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1030 JC ft t St t Or p t X* [[Saturday,
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KOSSUTH'S WELCOME. KOSSUTH AT WINCHESTER...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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<E» Hungary Is Avenged In England. Nothi...
of the 3 lst of May ; but no longer . Should the President play false and the Ministry flinch •' The real fact is , that M . Bonaparte is not strong enough for the place . He has sadly bungled in this crisis of his fortune . He played his last card- ^ no respectable backers visible . Lamartine , Girardin , Billault , Ducos , even , would not risk their reputation . He had not the courage to
appoint a really working Ministry , on the American model , quite independent of Parliament—a simple executive , in ( act , —but he patches up a mongrel cabinet , partly parliamentary and partly not . Well may people ask—is this serious ? Again the destiny of France is in the hands of the army . Alas ! not the People ' s fault this ; but the crime of those who usurped the national sovereignty !
1030 Jc Ft T St T Or P T X* [[Saturday,
1030 JC ft t St t Or p t X * [[ Saturday ,
Kossuth's Welcome. Kossuth At Winchester...
KOSSUTH'S WELCOME . KOSSUTH AT WINCHESTER . The English-hearted Mayor of Southampton , who has so bravely borne himself upon this great occasion , entertained Louis Kossuth in his private house near Winchester , on Saturday , where the noble exile met the principal members of the corporation , and several gentlemen and friends . Lord Dudley Stuart , M . P ., and Mr . Cobden , M . P ., were among the guests . Mr . Andrews himself proposed the toast , " The illustrious Kossuth . "
M . Kossuth , amidst loud cheering , arose and replied . He poured out eloquent thanks to the Mayor of Southampton and the people of England . Then he described the political position of the Hungarian nation in former times ; showing how she Was surrounded by Turkey , Russia , and Austria — or rather , said he , the House of Hapsburg . How she enjoyed a free constitution , based on municipal institutions , and united only to the House of Hapsburg in so far as the head of that House was , de facto , King of Hungarv . How the constitution of
Hungary was anstocratical—that is , that there was a certain section , very large , called noble , whose members were privileged , but often poor , and forming , in reality , a portion of the people ; and how there was another section , without any political rights , who were , in reality , serfs of the soil . And he described the bulwarks of liberty , and the media of progress , to be the municipal institutions and the Parliament of Hungary . The county meetings were the most powerful bulwarks of liberty , because no government order could get itself executed unless approved by the county meetings .
" Now , exclaimed Kossuth , " the house of Hapsburg ruled Hungary for 300 years . It ruled Hungary , not by conquest , but by the free choice of the nation—( clieers )—not by the free choice of the nation without conditions , but on the basis of treaties , the chief feature of which treaties is , that the monarch should reign in Hungary by the same lineal succession as in the dominions of the House of Austria ; that the Austrian dynasty was recognized , and should remain Kings of Hungary , and thereupon the King took on himself a sacred duty , to respect and conserve the Hungarian constitution , and to rule and govern Hungary by its own public institutions according to its own ancient laws . And that was the duty of the King . He swore to God , he swore to the Eternal
God , that he hoped He would so bless him as he should keep that word . ( Loud cheers . ) This was a rdsume of the facts so far . Well , out of thirteen Kings—out of the thirteen Kings we had of this house and dynasty , no one who knows anything of history can charge me with exaggeration when I say that their rule was one of continual perjury . "—( M . Koseuth spoke very earnestly and ¦ wit h emotion , dropping his voice so that the close of the sentence was not audible at the end of the table , and some person asked , " A rule of what ? " He exclaimed—) *• Of perjury , gentlemen—{ loud cheers )—that is the word—perjury . ( Cheers for some momenta at his emphatic delivery of the word . ) I am a plain , common man : 1 call things as they arc . "
Continuing his narrative , lie told his delighted hearers that when the Hungarian nation chose its king from the House of Hapsburg , all the other provinces of the Hapaburg dynasty were constitutional monarchies ; thut aince that period Austria had "gone on in tt straight direction to be an absolute monarchy ; and that before her lato struggle with Hungary she had abolished every single constitution . " " Hungary had no other connection with Austria than Hanover hud with England , with this difference only , that Hanover hud a different line of succession , while the line of succession of Austria and Hungary was the same . Hut we hud laws and coronation oaths and pacifications ,
which declare that there should be no connection between Hungary and the house of Austria but this , only to be ruled by the same aovereign , not that Hungary should have a right to bo ruled by its own laws , rights , and institutions ; ho much so , thut should we happen to have a king come to the succession of the sovereignty , being a child in his minority , Hungary should not be governed hy the same person an ruled over the Austrian provinces , because there existed in the house of Hupsburg A family treaty by which the eldest of the house must be the tutor (» . # . regent ) to the empire , but by the law lu Hungary it must be a Palatine who rules as tutor of the x IjLingo and , therefore , there wu thia possibility , that a regjeot ; . W «» t have to govern Austria , while another ¦— xejj *** > m « ijKoverniiig Hungary . Therefore , the con-- ; WiHMtiqjta ) lrfj of Hungary was not absorbed , and chiefly Hiy ^^ j i
