SKETCH OF THE LIFE
or
LOUIS KOSSUTH,
GOVERNOR OF HUNGARY.
TOGETHER WITH
THE DECLARATION OF HUNGARIAN INDEPENDENCE; KOSSUTH’S ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES;
ALL HIS GREAT SPEECHES IN ENGLAND;
AND
THE LETTER OF DANIEL WEBSTER TO CHEVALIER HULSEMANN.
NEW YORK : ,
STRINGER & TOWNSEND, 222 BROADWAY,
CORNER OF ANN STREET.
1851.
SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF LOUIS KOSSUTH.
MANUSCRIPT NEWSPAPER—IMPRISONMENT—ELECTION FOR PESTH.
Louis Kossuth, Governor ofHungary,only son of Andreas Kossuth, byhis wife CarolineWeber, was born on the 27th of April, 1802, at Monok, in the county of Zemplin. At an early age he was sent to the Calvinist College of Patak, and there educated. In 1819 he commenced the ordinary course of study for the law,and at tended the districtcourtof Eperies and the Royal courtat Pesth. Having completed his studies, he returned to Monok in 1822, and was appointedhonorary attorney tothe county. He was fond of field sports, andat this periodgave far moreof histime to them than to law; but even thus earlyhe took some part in politicsin opposition to theefforts of Austriato imperialize Hungary.
In 1831, the cholera broke out in Hungary: the disease was new—its ravages ter
rible—the idea seized uponthe Slovack peasants that the upper classes had poisoned thewater,and they rose and murdered the clergy, Jews and landlords; allwereter
ror-stricken. Thenfirst Kossuth became publicly known. Wherever the pestilence was most fierce,or the fear greatest,he came, urged measures ofrelief, addressedthe people, andbyhisplain andearnest eloquence dispelled their delusion,and calmed the excitement. Thus distinguished,he was named by several peeresses to attend the Diet of 1832 as their proxy, which gave the right tospeak but not tovote. He spoke but oncein the Diet;and his attention was given to a far more important object thanmak ing speeches. Except to those who heard them,either asmembers or in the galleries»
thedoings of the Diet were known only by a miserableparliamentary committee re port, onesided and lifeless. Kossuthlaboriously wrote reports, and sent them in man
uscript to a number ofsubscribers. The interestexcited by his able summaryof important documents andspeeches so increased that in 1834,his subscribers amounted to 80. Todiminish the costand extend the circulationandusefulnessof the paper, he set up á lithographic press. Against this move the Austrian Government tookmea
sures. The great question then before the Dietwas the abolition ofserfdom ; against this a diversionwas the thingofall others desired by Austria; adiscussion on the liberty of the presswould have entirely absorbed attention,and Kossuth,therefore, i followed the advice of thefriends with whom heacted, gave upthepress,andresumed I the manuscript. The primitive little newspaper wasread atthe club of every oneof
the fifty-two Hungarian counties,and served toawaken an interest in practical mea sures, and to expose the systematic aggressionof Austria.
The sittings ofthe Diet endedin 1836. It had shown too much the spirit of reform to please the Court afc Vienna; and to stay the progress of its measures, the oldhack
neyed storyof a conspiracy was trumpedup,and several young men ofnotewere arrested: their trials were prettymuchof the sameorderasthoseoflate (so well ex posed by Mr.Gladstone) at Naples; Kossuth urged the unconstitutionalism of the proceedings,butin vain;the influence of the menwasdangerous to Austrianencroach
ment, and they were found guilty and imprisoned.
Kossuth diligentlycontinued hispaper. Thecounty meetings—the sameas the old English sbiremotes—were then of great importance; they discussed every project of reform, and resolved upon the course therepresentatives of the countiesshould adoptin the Diet; they were, in short, localParliaments in preparationforthe Dietor great Parliament. Hitherto,however, the several counties had been isolated. The news letter reportedthe proceedings, and the counties understood each other and became united. The paper, thus, though then but in manuscript, became anewpower—the people felt it, the Imperial Courttook fright, and in 1837Kossuth was thrown into gaol, waskeptfor ayearwithout atrial, and then sentencedto four years*imprison
ment. For the successof suchtyranny there had, however, been too much written, too much spoken in the counties: the excitement becamegreat. TheDietagain met in 1839, and openedits proceedings by declaring the prosecutionofKossuth illegal.
The supplies were refused, andonlygranted in May, 1840, on conditionof the imme diate liberationofKossuth and a complete amnesty for all politicaloffenders. The supplieswere granted on the 15thofMay,and next day the prisoners were liberated.
Three years had passed over Kossuth in solitaryconfinement, withoutbooks, with
out writing materials, when on that dayhecame forth from prison,pale, worn, broken in all buthope forHungary, an immense concourseof people assembledtowelcome his liberation. He was escorted through the town that night by aprocession with some thousand torch-bearers—the mode in Hungary ofgiving a triumph with the highest honor.
Kossuth returnedwithrenewedenergy to the press; the Ministry and a majority of the Dietwere Liberal, and onNew Year’s Day,1841, with Kossuth foreditor, appeared the first number of the Pesti Hírlap (Pesth Journal). At firstit was publishedfour timesa week, but soon becameadaily paper. Its circulation rose rapidly to5, 6,8, and 10thousand; and at one period reached even to 12,000. life influence was im mense. Opinion throughout Hungarywasfast gathering to the fullstrength of union.
ButAustriawasnotidle; and,in 1844, succeededin changing the Ministry.
The Liberals of 1838 wrere displacedby Imperialists, and theeditorship of the Hírlap was taken from Kossuth. He had become convinced that tomake the progress of Reform safe it must be begun by reform of the counties, and must enlist the people. He therefore devoted himself to the emancipation of theserfs, and the enfranchisement of thetrade of Hungary from the prohibitiontoimport only Austrian manufactures, and export no manufactured goods ofHungary to Austria, and for this
HIS ure. 5 purpose formedthe bedetgyle, an association pledged to consume no Austriangoods until the tariff wasreformed.
i The effect wasfelt. Austrian manufacturers, to preserve their trade, hadto trans
planttheir factories to Hungary. To repressthis new-born spirit theCourt atVienna fell upon the device of appointing paid Imperial commissioners at the headof the counties, insteadofthe Lord-Lieutenants, who were the old constitutional heads.
This the more stirredagitation. The reformleaders from every quarter of theking dom met at Pesth, and during the quarterly fairs of 1846 and 1847, to which the people from all parts came, the needful measures of reformwere publicly discussed one by one, andin everydetail determined. At the headofthis movement, as chairmanof the meetings, was thelate Count Louis Batthyani. Kossuth made ablespeeches,and rose in popularity; hewas not merely eloquent, butpractical. Batthyani felt his im portance, and exerted himself tothe utmost to securehiselectionto the Diet for the county ofPesth. TheDietmet in November, 1847. Previously, the projectofre
formof the Liberals had been published, and, immediately the Diet met, the law abolishing the feudal service of the tenants and the immunity of the nobles fromtax ation passedtheLowerHouse.
THE HUNGARIAN CONSTITUTION.—AUSTRIAN INTRIGUE.—TREASON OF JELLAOHICH.—SERVIAN AND CROATIAN WAR.
Kossuth, as representative of the county of Pesth, became, by Ms eloquence, the most popular man of the Diet, and,in the commencementof 1848, made his great speech on the liberties of Hungary. He argued that as the Government was consti
tuted,progresswas impossible. Hungary was ruled bya monarch who served two partsofhis dominionsindifferent capacities: at Viennahe was Emperor, and abso lute; at Presburg aKing,and limited by the constitution. The result must becon stant encroachment and distrust Itwas not possibletobe at the same time an im
perialtyrant and»the ruler of a free people. Formerly every stateof the Austrian dominions had a constitution. The300years’ ruleof the house ofHapsburg andthe thirty years’ war had wrested them fromall but Hungary, and now either the consti
tutionsmustbe restored to all, or Hungary must follow them intoslavery. The sole safeguard, therefore, of Hungarian libertywasinthe restoration oftheirancient rights and liberties to every stateof the Austrian empire.
