Select Speeches of Kossuth - Kossuth
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The oppression of Hungary has ratified the oppression of all our
continent. Since she has fallen, Italy has been completely crushed, the
moderate freedom of Germany has been put down by Austria with the
support of Russia; lastly, the usurpation of Louis Napoleon has been
made possible. Without the restoration of Hungary Europe cannot be freed
from Russian thraldom; under which nationalities are erased, no freedom
is possible, all religions are subjected to like slavery. Gentlemen! the
Emperor Napoleon spoke a prophetic word, when he said that in fifty
years all Europe would be either republican or Cossack. Hungary once
free, Europe is republican; Hungary permanently crushed, all Europe is
Cossack. And what does Hungary _need_ for freedom? Not that other
nations should fight our proper battle against our immediate oppressor.
We have hearts loving freedom and ready to shed their blood for it; we
have armies fully equal to Austria, we want only "FAIR PLAY." Let the
United States feel itself to be as it is, a Power on earth, bound to aid
in the police of the nations, and in the name of violated right let it
say to the Russian intruder, "Keep back, hands off, let the brave
Magyars fight their own battle, _else_ we must take their part."
For centuries, perhaps, you will have no more glorious opportunity than
now. Hitherto, the word Glory has been connected with conquest and
oppression. Take the New Glory for yours, by assuring to all nations
exemption from the conspiracy of tyrants. That is what I _first_
humbly request and hope.
[Kossuth proceeded, as in former speeches, to explain his other
requests, viz. _secondly_, free commerce with America, whether
Hungary was in war with Austria or not; _thirdly_, that when the
suitable moment arrived, the Government should recognize the legitimate
character of the Declaration of Independence made by Hungary in April,
1849. He added]:--
These requests I have very often explained since I have had the honour
to be in the United States. I explained them yesterday in
Philadelphia--the cradle of your Declaration of Independence. There I
was answered, not only by the unanimous adoption of these resolutions on
the part of the city of Harrisburg the capital of Pennsylvania, but also
by the people of Philadelphia, at a great and important meeting. Nor was
that enough. I received more in Philadelphia. I was told that, besides
the granting of these my humble requests, whenever war breaks out for
Hungary's freedom and independence I shall find brave hearts and stout
arms among the twenty-four millions of the people of the United States
ready to go over to Europe and fight side by side in the great battle
for the freedom and independence of the European continent. I was told
that it was not possible, when the battle for mankind's liberty is
fought, for the sword of Washington to rest in its scabbard. That sword,
which struck the first blow here on this continent for the republican
freedom of this great country, must be present there, where the last
stroke for all humanity will be given. Now, gentlemen, I will not abuse
your kind indulgence and patience, which you have bestowed in your
crowded situation. I will only say, that should this be the generous
will of the people of the United States, in the name of the honour of my
nation I can give the assurance that the Hungarians will be found worthy
to fight side by side with you for civil and political freedom on the
European continent, and to take care, with the sword of Washington, that
no hair of that lock which I received as a present in Philadelphia, and
which I promised to attach to that very standard which I will bear to
decide the victory against despotism--that no hair of that lock shall
fall into the hands of tyrants. And now may the ladies who have honoured
me with their presence graciously allow me to express to them my most
humble thanks and one humble prayer. The destinies of mankind--the
future of humanity--repose in the hands of womanhood. The mark which the
mother imprints upon the brow of the child remains for his whole life.
Ladies of the United States, when the wandering exile passes away from
your presence, take to your kind care the great cause of the liberty of
the world with the tenderness with which a mother takes care of her
child; and when _you_ take care of this great cause, the sympathy
of the people of the United States will not vanish like the passing
emotion of the heart, but will become substantial, active, and
effectual.
The speaker then took his seat, with three times three from the
audience.
