The Heir to the Austrian Throne.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXV, Issue 10010, 28 November 1908, Page 2 (Supplement)

The Heir to the Austrian Throne.

(By a Diplomatic,: Correspondent.)

, Having resided twenty years'in Vienna and having"' mid* during 'that time', l-olistai.it relations with, officials, there, on'd' having also' followed" keenly ; the" Euro] Yea'«,' especially: f'he /English* Press, : I-'.realise: that a ij-i-ej£t..in , i3t'a'ke is' being made'by many in . England •with' regard";to the -present J crisis in. the Balkan .States'. ; ''';„'■•"' '•'While- annoyance—not- to say more—has been aroused in England with, regard-to Avstro-llungarhm diplomacy, on account of' the unexpected \^ay-iii-wlilcli the conditions of theßerlin Treaty have been disregarded,.the. man ,who is .at the heart-of this -matter, the rector of the. Vieriha : Foreign Officie, ; remains in obscurity ,i and is-suii.rouritlecf by that mystery which is his-chief desire and also the source of his power: -.'. - ■ • • •■' • The Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the'-Austro-Huiigarian' dominions, •■is.'-tliis man behind ,the scenes ; lor he-is responsible for everything that hus ; '-beeri going on-lately in Austrian foreign affairs. .. The-Archduke rarely appears in public; he' detests publicity. His character in that respect reminds me forcibly of Charles V., the ■gr6at-.:Spanish-Hapsburg. He has no more regard for the usual standing rules of -internationalrelations: than he has for the/-aspirations-of : his-countrymen.' He has no interest whatever in popular movements or ambitions. Tlio people ore altogether beneath 'Him. Neither is there ally lovevbetw'een-'h'iiri and' tlio aged Emperor Frail?- Joe'ef. '--'But, owing. to. .tho ■ family laws of 'the Hapsburg- dynasty,, the Emperor- is if creed --not only-to listen. to what the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, says, ..bat is also compelled to take .his wishes into consideration, wha.tever.they ,may.he. The Eihoeror-Bianz Josef, .who has ever.been the personification of right and, honoiy..al-. lows his; personal feelings to be put. into the background,- and -yields to what ho considers'ihis obligations, as chief, of the Hapsburg:. .family, i-towar.ds-.the. man who will 'one .day,-succeed.him as chief. The;.-Archduke Franz.: Ferdinand is not the son; ..of "-the Emperor., and it is by. chance,, as, it..were, that he is heir, to the throne. When.the Archduke Rudolph, the on'y son.-of the.Empeiior, .died by his o\yn hand. in. the summer-house.;of, May.erling, near Baden (Austria) >• on January :30,' 18S9, the succession ito ,-,tHe,, dominions,.,of,, .the Hapsburg family devolved, .on. the .Atchduke. Karl ;Ludwig,,yoitnge.r. brother of. tlio Emperor,,, a man not: particularly... gifted., biiit sympathetiq.-. and,- fnil.. of, j)Qi)l}pm.!e, who i'tt hie .own, :-\yay,,4l'.ied, to Help art and.science. .(bp-.was-Projector,of tho,Aps,-. tii in .Academy pf.'Science),„ but who. was, certainly not,va. statesman, and..never had any., aspirations to,the throne,.; Even, had ho lived:, long enpugh—"hejdied. six or eight years.,.-ago—he would probably,, not have b.&en. Emperor long, fjpr he often said that he would abdicate in favor of his soil, Franz Feixlin.aai.d., ~' ',;. , Franz ...Ferdinand,.,, w, ho is, nqw,iii : the forties, is, tall and, good looking, ,and,jjias. lately gi-o.wii.,.a -moustache.. It was , ohqq feared that he had and, ho w.?s-sent for:a yea)? o.rj,gp.to,Egypt, where he .recovered, tiiijce then his.physical con-, ditipii.--. leaves nptjaii)? ,-tp • ,]be ; . desired. Hq has,; tljie-. long,. oyal, Itapsbiirg,, lace and deep-set blue, eyes..'. He.,,is an, excellent horseman, an.d likes to ei.ijpy, from time to time,, the life, pi a, country gentleman on his , large estate in Bohemia.v ,He also takes an interest in archaeology, ana- with a liberal ;h#nd-gives.niqney to restore castles ana historic buildings, chieiiy in Bohemia. He is, gifted musically.-, ~,,,( '■' the Archduke, isua-de voted hiisbang., $0 married., the, Countesfs, Chotek, <a governess in.-, the. family of; the ,4i - chduke .Freredip, brother of Queen Christina' of Spain, and his ..wife is, a. singularly .sympathetic .arid homely, woman.... ijev. married her after. a.jspurtship..lasting; years, andV.lry the fpree of .his indomitable will, comvjeljed the. Emperor to give his consent to a .