The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-24 00:00:00

Jenee of the nation and who direct the present'
movement now prepared for this extremity ? lam
not sure of it ; still I have good grounds for think-
in-, so. But it is certain that the declaration of

independence of April, 1849, if repeated in May,
18G0, would be received with general enthusiasm
throughout the country, and abroad would have
far better chances of success than it could have had

12 years ago.
The reader must already understand why the
immense majority of the Hungarian population at
present see no other possible issue from the crisis
than the complete rupture of the bonds which
have ever been the bane of Hungary, and
which Austria, during these last two periods,
has rendered absolutey intolerable. We have
also demonstrated that the Cabinet of Vienna
itself indicates this solution as the only one possible,
when it formally condemns the system of govern-
ment it has imposed on Hungary since 1849, and
yet it has neither the courage nor the honesty to
relinquish it and satisfy the demands of Hungary,
which it has also acknowledged to be just.
The attitude of Europe with regard to the efforts
of Hungary for self-liberation cannot possibly be
the same now as it was in 1819. Time has ad-
vanced, and the situation is infinitely more favour-
able for Hungary. In its very defeat that generous
nation showed in 1849 that it was more than a
match for the great Power called Austria. The
assistance of 200,000 Cossacks and the treason of a
Hungarian General were required to vanquish the
hastily raised army of the Honveds. Since 1849
Hungary has shown that brute force cannot subdue
ber. In other words, Hungary has convinced even
the most sceptical that she is full of vitality.
Would Europe refuse to a strong nation the possi-
bility of becoming independent—to a nation full of
life the right to live ?
We do not think so, and less than ever at a
moment when everything is in favour of enfran-
chising nationalities, of rendering nations masters
of their own destinies. " Hungary for the Hun-
garians," is surely the logical and inevitable corol-
lary of " Italy for the Italians Neither France,
which has supported this just and beneficent idea
with equal courage and generosity, nor Great
Britain, which seems seriously jealous of the
im-
mortal glory and European popularity secured by
France from this liberating effort, will now wish
to prevent the Hungarians from doing with
their own means what the Italians have ac-
complished with the aid of French treasures
and French blood. Russia will not again
give Austria an opportunity of " astonishing Eu-
rope by her ingratitude," as Prince Schwarzenberg
boasted after the Russian invasion of 1849, Prussia
is beginning to see the advantages she would find
in following her own providential destinies, in
standing forth as the representative and champion
of liberty and progress in Germany. She cannot
now so far forget herself as to realise the hopes
which for an instant she held out to Austria during
theJtalian war, by promising to assist her against
any general revolt in Hungary. The openly sym-
pathising attitude of the two Western Powers in
favour of the new changes preparing in Italy, and
the passive, observant attitude, of the Northern
Powers justify these hopes. The events of which
the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies is now the scene
can but encourage Hungary to declare the popular
will, and hasten the general enfranchisement of na-
tions by regaining her own liberty. At a moment
when each nationality is constituting itself Austria
persists in creating a polyglot chaos. Each of the
elements composing her empire follows its own na-
tural course ; and, that being exactly contrary to
the course so unwisely adopted by the Hapsburgs,
it is natural that an Italy and a Hungary should
revive and consolidate themselves on the soil which
has borne for so many centuries the deplorable
sway of Ferdinand 11., Leopold 1., and their worthy
apostolical successors."