The Sun.
London, England, 1849-08-14 00:00:00

'HE HUNGARIAN STRUGGLE

GREAT ME MINGHA,
ET----e....---ING
AT
BIR
(Fnoar cant OWN REPORTER.)
A large and influential meetingt of the inhabitants of
requisition
into the
Birmingham, in compliance vri
a Exchangee
memorial that
mayor, was held yesterday at the Coarnr
town, to consider the propriety of adopting
to the Queen urging the recognition by the British
Government of the national independence of the Run-
garian nation. At one o'clock the chair was taken by
Samuel Thornton, Esq., the Mayor of Birmingham.
On the platform we noticed the Members of the
borough, Mr. Muntz and Mr. Scholefield; Dr. Raphall,
Mr. G. Dawson, Mr. Gill, and other influential gentle-

men. Above the Chairman's head floated the national
banner of Hungary, of red, white, and green, supported
on each side by the English flag; anu around the room
were suspended placards on which were inscribed
" Bathyany and Freedom;" " Georgey the Brave;"
" Kossuth and Independence;" " Dembinski and Free-
dom," and other like mottoes; while on one appeared
the name of Jellachich reversed, with a broad stroke
drawn through, indicating the shame and dishonour
which have laden on the 'scutcheon of that leader.
The Mayor, in opening the proceedings, said it was
with very great pleasure that he had acceded to the re-
quisition which had called upon him to hold a meeting
to discuss this most important question. He trusted
that the meeting would see the propriety of pla ing
itself in the hands of the speakers as to the resolutions
to be proposed.

Mr: SLIOLEPIELD, M.P., in rising to propose the
first resolution, said that this was the third great meet-
ing which he had attended on this most important
question, but he attended this meeting with greater
pleasure than any other, because it intimated the deter-
mination of his fellow-townsmen not to be behind the
rest of the country in expressing their sympathy with a
brave nation struggling for freedom against oppression
and tyranny. The line of definition between right and
wrong had never been more clearly marked than in this
case. Here was a country struggling to maintain rights
and privileges, which it had possessed for many years,
against the attacks of a tyrant who strove to
deprive her of them. For many years Hun-
gary had had her own constitution, her own as-
semblies and her own king; the Emperor of Austria
was not the Emperor of Hungary there
was a great distinction between the two characters and

