MARCK, OTTO, PRINCE VON.) Vienna was committed to the grant of some measure of repre sentative government to Bosnia and Hercegovina, and as neither Austria nor Hungary would consent to its being attached to the one rather than to the other, or to its partition beween them, a hybrid form of constitution was devised, by which the two provinces received a diet and special laws of association and as sembly, but were not represented in the two central parliaments and delegations, and thus had no say in foreign affairs. The new constitution, proclaimed on Feb. 17, 1910, had the capital de fect of stereotyping sectarian and social differences by dividing the electorate into three "Curiae" (electoral colleges) and by assigning in each of these a fixed proportion of seats to the Ortho dox, Muslim and Catholic elements. The diet was expressly ex cluded from any control of the executive, which remained under the governor (Landeschef ), his deputy (Ziviladlatus), the depart mental heads in Sarajevo, and the joint ministry of finance in Vienna as supreme instance.
These carefully hedged concessions were very badly received. The emperor's visit to Bosnia in the summer of 1910 was in tended to symbolize to the outside world the permanence of Austro-Hungarian rule ; but the opening of the diet was marred by an attempt on the life of the governor, Gen. Vareganin, by the student Zerajic, who at once committed suicide. Burian now tried to win the Serbian element for co-operation with the Government, and openly described them as the most progressive element in the country. But the situation in Croatia (q.v.) reacted more and more on Bosnia, rendered Burian's half-measures ineffectual, and strengthened the self-confidence of the Serbs. In Feb. 1912 he was succeeded by Ritter von Bilinski, a prominent Polish Con servative who enjoyed the confidence of Francis Joseph; but any hope of clearing up the internal situation was frustrated by Hungary's establishment of a dictatorship in Croatia (April 1912), and by the victories of Serbia in the Balkan War (October –November)—events which roused the whole Yugoslav popula tion of Austria-Hungary to feverish excitement.
The Bosnian group was specially active among the Yugoslav students, who began to found organs of their own in Prague, Vienna and Zagreb as well as Sarajevo. The younger generation devoted their efforts to inculcating revolutionary ideas among the university and middle school youth in Bosnia and the neigh bouring provinces. They were completely successful, and the confidential memoranda prepared by high officials in Sarajevo and Vienna on the very eve of the World War show them to have been altogether at a loss as to what policy to adopt.
The Bosnian situation was further complicated by the increas ing jealousy between the provincial Government in Sarajevo and its nominal superior, the finance ministry in Vienna, or, in per ? sonal terms, between the military governor, Potiorek, represent ing the views of the general staff and of the archduke Francis Ferdinand, and the civilian minister Bilinski as the confidant of the emperor. In May 1913 Potiorek, despite Bilinski's disap proval, had closed the Bosnian diet and dissolved various Serbian societies and the headquarters of the Serb Radicals. He continu ally urged the adoption of still more stringent measures, and tended increasingly to act without consulting Bilinski. The most notorious instance was the decision reached between Potiorek and Francis Ferdinand that the latter should attend the military manoeuvres in Bosnia in June 1914. Bilinski was not consulted or even notified, and the entire arrangements remained in mili tary hands. To this circumstance must be ascribed a large share of the blame for the assassination of the archduke Francis Ferdi nand and his consort, the duchess of Hohenberg, during their visit to Sarajevo on June 28, 1914.