Hartel; without portfolios, Dr. 

 Re/ek and Dr. Pietak. The parliamentary leaders 

 of the Czech and German parties professed to be 

 alike eager for an understanding, and as soon as 

 the new C'abinet took office a conference of repre- 

 sentatives of the two nationalities was summoned 

 to discuss a project submitted by the Government 

 as the basis of an agreement. The Reichsrath re- 

 assembled on Feb. 22 before the nationality con- 

 ference had led to any definite result. The Young 

 ( /cdis determined to continue their obstructionist 

 tactics, reserving for themselves the proper mo- 

 ment for putting them into practice. The object 

 in convoking the Reichsrath before the conference 

 completed its work was to obtain the vote for the 

 annual contingent of recruits. The German Cler- 

 icals and the Poles declared against obstruction. 

 The Prime Minister threatened to dissolve the 

 Reichsrath if it proved still unmanageable. The 

 programme of the new Cabinet contained urgent 

 and popular reform measures on which all nation- 

 alities were in agreement. Whether the conference 

 reached a settlement of the language question or 

 failed to reach one, the Government was deter- 

 mined to bring in a bill on the subject. In the 

 economic field the Government proposed the con- 

 -t ruction of 6 railroads, costing 480,000,000 crowns, 

 in the space of seven or eight years, also to extend 

 the harbor at Trieste and to regulate the navigable 

 rivers. Measures were promised for the promotion 

 of industry and the export trade, and a series of 

 reforms affecting the working classes as well as 

 the industrial and commercial community. The 

 question of the legislative regulation of the hours 

 of labor and conditions of work in the mines would 

 receive careful consideration, a commission having 

 been appointed to examine into the subject. A 

 coal strike going on in Bohemia and Moravia im- 

 pelled the Social Democrats and some of the Ger- 

 man factions to bring the subject forward, and 

 the Government agreed to introduce the eight-hour 

 day in some of the state mines. The Reichsrath 

 voted for the annual contingent of recruits and 

 elected the Austrian Delegation without a hitch. 

 The language conference, which closed its labors 

 on March 22, achieved a temporary truce between 

 the nationalities sufficient to insure the resump- 

 tion of its normal activity by the Reichsrath. The 

 military authorities decided to lighten the burden 

 of military service for citizens residing abroad and 

 engaged in advancing the export trade of the mon- 

 archy. The promotion of manufactures and ex- 

 ports is a subject that has engaged the attention 

 of Austrian statesmen in recent years, and pro- 

 posals for sending colonists as well as commercial 

 agents to Turkish dominions and to Africa, and 

 i-ven of seeking spheres of influence in China and 

 c]-e\\ here, have been put forward. While excelling 

 Germany and England and rivaling France in some 

 classes of fine handiwork of artistic quality, Aus- 

 tria has been far outstripped by Germany in whole- 

 sale production by machinery, although possessing 

 all the natural resources ami mechanical aptitude. 

 No actual settlement of the language question was 

 brought about through the conference, and after 

 it separated the extreme partisans on both sides 



rssumed a more irreconcilable attitude than ever. 

 The Czechs, who numbered 60 in the Reichsrath 

 and had as allies the Slovenes, the feudal nobility 

 of Bohemia, and other factions counting 30 to 40 

 votes, renewed their threat of obstruction. The 

 Young Czechs were a small minority when the 

 Old Czechs came to an understanding with the 

 Taafe ministry and accepted the proffered com- 

 promise on the language question, but this minor- 

 ity repudiated the agreement, and in the next elec- 

 tions they routed the moderate party and reduced 

 the compromise to a dead letter. With the 4- 

 gulden franchise in force, the ministry of Dr. 

 Korber had to face the contingency, in the event 

 of a dissolution, of seeing not only the Radical 

 Czechs, but the Radical Germans coming into the 

 new Reichstag in greater strength and more vio- 

 lent and uncompromising than before, which would 

 compel a new dissolution and probably the re- 

 striction of the franchise by executive decree. 

 Some of the differences of minor importance were 

 disposed of in the conference of the nationalities, 

 but in essential matters the two parties were as 

 far apart as ever. When the Reichsrath met on 

 May 8, after the recess, Dr. Korber introduced two 

 language bills, one for Bohemia and one for Mo- 

 ravia, which met with an indifferent approval 

 from the Germans, but were rejected without hesi- 

 tation by the Czechs. The Prime Minister called 

 attention to the financial difficulties of the coun- 

 try. The surpluses which former ministers ob- 

 tained by means of fresh taxes had fallen off, while 

 the cost of administration had risen, and the ex- 

 penditure for common affairs, particularly for the 

 army, had largely increased. The stagnation of 

 the empire at a period when other states were pro- 

 gressing in prosperity and power was attributable 

 to the struggle of the nationalities during the past 

 three years, which had produced a situation that 

 was deplored by all Austrians and friends of Aus- 

 tria and was gratifying only to the enemies of 

 Austria. Dr. Pacak, one of the Czech leaders, an- 

 nounced the intention of his party to resort to 

 obstruction to prevent the passage of the bills, the 

 Czechs believing it to be outside of the constitu- 

 tional powers of the Reichsrath to impose such 

 measures on the provinces. He then put forward 

 a formal motion for a roll call, which was followed 

 by others till the house adjourned for lack of a 

 quorum. The Czech representatives were driven 

 to 'take the course they did by their party, and 

 they received no encouragement from Russian 

 Panslavists nor support from the Poles or thi 

 German Clericals who have at other times bee 

 their allies. When the Reichsrath reassembled, 

 after a recess on June 6, the obstruction was re- 

 sumed. The ministers, not being party men or 

 members of Parliament, had no strong support in 

 their effort to break the deadlock. The Germans, 

 who themselves resorted to obstruction in dealing 

 with the Badeni Cabinet and wish to preserve the 

 weapon for their future use when they think such 

 parliamentary tactics opportune, were reluctant 

 to take a decided stand against its use by their 

 adversaries. The Emperor demanded in authorita- 

 tive tones that Parliament should work, but the 

 Czechs disregarded his intimation. The whole time 

 of the sittings was taken up with dilatory motions 

 and petitions. On June 8 the C/echs resorted to 

 more violent obstruction to prevent an amend- 

 ment of the rules of procedure. Such a din was 

 raised with trumpets, cymbals, whistles, and even 

 saucepans and trays brought from the restaurant 

 that discussion was impossible. Detachments of 

 15 members relieved each other in keeping up the 

 intolerable noise far into the night. The ministers 

 held a council and consulted the sovereign, with 



