The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-11-12

stitulions so much SO, that should We happier
to have king come To the succession of tn,
sovereignty, being child IN his minority, Hun
gary should not be governed by the same per
son as ruled over the Austrian provinces, be-
cause there existed in the house OF Hapsburg Z
family treaty, by which the eldest OF the house
must be the tutor q. G. Regent to the empire
but by the law in Hungary il must be Palatine
who rules as tutor of the King, and therefore
there was this possibility, that regent might
have TO govern Austria, while another regent
was governing Hungary. Therefore, the con-
stltuiona life of Hungary was not absorbed
and chiefly was not absorbed, becauss--by the
municipal institutions by that strength which
can never be broken cheer resisted the en-
croachments OF the crown. | consider these
municipal institutions to resemble, in a fair in
stance, the siege of Saragossa, where, after Ma
poleon's army had taken the town, they still had
to fight single battles in every street. (Cheers I
SO was it always in Hungary. In my own time
though young man yet, remember that there
was time when the house of Hapsburg, with
out the help of any parliament, attempted to
destroy the constitution, to levy troops, and to
raise the taxes TO two and half times their
former amount and that out Of the fifty-two
counties ia Hungary, influenced by every means
which overnments-immoral governments
have at their disposal, oEly some ten or twelve
registered the DEGREES, but that the others con-
stanily resisted them by lawful grounds, and
that this resistance, on constitutional and law
FIJI basis, overthrow them.
1t was as | said, just like Saragossa, where
the town was taken, indeed, but where the fight
went on from street TO street, and house to
house. Cheers. So it was, Notwithstanding
these entertainments, we conserved some shadow
of constitutional liberty; but the house of
Hapsbnrg, after having absorbed all constitu-
tional life in its dominions, came to this--that
there was only Hungary which is 80 bold as TO
oppose it in its aim to be entirely an absolute
monarchy, and seeing that its head availed him.
self of every means in his power-of open vo-
lence-of all kinds of intrigues--to destroy and
overthrow our constitution, he fomented our
dscords--he undermined our national character
he impoverished us-he orlupted us--he op-
pressed; and, by and by, our rights were taken
away, and, by.and- by, we became aware gu:
municipal institutions and our parliament, which
should have been convoked every three years,
and was not convoked once in twenty years,
though taxation went on and an arbitrary gov
became aware that some 200, o. 300, or 400, or
500 mobiles by BIRTH meeting by right in their
country meetings, were not sufficient to defend
the constitution Of the country against the pre-
dominant direction of the head of the Austrian
absOlutsm and that was the origin of our en-
deavors, which are as old as twenty eight years !;
that men influenced by justice and pure patriot
ism took for aim TO go on, degree by degree, and
step by step, to make the people participate in
constitutional rights and liberties. That was
the aim and direction of the public life of Hun
gary from 1925. The more Hungary has felt
this necessity, because she had board Of gov
eminent, commission or council of government
which, by law, was made responsible not only TO
do anything contrary to the law, bnt not to carry
into execution any order of the sovereign him.
self, contrary to the law but still we saw there
was no responsibility in that council because no
corporate body can be made responsible. Indi-
vduas can be made responsible; but where the
government. is collective, responsibility is a
folly, cheers, and vanishes like dream. We
saw that our national Independence and the
lawful rights of our nation were entirely alb
sorbed BY the Austrian government and in our
time chiefly by Prince Metternch, who was all
in all in AustIil We were conscious that the
Austrian ministry had mol hing 10 do with the
affairs of Hnngary-that the Emperor of Aus-
tria, as the King Of Hungary, was obliged to
govern Hungary by its own laws, and not as he
liked. Wedid not like these Austrian Influences,
and We took, as the direction of our efforts, to
give the people their national share in the con
stitution, in order that they might be the safe
guard OF the constitutional life which 400 600
or 100000 were not able to defend, but which
people of l5000000 united in the great prnci
pies OF common duties, and equal, may have
good reason TO defend. Loud cheers.
In the peasantry in every country, to be sure,
the agricultural classes are of i'm portant consid
Grafton hear, hearl but they are chiefly so in
Hungary, which was almost entirely, with few
exceptions an agricultural country. OF course
the condition of this peasantry was the first topic
of any design to reform and seeing that the
country, in all material respects, so highly gifted
by nature, could never be converted into an
-arthly paradise, such as you have made this
land, but by free work. where every one enjoys
the fruits of labor, we saw, also, that the agri-
culturis, had to work FIR his landlord lO4 days
in the year. you take off the Sundays, the
festival days, and the winter, why, what remains
to him? Hear hear And still, he had to give
"A one-ninth to his segneur, and one tenth, or the
tithes, TO his bishop. That was a condition
qulet contrary 10 Justlce-contrary TO the Unborn
dignity of the people, to the future of Hungary.
and to the rights of human nature. Cheers
Therefore, the first step we took was to eman-
cipate the peasantry loud cheers] but being,
as have briefly stated, under very arduous cir.
cumstances, and as the Legislative power was in
the hands of the mobiles, these reforms went on
but by slow degrees In the long parliament,
as may call it, which sat from 1882 to 1896
the lower house-that is, the house of the mem.
bers elected by the county meetings--t was
proposed that every peasant do not know
what to call them a voice-aSerfs"1
every peasant should have a right to make him
self fee of bis seignorial and feudal burdens, by
paying off the capital to which the amount of
these burdens came. Cheers Do you under.
stand mel Loud cheers We wished, then,
that this should not be dependent on the will OF
the landlord to accord it to him, but that an est
mate should be made of what was the worth of
those duties and burdens and that if the peasant
should pay the capital, estimated at the rate of
five or eight per cent, he should be free [Cheers.
This was opposed by the house of lords, and
then, by the Influence of the government it was
reduced to this--ttat, when the landlord should
give his consent to it, every peasant, as also