The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-10 00:00:00

THE ST .ITE OF AUST.RIA.

There seems to be reason to believe that that
wonderful vitality which has been so marked a
characteristic of the Austrian empire is ooee again
about to give token of ite existence by resuscitating
the apparently moribund Ste.te even at its last gasp,
'4ut under conditions which will materially affect
the map of Europe, and still more the balance of
power in Cilermarty. In the beginning of the pre-
sent century the Emperor was the heir of Charle-
magne, of whose dominions what is now called
Germany formed a comparatively small portion.
His sway extended over all France, over Catalonia.
and part, of Arragon, over Switzerland and Italy
as far as Gaeta, and over Hungary as far as the
Theiss, and over Holstein and Denmark as far as

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tt.sthh_teiehe7eauivgnaEeipislde(erfriloa,; but all that important part of Northern.
Germany which lies to the east of the Eibe, as
well as Bohemia, Moravia, and the greater part of
Hungary and the Bulgarian nations, were indepen-
dent of him. The Saxons were savages and pagarm,
sandy plains of Prussia. Itailgsodn
tadi were neil.eptdvelfali!gert
engtdli:ti.oeraotduudpgreohiflueliya:t subdued
eiditisi;
and civilised Europe in its upnirruel;
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Tetnji.oc'te'u'rtLproaa.3,
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institution that German
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1 youth
tem-
pered and restrained it in its turbyulent Mit manhood
but its hour arrived, and, strange to say, whenc theol
afonuci'ne.dnicbue
wall of the Romerburg at' Frankfort to receiv.t
-13ut though in 1806 Francis ceased to be Emperorei.
of Germany, the traditions of long supremacy still
lingered about his house, and by common consent
Austria was acknowledged the chief of the German
Confederation, and retained in Germany an influ-
ence by no means commensurate with the number
of her German subjects, which does not reach
7,000,000, or her German territory, which does not
form more than an eighth or a ninth part of the
Austrian dominions. The population of Austria
snsgofinthe tastEm
consists of about 7,000,000 Germans, 6,000,000
Magyars, 2,000,000 Wallachians, Sews, Gipsies, '
Greeks, and Tartars, and no less than 16,000,000 or
17,000,000 of &laconic races, which may be divided
roughly into Greeks.4,ooo,ooo; Slowacks,3,ooo,ooo;
Poles, 2,500,000; Serbs, 2,500,000 ; Russians,
2,500,000 ;
1,000,000. It will be seen, therefore, that, as a
purely German State, Austria is not so compara-
tively powerful in the Confederation as would
appear, from her presidentship of the Diet and a
general leadership ; while in her internal composi-
tion the German element, so far from being pre-
ponderating, Is very much outweighed by the Scla-
conic ; and as that, in all imperial matters, may be
considered as tnited to the Magyar and the scat-
tered races, it is outnumbered by something like
three to one, and all attempts to spread its moral
influence by the enforced use of the German lan-
guage, the appointment of German officials, or the
extension of German institutions, have been at-
tended with lamentable disaster.

This is what is shaking the empire to its very
foundation at this present moment. It is the
retracing false steps made in this direction which
holds out the only prospect of safety to the totter-
ing fabric; and it is the circumstance of the Hun-
garians seeming disposed to accept, though only as
an instalment, the concessions wrung from the
necessities of the Emperor, that will, if that prince
is acting and continues to act in good faith, save the
empire. Once the Diet is assembled, and the King
of Hungary crowned, the grip on the throat of
Austria will be loosened ; but the King of Hungary,
henceforth and for ever, must remember that he is
only Archduke of Austria. The two Duchies and
the Tyrol, his only strict German possessions, ao
not occupy 30,000 square miles; the entire enepire
257,000. Hitherto the we'.ght of Hungary and its
cognate provinces has been employed to enforce on
Germany the influence of Austria, whilst the weight
of Germany has equally been used to impress upon
Hungary the supremacy of Vienna ; but it is not
likely that this game can be played any longer,
and though the imperial residence may not be re-
moved from the old and cherished Kaiserstadt, the
heart of the empire will vibrate in Hungary. The
demand for its due influence in the affairs of the
State on the part of Hungary is nothing new.
Long before the unfortunate troubles of 1848, and
the consequent abrogation of the ancient constitu-
tion, great discontent prevailed with respect to the
provincial status in which Hungary—which, with
l'ransylvania and Galicia, covers more than half
the territory of Austria—was kept by the Austrian
Government. Since that time German oppression
has assumed the form of a malignant monomania,
and has only been maintained by measures which
necessarily render the reaction, when it does come,
more fierce and deadly ; and now, at last, with a
bankrupt exchequer, e heaton army, and a sullen
popuiation in her most loyal provinces, Austria
stands disarmed. Hungary's opportunity arrives,
and she demands her own again and something
more. The greater will draw the less, and the
scattered kingdoms, of which the Austrian
monarch's " greater title" includes nine, to say no-
thing of a page full of dukedoms and countships,
will gravitate towards the great State that lords
over the valley of the Danube, and would be infe-
rior to no country in Europe in riches were its na-
tural resources allowed free development.
The tendency of the present movement in the
Austrian dominions, carried out to its legitimate
issue, is to move that Power eastward, to abandon
in a great degree the German basis upon which it
has hitherto rested, and to reconstruct it on a
Magyar-Sclavonic basis, which would be at once
safer for it to rest upon itself, and more advanta-
geous to Europe, as a check upon Panslavism,
whenever that dangerous principle reappears on
the scene of continental politics. A strong German •
State can no more exist in the valley of the Danube,
from Presburg to Belgrade, than it can in the
valley of the Tagus, between Toledo and Lisbon ;
but the former valley is the natural home and
stronghold of a powerful Selavonic nation with a
Magyar gentry, and if his Apostolic Majesty
cordially accepts that position he will probably
find himself once more a first-rate Power in Europe.
Nor need he be shorn of his legitimate influence in
Germany; the military organisation of that country
would be infinitely more effective were the armies
of Bavaria, Wurtemberg, and Baden placed defi-
nitely under the command of Austria, and all the
northern States under Prussia. Prussian and
;
Austrian commanders raay co-operate as allies;
ies
_
they never can act together as confederates, a
inveterate and remarkably childish jealousyio
will
under
always prevent the one from serving properly
he other.—Morning Post.