III.
The popular rising in 1903 opened new channels for the national struggle; it was also the prelude to the hardest and bitterest time that the Southern Slav people have yet been called upon to face. Khuen’s successor was Count Theodore Pejacsević, a Croatian noble, who was no great statesman, but at least a good administrative official. He gave the distracted country a brief time of quiet, equitable government, and deserves great credit for abolishing Khuen’s system of corruption. Meantime the strongly Nationalist parties in Croatia had formed a block,—the Serbo-Croat Coalition,—and Count Pejacsević found it impossible to raise a pro-Hungarian majority in Parliament. Shortly afterwards the Hungarian Opposition also rose into conflict with the Crown, and the situation became involved both in Hungary and Croatia. The Hungarian Opposition applied to the Serbo-Croat Coalition for support in their struggle and promised that, if their party were returned, they would grant all Croatia’s demands as embodied in the Agreement of 1867. Negotiations were carried on by Francis Kossuth and Geza Polonyi on behalf of Hungary, and by Frano Supilo as delegate of the Serbo-Croat Coalition. These negotiations resulted in the Resolution of Fiume (October, 1905), which stipulated for the political co-operation between the Hungarian and Serbo-Croat parties, and secured considerable advantages to Croatia in the event of success. The Resolution of Fiume was in every way a masterpiece of policy and diplomacy, and was in all its details the achievement of Frano Supilo, who was the popular leader in Croatia at the time. In the election of 1905 the Coalition won a brilliant victory. Not one Government candidate was returned, and the small Opposition consisted of partizans of Ante Starćević’s one-time idealist, patriotic constitutionalist party, which however, since his death, had passed under the control of Jewish solicitors, and was so committed to a purely Austrian Christian-Socialist policy. As the Hungarian Opposition had likewise scored a victory, the Croatian Cabinet was composed of representatives of the Serbo-Croat Coalition, with Count Pejacsević retained in office as “ut conditio sine qua non.” Croatia enjoyed a short respite and began to look forward to better times. But her hopes were once more doomed to disappointment. The perfidious Magyars once more failed to keep their word. So long as they needed the Serbs and Croats they were full of love and brotherliness, but when they had gained their point, they discarded the mask of false friendship. Francis Kossuth, having become Handelsminister (Minister of Trade) in the Hungarian Cabinet in 1907, introduced a bill on the control of the Railways which was the most flagrant and outrageous infringement of the Agreement as yet attempted. It provided that thenceforth the language used on the railway-system, even in Croatian territory, was to be Hungarian, although it had been specially stipulated in the Agreement—which stands in the place of a fundamental constitutional law—that Croatian was to be official tongue in all joint offices within Croatian territory. The Serbo-Croat Coalition, which is represented by forty members in the Hungarian Parliament, rose in wrath against the Bill, and declared war to the knife upon the Hungarian Government. The conflict in the Hungarian Parliament is known all over Europe. The Croats and Serbs pursued a policy of obstruction, which fairly paralyzed the House and made parliamentary discussion of the Railway Bill quite impossible. To get it passed Kossuth so worded his Bill that it was contained in one paragraph, empowering the Government to deal with the Pragmatic (administrative business of the country) at their discretion as part of the Order of the Day.
The rupture with Hungary was now complete. The Serbo-Croat Coalition transferred the conflict to Croatia, and the nation began to agitate for detachment from Hungary. The Parliament was dissolved, but the Coalition was again victorious in the election. On the resignation of the Croatian Government, Alexander v. Rakodczay was appointed Ban, but failing to raise a party friendly to the Government he was forced to resign his office in two months. The next Ban to be appointed was Baron Paul Rauch, who boldly entered his capital town of Zagreb, but was received with hostile demonstrations and showers of stones. It speaks well for his courage that he was not affected by this reception, and even introduced himself to the Parliament with great pomp. His reception in Parliament was one great demonstration of hostility, so that he could not even read the Royal message. He had to fly the building with his Ministerial staff, and Parliament was officially dissolved the same day. Baron Rauch formed a Government party of venal upstarts and discredited characters, secured the support of the now thoroughly demoralized “constitutionalist party,” and ordered a new election. Everything was done to intimidate the electorate, with the result that not one of Rauch’s candidates was returned. This Parliament was dissolved without even having been summoned, and Rauch embarked on a reign of terror which can only be compared to that of Germany in the Cameroons. He organized the Jewish-constitutionalist party into bands which went by the name of the “Black Hand.” Their motto was “For the Emperor, and for Croatia,” and their weapons were murder and assault, which they were allowed to use with impunity against their opponents. At the same time an organized judicial persecution of the Serbs was set on foot. But even this tyranny could not break the national resistance.
