Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 46: Abolish local tariffs

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By 1848, the Czech region had become one of the industrial centers of Austria. With the development of industry, the wealth of the capitalists also increased greatly.

The demonstrations that broke out this time are actually because the wealth and political status of the capitalists do not match, and they are unwilling to have no say in politics.

The Austrian government has successively introduced new bills, which to a certain extent sacrificed the interests of the capitalists and catalyzed the Prague demonstration.

In Franz's view, these people are probably used to the happy days in the Metternich era, and those who forgot to make the rules of the game can also modify the rules of the game at any time.

Now the Austrian government has stated that it will not play this game. Those who follow me will prosper, and those who go against me will perish. We will play whoever has an opinion.

Of course, everyone is a civilized person, and it is impossible to play too much. It is still something to do to give Tianzao a stick.

"In view of the current domestic situation, I propose to abolish local tariffs to ease the dissatisfaction of the capitalists!" Chancellor Carr proposed

At present, Austria has local tariffs mainly in Hungary, and other local tariffs have been abolished one after another.

In fact, it is not right to put all the responsibility for the existence of tariffs between Hungary and Austria on the Vienna government. As early as the last century, Austria was preparing to abolish tariffs in various parts of the country, but it was opposed by the Hungarian nobles and capitalists.

Austria's economic development is unbalanced. In the industrially developed areas, the capitalists naturally advocate the abolition of local tariffs, while in the industrially backward Hungarian areas, the capitalists still expect local protection

Of course, Hungary is not without advocating the abolition of local tariffs. For example, the capitalists in the grain industry want to abolish tariffs.

Hungary's taxation has nothing to do with the Vienna government, they all collect it for their own use.

There is no doubt that the Hungarian nobles can get a share of the local tariffs, which is also the biggest obstacle to the abolition of local tariffs.

The purpose of Karl's proposal now is obviously not simple. In addition to bribing the hearts of some capitalists, he also means to warn the Hungarian nobles.

At this time, the Vienna government still believed that the nobility dominated the Kingdom of Hungary, while the capitalists on the surface were white gloves.

Franz didn't mean to correct. There are too many nobles in Hungary, accounting for 4% of the total population. Most Hungarian capitalists have another identity - nobles.

If they are not suppressed, according to their attributes of death, it is estimated that the Hungarian issue will give him a headache in the future.

This has been proved in history. From Austria to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, all of them are troubled by the Hungarian issue. If the Hungarian people still supported the Habsburg family, they would have become independent long ago.

"Yes, Austria is a unified country, and the existence of local tariffs is against the trend!"

There is no doubt that Franz did not mind making the Hungarian rebellion more violent at this time.

The interest demands of Hungarian workers and peasants have actually been satisfied by the reforms carried out by the Austrian government.

Pulling one faction against another, uniting the majority and attacking the small group is always politically correct.

Next, he will continue to issue laws to remove obstacles to the economic development of the bourgeoisie and shake the determination of the capitalists to rebel.

The abolition of local tariffs only harms the interests of the big nobles. The small nobles are not qualified to profit from it, and even their interests have suffered losses. Without tariffs, at least their food will be more competitive.

This is not enough. To let the Hungarians participate in the rebellion together, at most, involve most of the nobles.

"His Royal Highness, I'm afraid this will not work. The abolition of Hungarian tariffs will have an impact on the Austrian grain industry and affect the income of Austrian farmers!" Grand Duke Louis objected.

Franz suddenly remembered that the abolition of tariffs with Hungary would not hit farmers the hardest, but the nobles who owned large tracts of land. After one more competitor, the price of grain would definitely drop.

Franz was hesitant. Should he stimulate the domestic aristocracy at this time? The serfdom has just been abolished, and now Hungarian grain is brought in to impact food prices. Will it touch their bottom line

At this time, Prime Minister Felix helped make a decision.

"Since 1846, grain prices in Austria have been rising, and for the stability of the country, it is necessary for us to keep grain prices within a reasonable range.

In the long run, it is also a good thing for Hungarian food to enter Austria. The drop in food prices can help us stabilize people's hearts as soon as possible.

Moreover, after the abolition of tariffs, the competitiveness of Austrian industrial and commercial products will be enhanced after entering Hungary, which will help restore the trauma caused by the economy! "

Franz was relieved. The prime minister of this big local tyrant didn't mind the drop in food prices, so the bottom line of the nobles was probably much lower.

Historically, it seems that Austria also abolished the tariff system during this period, and it is not clear which year Franz was.

"The Prime Minister is right, abolishing the tariffs now allows the Austrian economy to recover as soon as possible, which is very important to us.

Because of the war, our fiscal revenue will be greatly reduced this year. If the property of the rebels hadn't been confiscated, the government would have gone bankrupt now.

The next anti-insurgency war will definitely cost money like flowing water, and this money is probably a drop in the bucket. We must find ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.

Now we still have so many factories in our hands, we must start running as soon as possible, the Hungarian market is essential! ' said Foreign Minister Metternich.

Well, Austria is really short of money. Before the March Revolution, the Vienna government still owed a debt of 748 million guilders, and now there are still about 600 million to 650 million guilders. (1 dong is about 11.6928 grams of silver)

Don't get me wrong, it's not that Franz has paid the money, it's that the creditors are gone.

Because of the rebellion, many bonds were destroyed in the war, and more creditors became wanted criminals. The counter-insurgency army also seized a large number of bonds, and Franz burned them directly.

There are two types of national debt issued by the Austrian government, real-name and anonymous. Naturally, the wanted criminals of real-name national debt will not come to ask for the account, and the registered national debt can also be changed hands.

It would be idealistic to expect the Hungarian market to revive the Austrian economy.

Franz believed that Hungarian capitalists would not mind doing business with Austria, even in the event of a revolution.

How to ensure the safety of transportation when the war is on? Who would even bother to buy these items? Can't sell arms to Hungarians