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Show T . THE MAGYARS OF HUNGARY. (Irish Catholic.) The prorogation of the Hungarian Diet or Parliament Par-liament by the exercise of the supreme authority A-csted in the Emperor Francis Joseph, in his capacity ca-pacity as King of Hungary, may possibly lead to some serious demonstrations of Magyar resentment. In vieAV of the fact that Austria is. happily, still one of the most Catholic potvers in Europe, it can scarcely be amiss to point out that it would be an utter mistake to assume that the present dominant majority in the Hungarian Diet arc Xationalists in the true sense of the Avord. The Magyar leaders are only Xationalists in '"the same sense as Speaker Foster and others of the fame type, Avere Xationalists during the period of Irish parliamentary independence between 1782 and 1800. The latter desired complete exemption from English control, but they alo desired complete monopoly mo-nopoly of poAver for themselves to the exciusiov of the majority of their fellow countrymen from the' j enjoynient of ordinary civil liberty. Tho Mngyars have, in somewhat the same way, managed to create the impression that they are really the Hungarian nation, whereas they are nothing of the kind. It must 'be remembered that of the population of Hungary, exclusive of Croats and Slavonians, the Magyars number only about one-half. Xeverthc-less, Xeverthc-less, they hold 40:5 sears iu the diet, while the other I non-Magyar half of the population only holds ten seats. This state of things is rendered possible bv the fact that the franchise is as restricted as it was. ! in these countries before, the first reform act. and ' because the leaders of the Magyars, being the aris- j tocrats and landoerats of the country, play upon j the patriotic, susceptibilities of their humbler fellows, fel-lows, in order to secure the continuoncc of the domination dom-ination they now constantly misuse. The recent proposal of Baron Fejervary. the j acting premier of Hungary, to the emperor for the ! establishment of an enlarged franchise, almost equivalent to a system of manhood suffrage, Avas undoubtedly a bold stroke, but it is doubtful, if only on this account, that the aged emperor will adopt it. Its mere promulgation, however, has thoroughly alarmed the Magyars, anil they are now quite capable of rushing into any extremes in order to lend some sIioav of substance to the pretence that they really compose "the Hungarian nation." The acfual truth is that, if the emperor had only the j courage and wit to mount his charger and go forth amongst the people, they would follow the beck of i his saber and leave the Magyar agitators and politicians poli-ticians in a position of imporency. This fact is quite clearly recognized iu England, where desperate efforts are being made by some of the Unionist papers to represent the present state of things in Hungary as alfording a convincing argument ar-gument against the granting of Home Pule to Ireland. Ire-land. In pursuance of this policy, the Magyars an; constantly represented as if they were actually what they pretend to be namely, the whole Hungarian Hun-garian people. The truth is that in Hungary, as in Ireland, the people have many interests distinct from those of every agitator or politician Avho as- 1 sumes authority to speak iu their name, and that a really sagacious monarch would make direct ap-i ap-i peal to the hearts and minds of the democracy as a whole. x i |
