AUSTRIA, THE ARCHDUCHY.

The archduchy of Austria consists of two nearly equal parts, viz. Upper and Lower Austria. The river Ens, flowing northward from the Alps to the Danube, intersects the archducal territory nearly in the middle; thθ country to the east of the river being Lower, and that to [7:4:223]the west Upper Austria. Lower Austria, in particular the fertile tract adjoining the Danube above and below Vienna, formed originally flιe nucleus of that union of states which now constitute the second empire in Europe. That district is both the site of the capital and the seat of extensive manufactures. These consist principally of woollens, cottons, and hardware, the yearly value of which, added to the lesser fabrics of hardware, leather, glass, hats, and paper, is computed at three or four millions sterling. In the mountainous part of the province are mines of iron, coal, and rock salt; but the wealth derived from these is slight compared with that resulting from the agricultural products of the more level part of the country. These consist of wheat, barley, oats, and other corns raised in England; and, in the warmer situations, of maize and vines. Advantage is taken here, as in Lombardy, of the numerous streams which flow from the mountains in the south towards the Danube. They are used for irrigation, the great desideratum of the agriculturist in a warm situation. Besides, the produce of the land along the Danube, from Vienna to the Bavarian frontier, has been greatly" increased within the last half century, by the use of marl. The traveller, in pursuing this track, sees in all directions a quantity of marl pits, wrought with great activity; but still the crops raised are much smaller than they would be under a system like that of our improved countries.

Upper Austria, or the country west of the Ens, was added to the sister province in the twelfth century: it is called Upper, from its comparative vicinity to the Alps, and its greater elevation of surface. Its wealth consists not in manufactures, but in agricultural produce. It is too cold for the culture of the vine; but the low grounds are productive in corn, while the pasturages are extensive both in the hills and the valleys. The sides of the mountains are covered with forests, the timber of which finds to a certain extent an outlet by navigable rivers, of which the chief are the Ens, the Salzach, the Traun, and the Trasen. One of the principal sources of employment to the lower orders in the forest-lands consists in felling their timber and conveying it to these rivers, whence it is floated to the towns along their banks, or to the Danube, the great channel for the transport of bulky commodities. Upper Austria, since the acquisition of Salzburg, has an extent (about 7500 square miles) nearly equal to that of Lower Austria; but in population it is far inferior, containing only 900,000 inhabitants, while the lower province reckons 1,300,000.

Population of the Chief Towns.

Lower Austria. Upper Austria.

Vienna 300,000 Lintz 20,000

Neustadt.. 8,000 Salzburg ...11,000

Krems ....5,000 Steyer 9,000

The early inhabitants of Austria are understood to have come partly from among the Germans in the west, partly from the Sclavonian tribes in the north and east. German is now almost the sole language of the inhabitants, but it differs considerably from the German spoken in Saxony. As to religion, almost all the inhabitants are Catholics. Situated to the south-east of Germany, and comparatively backward in civilization, Austria was long considered as rather an outwork than an integral part of the empire; it was not until 1438 that the election to the imperial crown fell almost invariably on the head of the house of Hapsburg. The power of the sovereign in the archduchy is almost unlimited, but it is exercised with mildness, and with the concurrence of a parliament or states, composed, as in the other great divisions of the monarchy, of prelates, noblemen, and the deputies from the barons and principal

HUNGARY,

The most extensive of the great divisions of the Austrian empire, is of an oblong or rather heptagonal form: its length is 370 miles, its general breadth above 300, and its superficial extent, nearly 9000 square miles, is equal to that of Great Britain. For the purposes of administration, Hungary is divided into four circles or provinces, called respectively the circle north of the Danube, the circle south of the Danube, the circle west of the Theiss, and the circle east of the Theiss.

