Verily, Democracy is marching among the white races in some
strength of its own. One week ago, the man who pre- dicted that the House of Hapsburg would of its own volition proclaim universal suffrage, would have been justly declared an ignoramus by every diplomatist and historian in Europe ; yet this is what it has done, fully in principle, and almost in practice. On October 10th, Count Taaffe, Premier in the Cis-Leithan Monarchy, announced, to an amazed, not to say bewildered, Reichsratb, that his Government considered the reform of the suffrage urgent business ; that the Bill would be brought in, and he hoped passed, as soon as the Budget and a Bill improving the Landwehr were disposed of ; and that the measure would confer the franchise on all who could read and write, on all who knew one language of the Empire, and had resided six months; on all soldiers who had passed through a war, and on all men who have passed through the elementary schools, the latter qualification being obligatory by law on every Austrian. This is universal suffrage ; for if, as is said, the number of voters is only increased from one million seven hundred thousand to four millions, the number will increase every year by leaps and bounds, until it includes the entire population. Representation by groups, under which the landlords seat 85 Members in a House of 353, is still to be retained; but nobody in Austria doubts that this has been done to avoid opposition in the House which has to pass the Bill, and that logical universal suffrage without groups will be established in the near future.
Previous page
