The morganatic marriage of the Austrian Heir-Presnmp. tive, the Archduke
Francis Ferdinand, to the Countess Chotek, has raised a serious question as to the succession to the Hungarian throne. The party of M. Kossuth, which favours independence, declares that the House Law of the Hapsburgs is of no validity in Hungary, that the morganatic idea has never been accepted there, and that therefore the Countess Chotek must be Queen of Hungary and her children must succeed. The " renunciation " signed by the Archduke operates only in Austria. The Government of Buda-Pesth contest this idea warmly, and will probably carry their Bill legalising the renunciation, but it is not so easy, as we once saw in England, to settle the idea of legitimacy by Bill, and the Countess Chotek's children may one day have a formidable party behind them.
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