making them illegal. The difficulties of the Government were still further increased by a serious conflict which broke out in June between it and the Croats. The latter had been discontented at the working by the Hungarian Government of the nominally autonomous institutions provided for them by the arrangement concluded between the Magyars and the Croats in 1868 (ANNUAL REGISTER, 1903, p. 300), and when the Coalition was formed in Hungary in 1905 the Magyar leaders obtained the support of the Croats by promising to remedy their grievances, one of which was that the Magyar language was used instead of the Croatian on the Croatian railways. The refusal of the Hungarian Government to carry out this promise led to violent scenes in the Hungarian Parliament; the Croatian members insisted on addressing the House in their own language (a privilege conceded, though seldom used, in the Austrian Reichsrath) and leaving the House in a body when the Magyar members refused to listen to them. The conduct of the Government in this matter was in accordance with the policy pursued from the first by the Coalition, which, alarmed at the growing consciousness of power of the non-Magyar nationalities, had made one of its chief objects, as announced in a circular of the Ministry of Justice, " to strengthen the Magyar national idea" by making the use of the Magyar language compulsory in the whole of Hungary, though the language of more than half its inhabitants is not Magyar, but Roumanian, Croatian, Slovak, or German. As the Ban or Governor of Croatia, Count Peyacsevitch, espoused the cause of the Croatian members, he was obliged to resign, and M. Rakodczay, a strong supporter of Magyar predominance in Croatia, was appointed in his place. The Government Bill providing that Magyar shall be the official language on the Croatian railways was issued by Ministerial ordinance, notwithstanding the protests of the Croatian members in both Houses, and violent demonstrations against the Government and the new Ban were made in the Croatian capital. When the Croatian Diet met at Agram on December 12 motions were introduced to impeach the Ban and to declare the new railway service regulations null and void, upon which the Diet was at once dissolved. The labour leaders at the same time proclaimed a general strike as a demonstration in favour of manhood suffrage, and Socialist processions paraded the streets. The hostility of the Slavs of Hungary to the Magyar rule was still further increased by an affray between the Magyar police and the Slovak population at Csernova in October. The parish priest of that village had been sentenced to two years' imprisonment for having demanded that the Slovak language should be used in the schools and law courts, and the people had built a church for him, at their own cost, but they refused to allow it to be consecrated until he was set free. The Magyar bishop, however, sent another priest escorted by police to consecrate the church, and a struggle ensued between the people and

were

the police, who fired four volleys, killing eleven persons, among whom were five women and two children. This outrage naturally produced great indignation among the Slavs both in Hungary and in Austria. In Vienna the Czech deputies protested energetically against the persecution of their Slavonic brethren by the Magyars, and a similar protest was made by the Slovak deputies in the Hungarian Parliament, to which Count Andrassy, the Minister for Home Affairs, replied that the people of Csernova had committed "an act of rebellion against the State" and that "fanatics" and "agitators responsible for the consequences. A series of violent scenes, which continued during the rest of the session, followed between the Croatian and the Magyar deputies, the former insisting upon their right to speak in Croatian and obstructing the debates on the new customs and commercial treaty with Austria which had been adopted by the Governments of both halves of the Empire, and the Hungarian Premier, Dr. Wekerle, was consequently obliged to seek the assent of the Crown and of the Austrian Government to the promulgation of the treaty in Hungary by Government ordinance under special parliamentary authorisation, as had been done in Austria eight years before in consequence of the obstruction then prevailing in the Reichsrath. A Bill for this purpose was introduced in the Hungarian Parliament on November 22, and passed unanimously on December 13. In the Reichsrath the treaty was passed on December 17 against the votes of the Young Czechs, the Ruthenians and Croatians, and the Socialists, as the other parties had decided to accept it notwithstanding many objections which they expressed on political and economic grounds, Dr. Lueger, the bellicose leader of the Christian Socialists and burgomaster of Vienna, protesting against "the traitorous Judæo-Magyar clique which now rules Hungary." The debates were only interrupted by a scandalous demonstration of the Ruthenian members against the President, one of whom wrenched the lid off his desk and threw it at him, hitting, however, a Slovene member, who was carried out of the Chamber covered with blood. Thus under manhood suffrage the Reichsrath was able at last to carry a measure which the Government had for ten years fruitlessly striven to obtain from a Reichsrath elected under the old system of class representation. The contribution of Hungary to the joint expenses of the departments of War, Finance, and Foreign Affairs was raised from 344 to 364 per cent.; the old Customs and trade arrangements under the agreement of 1867 were superseded by a Customs and commercial treaty, each State possessing a separate Customs tariff which, however, under the treaties concluded with the other Powers must be identical until they expire in 1917; direct railway communication was to be established between Austria and Dalmatia; speculative time-bargains were to be abolished on the Stock Exchange at Buda-Pesth; and a court of arbitration was to be

