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Asiatic Russia: Hungary

LAWS AND GOVERNMENT. -The head of the Austro-Hungarian Government is the Emperor and King, the succession to the Crown being hereditary in the house of Hapsburg-Lothringen. The monarchy comprises two distinct States-a German or Cisleithan, commonly called Austria, and a Magyar or Transleithan, usually termed Hungary. Each of these has its own Parliament, Ministers, and Government, while the army and navy and foreign relations are common to both. These are controlled by the Delegations, consisting of 60 members from each State, two-thirds being elected by the Lower House and the remaining one-third by the Upper House of each of the parliamentary bodies. They usually sit and vote apart, but in case of disagreements the Delegates from each State meet, and without further deliberation cast their final ballots, the decision thus reached being binding on the whole empire. The Reichsrath of Austria and the Reichstag of Hungary each consists of two Houses: the Upper, composed of princes, prelates, and high officials and peers of the kingdom, and the Lower House of members elected by the qualified voters. The duration of the Lower House is for 6 years. The Emperor nominates the Presidents and Vice-Presidents of both chambers of the Reichsrath. Each nation has a responsible ministry. Local affairs are administered by Provincial Diets, of which there are 17. Under the existing arrangement Austria pays 70 per cent. and Hungary

30 per cent. of the common expenditures of the empire, not including the interest on the national debt.

CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE. -The population of Austro-Hungary is made up of a number of distinct races, differing from each other in manners, customs, and religion. The most numerous is the German, which forms 25 per cent. of the whole, or over 9,000,000. The Sclavonic races - the Czechs, Moravians, Slovacks, Poles, Slovens, Croats, and Serbians-number together nearly 18,126,000. There are 9,951.000 Germans, 6,422,000 Magyars, in Hungary and Transylvania, 3,000,000 Wallachians in the Danubian provinces, 1,000,000 Jews widely scattered, 500,000 Italians on the Adriatic, and a multitude of smaller nationalities, as Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians, Armenians, and Gypsies. Education until recently was quite backward in Austria, the bulk of the agricultural population-two-thirds of the inhabitants of the empire-being almost entirely illiterate. Decrees of 1849 made education compulsory; this was not adhered to in Transleithan Austria, while the Germanic population generally observed the principle. In the national schools of German Austria, children from 6 to 12 must attend, or the parents become liable to punishment for neglect. There are eight universities, with an attendance of from 800 to 2000 students. Fully two-thirds of the inhabitants profess the Roman Catholic faith. There are

4,000,000 Greek Catholics in Hungary and Galicia, and about as many Lutherans and Calvinists in Austria proper and in Hungary. The Protestants have no churches endowed by the State. The people are industrious, frugal, and deeply attached to their homes, but immorality is rampant in the large cities, and in Austria proper fully one-sixth of all the births are illegitimate.

GREAT CITIES. - Vienna is the capital of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and the Province of Lower Austria, and had a population of 1,231,000 at the last census. It is a beautiful city, situated on the bank of the Danube, which divides into two streams a few miles above Vienna. It has an immense commerce, and is the seat of many important manufactures. No continental capital has more beautiful parks and suburbs, and none (except Paris) contains finer public buildings, cathedrals, and palaces. The twin cities of Buda-Pesth-Buda being the capital of Hungary-have a population of 400,000, and occupy a beautiful site on the Danube. They are joined by a magnificent bridge, and contain many fine buildings and great factories. Prague is the capital of Bohemia, and there are nearly 1000 cities and over 70,000 market towns and villages in Austro-Hungary. The country embraces the following historic divisions kingdoms, namely, Hungary, Bohemia, Galicia, Illyria, and Dalmatia; I archduchy, Austria; I principality, Transylvania; I duchy, Styria; one margravate, Moravia; and one country, Tyrol. These are divided into provinces, which are called crown-lands, of which there are 14 in Austria proper and 4 in Hungary. Practically belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, though not incorporated with it by any treaty, is the small principality of Liechtenstein, enclosed in the Austrian province of 45° Tyrol and Vorarlberg, with an area of 68 sq. m., and a population of 8000. The inhabitants pay no taxes, nor are they liable to military service.