In the Diet the speech was heard with profound wonder and respect; out of doors its idea of security to Hungary by the enfranchisement of the whole Austrian people wascaught up with enthusiasm. The popularityof Kossuth increased. Itwas felt that the proposal originatinginthe Diet could betrulyputas that of thewhole Hun
garian people. Neverwas eloquencefollowed morequickly by practical results. It was determined thata project for the restoration of the constitutionsshouldbe pre
paredand carried by deputation to the Emperor. Thereportof the speech and account of the proceedings reachedVienna onthe same day with the news of the revolutionat Paris and the flight of Louis Philippe. Forthwith the people were in commotion,
and the stormof excitementrose, until, on the 18th ofMarch, itburst into revolution:
the soldiers refused to fire onthe populace,the Court was terroF-atricken, Metternich fled,and the Hungarian deputation, with Kossuth at its head, arrived at Vienna.
TheEmperor atonce received them, was complacence itself,accepted the pw>je<
of the constitution, andat the same time entreated Kossuth to restore the peace of Vienna, “ which healone- could do,and, doing which, he .would provehimself the best friend of the Hapsburg dynasty.” Kossuth consented, and, with the theme of re*
raising toits formerglorythe Austrianempire by the restoration of the ancient right*
of self-government,he gave direction to the disturbed ferment of ideas amongst the people, fixed their thoughts upon law and older, wutared faith inthe Emperor, and.
made peace.
Just amonthafter these events, the Emperor, accompanied byhis whole family*
came instatetoPresburg,to swear to the constitution, give his sanction to the re
formed laws,andaffirm the Cabinet of Count Batthyani. In this. Ministry Kossuth was, on the 11thof April, appointed Minister of Finance, andFrancisPulszki,Under Secretary ofStatein the samedepartment. The Diethad resolved, thatin future the nobility orfreeholders,incommon withthe rest of the people, should paytaxes,from which they had hitherto been exempt, andthese appointmentswere made,avowedly, because no lesspopular men could daretocarry the measure,but at bottom with the secret hope that Austriacould stir upsuch oppositionto this equality of taxation that the popularity would be lost in the attempt,and the menbecomeso hated that in all probability the bullet of some assassinor the waters ofthe Danube might closetheir
career. •
Whilst the Hungarian Ministryweretrustfullyengagedinlaborious preparation of the needfulmeasuresofreformtobe brought before the Diet, the Court of Vieuna was deepburied in intriguesh—:theirprimemover the Archduchess Sophia, sister of the Queens of Prussia, Saxony, and the King of Bavaria,andmother of the present Em
peror, a woman of boundless ambition,andwho, from herability andresolution, has earned thename of beingthe onlymanin the family of Hapsburg. Her object was not only the maintenance of Imperialism as it stood, but its extensio»over the whole of Hungary—her means, the awakening of the race hatred between the Croats,Ser
vians, and Wallachians, her man for the work, Jellachich. Her scheme being un folded to him, he at first refused toenterupon it,forthe simple reasonthat it would be unconstitutional,or, inplainer words, anImperial treason. The Archduchess burst intotears, caught him in herarms, declaredthatwithout himthey were all lost. He gave way, and became a traitor. But two orthreedays wereover since the Emperor had sworn to theconstitution at Presburg, when Jellachich was sent for, tobe named Ban of Croatia, and go forth to create, as the last prop of Imperialism, civil war amongst a people then one intheirenthusiasmfor reformof the constitution and the laws. Jellachich was not longin entering upon histreason and iniquity. Onths 14th ofMay, the Servians declared war against the Hungarians, androse, and without quarter, put to death all the Hungarians they could find. Troopswere sentagainst them, but, notwithstanding the mostpositiveinstructionsof the Hungarian Minister of War, they continually acted, under secret instructionsfromthe Court at Vienna,
his
ura.
7solely oit the and bogaw the Serviana opportunity to gather strength.
The Croats at the same time refused to acknowledge the Hungarian.Ministry orthe laws of the Diet, although their own representativeshad helped to passthem. The open instructions sent to Jellachich, although several wereautographletters of the Etopwor himself to obey the HungarianMinistry, were peraeveringly disregarded; he beganto aweaibtean armyon the frontier» and was. declared, on the 10th of June»a traitor by the Emperor. Stillthe Hungarian Diet,unwillingto declarewar agrárt the Croats, proposed that the ArchdukeJohnshould beappointed mediator. His mis
sion fiúled. Jellachich, in hisown paper, boasted that he had authority for all his acts, and that in everything contrary 'to them the Emperor acted by aMnpráiöEL
MTOBTB FOB PEACE.—DEATH OF LAMBERG.—KOSSUTH PREACHES THE WAR.—THE BATTLE OF PAKORD.
On the 1st of Septemberthe Croatian army crossedthe frontier. Still the Diet of Hungarywere resolved, if itwere possible, to avert war, anda deputation, consisting of several members of the Ministry, the House of Peersand Commons—in all, sixty persons—was sent toVienna,and hadan audience, for the purpose of explanation,on the 9thof September, with the Emperor,at the Palaceat Schönbrunn. Hisanswer was evasive; and whilst the deputieswere still hearing him, there wasfound in the ante-room the official paper declaring that the Emperor approved ofevery act of Jel lachich. The deputation departed in silence; everyman placed the red warfeather inhis hat, andthey returned to Presburg.
There was littleroom left for doubtas to the future; But theyresolved as one fur thereffort for peace to send a deputation to the Austrian Dietat Vienna. It arrived on the 10thof September, was refused admittance, and the Hungarian Ministryre
signed. On the 13th the Ministerof theInterioroccupied alonethe ministerial place in theHungarian Diet. The Diet called uponKossuth for the time toresume his po sition : he obeyed, and,taking againhis officialseat,was welcomed with enthusiasm.
The Diet authorized him to carry into effect his financial plan, and to create a Govern
ment debtby the issue ofpaper money. Volunteersflockedinfor the defense of the town and Diet; but still another attempt wasmade toavert thewar.
Bothby law and autograph letters of the Emperor, theArchdukeStephen stoodat the head of theGovernment; and the party, stillclinging to the hopeof peace, urged him to direct the formation of a newCabinet, which was undertaken by Louis Bat- thyani.
Jellachich, to avert hostilities, was slowly advancing upon Pesth. Heissuedorders toall theHungarian cavalry regiments tojoin hisarmy,and to offer noopposition to theCroats. With the exceptionof a single regiment of cuirassiers,the Hungarian offi
cers refused obedience to the general, and followed the instructionsof theMinistry.
They sent, however, a deputation ofofficersto Jellachich, withthe request that they mightbe shownthe Imperialorder for the invasion of Hungary. Jellachich admitted
thathehad no such order; but declaredthat hewas actingundera direct understanding with the Emperor.
Batthyani at once demandedthatthe Archduke, who, asPalatine, wasconstitution-' ally captaingeneral of the kingdom,should take command of the Hungarian army.
The Duke obeyed, and,as a last effort for peace,sought aninterview with Jellachich, on asteameron the Lake Balaton. On one side were gathered the Hungarian,on the other the Croatian» forces. It wasarrangedthat each general Bhould come with three attendants. Jellachich did notappear, offering as his reason that theArchduke had raised the Hungarian, and not the Austrian, colors,which were those of his family.
Finding thus nochance ofpeace, the Duke onthe 24th setoff for Vienna.