The latitude of Hungary is between 45° and 49° north. The degree of elevation of the surface is very different in different parts, the Carpathian range extending over a great part of the west and north of the kingdom, while the central and south-east divisions consist of a succession of plains. The climate is marked by equal differences, the mountainous districts being cold, while the plains are warm, and, in the summer months, much hotter than in England. The products of the higher grounds are oats, barley, rye; of the lower, wheat, maize; and in the rich alluvial soil adjoining the rivers, rice. But tillage is as yet extremely backward in Hungary, the improvements so familiar to our agriculturists, such as draining, irrigating, and even inclosing, being here almost unknown; while iron being high priced for the means of the farmers, their implements are wretched, and their ploughs do little more than scratch or move the surface of the ground. The poverty of the peasantry in most parts of Hungary is such, that to pay their rent in money is out of the question: they accordingly discharge it partly in produce, partly in personal service.

The climate of Hungary being sufficiently warm for the vine, its cultivation is carried on extensively, though with much less skill than in France. Hemp, flax, and tobacco, are also raised in considerable quantities. Though artificial grasses are unknown in this country, the natural pastures are good; and horses from Hungary form, as is well known to military men, a large proportion of the Austrian light cavalry,—though small of size, they are swift and active. As to horned cattle, this is perhaps the only country in Europe that can vie with England. The oxen are large and well shaped, and roam over the pasture districts in vast herds: but they are exposed with little or no shelter to the cold of winter and to the heat of summer; and hence at certain seasons there have occurred among them diseases attended with great mortality. The sheep in like manner pass almost the whole year in the open air; and the shepherds may be said to share in this exposure, having no habitations that deserve the name. The quality of the wool, though greatly inferior to that of Saxony, has received improvement in the course of the present age.

Appropriation of the land in Hungary, Sclavonia, and Croatia, exhibited in proportions of 100 :—

Under tillage 12

Vines, orchards, gardens 4

In pasture, chiefly natural 17

Forest land lθ

Marshes, high mountains, sandy plains, and other as yet uncultivated tracts 48

100

This shows but too plainly how great a proportion of Hungary and the adjacent provinces is still in a neglected and half-cultivated state. In some parts the extent of sandy plain is so great as to remind the traveller-of an African desert, and to fatigue the eye by an horizon without a boundary. The extent of marsh land in Hungary is computed at 3000 English square miles; but there are also large tracts along the banks of rivers lost to cultivation, [7:4:224]from occasional inundations caused by heavy rains or the melting of snow in the Alps and Carpathians.

The chief towns of Hungary are as follows :—

In the western half of the king-In the eastern or more remote dom. part of the kingdom.

Population. Population.

Pesth 40,000 Debretzin 42,000

Ofen or Buda, the 1 ς ∩ n ∩∩ Erlau 17,000

present capital..) ’ Gross Wardein 15,000

Presburg, formerly ì 35 θθθ Miskoloz 14,000

the capital ; ’ Kaschau 12,500

Zombor 18,000 Temesvar 12,000

R aa b 14,000 Bekess 11,000

Stuhl Weissemburg...13,000 Szathmar 11,000

Oedenburg 13,000

Kremnitz 10,000

Such are the only towns containing 10,000 inhabitants or upwards, in a population of nearly nine millions. Four-fifths of the inhabitants of Hungary are scattered over the country in huts; and in fact the towns, with the exception of the three which stand first on the list, are little more than collections of cottages. In a country so deficient in town population, and so backward in other respects, manufactures are necessarily in a rude state. They are limited to coarse woollens, coarse linen, and other articles woven in the cottage of the manufacturer, in the homely manner of our ancestors two centuries ago. Tobacco is raised and manufactured here in large quantities, but it is consumed in the country. There are mines of iron, copper, lead, gold, and silver, but all of limited extent. The foreign trade of Hungary is confined to an annual import of manufactured goods, and an export of wool, hides, and other raw materials. The Danube traverses almost the whole kingdom from west to east, as does the Theiss from north to south; and the depth of both is such as to admit the ready passage of vessels down their streams, but the navigation upwards will be difficult until aided by steam or mechanical power. The chief intercourse in Hungary, whether for produce or merchandise, is consequently carried on by land; and Debretzin owes its comparatively large population (42,000) to its position on one of the very few high roads in this country, where it is a central station for traffic between Transylvania in the east and Hungary in the west.