created for the settlement of differences between the two halves of the Empire. The surtax on sugar passing from one country to the other was abolished, and it was agreed that Hungary shall be entitled to redeem her share of the old joint debt, originally bearing interest at 5 and now at 4-2 per cent., by capitalising its interest at the rate of 4 325 per cent., within the next ten years; if not redeemed within ten years the rate of capitalisation was to decrease annually by 1 per cent., until it reached the actual rate of 4.2 per cent. This arrangement, which was concluded for ten years, represented an economy of some 2,000,000l. for Hungary as compared with the original Austrian demand that the capitalisation be reckoned at 4-2 per cent. The new treaty was received with considerable misgiving in Hungary, where it was regarded as too advantageous to Austria; but it was felt that the Reichsrath being now in full working order, as obstruction had ceased and the Ministry was representative of the strongest parties, resistance would be useless. The Hungarian Opposition was also to some extent pacified by the introduction of Bills for "constitutional guarantees," one extending the competence of the supreme administrative court and another sanctioning the creation of a special court for the adjudication of conflicts between civil and military authorities.

The Hungarian Estimates for 1908, together with a series of Bills for the reform of direct -taxation, were introduced by Dr. Wekerle in the Chamber on October 22. Ordinary revenue was estimated at 53,317,9227., an excess of 1,722,5171. over ordinary expenditure, but extraordinary expenditure for Public Works, etc., was estimated to reduce this surplus to 9201. Several categories of existing taxes were to be merged into a general income tax, to which all incomes above 251. a year would be liable. Beyond this minimum of 251. taxation was to rise progressively from one-fifth per cent. to 5 per cent. The maximum rate of 5 per cent. was to apply to comparatively low incomes. Foreigners were to be subject to the tax after twelve months' residence. Hungarian citizens who have no permanent residence in Hungary, or who do not reside in the country for at least four months of the year, were to be taxed at double ratesa provision directed against absentee landlordism. In explanation of this measure Dr. Wekerle said that it had been urged upon the Government by forty-two of the sixty-three county administrations, as the acquisition of landed property in Hungary by foreigners had increased at such a rate that nearly 2,000,000 acres were already in foreign hands.

Previous assurances of the friendly relations between AustriaHungary and the other Powers were accentuated during the summer at meetings between their official representatives. After the meeting between Baron von Aehrenthal, the AustroHungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Sgr. Tittoni at Desio in July, the former stated to the representative of the Neue Freie Presse that Italy and Austria-Hungary "are agreed in every

