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The Dominion WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1916. A SIGNIFICANT CRIME

One political assassination, that of the Austrian heir-apparent and his wife at Sarajevo, in June, 1914, has already/taken a permanent placo in the history of this war. It is the event upon which the influences centred' that were destined soon afterwards to set all Europe, and more than Europe, in a blaze. It isa far cry from the Serajevo crime to tho murder of Count Stuergkh, the Austrian Premier, in Vienna, the other day, and yet this later event may bo fated also to stand as one .of the milestones of the war. As in the case of the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his consort, conflicting explanations arc offered. One theory is that the murder of Count . Stuergkh was tho act of a. madman and.;.that it was of no political significance, but as much was said of tho tragedy at Serajevo, which brought antagonism between Slav and Teuton to a head. On tho whole, those who are in tho best position to weigh the facts seem to incline to' tho opinion that the rei cent crime in Vienna was essentially ■ 9f a political character, and that it is a symptom of the seething discontent and disunion .in the Dual Monarchy, which have been kept in check only by tho extreme rigour of an iron despotism. Any attempt to , completely penetrate the complexities of Austro-Hungarian politics at the present time is hopeless, but it will be noticed that recent reports mention not only the general mass of discontent, of which the assassination of the other day may be-re-garded as symptomatic, but emphasise the fact that Hungarian nationalism and Hungarian grievances bulk largo and tend to heavily accentuate tho internal problems by which the Government of the Dual Monarchy is faced. It is regarded as significant that the Hungarian Opposition has lately been demanding the reopening of the Austrian Reichsrath, and that the position is regarded as critical, because in 1917 the "Ausgleich," the agreement formulated- every ten years by Austrian and Hungarian Parliamentary delegations in regard to affairs of finance, commerce, defence, and so forth, falls due for , renewal. Whether or not the assas- , sination at .Vienna is tho outcome of a Hungarian conspiracy, it is tolerably certain that the internal affairs of the Dual Monarchy are at .a most critical pass. Even before the war strife ran high between the two main divisions of its population. The renewal of tho "Ausgleich" has invariably been an occasion for long-continued and embittered controversy, often threatening complete deadlock, and ending' as a rule in a patched-up settlement satisfactory to neither of the contending parties. It has been said that the agreement of 1907, which expires next year, was but a truce in the battle between two irreconcilable principles; between Magyar nationalism, determined to maintain its ascendancy in an independent Hungary, and Hapsburg imperialism, equally determined to preserve the economic and military unity of the Dual Monarchy. The renewal of the agreement next year on the basis of a better and more stable understanding would have been an extremely difficult thing to achieve in any case. As matters stand, a hopeless breach between the Austrians and Magyars seems much moro likely than a firm agreement. Riven alreacly by internal dissensions, the Dual Monarchy has suffered terribly in the war. Defeat has becomo its accustomed portion, and there is no reason to doubt the general accuracy of some figures published the other day, which indicate that, while the demands of the war are steadily rising, Austria-J Hungary is now almost at an end of its reserves, and is to the bad also in that tho men now embodied in its armies are much inferior in physical efficiency to those who took the field two years ago. Apart from tho fact that it has suffered more heavily in the war, the factor which distinguishes the Dual Monarchy from Germany is the factor of race. The people of Germany are not by any means of uniform type, but they are marked by a common tendency to yield to the dictates of despotism. Even in Germany, there have been some indications of a restive spirit under the calamities of war, and nothing is moro certain, than that

the spirit of revolt must be much more widespread in the infinitely less homogeneous and united Dual Monarchy. The Dual Monarchy has suffered more, and it is a ramshackle agglomeration of hostile nationalities, who are not, and never have been, willing to pull together and do as they are told, but by their jealousies and quarrels weaken the imperial structure in which they have a common interest. In a word, Austria-Hungary is fast in the grip of internal and external forces which make for disintegration. Just how far the process has advanced we do not- know, but a hopeful prospect ahead for the Entente Powers is the possible collapse at no distant date of Austria-Hungary, and a consequent dislocation of the whole German plan of campaign. The opinion is strongly, held in certain military and political circles that the speediest road to the end of the war is tho disruption of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19161025.2.15

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2911, 25 October 1916, Page 4

Word count
Tapeke kupu
865

The Dominion WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1916. A SIGNIFICANT CRIME Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2911, 25 October 1916, Page 4

The Dominion WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1916. A SIGNIFICANT CRIME Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2911, 25 October 1916, Page 4

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