Chapter 45： Legal weapon (1/2)

On March 21st, the Vienna government introduced the ”Land Lease Act”, which stipulates that farmers have the right to lease land. The maximum rent must not exceed 50% of the land revenue.

This is to protect the most basic survival rights of farmers. Without restrictions, it is estimated that it will not be long before another hunger bursts.

On March 22, the Vienna government issued the Law on Servant Placement and Security, which requires nobles to provide minimum living security for released serfs and solve the employment problem of farmers.

That is: the peasant's right to live in the existing house must not be deprived; lease the land to the peasant, or hire the peasant to guarantee employment.

In order to avoid capitalist aristocracy's looting, on March 23, 1848, the Vienna government introduced the ”Prohibition of Usury Act”.

The bill stipulates that: any type of loan in Austria, the annual interest rate must not exceed 35 percent; and loans for vulnerable groups such as farmers and workers must not exceed 25 percent.

For any personal loan, the interest is calculated based on the actual amount received.

Since May 1, 1848, any usury contract is considered invalid and has no legal effect, which means that it can not be repaid. For usury contracts that have been signed, the law only protects income within the legal scope.

This is a precautionary measure. In fact, when enacting this law, members of the cabinet did not think that nobles would take advantage of the fire. Usually, such things are only done by capitalists.

Well, Franz did not argue with them on this issue. The big aristocrats would definitely not do it. With such a small profit, it is not worth dirtying their hands. The little aristocracy may not be.

There are also poor people among the nobles. Every year a group of nobles in Europe go bankrupt. These people can ignore the noble glory.

Since it is a crackdown on capitalists, there is naturally a lot of unfavorable clauses on offenders in this ban on usury. For example, the penalties are terrible.

As long as you catch the usury, you will confiscate all the property first, and take a walk inside the prison. The minimum is three years. It is not a dream indefinitely.

On March 25, the Vienna government introduced the ”Minimum Wage Law”, a subsidiary act of the ”Labor Protection Law”, which sets the minimum wage standard.

Because the economic development of each region is different, the first announcement is only the minimum wage in the Vienna area, that is: male workers 4.5 rupiahs per week, female workers 2.5 rupiahs per week, child labor 45 cleats per week.

(Note: 1 shield here = 11.6828 grams of silver = 60 Kretz)

Franz is still very pragmatic. He has not worked out a wage that exceeds the actual situation. This wage standard can only meet their living needs. Workers still need to work overtime if they want a better life.

The use of child labor, including what he hates most, has not been resolved.

There is no way. This is the current situation in Austria. It is easy to ban factories from using child labor, but after losing economic resources, the lives of these children are a big problem.

However, these laws still have a positive effect, slightly improving the treatment of workers, and protecting the workers' survival needs, of course, this just protects the right to survival.

If you want to get a better life and wait for the further development of productivity, this is determined by social reality. Without reducing labor costs, the company's products will lose competitiveness.

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It can be said that 1848 was the legislative year in Austria, and Franz may have become accustomed to the legal society and was very keen on legislation.