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The Historians' History of the World: Germanic empires (concluded)
The Historians' History of the World Germanic empires - concluded Author:Henry Smith Williams Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: [1863-1866 A.d.] ceremony; it is a mutual contract in which the sovereign makes an oath acknowledging the historic rights of the kingdom; hence the importance... more » which the Czechs and Magyars attach to it. The legists, not recognising the uncrowned king, wished to vote only a resolution; Deak persuaded them to draw up an address. In this document, remarkable for its lucidity and its logic, he appeals to the historic rights of the kingdom. " The fundamental condition of our political life and of our national independence," it said, "is the legal autonomy and the independence of our country. Our first duty is to consecrate all our faculties to obtaining that Hungary shall remain Hungary and keep her constitutional rights. We solemnly declare that we can sacrifice to no consideration, to no interest, the rights derived from treaties, laws, royal letters, and coronation oaths." It claimed the execution of the laws of 1848 and of the engagements undertaken in the Pragmatic Sanction. The government of Vienna thought it could daunt the Hungarians by force. The diet was dissolved (August 22ud). The assemblies of the comitats were forbidden, royal commissioners were substituted for the refractory Obergespanne; but the Magyars persisted in their resistance, even when Schmerling had succeeded in attracting to Vienna the deputies of Transylvania. Bohemia was scarcely more satisfied than Hungary. She complained with reason of the iniquity of the electoral system granted by Schmerling; she sent her deputies to the Beichsrath, but only with the reservation of all the rights of the kingdom. After 1863 they ceased to take part in the debates of this assembly. The only liberty for which thanks were due to Schmerling was that of the press; but the Slavs profited little by it. In Bohemia and Mor...« less