There have been serious riots in Agram, the capital of
Croatia. A journal of Belgrade had published an article offensive to Croatians, which was republished in Agram, and the populace resolved to wreak vengeance on the Servians in the town. They attacked an old Servian officer who they said had fired on them and beat him severely, and endeavoured to wreck all Servian shops and houses. The tradesmen were protected by soldiers, but the rioters grew so fierce that the town was placed under martial law, and a strong force of Hungarian troops was brought in from cantonments to main- tain order. The root of the whole affair is, of course, the preten- sion of the Croatians that Croatia is independent, and not a province of Hungary, a pretension to which the Magyars are irreconcilably opposed. Apart from their claim of possession for two hundred years, they feel that an independent Croatia would cut them off from the sea, and deprive them of their only port, Fiume. The separatist Croatians number less than a million and a half, and have few chances even if Austria. Hungary should be dissolved ; but none of the races in the Balkan Peninsula are quite sane upon the subject of nation- ality. Each expects some day or other to become great by absorbing some of the others.