Judge Legrand followed and proposed the Harrisburg resolutions, which
were adopted. They are as annexed:--
Resolved,--That the citizens of Harrisburg, the seat of government of
Pennsylvania, in town meeting assembled, hereby approve and endorse the
three propositions promulgated by Louis Kossuth, Governor of Hungary, in
his great speech before the Mayor and authorities of the city of New
York, viz.:--
"First. That feeling interested in the maintenance of the laws of
nations, acknowledging the sovereign right of every people to dispose of
its own domestic concerns to be one of the laws, and the interference
with this sovereign right to be a violation of these laws of nations,
the people of the United States--resolved to respect and to make
respected these public laws--declares the Russian past intervention in
Hungary to be a violation of these laws, which, if reiterated, would be
a new violation, and would not be regarded indifferently by the people
of the United States.
"Second. That the people of the United States are resolved to maintain
its right of commercial intercourse with the nations of Europe, whether
they be in a state of revolution against their government or not; and
that, with the view of approaching scenes on the continent of Europe,
the people invite the government to take appropriate measures for the
protection of the trade of the people with the Mediterranean.
"Third. That the people of the United States should declare their
opinion in respect to the question of the independence of Hungary, and
urge the government to act accordingly."
Resolved, That the people of Hungary are, and ought to remain a free and
independent nation; that Louis Kossuth is their lawful governor, and
that the Hungarian people should not be prevented from exercising the
rights of freemen by the tyranny of Austria and Russia.
Resolved, That we extend to Louis Kossuth, Governor of Hungary, and the
Hungarian nation, that has made such a noble stand in the cause of
freedom, that sympathy, aid, and support, which freemen alone know how
to grant.
Resolved, That a committee of fifteen, including the officers of this
meeting, be appointed to repair to Philadelphia, and invite the Governor
of Hungary to visit the capital of Pennsylvania at such times as may
suit his convenience.
* * * * *
XVI.--NOVELTIES IN AMERICAN REPUBLICANISM.
[_Washington Banquet, Jan. 5th_, 1852.]
The Banquet given by a large number of the Members of the two Houses of
Congress to Kossuth took place at the National Hotel, in Washington
City. The number present was about two hundred and fifty. The Hon. Wm.
R. King, of Alabama, president of the Senate, presided. On his right sat
Louis Kossuth, and on his left the Hon. Daniel Webster, Secretary of
State. On the right of Kossuth at the same table, sat the Hon. Linn
Boyd, speaker of the House of Representatives. Besides other
distinguished guests who responded to toasts, are named Hon. Thomas
Corwin, Secretary of the Treasury, and Hon. Alex. H. H. Stuart,
Secretary of the Interior.
A few minutes after eight o'clock, a large number of ladies were
admitted, and the President of the Senate requested gentlemen to fill
their glasses for the first toast, which was,
"The President of the United States."
To this, Mr. Webster responded.
The President then announced the second toast:
"The Judiciary of the United States: The expounder of the Constitution
and the bulwark of liberty regulated by law."
Judge Wayne, of the Supreme Court of the United States, replied, and
after alluding to "The distinguished stranger" who was then among them,
said: I give you, gentlemen, as a sentiment:
"Constitutional liberty to all the nations of the earth, supported by
Christian faith and the morality of the Bible."
The toast was received with enthusiastic applause.
The third toast was,--
"The Navy of the United States: The home squadron everywhere. Its glory
was illustrated, when its flag in a foreign sea gave liberty and
protection to the Hungarian Chief."
Mr. Stanton, of Tennessee, in his reply, said:
But recently, Mr. President, a new significance has been given to this
flag. Heretofore, the navy has been the symbol of our power and the
emblem of our liberty, but now it speaks of humanity and of a noble
sympathy for the oppressed of all nations. _The home squadron
everywhere_, to give protection to the brave and to those who may
have fallen in the cause of freedom! Your acquiescence in that sentiment
indicates the profound sympathy of the people of the United States for
the people of Hungary, manifested in the person of their great chief;
and I can conceive of no duty that would be more acceptable to the
gallant officers of the navy of the United States except one, and that
is, _to strike a blow for liberty themselves in a just cause, approved
by our Government_.
The fourth toast was,--
"The army of the united states. In saluting the illustrious Exile with
magnanimous courtesy, as high as it could pay to any Power on earth, it
has added grace to the glory of its history."