At this juncture a new contingency arose. The Monarchy was preparing to annex Bosnia and Hercegovina, and a suitable pretext had to be found. The Government accordingly invented the “Greater Serbian agitation.” The heroic struggle of the Serbo-Croat Coalition was represented as being the outcome of a Greater Serbian agitation, and Baron Rauch was commissioned to unmask this “widespread criminal conspiracy.” In the summer of 1908, to the amazement and consternation of the people, large numbers of Serbs, chiefly priests, school-masters and business men, were arrested, and the official Press triumphantly announced that a horrible, widespread and highly treasonable propaganda had been discovered! The preliminary investigations lasted a long time, and March 3rd, 1909, saw the opening of the proceedings against the “traitors” who had conspired with Serbia for the detachment of all the Slavonic South from the Monarchy. The trial lasted till October 5th, when all the accused parties received very heavy sentences. Immediately afterwards the Austrian historian Dr. Heinrich Friedjung stated in the Viennese Neue Freie Presse, that the leaders of the Serbo-Croat Coalition were also implicated in this conspiracy, especially Frano Supilo, Grga Tuškan and Božidar Vinković, and that his accusation was founded on documentary evidence. Hereupon the whole Serbo-Croat Coalition took proceedings against Dr. Friedjung for libel. The result of this case, which was fought in Vienna, caused a European sensation. It was conclusively proved that all the documentary evidence against the Coalition, both in the Zagreb and the Viennese trials, had been forged by order of Baron Aehrenthal, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Count Forgach, the Austrian Ambassador in Belgrade. Friedjung himself confessed as much in court. The consequence of this unparalleled exposé was, that the King-Emperor had to rescind the sentences already passed in the Zagreb trial.[17] Meantime, however, the desired object had been gained, and Bosnia-Hercegovina was annexed contrary to the will of all the Slavs.
But, with scandalous details incidental to the annexation, Baron Rauch’s mission had been brilliantly fulfilled. Soon afterwards Kossuth’s perfidious Government was turned out and Croatia’s old oppressor, Count Khuen Hedervary, became Premier. Khuen, however, was a personal enemy of Rauch, and occasioned his recall. In his place Nikolaus von Tomašić was appointed Ban of Croatia—a most eminent and highly-respected Croatian scholar, but politically a satellite of Khuen. He did his best to restore order, and to this end negotiated with the Serbo-Croat Coalition. Frano Supilo protested most emphatically against this. He had already had exhaustive experience of Magyar perfidy, and had no desire to see his people once again walk into the trap. But the Coalition was perhaps weary of the struggle—perhaps they still hoped for fair dealing, and accordingly entered into a compact with Tomašić which made peaceful government possible so long as the rights of the nation were respected. On the strength of this compact several Government candidates were returned at the next election; after which Tomašić promptly ignored the Coalition and governed only with his own party. Supilo’s prophecy was fulfilled, and the Coalition had once more to join the Opposition. Tomašić was overthrown but the Austro-Hungarian Government replied by sending Herr von Cuvaj, the Terrorist Commissioner, and suspending the Constitution. These were the days of bitterest misery and unscrupulous tyranny in Croatia. Cuvaj ruled with the knout, and the knout only. Police espionage flourished, and all personal, political and civil liberty was set at naught. All this time the Balkan War was raging, and woe to the Serb or Croat who dared to rejoice at his brother’s victories. But, when the Balkan Alliance was victorious, the Southern Slavs knew that from henceforth they could rely on a measure of support from their kinsmen. Vienna and Budapest were equally perspicacious and realized the advisability of changing their tactics. Cuvaj was recalled and Count Stephen Tisza, one of the most inveterate enemies of the Slavs, sent Baron Skerlecz to Croatia with instructions to conciliate the Croats. The effete Serbo-Croat Coalition was once more cajoled, and, for the third time, it entered into a disastrous compact with Hungary. This time one of the consequences was the expropriation of the Croatian sea-board in favour of Hungary. Moreover, the present crisis found the Coalition helplessly committed to the Government.
But the people had stood firm. The dire sufferings of recent years have begotten a new and healthy movement, which includes the entire youth of Croatia. The younger generation has lost faith in political parties, and begun to go its own way along the path which leads away from Hungary and away from Austria, back to union with their scattered kindred. Their aim is the establishment of a great, free and independent Southern Slav State. At the head of this younger generation stands a man of magnetic personality—Frano Supilo.
