Page:1902 Encyclopædia Britannica - Volume 26 - AUS-CHI.pdf/475

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BUD A U N in Pesth, and had largely been so since 1848, when it became the seat of the legislature, as it was that of the Austrian central administration which followed the Revolution. The ideal of a prosperous, brilliant, and attractive Magyar capital, which would keep the nobles and the intellectual flower of the country at home, uniting them in the service of the Fatherland, had received a powerful impetus from Count Stephen Szechenyi, the great Hungarian reformer of the pre-Revolutionary period. His work, continued by patriotic and able successors, was now taken up as the common task of the Government and the nation, under the guidance of a Liberal aristocracy and gentry distinguished by exceptional political insight. The eminent Hungarian statesman, Count Julius Andrassy, bore a prominent part in this work. From that time to the present day the record of the Hungarian capital has been one of uninterrupted advance, not merely in externals, such as the removal of slums, the reconstruction of the town, the development of communications, industry, and trade, and the erection of important public buildings, but also in the mental, moral, and physical elevation of the inhabitants; besides another important gain from the point of view of the Hungarian statesman, namely, the progressive increase and improvement of status of the Magyar element of the population. The promotion of the interests of the capital and the centralization of the public and commercial life of the country have—apart from the special acts devoted to that end—formed an integral part of the policy of the State since the restoration of the constitution. Budapest has profited largely by the encouragement of agriculture, trade, and industry, by the nationalization of the railways, which all radiate from Pesth, by the special rates and the zone system, by the development of inland navigation, and also by the neglect of similar measures in favour of Vienna in consequence of the discord prevailing in Austria. It would be difficult to over-estimate the beneficial effect of such direct Government action as the founding of the large State establishment at Budapest for the manufacture of locomotives and agricultural and other machinery, and of the encouragement given to native and foreign enterprise, to undertake the production of all articles consumed in the country. When it is remembered that the ideal both of the authorities and the people is the ultimate monopoly of the home market by Hungarian industry and trade, and the strengthening of the Magyar influence by centralization, it is easy to understand the progress of Budapest. Politically, this ambitious and progressive capital is the creation of the Magyar upper classes. Commercially and industrially, it may be said to be the work of the Jews. The sound judgment of the former led them to welcome and appreciate the co-operation of the latter, who furnish an ingredient necessary in the composition of a modern State in which they themselves were lacking. Indeed, a readiness to assimilate foreign elements is characteristic of Magyar patriotism, which has, particularly within the last generation, made numerous and ardent converts among the other nationalities of Hungary, and — for national purposes—may be considered to have quite absorbed the Hungarian Jews. It has thus come to pass that there is no anti-Semitism in Budapest, although the Hebrew element is proportionately much larger (21 per cent, as compared with 9 per cent.) than it is in Vienna, the Mecca of the Jew-baiter. A far larger number of Jews and Protestants are engaged in industry, commerce, and intellectual pursuits than the more numerous Catholics. Out of every 10,000 Jews, 3274 come under those three categories. The remainder are divided as follows: of no occupation,

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including women and children, 5498 (a far higher proportion than the Catholics and Protestants); engaged in unskilled physical labour, 993 (about a third of the proportion of Catholics and Protestants); in transports and communications, 164 (between a third and half the proportion of Catholics and Protestants) ; soldiers, policemen, barbers, &c., 55 (about a fourth of the Catholic and an eighth of the Protestant proportion); and, finally, 16 Jews per 10,000 are engaged in some form of agricultural, horticultural, and vineyard labour, which is less than a third of the Catholic and about a ninth of the Protestant proportion. The money-lending institutions, as well as commerce of the town, particularly in corn, manufactures, jewellery, furniture, and clothing, are mainly in the hands of the Jews. The Protestants are to a great extent agriculturists, while they are also largely represented among the teachers, officials, and artisans. A comparison of the statistics of 1870 with those of 1891 shows a steady increase in the proportion of Hungarians in all occupations, and a corresponding diminution in the proportion of Austrians and other foreigners. In 1891 the percentage of natives engaged in industry was 85‘7 per cent. ( + 9*7 per cent.); in communications, 91'5 per cent. ( + 24’6 per cent.); in trade, 91T per cent. (+ 7’2 per cent.); in the professions and intellectual occupations, 91‘3 per cent. (+ 8'5 per cent.). Even in unskilled physical labour the same change is visible, there being within the same period an increase of 16 per cent, in the number of natives employed (in 1891, 85-4 per cent.). Among the most important events in the recent history of the city are the National Hungarian Exhibition, held there in 1885; its elevation to an equality with Vienna as a royal residence and capital on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the sovereign’s coronation as king of Hungary in June 1892, followed by the royal ordinance of November 1893, superseding Austrian court functionaries by Hungarians during the king’s stay in Hungary; the imposing national demonstration of respect and the public funeral accorded to the Revolutionary hero Louis Kossuth in March and April 1894; and the Millennial Exhibition in 1896 in celebration of the thousandth anniversary of the foundation of the kingdom of Hungary. The official publications of the Budapest Communal Bureau of Statistics have acquired a European repute for their completeness, and their fearless exposure of shortcomings has been an element in the progress of the town. Keference should also he made to separate works of the director of that institution, Dr Joseph de Korosy, known in England for his discovery of the law of marital fertility, published by the Royal Society, and by his labours in the development of comparative international statistics. His Statistique Internationale des grandes villes, and Bulletin annuel des finances des grandes villes, give valuable comparative data. See also Budapest, hygiene publique et culture, by Dr Gustave Thirring, assistant director of the Communal Bureau of Statistics, and the Statistisches Jahrbuch von Budapest, by the same author ; Kahn’s Illustrated Guide to Budapest; Krucken’s Budapest in Wort und Bild ; the Technischer Fiihrer von Budapest, published by the Hungarian Association of Engineers and Architects; and Mr A. Shaw’s work, cited above. (^ o’n.) Budaun, a town and district of British India, in the Rohilkhand division of the North-West Provinces. The town is near the left bank of the river Sot. The population in 1891 was 35,372; the municipal income in 1897-98 was Rs.32,871. There are ruins of an immense fort and a very handsome mosque, formerly a Hindu temple. The American Methodist mission maintains several girls’ schools, and there is a high school for boys. The district of Budaun has an area of 2017 square miles. The population in 1891 was 925,598, being 418