to vote the
yearly estimates, a military contingent, and certain much-needed
economic reforms. But this was virtually the sole interruption of a
six-year deadlock.

*533. Electoral Reform and the Elections of 1907.*--With the
establishment of the second Gautsch ministry, December 31, 1904, a
truce was declared and interest shifted to the carrying out of the
Imperial programme of electoral reform. From the proposed
liberalization of the suffrage many of the party groups were certain
to profit and others had at least a chance of doing so; and thus it
came about that the great electoral law of 1907 was carried through
its various stages under parliamentary conditions which were
substantially normal. Its progress was attended by the fall, in April,
1906, of the Gautsch ministry and, six weeks later, by that of its
provisional successor. But by the coalition government of Baron Beck
(June 2, 1906 to November 8, 1908) the project was pushed to a
successful conclusion, and in its final form the law was approved by
the Emperor, January 26, 1907.

The promulgation of the new electoral measure was followed, May 14, by
a general election, the results of which may be tabulated as shown on
the following page.

Each of the twenty-six groups here enumerated maintained at the time
of the election an independent party organization, although in the
Chamber the representatives of certain of them were accustomed to act
in close co-operation. To the clericals and conservatives of all
shades fell an aggregate of 230 seats; but among the various groups of
this type there has never been sufficient coherence to permit the
formation of a compact conservative party. Among the liberal and
radical groups lack of coherence was, and remains, still more
pronounced. The most striking feature of the election of 1907 was the
gains made by the Social Democrats and the Christian Socialists, to be
explained largely by the extension of the franchise to the
non-taxpaying and small taxpaying population.
(p. 482)
_Seats after _Seats in
election of previous
1907_ Chamber_

Social Democrats 90 11
Christian Socialists 67 26
German Clericals 29 29
Germ