On the 26th CountLamberg camewith the appointment of Commander-in-Chief of both Hungarianand Croatian armies, and to dissolve theDiet, andtake possession of the fortress ofBude. Theappointmentand orderwere not countersignedby any Minister, and were,therefore, illegaland not acknowledged: the Dietdeclared him a traitor, and he was warned by Francis Pulszkinot to show himself atPesth. He, however, came, and on the 9th, crossing the bridge of boats, on his way to summon the fortress ofBude, wasrecognized by the people andkilled.
Whenthe Arckduke fled, the leadingmen of the Ministrywere thrown into dismay: CountSczhenyi went mad. Thusevery effortto preservepeace had failed, and the Hungarian Government were compelled towar forthe constitution (to whichthe Em
perorhadsworn) againsta general whom the Emperor himself had declared a traitor, and who hadstirred up civil warin obedience to instructions from the Imperial Court, which at thetime he himself declared them treason, yet vowed he would follow though they should lead him to the Bcaffold. Kossuth issued a proclamation to the Hungarian people,with faith, that if resolved they hadsufficientstrength tooverthrow the Croatian army,andcalling upon, allto arm.
With theimminence of the fate of Hungarianlibertythe spirit of Kossuth rose; the perils of the moment waked at oncehisstrength and eloquence, and relianceupon the people. He went down to the plain of Hungary,andtherepreached thewar for the constitution,and against the Imperial treason, as a holy war. Neverbeforehad such speech been heard. The enthusiasm spread; the people flocked by thousands tothe standard; volunteers setout evenfrom Vienna, and were not prevented; theentire people of Pesth swarmed toVetzprém; mere lads came, and old men of 60came—came with knives, scythes, hatchets; for tendays they gathered to the battle-field; no one knew the number—they were undrilled, unofficered, untaught in war; a force so ill equipped scarce everstood in face ofanenemy; but they were earnest; fearless; and, inspired bythe eloquenceof Kossuth, were impatientforbattle.
Therewas notime to mend their condition; the Croats, 40,000 strong, and in every thingwell appointed, wereinview. TheHungarianshad some cannon, manned by lawyersand engineers of Pesth who had practiced underthe Bohemian artillerymen; but tothispart of the force the victorywasnot to belong. The news that Batthyani had left the country, and that General Lamberg had beenmurdered,was soon known in both armies. Lamberghadbeen a favorite with the Hungariansoldiers, Batthyani with the people;and,relying onthedepressing effect of the newson thedisciplined
HIS LIFE.
portionofthe forces, Jellachich, on themorning of the 29th, gave ordersforan attack.
A cannonade, withlittle effect,lasted for some hours. Charge on charge Jellachich’* cuwMBiera came upon'the Hungarianinfantry,■ and were repulsed. The battle had lasted until evening, when there Was a rush forward of the Hungarians; the .rough, self-devoted multitude tried its strength against the disciplined force. The Croats broke and fledin confusion. Jellachich senta flagof truce,asking a threedays’ arm
istice—it was granted; and thesame night he broke up his camp and fled. Of hb force,50Ö0werebeaten onthe 3d by the National Guards of the south-western coun
ties; and on the 5th theraw levies which Kossuth hadgatheredovertook and cap tured12,000 men, with twelve pieces of cannonand two general officers. Suchwas thebattle of Pakord,and so ended Jellachich’sdream of an unfought-forvictory to treason.
REVOLUTION AND SIEGE OF VIENNA—KOSSUTH PROCLAIMED GOVERNOR OF HUNGARY.
The newsof the defeat of Jellachich reached Viennaaboutthe3d of October. On the 4th he was appointedciviland military governor ofHungary, the Hungarian Diet to be dissolved,anda portionof the garrison ofVienna was orderedto marchto Pesth Itrefused. Onthe 8th there wasabattlein the streets: the jteople and refusing force were victorious; the Ministerof War was hanged by the people; and onthe night of the 7th the Emperor left Vienna,and the warbecamea war betweenHungary and
Austria. The Hungariansoffered theirhelp to Vienna, but Kossuth refused to march unless invited by the proper authorities,who had not the courageto give theinvitation.
Vienna was besieged and taken by the Austrians; theHungarian army retreated; and theAustrians advanced into Hungary. On the15th ofNovember therewas so intense a frost that the Danube and all the streams and swampswerefrozen. Kossuthnamed • Görgey commander-in-chief of the army: he offered but small resistance to the inva-- dere, and they came to the gates ofPesth onthe 5th ofJanuary, 1849. Kossuth then advised to retire into the center ofHungary and organize the army; others advised an • efforttomake terms withAustria; in accordance with this advice Count Louis Bat
thyani wassent with a flag of tryce, he was seized, imprisoned, and seven month*
afterwards shot Meanwhile Kossuth had gone to Debreczin, and there again his eloquence won volunteersby thousands, so that it was said “that wherever he stamped' his foot theresprungupa soldier.” Butnot only had he to find men, therewere no.
arms; he establishedfoundries and forges. Therewasno powder, nosulphurin the kingdom: he had it made from the blackjack of the copper mines, and so setpowder- mills to work. Battalion after battalion was drilled, and in these preparations the time wasspent until the middle of March. Meanwhile several battles werefought, some of which weredefeats,some doubtful for theHungarians, and Transylvania fell entirely into the hands of the Austrians. Kossuth appointedKlapka to thecommand of the northern army, Bem to that ofTransylvania.
On the 24th of March the Hungarian army beganto act upon theoffensive. For the first and mostimportant partof the campaign Kossuth waswith the mainarmy.
I
Inthe April he returned to Debrecrin, and on the14th pupowd in the Protestant Church the deposition from the throneof Hungary of the house of Hapsburg. The proposition was carried, both by the Commons, and Peers, the independence ofHw gnry proclaimed, andKosjnith appointed Governor. I» ten great battle»the Austrian»
were defeated and driven totheveryfrontiers ofHungary.
The formal declaration ofHungarian independence, though not issued tilla later stage of the struggle, givessocomplete an account of Kossuth’sview of the great question atissue, that itsintroductionhere will be thebestmode ofplacing the reader in possession ofthewhole case;—
DECLARATION OF INDBWNDWCB BY THB HUWAKAN NATION.
We, the legally constituted representatives of the Hungarian nation assembled in Diet, do by these presentssolemnly proclaim, in maintenance of the inalienable natural rights ofHungary, with allits appurtenancesand dependencies, tooccupy the position ofanindependent European state; that the house of Lorraine-Hapsburg,asperjured in the sight of God and man, has forfeited itsright to the Hungarian throne. At the same time, we feel ourselves boundin duty to make known the motives and reasons which have impelled us to this decision,that the civilized world may learn we have taken this step,notout of overweening confidence inour own wisdom, nor out of revo
lutionary excitement, but that it is an act of the last necessity, adopted to ’ pre
serve from utter destruction a nationpersecutedto the limit o£the most enduring pa
tience.
Three hundred years hhvepassed since theHungariannation, by free election,placed the house of. Austria upon its throne, in accordance with stipulations made on both, sides,and ratified by treaty. These three hundred years have been, for thecountry, a periodof uninterruptedsuffering.
TheCreator has blessed this country with all the elements of wealth and happiness.
Its area of110,000 square miles* presents in varied profusion innumerable sources of prosperity. Its population, numbering nearly 15,000,000, feels the glowof youthful strength within its veins, and has showntemper and docility which warrant its proving at once the main organ of civilization inEastern Europe, and the guardian of that civilization whenattacked. Never wasa more grateful task appointedto a reigning dynastybythe dispensation of Providencethan thatwhich devolved upon the house of Lorraine-Hapsburg. To have done nothing to impede the development ofthe country would navesufficed. Had this been the ruleobserved, Hungary would now rank amongst the most prosperous nations. It wasonly necessarythat it should not envythe Hungarians the moderate share of constitutional liberty which theytimidly maintained during the difficulties of a thousandyears with rare fidelity to their sovereigns, so that the houseof Hapsburg mightlonghave counted this nation amongst the most faithfuladherents of the throne.
