AUSTRIA.

Reigning Sovereign and Family.

Francis Joseph I., Emperor of Austria, and King of Bohemia and Hungary, born August 18, 1830, the son of Archduke Francis Charles and of Archduchess Sophia, princess of Bavaria; educated under the care of his mother, by Count Henry Bombelles, the descendant of an ancient family of French emigrants. Appointed governor of Bohemia April 5, 1848; took part in the battle of SantaLucia, near Verona, May 6, 1848; declared of age, December 1, 1848; proclaimed Emperor and King, in consequence of the abdication of his uncle, Ferdinand I., and the renunciation of his father, Francis Charles, December 2, 1848; commanding a Russian division in the battle of Hochstrass, near Raab, Hungary, May 28, 1849; commander-in-chief of the Austrian army in the Italian campaign, 1859. Married April 24, 1854, to

Elizabeth, Empress of Austria, and princess in Bavaria, born December 24, 1837, the daughter of Duke Maximilian in Bavaria. Offspring of the union are two children: 1. Gisela, Archduchess of Austria, born July 12, 1856; 2. Rudolph, Archduke of Austria, and heir-apparent, Imperial Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, born August 21, 1858.

Brothers of the Emperor.—1. Archduke Maximilian; born July 6, 1832; elected Emperor of Mexico by the 'Asamblea de Notables,' July 10, 1863; assumed the reins of government, June 12, 1864. Married July 27, 1857, to Princess Charlotte, born June 7, 1840, daughter of King Leopold I. of the Belgians. 2. Archduke Charles, field-marshal in the Imperial army, born July 30, 1833; married, Oct. 21, 1862, to Princess Annunciata, born March 24, 1843, daughter of the late King Ferdinand II. of Naples. 3. Archduke Ludwig, colonel in the Imperial army, born May 15, 1842.

Parents of the Emperor.-Archduke Francis Charles, born Dec. 7, 1802, son of the late Emperor Francis I., from his second marriage with a daughter of King Ferdinand I. of Naples. Renounced the throne in favour of his eldest son, Dec. 2, 1848; married Nov. 4, 1824, to Princess Sophia, born Jan. 27, 1805, daughter of the late King Maximilian I. of Bavaria.

Uncle and Aunt of the Emperor.-1. Emperor Ferdinand I., born April 19, 1793, eldest son of the late Emperor Francis I.;

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succeeded his father March 2, 1835; crowned King of Hungary and Bohemia, Sept. 7, 1836; abdicated the throne in favour of his nephew, after previous renunciation of his brother, Dec. 2, 1848; married Feb. 27, 1831, to Empress Anna, born Sept. 19, 1803, daughter of the late King Victor Emmanuel I. of Sardinia. 2. Princess Maria Clementina, born March 1, 1798; married, July 28, 1816, to Leopold, Prince of Salerno, royal Prince of Naples; widow March 10, 1851.

Step-grandmother of the Emperor.-Empress Caroline, born Feb. 8, 1792, daughter of the late King Maximilian of Bavaria; married, in fourth nuptials, to the late Emperor Francis I., Nov. 10, 1816; crowned Queen of Hungary, Sept. 25, 1825; widow March 2, 1835.