respect and in view of every eventuality," and that "the principle of the maintenance of equilibrium and of the status quo guides Austro-Italian policy.' The Pan-Germans in Austria did their best to disturb the good feeling produced by this agreement by making demonstrations against the Italians in the Trentino, but fortunately without success. An official communique was also issued in August relative to the meeting of King Edward and the Emperor Francis Joseph in that month at Ischl, in which it was stated that the representatives of the British and Austro-Hungarian Foreign Offices both recognised "that the reforms introduced in the Macedonian vilayets by the entente Powers with the support of the other Powers are in full agreement with the most recent declarations of the British Cabinet," and that "a similar identity of views was also apparent as regards the question of the proposals to be made to the Sublime Porte and that of the manner in which the Macedonian band-organisation should be judged and dealt with." These understandings with Italy and England were viewed with considerable favour in the Austrian and Hungarian Press as enabling Austria-Hungary to assume a more independent attitude with regard to Germany, and saving her from the somewhat humiliating position in which she was placed by the Emperor William having described her as "a brilliant second" to Germany at Algeciras (ANNUAL REGISTER, 1906, p. 304). The Triple Alliance had now lost much of its practical importance, and among the Slavonic populations of the Empire, which formed the majority, there was a strong tendency to withdraw from it. In the Austro-Hungarian delegations which met on December 20, Dr. Glombinski, the President of the Polish Club, announced that the Polish delegates would grant provisional supply in the hope that it might enable the Monarchy not only to preserve peace and its own independence, but also to support abroad as well as at home, the principles of justice, Christian civilisation, and equality of races, and to be "entirely free and untrammelled in the choice of her allies, so that she may conclude in future only such alliances as are calculated to increase her power abroad, to strengthen her policy of justice and interracial equality at home, and always to be conscious of her power energetically to secure the observance of the rights guaranteed to her subjects by international treaty." The Prussian Bill for the expropriation of the Poles would be the violation of the Treaty of Vienna, which in the second section of Clause 1 guaranteed to the Poles in Russia, Austria, and Prussia "national representation and national institutions," in Clause 14 complete freedom of movement, and in Clause 20 "the most liberal safe-guarding of their property and their interests," and the Poles were entitled to appeal to Austria and to other signatories of the Treaty to see that these clauses are respected by Prussia. Dr. Kramarz, the leader of the Czechs, spoke in the same sense.

The Estimates for 1908 for the common expenses of the

Empire amounted to 16,122,000l., an increase of 863,6667., as compared with the Estimates for 1907. One-third of this increase was required for the Army and nearly two-thirds for the Navy. The Estimates included a further instalment of 616,6001. for the renewal of the field artillery-part of the total credit of 6,700,000. voted for this purpose in 1904.

At the opening of the Delegations the Emperor, who had been seriously ill, made his first public appearance since his recovery. The day of the opening was the fortieth anniversary of the Constitution which established the Dual Monarchy, and the Emperor was warmly congratulated on the occasion by the citizens of Vienna. In his speech to the delegations he emphatically expressed his belief that the tension in the relations between the European Powers which had existed during the past few years was gradually disappearing in view of the general desire for peace.

CHAPTER III.

RUSSIA, TURKEY, AND THE MINOR STATES OF EASTERN

EUROPE.

I. RUSSIA.

ASSASSINATION, political proscription, robbery and incendiarism, characterised the year 1907 in Russia as they had its predecessors since the Japanese War. The year began with the assassination of the Prefect of St. Petersburg. Afterward scarcely a day passed without the announcement of a murder, the plundering of Government property, or the burning by peasants of houses and woods of landowners. The preliminary elections for the second Duma began on January 21, but the final elections were fixed by Imperial ukase for various dates from February 19 to March 1. An Imperial rescript addressed to the Premier, M. Stolypin, making him a member of the Council of State, laid stress on the necessity of co-operation between the two Legislatures and the Government as a pledge of the establishment of a lawful order of things. This gave some hope of the adoption of a more lenient policy towards the Liberal parties, but the police continued to obstruct public meetings organised by the Constitutional Democrats, and to impede their efforts at electoral agitation, notwithstanding a circular from M. Stolypin, directing the authorities "not to interfere in party strife or exert pressure upon elections" and to refrain from undue interference with electoral meetings. The same circular declared it to be the intention of the Government to "treat with full respect the rights of the Imperial Duma in the domain of legislation, the Budget and interpellation," and "steadfastly to adhere in all its acts to the existing laws," adding that its legislative pro