This dynasty,however, which can at no epoch point to a ruler whobasedhispower on the freedom of the people, adopted a course towardthis nation, fromfatherto son, which deservestheappellation of perjury.
Thehouse ofAustriahaspubliclyused every effort todeprive the countryofits legitimate independenceandconstitution,designing to reduce itto a level with the other provinces long since deprived ofall freedom, andtouniteallina common sink ofsla
very. Foiledin this effort by the untiring vigilance of the nation, it directed itsen
deavortolame the power, to check the progress of Hungary, causingit to minister to the gain of the provinces of Austria, but only to the extent which enabled those provinces to bear the load of taxation with whichthe prodigality of the imperial house weighed them down | havingfirst deprived those provinces of all constitutional means of remonstrating against a policy which wasnotbasedupon the welfare of the subject, but solely tended to maintain despotismand crush liberty in every country of Europe.
It has frequently happened that theHungarian nation,indespiteof this systematized tyranny,hasbeen obliged to take up arms in self-defense. Although constantly vic-
DECLARATION OF HUNGARIAN INDEPENDENCE. 11 torious in theseconstitutional struggles, yet so moderate has the nation ever been in its useof the victory, so strongly has it confidedin the king’splighted word, thatit has ever laid down arms assoon as the king,by new compacts and fresh oaths,has guaran teed the durationof its rights and liberty. But everynew compact wasfutile as those which preceded it; each oath which fell from the royal lips was but a renewal of previous perjuries. The policy of the house of Austria,whichaimed atdestroy ing the independenceof Hungaryasa state, has been pursued unaltered forthree hundred years.
It wasin vain thatthe Hungarian nation shed its blood for the deliveranceofAus
tria whenever it was in danger; vain were all the sacrifices which itmade to serve the interests of the reigning house; in vain did it,on the renewal of the royal pro- ndises,forget thewounds which thepast had inflicted; vain was the fidelity cherished by the Hungarians for their king,and which, in moments of danger, assumed a cha
racter of devotion. They were in vain, becausethe historyof the government of that dynasty inHungarypresents but anunbroken series of perjured deeds from generation to generation.
Inspite of suchtreatment, the Hungarian nationhasallalong respectedthe tie by which it was united to this dynasty; and in now decreeing its expulsion from the throne,itacts underthe naturallaw ofself-preservation, being driven to pronounce this Sentenceby the frill conviction that the nouseof Lorraine-Hapsburg iscompassing the destructionofHungary asan independent state; so thatthis dynastyhasbeen the firstto tearthe bands by which it was united to the Hungarian nation, andto confess that ithadtom them in the face of Europe. For manycauses a nation isjustified, before God and man, m expelling a reigning dynasty. Amongsuch arethe following:
When it formsalliances with the enemiesof the country, withrobbers,or partisan chieftains,tooppress the nation. When it attempts toannihilate the independenceof the countryand its constitution, supplied by oaths, attacking with an armedforce the people who have committedno actofrevolt. When the integrity of a country which the sovereign has sworn to maintain is violated, and itspower diminished.
When foreign armies are employedto murder the people, andtooppress their liber
ties.
Each of the grounds here enumerated wouldjustify the exclusion of adynasty from the throne. But thehouse of Lorraine-Hapsburg is unexampled in thecompass of its perjuries, andhas committedevery one orthese crimes against the nation; and its determination to extinguish the independence ofHungaryhas been accompanied with a succession of criminal acts, comprising robbery^ destruction ofproperty by fire,mur
der, maiming, and personal ill-treatmentofall Kinds, besides setting the laws of the countryatdefiance,so that humanity will shudderwhen reading thisdisgraceful page ofhistory.
The main impulseto this recentunjustifiable course was the passing of the laws adopted in the springof 1848for the better protection of the constitutionof the coun
try. These laws provided reforms in the internal government of the country, by which the commutationofservileservices and of thetithe were decreed; a fair repre sentation guaranteed tothe people in the Diet, whose constitution was before that ex
clusively aristocratical; equality before the lawproclaimed; the privilege of exemp tion from taxation abolished; freedom of the press pronounced; and, to stem the torrent of abuses,trial by jury established,with other improvements. Notwithstand
ingthat,as a consequenceof the French February revolution,troubles broke outin every province of the Austrian empire, and the reigning dynasty was left without support; the Hungariannation was too generous atsucha moment to demand more privileges, and contented itself with enforcing the administration of its old rights, upona system ofministerial responsibility, ana withmaintainingthem andthe inde
pendence ofthe country againstthe often-renewedand perjuredattempts of the crown.
These rights and theindependence sought to be maintained, were, however, no new acquisition, but were whatthe king, by his oath, andaccording to law, was bound to keep up, and which had not in the slightest degree been affected by the relation in which Hungarystood to the provincesof the empire.
In pointof fact,Hungary and Transylvania, with alltheir possessionsand depen
dencies, never were incorporated into theAustrianempire,but formeda separatein
dependent kingdom,even afterthe adoptionof the PragmaticSanction,by which the
samelawof succession was adoptedforHungarywhich obtained in theother coun tries and provinces.
The clearest proofof thislegal fact is furnished by the law incorporated intothe act of the Pragmatic Sanction, and which stipulates that the territory of Hungary and itsdependencies,as well as its independence,self-dependence, constitution and privi
leges,shallremaininviolateand specially guaranteed.
Another proof is contained inthestipulation of the Pragmatic Sanction, according to which,theheir of the crown onlybecomeslegally king of Hungary upon the con clusionof a coronation treaty with the nation, and upon his swearing to maintainthe constitution andthe laws of the country, whereupon he is to be crowned with the crownof St.Stephen. The actsigned at the coronationcontains the stipulation, that*
all laws, privileges,and the entire constitution, shall be observed, together with the order of succession. But onesovereign sincethe adoption of the Pragmatic Sanction refused to enter into the coronation compact,and swear to theconstitution. This was Joseph II., who died without beingcrowned: butfor that reasonhis name is not re- corded amongst thekings ofHungary, and allhis acts are considered illegal, null and void. His successor,Leopold II., was obliged, before ascending the Hungarian throne, toenterinto the coronation compact, to take theoath and tolet himself becrowned.
Onthis occasion, it was distinctlydeclaredin Art. 10,1790, sanctioned upon oath by the king, that Hungarywas a free and independent country with regard to its govern ment,and not subordinate to any other stateor people whatever; consequently, that it wasto be governedby its owncustomsand laws.
Thesameoathwastaken by Francis I., who came to the throne in the sameyear, 1790. On the extinctionof the imperial dignity inGermany,and the foundation of the Austrian empire, this emperor, who allowed himself to violate the law in innumer able instances, had still sufficient respect for his oath publicly to avow that Hungary formed no portionof the Austrian empire. For this reason Hungary was separated fromthe restof the Austrian states by a chainof customs guards alongthe whole frontier, which stillcontinues.
The sameoathwas taken, onhis accessionto the throne, by Ferdinand V.,who, at the diet held at Presburgh, last year, of his own free will sanctioned the lawsthat werepassed, butwho, soon after, breaking that oath, enteredinto a conspiracy with the othermembersof his family, with the intentof erasing Hungary from the list of independent nations.
Still the Hungarian nation preserved with useless pietyits loyaltyto its perjured sovereign,andduringMarch lastyear, while the empirewas onthe brink of destruc tion—while its armies in Italy suffered onedefeat after another, andhe? in his im perialpalace,hadtofear at any moment that he might be driven from it - Hungary did nottake advantage of so favorable a moment tomake increased demands: it askedonly that its constitution mightbe guaranteed, and abuses rectified—-a constitu
tion to maintain which fourteen kingsof the Austrian dynasty hadsworn a solemn oath, whichevery one of themhad broken.
