The Wanganui Chronicle. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1905. THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN QUARREL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLIX, Issue 12645, 4 November 1905, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1905. THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN QUARREL

Fob some months past our cables have indicated tihiat matters political an Austria and Hungary have 'been anything but settled and calm. The Hungarian people have been in a dangerous state of mind, and the treatment they have received has hot tended to soothe.them. Our caibles yesterday gave rather a strong suggestion of revolution, a state of things which, unless these at the helm of the countries exercise great care, will undoubtedly occur. The seriousness«of revolution in the Austrian Empire is not recognised, by many people, but there can >be no doubt that .such an occurrence would seriously menace the" peace of Europe. Dealing with this' subject, the " Spectator" of September 30th ©ays: —We have always been a little reluctant to admit the possibility of a break up of the Austria Empire. It is so necessary to the peace of Europe, it has survived so many dangers, and its rulers have displayed such extraordinary self-control in accepting accomplished facts. No Sovereign ever had more reason for bitterness than the present Emperor Francis Joseph when Bismarck and his master expelled him from his historic position in Germany. Yet within ten years he had accepted a strict Treaty of Alliance wltlh the Power which had expelled him and had taken his place, and for twenty-five years the provisions of that Treaty have been faithfully maintained. Fortune, : too, has been on the side of the house of Hapsburg. After all its losses, 'and humiliations, and exhibitions of incapacity, the great bouse of Hapsburg governs wider territories, is obeyed, by a larger army, and' collects a far great?--er revenue than any of its ancestors ever possessed. Nevertheless, we roust admit that its ohanoe of receiving'fatal injury has at last become' a sertons one. The aged Emperor, though, a terrible experience has changed ,^hinv from a tyrant into a great and tolerant diplomatist, has been tormented"by/continuous opposition, until at a crucial moment he has lost same of his self-con-trol. Nothing less'liko his usual bearing as stipre7ne referee within -his 18 States can be , conceived than his reception on the 23rd nit. of the five chiefs of the Hungarian " Coalition," tJirough wlhioh alone he could hope to maintain the present dual government of his Empire. After rejecting Oount Fejervary's proposal to overwhelm the opposition in Hungary by proclaiming universal suffrage;" the Emperor summoned the five statesmen of the " Coalition," each of whom has a following of members and electors behind Qiim, to a final consultation at Vienna; and of course they expected a long conference, and some form of compromise between the conditions acceptable to the Throne and those on which they had set their hearts. Instead of this, the Emperor allowed them ail audience of five mm- I utes, and occupied that limited time— not a third of what he would have given to any ordinary petitioner—in reading j an ultimatum of five clauses, in which j the demands of the Hungarian people ■ were peremptorily rejected. His Majesty ended by directing his visitors to confer with the Chancellor the Empire, Count Goluchowski, who has no legal position mi Hungary, and who is regarded by Hungarians as more or less an opponent of their claims. This last blunder was probably accidental, the Emperor "forgetting for a moment that he was ■ not dealing with Austrian subjects, and was immediately corrected by the substitution of the Court Marshal, who happens io be a Hungarian. But the blunder i.s precisely of tine kind which one would not have expected of a Sovereign with so great a reputation for diplomatic skill. The Emperor's brusquerie, moreover, was evidently intentional, for after discussing the ultimatum with the Court Marshal, that official, who bad promised to report to the Emperor, kept the five statesmen waiting for hours after the time he foad himself fixed for the reply. The proud Hungarians returned to :Budapest, thus breaking off the Jinks of iiegotiation, and their followers, on - hearing the result and the manner of the interviews, enthusiastically applauded, their conduct. There are cries of " revolt," but there will be no immediate revolt unless the Emperor resorts to force. With his experience of 1848, however, he will probably be daunted bj : the apparent unanimity ..of his Magyar subjects; and he ha« «lwa? s tne great card in his hand of "an appeal to universal suffrage. It is very difficult for the Magyars, who are only a dominant caste in Hungary,

though doubtless a powerful one, to re fuse to make an appeal whioh in ou day has come to be regarded as a cor of appeal to heaven; and if a Referen dum is sanctioned, its result, to say thi least, is a (matter of some doubt. Th< five races who make up the majority ii Hungary—Slavs, Serbs, Roumanians Germans, and Croats-^-may decide, "ie

the sake of social and political equalif/ to stand 'by their Emporor, who,

must be remembered, is no longer i their eyes the tyrant of 1848. It i

Quito possible, however, that. fidelit; to the ancient Constitution, and th charm cf the idea of independence, whicl has weighed so 'heavily with the Nor wegians, may induce the whole • peopi to declare a. Republic, and face tih. relics of the Monarchy an the field Forty-nine per cent, or more of th< population, it must be remembered dread and detest the Ultramontane in fluenccG which dominate the Austria! aristoci'acy, which have, it is believed captured the next heir to the Grown and which may in his old age irar< grievous weight with tshe Emperor him self. The Austrians, too, think them selves far stronger than Hungary, an« have of late been greatly irritated bj the predominance of the statesmen oi

Budapest in the councils of the Empire A resort to force is therefore not iinj possible, and would undoubtedly be me< by a desperate insu/rreetaon, in whicli many Hungarian regiments might join, and in Which, at all events, every in. surgent would be a trained man.

The momentary paralysis of Russia has greatly relieved the Hungarian leaders, while their followers have beeh greatly excited by the success of tin Norwegians in forcing upon "their Sovereign a peaceful dissolution of the Unioi witih Sweden. Austria possibly is stronger than Hungary; but the civil war would paralyse the Empire, and encour age most formidable intrigues from tlw outside. All Eastern Europe would at once be in flames, and would offer splendid prizes to any neighbouring and solid military Power. "We. can hardly i^ agine a condition of affairs more daiv gerous to' the well-being of Europe, and we doubt whether, -when the facts are fully understood, the people'of Great Britain will manifest for the second time their traditional friendship for, the Hungarian seeeders. Even if they interpret their Constitution aright, which is more than doubtful, for it leaves executive power almost completely to tlie King, they have not, as in 1848> any direct oppression to plead, and they can hardly ask for greater power within tihe common Empire than they already possess. Something, too," is due to Europe, which will lose the best guarantee of peace, will be deprived of the strongest restraining influence over Turkey, and perhaps will be compelled to witness* the rise of many comparatively small States, Tvihose difficulty in federating themselves under any other Hoise than the one. to which historically they owe obedience may prove insuperable. We see nothing but misery for Europe to aris© from the shattering of the AustrianEmpire, if indeed in an evil hour nre nre apprbaclhing to that cata.stropue, v:Lich ever since 1870 has haunted the imagination and defleoi«xl the policy of tlie:greatest statesmen and diplomatists., •Even Bismarck refrained from breaking,! up. the' Austrian Empire when he ono& compelled it to submit to expulsion from! Germany, holding its all'-ance more valuable eVen for Prussia than the conquest of -any ■ additional, and possibly refractory, province.