this war—the distinctionwhich the Austrian Government
now strove to abolish; and this was the reason why the
Hungarians most properly and most patriotically had
determined to depose the house of Hapsburg from the
throne of Hungary. There were many, he was sorry to
say, in this country wbo pretended to take offence at the
Hungarian form of government, hut he did not think, for
his part, that there were many in thejnountry who knew
exactly what was the form of goveihment. All infor-
mation on that head had to come through Austrian
channels, and of course was very much defiled in its pas-
sage. He did not know what the form was, nor did he
care for that matter, but this he did know, that the Hun-
garians had risen as one man, and had declared for a
constitution, and what the sovereign will of the people
decreed that he thought was the true constitution, be it
what it might.—(C4eers.) There were two important
points in this question which would justify any interven-
tion—the cruelty of Austria and the intervention of
Russia. No man who had read the atrocious proclama-
tion of Haynau, threatening instant death to every
person, without distinction of sex or age, found
committing what might be called a revolution-
ary act, but would instanly denounce such a
monster and the Government that employed him. No
one who had the least regard for the law of nations could
for a moment doubt that it was high time for this coun-
try to interfere, and to speak out boldly by the mouth
of her public Ministers, that she would not permit such
doings. The news which they had that morning re-
ceived of the great victory gained by the Hungarians,
and of'the conquest of Raab, would, he hoped, soon put
an end to this war. Therefore, England, without nay
loss of time, ought to take her proper place among the
nations, and issue a strong and independent protest
against the proceedings of Russia and Austria. He was
happy to tell them that a memorial from the Members of
both Houses of Parliament to her Majesty was in the
course of being signed, and he only wished that he had
fifty hands to sign it with. He hoped that Lord Pal-
merston would be prepared to act upon that memorial
without loss of time. There was another argument for
the interference of this country in the contest
between Hungary and the two tyrannies of Aus-
tria and Russia ; one, however, on which he should be
inclined to lay but little stress, as it was liable to
the charge of selfishness, and that was the great com-
mercial advantages which would accrue to this country
from a treaty with Hungary. It was almost impossible
to overrate the benefits which a treaty with Hungary,
a country possessing twenty or thirty millions of inha-
bitants, with a soil as fertile as any in the globe, and
so few facilities for manufactures, would open to the
commercial aspects of this country. The only manufac-
tures which at present reached them went under a Rus-
sian tariff, and he need scarcely tell them that that al-
most amounted to a prohibition. Funen was the only
port through which imports could be made, and would it
be believed that the number of English vessels which
had entered that port during the last year was two, with
a tonnage of 220 tons, and that too for a population of
such immense extent? It was not, however, upon such
low ground as this that he called upon them to support
the Hungarian cause, and to sanction this protest, but in
the name of humanity and of justice, in the name of the
suffering but undying cause of freedom, he called upon
them to express their sympathy on this occasion. The Hon.
Gentleman concluded by moving the following resolu-
tion :—" That, as Englishmen, as lovers of freedom, civil
and religious, as true conservatives, and as friends of
progress,lthis meeting feel it a sacred duty to express
their earnest, entire, and unreserved approbation of the
Hungarian struggle for independence."
Dr. RAPLIALL rose to second the resolution. He said,
that during his connexion with Birmingham he had
never made it his practice to attend any public meeting
_
of a political nature; and if this had beenhil meelt3lune-gel
that character they would not have seen
shades of
object of this meeting was far
thedifferent—allin desire of expressing
sympathy with a brave nation struggling for freedom.
That, too, was not all; not merely the liberty of Hun-
gary, but the liberty of central Europe, the welfare of
thousands of human beings depended upon this question.
He could tell them confidently that justice was on the side
of Hungary in this struggle. For many years that great
and fertile country had at all times been as completely
free and independent as England or France, and it was
only after a long resistance, and the base assassination
by Austrian agents of the Regent Martinuzzi, that Hun-
gary, on the death of her last native monarch on the
battle field, consentedk to allow his brother-
in-law, the Archduke Ferdinand, to mount
his throne. That was the beginning of the
connexion between Austria and Hungary, and in
the same spirit had that connexion been continued.
Austria and Bohemia had lost their freedom to the
House of Hapsburg; Lombardy had never been al-
lowed any, and now they were making mighty efforts to
crush the liberties of Hungary. Everything had been
done by Austria to annoy the interests of Hungary, and
even while she had been obliged to acknowledge the
independence of Hungary, every occasion bad been
taken to turn that acknowledgment to her disadvantage.
Hitherto the quarrel had always been a family affair,
until now, when Austria called in Russia to aid her in
the extinction of liberty, when it became a contest be-
tween the principles of good and evil—between tyranny
and despotism ; and in such a struggle it was not fitting
that England should remain an idle spectator. lie must
remind them that Russia was the incarnationof
despo-
tism and of ambition. She kept one eye
steadily
ed
n fixed
on Constantinople, and the other on
our India
comesessions ; her career had forlso
she
years
had in
been one of
aggression, and every power that
con-
tact with had beenobligtehde
atoxioymieltdhatto„
it
tewr
araspeaxccietyl:
Her conduct had verified
lent to have a
strength, but villanous to use it
He r -oiced to be one of such a
public voice loudly expressed could
ni nota butmeeting
ia nhatos'
sytehsipsainr;it'egiant's
effect . j
upon the councils of Russia and
Austria, and would strengthen the hands of our Govern-
ment in any course which they might pursue to stop
these despots in their crusade against fit.edom,
ue
begged to second the resolution which had just been read
to them.

Mr. GILL, in rising to support this resolution, said
that in questions of this nature they were often puzzled
how large a share of disapprobation to bestow on one
party, and how large a slice of admiration on the other,
but. in this case the Austrians had been so delightfully
stupid and gloriously unsuccessful, while the Hungarians
had been so magnificently skilful and pre-eminently
fortunate, that there could not be much hesitation about
the Matter. trin Attotrieno wore otrivieg to Groh the