General Shields, Senator for Illinois, Chairman of the Committee of
Military Affairs in the Senate, being loudly called for, replied in the
necessary absence of General Scott, the chief of the army; and after an
appropriate acknowledgment of the toast, added:
In paving this very high honor to our illustrious guest--this noble
Hungarian--let me observe that that army which has been toasted to-night
spoke for his reception by the voice of their cannon; and the cannon
that spoke there spoke the voice of twenty-five millions of people. Sir,
that salute which the American cannon gave the Hungarian exile had a
deep meaning in it. It was not a salute to the mere man Louis Kossuth,
but it was a salute in favour of the great principle which he
represents--the principle which he advocates, the principle of
nationality and of human liberty. Sir, I was born in a land which has
suffered as an oppressed nation. I am now a citizen of a land which
would have suffered from the same power, had it not been for the
bravery, gallantry, and good fortune of the men of that time. Sir, as an
Irishman by birth, and an American by adoption, I would feel myself a
traitor to both countries if I did not sustain downtrodden nationalities
everywhere--in Hungary, in Poland, in Germany, in Italy--everywhere
where man is trodden down and oppressed. And, sir, I say again, that
that army which maintained itself in three wars against one of the
greatest and most powerful nations of the world, will, if the trying
time should come again, maintain that same flag (the stars and stripes)
and the same triumph, and the same victories in the cause of liberty.
[Great applause.]
The president of the evening then, after a cordial speech, proposed the
fifth toast:
"Hungary, represented in the person of our honoured Guest, having proved
herself worthy to be free by the virtues and valour of her sons, the law
of nations and the dictates of justice alike demand that she shall have
fair play in her struggle for independence."
This toast was received with immense applause, which lasted several
minutes.
Kossuth then rose and spoke as follows:
Sir: As once Cineas the Epirote stood among the Senators of Rome, who,
with a word of self-conscious majesty, arrested kings in their ambitious
march--thus, full of admiration and of reverence, I stand amongst you,
legislators of the new Capitol, that glorious hall of your people's
collective majesty. The Capitol of old yet stands, but the spirit has
departed from it, and is come over to yours, purified by the air of
liberty. The old stands a mournful monument of the fragility of human
things: yours as a sanctuary of eternal right. The old beamed with the
red lustre of conquest, now darkened by the gloom of oppression; yours
is bright with freedom. The old absorbed the world into its own
centralized glory; yours protects your own nation from being absorbed,
even by itself. The old was awful with unrestricted power; yours is
glorious by having restricted it. At the view of the old, nations
trembled; at the view of yours, humanity hopes. To the old, misfortune
was introduced with fettered hands to kneel at triumphant conquerors'
feet; to yours the triumph of introduction is granted to unfortunate
exiles who are invited to the honour of a seat. And where Kings and
Caesars never will be hailed for their power and wealth, there the
persecuted chief of a downtrodden nation is welcomed as your great
Republic's guest, precisely because he is persecuted, helpless, and
poor. In the old, the terrible _voe victis!_ was the rule; in
yours, protection to the oppressed, malediction to ambitious oppressors,
and consolation to a vanquished just cause. And while from the old a
conquered world was ruled, you in yours provide for the common
federative interests of a territory larger than that old conquered
world. There sat men boasting that their will was sovereign of the
earth; here sit men whose glory is to acknowledge "the laws of nature
and of nature's God," and to do what their sovereign, the People, wills.
Sir, there is history in these contrasts. History of past ages and
history of future centuries may be often recorded in small facts. The
particulars to which the passion of living men clings, as if human
fingers could arrest the wheel of Destiny, these particulars die away;
it is the issue which makes history, and that issue is always coherent
with its causes. There is a necessity of consequences wherever the
necessity of position exists. Principles are the _alpha_: they must
finish with _omega_, and they will. Thus history may be often told
in a few words.
Before the heroic struggle of Greece had yet engaged your country's
sympathy for the fate of freedom, in Europe then so far distant and now
so near, Chateaubriand happened to be in Athens, and he heard from a
_minaret_ raised upon the Propylaeum's ruins a Turkish priest in
the Arabic language announcing the lapse of hours to the Christians of
Minerva's town. What immense history there was in the small fact of a
Turkish Imaum crying out, "Pray, pray! the hour is running fast, and the
judgment draws near."
