58 



AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN MONARCHY. 



the Reichsrath rejected a bill providing for 

 the political autonomy of southern Tyrol. 

 In consequence, the deputies of southern Ty- 

 rol resigned their seats, declaring, in a letter 

 to the President of the Chamber, that the 

 House had proved, by refusing to grant wider 



ST. STEPHEN'S CATHEDRAL, VIENNA. 



autonomy to south Tyrol, that they had noth- 

 ing further to expect from it. The Reichs- 

 tag was adjourned on July 6th, and met 

 again on September 4th. The budget was 

 submitted to the Lower House on October 

 23d. The Minister of Finance said that it 

 showed a decided change for the better. The 

 expenditure was estimated at 424,347,469 

 florins, being an increase of 7,200,000 florins 

 compared with the budget of 1877. This in- 

 crease, the minister explained, was owing to 

 an intended larger redemption of the public 

 debt. The receipts are estimated at 404,114,- 

 600 florins, being 24,800,000 florins more than 

 in 1877. Of this increase, 16,700,000 florins 

 would accrue from an intended sale of Treasury 

 bonds for the redemption of the public debt. 

 Setting aside the sums relating to the debt, the 

 expenditure for 1878 would be 9,500, 000 florins 

 less, and the receipts 8,000,000 florins more, 

 than in 1877 ; while the deficit would be 

 20,200,000 florins, against 37,800,000 florins. 

 Thuspth^ minister said, the budget for 1878 

 shows an improvement of 17,600,000 florins 

 upon the previous year. This improvement 

 was the result of great efforts at a reduction 

 of the expenditure and an increase of revenue. 



For the purpose of effecting these results, a 

 special commission had been appointed, which 

 would continue to exercise its functions. The 

 minister proposed to cover the deficit of 

 20,200,000 florins by the issue of gold rentes. 

 On November 6th, several questions of interest 

 were put to the ministers in the 

 Lower House. The first regarded 

 the recognition by the Government 

 _ of the Old Catholics. To this the 



minister replied that, as the Old 

 Catholics only made a declaration 

 concerning their legal recognition 

 on October 15th, the ministry was 

 not in a position, before the 18th, 

 to recognize them, and to authorize 

 the formation of Old Catholic con- 

 gregations in Vienna, Warnsdorf, 

 and Ried. The Minister of Com- 

 merce, replying to an interpellation 

 upon the subject of the negotiations 

 with Germany for the conclusion of 

 a customs treaty, said the German 

 commissioners had declared that 

 the proposal of the Austro-Hun- 

 garian Government could not be 

 accepted. The idea of a provisional 

 prolongation of the existing treaty 

 for one year, as desired by Ger- 

 many, could not be entertained by 

 Austria. The Government would 

 shortly submit to the House a gen- 

 eral customs tariff, and hoped that 

 it might come into force at the com- 

 mencement of the new year. Mean- 

 while, they had proposed to the 

 German Government the conclu- 

 sion of a treaty based upon the 

 " most-favored-nation " principle. 

 Replying to a question respecting the seizure 

 of rails for railways in Hungary, the min- 

 ister stated that the Hungarian Government 



