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 constitutional 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 affairs common to both monarchies-viz., foreign relations, military and naval affairs, with the exception of the national territorial armies, common finance, commercial and railroad affairs concerning both monarchies, the customs tariff, the coinage, and the administration of the occupied provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina-is exercised by committees of the legislative bodies of both monarchies. These committees, which are called the Delegations, meet alternately in Vienna and Buda-Pesth, the two capitals. They are composed of 20 members elected annually by each of the two upper houses and 40 from each of the lower houses. The Austrian and Hungarian Delegations meet and vote separately, and in case of disagreement they decide the question by a joint vote. The common ministers 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 he was crowned King of Hungary on June 8, 1867, when the ancient constitutional rights of that monarchy were restored. The heir apparent is the Emperor-King's nephew, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, born April 21, 1865, son of the late Archduke Karl Ludwig and the Princess Annunciata, daughter of the former King of Naples. The ministers for the whole monarchy at the beginning of 1900 were as follow: Minister of Foreign Affairs and of the Imperial House, Graf Agenor Maria Adam Goluchowski; Common Minister of War, Gen. Edmund, Freiherr von Krieg hammer; Common Minister of Finance, Benjamin de Kallay. The Common Budget. The cost of the administration of common affairs is borne by the two halves of the monarchy in proportions settled by an agreement between the Austrian Reichsrath and the Hungarian Parliament. The ten years' Ausgleich, as the agreement is called, was not renewed when the last period expired in 1897, and pending negotiations for a new one the provisions of the last Ausgleich were continued as a modus ricendi. A compromise was reached in November, 1899, in accordance with which Hungary will pay 34.4 per cent. of the common expenditure and Austria 65.6 per cent. The Hungarian quota is 3 per cent. more than under the old Ausgleich, and the duties paid by Hungary are reduced in the new commercial treaty so that the burden is about the same in proportion as before. The compromise will run till Jan. 1, 1910, or three years longer than the treaty. Hungary pays her share of the interest and sinking fund of the debt of the empire contracted prior to 1868. Since then no common debt has been contracted except the paper currency, which is guaranteed jointly. The common expenditure in 1897 was 171,285,000 florins, of which 62,267,000 florins were receipts from customs and the contributions of Austria and Hungary were 74,786,000 and 34,232,000 florins respectively. The preliminary accounts for 1898 make the total revenue and expenditure 180,541,000 florins, of which 71,147,000 florins came from customs and the two monarchies contributed respectively 75,044,000 and 34,350,000 florins. According to the sanctioned estimates for 1899, the total was 156,857,000 florins, 57,139,000 florins being derived from customs, 75,952,000 florins from the Austrian and 34,766,000 florins from the Hungarian contribution. The budget estimate for 1900 was 172,324,750 florins, customs yielding 62,475,045 florins; receipts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 181,047 florins; Ministry of War and Marine, 4,450,389 florins; Ministry of Finance, 40,556 florins; Board of Control, 6,367 florins; contributions of the two halves of the monarchy, 105,171,352 florins. The expenditure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is 5,059,618 florins, 4,958,471 florins for ordinary and 101,147 florins for extraordinary purposes; for the army, 145,280,352 florins, 134,593,088 florins for ordinary and 10,687,264 florins for extraordinary purposes; for the navy, 19,733,250 florins, 12,778,025 florins for ordinary and 6,955,225 florins for extraordinary purposes; Ministry of Finance, 2,102,300 florins; Board of Control, 149,230 florins Of the general debt, contracted before Dec. 24, 1867, the amount outstanding in July, 1899, was 2,722,549,875 florins. The annual payments for interest and amortization amounted to 126,274,590 florins, of which 95,963,877 florins fell to the share of Austria and 30,310,713 florins to the share of Hungary. The