When the king undertookto guaranteethose ancient rights,andgave his sanction to the establishmentof a responsible ministry, theHungariannation flew enthusiasti
callyto hissupport, and rallied itsmight aroundhis tottering throne. At that event
fulcrisis, asatso manyothers, the houseofAustriawas savedby thefidelity of the Hungarians.
Scarcely, however, had his oath fallen from his lips when heconspired anew with his family, the accomplices of his crime, to compass the destruction of the Hungarian nation. This conspiracydid not take place on the ground thatany newprivileges were conceded by the recent laws which diminished the royal authority. From what hasbeen said, it is clear that no such demands were made. The conspiracy was founded to get rid of the responsible ministry, which made itimpossible for the Viennacabinet to treat theHungarian constitutionanylongeras a nullity.
In former times a governing council, under the name of theRoyalHungarian Stadt- holdership?the president of whichwas the Palatine, heldits seat at Buck,whosesa
cred duty itwastowatch over the integrityof the state, the inviolability of the con
stitution, and thesanctity of the laws; but thiscollegiate authoritynot presentingany elementof personal responsibility, the Viennacabinet gradually degradedthis council to the position of an administrative organ of court absolutism. In thismanner, while Hungary hadostensiblyan independent government, the despotic Vienna cabinet dis-
DECLARATION OF HUNGARIAN INDEPENDENCE. 13 posed at will of the money and bloodof thepeople forforeign purposes, postponing its trading interests tothe successofcourtlycabals,injurious to the welfare of the people, so that we wereexcludedfrom all connection with the othercountriesof the world, and were degraded to theposition of a colony. The mode of governing by a ministry wasintendedto puta stopto these proceedings, which caused the rightsof the coun
try to moulder uselessly in its parchments; by the change, these rights and the royal oath werebothtobecome a reality. It wasthe apprehension ofthis, and especially the fear of losingits control over the money and blood of the country,which caused the house of Austria to resolve the involving ofHungary, by the foulest intrigues, in the horrors of fire andslaughter,thathaving plungedthe country in a civil war,it mightseize the opportunity to dismember the lands, and to blotout the nameofHun
gary from thelist of independent nations, and uniteits plundered and bleeding limbs with the Austrian monarchy.
Thebeginning of this course was by issuing orders, during the existence of the min
istry, directingan Austrian general torise inrebellion against the lawsof the country, and by nominating thesame generalBanofCroatia—a kingdombelonging to the king
dom ofHungary. Croatia andSlavonia were chosenas the seat of military operations in this rebellion, becausethe military organization ofthosecountriespromised to pre sent the greatest number of disposabletroops; itwas* also thoughtthat, sincethose countries had for centuries been excluded from the enjoymentof constitutional rights, and subjected to a military organizationin the name of the Emperor, they would ea silybe inducedto rise athis bidding.
Croatia and Slavonia werechosen to beginthis rebellion, because in thosecountries the inhuman policy of Prince Metternichhad, with aview to the weakening of all parties, foryears cherishedhatredagainst the Hungarian nation. By exciting inevery possible mannerthe most unfounded national jealousies, and by employing the most disgracefulmeans, he hadsucceeded in inflaming a partywith rage, although the Hun
garians, far from desiring to oppressthe Croatians, allowed the mostunrestrained de velopment to the provincial institutions ofCroatia,andshared with their Croatian and Slavonian brethrentheir political rights, evengoing the length of sacrificing some of their own rights,byacknowledging special privilegesand immunities inthose de pendencies.
TheBan revolted,therefore,in the name of the Emperor, and rebelled openly against theKing of Hungary, who is, however, one and the same person; andhewent sofar asto decree the separation of Croatia and Slavonia fromHungary, withwhich they had been unitedfor eight hundred years, aswell asto incorporate them with the Aus trian empire. Public opinion andundoubted facts threw the blame of these proceed
ings on theArchdukeLouis, uncle to the emperor, on his brother,the ArchdukeFran cis Charles, and especially on the consort of the last-named prince, the Archduchess Sophia; and since the Ban in thisact of rebellion openly allegedthat he actedas a faithful subject of theEnjperor, the ministryof Hungary requested theirsovereign, by a public declaration, to wipe off the stigmawhich these proceedings threwuponthe family. At that moment aflairswerenot prosperous for Austria inItaly: the Empe
ror.therefore, didproclaimthatthe Ban and hisassociates were guiltyof nigh treason, anaofexciting torebellion. Butwhile publishing this edict, the Ban and his accom pliceswere covered withfavors atcourt, and supplied for their enterprise with money, arms, and ammunition. The Hungarians, confiding in the royal proclamation, and not wishing to provoke a civil conflict, did not hunt out those proscribed traitors in their lair, and only adopted measures for checking any extension of the rebellion. But soon afterwardsthe inhabitantsof SouthHungary, of Servian race, wereexcited to rebellion
«by precisely the same means.
These werealso declared by the king to be rebels, but were, nevertheless,like the others, supplied with money, arms, and ammunition. The king’s commissionedoffi cers and civil servants enlisted bands of robbers in the principality of Servia to strengthen the rebels, and aid them in massacreing the peaceable Hungarian and Ger
man inhabitants of the Banat. The command of these rebellious bodies wasfurther intrusted to the rebel leadersof the Croatians.
During this rebellion of the Hungarian Servians, scenes ofcruelty were witnessed at which the heart shudders,—the peaceable inhabitants weretortured with a cruelty which makes the hair stand on end. Whole towns and villages,once flourishing, were laidwaste; Hungariansfleeingbefore these murderers were reduced to the condition
of vagrants andbeggars in their oWn country; the mostlovelydistrictswere converted into a wilderness.
Thus were the Hungarians driven to self-defense, but the AustrianCabinet had dis patched some time previously the bravest portions of the national troops to Italy, to oppress thekingdoms ofLombardyandVenice, notwithstanding thatourcountry was at home bleeding from a thousand wounds: still she had allowed them toleave for the defense of Austria. Thegreater partof the Hungarian regimentswere, according tothe old system of government, scattered through the provinces of the empire. In Hungary itself, the troops quartered were mostly Austrian, and they afforded more protection to the rebels than to the laws, orto theinternal peaceof the country.
The withdrawal of these troops, and thereturn of thé national militia, was demanded of the government,but was either refusedor itsfulfillment delayed; and when our bravecomrades, on hearing the distress of the country,returnedin masses,theywere persecuted,andsuch as were obligedtoyield to superiorforce were disarmed andsen
tenced todeath for having defended theircountryagainst rebels.
The Hungarian Ministry begged the King earnestlyto issue orders to alltroops and commanders of fortresses mHungary, enjoining fidelity to the constitutionandobedi
ence totheministers ofHungary. Such a proclamationwas sent to thePalatine, the Viceroy ofHungary, Archduke Stephen, at Buda. The necessary letters werewritten andsent to the post-office. But this nephew of the King, the Archduke Palatine, shamelessly caused these letters to be smuggled back from the post-office, although theyhad been countersigned by the responsible minister; and they were afterwards found amongst his paperswhen hetreacherously departed from the country.
The rebel Ban menaced the Hungariancoast withan attack, and the government, withthe King’sconsent, ordered an armed corpsto march into Styriafor the defense of Fiume; butthis wholeforce received orders to march intoItaly. Yet such abomi
nable treacheiy wasnot disavowedbytheVienna cabinet.
t The rebel forceoccupied Fiume, and disunited it from thekingdom of Hungary;
and this abominable deception was disavowedby the Viennacabinet, as having been a misunderstanding. The furnishing of arms, ammunition, and moneytothe rebels of Croatia, was alsodeclared to have been amisunderstanding. Finally, instructions wereissued to the effect that, until special orders were given,thearmyand thecom manders of fortresses were not to followthe orders of theHungarian ministers, but were to executethose of the Austrian cabinet.
