or the establishment of a separate Hungarian Bank,
and, April 27, 1909, Premier Wekerle tendered his resignation. At the
solicitation of the sovereign he consented to retain office until a
new ministry could be constituted, which, in point of fact, proved to
be until January 17, 1910. Added to the problem of the Bank was an
even more vexatious one, that, namely, of the Magyarization of the
Hungarian regiments. The extremer demands in the matter of
Magyarization emanated, of course, from the Independence party, though
upon the issue the party itself became divided into two factions, the
extremists being led by Justh and the more moderate element by
Kossuth. The coalition was disrupted utterly; the Wekerle ministry
dragged on simply because through many months no other could be
brought together to take its place. The year 1909 passed without even
the vote of a budget.

[Footnote 705: See p. 495.]

January 17, 1910, Count Hedervary succeeded in forming a cabinet, and
there ensued a lull in the political struggle. At the elections of
June, the Government--representing virtually the revived Liberal
party--carried 246 seats, while the two wings of the Independence
party secured together only 85. The Clericals were reduced to 13 and
the non-Magyars to 7. Under the leadership of Istvan Tisza there was
organized, at the beginning of 1910, a so-called "National Party of
Work," which by the emphasis which it laid upon its purpose of
practical achievement commended itself to large elements of the
nation. By the Hedervary government it was announced that the (p. 505)
franchise would be reformed in such a manner as to maintain, without
the employment of the plural vote, the historical character of the
Magyar state; but the bitterness of Magyar feeling upon the subject
continued to preclude all possibility of action. The embarrassments
continually suffered by the Hedervary ministry reached their
culmination in the winter of 1911-1912, at which time the relations
between Austria and Hungary became so strained that Emperor Francis
Joseph threatened to abdicate unless pending difficulties should be
adjusted. The question of most immediate seriousness pertained to the
adoption of new regulations for the military establishment, but the
electoral issue loomed large in the background. The retirement of the
Hedervary cabinet, March 7, 1912, and the accession of a ministry
presided over by Dr. de Lukacs affected the s