Chapter 45 – Year of Legislation
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In order to prevent the nobles and capitalists from taking advantage of the instability, the Vienna government passed the Act on Prohibition of Usury on March 24, 1848. This act provided that the annual interest rate for loans of any kind in Austria should not exceed 35%; loans for people from the weaker section of society such as farmers and workers, the annual interest rate should not exceed 25%.

After May 1, 1848, any usurious contract signed would be regarded as an invalid contract and would have no legal validity, which meant that it did not need to be repaid. For any usurious contracts that had already been signed, the law only protected the amount of income within the legal limits.

This was a preventive measure to protect any released serf from foolishly taking a loan to pay off his land lease in one go only to find that the interest was cripplingly high. In fact, the cabinet ministers did not think that any noble would take advantage of the current situation. They believed that only the capitalists would do such a thing.

Franz did not care to argue with them on this issue. For senior nobles and Archdukes like them, it was definitely not worth ruining their reputation for a little profit, but there were also many poor nobles. Due to their expensive lifestyle, every year in Europe, many nobles went bankrupt. Such people would not be deterred from making easy money for the sake of their reputation.

Since the law was written to crack down on capitalists - according to the cabinet ministers - there were many unfavorable provisions for offenders. For example, the intensity of punishment was very serious. If caught, all the property of the usurer would be confiscated; he would be imprisoned for a minimum of three years, up to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

On March 25, 1848, the Vienna government introduced the Minimum Wage Act, which was a subsidiary act to the Labor Protection Act and would set the minimum wage standard.

As the economic development of different regions varied, the minimum wage in Vienna was the first to be announced: 4.5 guldens per week for an adult male worker, 2.5 guldens per week for an adult female worker and 45 kreuzers per week for a child worker.

1 gulden = 11.6928 grams of silver = 60 kreuzers.

Franz had not worked out a salary beyond the current moment. This salary standard could only meet workers’ basic needs, so they still needed to work overtime if they wanted to lead a better life. As for the most disgusting issue of child labor, it had not been resolved.

Unfortunately, this was currently the reality in Austria. It would be easy to ban the use of child labor in factories, but if they lost this source of income, these children’s livelihood would be in danger. Nevertheless, this act was still an important step forward in improving the treatment of workers and ensuring their survival. Of course, this act only guaranteed that they wouldn’t die of starvation.

It wouldn’t be until the technological growth of industries that they would be able to lead a better life. This situation was determined by social reality: if the labor costs were too high, the price of the products would be increased which would lead to it being unable to compete with products from other nations, especially Britain and Prussia.

 

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It could be said that 1848 was the year of legislation in Austria. Maybe it was because Franz was used to a legal society, he was very keen on passing new legislation.

In March alone, Franz enacted 15 laws. Since he became the Regent, a new law was enacted almost every day. From the abolition of serfdom to guaranteeing the rights of the workers, there were specific laws and regulations for everything. When these laws were passed, they quickly gained the approval of serfs and workers.

Franz successfully used legislation to divert the public’s attention. The intensity of opposition between the public and the government was alleviated, and unconsciously, the revolution lost its basis.

Of course, this was currently only evident in Vienna. It would take some time before other regions learned of these new laws, but that was something to be taken into consideration in the future.

Currently, the atmosphere within the Cabinet was surprisingly jubilant. After all, they had received a piece of good news: a revolution had broken out in Berlin and Prussia had also been swallowed into the storm of revolution.

Austria had just gone through a deadly revolution, so now that they learned that their bitter rival, Prussia, was also suffering a similar misfortune, they could enjoy a peace of mind. Franz had been worried that Prussia might take advantage of the rebellions in Austria to push its borders back, but now they were too busy suppressing the revolution in Berlin to look at Austria.

Unfortunately, the jubilant atmosphere didn’t last long before they received news of riots and demonstrations in the region of Bohemia. Franz was aware that these riots and demonstrations had been incited by the Bohemian capitalists. Not only did the demonstrators demand an independent legislature, they also wanted to establish an independent army and that the Czech language be given an equal status to German.

Unsurprisingly, such requests which would hinder the Empire’s unity were not negotiable; the Vienna government could not possibly agree to split Austria. The Agency’s intelligence personnel had already reported on many Bohemian capitalists and a few Bohemian nobles who were involved in the rebellion.

During this era, the biggest worry for common folk was earning enough money to fill their stomachs. They didn’t have the time to riot for far-fetched concepts such as an autonomous legislature or an independent army, and, especially, not for the status of the Czech language.

Many history books likened the middle class and the bourgeoisie to the working class, which Franz had always scoffed at. The needs of the exploiting class and the exploited class could not possibly be the same. Now that the Vienna government was promoting the Labor Protection Act, there was no reason for workers to oppose the government which was guaranteeing their rights.

According to the information sent back from Prague, the majority of the demonstrators were students and descendants of bourgeoisie, while the workers had only got involved in the demonstration because they were paid.

“Lord Minister-President, with regards to the demonstrations in Prague, what are the cabinet’s plans?”

Franz didn’t even mention their demands. He would never agree to them, so there was no need to discuss them.

Minister-President von Schwarzenberg replied, “Your Imperial Highness, we have ordered the Prague government to arrest the mastermind behind this conspiracy. We’ve also ordered Prince von Windisch-Grätz to suppress the rebellion with force!”

It was impossible for the Vienna government to make concessions. As a Bohemian, he was aware that the region of Bohemia was different from other regions due to it being heavily populated by Germans. In his view, this rebellion was simply a counterattack by the upper echelon of Bohemia who were dissatisfied with the reforms of the Vienna government. After all, if they managed to establish an independent legislature, the new reform laws would be invalid in Bohemia.

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