The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-22

Diplomatic Reasons Why Archduchese
Elizabeth Should Marry.
Nachinortorn
Washington Post

1t is announced in Austrian court cir
cles that the young Archduchess Elizabeth.
only daughter of the late Crown Prince
Rudolph. is about to become engaged to-
Prince Rupert of Bavaria, the heir pre-
sumptive to the Bavarian crown. While the
prince is coarSe-looking, heavily built,
brutal looking young man, whose intrigue@
with actresses of the Munich theaters have
on several occasions lead to his punishment
by arrest, and attracted widespread atten-
ton by reason of the escapades in which
they involved him, yet from a. political
point Of view there are very obvious adj
yantages in the match.
If the young archduchess marries him,
she will, in the ordinary course of events,
follow the example of every princess OF
a foreigner, renounce all claims and rights
to the succession of the Austrian throne.
princes of the Hapsburg family itself re-
nounce their own rights in order to sub0r-
dinate them to those Of their husband.
That is to say a princess who Is very near
to the throne and who becomes the wife
of an imperial prince, who is much further
down In the line of succession, loses her
own rights and merely becomes a partici-
pator in those of her husband.
Now, as long as the little Archduchess
Elizabeth, who is in her fifteenth year, re-
mains unmarried she constitutes a source
of danger to the succession of the AuStro-
Hungarian throne. True, there are no
doubts as to the right of the Emperor's
eldest nephew, Archduke Francis Ferdi-
nand, to succeed to the throne of Austria,
where the Salic law has always existed.
but there are very serious questions InaC
are certain to be raised about his success
sion to the crown of Hungary unless the
little Archduchess Elizabeth is placed out
of running.
For the vast majority of people in Hun
gary do not believe in the existence or in
the Legality of the sO-caled pragmatic
sanction, the authenticity of which has been
questioned in the Hungarian Legislature
without the government being able to fur
nish any satisfactory reply. or even to fur
nish any proof as to its existence.
Now If this pragmatic sanction does not
exist, and If there is no real hard and fast
treaty between Austria and Hungary on
the subject of the succession to the
throne OF Hungary, then in that case the
nonexistence of the Sale law in Hungary
renders the young Arcnduchess Elizabeth
as only daughter Of the late crown prince,
the next heir TO the crown OF Hungary.
This condition of affairs would be I'M
doubtedly taken advantage of by all those
natiOnalites in Hungary, who are so bent
on bringing about an entire separation be-
tween Austria and Hungary, two countries
Sweden and Norway, Russia and Poland
or England and Ireland Moreover. the
IDEA of Archduke Francis Ferdinand be-
coming King Of Hungary Is distasteful in
masses Of whom may be described as ad~
vanced Liberals. For the archduke edu-
Gated in the most bigoted manner In re-
llgious, as well as in a political sense, to a
firm belief in the divine right of Kings
and to the traditional rights of Austria TO
tyranniZe Hungary, is so utterly untitled
to rule the Magyars that there are many
people who are convinced that the demise
cutting herself entirely adrift from Aus
tria and resorting to civil war. If necessary.
10 avoid the thraldom of such a King al
Francis Ferdinand.
There is no doubt that this danger is
diminished by the marriage of Archduchcss
Elizabeth to the future King of Bavaria