IV.
The Southern Slavs in Dalmatia, Carniola and Istria fared little better than their brothers in Croatia and Slavonia. I have already alluded to the economic neglect of Dalmatia. In politics, Germanization was practised in much the same way as Magyarization in Croatia. Dalmatia unfortunately does not enjoy independence, even on paper, and thus her oppression could wear a perfectly constitutional guise. The Dalmatian “Sabor,” like that of Istria and Carniola, is an assembly quite at the mercy of the viceroy for the time being, who would never dream of convoking it, unless he had made quite sure that no inconvenient resolutions would be passed. As a rule these “Sabors” enjoy prolonged periods of rest, and the people are only represented by their delegates in the Viennese Reichstrat. There these delegates certainly make a brave fight, but they are too few, and their voice is drowned by the huge German majority. Because of this and also through the fault of the Slovene Roman Catholic party, Carniola has become strongly Germanized, especially as regards the administration of the schools. But the Dalmatians and Istrians are a sturdy, progressive people, Slav to the backbone, and all attempts at Germanizing them have proved as futile as the beating of waves upon the shore. Beside the German danger, this people also has the Italian danger to contend with. For opportunist reasons the Austrian Government has always favoured the Italian element (4 per cent. in Istria and 2 per cent. in Dalmatia) and granted them concessions, which have given rise to the most absurd anomalies. For instance, the election law in Istria is so framed, that 96 per cent. Slovenes and Croats send fewer delegates to Vienna than 4 per cent. Italians. The same injustice prevails in the Parish Council election law, but in spite of this the Italians would never secure their majority, if special Government regulations did not compel all officials and State employees to vote Italian. If to-day Italy is apparently able to claim a sphere of interest in Istria, this is the outcome of a chance state of affairs, arbitrarily created by the Austrian Government. As an instance of this policy, I will state that shortly before the outbreak of the war the Government seriously contemplated the foundation of an Italian University for a population of 700,000 souls, while strenuously opposing the foundation of a Slovene University for 1,400,000 Slovenes and Croats in Carniola and Istria. Of course this policy made the Italians aggressive, and they continued to extend their sphere of interest until it actually included the Quarnero Islands, although these islands do not possess one single Italian inhabitant, and these very islands are the most sacred possession of the Southern Slavs. They are the only spot in Slav territory where the old Slav tongue is still spoken by the people. This fact is amply borne out by publications of the Southern Slav Academy, and also of the Russian Academy, which sends its scholars year by year to these islands to study the language. In the province of Dalmatia the populace have themselves dismissed the Italian question from the order of the day, and the local government of Zadar (Zara) is the only possession—and a very problematical one at that—which the Italians might claim, and that only because of the truly mediæval election laws. For, as soon as vote by ballot for the Parliamentary elections was introduced in the Austrian Crown lands, the Croatian candidate was returned by a majority of 7,000 votes over his Italian colleague.
The pro-Italian attitude of Austria was and is as insincere as the rest of her policy. It is simply dictated by the “divide-et-impera” principle, because an alliance between Slavs and Italians would have been fatal to the Government. One nationality was played off against the other, and the Italians proved willing tools in the hands of Austria. The influence of Italian culture, which has for centuries been received with love and admiration by the Southern Slavs, has created an Italian-speaking zone of culture in the coast-lands of the Adriatic; and the Italians, assisted by the Austrian Government, have made the most of this zone until they have actually had the audacity to include it in their sphere of national aspirations. Thus Austria created an enemy both for herself and the Slav peoples, an enemy with whom the Southern Slavs have never before had any real quarrel. Antagonism led to bitter conflicts, and if the Slav population in Dalmatia and Istria have begun to detest the Italian zone of culture it has been purely in self-defence and for fear of having to pay with their national existence for the amity and admiration of centuries. Nowadays, the Italians themselves admit that Dalmatia and Istria are indigenously pure Slav countries. Probably the present struggle has also revealed to them the true value of Austria’s favours.
In Bosnia and Hercegovina, Austria pursued the same heartless policy. Out of the three religions of one people she made three nationalities, and then fostered dissensions between them. Her policy was especially bitter against the Serbs, who are in the majority and also the more highly-educated element of the population and therefore more able to give effective support to the just claims of Serbia. Austria was not in the least interested in the prosperity of the country, and merely created an intolerable chaos by her political intrigue in a land that had already suffered beyond endurance. Her evidences of civilization exhibited before Europe were pure humbug, and the annexation of Bosnia-Hercegovina one of the most flagrant acts of injustice ever perpetrated on a nation.