was not absorbed , because the municipal institutionsthat strength which can never be broken—( cheers)—resisted the eneroachments of the Crown . I consider these municipal institutions to resemble in a fair instance the siege of Saragossa , where , after Napoleon ' s army had taken the town , they still had to fight single battles in every street . { Cheers . ) So waa it always in Hungary . He instanced cases of resistance to illegal decree * , and described in general terms the manoeuvre * of Austria to put down the constitutional life of Hun ? gary . It waa this advance of despotism which they had been resisting for twenty-eight years . Since 1825 the direction of public life in Hungary has been
by degrees to make the people participate in constitutional rights and liberties ; and as the great majority of the nation were out of the pale of the constitution , and those who were within it were unable to defend the rights of the nation , the first step they took was to emancipate the peasantry . In this they were thwarted by Austria . The reform question in 1836 issued in a practical proposition , agreed to by both Houses , to the effect that when the landlord should give his consent to it every peasant ,
or corporation of peasants , should be free . But this Austria rejected . Attempts were then made to control the county meetings by corruption , intrigue , and cunning . To this end the Government devised a scheme for having an agent of the Lord Lieutenant , called an administrator , present at the county meetings to manage them and frame instructions to the deputies , while his superior was in his place in the Legislature . This scheme , if carried out , would have made the county meetings mere tools of Government .
" Therefore , " said Kossuth , " we opposed it with all our possible strength ; but we opposed it , not in any privilegiary view , but because we wished for the independence of the municipal institutions in order to carry out reforms in this direction ; not to make the condition of Hungary 6 uch that there should be there no close privileges for a few , but to erect a temple of liberty there for all the people . { Loud cheers . ) But the more we developed our progress in a view to reforms , the more the Government insisted on the progress to demoralize the people . That was our condition when the Diet met in November or October , 1847 , just before the French
Revolution . You see , then , that we in Hungary were not planning revolution . ( Loud cheert ) Hungary was not the soul of secret conspiracy , but we in public meeting struggled fairly and openly for the rights of the people . ( Loud cheers . ) I myself had the honour to be elected member of Parliament in 1847 , as deputy for the chief department , in fact , by its geographical position the metropolitan county of Pestb , where the Austrian Government did every thing possible to oppose my election ; but the good sense of the people carried it out to a triumphant success . "
Kossuth proposed that , until the system of administrators was done away with , no taxes should he voted . For two months the two Houses could not agree on this ; and , as delay was ground gained by the Government , Kossuth proposed a daring remedy . We saw , he said , that the King of Hungary and the Emperor of Austria was the one head of two different systems—constitutional liberty and despotism . And he proposed that Hungary , as the elder brother of Austria , should go to the King and ask him to restore the constitutional liberties of the other portions of his dominions , and so by this means to put away the enchainment placed on the constitutional rights of Hungary .
" And now the news of the French Revolution came upon us , and Vienna rose up in revolt—{ loud cheers )—that was the Austrian Revolution . I myself , with a knowledge of all the circumstances of Europe before me , frankly own I decided not to be carried away by the elements , but to take the reins of the elements into my own hands—( cheers )—to avail myself to the utmost of the opportunity which God had given—not Hungary made . ( Loud cheers . ) Our first proposition now wa « fur the emancipation of the peasantry , which was carried unanimously by both Houses . ( Cheers . ) But I was anxious noi to hurt the interests of any class , but rather to spare those which , though not just in their origin , by
time , circumstance , age , had got interlaced with the private fortunes of the people ; and I therefore proposed , and it was agreed to unanimously , that the people should be free of all its duties—free without paying anything for it . Liberty must not be puid for—( loud chters)—hut , at the same time , there should he an indemnity , not by the peasantry , but for the landlords . Hungary is rich enough to give compensation and indemnity to the nobles , and by good financial operations might be made to pay more than two or three times what it does now . I engaged my honour and my word that a Cull indemnity should be given , and the measure was carried unanimously ; the second measure 1 proposed wan that , whereas before the people had every duty but
no right , there should ba au equality in duty and in rights , anu that every man , according to hit * fortune , should contribute to the public necessities—this was also carried ; the third proposition war , that the people should be admitted to the right of electing , not only members of Parliament , but the magistrates who administer the law * ; but , of course , hulf a million of people could not be convoked together in one room , and , therefore , the personal , was transported to a representative , baais and eyery community was ordered to elect men to represent tliena in the county meeting * . That being my chief directive principle—that I recognized the rights of men , the lights of families , th « rights of oomruunitiea , which I considered oa not to be subjected to Parliamentary
