among the Italians to create a unified nation, including the Carbonari in Lombardy-Venetia were put down by Metternich with military intervention, similarly in Poland. Meanwhile, the minority populations within the empire, such as the Slavs and Poles were seeking national identities, distinct from Austria. Metternich sought to deflect these movements into cultural identity. Similarly in Germany, a Prussian led German Customs Union (Zollverein) of the German states was formed in 1833, but Austria did not join, identifying within it German nationalism. One of the few administrative reforms was the granting of a diet to Galicia. Metternich kept a firm hand on government resisting the constitutional freedoms demanded by the liberals. Government was by custom and by imperial decree (Hofkanzleidekrete). He was both an oppressive reactionary opportunist but also a true conservative politician. His role in directing European affairs gave the Habsburgs a disproportionate influence relative to their actual powers. The extensive security mechanism was headed by Count Joseph Sedlnitzky, under Metternich's personal supervision, while religion was seen merely as a tool for supporting authority. Economy State intervention in fiscal matters was relatively restrained, although the National Bank of Austria was established in 1816 to restore the nation's credit status. Taxatiob was largely left to the provinces and uneven within the emire, Hungary paying disproportionally less. The aristocrats were also undertaxed. One of the results was that the military budget was relatively small, and thus unable to give much force to Metternich's foreign policies. Economic growth was relatively small and did not keep pace with population growth. Industrialisation in Austria began around 1830, primarily in Vienna and Voralberg. 1838 saw the first railway, connecting Vienna and Deutsch-Wagram, a distance of about 15 km, and construction on the Austrian Southern Railway (Österreichische Südbahn) started the following year. In shipping, the Danube Steam Navigation Company was established in 1829, while Austrian Lloyd became the largest shipping company in the Mediterranean. These economic developments came at a cost as large numbers of farm workers migrated to the growing urban industries to form an expanding proletariat. Monarchy Francis firmly resisted Metternich's proposals for overhauling the Monarchy. When Francis died in 1835, his son Ferdinand I (1835-1848) "Ferdinand the Benign" succeeded him, but proved unfit to govern due to illness, with much of the decision making falling to his uncle Archduke Louis of Austria and Metternich. Consequently, Austria entered a period of political stagnation with Francis