70 



AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 



terly opposed to it. On a motion of want of con- 

 fidence in the House of Representatives on July 6 

 the Government commanded a majority of only 

 7 votes. 



Fiji. The Governor of Fiji is Sir G. T. M. 

 O'Brien. The island is divided into 16 provinces, 

 each under a roJco tui, or native chief. Euro- 

 pean commissioners reside in three of the prov- 

 inces. The sugar, cocoanut, banana, and other 

 plantations belong mostly to European settlers. 



British New Guinea. The British territory 

 of New Guinea, including the Louisiade and 

 D'Entrecasteaux islands, has an area of about 

 00,540 square miles, with 350,000 native inhabit- 

 ants and 250 Europeans. The cost of adminis- 

 tration, calculated at 15,000 a year, is guar- 

 anteed by the Queensland Government, but the 

 governments of Victoria and New South Wales 

 contribute equal shares and have equal control 

 with Queensland over the administration. The 

 territory is administered by the Lieutenant Gov- 

 ernor, George Ruthven Le Hunte. The policy of 

 withholding all lands for the use of the natives 

 has been followed hitherto, and regulations for- 

 bidding the alienation of land were strictly en- 

 forced. However, in March, 1898, the Lieutenant 

 Governor and his Council approved an ordinance 

 enabling a company called the British New 

 Guinea Syndicate to acquire and occupy an area 

 not to exceed 250,000 acres, paying 2s. an acre, 

 with a view to the development of the territory 

 by exploring and opening up Crown lands, culti- 

 vating the rubber plant and other tropical prod- 

 uce, and discovering and working mineral de- 

 posits. There were 397 vessels, of 20,702 tons, 

 entered and 302, of 20,360 tons, cleared during 

 1898. Gold is mined in the Louisiade and Wood- 

 lark islands and on the mainland by 300 whites, 

 who employ many natives. The value of the im- 

 ports in 1898 was 46,971; exports, 49,859. 

 The chief imports are foodstuffs, cloth, tobacco, 

 and hardware. The exports, besides gold and 

 pearls, are trepang, copra, pearl shells, and san- 

 dalwood. 



The British Government, having in 1898 agreed 

 to convey to a land syndicate a tract of land 

 in New Guinea, rescinded the arrangement on 

 account of the remonstrances of the governments 

 of Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland, 

 leaving these to settle with the syndicate the 

 question of compensation. Another syndicate of- 

 fered to take 100,000 acres, but the ' colonial 

 statesmen do not consider the time ripe for mak- 

 ing grants of land. Mr. Le Hunte, the new 

 Lieutenant Governor, has prepared a scheme for 

 the development of New Guinea. 



AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, a dual monarchy in 

 central Europe, composed under the fundamental 

 law of Dec. 21, 1867, of the Empire of Austria 

 and the Kingdom of Hungary, inseparable con- 

 stitutional monarchies, hereditary in the male 

 line of the dynasty of Hapsburg-Lorraine or, in 

 the event of the extinction of the male line, in 

 the female line. The legislative power for af- 

 fairs common to both monarchies viz., foreign 

 relations, military and naval affairs with the 

 exception of the national territorial armies, com- 

 mon finance, commercial and railroad affairs con- 

 cerning both monarchies, the customs tariff, the 

 coinage, and the administration of the occupied 

 Turkish provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina 

 is exercised by committees of the legislative 

 bodies of both monarchies. These committees, 

 which are called the Delegations, meet alternate- 

 lv in Vienna and Buda-Pesth, the two capitals. 

 They are composed of 20 members elected an- 

 nually by each of the two upper houses and 40 



from each of the lower houses. The Austrian 

 and Hungarian Delegations meet and vote sepa- 

 rately, and in case of a disagreement they decide 

 the question by a joint vote. The common min- 

 isters are responsible to the Delegations, and 

 may be impeached for any dereliction of duty. 



The Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary 

 is Franz Josef I, born Aug. 18, 1830, proclaimed 

 Emperor of Austria on Dec. 2, 1848, when his 

 uncle Ferdinand I abdicated in consequence of a 

 revolutionary uprising, and crowned King of 

 Hungary on June 8, 1867, when the ancient con- 

 stitutional rights of that monarchy were re- 

 established. The heir presumptive is the Em- 

 pe^or-King's nephew, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, 

 born April 21, 1865, son of the late Archduke 

 Karl Ludwig and Princess Annunciata, daughter 

 of the former King of Naples. 



The ministers for the whole monarchy at the 

 beginning of 1899 were as follow: Minister of 

 Foreign Affairs and of the Imperial House, Count 

 Agenor Maria Adam Goluchowski; Common 

 Minister of War, Gen. Edmund, Edler von Krieg- 

 hammer; Common Minister of Finance, Benjamin 

 de Kallay. 



The Common Budget. The cost of the ad- 

 ministration of common affairs is borne by the 

 two halves of the monarchy in a proportion set- 

 tled by an agreement between the Austrian 

 Reichsrath and the Hungarian Parliament. This 

 agreement, called the Ausyleich, has been revised 

 and renewed every ten years, but when the last 

 period expired in 1897 the two legislative bodies 

 were unable to reach an understanding. Negoti- 

 ations were continued, and in the meantime the 

 provisions of the last Ausgleich were continued 

 temporarily as a modus Vivendi. By this, after 

 the proceeds of the common customs were de- 

 ducted from the sum required, Hungary first paid 

 2 per cent, of the remainder, and then the balance 

 was contributed by the two monarchies, the 

 Austrian portion being 70 per cent, and the Hun- 

 garian 30 per cent. In 1898 the total sanctioned 

 expenditure was 162,625,000 florins the revenue 

 from customs, 46,673,000 florins; Austria's con- 

 tribution, 79,543,000 florins; Hungary's contri- 

 bution, 36,409,000 florins. The budget estimates 

 of revenue for 1899 were 132,000 florins from the 

 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2,660,389 florins 

 from the Ministry of War and Marine, 5,169 

 florins from the Ministry of Finance, and 164,378,- 

 382 florins from customs and matricular contri- 

 butionstotal, 167,175,940 florins. The esti- 

 mated expenditures were 4,194,100 florins of ordi- 

 nary and 80,100 florins of extraordinary ex- 

 penditure by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 

 132,468,237 florins of ordinary and 11,217,014 

 florins of extraordinary expenditure for the army, 

 11,195,260 florins of ordinary and 5,746,000 

 florins of extraordinary expenditure for the navy, 

 2.126,404 florins of ordinary and 10.780 florins 

 of extraordinary expenditure by the Minister of 

 Finance, and 138,045 florins for the Board of 

 Control. 



The dual monarchy contracts no loans, but 

 the general debt existing in 1867, of which 2,757,- 

 449,395 florins were outstanding in June, 1898, 

 requires 126,284,691 florins annually for interest 

 and amortization, which is divided between the 

 two halves of the monarchy, Austria paying 95,- 

 973,852 florins and Hungary 30,310,839 florins. 

 The common floating debt on June 30, 1898, 

 amounted to 182,672.730 florins, of which amount 

 120,892,780 florins consisted of the common paper 

 currency. 



The revenue of Bosnia and Herzegoyina for 

 1898 was estimated at 19,244,250 florins, more 



