5. Essays from "Deutsche Wochenschrift"

The Week of January 25-31, 1888

Mr. von Tisza answered the questions put to him in the Hungarian Diet on January 28 by the deputies Helfy and Perczel of the extreme left about the general situation. Tisza's speech did not bring any revelation or remarkable news, but it once again described Austria's position in foreign policy and the relationship of the empire to Germany and Russia with considerable clarity - as clearly as the responsible head of a government is able to express himself in the critical conditions of the present. Right at the beginning of his speech, the Prime Minister declared that he would have to impose considerable restraint on himself, even a government like the British one was forced to do so at the moment. He warned everyone not to be alarmed by the often contradictory newspaper rumors. One must not allow oneself to be misled by them; there was no truth in the rumor that the Minister of Foreign Affairs was subject to interference and conflict with regard to his political decisions, and there was not a word of truth in the rumor that the Minister of War had asked for a loan for military preparations during his, Tisza's, last visit to Vienna, which had been denied him as a result of Tisza's opposition. The same applied to the question of whether Austria-Hungary could count on its allies. It must obviously be in someone's interest to disturb the peace, as rumors were constantly being spread that could shake the confidence of the allied powers in each other. "These rumors," assured Tisza, "are counterbalanced by the fact that there is not the slightest reason for anyone to doubt the mutual bona fides of the powers allied for the maintenance of peace and their own security. It is well known that Russia," he then continued, "is undertaking a drastic dislocation and transfer of her troops towards the West, and that this plan, which has existed for some time, has recently been carried out to a greater extent in the direction of the frontiers of this monarchy. For this very reason, however, without placing any doubt in the peaceable declarations of His Majesty the Emperor of Russia and in his benevolent intentions, and since we ourselves accept the interpretations given by the Russian side, which deny any aggressive belligerent intention with regard to those troop movements, as far as prudence for our own security permits, it is our duty to ensure that, while avoiding everything that could have the appearance of provocation, what is necessary for the security of our borders and the ability of our army to defend itself is done in all cases. The aims and principles of our foreign policy are known to the peoples of the Monarchy and to the whole world. In this respect I have spoken out and the Minister of Foreign Affairs has also spoken out. Everyone knows that we are not seeking anything for ourselves, neither an extension of our influence contrary to the treaties nor any territorial expansion, as is mendaciously attributed to us. Standing on the basis of the international treaties, we wish above all to maintain peace and, in the interests of peace, we will always be prepared to cooperate in the most conciliatory manner with the other European powers in order to maintain the conditions laid down in the treaties. I can only repeat what has already been said repeatedly by the governments that the alliance of the Central European Powers has never been anything other than a resolute peace alliance on a purely defensive basis and is therefore just as far removed from the forcible implementation of certain political questions as it is from any aggressive action. Since the most peaceful intentions are also proclaimed by Russia's most authoritative authority, we can, while at the same time safeguarding the vital interests of our monarchy, despite some elements driving to discord and war, base our hopes on this that the peace-loving monarchs and governments will succeed in maintaining peace and freeing Europe from the feeling of insecurity that weighs heavily on it."

Tisza's reply was greeted with lively applause by the House of Deputies, who unanimously took note of it. Mr. Helfy and Mr. Perczel also declared themselves satisfied with it. Helfy added to his approving remarks that people abroad were forgetting Hungary if they thought that public opinion in that country was guided by hatred and a thirst for revenge in its attitude towards Russia: "The day on which the Hungarian people were reconciled with their ruler consigned past events to history. When we speak against Russia's policy of expansion, we are not thinking of Vilagos, not of the past, but of the future not only of Hungary but of the entire monarchy and the throne."

It would be extremely desirable if the Hungarian Prime Minister's statements about the Tsar's love of peace were confirmed. No matter how influential the war party may be in Russia, a Russian monarch remains master of his decisions, the circumstances are already desperate, and a peaceful attitude on the part of the Tsar would probably be able to protect Europe from the disaster of a great war for a long time to come. But the uninterrupted military activity in Russia is not conducive to spreading reassurance abroad. One cannot help but get the impression that the Russian army administration is taking every precaution to be able to mobilize immediately at a given moment, so that it does not lag behind its more agile neighbors in terms of speed. A daily order from the Russian Minister of War decrees the previously decided assignment of general staff officers to all brigade administrations; the task of these officers, as is expressly emphasized, is to prepare the material for mobilization, to direct the exercises of the reserve battalions, etc. According to unofficial reports, there is no doubt that the armaments will also be continued elsewhere. At the same time, an annual meeting of governors-general and district commanders under the chairmanship of Grand Duke Nicholas the Elder, the commander-in-chief in the war against Turkey, is being "used" for special conferences. The best-known troop commanders were among the advisers. It may be that there is no immediate danger from such facts, but the European states have not the slightest reason to regard them as promising peace.