floating debt amounted to 162,163,201 florins, of which 112,680,650 florins represent paper money guaranteed by both monarchies, 14,480,951 florins Austrian paper money, and 35,001,600 florins Austrian salt mine obligations. The revenue of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 1900 was estimated at 20,827,440 florins, and expenditure at 20,763,184 florins. The Army. The common army is organized in 15 army corps of 2 divisions, or 4 brigades, of infantry, I brigade of cavalry, 1 brigade of artillery, and 1 section of train. The common army has a supplementary reserve, to which young men not drawn for three years' active service are transferred. The Austrian Landwehr and the Hungarian Honved, constituting the special national armies of the two monarchies, have also their supplementary or Ersatz troops, which are drafted into the respective armies in case of war. Young men who have received a gymnasium education are required to serve only one year in any of the armies. The annual recruit for the common army is 103,100 men, of which number Austria supplies 59,211 and Hungary 43,899. For the Austrian Landwehr the yearly contingent is 10,000; for the Honved, 12,500. The total peace strength of the military forces in 1899 was 26,454 officers and 335,239 men, of whom 3,597 officers and 2,736 men were attached to the general staff, 1,697 officers and 7,153 men were serving in military establishments, 10,447 officers and 178,138 men belonged to the infantry of the common army, 1,890 officers and 45,906 men to the cavalry, 1,647 officers and 25,586 men to the field artillery, 422 officers and 7,786 men to the fortress artillery, 584 officers and 9,935 men to the pioneers, 79 officers and 2,964 men to the sanitary troops, 417 officers and 3,309 men to the train, 2,415 officers and 22,949 men to the Landwehr infantry, 246 officers and 2,119 men to the cavalry of the Landwehr, 2,587 officers and 22,312 men to the Honved infantry, and 426 officers and 4,346 men to the Honved cavalry; total, 361,693 officers and men, with 63,382 horses and 1,048 guns. The war strength of the Austro-Hungarian army is 45,238 officers and 1,826,940 men, with 281,886 horses and 1,864 field guns. The general levy or Landsturm is estimated at 4,000,000 men. Military service in the national armies, as well as in the common army, begins at the age of twentyone, and in the common army lasts ten years, viz., three years in the line and seven years in the re- leather gloves and shoes, 24,178,000 florins; cattle, 18,506,000 florins; horses, 17,467,000 florins; colored glassware, 11,006,000 florins; bed feathers, 9,295,000 florins; woolens, 8,801,000 florins; cask staves, 8,671,000 florins; hops, 7,870,000 florins; beans, 7,301,000 florins; beer in casks, 6,997,000 florins; fowls, 6,990,000 florins; coal, 6,719,000 florins. The distribution of the special commerce in 1898 is shown in the following table, giving the imports from and the exports of domestic merchandise to the principal countries, in Austrian florins: COUNTRIES. Germany Russia United States. The Navy. The Austro-Hungarian navy, which is kept in a high state of efficiency for defensive purposes, will consist when completed of 15 armor clads of 6,000 to 9,000 tons, 7 cruisers of 4,000 to 7,000 tons, 7 third-class cruisers of 1,500 to 2,500 tons, 15 torpedo gunboats, and 90 torpedo craft of various sizes, exclusive of the monitors and torpedo boats kept in the Danube. The ships already built include 8 armor clads, 2 armored cruisers, 3 second-class and 8 third-class cruisers, 19 coast-defense vessels, and 32 first-class, 31 second-class, and 8 third-class torpedo boats. There were building on Jan. 1, 1900, 2 first-class battle ships of 8,300 tons and 2 second-class cruisers. The most powerful vessels previously constructed Belgium are the Monarch, Wien, and Budapest, of 5,600 tons, with Harveyized steel side armor 10.6 inches thick and gun protection, the armament consisting of 4 9.4-inch guns, 6 quick-firing 5.9-inch guns, and 14 small quick firers. The armored cruiser Karl VI, of 6,100 tons, has armor of the same thickness and carries 2 9.4-inch guns, 8 quick-firing 5.9-inch guns, and 18 small quick firers, and is capable of steaming 20 knots, while the new battle ships can make 17 knots. Turkey Brazil.. Greece. The imports of precious metals in 1898 were 23,469,000 florins; exports, 60,956,000 florins. In Austria about half the people are engaged in