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6

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

be accorded the validity of public primary schools. The progress of the primary and burgher schools is shown in the following table :— Private Schools. Public Schools. Number. Pupils. Teachers. Number. 909 2,050,808 27,677 14,257 1875 976 2,679,638 54,467 16,440 1885 987 3,260,852 69,776 18,285 1895 988 3,359,509 74,788 18,747 1898

[AUSTRIA

of the separate diets. In Bohemia, Styria, and Galicia, autonomous county representation is organized. Local self-administration is everywhere in the competence of the local communities. Among these are 33 with special statute, having, like heads of districts, the management also of the civil administration. The growth of the Austrian budget is shown by the following figures :— 1900. 1895. 1875. £66,003,494 £55,396,916 £44,121,600 £32,647,000 Expenditure £32,647,000 £43,714,666 £57,446,091 £66,020,475 Revenue

The debt consists of the (earlier) general debt, the later Of the public primary schools in 1898, 42 per cent, had each but 1 class; 25 per cent., 2; 11 per cent., 3; consolidated debt, and the floating debt. These debts for the four years specified were :— 7 per cent., 4; 11 per cent., 5; 4 per cent., 6-8 classes 1899, 1895. of graduated ascension. In 40 per cent. of. the public 1875. end of primary schools, German was the language of instruction; June. (In millions sterling.) in 26 per cent., Czech; in 11 per cent., Polish; in 10 per cent., Ruthenian; in 4 per cent., Italian; in 4 per General State Debt— 223-33 223-61 225-02 222-76 . cent., Slovenian; in 2 per cent., Serbo-Croatian; in the Consolidated 3*00 3-52 6-28 7-95 Floating .... 1-13 1-13 rest of the schools, Rumanian or Magyar. For every Other debt 1-13 1-13 1000 square kilometres, there are 66, for every 100,000 Debts of the Lands of the inhabitants, 77 primary schools. To each primary school Reichsrath— 45-81 119-25 134-37 there are, on an average, 176’5 pupils; to each teacher, Consolidated . 1-26 0-26 0-12 50 pupils; for every 100 children under obligation to Floating .... attend, there are 88 actually attending, school. 232-41 276-95 349-18 362-52 The Reichsrath exercises the legislative power for all the kingdoms and lands constituting the state. It consists The actual financial situation will be seen in detail in since 1861 of two Houses; an Upper House (the Govern- Herrenhaus) and a Lower House (the Abgeord- the following budget of the Austrian administration for 1900 :— meat. netenhaus). The Upper House has continued ExtraTotal. Ordinary. ordinary. unchanged in its composition; the Lower House has underExpenditure. gone considerable changes in 186 <, 18/3, and 1892. £387,177 £387,177 Household . Formerly, the members of the Lower House were returned Imperial 6,669 6,669 Imperial Cabinet Chancery 108,310 £8,326 99,984 Reichsrath by the diets of the various provinces; since 1873 they 2,035 2,035 Court . 114,414 are appointed by the direct vote of the citizens. By an Imperial 83 114,331 Council of Ministers . 2,523,650 483,953 2,039,697 electoral law of the Reichsrath passed on the 14th June Ministry of the Interior . 22,755 2,255,393 2,232,638 ,, National Defence 289,570 3,133,854 2,844,284 1896, the Lower House consists of 425 representatives „ Worship and Instruction 10,517,618 10,770,436 252,818 ,, Finance . chosen in 5 curias : the first curia comprising the represent238,678 4,646,856 4,408,178 ,, Commerce 9,508,720 436,295 9,072,425 ,, Railways atives of the large landed estates; the second, represent184,237 1,672,249 1,488,012 ,, Agriculture 2,748,716 atives of the chambers of commerce and manufactures; 198,605 2,550,111 „ Justice 17,319 17,319 of Control . . the third, representatives of the towns, market-places, and Board 2,861,274 2,595,104 266,170 Grants, and Subsidies 14,322,648 14,322,648 industrial localities; the fourth, representatives of the Pensions, Share of Interest on Public Debt 64,823 16,833 53,990 of Public Debt rural communities ; the fifth consists of 72 representatives Administration Share of Expenditure on Commo 10,660,234 10,858,951 198,717 Affairs of all duly-qualified citizens over 24 years of age. For this last curia, those also who have already exercised £63,412,454 £2,591,040 £66,003,494 Total their electoral right in the four other curias are entitled Investments £2,823,872 to vote. The Government is constituted of the council of ministers, at whose head is the minister-president. The Direct Taxes Revenue. £11,133,605 £11,133,605 .... 4,772,848 4,772,848 different ministries are the ministry of the interior, of Customs Duties . 12,442,381 12,442,381 Duties on Articles of Consumption national defence, of worship and instruction, of finance, Salt 1,878,768 1,878,768 Monopoly .... 8,735,479 8,735,479 Monopoly . of commerce, of agriculture, of justice, of railways. Tobacco 2,331,390 2,331,390 Stamps 3,931,307 3,931,307 There are, further, two ministries without portfolio for Judicial Fees .... 1,313,022 1,313,022 Lottery .... Galicia and Bohemia. The civil administration in the State 214,080 214,080 Other Duties .... 289,804 289,804 different provinces is carried on by governors or stadholders State Property and Mint . 534,718 £46 534,672 and Forests (Statthalter), and, in the smaller provinces, provincial Domains 719,345 719,345 Mines 4,076,367 4,076,367 governments; subordinate to them are the heads of the Post Office and Telegraphs 45i,Sll 13,647,361 13,195,550 Miscellaneous .... various districts. For the administration of justice in the £65,568,618 £451,857 £66,020,475 Total provinces there are 8 upper provincial courts (Oberlandes£47,839 gerichte), under which are the provincial and district Investments courts {Landes- und Kreis-gerichte), as also the county Of the whole territory of the state—in round numbers, 30,000,000 courts (BezirTcsgerichte). For the administration of the hectares (or 74,100,000 acres)—about 29 per cent, is appropriated finances there are constituted financial provincial boards to large landed estates ; 71 per cent, is disposed of in Landed of directors {Finanz landesdirectionen), and, in the smaller medium and smaller properties. Large landed property propertym provinces, financial boards of directors {Finanz directionen), is most strongly represented in Bukovina, where it 46 per cent, of the whole territory. Large landed under which are the financial county boards of directors absorbs property owns 30 to 40 per cent, of all the land of Salzburg, and the boards of inland revenue. The provincial repre- Galicia, Silesia, and Bohemia. In Moravia, Styria, Carinthia, sentation in the 17 provincial diets of the different Tirol and Vorarlberg, Upper and Lower Austria, large landed kingdoms and lands of the state is based on the provincial estates claim 20 to 30 per cent, of the soil. Large landed property regulations of the year 1861. The autonomous provincial holds, in Carniola, 16 per cent, of the ground ; in the Coast administration is discharged by the provincial committees Province, 8 per cent. ; in Dalmatia, 3 per cent. To the state