The name of Hungary (in German Ungarn) is said to be derived, not from the Huns, who entered this country in such numbers under Attila in the fifth century, but from the word Unger, “new comer,” applied by the natives to invaders of later date. Be that as it may, the population of Hungary is of a very mixed character, whether we consider their origin, religion, or language. As to religion, the computation is, that the Catholics amount to 5,000,000, the Protestants to above 2,000,000, the Greek church to 1,800,000, and the Jews to 160,000. Germans, or descendants of Germans, reside in most of the larger towns; and whatever can be termed improved husbandry has been introduced from their country, from Austria, Bavaria, and Suabia. The Germans are found chiefly in the west of Hungary, the part nearest to the empire, but they bear a small proportion to the rest of the population. At the head of the latter are the Magyars or Madjars, the descendants of a tribe from the east of the Wolga, who settled in Hungary under a leader of the name of Arpad in the ninth century. They are a comely and spirited race, who prefer agriculture and the tending of cattle to mechanical employments. The aborigines were doubtless of the Sclavonian race, and their descendants consist at the present day of various tribes, viz. the Slowacs, the Rascians or Servians, the Reusniacs (from Red Russia), and the Wallachians. The most numerous of these different tribes are the Slowacs. The languages spoken in Hungary are almost as varied as the descent of the inhabitants. The Magyar is properly the Hungarian language, and is spoken currently by all who bear the name of Magyar; but as it is wholly different from German, Latin, which is generally understood, and even spoken by the upper classes, is made the vehicle, not only of official business, but of newspapers, or whatever is intended for general circulation.

The political connection between Hungary and Austria goes back nearly four centuries, the crown having devolved to the Austrian family in 1437, and having been vested ever since 1527 in the head of that house. A very long time, however, elapsed before the Austrian government became popular in Hungary. On the one side despotic habits and intolerance in religion, on the other the restless spirit of the great barons, were the cause of repeated insurrections, and of coalitions with the Turks, which twice (in 1529 and 1683) brought an Ottoman army to the walls of Vienna. Montecuculi, Sobieski, and Prince Eugene, successively routed these undisciplined hosts; but it was not until the early part of last century (in 1718), when the final victories of Prince Eugene drove the Turks out of Hungary, and the court of Vienna adopted a conciliating course, that the Hungarians, as a nation, became impressed with that attachment to their Austrian sovereigns which has ever since been eminently their characteristic.

In no country is the line more strongly drawn between the upper and the lower classes. The former have an exclusive right to public appointments; and a grant of land by the sovereign to a plebeian must be accompanied by a patent of rank, the right of possessing land in Hungary being confined to the higher classes. They are exempt also from all direct imposts; tithes, toll-dues, and a tax called the thirtieth penny, being all assessed on the peasantry and the inhabitants of towns. The duty of the nobility and gentry in Hungary is of a higher order; it is to serve personally under their sovereign, taking up arms whenever a war has received the approbation of the diet The emperor Joseph II. was inclined to put his Hungarian subjects on a more equal footing; but he found, on the one hand, that the lower classes were not ripe for the advancement he intended them, and on the other, that what seemed their greatest grievance (an undue share of taxation) was more nominal than real, the peasantry obtaining in their rents, and the inhabitants of towns in the enhanced price of articles, an indemnity for their greater share of the public burdens.

The regular or standing army in Hungary in time of peace is about 50,000 men; in war that number is readily doubled, at the call of the crown, by an extraordinary levy called insurrectu). In the frontier line extending along the Turkish territory, military service is accepted from the inhabitants in lieu of tithe and taxes, so that there is a strong permanent militia in that quarter. The public revenue of Hungary is between L.3,000,000 and L.4,000,000 sterling. It is derived partly from the regal⅛ or rights of the crown, such as the crown-lands, the monopoly of salt, the mines, and assessments on the church lands; partly from taxes voted by the diet, such as a land-tax, a poll-tax, and an impost on cattle. The diet or parliament consists here, as in Bohemia, of four “states” or classes; the Catholic prelates, the magnates or peers, the representatives of the inclyti or landholders, and the deputies from towns. The two first mentioned form the upper, the two last the lower house. The president of the former is the prince palatine, and in his absence the noble of highest rank: in the lower house the imperial, or, as he is here termed, the royal commissioner, is president. The deliberations generally proceed in separate chambers; but in case of non-agreement, the two are [7:4:225]united in one, and questions are decided by a majority of votes. No serious division, however, has for a long time taken place either in the diet or between the diet and the executive government. The power of the sovereign in Hungary, though not so great as in Bohemia or the hereditary states, is very considerable, comprising not only the executive administration, but the proposition of all bills to the diet, and the patronage of the Catholic church. A council of state at Buda, and a higher council, at Vienna, constitute what may be termed the cabinets for the affairs of Hungary. .

