HUNGARIAN AGRICULTURE.
THOSE persons who have of late years paid attention to the internal affairs of the Austrian Empire, cannot fail to have remarked the great change in the manner in which German writers treat Hungarian affairs. During the period 1849-1859, while bureaucratic absolutism was rampant in Austria, the Hun- garians were regarded by the German Liberals with sympathy and admiration, as champions of the cause of liberty. Since that time various projects have been formed of giving the whole empire a common constitution, which projects failed through the reso- lute opposition of the Hungarians, till the German Liberals came to look upon the latter with a dislike as strong as their previous sympathy. As the rest of Europe takes its ideas about Hungary and the Hungarians from German sources, this dislike has visibly affected their reputation in Western Europe. We have, there- fore, the greater pleasure in noticing Dr. Ditz's book on Hungarian Agriculture,* as it is written in a spirit of fairness and impartiality. He does not fail to see and to point out the many weak points of the Magyar character, but he is at the same time equally forward in defending them against many false, or at any rate exaggerated accusations. From many passages in his book it is evident that its author considers the German public, which he addresses, as hostile to the Hungarians. As he says in his preface :—" In the following pages Hungary and its people receive such an acknow- ledgment of their merits as is not generally met with in non- Hungarian countries. This acknowledgment would in all pro- bability have been more decided, were it not that in our eyes Hungary's weakest side is her political economy, and it was just that of which we had to treat."
The book cannot be considered controversial in its general tone, yet he several times alludes to unfavourable opinions of Hungary, and combats them, or at least attempts to modify them. For instance, while premising that politics are not his subject, he enumerates briefly, but clearly, a few facts about the origin of the Austrian public debt ; which, as he says, excused the Hungarian from being a willing payer of taxes levied to pay the expenses of keeping him in subjection, and sweeping away every- thing that he held dear. He then goes on to show by Austrian official returns, that other nationalities in the empire were even more behindhand in paying taxes than the Magyars. In a like spirit he points out that Hungarian agriculture does not stand on so low a level as many persons in Germany imagine, nor is it by any means so contented with its present condition, or so averse to improvements, as it is often represented in Hungary itself. He refers to the experience of the money-lending institu- tions to prove that the Magyar peasant is more punctual in pay- ing his debts than even the German colonist. With respect to the charge of indolence often brought against the Magyar peasant, and copied servilely from one guide-book to another, the author observes :—" People complain of the indolence of the Hungarian peasant, and no one does so more than the Hungarian himself. We must confess that we have not found him more indolent than is the peasant in most parts of Germany. But then we do not call it indolence, if the peasant neglects to manure his land, as long as the advantages of doing so are not evident, nay, are indeed doubtful. Nor do we call it indolence if he bestows but a small amount of labour on his field, as long as the increase of produce is not commensurate to the increase of expense in increased labour. Still less do we call it indolence, if he keeps to his old-fashioned wooden plough, as long as he cannot find in the neighbourhood a smith capable of repairing an iron plough when it gets out of order. As far as we have come into contact with the Hungarian peasant, we have found him a teachable and industrious cultivator."
We might bring forward other passages to show the candour with which Dr. Ditz recognizes the good points of Hungarian agriculturists, but those already cited are sufficient. The candour is in some measure explained by the circumstances to which the book owes its origin. The " agricultural crisis" caused by the low price of corn, which has of late years made itself felt in almost all European countries, was by many attributed to the increased production of grain in the east of Europe. In South Germany they had Hungary especially in tneir thoughts, when giving this explanation. Consequently the Bavarian Government sent Dr. Ditz on a special mission to Hungary to report on the production and commerce of Hungarian corn. The peculiar character of the whole agricultural system of that country made it, however, too attractive a subject of study for Dr. Ditz to confine himself strictly within the narrow limits of the report required of him. As he says, "In other respects Hungary may have ceased to be
• Di* ungaristhe Landwirthschaft. Von Dr. Heinrich Ditz. Leipzig: Otto Wigand. a terra incognita, it still remains such in respect of political economy." So he spent somewhat more than two years in the country and acquired a knowledge of the Hungarian language, which, by the bye, most of those who claim the right to inform. us about Hungary generally consider superfluous. This know- ledge is in several places in the book before us made use of to- illustrate and explain peculiarities of Hungarian life.