Finally, toreap thefruit of so much perfidy, tbe Emperor Francis Joseph dared to call himself King ofHungaryin the manifesto of9th March, whereinheopenly de clares that he erases theHungarian nation from the list of the independent nationsof Europe, andthat hedivided its territoryintofiveparts,dividing Transylvania, Croatia, Slavonia, and Fiume from Hungary; creating at the sametimea (Woywodshaft) principality for the Servian rebels; and, having paralyzed the political existence of the country, declareditincorporate into the Austrianmonarchy.
Never wassodisgracefula line of policyfollowed towardsa nation. Hungary, un preparedwith money, arms, and troops, and not expecting tobe called on to make re
sistance, wasentangledin a net of treachery, andwas obliged to defend itself against this threatenedannihilation withthe aid ofvolunteers, national guards, and an undis
ciplined, unarmed levy enmasse,aided by the few regulartroopsthat remainedin the country. In open battles, the Hungarians have, however, been successful; but they could not rapidlyenough putdown the Servian rebels, andthoseof themilitary fron tier, who were led by officers devoted to Austria, and were enabled to take refuge be
hind entrenched positions.
Itwas necessary to provide a new armed force The King, still pretendingtoyield to the undeniably lawful demands of the nation, had summonedanew Diet for the 2d July, 1848, andhad called upon the representatives of thenation to providesoldiers and money for thesuppression of the Servian and Croatian rebellion,and there-estab lishment of public peace. He, at the same time,issueda solemn proclamation in his own name,and inthat ofhis family, condemning anddenouncing the Croatian and Servianrebellion. The necessary steps were taken by the Diet. Alevy of 200,000 men, and asubsidy of40,000,000 of florins, were votedas the necessary force, and the bills were laid before theKing for the royal sanction. At the same moment, the Hun
garians gave an unexampled proof oftheirloyalty, by inviting theKing, whonad fled to Innspruck,to goto Pesth, and by hispresencetranquillize the people, trusting tothe
DECLARATION OF HUNGARIAN INDEPENDENCE.
15
loyalty of - theHungarians, who had shownthemselves at all times the best supports of the throne.
This request was proffered in vain, for Radetsky had inthe meantimebeen victori- ons inItaly. The houseof Lorraine-Hapsburg, restored toconfidence by that victory, thought the time come to take off the mask, and to involve Hungary,still bleeding frompastwounds, in the horrorsof a freshwar of oppression. The Kingfrom that moment began toaddresstheman whom he himselfhad branded as a rebel as “ dear andloyal” (Lieber Getreuer); hepraised him for having revolted, and encouraged him to proceed in the path he had entered upon.
Heexpressed alike sympathy for the Servian rebels, whose hands yet reeked from themassacres they had perpetrated. It was under this command that the Ban of Cro atia,after being proclaimed as a rebel,assembled an army, andannounced hiscommis
sion from the King to carry fire and sword into Hungary, upon which the Austrian troops stationed in the countryunitedwith him. The commandants of the fortresses, Essey and Temeswar Gyulaschervar, and the commandersofthe forces inthe Banat andinTransylvania,breakingtheiroathstaken to the country,treacherously surren
dered their trusts; a Slavack clergyman with the commissionof colonel, who had fraternized at Vienna with the revolted Czechs, broke into Hungary, and the rebel Croatleaderadvanced with confidence, throughan unprepared country, to occupy its capital, expectingthat the army in Hungary wouldnot oppose him.
Even thenthe Diet didnot give up all confidence in the power of the royal oath, and the King wasonce more requestedtoorder the rebels to quit the country. The answergivenwasa reference to amanifesto of the Austrian ministry,declaringit to betheir determinationto deprive the Hungarian nation of the independent manage ment of their financial,commercial, and war affairs. The Kingat the same time re
fused his assent to thelaws submitted' forapproval respecting the troopsand the sub sidyfor coveringtheexpenditure.
Upon this theHungarianministers resigned, but the names submitted bythe Presi
dent of theCouncil, at the demandof the King,were not approved offor successors.
TheDiet then, boundby itsdutytosecure the interests of the country, voted the sup
plies, andordered the troops to belevied. The nationobeyed the summons with readi
ness.
Therepresentatives ofthepeople then summoned the nephew of the Emperor to join the camp,and,as Palatine, to lead the troops against the rebels. He not only obeyed the summons, but madepublic professions of his devotion to the cause. As soon, however, as an engagement threatened, he fledsecretly from the camp and the country like a coward traitor. Amongst his papersa plan formed by him some time previously was found, according to which Hungary was to besimultaneously attacked on nine sides—fromStyria, Austria,Moravia, Silesia, Galicia, andTransylvania.
From a correspondence with the Minister of War, seized at the same time, it was discoveredthat the commanding generalsin the military frontier and the Austrian provincesadjoiningHungary had received orderstoenter Hungary,and to attack the rebels withtheir united forces.
This attack from nine points at oncereally began. The most painful aggression took place in Transylvania, for the traitorouscommander in that district didnot con
tent himself with the practices considered lawful in war by disciplined troops. He stirred upthe Wallachian peasantsto take arms against their own constitutional rights,
•nd, aided by the rebellious Servian hordes, commenced acourse of Vandalism andex
tinction, sparing neither women, children,noraged men; murdering andtorturing the defenselessHungarianinhabitants; burning the most flourishing villages and towns, amongst which, Nagy-Enyed, the seat oflearning for Transylvania, was reduced to a heap of ruins.
Butthe Hungarian nation, although taken by surprise,unarmedandunprepared,did notabandon its future prospects in any agony ofdespair.
Measures were immediately taken to increase the small standing army by volun
teersand the levy of the people. These troops, supplying thewant of experience by the enthusiasm arising from the feeling thatthey had right on theirside,defeated the Croatian armaments, anddrove them out of the country.
One of their leadersappealed,after an unsuccessful fight, to thegenerosity of the Hungariansfor a truce, which he used by night, and surreptitiously, to escape with
hb beaten troops; the other corps, of more than 10,000men, was surrounded and taken prisoners, from the general to the last private.
The defeated armyfled in the direction of Vienna, where the Emperor continued hbdemoralizing policy, andnominated the beatenand flyingrebel as hisplenipoten
tiary andsubstitute in Hungary, suspending, by thb act, the constitution and institu
tions of the country,allits authorities,courts ofjusticeand tribunals, laying the king
dom under martial law,and placing in the hand of,and under the unlimited authority ofj a rebel, thehonor,the property, and the livesof the people—in the handofa man who, with armed bands, had braved the laws, and attacked the constitution of the country.
But the House of Austria was not contented with the unjustifiable violation of oaths taken by its head.
Therebellious Ban was given under the protection of the troops stationed near Vienna,and commanded byPrince Windischgratz. These troops,after takingVienna by storm, were led as an imperial Austrianarmy to conquer Hungary. ButtheHun garian nation, persisting inits loyalty, sent an envoy to the advancing enemy. Thb envoy,coming under a flag of truce,was treated as a prisoner,and thrown into prison.
No heed was paidto the remonstrancesand thedemands of theHungarian nation for justice. The threat of the gallows was, on the contrary,thundered against allwho hadtaken arms indefense of a wretched and oppressed country. But before the army had time to enterHungary, a family revolution in the tyrannicalreigning house was perpetratedatOlmutz. Ferdinand V. was forced toresign a throne whichhad been pollutedwith somuch blood and perjury; and the son of Francis Charles, who also abdicatedhb claim to theinheritance,theyouthful Archduke Francis Joseph,caused . himself to be proclaimed Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. But, according to the family compact, no one can disposeof the constitutionalthrone but the Hunga
rian nation.
Atthis critical moment,the Hungarian nation demanded nothing more than the maintenance of itslaws and institutions, and peace guaranteed by their integrity.