Other Relations of the Emperor.-1. Archduke Albert, general of cavalry, born Aug. 3, 1817, son of the late Archduke Charles, the celebrated military commander, brother of the Emperor Francis I.; married, in 1844, to Princess Hildegarde of Bavaria, who died April 2, 1864. Offspring of the union are two daughters, Maria Theresa, born July 15, 1845, and Mathilda, born January 25, 1849. 2. Archduke Charles Ferdinand, commander-in-chief of the 4th corps d'armée, and commanding-general in Moravia and Silesia, born July 29, 1818, brother of the preceding Archduke Albert; married, in 1854, to Archduchess Elizabeth of Austria, born Jan. 17, offspring of which union are two sons, Frederick, born June 4, 1856, and Charles, born Sept. 5, 1860, and one daughter, Maria Christina, born July 21, 1858. 3. Archduke William, governor of the fortress of Mayence, born April 21, 1827, brother of the two preceding archdukes. 4. Archduke Stephen, field-marshal-lieutenant in the Imperial service, born Sept. 14, 1817, the son of Archduke Joseph, second brother of the Emperor Francis I.; married, in 1819, to Princess Maria of Wurtemberg, who died in 1855, leaving one son, Joseph, born March 2, 1833, and married May 10, 1864, to Princess Clotilde of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; and two daughters, Elizabeth, born Jan. 17, 1831, married to the above-named Archduke Charles Ferdinand, and Maria, born Aug. 23, 1836, married to Duke Leopold of Brabant, heir-apparent of the throne of Belgium. 5. Archduke Leopold, inspector-general of the Imperial corps of Engineers, born June 6, 1823, the son of Archduke Rainer, fifth brother of the Emperor Francis I. 6. Archduke Ernest, commander of the 3rd corps d'armée, born Aug. 8, 1824, the brother of the preceding Archduke Leopold. 7. Archduke Sigismond, commander of the 45th regiment of Imperial infantry, born Jan. 7, 1826, the brother of the two preceding archdukes. 8. Archduke Rainer, President of the Imperial Privy Council, born Jan. 11, 1827, brother of the three preceding archdukes; married, in 1852, to Arch

duchess Maria Caroline, daughter of the late Archduke Charles of Austria. 9. Archduke Henry, major-general in the Imperial army, born May 9, 1828, brother of the four preceding archdukes. 10. Archduke Louis, Feldzeugmeister in the Imperial service, born Dec. 13, 1784, sixth and only surviving son of the Emperor Leopold II., and brother of the Emperor Francis I.

The Imperial family of Austria descend from Rudolph of Hapsburg, a German Count, born 1218, who was elected Kaiser of the Holy Roman empire in 1273. The male line died out in 1740 with Emperor Charles VI., whose only daughter, Maria Theresa, gave her hand to Duke Francis 1. of Tuscany, of the house of Lorraine, who thereby became the founder of the new line of HapsburgLorraine. Maria Theresa was succeeded, in 1780, by her son Joseph II., who, dying in 1790, left the crown to his brother Leopold II., at whose death, in 1792, his son Francis I. ascended the throne, who reigned till 1835, and having been married four times, left a large family, the members of which and their descendants form the present Imperial house. Francis was the first sovereign who assumed the title of 'Emperor of Austria,' after having been compelled by Napoleon to renounce the Imperial crown of Germany, for more than five centuries in the Hapsburg family. The assumption of the title of Kaiser of Austria took place on August 11, 1804. Francis I. was succeeded by his son, the still living Emperor Ferdinand, on whose abdication, Dec. 2, 1848, the crown fell to his nephew Francis Joseph I., the fifth Emperor of Austria of the house of Hapsburg-Lorraine.

The following is a list of the sovereigns of Austria, descendants of Rudolph of Hapsburg, with the date of their accession :

House of Hapsburg.

The average reign of the above twenty-six sovereigns of the house of Hapsburg, who ruled over Austria for nearly six centuries, comprises a term of twenty-two years.

Constitution and Government.

Austria has become a constitutional monarchy since the year 1849. The first constitution-Verfassungs-Urkunde-of March 4, 1849, was, however, repealed by an Imperial decree of Dec. 31, 1851, which substituted a more absolute form of government; and, during the following years, new edicts altered the public charter. Finally, by an Imperial diploma, dated Oct. 20, 1860, followed by a decree, or 'Patent' of February 26, 1861, the present Constitution of the Empire was established. Its main features are a tripartite Legislature, consisting, first, of the Provincial Diets, representing the various states of the monarchy; secondly, a Central Diet, called the Reichsrath, or Council of the Empire; and, thirdly, a reduced form of the latter, entitled Enger Reichsrath, or Partial Council of the Empire.