The principality of Transylvania is very extensive, having a territory of considerably more than 20,000 square miles, with a population of nearly two millions. It is situated to the east of Hungary, and its name was given to it on account of the vast forests which separate it from that kingdom. Its surface is very diversified, consisting of alternate mountains and valleys. In so wide a tract of country there is necessarily a number of plains; but few of them are of great extent. The changes of temperature consequent on change of wind are frequent, and, at times, great in degree. The soil, though not deficient in natural fertility, has as yet been little cultivated: the chief products are maize and vines in warm situations; wheat, oats, and barley, on the higher grounds. The forests have long been, and still are, very extensive. There are here a number of mines of the precious metals, which, though less profitable than is commonly supposed, give employment to many thousands of the lower class. The manufactures are generally in a rude state, and can hardly be otherwise so long as the country remains destitute of conveyance by water, or of good roads. The inhabitants are chiefly of Sclavonian descent, and with as many varieties as in Hungary, each tribe adhering to its peculiar customs, though settled in the immediate vicinity of other tribes. The prevailing religion of the Transylvanians is that of the Greek church: it is professed by nearly three fourths of the population, while the Protestants amount to 400,000, and the Catholics to only half the number. To one or other of these belong the descendants of Germans who settled in this country, and who are in number about 400,000. The constitution of Transylvania is nearly the same as in Hungary, the diet or representative body being on a similar footing. The languages spoken here are as various as in Hungary; Latin being used for public papers and communications of importance, the Magyar for personal intercourse. The public revenue is about 500,000 a year.

Croatia, an extensive province to the south-west of Hungary, is marked by physical features similar to those of Upper Austria or Carinthia, being pervaded by mountains in almost every direction. The climate consequently differs according to the elevation of the soil, the degree of cold being in many parts nearly as great as on the Carpathian Mountains; while the tract along the coast of the Adriatic has a comparatively mild climate, as also the plains in the interior. In the latter are raised maize, v mes, and the fruits common in the south of Europe. The forests of Croatia are of great extent, consisting of oak, elm, ash, beech, and, in the higher grounds, of fir and pines. The mines, though naturally productive, are as yet very imperfectly wrought, not excepting those of iron. The extent of this province is between 5000 and 6000 square miles. The inhabitants, in number about 600,000, are almost all Catholics: the majority are of Sclavonian descent, and speak the language of their ancestors. The Germans are comparatively few, and are the descendants or those who from time to time settled in this uncivilized quarter to exercise mechanical employments, with which the natives were unacquainted.

Sclavonia, situated to the east of Croatia, is somewhat less extensive, having a surface of about 5000 square miles, with a population of 370,000. The figure of this province is long and narrow; its northern frontier, formed by the Drave and Danube, separating it from Hungary, while the Save, also a large river, divides it on the south from the Turkish territory. From its position under the 45th and 46th degrees of north latitude, its climate would be warm throughout, were it not traversed throughout its whole length by a chain of lofty mountains, covered with forests. The consequence is, that the low grounds alone have a sufficient degree of temperature for the cultivation of maize and the fruits of the south of Europe. The higher districts produce wheat, barley, flax, hemp, and madder. The rivers and streams flowing from the hills often inundate the low country, and leave, as in Hungary, a quantity of stagnant water, the effect of which is very injurious to health. The dwellings of the peasantry are in general mere mud huts; but in the forest tracts they are log-houses covered with slate. This extreme poverty of Sclavonia is to be ascribed to its having been long the seat of war between the Turks and Hungarians; for it was not till the year 1700 that it came definitively into the possession of Austria. The majority of the inhabitants are consequently of the Greek church; the Germans settled here being, as in Croatia, comparatively few.

