ded by the separate
parliaments. Even the determination of the proportion which each half of
the monarchy was to contribute was not left to the Delegations. It was to
be fixed once every ten years by separate committees chosen for that
purpose from the Austrian Reichsrath and the Hungarian parliament, the
so-called _Quota-Deputations_. In addition to these "common affairs" the
Hungarians, indeed, recognized that there were certain other matters which
it was desirable should be managed on identical principles in the two
halves of the monarchy--namely, customs and excise currency; the army and
common railways. For these, however, no common institutions were created;
they must be arranged by agreement; the ministers must confer and then
introduce identical acts in the Hungarian and the Austrian parliaments.

[Sidenote: Financial settlement.]

The main principles of this agreement were decided during the spring of
1867; but during this period the Austrians were not really consulted at
all. The negotiations on behalf of the court of Vienna were entrusted to
Beust, whom the emperor appointed chancellor of the empire and also
minister-president of Austria. He had no previous experience of Austrian
affairs, and was only anxious at once to bring about a settlement which
would enable the empire to take a strong position in international
politics. In the summer of 1867, however (the Austrian Reichsrath having
met), the two parliaments each elected a deputation of fifteen members to
arrange the financial settlement. The first matter was the debt, amounting
to over 3000 million gulden, in addition to the floating debt, which had
been contracted during recent years. The Hungarians laid down the principle
that they were in no way responsible for debts contracted during a time
when they had been deprived of their constitutional liberties; they
consented, however, to pay each year 29 1/2 million gulden towards the
interest. The whole responsibility for the payment of the remainder of the
interest, amounting annually to over a hundred million gulden, and the
management of the debt, was left to the Austrians. The Hungarians wished
that a considerable part of it should be repudiated. It was then agreed
that the two states should form a Customs Union for the next ten years; the
customs were to be paid to the common exchequer; all sums required in
addition to this to meet the expenses were to be provided as to 30% by
Hungary and as to 70% by