Sir, there is equally a history of future ages written in the honour
bestowed by you on my humble self. The first Governor of Independent
Hungary, driven from his native land by Russian violence; an exile on
Turkish soil, protected by a Mahommedan Sultan from the blood-thirst of
Christian tyrants; cast back a prisoner to far Asia by diplomacy; was at
length rescued from his Asiatic prison, when America crossed the
Atlantic, charged with the hopes of Europe's oppressed nations. He
pleads, as a poor exile, before the people of this great Republic, his
country's wrongs and its intimate connection with the fate of the
European continent, and, in the boldness of a just cause, claims that
the principles of the Christian religion be raised to a law of nations.
To see that not only is the boldness of the poor exile forgiven, but
that he is consoled by the sympathy of millions, encouraged by
individuals, associations, meetings, cities, and States; supported by
effective aid and greeted by Congress and by Government as the nation's
guest; honoured, out of generosity, with that honour which only one man
before him received (a man who had deserved them from your gratitude,)
with honours such as no potentate ever can receive, and this banquet
here, and the toast which I have to thank you for: oh! indeed, sir,
there is a history of future ages in all these facts! They will go down
to posterity as the proper consequences of great principles.
Sir, though I have a noble pride in my principles, and the inspiration
of a just cause, still I have also the consciousness of my personal
insignificance. Never will I forget what is due from me to the
_Sovereign Source_ of my public capacity. This I owe to my
nation's dignity; and therefore, respectfully thanking this highly
distinguished assembly in my country's name, I have the boldness to say
that Hungary well deserves your sympathy; that Hungary has a claim to
protection, because it has a claim to justice. But as to myself, I am
well aware that in all these honours I have no personal share. Nay, I
know that even that which might seem to be personal in your toast, is
only an acknowledgment of a historical fact, very instructively
connected with a principle valuable and dear to every republican heart
in the United States of America. As to ambition, I indeed never was
able to understand how anybody can love ambition more than liberty. But
I am glad to state a historical fact, as a principal demonstration of
that influence which institutions exercise upon the character of
nations.
We Hungarians are very fond of the principle of municipal
self-government, and we have a natural horror against centralization.
That fond attachment to municipal self-government, without which there
is no provincial freedom possible, is a fundamental feature of our
national character. We brought it with us from far Asia a thousand
years ago, and we preserved it throughout the vicissitudes of ten
centuries. No nation has perhaps so much struggled and suffered for the
civilized Christian world as we. We do not complain of this lot. It may
be heavy, but it is not inglorious. Where the cradle of our Saviour
stood, and where His divine doctrine was founded, there now another
faith rules: the whole of Europe's armed pilgrimage could not avert this
fate from that sacred spot, nor stop the rushing waves of Islamism from
absorbing the Christian empire of Constantine. _We_ stopped those
rushing waves. The breast of my nation proved a breakwater to them. We
guarded Christendom, that Luthers and Calvins might reform it. It was a
dangerous time, and its dangers often placed the confidence of all my
nation into one man's hand. But there was not a single instance in our
history where a man honoured by his people's confidence deceived them
for his own ambition. The man out of whom Russian diplomacy succeeded in
making a murderer of his nation's hopes, gained some victories when
victories were the chief necessity of the moment, and at the head of an
army, circumstances gave him the ability to ruin his country; but he
never had the people's confidence. So even he is no contradiction to the
historical truth, that no Hungarian whom his nation honoured with its
confidence was ever seduced by ambition to become dangerous to his
country's liberty. That is a remarkable fact, and yet it is not
accidental; it springs from the proper influence of institutions upon
the national character. Our nation, through all its history, was
educated in the school of local self-government; and in such a country,
grasping ambition having no field, has no place in man's character.
The truth of this doctrine becomes yet more illustrated by a quite
contrary historical fact in France. Whatever have been the changes of
government in that great country--and many they have been, to be
sure--we have seen a Convention, a Directorate, Consuls, and one
Consul, and an Emperor, and the Restoration, and the Citizen King, and
the Republic; Through all these different experiments centralization was
the keynote of the institutions of France--power always centralized;
omnipotence always vested somewhere. And, remarkable indeed, France has
never yet raised one single man to the seat of power, who has not
sacrificed his country's freedom to his personal ambition!
