BOOK II
THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONDITIONS
AND RELATIONS RESULTING IN THE WAR
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CHAPTER I
THE HAPSBURG ABSOLUTISM
Austria-Hungary the initiator of the great war—There is no Austro-Hungarian State in the true sense—The Dual Monarchy—Its territories, races, and populations—Its Parliaments—The beginnings of the monarchy—The policy of the House of Hapsburg—Traders in lands and flesh and blood—Bosnia and Herzegovina—The Emperor Francis Joseph— The present heir-presumptive—The monarch speaks the word that commences the present war—Until 1867 an absolute autocrat—Since then the same under a thin disguise —His early record—The antecedents of the Prusso-Austrian War the same as those which gave rise to the declaration of war by Austria on Servia—The Magyar constitution—Private character of monarch—His character as a ruler—Parliamentary ineffectiveness—The experience of a deputation to the Emperor—The instruments of the monarch's government —Justice—Dr. Friedjung's trial—Slav disaffection and trouble—Croatia-Slavonia— Pan-Slavism—Treatment of the Slavs—Their oppression—A Croatian general election— Proceedings at Agram—The Austrian army fights to-day to maintain this condition of things—Letter of a Chief of Police to a Government candidate—The Hungarian count and his constituents—The present moment the most favourable for the Kaiser to commence the war if dependent on the assistance of the King-Emperor Francis Joseph.
WE propose to devote a few pages to Austria-Hungary. This Power, together with its ally, is now fighting the fight of despotism against freedom. This Power, too, has the credit of having voluntarily and deliberately taken the initiative in the fight, and, in so doing, has thrown the whole of Europe and even the remotest parts of the earth into the midst of the greatest war that the world has yet seen. In the earliest stage of the war the chief occupation of the prime aggressor, Austria, was for the most part the counting of her defeats and heavy losses. Indeed after the first great battle between the Austrians and Servians, which may be considered to be the greatest yet fought in the Balkans, in view of the forces engaged, the heroic Servian attack quite extinguished the Austrian defence. On sea she has met with similar disaster, losing very speedily one if not two of her most important battle- ships.
