Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Chapter 45, Legal Weapons

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

On March 21, the Vienna Government introduced the “Land Lease Act,” which established that farmers have the right to lease land, and the maximum rent could not exceed fifty percent of the land’s yield.

This was to ensure the basic survival rights and interests of farmers; without restrictions, it was estimated that it wouldn’t take long for a famine uprising to erupt again.

On March 22, the Vienna Government issued the “Serf Resettlement Security Act,” requiring nobility to provide minimal living security for freed serfs, addressing the employment issue of peasants.

That is: the right of peasants to reside in their current houses must not be deprived; land could be leased to peasants, or peasants could be employed to guarantee employment issues.

To avoid the capitalist nobility taking advantage of the situation, on March 23,

1848, the Vienna Government introduced the “Prohibition of Usury Act.”

The Act stipulated: In Austria, the annual interest rate for any form of loan must not exceed thirty-five percent; for loans to vulnerable groups such as farmers and workers, the annual interest rate must not exceed twenty-five percent.

Any personal loan interest would be calculated based on the actual amount received.

After May 1, 1848, any usurious loan contracts would be deemed invalid, without legal effect, meaning they could be disregarded. Legally signed usurious loan contracts would only protect earnings within the lawful range.

This was to prevent problems before they arose. In fact, when drafting this law, Cabinet members didn’t actually believe the nobility would exploit the situation, as typically, such actions were only expected from capitalists.

All right, Franz didn’t debate with them on this matter; it was definite that the grand nobility would not do such things. Such petty gains were not worth sullying their hands; however, the lesser nobility, that was uncertain.

Within the nobility, there were also impoverished individuals; every year in Europe, a batch of nobles went bankrupt, and these people couldn’t care less about noble honor anymore.

Since it was about striking at capitalists, the “Prohibition of Usury Act” naturally contained many clauses detrimental to law breakers, such as severe penalties.

Anyone caught usury would first have all their assets confiscated, coupled with a stint in prison, starting with a minimum of three years, and life imprisonment wasn’t a dream.

On March 25, the Vienna Government issued the “Minimum Wage Act,” an adjunct to the “Labor Protection Law,” which set the minimum wage standard.

Given the differing economic development levels across regions, only the minimum wage for the Vienna region was initially announced: males 4-5 Shields per week, females 2.5 Shields per week, and child laborers 45 Kreuzer per week.

(Note: Here, 1 Shield = 11.6928 grams of silver = 60 Kreuzer)

Franz was very pragmatic; he didn’t set a wage standard beyond the realistic situation. The wage standard could merely meet their basic needs, and workers would still need to work overtime for a better life.

The use of child labor, which he detested most, was not resolved either.

There was no solution; the current state of Austria was such that banning factories from using child labor was easy, but after loss of economic sources, the living conditions of these children would become a major problem.

Nonetheless, these laws had a positive role, slightly improving workers’ treatment, ensuring their survival needs, though this was merely about securing the right to survive.

To attain a better life, wait until the productive forces further develop; this is determined by social reality. Without lowering labor costs, the competitiveness of business products will be lost.

One could say that 1848 was a year of legislation for Austria; perhaps because Franz was accustomed to a legal society, he was very keen on legislating.

In just March, Franz promulgated fifteen laws; almost every day since his regency began, new laws were being introduced.

From the initial abolition of serfdom to the later rights of workers, there were dedicated laws and regulations.

Putting aside other effects, these laws first had the Reformist in Austria reeling, with everyone believing that the scope of these reforms was going to be earth-shaking.

Franz successfully shifted public attention through legislation; by introducing laws with a wide coverage, he also met the interests of serfs and workers.

The antagonism between people and government improved; the revolution unwittingly lost its mass base, of course, this initially occurred only in the Vienna region, other regions still needed time to ferment.

These were matters of the future. Just now, the Austrian Government received good news: the Berlin Revolution erupted on March 18, and Prussia was swept into the revolutionary tide.

If only oneself were in trouble, the feeling would definitely not be pleasant. Now that there was another in the same plight, everyone felt much better.

Of course, the main concern was that the Kingdom of Prussia might take advantage of the situation. Now that the Berlin Revolution had broken out, Prussia, preoccupied with its own troubles, obviously couldn’t cause trouble at this time.

The good mood didn’t last long before the Czech region started making noise again. Franz didn’t need to guess; he knew the major capitalists in the Czech region were Austrians, and it would be strange if they didn’t have a hand in it.

They demanded not only the establishment of a unified Czech Parliament but also an independent National Homeland Defense Troops, and they sought for the Czech language to have equal status with German.

Without a doubt, such national divisive demands were non-negotiable; the Vienna Government could not possibly agree to let Austria split apart.

Now, intelligence agents were recording the list of nobility and capitalists involved in this movement; Franz was ready to take action against the Region of Prague.

In this era, the biggest problem for ordinary people was still to have enough to eat; any other demands were instigated by others.

Regarding the historical notion of combining the petite bourgeoisie with the working class, Franz always held it in contempt. Could the needs of the exploiting class and the exploited class be the same?

The Austrian Government was pushing the Labor Protection Law; there was no reason for workers to oppose a government fighting for their rights.

According to intelligence reports, the main force of the demonstrations in Prague consisted of students and the petite bourgeoisie, with workers simply treating the demonstration as a job, performing tasks for money.

“Prime Minister, how does the Cabinet plan to handle the demonstrations in the Prague region?”

The conditions they put forward, Franz decisively ignored. Those were impossible to agree to, not even worth discussing.

“We have already ordered the Prague Government to arrest the planners of this conspiracy, and the Cabinet has also ordered Prince Windischgrätz to prepare to suppress the rebellion,” Felix said with a murderous aura.

At this time, the Vienna Government could not afford to yield; Franz was even too lazy to pretend to compromise. Unlike other regions, the Region of Prague simply did not possess a revolutionary mass base.

In his view, this was a backlash organized by certain nobles and capitalists dissatisfied with the Vienna Government’s reforms; after all, if the Czech Kingdom were established, these Acts would not need to be enforced..