-marriage far below h.is, rank.. , ■.'.-.•.. The Emperor, bound by the Code of the House of Hapsburg, at last consented to a morganatic, marriage, which, if soma ppople. are .'to bo believed,. ; niay one- day become a real marriage, and: will give to the present Fuerstin Hohenberg—the countess'. new title—the rank of Austrian. Empress,; and to her- eldest son the right of succession—provided, of co.urso, ■ that the Archduke can force, the Austrian Government,.to consent to this a.lteration-'of the' Pragmatic Sanction, by which the, succession to the Austrian throne is ;regulated. So far as Hungary is concerned, he will probably find little difficulty, for Hungarian lawyers .have, over since tho morganatic marriage took place, pleaded that no such form of marriage is known to Hungarian law, and that- .therefore the son- o/f the-Archduke', bom in.such wedlock is. entitled to the Hungarian Crown, ar.d that the Fuerstin Hohenberg would be the rightful Queen. The Archduke is a 6ta>unch Roman Catholic and a very great friend to tho Vatican: He has, •in spite of repeated invitations, refused to go to the Quirinal, and it -is ;said. that he orieei went to Home incognito to see tho Pope, so as to avoid haying to call on, the Italian King, i Kaiser Wilhelm and the Archduke are friends and though it may be difficult to say how far their mutual sympathy is due to- personal attraction, there is ino doubt that they both look upon themselves as Men of Destiny. This seems >to bo the chief link between them. Franz. Ferdinand is extremely self-willed; he admits' ho obstacle, : and like the German Emperor is an absolute, believer in the theory of Divina Right. The German Emperor loses no opportunity of endearing himself to the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and no doubt looks upon him as a trump card in- the great international game, which will begin in earnest when the aged Emperor Franz Josef passes from the scene. Only lately the Archduke was the Kaiser's guest at the manoeuvres in Alsace, and the German ruler has already officially promised to return the visit in a few week's time, when he will be the guest of tho future- Austrian ruler on one of his estates at a shooting 1 party. This friendly attitude of Franz Ferdinand to the Emjieror Wilhelm stands out in sharp contrast to tho stiffness displayed by him towards England. ' . ■ The Archduke represents in temperament the old traditional reactionary spirit of Austria, and is deeply hostile to tho spirit and conditions of democracy. All the men how at the head of Austrian affairs and of the common affairs of Aus-tria-Hun tjaTy have been chosen in deference to the. desires of the Archduke. But in Hungary the people are too strong for such compulsion, and politicians, of all parties there see already in the personality pi the .Ar.chdujke an approaching menaco to their liberties and constitutional rights; In Austria, the Prime Minister, Baron Beck, has been selected by Franz Ferdi-. nnnd himself, and Baron von Aerenthal is the Archduke's own mouthpiece. The Archduke particularly named him to the Emperor as Count Golouchowski's successor, and he was called away from tho Austrian' Embassy in; St. Petesrburg to become the head of Austro-Hiingarian politics. Ever since Baron von Aerenthal haSjbeen at the head of affairs Austria has changed her policy of tact and peacefulness to one of marked aggressiveness.' , The Sandjak Railway affair, which aroused suspicions with regard to Austriu- . Himrary's intentions in ,the Balkans, was but the,.first sign of his aggressiveness. Whenever BnronAerentli.il had not been i strong enough alone to get his way,. the i Archduke had .come on tho scene himself. < It will be remembered, for-example, that 1 the Archduke, w.ent personally to Budapest .' the other day to clinch matters concerning the annexation of Bosnia and.Herzegovina. < J?raaiz Ferdinand, as a matter of fact, has i been for- a long time profoundly dissatis- i fiqd with what ..he considers mo sleepy 1 ways of Austrian foreign policy.' i . When the. Emperor Franz Josef dies, ( Franz Ferdinand will become a greater t power still, jsrid one may say a greater t danger—a. danger to the general peace of 1 Europe, and especially of England—a dan- t gcr greater tlian Kaiser Wilhelm 11., be- I cause the. Kaiser ;never forirets his Eng- r lish connection, while Franz Ferdinand -has t no link whatever with tho English Royal j Family. v