They have the right to place a
direct tax upon property. They have their own governors and their own
ministries. And yet they all work harmoniously within the central
authority of the Federal States. Probably by no other means could that
great combination be held together.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
Or come back to Europe, and take the astonishing case of Austria and
Hungary. There you have two countries of different race and different
language, with different ideals, and with bitter memories of past
strife lying between them. A generation ago it was a commonplace among
all politicians that the Austrian Empire must break up. Yet it still
holds together, and has recently shown itself capable even of
aggressive action. The prophecy of decay is being pushed further and
further forward, and Austria still remains the great Christian bulwark
of Europe. How has that miracle been achieved after the terrible
internecine struggles of the mid-nineteenth century? How is it that
Hungary has forgotten the hangings and the butcheries of the sixties,
and still works within the Austrian Empire? Why, simply by virtue of
the principle of Home Rule.
Austria and Hungary, indeed, represent a far more extreme and daring
instance of this principle than it is necessary to put forward in
regard to Ireland.
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