The Military Frontiers form a long and narrow tract of country, extending several hundred miles, from the Carpathians in the east to the Adriatic in the west, along the confines of Transylvania, Hungary, Sclavonia, and Croatia. The climate, the state of agriculture, and the degree of civilization, are similar to those of the adjoining provinces. After the year 1718, when the successes of Prince Eugene had obliged the Turks to cede this country to Austria, a constitution adapted to a frontier district was framed for it, and has continued in force ever since. Its fundamental principle is to enable the inhabitants to defend themselves by being accustomed to the use of arms, and by giving personal service in the field in lieu of taxes and the rent of land. Every man along this extensive line may be said to be born a soldier; at least in every family one of the males is bound to do military duty, and all are liable to serve when called on. In return they are exempted from tithe and all direct taxes. They have also assigned to them portions of land, which descend from father to son. Even civil affairs in this country are conducted in a military form; the different magistrates bearing the rank respectively of generals, colonels, and captains. The population of this extensive line of country is nearly 1,000,000, the efficient force about 50,000 militia.

BOHEMIA.

Bohemia, which ranks immediately after Hungary among the great members of the Austrian union, bears the title of kingdom, and is amply entitled to it by its extent, its population, and its progressive improvement. Backward as it still is, its resources, as the imperial government is well aware, are of a nature very different from those afforded by the mountainous provinces of the Alps, or the half-civilized districts on the side of Turkey. It is situated between the 48th and 51st degrees of north latitude; its form is an irregular square; its area, not yet accurately ascertained, is computed at fully 20,000 square miles, or three fourths of the extent of Scotland. It is separated from the surrounding countries by ranges of mountains which encircle it on every side. From this, and from the general appearance of the interior, there seems little doubt that in an early age the chief part of Bohemia was covered with water, and that such continued[7:4:226] the case until an outlet was opened at the northern and least elevated part of the chain, in the direction by which the Elbe still flows, carrying with it the waters of tributary streams from almost every part of the kingdom.

This separation from the adjacent countries, particularly from the comparatively improved states of Saxony on the north and Franconia on the west, necessarily operated to the disadvantage of Bohemia, and retarded its advance in civilization. German settlers resorted to it from time to time, but individually or in small parties, never in numerous bodies, or in a manner that enabled them to disseminate extensively the improvements of their respective countries.

Of the aboriginal inhabitants of Bohemia there are no distinct accounts; but the name of the country confirms the current tradition that they were the Boii, a well-known Celtic tribe. Christianity appears to have been introduced among them only towards the close of the ninth century, the era of the commencement of their historical records. The ruler or governor then bore the name of grand duke, and the succession under that, as under the subsequent title of king, was for a long time elective. In the thirteenth century Ottocar I., a prince of ability, passed laws similar to those which were enacted in England about the same time by Edward I., exempting the inhabitants of villages from dependence on the neighbouring barons, and enabling them to possess their little properties in security. His son and successor, Ottocar IL, followed a similar course; a system of laws was compiled and reduced to writing in German; and Prague, the capital, became a town of importance. Bohemia was, as is well known, the country of John Huss and Jerome of Prague, who exposed the fallacies of the church of Rome, but at too early a date; for the public, not then enlightened by the art of printing and the circulation of sound doctrines, misunderstood their views; a civil war burst out, and the result tended to perpetuate the abuses which these well-meaning men had laboured to remove.

The crown of Bohemia, like that of Hungary, had at different intervals been held from marriage connection by princes of the house of Austria; but in 1526 both crowns devolved on the head of that house, and have ever since been held by it in hereditary succession.

The climate of Bohemia varies greatly, according to the elevation of the ground; the plains and valleys being warm, while the mountains in the south, as in the north, are cold and bleak. The annual fall of rain differs in like manner according to situation; but 20 inches a year is said to be a frequent average. The soil of Bohemia is in general good, but the agriculture extremely backward. The chief products, as in a similar latitude in England, are wheat, barley, rye, oats, potatoes; also hemp, flax, and hops. In some warm situations vines are cultivated, but as yet on a small scale. The pastures, on the other hand, are extensive, and in many parts as good as those of Saxony and Silesia; but the inhabitants are far behind their neighbours in the management of their flocks and the quality of their wool. In the rearing and training of horses the case is otherwise: considerable improvement has been made in both, studs having been established in different parts of the country by the Austrian government, which draws a large proportion of its cavalry from this quarter.

