The Washington herald., 1907-10-27

whose reign closed IN llLJ- The decree
of Ferdinand II transformed all the pos
sessions OF the house Of Austria into a
species OF fdei commits. on the principle
that they should go by order Of primo
genitCre 20 the senior heir in lieu Of
being divided up among the various heirs.
as had been the case until that time
Leopold l. IN edict. issued shortly before
his death, confirmed this edct Of his
predecessor. But neither Of these lnstru-
ments contemplated the extinction Of the
male line and the descent Of the lands
Of the house Of Hapsburg 70 one Of its
women.
Il was this principle. virtually abrogat-
ing the Salic system OF succession, until
then in force, in favor of the so-caIIed
Cognate or CASTLE system, that was en-
bodied Ia the Pragmatic decree OF I7I3
With a view Of strengthening its force
and rendering it more binding, Charles
VI caused II 20 be accepted by the Diets.
or so-cailed Estate Of Lower Austria. and
OF Bohemia in 1920 by the Hungarian
Diet In l722. and by all the other Diets Of
his possessions prior to December. 1924
when IL was proclaimed as a fundamental
law. It decreed that the possessions Of
the House Of Austria should always re-
main united under one ruler. that they
should be ruled by Charles WIS descend
ants, that II he had no male descendants
his possessions should pass 20 his female
descendants and that II his female de-
scendants died without Issue the right Of
succession should belong 70 the daughters
Of his dead brother Joseph and 10 their
male and female offspring. In accordance
with the law Of primogeniture.
Az .e
eign rulers one the elector Of Bavaria
and the other the eIector OF Saxony. he
insisted upon their ren0uuclng by a sol
emn oath all rights which they might
have had TO his possessions, save such as
they enjoyed under the terms Of the prag-
matte sanction, and from that time dates
the custom with which every archduchess
Of the House Of Hapsburg is forced to
comply on the eve OF her marriage in
solemnly proclaiminE, with her hand on
the Gospels, her renunciation Of all rights
70 the Austrian crowns and possessions.
save those which she enjoys under the
/ terms Of the pr8gmatic sanction.
This act Of TenuBciatiou Is much misun-
derstood. L does not involve the entire
abandonment Of all rights TO the success
sion. Thus young Archduchess Elizabeth.
the only child Of the late Crown Prince
Rudolph, now married to Prince otto
Windischgraetz, Is still in the line Of sue
cessiou, despite her act Of renunclation.
and IN the improbable event Of the ex-
tinctiOn OF the female line OF the House
Of Hapsburg Lorraine, as now constI-
tuted, might yet be called upon to sue
ceed TO the throne of Austria ard Hun
gary as Empress Queen regent.
Charles VI further communicated this
so-called pragmatic sanction to all the
leading powers Of Europe. in particular
to France, England, Spain, Prussia. and
to the Papacy, obtaining the approval Of
all Of them thereto in writing Express
ing his satisfaction at having thus as
sured the peaceful succession Of his
daughter. Archduchess Maria Theresa. as
queen Of Hungary and OF Bohemia. and
as sovereign Of his other possessions. TO
his generaIissImo, old Prince Eugene OF
Savoy, the latter replied:
THAT is all right. your Majesty, but
10000 bayonets would constitute a still
better guarantee"
On the death Of Charles VI his daugh-
ter succeeded him as queen of Bohemia
and sovereign Of all the possessions of
the house Of Austria The elector of
Bavaria was elected emperor Of Germany
and OF the Holy Roman Empire. under
the title Of Charles VII, and In spite
Of the pledge which he had given to
Emperor Charles VI to recognize the
provisions OF the latter's pragmatic sane
ton, he put forward a claim to the pos
sessions Of the house of Hapsburg, on
the ground OF his descent from the
daughter Of Emperor Ferdinand I. Other
of the German and foreign sovereigns
followed suit in complete disregard of
their promises to Charles VI. Frederick
the Great Of Prussia marching into the
Duchy of Silesia and taking armed pos
session thereof, without even going TO
the trouble Of making a formal deClaTa-
tion of war. It was then that Queen
Maria Theresa, confronted with the peril
of a dismemberment Of her sovereignty
by enemies, who, attacking her from all
sides, were bent upon its partition, made
her memorable and historic appeal TO the
Magyar magnates. whom she summoned
to meet her at Pressburg.
Ali Hungary and Croatia rose in her
defense, and for several years afterward
the so-called war Of Austrian succession
ragged, and was ultimately brought to a
close by the death Of Emperor Charles
VII, the withdrawal Of the pretensions
Of his son, Macmillan Joseph. to the
Hapsburg possessions. and an agreement
whereby, in return for Queen Maria
Theresa's recognizing him as electOr Of
Bavaria, and restoring the territory which
she had taken from him IN the war. he
secured the election OF her husband.
Francis, duke Of Lorraine and grand
duke Of Tuscany. as German Emperor.
In this way she became Empress. On
the death Of her husband, her son JOS
eph, the child which she had held in her