62 IN THE LAND OF THE BORA. 



It also suffers from imperial politics, trie 

 absolutely necessary connection of its State 

 railway at Knin with the Austrian system being 

 persistently vetoed by Hungary, which hopes thus 

 to coerce it into supporting the Magyar party in the 

 Diet.* From one curse of Austrian politics it does 

 not suffer — the Jew is conspicuous in Dalmatia by 

 his absence. f 



If politics are so embittered, though puerile, in 

 Dalmatia, they have this one great advantage, i.e. 

 that they are kept out of the family. I know a 

 family where the aged father is of the Italian 

 party, but all his sons and his son-in-law are of the 

 Slav way of thinking. Again, one of the latter's 

 daughters is about to marry a young member of the 

 Italian party. Yet, with all these differences of 

 opinion, they are as united a family as one would 

 wish to see. 



Before leaving Zablace I made another visit to 



* It is said that this line is really to be proceeded with now. 



■j" This precis of Dalmatian politics was compiled from 

 information derived from Slav sources. It is, perhaps, only 

 fair to add that the Italian party contend that they have the 

 confidence of the Slav peasantry to a much greater extent than 

 the actual constitution of the Provincial Diet would imply, 

 and maintain that, hut for the elections being greatly influenced 

 by government officials, its composition would be very different. 

 To put their contention in few words, it amounts to this : 

 " Codlin's the friend, not Short." I must leave the reader to 

 decide for himself as to which version of the stoiy he will 

 accept. 