agriculture. Rye, barley, oats, potatoes, beets, Navigation. The number of vessels entered at pulse, maize, and buckwheat are the principal the ports of Austria during 1897 was 105,146, of crops. The vineyards produced 4,224,000 hectoli12,134,468 tons; cleared, 104,962, of 12,123,554 tres of wine in 1898. The production of coal in 1898 tons. Of the vessels, 88 per cent. were Austrian; was 41,142,000 florins in value; of lignite, 43,493,000 of the tonnage, 90 per cent. was Austrian. At florins; of pig iron, 34,303,000 florins; of lead, Hungarian ports, 19,190 vessels, of 2,016,484 tons, 1.790,000 florins; of quicksilver, 1,149,000 florins; were entered and 19,174, of 2,012,945 tons, cleared of zinc, 1,759,000 florins; of silver, 1,885,000 florins; during 1898. Of the vessels 83 per cent. and of of copper, 628,000 florins. The total value of minthe tonnage 63 per cent. were Hungarian. erals raised was 94,870,874 florins; of metals extracted, 42,453,595 florins. There were 9,827,508 hectares under forest, of which 6,828,415 hectares are pine. The breweries produced 9,060,498 hectolitres of beer in 1897, the distilleries 1,373,831 hectolitres of alcohol. The Austrian shipping on Jan. 1, 1898, comprised 189 merchant vessels engaged in ocean commerce, of 168,038 tons; 1,452 coasting vessels, of 21,085 tons; and 10,033 fishing and other vessels, of 21,423 tons; total, 11,674 vessels, of 210,546 tons, of which 175, of 142,310 tons, were steamers. The Hungarian merchant navy on Jan. 1, 1899, numbered 66 ocean-going vessels, of 56,889 tons; 158 coasting vessels, of 5,456 tons; and 277 fishing craft, of 432 tons; total, 501 vessels, of 62,777 tons, of which 69 were steamers, of 43,869 tons. Commerce and Production. The total value of the special imports into the Austro-Hungarian customs territory, in which Bosnia and Herzego vina are included, amounted in 1899 to 790,300,000 florins, and the total value of exports was 928, 400,000 florins. In 1898 the total for imports was 819,800,000 florins; exports, 928,400,000 florins. The chief imports in 1898 were cotton, of the value of 52,814,000 florins; coal, 40,552,000 florins; wool, 39,400,000 florins; maize, 30,178,000 florins; tobacco, 25,556,000 florins; coffee, 22,468,000 florins; silk, raw and manufactured, 21,682,000 florins; wheat, 19,840,000 florins; wine in casks, 17,406,000 florins; flax and jute, 16,991,000 florins; rye, 15,501,000 florins; eggs, 14,153,000 florins; books and prints, 13,212,000 florins; copper, 11, 765,000 florins; machinery, 9,132,000 florins; tallow, 8,263,000 florins; hides and skins, 7,693,000 florins; hogs, 6,464,000 florins. The chief exports were lumber and wood manufactures, of the value of 76,754,000 florins; sugar, 67,056,000 florins; eggs, 39,998,000 florins: barley, 30,204,000 florins; lignite, 29,373,000 florins; malt, 24,288,000 florins; Of the Hungarian people, 62 per cent. are employed in the cultivation of the soil. Wheat, maize, rye, barley, pulse, and potatoes are the principal crops. The forest area is 7,515,490 hectares, of which 3,714,590 hectares are beech woods, 2,082,834 hectares oak, and 1,718,066 hectares pine. The value of the mineral products in 1898 was 26,027,981 florins, of which 14,022,406 florins represent lignite, 6,569,194 florins coal, and 4,527,387 florins iron ore. The smelted metals were valued at 26,027,981 florins, 18,676,019 florins representing pig iron, 4,538,524 florins gold, which is found associated with silver, lead, and copper, and 1,104,513 florins silver. The special commerce of Hungary for 1898 amounted to 597,169,000 florins for imports and 551,895,000 florins for exports. The chief imports are cottons, woolens, clothing, silks, wine, sugar, and coffee. The grain exported was valued at 97,470,000 florins; flour, 82,925,000 florins; live animals, 69,965,000 florins; timber and forest products, 39,057,777 florins; wine, 15,177,000 florins; eggs, 11,278,000 florins; wool, 7,750,000 florins; cask staves, 6,804,000 florins Of the total imports, raw materials constituted 26 per cent., and of the exports, 58 per cent. From Austria came 75 per cent. of the imports, and 74 per cent. of the exports were shipped to Austria. Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. The state railroads of Austria had in 1898 a total length of 4,700 miles; lines belonging to companies and operated by the Government, 1,260 miles; lines owned and operated by companies, 4,862 miles; total length, 10,822 miles. The total capital expenditure was £231,522,000 sterling. The number of passengers carried in 1897 was 118,638,000; tons of freight, 103,271,000; receipts, 278,053,000 florins; expenses, 172,434,000 florins. The state railroad lines in Hungary had on Jan. 1, 1899, a length of 4,876 miles; companies' lines operated by the Government, 3,439 miles; lines owned and worked by companies, 1,822 miles; total length, 10,137 miles. The total capital expenditure was £107,306,000 sterling; number of passengers carried in 1898, 60,312,000; tons of freight, 38,624,000; receipts, £10,576,000 sterling; expenses, £5,730,000 sterling. The Austrian post office in 1898 carried 876,556,080 letters and postal cards, 122,886,840 samples and books, and 97,400,800 newspapers. The Hungarian postal traffic in 1898 was 250,802,000 letters and postal cards, 41,096,000 samples and book packets, 18,964,000 money and postal orders of the aggregate amount of £43,382,000 sterling, 18,155,000 parcels and money letters, and 108,752,000 newspapers. The telegraph lines of the Austrian Government had in 1898 a total length of 32,363 miles, with 96,580 miles of wire. The number of messages sent during 1898 was 14,158,226. The length of telephone wires was 64,380 miles. The postal and telegraph receipts amounted to £44,650,851 sterling; expenses, 40,705,717 florins. The Hungarian Government lines had a total length of 13,675 miles, with 66,689 miles of wire; number of messages, 13,583,618. The length of telephone wires was 20,361 miles. The postal and telegraph receipts in 1898 were £1,706,300 sterling; expenses, £1,274,700. Austria. The legislative authority for the empire is vested in the Reichsrath, but each province possesses a large measure of autonomy and has a Landtag, or Diet, to legislate on all matters not reserved by the Constitution for the Reichsrath. The upper house of the Reichsrath is the Herrenhaus, composed of 19 archdukes, 67 hereditary territorial nobles, 10 archbishops, 8 prince bishops, and 136 life members nominated by the Emperor for distinguished services or eminence in the arts or sciences. The lower house is the Abgeordnetenhaus, containing 85 representatives of the landed proprietors, 118 representatives of boroughs and cities, 21 representatives of chambers of commerce and industry, 129 representatives of rural districts elected indirectly by the peasants and small proprietors, and 72 members elected directly by the people; total, 425 members. All males over twenty-four years of age who pay 4 florins in direct taxes or possess educational or other qualifications are entitled to vote directly for Deputies in the towns and in the rural constituencies for electors who choose the Deputies, each elector representing 500 individual voters. The Austrian Ministry in the beginning of 1900, constituted Oct. 2, 1899, consisted of the following members: President of the Council and Minister of Agriculture, Graf Clary und Aldringen; Minister of National Defense, Graf Zeno Welser von Welsersheimb; Minister of Railroads, Ritter von Wittek; Minister of the Interior, Dr. E. von Körber; Minister of Justice, Eduard Ritter von Kindinger; Minister of Worship and Education, Dr. W. Ritter von Hartel; Minister of Finance, Dr. S. Kniazolucki; Minister of Commerce, Dr. Friedrich Stibral; without portfolio, Dr. C. Ritter von Chiedowski. Area and Population.-The area of Austria is 115,903 square miles. The population at the cen VOL. XL. 4 A sus of Dec. 31, 1890, was 23,895,413. The number of marriages in 1898 was 199,723; of births, 949,398; of deaths, 635,341. The number of emigrants from both Austria and Hungary in 1897 was 37,224, of whom 32,033 were destined for North America, 3,166 for Brazil, and 1,485 for the Argentine Republic. In 1898 the Austrian immigration into the United States was 23,138; in 1899 it was 41,571. Vienna, the capital, contained 1,364,548 inhabitants at the last census. Finances.