There are eighteen Provincial Diets-namely, for Hungary, Bohemia, Lombardo-Venice, Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia, Galicia, Higher Austria, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Bukowina, Moravia, Silesia, Tyrol and Vorarlberg, Transylvania, Istria and Trieste. The Diets of all these provinces are formed in nearly the same manner, only differing in the number of deputies. Each consists of only one assembly, composed, 1st, of the archbishop and bishops of the Roman Catholic and Oriental Greek Church and the chancellors of universities; 2nd, of the representatives of great estates, elected by all landowners paying not less than 100 florins, or 107., taxes; 3rd, of the representatives of towns, elected by those citizens who possess municipal rights; 4th, of the representatives of boards of commerce and trade-unions, chosen by the respective members; and 5th, of the representatives of rural communes, elected by such inhabitants as pay a small amount of direct taxation. The Provincial Diets are competent to make laws concerning local administration, particularly those affecting county taxation, the cultivation of the soil, educational, church, and charitable institutions, and public works executed at the public expense. Hungary, Croatia, and Transylvania have separate constitutions, allowing somewhat greater latitude of self-government. The Diet of Transylvania, convoked for July 1, 1863, consisted of 165 members, of which number 125 were elected by the people, and 40 nominated by the crown. In the elections, every man has a vote who has attained the age of twenty-four, and pays direct taxes to the amount of 8 florins, or 15s.; and capable of being elected are all citizens of the age of thirty who are of irreproachable character.'

The Reichsrath, or Council of the Empire, consists of an Upper and a Lower House. The Upper House is formed, 1st, of the

princes of the Imperial family, who are of age; 2nd, of a number of nobles-sixty-two in the present Reichsrath-possessing large landed property, on whom the emperor may confer the dignity of statecouncillors; 3rd, of the archbishops and bishops who are of princely rank; and 4th, of any other life-members nominated by the emperor, on account of being distinguished in art or science, or who have rendered signal services to Church or State - forty-seven in the present Reichsrath. The Lower House is composed of 343 members, elected by the eighteen Provincial Diets of the Empire in the following proportions: Hungary, 85; Bohemia, 54; Lombardy-Venice, 20; Dalmatia, 5; Croatia and Slavonia, 9; Galicia, 38; Higher Austria, 10; Lower Austria, 18; Salzburg, 3; Styria, 13; Carinthia, 5; Carniola, 6; Bukowina, 5; Moravia, 22; Silesia, 6; Tyrol and Vorarlberg, 12; Transylvania, 26; and Istria and Trieste, 6.

The election for the Lower House of the Reichsrath is made in the assembled Provincial Diets, the elected deputies to be members of such Diets. The emperor has the right, however, to order the elections to take place directly by the various constituencies of the provincial representatives, should the Diets refuse or neglect to send members to the Reichsrath.

The emperor nominates the presidents and vice-presidents of both Chambers of the Reichsrath, the remaining functionaries being chosen by the members of the two Houses. It is incumbent upon the head of the State to assemble the Reichsrath annually. The rights which, in consequence of the diploma of Oct. 20, 1860, and the 'Patent' of Feb. 26, 1861, are conferred upon the Reichsrath, are as follows:-1st, Consent to all laws relating to military duty; 2nd, Cooperation in the legislature on trade and commerce, customs, banking, posting, telegraph, and railway matters; 3rd, Examination of the estimates of the income and expenditure of the State; of the bills on taxation, public loans, and conversion of the funds; and general control of the public debt. To give validity to bills passed by the Reichsrath, the consent of both Chambers is required, as well as the sanction of the head of the State. The members of both the Upper and the Lower House have the right to propose new laws on subjects within the competence of the Reichsrath; but in all other matters the initiative belongs solely to the Government.

The Enger Reichsrath, or Partial Council of the Empire, is formed by the full Reichsrath, leaving out the representatives of Hungary and of Croatia in both Houses. The laws passed by the Partial Council, and sanctioned by the sovereign, have effect in the whole empire, excepting these two provinces. It is with the object of giving the formerly independent realm of Hungary and her dependencies a larger share of self-government than the remaining provinces of Austria, that the Enger Reichsrath has been instituted.