The Sun.
London, England, 1849-07-24 00:00:00

The following is a fuller report of Lord Palmeraton's
speech on this question than we were enabled to give in
our paper of yesterday:—
Lord PALMERSTON said,—ln the few observations
which I shall feel it my duty to make upon the motion of
my lion. Friend, and upon what has passed in debate, I
wish to guard myself in the first place against the poad-
bility that anything elich I may say may expose me to
the imputation of entertaining unfriendly feelings to-
wards the Government and empire of Austria.—(Hear,
hear.) I know well, that i eputations have been cast
upon her Majesty's Government, and upon myself as the
organ of that Government in regard to our foreign rela-
tions—imputations of being guided and impelled in our
intercouree with the powers of Europe by personal feel-
ings of hatred to this power and to that.—(Dear, hear.)
Such imputations, let them come from what quarter they
may, and whether they be written or spoken—(Hear,
hear)—if they be sincere, are the result of ignorance
and folly—(Hear, hear)—if they aro insincere, I leave
others t 3 qualify them as they may.—(Hear, hear.) It
is the grossest ignorance to suppose that the Govern-
ment of this country—that the man who may for the
time be charged with the conduct of its foreign rela-
tions, can be influerced in the management of those affairs
by any other feeling than his conception of what is his
duty, according to his political opinions, and according
to his views of the interests of his country and the ge-
neral interests of the civilized world.—(Hear, hear.)
Austria is a power towards which the Government of
this country ought upon many accounts to feel great
consideration .—(Hear, hear.) We have been told that
Austria is our ancient ally. We have had the term
" ally" and " allies' rung in our ears by those who either
must be ignorant of the slip-shop expression they were
using, or who, through what I must admit to have been
its general acceptation, forgot that they were using a
totally unmeaning term. Why, what is an ally? An
ally is a power allied by treaty engagements in carrying
on some ac'ive operations, political or otherwise. But
to call a country an ally merely becalm it is in a state of
friendship with you is to use an expression that has no
meaning whatever—(Hear, hear)—because it is applica-
ble to every other power in the world with whom you
may happen not to be in a state of war.—(Hear, hear.)
But Austria has been our ally. We hare been allied
with Austria in most important European transactions;
and the remembrance of the alliance ought undoubt-
edly to create in the breast of every Englishman who
has a recollection of the history of his coustry feel-
ings of respect towards a power with whom we have
been in such alliance.— (Hear, hear.) It is perfectly true,
that in the course of those repeated alliances, Austria,
not from any fault of hers, but from the pressure of ir-
resistible necessity, was repeatedly compelled to depart
from the alliance, and to break the ergagemente by
which she had bound herself to us. We did not reproach
her with yielding to the necessity of the moment, and
no generous mind would think that those circumstances
ought in any degree to diminish or weaken the tie which
former transactions must create between the Govern-
ments of the two countries.—(Hear, hear.) But there
aro higher and larger considerations, which ought to
render the maintenance of the Austrian empire an object
of solicitude to every English statesman. Austria is a
most important element in the balance of European
power.—(Hear, hear.) Austria stands in the centre of
Europe, a barrier against encroachments on the one side,
and against invasion on the other. The political inde-
pendence and liberties of Europe are bound up, in my
opinion, with the maintenance and integrity of Austria
as a great European power; and therefore anything
which tends by direct, or even remote contingency, to
weaken and to cripple Austria, but still more to reduce
her from the position of a firatrate power t 3 that of a se-
condary state, mustbe a great calamity to Europe, and one
which every Englishman ought to deprecate, and to try
to prevent.—(Hear.) However, it is perfectly true, as
has been stated, that for a long course of time Austria has
not been a favourite with the Liberal party in Europe.
