The Vienna correspondent of the Times gives in last Satur-
day's paper a gloomy account of the Austrian finances. It is very doubtful whether the present fiscal system can meet the ordinary expenditure of the State now that Military and Naval expenditure has been increased. The Finance Minister, Dr. Robert Meyer, has said " our finances are capable of develop- ment," but he has not suggested how they can be developed. The Austrian Budget is notoriously inelastic. The last Finance Minister, Dr. de Bilinski, suddenly raised the Estimates of Revenue by nearly £4,000,000, and by refusing to spend money which had been regarded as allotted he managed to balance his Budget. But these tactics cannot be repeated. Dr. Robert Meyer has announced that the " secret drawer " of the Treasury is empty, and since the dissolution of Parliament Provisional Estimates have been promulgated by Imperial decree. The Finance Minister, moreover, has been authorised to contract a floating loan of about £3,200,000. These again, are tactics which cannot be repeated. The cor- respondent points out that among the decisive features of the situation is the failure of the State enterprises—the rail- , ways, posts and telegraphs, lands, forests and mines. The railways require a large capital outlay before they can be worked at a profit, but the existing fiscal system cannot supply the money, and there is a prospect of an indefinitely continued loss to the country.
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