HISTORY.-Towards the close of the 8th century the Emperor Charlemagne founded a margravate in Lower Austria, which became a duchy in 1156 and an archduchy 300 years later. In 1564, Maximilian II., son of the great Emperor Charles V., became Emperor, with Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia for his possessions. But many years elapsed before the whole of Austria was united under one government. In the 18th century it attained rank as one of the great powers of Europe, and up to a recent date its influence was all-powerful in Germany. Until 1806 its rulers bore the title of Emperor of the Romans, but in that year the Emperor Francis renounced that title and became the first Emperor of Austria. From 1806 to 1813 Austria was menaced by the ambitious Napoleon, but made such bitter armed patriotic resistance to the inroads of this almost invincible warrior, that the French victories were shorn of much of their glory. The peace of Vienna (October 14, 1809) took from Austria Salzburg, Berchtesgaden, the Innviertel and the Hausruckviertel, which were ceded to Bavaria, while Russia and the Grand Duke of Warsaw acquired portions of Galicia and Carniola, and Trieste went to Italy. But these were restored by the Congress of Vienna (1815) after the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, together with Lombardy and Venice, the Illyrian provinces, Dalmatia and the Tyrol. The close of the reign of Francis I. was marked by several insurrections amongst the Italian provinces, and it was with the utmost difficulty that the confederation was maintained. The Emperor died in 1835, and was succeeded by his son, Ferdinand I., a weak-minded prince, who entrusted the government almost entirely to Metternich. The French Revolution (1848) caused the Austrian Empire to totter to its foundations. The revolutionary spirit manifested itself everywhere, resulting in the abdication of the Emperor in December, and the imperial honors were conferred upon his nephew, Francis Joseph. In 1859 diplomatic complications led to a rupture of relations with France, which was followed by warfare, for two months, until in July the two Emperors, Napoleon III, and Francis Joseph, consummated the peace of Villafranca, Austria giving up Lombardy, Italy to be formed into a Confederation under the presidency of the Pope, and Modena and Tuscany to be restored to their princes. The first constitution of Austria (Cisleithania) was promulgated in 1860, followed by a patent in 1861, which formed the basis of a charter that went into effect in 1867, with certain modifications rendered necessary by the recognition of Hungary's independence. In 1864 Austria joined Prussia in hostilities upon the Danish duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg, and the war terminated in their acquisition. But Austria speedily suffered terrible retribution for the part she had taken in the affair, the difficulty in disposition of the provinces bringing on war with her former ally. The Italians acted in concert with Prussia in hostilites upon Austria, and what is called the Seven Days' War ended in the Prussian victory at Königgratz, which led to peace negotiations at Prague, where a treaty was signed August 23. By this treaty Austria was shorn of Venetia and the fortresses of the quadrilateral, the dissolution of the German Confederation was recognized, all claim to Holstein and Schleswig was given up, and an indemnity of

20,000,000 thalers paid. Home affairs then claimed the attention of the Emperor. The necessity of self-government for Hungary was recognized, and on the 8th of June 1865 Francis Joseph was crowned King of Hungary, in addition to his title as Emperor of Austria. In 1873 direct election of members of the Reichsrath was substituted for indirect election by Provincial Diets. The Austrian Empire, after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, was, by the Treaty of Berlin, augmented as to area by the acquisition of Bosnia, Novi-Bazar, and Herzegovina, which the treaty stipulated, " shall be occupied and administered by Austrio-Hungary."

THE HUNGARIAN CROWN. This crown has experienced many vicissitudes, On the extinction of the royal male line of Orfad, Hungary was plunged into confusion. Several candidates for the throne at once appeared. The Pope crowned the one he had selected; the Diet chose another. This latter immediately exhibited himself in his coronation robes, and wearing the crown; whereupon the king of Bohemia swooped down on the youthful monarch and carried him and his crown off to Bohemia. Otto of Bavaria was then chosen by the Hungarians as their ruler, on condition that he should recover the precious crown. He accordingly disguised himself as a merchant, secured the crown, and returned to Hungary with it packed in a cask slung at the back of a waggon. He nearly lost it, however, during the journey, for one day the waggon jolted and the cask tumbled into a deep ditch, whence it was rescued with considerable trouble. Elizabeth, the widow of King Albert, was the next to disturb the crown. With the help of one of her ladies she sewed the precious bauble up in a cushion, and then fled with it across the frozen Danube, and took refuge in Germany. Elizabeth soon wanted money, and so she naturly turned to the crown which she promptly pawned to the Emperor Frederick for 2800 ducats. After much bloodshed the crown was recovered, conveyed back to Hungary, and locked up in a strong fortress, which was guarded night and day by two grand dignitaries chosen from the nobility of the kingdom. From that period until 200 years later the crown performed numerous journeys, but did not fall into the hands of the enemy. It had a narrow escape, however, during the revolution, and was saved in the nick of time by a band of patriots, who, to protect it from the Austrians, buried it in a forest where it remained for about 50 years, when it was removed from its earthly resting-place, and, much damaged by its numerous exploits, was conveyed to the Hungarian capital, where it has since remained.

GREECE.

King George, 2nd son of King Christian of Denmark, b. Dec. 24, 1845; elected King of the Hellenes March 30, 1863; m. Oct. 27, 1867, Olga, eldest dau. of the Grand Duke Constantine of Russia, b. Sept. 3, 1851. Heir Apparent-Prince Constantinos, Duke of Sparta, b. Aug. 2, 1868; m. Oct. 2, 1889, Princess Sophia, sister of the German Emperor.