In the meantime, the Austrian Reichsrat was reopened, and at the first session of the House of Representatives on January 25, Prince Alois Liechtenstein presented the long-announced bill on the reintroduction of denominational schools on behalf of the Center Club. This "Reichsvolksschulgesetz" (Imperial People's School Act) defined the "principles" that were to govern the education system and stated, among other things, that the elementary school had the task of educating children according to the teachings of their religion; it consisted of two sections, the elementary school with six years of instruction and the middle school, technical school, etc.; it was the task of the church or the relevant religious cooperative to provide, direct and supervise religious instruction; at the same time, the church or the religious cooperative exercised joint supervision over the entire school; the teachers' creed had to correspond to that of the children; the enactment of all legal provisions in detail was reserved to the state legislature. In a word, the elementary school was to be placed anew under the influence of the Church and otherwise, i.e. above all in national terms, at the mercy of the various provincial majorities in the provinces, which latter provision was called upon to interest the Slavs in the new law and to make them compliant for its introduction. It is only natural that the German side immediately put up determined resistance to the Liechtenstein bill. The executive committees of the German-Austrian Club, the German Club and the German National Association met for a discussion in which a joint action of the German parties against the bill was determined, and in a large part of the German cities, associations, etc., with the Vienna Municipal Council at the head, rallies have already been decided which speak out in the strongest possible terms against the clerical demands. A large assembly of citizens will soon be held in Vienna to protest against them. How the Slavic parties will react to the matter is still completely unclear. Only the Young Czechs, who recently united to form a "Club of Independent Bohemian Deputies" under the chairmanship of Dr. Engels, appear to be unequivocally opposed to Liechtenstein. The Old Czechs, Poles, Slovenes, etc., are waiting, and it is not impossible that the majority of them will be won over to the bill in exchange for further concessions or promises in other areas. Nothing is yet known about the government's position. Fortunately, all in all, the prospects for the bill's passage are bad enough so far. At the same time as the Liechtenstein school proposal, the government submitted a number of bills to the House of Representatives, including a border regulation treaty with Romania, a law on the tightening of the rights of academic authorities vis-à-vis student associations and assemblies, the bill on the conscription of reservists for training with the repeating rifle and the trade agreements with Germany and Italy. During the first session, several questions were put to the government by members of parliament, and Dr. Sturm tabled a motion on some amendments to the summary procedure in civil proceedings. After a few more interpellations from earlier times had been answered by the ministerial bench, the House moved on to the agenda, firstly to discuss the Bärnreither motion on relief funds. In the second session, too, the ministers returned to outdated interpellations, the answers to which would have been of considerably greater value at the time; the debate then turned to sugar taxation, which was introduced with a major, in-depth speech by Plener. Among the proceedings on the third day of the hearing, an interpellation by the German Club on the excessive confiscation of newspapers should be highlighted. This time, however, the clerical school motion was also touched upon. Dr. Sturm touched on this during the debate on the law concerning the conscription of reservists, pointing out that a decline in the educational level of the people should not be the least noticeable in the efficiency of the soldiers, and the Minister of Defence fully agreed with Sturm. The law was adopted unchanged and the discussion on the tax law continued, with Dr. v. Dunajewski taking the floor on behalf of the government. So far, the negotiations have passed in a fairly businesslike manner.

The Hungarian Chamber of Deputies has entered into the special debate on the state budget, and deliberations are also progressing briskly there. The law on the conscription of reservists was already passed on January 25. The magnate's board has a new president in the form of the crown guardian Baron Vay. in place of the deceased Sennyey.

In general, the parliamentary events in Germany are more important than in the Danube Empire. The Prussian House of Representatives again had a major debate on Poland, in which Minister v. Gossler explained the position of the Prussian authorities on the Polish question in a way that was strangely different from the Austrian situation. Goßler explained that the Prussian administration only had to deal with the province and not with the Grand Duchy of Posen. The Poles had to learn German and the German language had to become the common property of all members of the state. Among the closer friends of the Poles, Windthorst expressed his astonishment that excitement was being stirred up in Posen when war was threatening on the borders. The whole debate was prompted by an interpellation from the Poles about the decree of September 7, 1887, concerning the abolition of Polish language teaching in the Posen, West Prussian and Silesian elementary schools. In the German Reichstag, after a hearing on the clerical-conservative motions for the introduction of a certificate of qualification for the skilled trades, it was the Socialist Law that occupied the parties most vividly. The Social Democrat Singer was the first to speak out against the law in the strongest terms, and he used as his greatest trump card the reports confirmed by Swiss officials that the Berlin police maintained agents in Switzerland who not only reported on the Social Democratic propaganda there, but also incited people and incited them to commit crimes. The Minister of the Interior, von Puttkamer, replied that no state could do without the secret police, but that it was an unworthy suspicion that the government was inciting people to commit crimes. In Switzerland, too, the government had agents to monitor anarchism, and this had put the Prussian police in a position to inform the Petersburgers of the impending attack in the Winter Palace. The cases referred to by Singer were unknown to the Minister. Incidentally, it was sad that the Swiss authorities so often allowed foreign private individuals to inspect the files. Puttkamer then spoke in favor of the new law in order to protect Germany from social upheaval. Reichensperger spoke for the Center, Bamberger for the Liberals, and Marquardsen for the National Liberals, all against the law. Bebel confirmed and expanded on Singer's revelations about German agents abroad. After another rebuttal by Puttkamer and speeches by Kardorff and Windthorst, the hearing was closed and the law referred to a committee. Judging by the mood in the Reichstag, it seems that the German government will only be able to push through an extension of the existing Socialist Law, not the proposed tightening of it. In the commission discussing the military law, the Minister of War announced that the one-off expenditure for this law would amount to approximately 280 million marks, while the permanent expenditure would probably amount to 15,000,000 marks annually. However, he could not make a declaration that this would be the last military requirement. The law was adopted by the Commission.