The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1851-11-15


States of North Amtrirl:
Two years ago, By Gods providence, l. who
would be only an humble citizen, held in my
hands the destiny of the rcignins house of Aus
trla
Had been ambitious, or had believed that
this treachcruu> family were 50 basely wicked, a,
they Afterwards proved themselves to be, the
tottering pillars Of their throne would have fall
en- at my command, and buried the crowned
traitors beneath their ruins, or would have scat
tered them like dust before a tempest homeless
exiles, bearing nothing but the remembrance o
!hcir pertily, and that royalty which they ought
TO have lost through their own wckedncss
|, however, did not take advantage of these fa
yorab ble circumstances, though the entire freedom
Of my dear, native land was the only wish Of my
heart. Ny requests were Of that moderate ma
ture which, in the condition Of Hungary and Eu
rope, seemed best fitted for my countrymen
asked of the King, not the complete independ
ence Of my beloved countrv--not even Anv new
rights or priyges-but simply these tire,
things:
First That the nalienable rights sanctioned by
thousand years, and by the constitution Of m,
father land, should be guaranteed by a nationa
and responsible administration.
Second That every inhabtant Of my country
without regarding lansuzgr " religion, should hC
free and equal before the laval classes hav
ing the same privileges and protection from the
law
Third. That all the people Of the Austrian EN-
pre- that acknowledged the same person as En-
peror whom we llungarians recognized as King
and the same law Of secession, should have re
stored their ancient Constitutional rights, of which
they had been unjustly despoiled, modified tC
suit their wants and the spirit Of the age.
The first demand was not for any new grant
or concession, but simply fresh guarantee. And
the arrangement made with our ancestors, when
by their free will, they elevated the house oi
Hspsburg to the throne, condition was made
that the King should preserve the independence
and constitution of the country. This lndepcnd
ence and this constitution was the very vitality
Of our national being. During three centurie.
twelve Kings Of the house Of Hapshurg had
sworn, III the presence Of the Eternal God before
ascending the throne that thev would preserve
our independence and the constitution: and their
lives is but history Of perpetual and accursed
perjury,
Yet such conduct did not weaken our fidelity
No nation ever manifested more faithtulness tc
their rulers And though We poor Hungarian,
made endless sacrifices, often at the expense Of
our national welhre-though these Kings in
times Of peace drew their support from US aud
IN times of war or danger relied on the uucon
querabe strength Of our army-tlough we ever
trusted in their words---they deceived us a thou
sand times and made our condition worse
While other nations were able to apply all
their energies to promote the general welfare auC
to develop their means Of happiness we had tC
stand on guard like the watchmen mentioned in
Scripture, for three centuries, 10 prevent our trea
cherous Kings from destroying entirely the foun
dation of our national existence our constitution
and independence.
l. as tue representative Of my countrymen, ask
cd nothing more than constitutional ministry
whose responsibility would prevent the King from
violating his oath,
The second demand was still less for any no
litcal right. We asked for nothing more lhan a
reform in the internal administration Of the state
"A simple act of justice which the arlstocracy
owed the people. And in this how much the
people would have gained The strength If his
throne would have been increased tenrold, by
thus winning the affections of his faithful pco
plel
The third demand was prompted by humanity
and fraternal feeling, 1t was the proper and ho,
ly mission OF our nation, rs the oldest member Of
the empire, and possessing constitutional form
ot government, to raise its voice in behalf OF
those sister nations under the same ruler, and
who were united to US by so many ties Of rcla
tionshp. Lovers of freedom, we would not ask
liberty for ourselves alone, wo would not bonst
of privileges that others did not enjoy, but dcsir.
ed to be free in fellowship with free nations a.
round US This motive was inspired by the con
vlcnon That two crowns n constitutional aud q