The Daily News. FRIDAY, JULY 31, 1914. AUSTRIA'S PROBLEM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 60, 31 July 1914, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, JULY 31, 1914. AUSTRIA'S PROBLEM.

.ustria-Hungary is a country different /rora all countries in the world, inasmuch as she harbors the most varied conglomeration of races any modern empire has ever seen, says the "Round Table." "This holds good of her Western half, Austria, as well as her Eastern half, Hungary. Of the 26,000,000 inhabitants of Austria counted in 1900, 1,000,000 were Germans, about 1.000,000 [ltalians and Roumanians) were of Latin stock, while the remainder 10,000,100 were Slavs (Bohemians and Slovaes) icarly 8,000,000 Eastern Slavs (Poles ,nd Ruthenians), and nearly 2,000,000 Southern Slavs (Slovenes and Croaians). Of the 10,000,000 inhabitants of fungary, there were scarcely 0.000.000 dagyars and 2,000,000 Germans; there vere 2,500,000 Eastern and Western. Slavs (Slovaes and Ruthenians), 3,000,m Roumanians and nearly 3,000,000 Southern' Slavs. The'dual monarchy is really a curiously assorted colonial empire, overwhelmingly populated witli -dav populations of various grades of uvilisation. In the Western half, till lately, the German element has serve! n a central element, giving stability to tile motherland, but it seems no longer able to bear the strain; in the Eastern half the Magyars somewhat ruthlessly have assumed that position. A glimpse at an ethnographical map shows a broad belt of Germans, Magyars and Roumanians wedged in between the northern Slavs of Bohemia, the Carpathian countries and Galicia and thoir Slav brethren im the South. Starting approximately from the old Southern railway leading from Vienna to Trieste in the West, up to Belgrade and beyond in the east, from the Drave and the Danube in the north, to the frontier of Servia and Montenegro in the south, there spreads an almost compact population of Southern Slavs numbering very nearly (including Bosnia and Herzegovina) seven millions. Politically, they are not a united peop'.e. They belong partly to Austria, partly to Hflngary (the autonomous kingdom of Croatia). and partly to Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are divided religiously, into Roman Catholics and Oriental Greeks, not to speak of Mafiomniedans. They have fought each other in the past with that burning hatred kinship engenders, but racially they belong to the same stock as the Servians of Servia and Montenegro and the Servians of the Turkish empire. Probably a majority of the whole Servian race live under the sway of the Hapsburg monarchy. Austria-Hungary's policy has never lost sight of the fact, It has always looked upon Servia as being somewhat under the tutelage of AustriaHungary. Austria-Hungary has protected her in the days of dire stress against victorious Bulgaria, for example. She has ill-treated her at other times, when she did not allow her to enter a customs union with Bulgaria, and trice to force her to her knees by a kind o tariff war. But .she has always realise that the frontiers between the Servia race in Servia and their brethren i Austria-Hungary migli any day teas to count. ''Austria-Hungriiy has neve wanted a strong Servia, not only be cause she would not be able to bruwbua hei in the way she was wont to do, an because Servia might block the way t Salonika, but because she feared the at tractions of a successful indopenden Servian State upon her own Servia subjects, some of whom, the inhabitant of Croatia, for example, are not to pleased with their lot. There is, indeed a very influential group in Austria-Hun gary which aims at the consolidation o the Southern Slav population by the ere atiou of a Southern Slav kingdom wliici might share with Austria proper am Hungary the management of the affair of the monarchy. The Dual Monarchwould then be transformed into a trip, Monarchy, the third element of uliiei might, in trie long run, swallow up he weaker brethren in Servia and in otlie neighboring countries. The success o the Balkan allies has greatly affecte. tin- chances of that scheme. A Servii ruled by a tottering dynasty, cconomi eally starved, financially bankrupt, am threatened by more powerful neighbor.might easily have b«eu browbeaten, am perhaps compelled to enter into a unini on conditions laid down by her stronge neighbor. It is different with the vie torious Servia, whose success kindle the imagination of her brethren in Aus tria-llungary. H will he difficult trouse the Austrian Southern Slavs fo a policy of wavlike expansion directei against their own kith and kin, wh have just now shown a valour nobod; credited them with.'' Writing in the Jni' ■ "Review of Reviews," Mr Stead discus*' at some h>„gth the position of Austrt in European politics, and, after indicat iug how the death of the Archduke Pet dinand greatly increases the danger o the break-up of the Empire, he say, and his words have a prophetic ten dency: "What will happen when 11, Austrian Empire breaks up is, of corns, pure guess work, but the general anti cijintiou is that Germany would hv'k upon the nee,] „f protecting German speaking folk in Austria as a pretex to secure direct access to the Modit-cv ranean via the Adriatic. Gulieia wo.ii, fall to the Russians, Hungary wollM ,„, «>me a separate knigdom. ami Bohcmi " r,, 1" ,,1,i ' ; - S "'via would endeavour t, soize Bosnia and Herzegovina, w i, =l s Italy would certainly fake Daln,a(i a an, attempt to secure the Tyrol. Unfortu., ately, such partition would involve Eu rope in a general war, which might se back the march of progress for decadeIt might, it is true, be the Armageddo which will bring about the end of a; wars between civilised nations. Ther

.is no doubt that Prinzip's pistol shot, lias .brought a ghastly cataclysm appreciably nearer."