The forests of Bohemia are of great extent; and large quantities of timber are annually cut down and shipped in the parts adjoining a navigable river. The Elbe and Moldau are of great use for the conveyance of these as well as of other bulky commodities. The Elbe rises in the east of the kingdom; but the Moldau, which at their junction is the larger river, rises in the southern extremity of Bohemia, and has a course of above 150 miles, nearly the whole width of the kingdom. The Eger, the river next’ in size, rises in the west, and has a course of about 100 miles, with a less rapid current than the Moldau.

Bohemia is divided into sixteen circles or counties, varying, of course, in extent and population, but containing on an average nearly 1300 square miles, and 250,000 inhabitants.

Population of the Chief Towns.

Prague 90,000 Pilsen 8,000

Eger 10,000 Budweis 7,000

Reichenberg 10,000 Konig-groetz 6,000

Besides these there are about fifteen petty places with 2000, 3000, or 4000 inhabitants each; but altogether the town population, with the exception of the capital, is insignificant. That of the country is very different: it approaches in density to that of Ireland; the farms being small, and the cultivation being carried on almost wholly by manual labour.

The manufactures of Bohemia have made considerable progress in the last and present age: they consist chiefly of woollens, linen, and leather, but they comprise also cottons, hardware, and glass. The value of these different fabrics approaches to an annual total of three millions sterling, a large amount for so poor a country. Great part of the woollen and linen is woven, as in the last age in England, in cottages. The mountains contain ores of iron, lead, tin, cobalt, and silver; but iron alone is extracted on a large scale. The foreign trade of Bohemia with Saxony and the north of Germany is carried on by the Elbe, but with most other parts by land-carriage. The communication now making, partly by canal, partly by railway, from the Moldau to the Danube, will be of great advantage to Bohemia, as will a farther extension of the turnpike roads, which at present hardly exceed 1000 miles in total length, or one twentieth of the roads of England; and nowhere are good roads more wanted than in Bohemia, for business there is still carried on, in a great measure, by itinerant dealers, who pass the summer in conveying their goods to public fairs held periodically at the different towns.

The population of Bohemia has greatly increased in the last and present age. In 1791 it was considerably below 3,000,000. At present it amounts to 3,900,000, and bids fair to rise soon to 4,000,000. Of these about a third part are of German extraction, the other two thirds being descended from the aboriginal stock. The ancestors of the Germans settled here from time to time, as mechanics, miners, and traders; employments which the uninstructed natives, like the cottagers of Ireland, were not capable of exercising. At present, even, it is by the German part of the population that whatever relates to public business or to foreign trade is conducted; the Bohemians generally confining themselves to husbandry in the country, or to common labour in towns. The middle classes, in general, speak both German and Bohemian; but the latter, which is quite different from German, is the only language of the lower orders, particularly in remote districts. The power of the sovereigns is as great in Bohemia as in any part of the Austrian dominions. The parliament or states consist of four classes of members; the clergy, the great nobility, the nobility of the second class, and the representatives of the chief towns. But their duties are little more than nominal. They deliberate on the measures proposed to them by the royal commissioner, but they have no power to originate a bill. As to public revenue, Bohemia contributes fully two millions to the imperial treasury, and maintains a force in regulars and militia of 50,000 men.
[7:4:227]

Moravia, and Austrian Silesia, which is now annexed ' to it, contain an area of 11,000 square miles, with a population of 2,000,000, a degree of density approaching to that of England, and nearly double the average population of Germany. This is owing chiefly to the fertility of the soil; for although chains of mountains cross the country in several directions, the plains and valleys are extensive, yielding in abundance wheat, rye, oats, barley, and, in the warmer situations, vines. The pastures also are good, and a number of horses and horned cattle are exported annually. Here, as in Bohemia, the majority of the inhabitants are of Sclavonian descent; and the language of the lower orders is not German, but a dialect of the Sclavonic. Moravia resembles Bohemia in other respects,—in the religion of its inhabitants, who are chiefly Catholics; and in the limited power of its states or parliament, who deliberate on such subjects only as are proposed to them by the executive government. But it surpasses Bohemia, and every part of the Austrian dominions, except the Vienna district, in its extent of manufactures and the use of machinery. Woollens, linen, and, since the beginning of the present century, cottons, are here made in large quantities, both for home consumption and export.

