The Dominion MONDAY, APRIL 24, 1916. AUSTRIA IN DISTRESS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2753, 24 April 1916, Page 4

The Dominion MONDAY, APRIL 24, 1916. AUSTRIA IN DISTRESS

It would be a mistake to place too much reliance' on,the rumour that Austria is in such s desperate straits that she is about to sue for peace. If there is. anyj>r\ith in this report, to which prominence is.gfoen- in the cable messages which we publish this morning, it should only cause' the Allies to put still more power into their blows so as to make the collapse, cpiick, complete, and overwhelming; if the rumour exaggerates Austria's weakness, tho/i it is the business of the Allies to fight all the harder in order to create 'the situation erroneously doscribed as already existing.. There must- be no slackening, of effort. Whether the rumour is true or false, the policy of tha Allies is to hit harder, and still harder. Yot the rumours current in financial circles in Holland, that Austria is seriously thinking of abandoning her share in the war, are worthy of some attention. They become - more credible when considered in conjunction withtho remarkable speech made by Count Amdeassy, in the course of which ho declares that the recent speech made by the German Imperial Chancellor "is the first official German feeler for peace." Count Andrassy gives the world an interest-

ing. interpretation of the Chancellor's remarks. . To what extent it may be regarded as an authorised inter-: [pretation quite-impossible to say. His reading between the- lines converts some vague hints into definite assertions. Ho states, for instance, that Germany does not ask for the annexation of Belgium, but merely that it may not become a bulwark from which British and French

forces may sweep across the German' frontier. The q'uestion of making France pay an indemnity is dropped, and Count Andrassy further states that Germany now. recognises that there is only a. possibility of saving a few of her colonies. It is'certainly, surprising that such admissions.: should be made by a responsible Hungarian statesman. AnDKASSt is not at present a. member of the Hungarian Government, but

he is a politician of the front rank, and held office in the Ministry formed by Dr. Wekerle in 1906. Speaking in the Hungarian Chamber oi Deputies in December last, he de-. •clarod that' it was a human duty ta make peace at tße first moment possible. He was, howe'/er, convinced that the Central- Powers would' bo able to conquer the extremest resistance of their enemies, and to continue the war until their foes were forced io ask for peace; but, he added; "it would bo a blessing if it were' possiblo to conclude peace bofore this last moment comes. His latest utterance . indicates that he considers that his country's "last moment" of effective resistance is nearer now than it was in December, and he is therefore anxious to assure the Allies that the time is opportune for the inauguration of peace _ negotiations. But the Allies are not likely to waver in their determination to smash Prussian militarism beforo ■ indulging in any peace parleying. It is stated ' that Austria's desire for peacejs due to "the grave-domes-tic situation" which has now arisen. No details are .given regarding tho 'exa,ot nature of the. developments which ■ have made tlie Government anxious to abandon its share of tho war. Twelve months ago we wero told that -Austria was on tho verge of a collapse, both from the military and the economic point of view, but she has fought on in spite of the terrible battering she has received from the Russians, Serbians, and Italians, and she is still able to hit back vigorously. It must v also lo borne in mind that Germany has got a firm grip on the machinery of tho State. Somo people think that this grip is so strong that Austria has lost tho power of independent action. This is not the opinion of a gentleman who, recently arrived in London after spending some time in Vienna and Budapest. This traveller states that if the worst comes to the worst from the Austrian point of view, lie does not see what' considerations would prevent the Dual Monarchy from making a separate peace with tho Entente Towers; but before that happens tho Austrians must be convinced that tho cause of the Central Empire is lost, and, according to all he heard, they are far from believing that such is the case. And yet there arc many signs that the mass of tho people, both in Austria and Hungary, are sick and tired of the war. Writing early in last month tho Budapest correspondent of the London Morning Post declared that tha majority of tho working classes m

waiting desperately for peace. Tho women of the working classes are practically starving, and the "better classes," the so-called ''middle-class" people, are no better off. "The very question of daily bread is just ss great a problem for them as' for tho others, more particularly the women who get sixpence a day from the State and cannot-go to work, for they have their children to look after, and have to starve on tho sixpence, for which they can get nothing but bread." The uncompromising speeches which have lately been, delivered by Mr. Asquitii and M_ Sazonoff have, we arc told, caused bitter disappointment in Austria-Hungary, for they have dashed to the ground the hopes of-an early end to the. war which the German reports of great and unbroken military successes have raised. The people have been led to expect an eager response from the Allies to anything in the nature of peace overtures. Now they are beginning to ask awkward questions. 1 'If the armies of the Central Powers are .as invincible as the ILiisek and his Ministers so boastfully assert, why do the Allies treat German offers to discuss terms v with contempt? If Germany and Austria are winning all along the line, why is it that .the Austrian people cannot get enough to eat? The impression is gaining ground that the tide has turned against Germany. The* bitterness of disillusionment, cojnbined with the resentment caused by hardlhip and privation, might at any moment culminate in some such "grave domestic situation" as that referred to in the persistent rumours which have gained/currency in Holland. '