The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-18 00:00:00

HUNGARY.

A letter from Pesth, dated Jan. 10, says :—The
great Protestant assembly will be held at Debraczin
on the 14th inst. The Government is taking ener-
getic steps, overt and secret, to deprive this great
demonstration of its importance, but all in vain.
It will be a great social, political, and religious
manifestation ; the Protestant party will again re-
sume their title to the epithet which marks their
creed—they will rise up and " protest" against the
wickedness of their oppressors. It is expected that
many stalwart defenders of the faith in foreign
countries will be represented on this occasion. The
meeting will be presided over by the Baron Nico-
las Vaz, and will be attended by a numerous and
influential gathering of Protestants. It is evident
that apprehensions are entertained that the Go-
vernment will attempt something serious, as seve-
ral of the leading members of the Protestant faith
have made their wills prior to setting forth to
attend the meeting.
The Baron Zsedinyi has appealed against the
sentence by which he has been condemned to four
months' imprisonment. He, as well as his fellow-
prisoners in the affair at Kaesmark, have received
most flattering ovations since their incarceration.
Thousands of persons—amongst them some of the

most distinguished Magyars—have called to pay
their respects to the Baron, with whom they had
no personal acquaintance. Strong disapprobation
has also been exprewsed against the Government
for the unnecessary severity manifested by the Pre-
sidemt of the Tribunal, who demanded that Baron
Zsedinyi should be stripped of all his hereditary

titles and honours. The Court declined to accede
to this vindictive aggravation of the penalty.
We must weary you with a repetition of our
grievances, for unfortunately every communica-
tion which you receive from this quarter must
necessarily be but a recapitulation of persecutions
and oppressions. The increasing encumbrances of
the Government had given rise to a suspicion that
the Crown domains of Hungary would be sold.
The suspicion of some such intent became openly
manifest ed—it reached the ears of the Government—
and 'was officially repudiated by the Government
journal. This calumnious rumour, we were told,
had been got up by the revolutionary party to
exasperate their deluded followers against the
paternal Government. But, after all, it appears
that the atrocious calumny was not so ill-founded.
The castle and domain of Vajna Hunyad has just
been sold, one of the finest appanages of the
Hungarian Crown ; and, when the mutilation of
the edifice has once commenced, every passer-by
will carry on the work of demolition until the
Crown will be despoiled of its possessions.
The Government has the art of keeping the weak
in sulajection, but making way for the strong, and
we are now becoming sufficiently strong to make
ourselves seen and heard in the world. The police
had received orders to oppose furtively the cele-
bration of the hundredth anniversary of Kaszynzy.
But it became known that no heed would be taken
of this interdiction—that the
.fete would be cele-
brated quand mente, and no notice would be taken
of the interdiction whereupon the Government
believed discretion to be so much the better part of
valour that they resolved to shut their eyes to avoid
an altercation which might have terminated unfa-
vourably for them.
The following letter from Pesth, dated Jan. 11,
has been lithographed and circulated in Paris

" In small things, as well as great, the Viennese Cabinet
exasperates the Hungarians. Following close on the
projected sale of the Castle of the Hunyadis, an act of '
spoliation which has deeply wounded their national sen-
timents, comes the suppression of their Bulletin of Laws,
which was printed in their own language ; and in place of
this publication, one printed at Vienna, in German, is
to be established. Thus the Hungarians have the morti-
fication of seeing their national language proscribed
by the Government, and there aro few things, I fancy,
more offensive than that to a high-spirited people. More-
over, they ara subjected to the very serious inconvenience
of being obliged to spell out, in a language they do not
understand, the ordinances and soi-disant ' laws' which
the Viennese tyrants may think fit to impose on them.
"The Government, alarmed, and not, it must be con-
fessed, without reason, at the menacing attitude of the popu-
lation, is in all parts of the country, and particularly
at Pesth, Grosswardein, and Debreczin, causing persons
to be arrested, houses to be searched, and measures of pre-
caution against an outbreak to be adopted. The Govern-
ment is also acting with much rigour to the Press; but
the newspapers dare not record, nor even refer to, the
numerous acts of tyranny and atrocity which are perpe-
trated every day. To such an extent, in fact, is the per-
secution of journals carried, that the conductors of the
leading native organ, the Testhi Napolo, contemplate
suspending it until better times shall come. The Hun-
gariarns who go to Vienna on business—and no Him-
garian now goes there for anything else—are not only
required to proceed to the police-office, and show their
passports the moment they enter the city, but they are
placed under the surveillance of police spies during all
their stay. They are, moreover, particularly ordered, un-
der pain of immediate expulsion or arrest, not to com-
municate with officers of the Austrian army. The reason
for this strange order is not stated ; but I strongly suspect
that it is no other than that officers are so notoriously
discontented with the service, and with the state of things
in general, that the Government feels that by communicat-
ing with Hungarians they would be easily won over to the
Hungarian cause, or perhaps eagerly offer to serve it.
" At the recent demonstration in honour of the poet
Kacinczy, at Szephalon, his native place, the Rev. Mr.
Lakinczy created profound sensation by a speech he deli-
vered, and that speech is now producing a sort of electric
commotion throughout the land. 'lt is now 28 years ago,'
said he in the course of it, ' that I and 15 others carried
the remains of our patriot poet to the tomb. But in spite
of his pattiotisra and his genius, he was not appreciated
as ho ought to have been by his countrymen. Now,
however, the whole land is ringing with his
praises, and everywhere the people are holding meetings to
do honour to his memory. In this I see demonstrated the
great fact that public merit is sure, sooner or later, to be
acknowledged and recompensed. My friends and my
countrymen ! let us deduce from this fact the lesson that a
national cause is like the patriot's worth—sure, however
oppressed, to shine forth in glory sooner or later, Yes, my
friends, the cause of Hungary will triumph ! lam an old
very old man ; 70 winters having passed over my brow ;
but even I may live to see, from the present appearance of
things, that triumph ! And, if the Almighty should grant
me that inestimable blessing, with what joy would I
slightly paraphrase the words of Simeon, and cry, Lord,
now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, for mina
eyes have seen the salvation of my country !' "