American telegraph. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1851, 1851-09-22
AMERICAN TELEGRAPH


emperor ol austria acting In character with |
the long established despotism of practice and
want of principle exhibited by the House of
Hapsburg. No man who knows the history and
moral character of most Of the continental soye-
reigns expects from them any regard to any |
constitutions they may promulgate. They hold
to the right divine of kings, from which flows,
as logical consequence, the right to abrogate
constitutions which they graciously concede. In
the character of the sovereigns Of the House of
Hapsburg has been displayed for centuries al
most every bad trait which degrades human
nature. Perfdy, ingratitude, capriciousness,
Righteousness, the profoundest dissimulation,
the meanest crouchng in adversely, the most
ferocious cruelty in prosperity; these, with a
very few exceptions (such as that of Joseph
Second have been the features of their char
acter. They have never hesitated to break an
oath when they have thought it for their adj
vantage, or to discard servant who has been
faithful to them when they deemed it for their
interest. When John Sobiesk delivered Vienna |
from capture by the Turks in 1858, the En-
peror Leopold scarcely thanked him for the
signal service which he had rendered, without
which he might, and probably would, have lost
a large part of his dominions. Subsequently
this same Austria, under sovereign of the
same race, Maria Theresa, despoiled Poland
of large part of her territory; and under
another Of the same race, Francis Second, as
sisted to partition her again, and totally to
destroy her nationality.
When Prince Eugene of Savoy, the celebrated
| onmnoninr In, orn,c Of Mo rJhoro,oh oPtar ron.
dering great services in former battles, fought
and gained the battle of Zenta, in 1897, con-
trary to the orders Of the Aulic Council at
| Vienna, the Australian court was about to try
and cashier him, or suspend him indefinitely,
] but was prevented by the threats of an insur-
rection from the people of Vienna in his favor.
| The Hungarians i'll 1742 saved the imperial
crown large part of their hereditary dominions
to the house of Hapsburg, the mobiles in their
national legislature drawing their swords, and
exclaiming: "Moriamur pro rege nostro, Maria
Theresa" will die for our king, Maria
Theresa.) The greatgrandson of Maria Theresa,
with fire and sword, deprived these same Hun
garians of their liberties and trampled them in
the dust, and still tramples them. But did
Austria effect this by her own strength Mo-
she had to crouch and become the vassal of
Russia, that she might accomplish this nefari-
Gus and deplorable result.
| The following picture of the combination of
causes which brought on the prostration of
Hungarian liberty is graphic and just 1t is
from the North British ReUieW:
For while the wrath of terror may excite
mr. he IN of
covered power, bnt this will only be for a time;
they have learned the resistless force of their
subjects, when once put forth, too recently not
to make them timid and cautious in again
arousing it. They know now that they hold
their power only ON the tenure of q peoples
forbearance, and that that forbearance will give
way ii strained too far. On the other hand, the
people who have once, by one great single
effort of volition, brought their rulers to their
feet, and seen how human, how feeble, how
pusillanimous they were, will, in oppression
and defeat, remember the events of l84S as the
proof of their own inherent strength, and the
earnest OF future day Of more signal and en-
during triumph.
az. Again: when it came to actual war, in
| two cases at least, the people proved stronger
than their masters 1t became evident either
that disciplined armies were not altogether to
be relied upon, or that there was something in
national determination which even disciplined
armies could not make head against in
Hungary and in Rome the cause of freedom
showed itself mightier and more stubborn in
arms than the cause of despotlsm. In |
Hungary, Notwithstanding all the difficulties
arising from divided natonalites, and the Grip
pling errors Of the only just abolished feudal-
ism, the people made head against the whole
force Of Austria gained ground month by
month, and were morally certain of a complete
and final victory, when the aid Of Russia was
called in, and, in an evil hour for Europe
granted and permitted Even then the result
was doubtful till aided by internal treachery.
That is, it required the combined efforts Of the
two great empires of Russia and Austria to
conquer the Hungarian people. Hungary, |
ngle-banded, was more than match for the |
whole Austrian empire single-handed If the
prompt and vigorous interference of England, |
France, and Prussia had forbidden, as it easily |
might have done, the intervention Of Russia,
how different now would the whole aspect OF
Europe have been The whole subsequent
expressions and insoences Of the Viennese |
Court would have been prevented With Hun |
gary triumphant and independent, Austria |
could not have bullied Prussia, could not have |
trampled on the constitution Of Hesse, could |
not have conquered Venice, could not have |
retained even though she had recovered Lom-
hardy, could not have gwen france even the
paltry and miserable pretext for that attack
on Rome which has covered both her arms
and her diplomacy with indelible infamy. The
permission of the interference Of Russia was
the one great glaring mistake Of the time--the
eterrma cdusd of the subsequent reaction,
and the present prostration of Continental
liberty. Why it was permitted by the three
great powers, is question which we fear adj
mits, in the case of two of them, at least, of
no reputable answer. 1t is alleged that Eng
lands repeated interventons and favor of the
constitutional cause in Spain and Portugal de-
prived her Of any just claim to protest against