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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: SAR-SCY |
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SCHMIDT, H J 343 effectively because he depended not on eloquence but on a recognition of what has been called the " irony of facts "to which the parliament as a whole was so blind. He was the first and the most influential member of the ministry which the regent formed; he held the ministry of the interior and, later, also that of foreign affairs, and it was almost entirely due to him that at least for a short time this phantom government maintained some appearance of power and dignity. A defeat in the parliament when he defended the armistice of Malmo led to his resignation; but he was immediately called to office again, with practically dictatorial power, in order to quell the revolt which broke out in Frankfort on the 18th of September. His courage and resolution averted what nearly became a terrible catastrophe. It was his hope to establish in Germany the supremacy of a Liberal and reformed Austria. This brought him into opposition to the party of Prussian supremacy; and when they attained a majority, he resigned, and was succeeded by Gagern. He remained at Frankfort, holding the post of Austrian envoy
Great
After the abortive election of the king of Prussia to be emperor, he, with the other Austrians, left Frankfort. On his return to Vienna he became minister of justice, and the reforms which he carried out added to his reputation. His popularity among all Liberals was increased by his resignation in 1851, as a protest against the failure of the government to establish the constitution they had promised. During the next few years he was judge of the supreme court of appeal. When his forecast was fulfilled, and the system of absolutism broke down, he became minister in January 1862. His first act was the publication of the constitution by which the whole of the empire was to be organized as a single state with a parliamentary government. The experiment failed, chiefly because of the opposition of the Croatians and Magyars, whom he bitterly offended by his celebrated saying that " Hungary
faction at court, and by the Clerical leaders. After the first few months the emperor gave him only a very lukewarm support; and with his retirement in 1865 the attempt to carry out the ideals of Joseph II. to .Germanize while he liberalized the whole of the empire, and to compel Hungarians, Poles, Czechs and Croatians to accept a system in which the government of the whole should be carried on by a German-speaking parliament and bureaucracy, failed. The constitution of 1862, though suspended on Schmerling's fall, was still regarded as legally valid for the cis-Leithan territories, and is the basis on which the present constitution for half the empire was framed. On his retirement he returned to his judicial duties; in 1867 he was made life-member of the Upper House
Taaffe
Schmerling married, in 1835, Pauline, daughter of Field-Marshal-Lieutenant Baron von Koudelka. Frau von Schmerling, who was distinguished by literary and artistic abilities, at that time rare in the Austrian capital , died in 184o, leaving two daughters.See Arneth, Anton v. Schmerling (Prague, 1895). This contains a full account of Schmerling's life during 1848-1849, but does not deal with his later life. Wurzbach, Biographisches Lexicon des Kaiser-'hums Osterreich; Friedjung, Der Kampf um die Vorherrschaft in Deutschland; Rogge, Geschichte Osterreichs. (J. W. HE.) End of Article: SCHMIDT, H If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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