The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-26 00:00:00

said bill, sent ene of its directors, the late Baron
Sina, to me at Pesth, to beg me not to make arrange-
ments for the issue of such notes and offering me,
in my official capacity, a loan of from 10,000,000f1.
to 12,000,000f1., without interest, and such further
sums as the exigencies of Hungary might require,
if I would content not to agree to the issue of any
notes until the time of the expiration of the privi-
leges which the said bank had from the Emperor of
Austria, as such, and not as King of Hungary. I
rejected the offer, upon the ground that Hungary
had nothing to do with the privileges of the National
Bank of Austria. I reported the facts to the Diet,
which approved of the course I had taken. These
notes were accordingly issued upon the security of
a metallic basis which, to the amount of several mil-
lions of florins in silver, was deposited by me in the
Commercial Bank of Hungary at Pesth. The Diet
afterwards authorised me, as beforesaid, to issue notes
upon the credit of the State; and such notes were
issued in the autumn of 1848, and again, under the
separate authorisation beforementioned in the spring
of 1849. But these notes differed from those in the
said bill mentioned, inasmuch as they bore a date
and number in writing, and my official signature
as Minister of Finance, or otherwise; while the
present notes bear no date, have a number in
print, and have no official title after my name, but
the words in the name of the nation' are put before
my name. When an Austrian army invaded the
kingdom of Hungary, by direction of the plaintiff,
early in 1849, and it was deemed advisable that the
seat of Government should be removed for a time
to Debreczin, I did not take with me the silver
which had been deposited by me in the Bank at
Pesth as the metallic basis and security for the
notes first above-named, because I supposed that
this, not being the property of any individuals, but
only of the nation, would be deemed sacred. The
invading army, however, took possession of the
whole of the silver thus deposited ; and afterwards
all the three sets of notes which had been issued by
me, or in my name, with the sanction and under the
direct authority of the Estates of the Kingdom,
were first declared valueless for public purposes,
and afterwards ordered, by the generals and others
acting in the name of the plaintiff, to be given up
by the holders ; and, in point of fact, a very large
quantity of the said notes, amounting in the whole
to more than thirty millions of florins in denomina-
tional value, were actually afterwards confiscated,
whereby the holders thereof were unlawfully, and
by force, deprived of their property and of the fruits
of their honest labour and earnings.
" 9. In consequence of the heavy detriment and
loss thus suffered by the State and subjects of Hun-
gary, I have deemed it my duty to take such means
as will enable the equivalent of the confiscated notes
to be restored to those from whom they have as
aforesaid been forcibly confiscated, should the cir-
cumstances arise that will enable redress to be
given for the forcible wrong thus done to a very
large number of the persons and to so large an
amount of property in Hungary.
" 10. My life and actions are before the world ;
and it has been my wish and care never to do any
act in England which is, or could be deemed to be,
an infringement of the laws of England.
" Sworn, &c., March 16. " Louis KOSSUTH."