Austria, by the course of policy which she has pur-
sued, has, in the opinion of a great part of the
continent, been identified with obstruction to progress.—
(Hear, hear.) That circumstance unfortunately has made
her proportionately a favourite in the eyes of some; and
when we hear such declamations in favour of Austria, I
would warn the Austrian Government not to trust too
much to those protestation (Hear, hear.) It is not as
the ancient ally of England during war—it is not as the
means of resistance in the centre of Europe to any ge-
neral disturbance of the balance of power—it is as the
former (though I trust it is no longer so)—the former
symbol of resistance to improvement, political and social
—(Hear, hear)—it is in that capacity that Austria has
won the affections of some men in the conduct of public
affairs.—(Hear, hear.) There are persons who see in
the relations of countries nothing but the intercourse of
Cabinets, who value a country not fur its political weight,
but for its political opinions, and who consider that the
relations between countries aro sufficiently intimate when
the personal intercourse of their Governments is placed
on a complimentary footing.—(Hear, hear.) Sir, there
are men who, having passed their whole lives in adoring
the Government of Austria because they deemed it
the great symbol of the opinions which they enter-
tained, at last became fickle in their attachment, and
transferred their allegiance to the Government of France,
because they thought that in that Government they saw
an almost equal degree of leaning to the arbitrary prin-
ciple—(Hear)—and because they, forsooth, expected
that Government of designs hostile to the interests of
freedom.—(Hear.) We have heard of persona of that
sort making use of the expression " old women."—(Hear,
bear.) Public men ought not to deal in egotism, and I
will not apply to them the expression that has fallen
from their own mouths. I will only say that the conduct
of such men is an example of antiquated imbecility.—
(Cheers and laughter.). With regard to the present
question, I am sure that everybody who has heard what
has passed, ever) body in this country who has given at-
tention to the most important events that have taken
place in Hungary, must feel that my Hon. and Gallant
Friend need have made no apology for drawing tho at-
tention of the Parliament of England to transactions
deeply affecting the political principles of Europe, and
having a most important bearing upon the general
balance of European power.—(Cheers.) The House
will not expect me to follow those who have spoken to-
day, by endeavouring to pass judgment either way be-
tween the Austrian Government and the Hungarian na
tion.—(Hear.) I say the Hungarian nation, because,
in spite of what has fallen from the Noble Lord
opposite (Lord C. Hamilton), I do believe, from the in-
formation I have received,—and I do not pretend I may
not be mistaken,--but I firmly believe that in this war
between Austria and Hungary there is enlisted on the
side of Hungary the hearts and souls of the whole
people of that country.—(Cheers.) I believe that the
other races, distinct from the Magyars, have forgotten
the former feuds that existed between them and the
Magyar population, and that the greater portion of the
people have engaged in what they consider a great
national contest.—(Cheers.) It is true, as my Hon.
and Gallant Friend has said, that Hungary has for cen-
turies been a state which, though united with Austria
by the link of the Crown, has nevertheless been separate
and distinct from Austria by its own complete constitu-
tion.—(Hear, hear.) That constitution has many de-
fects, but some of those defects were, I believe, remedied
not long ago—(Hear, hear)—and it is not the only
ancient constitution on the continent that was suscep-
tible of great improvement.—(Hear, hear.) There were
means probably within the force and resources of the
constitution itself to reform it, and it might have been
hoped that those improvements would have been car-
ried into effect.—(Hear, hear.) But, so far as I
understand the matter, I take the present state of
the case to be this:—Without going into the details of
mutual complaints as to circumstances which have taken
place within the last year or year and a half, I take the
question that is now to be fought for on the plains of
Hungary to be this—whether Hungary shall continue
to maintain its separate nationality as a distinct king-
dom, and with a constitution of its own, or whether it
is to be incorporated more or less in the aggregate con-
stitution that is to be given to the Austrian empire ?
It is a most painful sight to see such forces as are
now arrayed against Hungary proceeding to a war
fraught with such tremendous consequences on a ques-
tion that it might have been hoped would be settled
peacefully.—(Hear, hear.) It is of the utmost importance
to Europe that Austria should remain great and power-
ful; but it is impossible to disguise from ourselves that,
if the war is to be fought out, Austria must thereby be
weakened—(Hear, hear)—because, on the one hand, if
the Hungarians should be successful, and their success
should end in the entire separation of Hungary from
Austria, it will be impossible not to see that this will
be such a dismemberment of the Austrian empire as
will prevent Austria from continuing to occupy the
great position she has hitherto held among European
powers.—(Hear, hear.) If, on the other hand, the war
being fought out to the uttermost, Hungary should
by superior forces be entirely crushed, Austria in
that battle will have crushed her own right arm.—
(Cheers.) Every field that is laid waste is an Austrian re-
source destroyed—every man that perishes upon the
field among the Hungarian ranks is an Austrian soldier
deducted from the defensive forces of the empire.—
(Cheers.) Laying aside those other most obvious con-
siderations that have been touched upon as to the result
of a successful war, the success of which is brou_gbotbavtgus
by foreign aid—laying that wholly aside, is
that even the success of Austria, if it is taviiletyaan ud
facme sea
of force, will inflict a deep wound on the_l-.t is. therefore much
of the Austrian empire.—(Cheers.)
to be desired, not simply on . the principle of general
humanity, but on the principle of sound European
policy, and from themrt
say, f e
devoutlyn y r ega rt d t o
boethei Austrian
empire itself—it i
this great contest may be brought to a termination by
par-
ties, amicable arrangement between the contending so
which shall on the one hand satisfy the national
feelings of the Hungarians, and on the other hand not
leave to Austria another and a larger Poland within her
empire.—(Cheers.) Her Majesty's Government have
not, in the present state of the matter, thought that
any opportunity has as yet presented itself that
could enable them, with any prospect of ad-
vantage, to make any official communication
of those opinions which they entertain :on
this subject. I say official, as contradistieguished from
opinions expressed in a more private and confidential
manner; but undoubtedly, if any occasion wore to occur
that should load them to think the expression of such ,
opinions would tend to a favourable result, it would be