received a timely warning and escaped to foreign countries. The plan of trying Palacký by court-martial was—as already mentioned—soon given up. Rieger for a short time retired to Paris, but was soon allowed to return to his native country. The proceedings taken against Havliček have already been mentioned. Though the assembly at Kroměřiže had thus been unceremoniously dismissed, the pretence of establishing representative institutions was still kept up. In March 1849, a new constitution for the whole empire, including Hungary, was established. It requires no notice, as no attempt was ever made to carry out its provisions. It was formally suppressed on December 31, 1851, and undisguised absolutism prevailed in all parts of the Habsburg dominions up to the year 1860.
An autocratic government such as was now established required the support of military prestige. After the disastrous campaign in Lombardy in 1859, the government of Vienna determined to make a new attempt to establish representative institutions. After some preliminary deliberations the Imperial councillors devised a constitutional scheme, which, had it been fairly and impartially carried out, would probably have assured permanent concord and harmony to the vast empire. It was proposed that a central parliament, composed of delegates of all the states which form the empire, should meet to deliberate on a strictly limited number of subjects. The members of this assembly were to be elected by the parliamentary bodies which represented the different states of the empire. To these bodies very extensive powers were granted. In Hungary, and to a lesser degree in Bohemia, their constitution was modelled on that of the ancient Diets of those states.
These reforms were contained in a decree dated October 20, 1860. Its author, Count Goluchowski,[1] declared it to be henceforth the fundamental law of the country. It was well received in Bohemia, but met with bitter hostility on the part of the Hungarians. Even the most conservative statesmen of that country—and they alone then took part in the councils of the empire—declared that Hungary was still deprived of her ancient rights. Yet louder was the outcry of the foolish and frivolous population of Vienna. The Viennese, greatly to the damage of the empire, have
- ↑ Father of the Count Goluchowski, who was recently Austrian minister of Foreign Affairs.