-The revenue of the Austrian Government in 1897 was 908,397,000 florins and the expenditure 868,214,000 florins. For 1899 the revenue was estimated at 1,521,509,668 crowns, or half florins, and the expenditure at 1,520,573,586 crowns. For 1900 the estimate of revenue was 1,585,811,822 crowns, credited to the following Sources: Reichsrath and Council of Ministers, 1,523,200 crowns; Ministry of the Interior, 2,866,042 crowns; Ministry of Defense, 852,812 crowns; Ministry of Worship and Education, 13,964,068 crowns; Ministry of Finance, 1,140,780,938 crowns; Ministry of Commerce, 111,489,840 crowns; Ministry of Railroads, 272,528,500 crowns; Ministry of Agriculture, 31,708,654 crowns; Ministry of Justice, 2,211,538 crowns; pensions, 2,824,880 crowns; subventions and dotations, 667,600 crowns; imperial debt, 2,417,180 crowns; debt administration, 19,600 crowns; sales of state property, 311,000 crowns; payment by Lombard railroads, 1,646,000 crowns. The estimated expenditures for 1900 were 1,586,403,933 crowns in the aggregate, distributed under various heads as follows: Imperial household, 9,300,000 crowns; imperial chancery, 160,183 crowns; Reichsrath, 2,601,602 crowns; Supreme Court, 48,884 crowns; Council of Ministers, 2,748,222 crowns; Austria's contribution to common expenditure, 260,831,992 crowns; Ministry of the Interior, 60,618,070 crowns; Ministry of Defense, 54,174,542 crowns; Ministry of Worship and Education, 75,275,182 crowns; Ministry of Finance, 258,705,876 crowns; Ministry of Commerce, 111, 617,470 crowns; Ministry of Railroads, 228,399,460 crowns; Ministry of Agriculture, 40,167,435 crowns; Board of Control, 416,000 crowns; pensions, 53,243,556 crowns; subventions and dotations, 15,484,250 crowns; imperial debt, 344,030,004 crowns; debt administration, 1,557,040 crowns. The extraordinary expenditure for permanent purposes in 1900 was estimated at 67,829,400 crowns, of which only 1,149,100 crowns were on hand, leaving 66,680,300 crowns to be raised by a loan at 3 or 4 per cent. The Austrian imperial debt on June 30, 1899, amounted to 1,612,637,421 florins, not including a floating debt of 15,164,567 florins. The annual charge for interest and amortization was 74,796,806 florins. Political Affairs.-The disturbances incident to the conflict between the Germans and the Czechs in the autumn of 1899 led to the retirement of the Thun ministry and the formation of a Ministry of Affairs under Graf Clary, who in turn resigned in order to let Dr. Wittek form a Cabinet with the special mission of carrying out by imperial decrees in virtue of the fourteenth article in the Constitution those measures of urgent state necessity that could not be got through the Reichsrath. The Emperor warned Dr. Stransky and other Czech leaders that popular agitation must cease and threatened to proclaim a state of siege. The Czechs demanded that their language be used in commanding Bohemian regiments, but the Emperor made it clear to them that the language of the army must remain German. Bohemian soldiers who answered the roll call in their native tongue were severely punished. On Jan. 19 a new ministry was formed assumed 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 compromise on the language question, but this minority repudiated the agreement, and in the next elections they routed the moderate party and reduced the compromise to a dead letter. With the 4gulden franchise in force, the ministry of Dr. Körber 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 violent and uncompromising than before, which would compel a new dissolution and probably the restriction 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. Körber introduced two language bills, one for Bohemia and one for Moravia, which met with an indifferent approval from the Germans, but were rejected without hesitation by the Czechs. The Prime Minister called attention to the financial difficulties of the country. The surpluses which former ministers obtained by means of fresh taxes had fallen off, while the cost of administration had risen, and the expenditure for common affairs, particularly for the army, had largely increased. The stagnation of the empire at a period when other states were progressing 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 Austria and was gratifying only to the enemies of Austria. Dr. Pacak, one of the Czech leaders, announced the intention of his party to resort to Czechs believing it to be outside of the constitutional 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 the German Clericals who have at other times been their allies. When the Reichsrath reassembled, after a recess on June 6, the obstruction was resumed. 