interference , — -Parliament has no right to flirZT """ how I shall rule my own family if I do not L * " * fere with the rights of other families , and the ?«« '" is true of communities in matters which affect kingdom . Government should have sufficient now to provide for the public necessities of the whrJ " country , to uphold and enforce obedience to th laws ; bttUt ought to have no power at all to encroanK upon the ri ght * of men , the rights of communities ornf municipalities in their own domestic matters that w my ruling principle . We ordered the Government tn prepare bills for the representation of the parishes but 1 _^^ hf ? ? hforJn _ , a " / or m > : Mend" to establish barrier the
municipalities as a against Government Seeing the evil effects of the Administrative Colleee which , as a commission , could not be made responsible ' we determined that as , as had often happened , part of these councils had been modified according to circumstances , we resolved to modify it so that the responsibility which was provided in the Charter , but which was not a reality in effect , should be made real , and that could only be done by substituting individuals for collective and general bodies . There were some other measures , with the details of which I shall not abuse your attention . Thus we had participation of the nobles in all public duties and taxation , of the people in their general rights , and responsibility in Government "
He went to Vienna as one of a deputation , headed by the Archduke Palatine , to ask the King to sanction these propositions : — " The agitation was then great in Vienna , as almost it was in every other country in Europe , Bave this England only , which , having once established its peace by revolution , can enjoy its public liberties without any desire for another . Here all was quiet , —on the Continent all was movement . The Government of Austria
still hesitated to give us our rights . I went up to the Imperial Palace , and I told them there that , if the deputation was kept long waiting , I would not guarantee on myself what the consequences would be , or that the movement that was taking place would not reach Hungary if we were discomfited and disappointed in our just expectations , and I therefore entreated them to do us justice . They promised they would do so if only Vienna was quiet ; but that they did not wish it to appear that the house of Hapsburg was compelled b y its fears to be just and generous . ( Cheers and laughter . ) This was one of the moments in
which I in my own humble person was a strange example of the various changes of human life . Myself , an humble unpretending son of modest Hungary , was in the condition that I had the existence of the house of Hapsburg and all its crowns here in my hand . ( M . Kossuth here stretched out his arm with clinched fist across the table Tremendous cheering . ) I told them 'Be just to my fatherland , and I will give you peace and tranquillity in Vienna . ' They promised me to be just , and I gave them peace and tranquillity in Vienna in twenty-four hours ; and before the Eternal God who will make responsible to Him my soul , —before history , the independent judge of men and events , I have a right to say the house of Hapaburg has to thank its existence to me . At last sanction the
was given ; but while we received the promise of King in one room , in the other room the Duchess Sophia , mother of the present King , and sister of Francis Joseph , was plotting with Metternich how to get rid of this word and sanction . In a few days afterwards the King , who was afterwards deposed , came to Presburg and sanctioned publicly our laws . I was there as a member of the Ministry , in which I was what you call First Lord of the Treasury , which I was forced to accept . I say so , because I can call the public knowledge of my nation , —my enemies in my nation as well as my friends ,- —that i always considered office and power as a burden and as no g lory ; but that it was myself who , before going up to Vienna with the laws for sanction , addressed to me people of Presburg ( assembled below ) from the balcony , 1
taking Louis Batthyany , my poor friend , by the ) *"" _ Don ^ t cheer myself . Here is the man who shall De who must be First Minister , President of Hungary ; uiu Batthyany refused to accept it , so 1 was forced to acce | it ; and 1 state this , because I see it is said in soimpapors that I made myself Minister . " Shortly after the Serbs and Croats , headed by ^ Jellachich , and instigated by the Camarilla , at Vienna , revolted . The Parliament of Hungary demanded w bo convoked .
" I stood by the side of the Archduke Palatine when 1 read the declaration of the king , that he solemnly c » demned the damnable efforts of Jellachich , a «|< i «• ' , Serbs , and Croats , and Wallachiann , who had * ° " against the common liberty of the land , which J . joyed , without any distinction of the language tlicyi * use , or the church to which they belonged . Af «» ) f time that the orders were given by the ™ m \*" \ in \ Hungary to put down this revolt against "l * » » f that the king had convoked his faithful l ^ l' » « f Hungary , to provide as well for the army as i < financial means to defend and protect the * ° * " ™ i Ba « r was done ; and in the convocation of the *""«"" ' , 400 one of the grandest sights of my life , when « eariy ^ representatives rose as one man , and , sto pp '"» , n naVc address which I was making , declared , * You »"
it—you shall have all you want . But the victory of Novarra followed ; Auf V ^ l / p " » - not miss the occasion ; Jelluclnch , J no *! ' hful » crclaimed traitor , was now lauded as the iiuu iul | H . vant of the Crown , and lent against tnolL b of tw <> Ho was easily routed ; but , obtaining u trUC , ; HHOiv « d days , he encapcd . An Imperial order "ow , „ .,, » the Parliament unconstitutionally . An 0 ' ifent i t he not accepted as legal , steps wero taken to « cro 8 BC ( l country , and Jellaohich pursued ; but lie nw the frontier , and joined the Austrian army-
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 1, 1851, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_01111851/page/2/
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