Of course, people who had seen the light could hardly go on enduring the darkness. Though the Austrian Empire's colonies were hardly comfortable places to live, restrictions on the people were actually quite limited. At least there were few policies that discriminated against the Irish.
When these Irish returned to Britain, would they continue to endure the British Government's oppression, or rise up in rebellion?
Keep in mind that these people had faced life-and-death trials every day in Africa. Anyone without a bit of fight in them would either have become a thoroughgoing subject, hiding under Austrian protection just to scrape out a living, or would never have returned at all.
Of those who remained, some had been eaten by ferocious beasts and natives. The rest were all tough as nails.
They would naturally turn Britain upside down when they returned. And since they were hardworking and skilled at guerrilla warfare, it would cost the British several times over—or even dozens of times over—to deal with them.
For the sake of keeping costs down, however, the Irish had to pay their own fares to return to Britain and could travel only on ships designated by the Austrian Empire. Upon leaving, all their fixed assets would be confiscated, and they would have to pay taxes on the property they took with them.
As a result, the newspapers carried two different views of Franz's Irish Rescue Plan. One claimed the emperor was wasting money; the other said he wasn't devout enough.
Neither view was mainstream, of course, and Franz wouldn't let them sway him. Still, for the sake of the public's peace of mind, he did occasionally clear out a few people spreading such nonsense.
Franz's plan to save the Irish was really more like a business deal in which both sides