3. Essays from "Deutsche Wochenschrift"

The Week of January 12-18, 1888

In a letter to the governor of Moscow, Tsar Alexander expressed the confident hope that peace would allow Russia to devote all its energies to internal prosperity in this and future years. These words constitute the most gratifying message of peace that the new year has so far brought, and if the Tsar had not simply wanted to say to his Moscow governor a phrase of the kind that is used at the turn of the year without giving it any deeper meaning, Europe would have reason to breathe a sigh of relief for a while. The Tsar is regarded as a man who is too proud not to be sincere, and since no one outside Russia seriously believes that peace can be disturbed from anywhere other than St. Petersburg, this announcement is regarded as a pleasant sign that the situation has generally improved. Whether this conclusion is correct, of course, only the future can prove, for the Tsar has not so unequivocally declared his will to keep peace with his neighbors that one can now dispense with all worries. A solemn declaration, such as was expected from the Tsar from various quarters on the occasion of the Greek New Year, did not take place. Several Russian dignitaries, such as Count Tolstoy, the Minister of the Interior and the General Procurator of the Synod, Pobyedonostsev, were awarded high decorations; for the rest, everything remained quiet in Russia, only the movement of troops and the accumulation of various war material on the southern borders seem to have been uninterrupted.

At a Conservative banquet in Liverpool, Salisbury was just as hopeful as the Tsar, but just as determined and resolute in his comments on the development of conditions on the continent. He said that the European situation had changed for the better and that peace was assured for the near future; the sovereigns and ministers were working with all their energy to maintain peace. Such statements have again become typical among statesmen and princes, and if the facts of all-round armaments did not exist, one would at least be able to accept them with greater confidence. It is only from Sofia that a bellicose tone can be heard. At the New Year's reception, Prince Ferdinand gave a speech to the officers of the capital's garrison, in which he said that he had become a Bulgarian in thought and feeling, and that he would never separate his cause from that of Bulgaria. If he should be forced to draw the sword in the current year, the Bulgarian army under his leadership would show the world that the Bulgarians knew how to die for their flag and for the defense of the fatherland.

In the Hungarian House of Representatives, Austria's relations with Russia were the subject of two interpellations by Helfy and Perczel. The speeches with which the two deputies justified their questions were sharply directed against Russia, and the words of the interpellations themselves were no less categorical. interpellations themselves. Helfy asked the government whether it had precise knowledge of the Russian war armaments, whether the Foreign Office in Vienna had taken steps to find out from Russia the purpose of these armaments, etc. Perczel demanded straightaway that Russia should be firmly requested to cease its armaments and reduce the number of troops on its borders. Prime Minister v. Tisza should answer both questions shortly. In the last few days, the Army Committee of the Chamber of Deputies dealt with the bill on the extraordinary call-up of reservists for training with the repeating rifle. The bill was adopted in the main. On this occasion, Minister Fejervary announced that 90,000 repeating rifles with a caliber of 11 millimeters had been completed and that two army corps had been equipped with them. The House of Representatives has now entered the budget debate.

Now the Austrian Imperial Council has also been convened, for January 25th, and there is renewed activity in internal politics everywhere. It seems that in one of its first sessions the Austrian House of Representatives will have to deal with a motion which Prince Alois Liechtenstein wants to submit for the introduction of denominational schools. At a voters' meeting in Kaindorf, he at least declared that his party was determined to table this motion at the beginning of the next Reichstag session.

The state parliaments continue to work in part. There were stormy scenes in the Prague Landstube on January 13, caused by the fact that the aristocrats remained seated during the vote on Vataschy's motion for the introduction of linguistic equality. The Young Czechs clenched their fists against the landowners and shouted at them: "Is this the Czech nobility? The Czech nation will remember! Shame on our nobility!" And so on. There was a commotion in the house and the chairman had to have the galleries cleared. A few days later, Mattusch's motion to decentralize the elementary and secondary school system was passed. The Galician parliament also took it upon itself to raise its voice more than once in favor of extending the country's autonomy.

Of two by-elections for the Imperial Council in Linz and Kuttenberg, the first was in favor of the German liberal Count Kuenburg, who had run against a cleric and an anti-Semite. In the other election, the Young Czech Dr. Herold won against his Old Czech opponent.

The Prussian Parliament opened on January 4 with a speech from the throne. One of the first sentences was addressed to the crown prince, for whose recovery hopes remained high. Moving on to internal political affairs, the speech noted that the financial situation of the state had developed very favorably and that the maintenance of the balance of revenue and expenditure seemed assured "unless unpredictable events intervene". The available funds were to be used, among other things, to improve the situation of the clergy and civil servants, but above all to ease the pressure of municipal and school burdens. The speech also holds out the prospect of several other proposals, such as the construction of new rail links. The budget, which was presented to the House of Representatives, set expenditure and revenue at 1,410,700,000 marks.

The German Reichstag has received the draft announced some time ago concerning the extension of the Socialist Law. According to the bill, the validity of the law would be extended until September 30, 1893 and several tougher provisions would be introduced. In addition to a custodial sentence, it is now also possible to impose a restriction on residence in a certain place. The offender's citizenship can be revoked and he can be expelled from the federal territory. These provisions are followed by several others. The explanatory memorandum to the law states that these stricter measures have become necessary because social democracy has not lost any of its strength and expansion as a result of the previous measures.