The parliamentary activity of the Czechs soon revealed to them how vain
were their hopes that a new era of democracy was dawning in Austria. They
soon found out that in Austria parliamentary institutions were a mere cloak
for absolutism and that all their efforts were doomed to failure.

The Czechs were strongly opposed to the annexation of Bosnia. In 1909
Professor Masaryk gained a world reputation by his courageous defence of
the Yugoslav leaders, who were accused of high treason at Zagreb (Agram).
During the Friedjung trial it was again chiefly due to Professor Masaryk's
efforts that forgeries of the Vienna Foreign Office, intended to discredit
the Yugoslav movement, were exposed and the responsibility for them fixed
on Count Forgach, the Austro-Hungarian minister in Belgrade. Professor
Masaryk clearly saw that Austria aimed at the conquest of the Balkans and
intended at all costs to crush Serbia.

10. In 1911 new elections to the Reichsrat took place with the following
result for the Czechs:--

40 Agrarians
25 Social Democrats
14 Young Czechs
13 National Socialists
7 Radicals
7 Clericals
1 Old Czech
1 Socialist (Centralist).

The Radicals (four Moravian People's Party, two State Right Party, one
Realist) formed a party of independent deputies with Professor Masaryk at