It is sorrowful indeed, but it is natural. It is in the garden of
centralization that the venomous plant of ambition thrives. I dare
confidently affirm, that in your great country there exists not a single
man through whose brains has ever passed the thought, that he would wish
to raise the seat of his ambition upon the ruins of your country's
liberty, if he could. Such a wish is impossible in the United States.
Institutions react upon the character of nations. He who sows wind will
reap storm. History is the revelation of Providence. The Almighty rules
by eternal laws not only the material but also the moral world; and as
every law is a principle, so every principle is a law. Men as well as
nations are endowed with free-will to choose a principle, but, that once
chosen, the consequences must be accepted.
With self-government is freedom, and with freedom is justice and
patriotism. With centralization is ambition, and with ambition dwells
despotism. Happy your great country, sir, for being so warmly attached
to that great principle of self-government. Upon this foundation your
fathers raised a home to freedom more glorious than the world has ever
seen. Upon this foundation you have developed it to a living wonder of
the world. Happy your great country, sir! that it was selected by the
blessing of the Lord to prove the glorious practicability of a
federative union of many sovereign States, all preserving their
State-rights and their self-government, and yet united in one--every
star beaming with its own lustre, but altogether one constellation on
mankind's canopy.
Upon this foundation your free country has grown to prodigious power in
a surprizingly brief period, a power which attracts by its fundamental
principle. You have conquered by it more in seventy-five years than Rome
by arms in centuries. Your principles will conquer the world. By the
glorious example of your freedom, welfare, and security, mankind is
about to become conscious of its aim. The lesson you give to humanity
will not be lost. The respect for State-rights in the Federal Government
of America, and in its several States, will become an instructive
example for universal toleration, forbearance, and justice to the future
States, and Republics of Europe. Upon this basis those mischievous
questions of language-nationalities will be got rid of, which cunning
despotism has raised in Europe to murder liberty. Smaller States will
find security in the principle of federative union, while they will
preserve their national freedom by the principle of sovereign
self-government; and while larger States, abdicating the principle of
centralization will cease to be a blood-field to unscrupulous usurpation
and a tool to the ambition of wicked men, municipal institutions will
ensure the development of local elements; freedom, formerly an abstract
political theory, will be brought to every municipal hearth; and out of
the welfare and contentment of all parts will flow happiness, peace, and
security for the whole.
That is my confident hope. Then will the fluctuations of Germany's fate
at once subside. It will become the heart of Europe, not by melting
North Germany into a Southern frame, or the South into a Northern; not
by absorbing historical peculiarities into a centralized omnipotence;
not by mixing all in one State, but by federating several sovereign
States into a Union like yours.
Upon a similar basis will take place the national regeneration of
Sclavonic States, and not upon the sacrilegious idea of Panslavism,
which means the omnipotence of the Czar. Upon a similar basis shall we
see fair Italy independent and free. Not unity, but _union_ will
and must become the watchword of national members, hitherto torn rudely
asunder by provincial rivalries, out of which a crowd of despots and
common servitude arose. In truth it will be a noble joy to your great
Republic to feel that the moral influence of your glorious example has
worked this happy development in mankind's destiny; nor have I the
slightest doubt of the efficacy of that example.
But there is one thing indispensable to it, without which there is no
hope for this happy issue. It is, that the oppressed nations of Europe
become the masters of their future, free to regulate their own domestic
concerns. And to this nothing is wanted but to have that "fair play" to
all, _for_ all, which you, sir, in your toast, were pleased to
pronounce as a right of my nation, alike sanctioned by the law of
nations as by the dictates of eternal justice. Without this "fair play"
there is no hope for Europe--no hope of seeing your principles spread.
Yours is a happy country, gentlemen. You had more than fair play. You
had active and effectual aid from Europe in your struggle for
independence, which, once achieved, you used so wisely as to become a
prodigy of freedom and welfare, and a lesson of life to nations.