Austrian Silesia has an area of 1900 square miles, with a population of 400,000. It consists of two circles or counties, called, from their respective chief towns, Troppau and Teschen; but, for the administration of justice and other public purposes, Austrian Silesia is considered as united with Moravia. It resembles that country, too, in the activity of its productive industry. The density of its population is owing less to an advanced state of tillage than to extensive manufactures of linen and woollens. The pastures of this country are in general rich, and the export of wool, already considerable, is likely to increase.

Galicia bears the title of kingdom, to which it is well entitled; for its territory, above 32,000 square miles, is greater than that of Scotland, and its population, distinct from that of the Buckowine, exceeds 4,000,000. It is of an oblong form, and is divided for purposes of government into two parts, called respectively East and West Galicia. The name of Lodomeria (in Polish Wlodomir) is now obsolete, or used only in diplomatic papers. The whole belonged formerly to Poland; and in its physical aspect Galicia greatly resembles that country, consisting of a succession of plains, with few elevations except in the south, where it is intersected by a part of the Carpathian range. The climate is consequently temperate, and even warm. The chief products are, as in a similar latitude in England, wheat, oats, rye, and barley. The summer heats being much greater than in this country, the culture of the vine is practicable in certain situations, but has not yet been carried to any considerable length, she pastures, on the other hand, are extensive, and supply the Austrian cavalry with a number of good horses. Farming, however, is as backward here as in the rest of Poland, or in the least improved parts of Germany. The peasantry, till lately in a state of servitude, have still the dolent habits of vassals, and must often be driven to their labour by compulsion. The roads in Galicia are in general very bad, and the extent of river navigation is very limited; but the level surface of the country is favourable to the forming of both roads and canals; and were Galicia less distant from the sea, its exports, parti-ularly of corn, would soon become considerable. German is the language for public documents and official business, but Polish is spoken by the people at large. In t 1 iθι∙ 1 V an . ner . , as to religion, the Roman Catholic is the es- -a ιshed faith; but the majority of the inhabitants, being o oclavonian descent, are of the Greek church. Here, 3i ιn tle rest of Poland, the dealers and traffickers are almost all Jews, whose total number approaches to half a million. Of the backwardness of this country in manufactures and the mechanical arts we may judge by the smallness of the town population; Lemberg, the capital, being the only place which as yet sends deputies to the Galician diet. The members of that assembly consist wholly of prelates and landholders.

Extensive as the portion of Galicia subject to Austria is at present, it was formerly still larger. Russia having taken part against Austria in the disastrous campaign of 1809, the latter power was obliged by Buonaparte to cede to Russia the eastern part of Galicia. Nor was this valuable territory restored in the general adjustment of 1815, because the principle of that adjustment was, that Russia should be indemnified in Poland, as Austria was in Italy, and Prussia on the banks of the Rhine.

The Buckowine is an extensive district, formerly part of Moldavia, but ceded by the Turks to Austria in 1777. It now forms a circle or county of Galicia, having an area of 3700 square miles, and a population of 260,000. The western part adjoining the Carpathian Mountains is high and barren; but the rest of the country is in general fertile. The forests of oak are here of great extent, and seem to have given name to the country, buchow in Sclavonian signifying an oak.

THE ALPINE PROVINCES.

The duchy of Styria, one of the earliest acquisitions of: the Austrian family, has an extent of nearly 9000 square miles, with a population of 850,000, of whom more than half are of German descent, while the remainder are Wends or Sclavonians. The inhabitants differ in language, but are agreed in religion, being almost all Catholics. Styria bears a resemblance to the adjoining province of Carinthia, both in soil and climate; Upper Styria being very mountainous, while in Lower Styria the ground has less elevation as it recedes from the Alps. Hence a corresponding difference in temperature and products; the mountainous part being covered with forests, and fit only for pasture, while the plains and valleys produce wheat, barley, oats, rye, and; in the warmer situations, maize. The culture of potatoes, though introduced less than a century ago, has now become general, and has been the means of adding largely to the population. The mines are extensive, particularly those of coal and iron; the steel of Styria is as noted in Germany as the Swedish steel in the north of Europe. Salt also is obtained here in great abundance.

