New-York tribune., 1894-04-15
KOSSUTH.
THE MAN OF HIS TINE AND BEfof'E III"
TIME-sOME SLIGHT PERSONAL
MEMORIES OF HIM.
London. April ?.

"The world forgetting, by the world forgot
n surely was Koss,lth His great part was
played IN 1883. He has been in almost to'aI
retirement for forty years. During great part
of that time. his name has hardly been menuoleu
Yet when he dies the world suddenly recoHec'S
his greatness, and the greatness OF MS eiiort Io'
his country and lays at the door OF the tofho oi
her forgotten hero the tribute he had r8ht 10
expect. Felix opportunitate mortis' lie di"u
at a moment when Europe was not ABSORBED Dy
any great excitement but had leisure to re-
fresh her memory and to pay homage To
patriot of what Western Europe considers re-
mote nationality.
No danger that Hungary would at any time be
oblivious of him who strove for her independ-
ence She has, since his day achieved not her
independence. but her liberties. by methods Of
which he never approved. He was too deeply
committed to other methods His hatred and dls-
trust Of Austria were too intense 10 allow him
to accep. her as an ally. partner on
fairly equal terms. He held ont to the last. He
died an exile and an enemy Of the Hapsburgs;
an opponent also of the leaders Of his own coun-
trymen who had won for her the place she now
occupies in Europe. None the less do the Hun
garians. the clerical party excepted and not per-
haps altogether excepted unite in doing him
honor.
They cannot do him 90 much. The stream OF
modern thought has flowed past him. and the
European Radical may refuse to respect the
memory of the Hungarian who fought for
liberty as he understood it; who was, no doubt,
the representative Of a ruling class or race which
might be called an anstocracy They forget that
liberty for Hungary was then possible no other
wise than through the MagYars. If the Mag
vars could not acheve it nobody could There
Tod Lott a
Democracy In the political sense. there was no
Democracy at all. Remember that kossuth long
before his shining figure flashed in the eyes Of
all Europe and of the civilized world. was plead
Ing for the fundamental political rights Of his
fellow citizens such rights did not exist. He
was the first editor Of the first political daily
paper in Hungary. Aristocrat he was by
descent he pleaded for freedom Of the press for
taxing the mobiles. for abolishing serfdom and for
the equality of ali citizens before the law.
That was in 1S4O How long was it after that
before we In America thought seriously "f
abolishing serfdom immeasurably more cruel
than that Of Hungary? How long was it be-
fore we Americans proclaimed the equality OF all
citizens? We did not abolish slavery-even. as
was reproachfully said to Lincoln at the time.
In those States where we had no power to
abolish it'll 1862. We did not write the word
freedom into the Constitution till 1865. We did not
recognize the citizenship Of five millions OF loyal
Americans till three years later. In other words
we did not adopt KOssuths principles nor ap-
ply them in own Republic till more than
quarter OF a century after they had been an
nounced by these eloquent Hungarian lips Is 1t
for us to reproach him? And if not for us, for
whom? The dates of the ratification OF the
Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the
Of fbo al D
silence.
No more does 1t lie In the mouth OF the most
ardent or the most advanced Hungarian to COM
plain of Kossuth's attitude attempt. What he
ATTEMPTED he attempted for Hungary; for his
country: for his whole country. Hungary was
not Republic but Kingdom. The Monarchy
dates from the eleventh century. Three CEN
turies later she had become one Of the great
powers Of Central Europe. In the fifteenth cen
tury, the conquered capital Of Austria became
the capital OF Hungary. Then came long
period Of decay and Of subjcction, bu; the spirit
of her ruling class never subdued. ana that
was the spirit TO which kossuih made his APP
peal He wrought with such tools as lay ready
to his hand He summoned 10 the rescue OF his
country the most powerful forces it contained
1t may be that the Magyars oppressed the peas
antry, but 1t better for the peasantry TO be
oppressed by Austria also? In any case. II Is
the business Of a statesman crisis. and still
more Of a Revolutionary leader, 70 put in motion
such elements of political regeneration as exist;
not to create those which do not exist. The latter
Is a work of time and Of moral influence.
Nor can Kossuth be fairly reproached with
failure He did not fail against Austria. He
had measured. and measured correctly, the
power Of attack and the power Of resistance. He
was not a great soldier No more was Gam
beta. but one and the other knew how to kinde
the passion Of patriotism and to call great
armies into the field The Hungarans were not
beaten till the Russian armies overwhelmed
them. Neither ko.suth nor anybody else was
bound to foresee that Nicholas would choose that
moment to impose his will on Europe. to arrest
the advance Of a civilization which he hated, and
to rescue Austria from the just consequences OF
her incapacity and folly. Nor was 1t in fact
foreseen. The final movement OF Nlcholas took
Europe by surprise.
What Kossuth foresaw was the purpose and
policy Of Nicholas, but not the shape his policy
would take. At the crisis one crisis, Of his
struggle with the Croats while he was Dictator
but still acting in the name Of Ferdinand, King
,f Hungary" ne told the Magyars that the
r,mneror OF Russia was their foe that he was
plotting and paying. that he was arming the
Croat revolt, that the Magyars, surrounded by
enemies were alone in the world against the
league Of sovereigns and races which encircled
them. "wn you then be slaves or Will you
nghtr' cried Kossuth to the Magyars. They
Kwore TO fight, and not even Jellachch. good
soldier and stubborn general as he was. could
beat them. nor did beat them. There is little
reason to doubt that. had Hungary and the
Oroa&s and Austria been left 10 fight it out. the
doctrine Of freedom which Kossuth taught the
Hunxartans would have profted not them only
but Austria as we'll Her vindic,iyeness is the
measure Of the peril which her despotism escaped
She shot and hanged and hogged the heroic men
ana women whom she could not defeat. Win
dischgratz and Haynau earned an immortality
IL hnat n hnr