Gentlemen, I do not propose at this hour of the night, to entertain you by any general disquisition upon the value of human freedom, upon the inalienable rights of man, or upon any general topics of that kind; but I wish to say a few words upon the precise question, as I understand it, that exists before the civilized world, between Hungary and the Austrian Government, and I may arrange the thoughts to which I desire to give utterance under two or three general heads.
And in the first place I say, that wherever there is in the Christian and civilized world a nationality of character—wherever there exists a nation of sufficient knowledge and wealth and population to constitute a Government, then a National Government is a necessary and proper result of nationality of character. We may talk of it as we please, but there is nothing that satisfies the human being in an enlightened age, unless he is governed by his own countrymen and the institutions of his own Government. No matter how easy be the yoke of a foreign Power, no matter how lightly it sits upon the shoulders, if it is not imposed by the voice of his own nation and of his own country, he will not, he cannot, and he means not to be happy under its burden.
There is not a civilized and intelligent man on earth that enjoys entire satisfaction in his condition, if he does not live under the government of his own nation—his own country, whose volitions and sentiments and sympathies are like his own. Hence he cannot say "This is not my country; it is the country of another Power; it is a country belonging to somebody else." Therefore, I say that whenever there is a nation of sufficient intelligence and numbers and wealth to maintain a government, distinguished in its character and its history and its institutions, that nation cannot be happy but under a government of its own choice.
Then, sir, the next question is, whether Hungary, as she exists in our ideas, as we see her, and as we know her, is distinct in her nationality, is competent in her population, is also competent in her knowledge and devotion to correct sentiment, is competent in her national capacity for liberty and independence, to obtain a government that shall be Hungarian out and out? Upon that subject, gentlemen, I have no manner of doubt. Let us look a little at the position in which this matter stands. What is Hungary?
Hungary is about the size of Great Britain, and comprehends nearly half of the territory of Austria.
[According to one authority its population is 14 millions and a half.]
It is stated by another authority that the population of Hungary is nearly 14,000,000; that of England (in 1841) nearly 15,000,000; that of Prussia about 16,000,000.
Thus it is evident that, in point of power, so far as power depends upon population, Hungary possesses as much power as England proper, or even as the kingdom of Prussia. Well, then, there is population enough—there are people enough. Who, then, are they? They are distinct from the nations that surround them. They are distinct from the Austrians on the west, and the Turks on the east; and I will say in the next place that they are an enlightened nation. They have their history; they have their traditions; they are attached to their own institutions—institutions which have existed for more than a thousand years.
Gentlemen, it is remarkable that, on the western coasts of Europe, political light exists. There is a sun in the political firmament, and that sun sheds his light on those who are able to enjoy it. But in eastern Europe, generally speaking, and on the confines between eastern Europe and Asia, there is no political sun in the heavens. It is all an arctic zone of political life. The luminary, that enlightens the world in general, seldom rises there above the horizon. The light which they possess is at best crepuscular, a kind of twilight, and they are under the necessity of groping about to catch, as they may, any stray gleams of the light of day. Gentlemen, the country of which your guest to-night is a native is a remarkable exception. She has shown through her whole history, for many hundreds of years, an attachment to the principles of civil liberty, and of law and order, and obedience to the constitution which the will of the great majority have established. That is the fact; and it ought to be known wherever the question of the practicability of Hungarian liberty and independence are discussed. It ought to be known that Hungary stands out from it above her neighbours in all that respects free institutions, constitutional government, and a hereditary love of liberty.
Gentlemen, my sentiments in regard to this effort made by Hungary are here sufficiently well expressed. In a memorial addressed to Lord John Russell and Lord Palmerston, said to have been written by Lord Fitzwilliam, and signed by him and several other Peers and members of Parliament, the following language is used, the object of the memorial being to ask the mediation of England in favour of Hungary.