The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1860-02-17

Correspondence of the London Times.

What is very often the beginning of
general insurrection in Transylvania--the
Szekely population of the province are re-
fusing to pay taxes. The government is sc
riously alarmed and all the more so from
the fact that the Szekely people are of the
very pure Magyar race, and are consequent
" admired, and to certain extent looked
up to by all the rest of the Hungarian ma
ton. In the hope of terrifying these popu-
lations the government is marching large
bodies of troops from Hungary into Tran.
sylvania, and intends to replace them by the
5th corps d'armee from Venetia. But the
brave and headstrong Magyars of Transyl-
vania, never very easily intimidated, are
much more likely to be exasperated by the
sight of the bayonets into desperate resis-
lance to the Austrians than frightened into
the surrender of their cash. Besides, the
troops which the Viennese Government is
sending against the Transylvanian Magyars
are Italian; and no surprise would be felt if
they, instead of firing on, were to fraternize
with the people. What is certain is that
the Austrian troops already in garrison in
Pennsylvania feel so ashamed of the tyranny
exercised over the population, that they
loudlysympathize with them. 1t is not at all
improbable that the refusal of the Szekely
people to pay taxes will very shortly be
initiated throughout Hungary, especially by
the population of the Magyar race. Extor-
ton and wrong have pretty nigh attained
their utmost limits In recent letter 1 told
you that within the last ten years the Aus.
trian Government has more than doubled
the ordinary taxes, and that it has rendered
permanent the extraordinary taxes which
were imposed to pay for the expenses of the
war, but although such state of things is
perfectly intolerable, it is by no means all Of
which the Hungarians have to complain.
The Austrian functionaries, nearly all of
whom are Germans, Bohemians or Dalma-
tians, arrogate to themselves the power of
imposing such charges as they please on the
people, in addition to the ordinary and ex-
traordinary taxes levied by direct order of
the government, and fear that it is no
calumny on these gentlemen to say that the
whole of the sums they levy do not reach the
Government Golfers. These functionaries,
moreover, have another way of making
money.
So exorbitant are the taxes, and so great
the distress of the people, that in a vast
number of cases the claims of the tax gath.
erer cannot possibly be met and conse.
quently seizures of horses, live stock, corn,
and furniture are lamentably frequent. The
things seized are of course, put up to auc-
tion, but, partly from the general poverty
which prevails, partly from the belief that it
would be sin and shame for Hungarian
to aid in the oppression of countryman by
buying, there are never any bidders and
consequently the Austrian functionaries
themselves purchase the things for the mer-
est trihe. In this way thousands of these
greasy rascals, who have salaries of only
EDO or s40 year, live as sumptuously a
London aldermen, and there are scores so
them who, though they arrived in the most
abject poverty at their official residences,
dragging their wretched stock Of furniture
in hand cart, or carrying all their worldly
effects in carpet bag, are now extremely
wealthy. In some places the Austrian
functionaries have formed themselves into
regular associations for effecting seizures
and buying up the goods sold.
In fact, if horse, or vehicle, or piece
of furniture happens to take the eye of any
one of them, be at once sends summon to
the owner to pay such or such sum within
one, two or three days, and if the owner
cannot or does not comply, seizure is at
once effected, and the desired object passes
into the possession of the honorable Austri-
an tax gatherer. A case of the kind oc-
Cured recently. A functionary in Lower
Hungary happened to be in want of guam
tity of corn, and he naturally desired to get
it as cheap as possible; so, instead of going
to market, be sent to nobleman to claim
for the government the payment in three
days of about G40O English. The count
had no idea that he owed such sum and,
even if he had owed it, G4OO is more than
IN such country as Hungary can be raised
in three days by any nobleman. They mo.
ney, therefore, was not paid; and, immedi-
ately, at the expiration of the appointed
time, down went the tax gatherer, and
breaking open the counts stores, he seized
prodigious quantity of corn. At once the
corn was put up at auction, but of course
no one made bidding, and the tax gatherer
accordingly took it for himself at mere
nominal figure.
Another case which occurred lately at
Czegled will give an idea of how fearfully
ruinous this system is to the unfortunate
Hungarians. A tax gatherer of that place,
whose legitimate income is G55 per annum,
was recently visited by one of his colleagues;
and, after dinner, he took him out for drive
in bis carriage. This was drawn by not
fewer than four horses, all magnificent ami
mails, which had been seized only few days
before for none payment of taxes in the
stables of a neighboring nobleman. "Splen-
did horses you have got there" said the
visitor. EYES," answered the Czegled tax
gatherer with a chuckle, "and got them
cheap too. OILY paid 81 forms and 20
kreuzers for the whole lot "a sum less
than 92 English. In presence of such facts
as these, can people wonder that cry of
anguish rises to Heaven from Hungary;
that the breast of every Hungarian is filled
with hatred of the government which can
permit such horrible oppression and that
even strangers in the land, on seeing iniquity
so monstrous, cry, GLOW long, o Lord, how
long?"
LAST week, while the youth and beauty
Of Centreville, Illinois, were gathered at