Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/340

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. gleich (agreement) of 1867, when the two coun- tries, while retaining their complete independence in domestic aflairs, agreed to establish a common administration for certain matters of State. Also b}' this Ausgleich (which is a general name for several treaties dealing with different subjects adopted at about the same time) Austria and Hungarj' were constituted a customs union, pledged to a common commercial policy, with a conunon coinage and system of weights and meas- ures, a joint bank of issue, and a uniform control of monopolies and interstate railways. The de- partments of State common to both countries are those of finance, war, and foreign affairs, and in the functions delegated to the last two, there is apparent a general tendency to grant as little as possible to the common administration, and to keep as much as possible for the national execu- tive. The minister of foreign affairs is charged with the supervision of the Emperor-King's household and with the maintenance of the diplo- matic and consular service. The ministrj* of war is concerned chietly with the organization and training of the troops, since recruiting and the regulation of the terms of service are left to the two parliaments. The duties of the minister of finance are confined to the administration of the customs, the balancing of accounts for the two other ministries, and he is also intrusted with the government of the dependent provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The proportion of the common expenses to be borne by the two countries is determined, according to the Ausgleich, every ten years, and in 1899 the rate was fixed at 65.6 per cent, for Austria and 34.4 per cent, for Hungary.

Practically all legislation necessary to render the work of the common departments efficacious, rests with the Austrian and Hungarian diets, but the ministries are controlled directly by two bodies known as the Delegations, representing the parliaments of the two countries. Each dele- gation consists of 60 members, 20 of whom are elected by the Upper House and 40 by the Lower House. The delegations assemble at Vienna and at Budapest in alternate years, and deliberate apart, communicating only in writing. If they arrive at no agreement after three inter- changes, they meet as one body and vote without debate. Evidently the system of dual govern- ment is not only cumbersome, but precarious, in that it depends for its continuance on the mutual good-will of two contracting par- ties, each of whom keeps a jealous watch against the least ascendency on the part of the other. The activity of the common minis- tries is dependent on concurrent legislation by the Austrian and Hungarian Parliaments; a refusal on the part of either to vote its proportion of the common expenses or its quota of troops may in- stantly paralyze the financial and defensive pow- ers of the monarchy: and that such action is not at all improbable was shown in 1897, when that part of the Ausgleich establishing a customs union failed of renewal, and was replaced by a reciprocity treaty for a term of ten years. The Austrian Empire, independently of Hun- gary, comprises the seventeen crown-lands repre- sented in the Reichsrat at Vienna. Of these territorial divisions, diverse in race, language, and history, some, like Bohemia, Galicia. and Dalmatia, are kingdoms of which the Austrian Emperor is King: some, like Styria, Camiola, and the two Austrias, are duchies or arch- duchies; the rest are variously designated princi- palities. As a result of this combination of sec- tionalism, based on ethnographical distinctions, with the personal rule of one man, the Empire par- takes at the same time of the character of a fed- eral State and of a centralized monarchy. The element of racial diversity influences also the relations between the Crown and the legislative bodies. Parliamentary government, in spite of presenting practically all the outward forms it bears in England, for instance, has not attained to anything like full development, for the reason that the various parties in the Diet have not as- yet been able to unite permanently either in sup- porting or opposing the Crown. By playing off the different factions against each other, the Emperor has succeeded in retaining the balance of power,- and in making the ministers his sers'ants, though in law they are responsible to the Parliament. At the same time, such incidents as the blocking of all legislation for months at a time — a thing which happens frequently in the strife of parties — afford him an opportunity for exercising his extra-constitutional powers in the matter of pro- mulgating ordinances and decrees.

The constitution of Cisleithania is based, among' other statutes, on the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, on the patents of 1800 and 1861, and chiefly on the Fundamental Law of December 21, 1867. It may be suspended at any time by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Reichsrat. The Em- peror is the source of law and justice; he legis- lates concurrently with the Reichsrat for Cisleith- ania and with the provincial diets (Landtage) for the provinces. He has the power to make treaties, issue ordinances, grant pardons, appoint officials, and to summon, prorogue, and dissolve the legislatures. Through his ministers he may initiate legislation. In case of necessity he may suspend the constitution and legislate provision- ally by ordinance. Every act of his, however, must be countersigned by a minister, and his ex- tra-constitutional decrees must be countersigned by the entire Ministerial Council.

The Reichsrat consists of a House of Lords {Berrenhaus) and a House of Representatives I Ahgeordnetenhatis). The Upper House wa» made up in 1901 of 17 members of the Imperial family, 66 persons holding their seats by hered- itary right, 6 archbishops and 8 bishops of princely rank, and 139 life-members. The Lower House consists of 425 members, chosen as fol- lows: 85 by the great landed proprietors. 118 by the towns, 129 by the rural communities, 21 by the Chambers of Commerce, and 72 l)y the whole male population above the age of twenty-four, ex- clusive of domestic servants. The different classes of electors are representative, in a way, of the an- cient estates. The qualification for the franchise, in all classes except the last, is the payment of a direct tax. which varies from a very considerable sum, in the case of the landed proprietors, to a trifling amount in the town and rural communi- ties. The representatives are selected directly in all classes, save the rural communities. The electoral districts are not marked out on the basis of population alone. Ethnical and economic conditions, and to a great degree the historical importance of different provinces, are taken into consideration. The representation of the differ- ent provinces in the Lower House of the Reichs- rat is as follows: Lower Austria, 46; Upper