Had theassent of the nationto thb change in the occupant of the throne been asked in alegalmanner,and theyoung prince offered to take the customary oath that he would preserve the Constitution, the Hungarian nation would not have refusedto elect himking, in accordance with the treatiesextantand to crown him with St.
Stephen’s crownbeforehe haddippedhis handin the bloodof the people.
He, however, refusing toperform an actsosacred in the eyes ofGodandman,and instrange contrast to theinnocence natural to youthful breasts, declared inhb first words his intentionof conquering Hungary, which hedaredto call a rebellious coun
try, although he himself hadraised rebellion there, and of depriving it of that inde
pendencewhich ithad maintained for a thousand years,to incorporate it into the Austrianmonarchy.
And hehas but too well labored to keep his word. He ordered the army under Windischgratz to enter Hungary,and, at the same time, directed several corps of troops toattack thecountry fromGalicia and Styria. Hungaryresisted the projected invasion;but being unable to make head against so many countries at once, on ac count of the devastation carried on in several parts of the interiorby the excited rebels,and being thus prevented from displaying its whole power ofdefense, the troopswere, in the firstinstance, obliged to retire. Tosave the capital from the hor
rors of a storm like thatto which Prague and Vienna had mercilesslybeen exposed, and not to place the fortunes of a nation, which deserved better, on the die of a pitched battle, for which there had not been sufficient preparation, the capital was abandoned, ana the Diet and National Government removed in January last to De breczin,trustingto thehelp of a just God. and to the energies of the nation, topre vent the cause from being lost,even when it shouldbe seen that the capital was given up. Thanks be to Heaven,the cause was notlost!
Buteven thenan attempt wasmadetobring about a peaceful arrangement,and a deputationwas sent to the generalsof theperjureddynasty. This house, in its blind self-confidence,refused to enter into any negotiation, anddaredto demand an uncondi
tional submission from thenation. The deputation wasfurtherdetained, and one of the number, the former presidentof the ministry,waseven throwninto prison. The desertedcapitalwasoccupied, and was turned into aplaceofexecution: a part of the prisoners of war were there consigned to the axe, anotherpart were thrownintodun-
DECLARATION OF HUNGARIAN INDEPENDENCE. 17 geons,while the remainderwere exposedto fearful sufferings from hunger, and were thus forced to enterthe ranksof the army in Italy.
Themeasure of the crimes of the Austrian house was, however, filled up, when, after its defeat, it appliedfor helpto theEmperor of Russia; and, in spiteof there monstrances and protestations of the Porte,and of the consulsof the European powers at Bucharest, in defiance of international rights, andto the endangeringof thebalance of power in Europe,caused the Russian troopsstationed in Wallachia to be led into Transylvania,for the destructionof the Hungarian nation.
Threemonthsagowewere driven back upon theTheiss: our just armshave already recovered allTransylvania; Clausenburg, Hermannstadt, and Cronstadt,aretaken; one portion of thetroops of Austriais driven into the Bukowina; another, together with the Russianforce sent to aid them,is totally defeated,andto the last man obliged to evacuate Transylvania,and to flee into Wallachia. UpperHungary is clearedoffoes.
TheServian rebellionis further suppressed; the fortsofSt. Thomas and the Roman entrenchmenthave been taken by storm: and thewhole countrybetween the Danube and the Theiss, including thecountry of Baes, has been recovered for the nation.
Thecommander-in-chief of the perjured house of Austriahas himself been defeated in five consecutivebattles,and has withhis whole army beendriven back upon and evenover the Danube.
Foundingalineof conduct uponallthese occurrences, and confiding in the justiceof aneternal God, we,in the faceof the civilized world, in reliance upon the natural rightsof the Hungarian nation,andupon the powerit has developed to maintain them, further impelled bythat sense of dutywhich urges every nation to defend its exist ence, dohereby declare and proclaimin the nameof the nation legally representedby usthe following:
1. Hungary, with Transylvania, as legallyunited with it, and the possessions and dependencies, are herebydeclared to constitute a free independent sovereign state.
The territorial unityof this stateis declared to be inviolable, and its territory to* be indivisible.
2. The houseof Hapsburg-Lorraine, having by treachery,perjury, and levying of waragainst the Hungarian nation, as well by itsoutrageousviolation of all compacts, in breaking up the integral territory of thekingdom,in the separation of Transylvania, Croatia, Sclavonia, Fiume,anditsdistricts, from Hungary; further, by compassing the destruction of the independenceof the country byarms,and by calling in the disci
plined army of a foreign power,for the purpose of annihilating its nationality,by vio lationboth of the Pragmatic Sanction andof treaties concluded between Austria and Hungary, onwhich the alliance between the twocountries depended,is, as treacherous and perjured,foreverexcluded from the throne of the united states of Hungary and Transylvania, andalltheir possessions and dependencies, and are hereby deprived of the styleand title,as well as of the armorial bearings, belonging to the crown of Hun gary, and declared to bebanishedfor ever from the united countries and theirdepen denciesandpossessions. They are,therefore, declared to be deposed, degraded, and banishedfor everfrom the Hungarian territory.
3. The Hungarian nation, in the exerciseofits rights andsovereign will, being de
termined toassume the position of a free and independent state amongst the nationsof Europe, declares itto be its intention to establishand maintain friendly andneighborly relations withthosestates with which itwasformerly united under the same sover eign, as wellasto contractalliances with all othernations.
4. The form of government to be adopted for the futurewill be fixed by the Diet of the nation.
Butuntil thispoint shall be decided,on the basis of theancient and receivedprinci ples which have been recognized for ages,the government of the unitedcountries,their possessions anddependencies, shallbe conducted on personal responsibility, and under theobligation torenderanaccountof all acts,by LouisKossuth, whohas, by acclama tion,and with the unanimous approbationof the Diet of the nation, beennamed gov
erning president (gubernator), and the ministers whom he shallappoint.
. And this resolution ofours we proclaimandmake knownto all the nationsof the civilized world, with the conviction thatthe Hungarian nation will be received by them amongst the free and independentnations of the world with the same friendship and freeacknowledgmentof itsrights which the Hungariansproffertoothercountries.
We alsohereby proclaim and make knownto all the inhabitants of the united states 2
of Hungaryand Transylvania,their possessions anddependencies, that all authorities, communes, towns, and the civil officers,both in the counties and cities, are completely set free and released fromall the obligations underwhich they stood, by oathor other
wise, to the saidhouseof Hapsburg, and that any individual daringto contravene this decree, and by wordordeedin any way toaid or abet any one violating it, shall be treatedandpunishedasguilty of high treason. Andby the publication of this decree, we herebybindandobligeall the inhabitants of these countries to obedience to the government now instituted formally, andendowed withallnecessarylegalpowers.
Debreczin,14th April,1849.
RUSSIAN INTERVENTION.—TREASON OF GÖRGEY.—ABDICATION OF KOSSUTH.
♦
Before the newsof theseevents reachedVienna, the Russianinterventionhad been resolved upon, and CountStadion, the PrimeMinister, unable toresist, and terrified at contemplation of the effects,went mad. The Russianarmymarched slowly towards Hungary,andGörgey made but little effort to oppose them. Several battles were fought with various success. Görgey, instead of joiningthe armies of Klapka and Bem,made a sortof tour throughHungary,asif forthe purpose ofsparing the forces ofthe enemy the loss fromany battles. The Russian andAustrian armies effected a junction; Imd on the 4thof May Budawas stormed. Kossuth and the Government retired from Pesth to Szegedin, and thence to Arad. Here Görgeyarrived on the 7thof August, 1849, with his army dispiritedand demoralized bylong retreat andlax discipline. During the whole of his retreat Görgey had been in constant communica tion withthe Russians,and, arrivingat Arad, he immediately went to Kossuth, and told him the Russians had promised toguarantee the lawsof 1848, onconditionthat Kossuth should cease to be at the headof the Government, and appealed to him, there fore, as a patriot, to abdicate. Onthe 9th Dembinski’sarmy, whohad given uphis command to Bem, wasdefeated atTemesvár. Kossuth called a council of Ministers; and as the majority were for accepting the Russian terms, and Görgey was in posses sion of the fortress, he, on condition that Görgey would insureto Hungarythe laws of the previousMarch, signed his abdication. Görgeymade no efforttofulfill his pledge,but,on the contrary, on the 13th,surrenderedat Villagos his entirearmy. The news spread fast, and, with little exception, all theother forces dispersed.