Dr. Ditz makes a distinction between the expressions, " agricul- ture of Hungary," i.e., of the whole country, and "Hungarian agriculture," i.e., that agriculture which is peculiar to Hungary, or rather to the most striking and characteristic portions of it, its two great plains. The book before us treats only of " Hungarian agriculture" in this limited sense. Many circumstances conspire to imprint on their agriculture a character quite different from that of Western Europe. The great natural fertility of the soil, of which the greater part has been first brought into cultivation during the last twenty years, the excessive continental climate, in which a change of temperature of 16° or 20° Reaumur within a few hours is nothing unusual, the uniformity of soil and. climate over the whole plain, the want of roads and of materials for making them, are natural causes which contribute to produce that peculiar character. " Hungary," says our author, " is the land of extremes. Its principal feature is a massive uniformity admitting but little variety of detail. The traveller finds not a single brook or running water in a journey of seventy-. five English miles, between two navigable rivers. It takes a day to go in a light waggon from Csuba to the adjacent village of Szanas ; on the other hand, the population of these two places amounts to 27,000 and 20,000 respectively. The towns on the plain have the character of agricultural villages ; the villages are as thinly scattered and as large in size as towns in Western Europe. The same strong contrast prevails in the distribution of landed property. The middle class of proprietors is a very small one. By the side of thousands of small peasant land- holders are a few immense estates, tens of thousands of acres in extent. The ten largest landholding families possess not less. than a sixth part of the area of the kingdom between them."
Although the primary object of the work is to describe the agriculture of the two Hungarian plains, it contains a great deal of information about the whole country, and even of the whole Austrian Empire, especially as regards the effect upon the habits of the people produced by the makeshift financial policy of their Government, and the fluctuation in the value of the paper cur- rency. To illustrate the self-complacent carelessness so prevalent in Austria, which has been the cause of so many of her disasters, Dr. Ditz quotes from an " officious" source :—" This large amount. of taxes (eighty-four millions of florins), of which even in the present year of famine hardly 12-14 millions are in arrear, suffices to prove that the Hungarian cultivator is not a careless and indolent, but, on the contrary, an economical and thrifty farmer."
As our author well observes, " If 12-14 millions of arrears are little in Austria, what would they call much ? If under such circumstances her financiers feel comfortable, what would make them feel uncomfortable ? Is not this disposition to take things easy, which is so prevalent in Austria, more dangerous to the State than even the 12-14 millions of arrears? "
For a full, complete, and at the same time vivid description of what the author calls " extensive " as opposed to " intensive " agriculture, of the position of a country whose condition, as far as political economy is concerned, is in most points the antipodes of that of our own, we can recommend our readers to study Dr. Ditz'a report. They will find in him the accuracy, but not the dryness or dullness of a mere statistician. Indeed, we do not know any work—certainly not in the English language— which will give them so correct an idea of the Hungarian peasant's life, or so just an estimate of the conduct of the higher classes of that country. Nor is the subject without special interest just now. The Hungarians have, after a long struggle, regained possession of the government of their own country. The Ministry at present in power are determined to consider the material and financial prosperity of Hungary as the first and foremost object of their political labours. We may Safely predict that their successors would imitate them in this respect, should some unforeseen accident displace the men at present in office. No questions are so much discussed in Hungarian conver- sation as those which have reference to political economy. That their opinions are not always correct will surprise no one, nor that the ideas of a young and ambitious nation about its own future are apt to be somewhat too rosy in hue. But they will learn ; for they must learn; for they know that unless they thriftily and wisely make use of their resources, they will become the victims of bank- ruptcy, and the White Czar on the Neva.
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