Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 45: Legal weapons

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On March 21, the Vienna government promulgated the "Land Lease Act", which stipulates that farmers have the right to lease the land, and the maximum rent shall not exceed 50% of the land income.

This is to protect the most basic survival rights and interests of farmers. If there is no restriction, it is estimated that there will be another outbreak of starvation in the near future.

On March 22, the Vienna government promulgated the "Serf Resettlement Guarantee Law", requiring nobles to provide minimum living guarantees for released serfs and solve the employment problem of farmers.

That is, farmers shall not be deprived of their existing housing rights; land shall be leased to farmers, or farmers shall be hired to ensure employment.

In order to avoid robbery by the capitalist aristocracy, on March 23, 1848, the Vienna government issued the "Prohibition of Usury Act".

The Act stipulates that the annual interest rate for any type of loan in Austria shall not exceed 35%; for loans to vulnerable groups such as farmers and workers, the annual interest rate shall not exceed 25%.

For any personal loan, interest is calculated on the actual amount received.

After May 1, 1848, any usury contract is considered void and has no legal effect, that is to say, it can not be repaid. The usury contract that has been signed, the law only protects the income within the legal scope.

This is to prevent problems before they happen. In fact, when this law was formulated, the members of the cabinet did not think that the nobles would take advantage of the situation. Usually, only capitalists would do this kind of thing.

Well, Franz didn't argue with them on this issue, the big nobles will definitely not do it, such a little profit is not worth getting their hands dirty, maybe the small nobles.

There are also poor people among the nobles. Every year, a group of nobles in Europe go bankrupt. These people can't care about the glory of the nobles.

Since it is aimed at cracking down on capitalists, this bill prohibiting usury naturally has many unfavorable provisions for violators. For example, the punishment will be terrifying.

As long as the loan shark is caught, all property will be confiscated first, and by the way, he will walk in the prison for a minimum of three years. Indefinite is not a dream.

On March 25, the Vienna government promulgated the Minimum Wage Act, a subsidiary act of the Labour Protection Act, which sets the minimum wage.

Because the economic development of each region is different, the minimum wage in Vienna was first announced, namely: 4.5 dongs per week for male workers, 2.5 dongs per week for female workers, and 45 klitz per week for child labor.

(Remarks: 1 shield here = 11.6928 grams of silver = 60 clets)

Franz is still very pragmatic and has not formulated a salary package that exceeds the actual situation. This salary standard can only meet their living needs. If workers want a better life, they still need to work overtime.

Even the use of child labor, which he hated most, remained unresolved.

There is no way. The current situation in Austria is like this. It is easy to ban the use of child labor in factories, but after the loss of economic resources, the lives of these children are a big problem.

However, these laws still have a positive effect. They slightly improve the treatment of workers and ensure the survival needs of workers. Of course, this only guarantees the right to survival.

If you want to get a better life, wait for the further development of productivity. This is determined by social reality. If labor costs are not lowered, the company's products will lose competitiveness.

It can be said that 1848 was the legislative year in Austria, and Franz was probably used to the legal society and was very keen on legislation.

In March alone, Franz enacted fifteen laws, and almost every day since his regency came a new bill.

From the initial abolition of serfdom to the later stages of workers' rights, there are special laws and regulations.

Putting aside other functions, these laws first gave the Austrian reformists a glimpse, and everyone thought that the reforms this time must be earth-shattering.

Franz successfully passed the legislation to divert the public's attention, because the coverage of the law was too broad, and at the same time the law was introduced, it also met the interests of serfs and workers.

The confrontation between the people and the government has improved, and the revolution has lost its mass base without knowing it. Of course, only the Vienna area is the first to change, and other areas still need time to ferment.

These are all things in the future. The Austrian government has just received good news. The Berlin Revolution broke out on March 18, and Prussia also fell into the revolutionary wave.

Just being unlucky on your own will definitely make you feel unhappy. At this time, there is another unlucky person, and everyone will feel much more comfortable.

Of course, worrying about the Kingdom of Prussia taking advantage of the fire is the most important factor. Now that the Berlin Revolution has broken out, Prussia is naturally unable to do things at this time.

The good mood of the crowd did not last long, and the Czech region became riotous again. It is not necessary for Franz to know that the big capitalists in the Czech region are all Austrians. It would be strange if they did not have their shadow.

Now it is not only necessary to establish a unified Czech parliament, but also to establish an independent National Guard, and at the same time, the Czech language is also required to take the same status as the German.

Undoubtedly, this demand for secession was non-negotiable, and the Vienna government could not possibly agree to the division of Austria.

Now that intelligence personnel are recording the list of nobles and capitalists who participated in this event, Franz is ready to attack the Czech region.

The biggest problem for ordinary people in this era is to have enough food, and any other requests are ordered by someone.

Franz has always rejected the idea of putting the middle and petty bourgeoisie together with the working class in the history books. Can the needs of the exploiting class and the exploited class be the same

The Austrian government is promoting the labor protection law. At this time, there is no reason for workers to oppose the government to fight for their rights and interests

According to the information sent back, the main crowd of demonstrations in Prague were students and the middle and petty bourgeoisie. The workers just regarded the demonstrations as jobs and paid for their work.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, what is the Cabinet going to do with the demonstrations in Prague?"

The conditions they put forward, Franz decisively ignored, it was impossible to agree, and there was no need to discuss them.

"We have ordered the Prague government to arrest the mastermind of this conspiracy, and the cabinet has ordered Prince Windischgritz to prepare him to suppress the rebellion!" Felix said murderously

At this time, it is impossible for the Vienna government to make concessions, and he is too lazy to do so. The Czech region is different from other regions, and now it does not have the mass foundation for revolution at all.

In his view, this was a counterattack by some nobles and capitalists who were dissatisfied with the reforms of the Vienna government. After all, once the Czech Kingdom was established, these laws did not need to be implemented.