Kossuth, withabout 5000 men, crossed the frontier at Orsova on the 18th of August, after having received from the Pacha ofViddim assurance thatheshould be treatedas the guestof the Sultan. This known at Constantinople,the Ambassadors of Russia and Austria atonce demanded that they shouldbegiven up. A message was at once sentto the Hungarians that their only safety lay intheir becomingMahomedansand subjectsof the Turkishempire. Bem and Kemetty adopted the condition. Kossuth answered he would prefer death to the abjuration of his faith. On the 1st ofOctober theSultan declared that he wouldnot on any conditiongiveup the refugees,and vio late the laws of hospitality, untilhe knewhow far England and France would support him; but that in the interim he would consent to theirbeing kept as prisoners insome distant part of the empire. At the endof October the fleet of Admiral Parkerentered the Dardanelles, and there was an end at once of the threats of Russia andAustria.
HIS TAMILT.
ii
Kossuth and his followers were sent first to Shumla, thenceto Rhuda onNov. 19, wherethey arrivedonthe12th of April, 1850. Kossuthoccupied the apartments over the barrack gate; and, with his companions in exile, occupied his time in layingout asa garden the ground allowed themforexercise. There his hours were spent in study, and,with Johnson’s Dictionary and Shakspearefor guides,he taught himself such English as the people have heardfrom him atSouthampton, Winchester, Ipswich,
London, Birmingham, and Manchester.
In the October of 1850 Kossuth was visited, at Kutaya ,by Mr. David Urquhart,M.P.
for Stafford; Mr. Algernon Massingberd; Rigaldi, whom Lamartine calls the great
est improvisatore that has ever appeared; andthe author of the “ Revelations of Rus sia,” inwhose yacht theywent. They remained at Kutaya a month, and itwas on thatoccasion that Mr. Massingberd requested that, onKossuth visiting England,he would honor him bybecoming his guest
There werethreats from Austria of occupying the Moldavian provinces of Turkey if the Hungarians were liberated; but, onthe22d of August, SulimanBey cameto Kossuth, announced his freedom, kissedhis hand,andsaid, “Go; you will find friends every wherenow;donotforget those who were friendswhen you hadbut few.” On the 1stof September, Kossuth left Kutaya, by way of Spetzia, Marseilles, and Lisbon, and reachedEngland on the28thof October.
The sympathy of the English people became enlisted, andmemorials were signed calling upon the government to interferefortheir liberation. The United States sent their steamer Mississippi to convey himto America.
IMPRISONMENT OF KOSSUTH’S CHILDREN - ESCAPE OF MADAME KOSSUTH.
On the 10thofJanuary, 1841,Kossuth marriedTeresa Meszlenyi, who, during his imprisonment,had come with her motherto reside at Pesth,andhad become intimate withhis sisters through the custom,then universal,ofall strangers calling topay their respects to the familyof the imprisonedpatriot
Theescape of MadameKossuth andherchildren is astory full of interest. Her constant wish was for the quiet retirementof home. She had no higher ambition than to enjoy the societyof her husband intheirsocial circle; but, determined that he shouldnot be alone in the dangers andrisksof war, she resolved to accompany him from Pesth to Araad; but, to spare the children the privations to which, were they withthearmy,they mustinevitablybe exposed, they were intrustedto the careof a female cousin, by whom they were to be conveyed to another relative. When Kossuth had, trusting to the promises of Görgey, signed hisabdicationat Arad, one of his mostfaithfill followers was sent for the children;MadameKossuth remained to accompany them; and, on their way, they were all taken prisoners inthe countyof Veszprém, andconveyedto prison at Presburg. At thistime Madame Kossuth was taken dangerously ill In prison thechildren werefar from being kindly cared for; in the garden they were closelyguardedby soldiers, their food was nobetterthan that of
MADAME KOSSUTH AND CHILDREN.
grown-upprisoners, and but for the kindness ofpersonsin the town they would often havebeen on short allowance. Their tutor, the gentlemanwhohad been taken with them, and whom theybegged to be allowed to see, was not permitted to come to them ; but whenthey had been a couple ofmonths in confinement Haynau came, that he mightenjoy the pleasure ofseeing Kossuth’s children in jail; andhavingsatisfied hiscuriosity with sightof them, and impressed their memory withhis fiercelookand long mustache, he went away, promising, however, that they should be better fed.
A proclamation was issued declaring that whoever should house Madame Kossuth wouldplace himself under martial law. The childrenwere inprison,there was no hope of her being enabled to join them,and shetherefore, as the onlyhopeofsafety, set out alone for Shumla. It would be impossible to give a detailed account of her
ADDRESS TÓ THE PEOPLE OP THE UNITED STATES. 21
journey without even now compromising many partiés. In variouspoor disguises she wandered about—was conveyed fromplaceto placein peasant’s carts—wasfrequently whole days without food—and, after four months oftoil, anxiety, and hardship, she reached Shumlaon the 16thofJanuary. Thechildren had been six months inprison, when, on application ofMadame Meszlenyi, Kossuth’s sister, they were given to her and their grandmother at Pesth,but were kept constantly underthe eye of the police. Here they excited the greatest enthusiasm. When they went out thepeople flocked round them; shoemakers mustmake their shoes for nothing, tailors their clothes; the country people broughtthembread,flour, fowls, all sorts ofprovisions;
many apoorpeasantwhohad butacoupleofeggs brought them. The childrenwere looked upon as giving assuranceof Kossuth’sreturn. “He neverleft his children,”
said they; “ he will comeback; we shall have Kossuthagain.” These demonstra
tions determined the government to let the children be sent to Kutaya. They left Pesth inMay, 1850, and onthe occasion were the subjectofquite a demonstration:
thousands flocked toseethem off, and parted from them with regret.
ADDRESS OF KOSSUTH TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES.
Two yearsago,by God’s providence, I, who would beonly anhumblecitizen, held in my hands the destiny of the reigninghouse ofAustria.
Had I been ambitious, or hadI believed that this treacherousfamilywere so basely wicked as they afterwardproved themselves tobe, the tottering pillars oftheirthrone would have fallen at my command, and buried the crowned traitorsbeneath their ruins, or would have scattered them like dust before a tempest, homeless exiles, bearing nothing but theremembrance oftheir perfidy, and that royalty whichthey deserved to losethroughtheirownwickedness.
I, however, did not take advantageof these favorable circumstances,though the en
tirefreedomof my dear native land was the only wish of my heart. My requests wereof that moderate nature which, in the conditionofHungary and Europe, seemed bestfitted formy countrymen. I asked of the king not the complete independence of my beloved country—not evenany new rights or privileges—butsimply these three things:
First: That the inalienable rights sanctioned by a thousand years, andby the con stitution ofmy fatherland, should beguaranteed bya national andresponsible adminis
tration.
Second: Thateveryinhabitant of my country, without regarding language or reli gion, should be free and equal beforethe law - all classes having the same privileges and protection from the law.
Third: That all thepeople of the Austrian empire that acknowledged the same person as emperor whomwe Hungarians recognizedas king, and the same law ofsuc
cession,shouldhaverestored theirancient constitutionalrights, of which they had un justlybeendespoiled, modified to suit their wants and the spirit of the age.
