their head. They demanded full independence for Bohemia, some of them
laying greater stress on her historical rights, some on the natural right
of Czecho-Slovaks to liberty.

The whole group of Czech deputies stood in opposition against Vienna with
the exception of Kramar, who tried to imitate the Polish positivist policy
in the hope of obtaining concessions in return. But, as we have already
shown in a previous chapter, Dr. Kramar abandoned this policy even before
the war, when he saw how completely Austria was tied to Germany. The bulk
of the Czech people were, of course, always solidly anti-Austrian. During
the Balkan War the Czechs openly showed their sympathies with their brother
Slavs who were struggling for liberty.

The _Clerical Party_ had comparatively little influence and prestige. All
their deputies (seven) were elected in country districts of Moravia, where
civilisation is comparatively less developed than in Bohemia. In Bohemia
and in the more developed districts of Moravia, people resist the efforts
of the clergy to mix religion with politics. The three million Slovaks in
Hungary, who speak a dialect of Czech and who form with the Czechs a single
Czecho-Slovak nation, had only two deputies (Dr. Blaho and Father Juriga),
and were without any influence in the Budapest Parliament.

11. Although many Czech politicians foresaw that Austria's anti-Serbian
policy in the Balkans and her increasing dependence on Germany must lead to
war, yet on the whole the Czechs were not prepared for this contingency.
The Reichsrat was closed when war broke out, and the Diet of Bohemia had
been replaced by an Imperial Commission in 1913. War was declared by
Austria against the will of the Slavs, and yet they did not dare to
protest, as an organised revolution was impossible in view of the presence
of German troops and of the perfect police spy system in Austria. Two