The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-01-18
CHI A RLE S TON.
FRIDAY MORNING, JANUARY 1s, 1857.
AUSTRIA IN A CRISIS.

AUSTRIA IN CRISIS
| France is rapidly recovering her position, re-
Gently lost, of arbiter in the politics Of Europe
T! There is great intriguing on fsot at this time,
and all the arts of diplomacy are exhausted in
the rival efforts of Prussia and Austria to sue
ceed in obtaining the alliance Of France. On
the one hand, B1sHAEcK is endeavoriag to pro-
duce coalition between Russia, France and
Prussia, which, Of course, would secure the
latter against all assaults from without, and
leave her free to work out the problem Of re
construction in Germany to her entire satisfac-
| ton. On the other hand, however, Austria is
| plotting to secure an alliance with France and
Italy, which would soon give different aspect
to the position of affairs in Europe The latter
alliance appears the one preferred BY the army,
press and people Of France; and unless some
unforeseen contingency arise, it may be COR
sldered certain OF avuVmpllsnMont
That Austria needs strong prop to lean on,
| IS too well known to require much argument.
Her troubles for years have boen neither few
| nor light, even before the wars with Frapoe
and Italy in 1859, and with Prussia and Italy
in 1866. Defeat in battle, and largs loss OF
territory and population, have greatly aggra-
vated the situation. One Of the original and
lasting sources of those troubles is the hcte-
| rogeneous composition Of her subjects. She
has been for centuries attempting to join to-
| gether what God and natune have declared
asunder.
| These difficulties have become still more ap-
parent since the assembling Of the Provincial
Diets, nineteen in number, each OF which rep
resents one Of the distinct nationalitias of which
| the population of Austria is com posed, or
several nationalities living together in the
same province. These delibarating bodies are
indeed not invested with the same legislative
powers which are exercised by our State Lsgs-
latures; they simply receive an opening ad-
dress from the Emperor, discuss propositions
| referred to them by the imperial government,
! and then, in turn submit to the latter such
wishes as they may entertain and venture to
express. But they serve to indicate the drift
of public opinion.
| Of these Provincial Diets the Hungarian is
the most important and the most interesting for
the reason that, next to the Germans, the Hun
garians are numerically the strongest, and by
/
| most influential race in the Austrian empire.
In the Hungarian Diet the controlling party is
| that of the moderate Liberals, under the leader
snip OF DEAx, one of the first public men in
Europe. That party insists upon the appoint
ment of separate ministry and tho establish
ment Of separate administration for Hungary,
and has expressed that demand in an address
to the Emperor. The next strongest party is
that Of the Radicals, who refuse to negotiate
with the imperial government at all as long as
the national constitution Of Hungary uniting
that country with the Austrian empire only by
personal union, the Emperor Of Austria being
at the same time King of Hungary, is not re-
established. And in case this is not done the
Radicals think Of completely separating Hun
gary from Austria by revolutionary means At
present the moderate Liberals have the ma
Jority in the Diet but tho Radicals are gaininp
ground every day, and it is said that large
majority Of the Hungarian people are already
on their side.
While Hungary thus threatens to become an
controllable, the representatives Of the Italian
districts in the Diet Of Tyrol boldly advocate
their separation from the Austrian empire and
their annexation to the Kingdom of Italy. At
the same time the leadiRg men in the Diet of
the German provinces declare that their sepa-
ration from the great German Confederation,
which is now forming under the leadership Of
russia, cannot long be endured. In Bohemia
the Czechs, the most numerous race pronounce
themselves openly in favor Of separate admin
istration for that ancient kingdom, while in
Galicia, which is inhabited by Poles and Ru-
thenians, the Poles are jubilant ever tho ap-
pointment Of . Pole, GoLUcK1wsk1, to the
governorship, and the Ruthenians, who belong
to the Russian race, fearing to be oppressed by
the Poles, leek to Russia for help.
Thus see in every part Of the Austrian
empire agencies Of disintesration busily at
"erk to loosen the ties which hold the incon-
gruous mass together, and to dissolve it into
its component elements. It is q conglomerate
of centrifugal forces, which can be held together
only by central power strong enough to strike
down every attempt at revolt, or by the most
enlightened statesmanship Eble to create in the
dlferentnationalitis the desire to st4y together
under common head. Whother the Austrian
Government, with bankrupt treasury and an
army beaten, dishcartened and disconte ented.
vii De able to set and keep on foot such an
array Of power as so perplexing problem de-
mands for its solution may well be doubted
At the time Of the Hungarian revolution in
ls49, Austria owed her salvation only to the
timely aid rendered by Russian army Of
o,OOO men. But Russia will not again fill
the breach. France alone, Of European powers.
can be looked upon as probable ally.
A YANKEE school-marm, writing from Rich
mond, Va, to the New York Citizen, expresses