A MIXTURE OF RACES

Southland Times, Issue 17763, 23 September 1914, Page 2

A MIXTURE OF RACES

COMPOSITION OF THE AUSTRIAN 1 EMPIRE. There is no real Austrian, AustroHungary is composed of a conglomeration of races, who practically united in the first place to repel the common foe—the Turk. Vienna was once regarded as the bulwark of Europe against the advance of the Mussulman. But the Turk is no longer the menace of civilisation, and with this elimination the various influences which went to unify the diverse races inhabiting Aus-tro-Hungary are now in the disintegrating stage. Austro-Hungary can best be described as a Government, of a dual nature, directed by the Hapsburg dynasty, into the sphere of which various kingdoms, municipalities, and races have, from time to time, been attracted by stress of circumstances, or by considerations of mutual advantage. Roughly speaking, the different races in Austria form the following percentage of the population—Germans. 29 per cent; Slavaks and Czechs. 20 per cent: Poles, 9 per cent; Ruthenians, g per cent; and Italians, 1 per cent. Those in Hungary comprise—Hungarians, IS per cent; Serbo Croats, 17 per cent: Rumanians, 5 per cent; and Slovenians, S per cent. The total population of the Empire is a little over 51,000,000. All of these nationalities are linguistically and racially distinct. Pract.cally everyone has a strong national consciousness and particularist tendencies. Most of them have divergent and conflicting interests and aspirations. Many have memories of mutually inflicted injuries in the not distant past. Is it therefore surprising that strong centrifugal tendencies and discontent with existing conditions prerail in the Austro-Hungarian agglomeration ?