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 authoritative 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 Czechs resorted to more violent obstruction to prevent an amendment 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 with the mission of seeking a working compromise between the conflicting nationalities. It was composed as follows: President of the Council and Minister of the Interior, Dr. Körber; Minister of Railroads, Dr. von Wittek; Minister of Finance, Dr. Böhm von Bawerk; Minister of National Defense, Field-Marshal Graf Zeno von Welsersheimb; Minister of Agriculture, Councilor Giovanelli; Minister of Justice, Baron Sprens von Booden; Minister of Commerce, Baron Call von KulmbachRosenburg; Minister of Public Instruction and Worship, Dr. von Hartel; without portfolios, Dr. Rezek 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 Cabinet took office a conference of representatives of the two nationalities was summoned to discuss a project submitted by the Government as the basis of an agreement. The Reichsrath reassembled on Feb. 22 before the nationality conference had led to any definite result. The Young Czechs determined to continue their obstructionist tactics, reserving for themselves the proper moment 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 Clericals 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 nationalities were in agreement. Whether the conference reached a settlement of the language question or failed to reach one, the Government was determined to bring in a bill on the subject. In the economic field the Government proposed the construction 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 obstruction to prevent the passage of the bills, 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 impelled the Social Democrats and some of the German 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 resumption 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 monarchy. The promotion of manufactures and exports is a subject that has engaged the attention of Austrian statesmen in recent years, and proposals for sending colonists as well as commercial agents to Turkish dominions and to Africa, and even of seeking spheres of influence in China and elsewhere, have been put forward. While excelling Germany and England and rivaling France in some classes of fine handiwork of artistic quality, Austria has been far outstripped by Germany in wholesale production by machinery, although possessing all the natural resources and 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 the result that the Prime Minister announced the close of the session. With its ending the parliamentary immunity of members for any excess of language in political manifestations was suspended. The most influential of the Young Czech leaders disclaimed any ambition to make Bohemia a completely autonomous state, but insisted that the Czech nationality should be preserved not alone in the interests of justice, but in that also of the preservation of Austria; for if the empire were to become a German state its absorption by Germany would eventually become inevitable; on the other hand, the oppression of German Austrians would lead to a conflict with the powerful German Empire. A restricted autonomy was therefore desirable, by which each nationality would be able to promote the material strength of the empire by its own free national and economic development, and such a solution should be the result of a compromise between the two nationalities. In the Austrian Delegation the Czech representatives vehemently assailed the foreign policy of Graf Goluchowski in an unprecedented manner, and called in question the strength and durability of the triple alliance and its value to Austria, as they had done before. The ministers assured them that the alliance, which was purely for peace and defense, is as substantial as it was twenty years ago; that Italy was not tired of it or ruined by it; and that a story of Austria having proposed to annex Bosnia and Herzegovina definitely and of Italy's having threatened in that event to occupy Albania was void of foundation. Hungary. The Hungarian Parliament legislates for Hungary, and in matters of common concern for Croatia and Slavonia also, but for provincial affairs they have their separate Diet of 90 members elected for five years. The Hungarian Parliament consists of two chambersthe House of Magnates and the House of Representatives. The upper house is made up of 18 archdukes, 44 archbishops, bishops, and other Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic dignitaries, 12 ecclesiastical and lay representatives of the Calvinistic and Lutheran confessions, 226 Hungarian princes, counts, and barons who pay a minimum land tax of 3,000 florins, 17 judges and other official members, 77 life peers nominated by the