The republic., 1851-12-18

They performed IL with tue iron rule OF martial law
they employed terrorism in the highest degree, 80
much that thousands Of women and men, who pro
fcssed to be Magyars, preferred not 70 know, nay
not TO have perhaps heard any other language than
the Magyar, notwithstanding all their protesta-
tions, were put down TO be Scaves, Serbs Ger
mans, or Walachians, because their names had not
quite Hungarian sound. And still, what was tho
issue of this malignant plot? But Of the twelve mil
lions OF inhabitants OF Hungary proper, the Mag
vars turned out to be more than eight millions some
two millions than know the really is
The people nstinctively felt that the tyrant had the
design TO destroy with the pretext of language the
very existence OF the nation formed by the COM
pound of all those ingredients which nave men
toned above, and, with that common good sense
which every nation possesses, met the tyrannic plot
4 as if it answered: awe want to be nation, and if
the tyrant takes language only for the mark OF our
| nationality, then we all Hungarians And
mark well, gentlemen; this happened not under
my goyernorship, but even under the rule OF Aus
trian martial law. The Cabinet OF Vienna became
furious; 1t thought OF a new census, but prudent
men told them that a new census would give the
| whole twelve millions as Magyars, and thus no
new census was taken. So true is my assertion
that it ia not language alone which makes a ma
ton, an assertion which of your own great
Republic proves to the world.
But on the European continent there happily
grew up school which bound the idea of Ian
guage only TO the idea of language, and joined po
litical pretensons TO il. There some who ad
vocate the theory that existing countries must
cease, and the territories of the world be anew
divided by languages and nations, separated by
| tongues.
You are aware that the idea, II IL were not I'M
practicable, would be but a curse to humanity--a
deathbow to civilization and progress, and throw
back mankind by centuries-it eternal
source OF strife and war, because there is holy,
almost religious tie by which mans heart TO his
home Is bound; and no man ever would consent 10
abandon mis- native land only because his neigh
bors speak another language than he hmsel and,
by this reason, claims for him thar sacred spot
where the ashes of his fathers lie-where his own
cradle stood-where he dreamed the happy dreams
OF youth, and whore nature itself bears mark of
maj "a lab foii he
than the old migration of nations was; despotisIn
only would rise out of the strife of mankinds ia
naticlsm.
And really it is very curious. Nobody of the adj
vocates of this mischevous theory willing yield
to it for himself-but others he desires yield to
it. Every Frenchman becomes furious when his
Alsace is claimed to Germany by the right of lam
guage--or the borders Of his Pyrenees TO Spain;
but there are some amongst the very men who feel
revolted at this idea who claim for Germany that
should yield up large territory because part of
the Inhabitants speak different tongue, and would
claim from Hungary to divide Its territory which
God himself has limited by its range of mountains
and the system of streams, also by all the links
OF community of more than thousand years; to
cut off our right hand Transylvania and to give
i up to the neighborng Wallachia; to cut out like
Shylock one pound of our very breast-the Banat,
and the rich country between the Danube and
Theiss-to augment by it Turkish Serbia, and 80
FORTH 1t is the anb ion Of conquest, but an
easy conquest, not by arms but by language.
So much know, at least, that this absurd idea
cannot, and will not, be advocated by any
mere In the united states, which ola not open It's
hospitabe shores to humanity, and greet the flock
ing millions of emigrants with the right of citi
zen, in order that the Union may be cut TO pieces,
and even your single States divided into new
framed, independent countries, by and according
| to languages.
And do you know, gentlemen, whence this alb
1t was the idea of Pansavismus-that is the idea
that the mighty stock of Scavonc races is cal ed
to rule the world, as once the Roman did IL was a
Russian plot-it was the internal idea to make out
n eel m
ance the world
Perhaps you are not aware of the historical orr
gin OF this plot 1t after the third division of
Poland, this most immoral act of tyranny, that
the chance OF fate brought the Prince Czartoniski
TO the court of Catharine of Russia. He subse-
quently became minister OF Alexander the Gar.
Ii was In this quality that, with the noble aim TO
benefit his down trodden fatherland, he claimed
from the young Gar the restoration of Poland,
suggesting for equivalent the idea of Russian pre-
ponderance all nations of the old Sclavo
race. believe his intention was sincere; be
levc he thought not to misconsider those natural
borders which, besides the affinity of language,
God himself has between the nations drawn But
he forgot that the spirits which he raises he will
not be able to master more and that uncalled ia
naticism will sundry fanastical shapes force into
his Frame by which the frame itself must burst in
pieces soon. He forgot that Russian preponderance
cannot be proptous to liberty he forgot that il
can not be favorable the development of the
Sclave nationality, because Scavonc nations would
by this idea be degraded into individuals OF Rus
siansm-a all absorbed by Russia-that is, absorbed
by despotl5m
Russia got hold of the sensible idea very readi |
ly. May be that young Alexander had in the |
first moment noble incnations; he young, |
and the warm heart of youth 10 susceptible 10
noble instincts. II is not common in history, |
such Francis Josephs, of Austria-so young, and |
yet such Nero as he is. But few years OF pow
| er were sufficient to extinguish every spark of |
noble scntiment-if there was one in Alexander's
young heart. Upon the throne OF the Roma
nows is the man soon absorbed by the Auto
crat. The air of the traditional policies OF ST. |
/ Petersburg he q
| regeneration can grow, and the sensible idea |
became soon weapon of honor, oppression, and
Russian preponderancc Russia availed herself |
of the idea of Panslavism to break Turkey down, |
| and to make an obedient satellite out OF Austria. |
| Turkey withstands yet, but Austria has fall |
| en- in the Russia sent out its agents. its |
moneys, Its venomous secret diplomacy through |
the world; it spoke TO the Sclave nations Of the ba
tired against foreign dominion OF independence Of |
religion connected with nationality under its own |
supremacy; but chiefly it spoke to them of Pan
saylsm under the proectorate OF the Gar The |
| millions Of its own large empire, also, all OPP
presscd-a in serviude-al tool to his ambition;
he battered them with the idea become the rulers
OF the world, in order that they might not think of
liberty; he knew that mans breast cannot harbor |
two passions at once. lie gave them ambition and
! excluded the spirit of liberty. This ambition got
hold OF all the Sclave nations through Europe; 50
| became Panslavism the source of movement not |
of nationality but OF the dominion of languages.
That word Language" replaced every other senti-
mcnt, and 30 it became the curse to the develop. I
ment of liberty.
only one part OF the Sclayonic races saw the |
matter clear, and wthstood the current of this in
! ferna Russian plot. They the Polish demo
crats-the only ones who understood that to fight |
for liberty is to fight for nationality. Therefore
they fought in our ranks, and wiling to flock
in Thousands Of thousands to aid in struggle;
but could not arm them, 50 | could not accept
them. We ourselves, we had a hundred fold more
hands ready to fight than arms, and nob5dy was in
! the world to help with arms.
There Is the same origin and real nature OF the
| question OF nationaies in Europe.
/ IN aap hat UNA he f,nFH HIM
gEry under these circumstances.
Eight hundred and fifty years ago, when The
| first King OF Hungary, ST. Stephen, becoming
Christian himself, converted the Hungarian nation
to Christianity, it the Roman Catholic clergy
| of Germany whom he invited to assist him i'm his
| pous work. They did, but il was natural that
! the pious assistance happened also to be accom-
panied by some worldly designs Hungary Of
] fered q wide field 10 the ambition of foreirn-