The southern press., 1851-11-26
speech of kOSSuth,

Delivered in London on the Sd instant, in reply
to.an address from the inhabitants of London
and in presence of an audience, estimated by
the London Times at $4,000, and by friends Of
the speaker al 1907 OO
Mr.. Petty, secretary Of the committee having
read the address, which was elegantly engrossed
on vellum, and bound on roller covered with
velvet, handed it to Kossuth, who pressed it to
his breast. laundering applause followed.
When silence was restored the hungarian pro.
ceeded as follows:
GENTLEMEN: | most warmly thank you for
your generous sentiments Of active and operat.
i've sympathy with the freedom and independ.
ence of my native land, 80 closely connected
as you have rightly jndged-with the freedom
and independence OF other nations on the Euro
Know l,,rs 20 pa s Of the present men,
ing belongs to the working classes. Ii is graf
flying to me, because, if 10 belong to the work.
ing classes implies man whose livelihood de
ponds on his own homes, and industrious labor
then none amongst you has more right to call
himself a working man than | so TO call myself
inherited nothing from my dear ia her, and !
have lived my whole life by my own honest and
industrious labor.
This, my condition, | consider 10 have been
my first claim to my peoples confidence. because
well they knew that being in that condition,
must intimately know the wants. the suff.rings,
and necessities Of the people And so a..
suredly il was. Ii j., therefore, that / so prac.
tically devoted my life to procure and to secure
political and social freedom to Try people-not
TO a race, not TO a class, but TO the whole PEG.
pie besides, ] devoted all my life, for many
years, by the practical means Of association to
extend the benefit Of public instruction to the
working classes, and 10 forward the material
welfare of the agrculturists, Of the manutac.
turers, and of the trading men. Among all the
enterprises 10 that effect, of that TIM Of my
life, when ] was yet in no public office. but
private man, there j. none 10 which ] look back
with more satisfaction and pride than 10 the
association for the encouragement Of manufac.
turing industTy-tO its free schools, To its exhi-
billions, to its press, and 10 its affiliations Be.
sides comforting immense material benefits. il
proved also politically beneficial, by bringing in
closer contact and more friendly relations the
different classes Of my dear native land. by in.
teresting the working classes in the public 20.
litical concerns Of our nation, aud by 30 devel-
oping strongly united public opinion to support
me in my chief aim, which was conserving the
municipal and constitutional institutions Of my
country-to substitute for the privileges Of sin.
gle classes the political emancipation Of the
whole people, and substituting freedom for
class priyileg"s-to impart TO the people the
faculty Of making the constitution a common
benefit to all, for all--in a word, TO transform
the closed hall of class privileges into an open
temple Of the peoples liberty.
EsGLASD's DUTIES TO THE CONTINENT.
Allow me, firstly, TO congratulate you on the
attention which you have hereby proved that you
devote TO public matters, to the glory rs well as
10 the interests your country, and to the free.
dom and interest OF humanity. Allow me, see.
ondy, TO congratulate you on the Just and happy
instinct with which, bestowirg yonr attention on
public concerns, you have seized the very point
which really il tie most important among all, in
which the mind and heart of Englishmen can be
That point is the freedom Of the
European continent ] said il is the common
council of the city Of London. ! repeat il here :;
there Is none among your internal question which
outweigh in Importance the external. And how
may be summed up the external interests Of the
British empire on the European continent? Iii
is TO be summed up in this question by which
principle shall the continent OF Europe be ruled.
by the principle Of freedom or by the prime pie
Of absolutism7 Can England or can il not re
main Indifferent in the approaching struggle and
final decision Of this question! and If il cannot
remain Indifferent, without losing its position
in the world, endangering its own freedom, and
hurting its own Interests, with which principle
shall England side with the principle Of free.
dom, or with the principle Of aggression -
Shall it support the rights, freeiom, and happi
ness Of nations, or the oppressive combinations
of arbitrary governmental That is the ques.
tion; question the more urgent and the more
important than no man Of whatsoever party can
dissimuate, still less deny that the situation Of
France, Of Italy, Of Germany, Of Austria, Of
Hungary, of Poland, and OF Russia is so unna.
tural, so contrary to the human and national in.
terests Of the respective people, that il is utterly
impossible il can endure. Yes, no man can dis.
simulate the conviction that France, Italy, Ger.
many, Austria ard Hungary, are already on the
eve Of those days, when the great, and hope