King or elected by the House of Magnates, and 3 delegates of Croatia-Slavonia. To entitle a citizen to vote for members of the lower house a low tax qualification is necessary, excepting for the professional and learned classes. One out of every 18 persons has a vote. The House of Representatives contains 453 members, including 40 delegates of Croatia and Slavonia. The Cabinet of Ministers in the beginning of 1900, constituted Feb. 26, 1899, was composed of the following members: President of the Council, Coloman de Szell; Minister of Finance, Dr. Ladislaus de Lukacs: Minister of National Defense, Baron Geza Fejervary; Minister near the King, Count Emanuel Szecheny; Minister of the Interior ad interim, Coloman de Szell; Minister of Education and Worship, Dr. Julius de Wlassics; Minister of Justice, Dr. Alexander Plosz; Minister of Industry and Commerce, Alexander de Hegedus: Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Ignatius de Daranyi; Minister for Croatia and Slavonia, Ervin de Cseh. Area and Population. The area of Hungary, including Croatia and Slavonia, is 125,039 square miles, with a population at the census of Dec. 31, 1890, of 17,463,791. The estimated population on Dec. 31, 1898, was 18,953,000. The number of marriages in 1898 was 156,208; of births, 738,467; of deaths, 540,207; excess of births, 198,260. BudaPesth, the capital, had 505,763 inhabitants in 1890. The immigration of Hungarians into the United States in 1898 was 16,662, and in 1899 it was 20,920. Finances. The revenue of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1898 was 526,498,000 florins, of which sum 509,185,000 florins represent the ordinary revenue and 17,313,000 florins transitory and extraordinary receipts. The total expenditure was 524,442,000 florins, of which 452,370,000 florins were the ordinary expenditures of the Government, 15,828,000 florins an extraordinary contribution to common expenditure, 11,825,000 florins transitory expenditures, and 44,419,000 florins permanent investments. The budget estimate of revenue for 1900 was 527,256,702 florins, including 31,394,381 florins of extraordinary receipts. The ordinary revenue was estimated at 495,862,321 florins, derived from the following sources: State debts, 1,413,918 florins; Ministry ad latus, 1,000 florins; Ministry of the Interior, 3,869,699 florins; Ministry of Finance, 338,277,023 florins; Ministry of Commerce, 129,787,018 florins; Ministry of Agriculture, 18,912,346 florins; Ministry of Education and Worship, 2,305,498 florins; Ministry of Justice, 922,331 florins; Ministry of Defense, 373,488 florins. The ordinary expenditure for 1900 was estimated to amount to 474,468,628 florins; transitory expenditure, 24,381,304 florins; investments, 27,490,978 florins; total expenditure, 526,340,910 florins. Of the ordinary expenditure, 4,650,000 florins were the civil list; the Cabinet chancery required 80,091 florins; Parliament, 1,765,876 florins; Hungarian quota of common expenditure, 28,318,076 florins; common pensions, 22,135 florins; Hungarian pensions, 9,520,475 florins; national debt, 129,226,866 florins; debts of guaranteed railroads expropriated by the Government, 13,682,955 florins; guaranteed railroad interest, 201,502 florins; loans of separate ministries, 4,085,900 florins; administration of Croatia-Slavonia, 8,478,071 florins; Accountant General's office, 164,185 florins; administration of courts, 277,218 florins; MinisterPresidency, 492,390 florins; Ministry ad latus, 68,951 florins; Ministry for Croatia, 45,430 florins; Ministry of the Interior, 20,430,357 florins; Ministry of Finance, 91,373,655 florins; Ministry of Commerce, 90,392,059 florins; Ministry of Agriculture, 21,235,030 florins; Ministry of Instruction and Worship, 14,705,026 florins; Ministry of Justice, 17,991,727 florins; Ministry of National Defense, 17,260,653 florins. The public debt of Hungary in 1898 amounted to 2,444,838,000 florins, of which 1,089,033,000 florins were consolidated debt, 1,054,098,000 florins the capitalized value of annuities, 12,734,000 florins treasury bonds, 69,880,000 florins debts of separate ministries, and 219,093,000 florins arrears unpaid. Political Affairs.-The Liberal party in the Hungarian Parliament was re-enforced in 1900 by a coalition with the National party, reducing the Opposition almost to insignificance. Baron Banffy, the former Prime Minister, tried to create a separate group of his own within the Liberal party, but without success. |