Tyrol bears in official papers no higher name than that of county (in German Grafschaft) ; but it is by far the largest county in Europe, having an extent of above 15,000 square miles, with a population of 780,000. It is traversed in every direction by mountains, many of them of great height; while the low grounds consist, not of plains of any extent, but of a succession of long valleys to the number of more than twenty. In these the climate is comparatively warm, and the soil in many parts fertile, producing corn in considerable quantity, and, in favourable situations, vines. The ploughs and agricultural implements used in this country are extremely rude; but the inhabitants show both ingenuity and industry in cultivating slopes and summits, wherever there is enough of soil to reward their labour. In this mountainous region waterfalls are frequent, and many of them are made available to the movement of mills and other machinery. Mineral ores are found in Tyrol to an extent that justifies the expectation that they may be made to afford eventually considerable employment and income to the inhabitants; but in a country so rugged in its surface, and so [7:4:228]deficient in machinery, little progress has as yet been made in working mines. Manufactures are equally backward; the work required for them, whether spinning, knitting, or weaving, being almost all performed by the hand.

The domestic animals in Tyrol are, in general, of a diminutive size. The forests contain wolves, bears, goats, and many other animals in a wild state; hence the number of chasseurs or sportsmen in Tyrol, and their dexterity as sharp-shooters, so frequently evinced in the late wars. The Tyrolese, though of a warlike character, and strongly attached to the house of Austria, dislike the restraints of discipline. They perform, however, militia duty, and are called out for training during several weeks in the year.

The language of the Tyrol is German. Like the other provinces of the Austrian empire, it has its states or parliament, composed of deputies from the clergy and nobility, to whom there have been added, for some time past, deputies from the peasantry.

Carinthia adjoins Tyrol, and, like it, consists of a succession of mountains separated by narrow valleys. It contains a number of lakes, formed, as in the highlands of Scotland and other mountainous countries, by water collecting in hollows, and finding no outlet, except at a considerable height. Tillage is here on a very limited scale; but the pastures are more extensive, and the forests which cover the sides of the mountains would be very valuable, were it practicable to convey the trees to a navigable river. The mines of this province are extensive, particularly those of iron, lead, and quicksilver. The extent of Carinthia is 4000 square miles; its population 300,000. The chief towns are Clagenfurth and Villach.

Carniola, the adjacent province, is more populous than Carinthia; because, though mountainous in the north, it has in the south extensive valleys and fertile plains. Here are also a number of mines of iron, lead, and quicksilver. The agricultural products are not merely wheat, rye, and barley, as in Carinthia, but maize and vines, the sure indication of a warmer sun. Of a population of half a million, only a tenth part are of German descent; the rest are Sclavonians. Carinthia, Carniola, Istria, and part of Friuli, form the present kingdom of Illyria, which is divided, for purposes of administration, into two great districts or governments, Laybach and Trieste.

Dalmatia, though dignified with the title of kingdom, is a long, narrow, and, as yet, thinly peopled tract, extending along the east shore of the Adriatic, from lat. 42. to 45. It comprises the whole of what was formerly Venetian Dalmatia, along with the smaller territories of Ragusa and Cattaro. Its extent is about 6000 square miles; its population 340,000. Its agricultural products, maize, vines, olives, and silk, give proof of a climate considerably warmer than in any of the above-mentioned provinces. Here, as in those provinces, the ranges of mountains are extensive; but there are also beautiful and fertile valleys. The iron mines and the marble quarries of Dalmatia are both of great extent; but as yet they are little wrought, on account chiefly of the thinness of the population. Such parts of the forests as adjoin navigable rivers, or have ready means of conveyance to the coast, are made available for ship-building; the Austrian government adopting the views of Buonaparte in considering Dalmatia of great importance towards forming a navy. No part of Europe abounds more with good harbours than the mainland of Dalmatia, and the numerous islands along the coast.