e fact
of England being a monarchy cannot be sufficient reason for her to hate
and discredit republican forms of government in other countries
differing in circumstances, in wishes, and in wants. On the other side,
to the United States of America, which under republican government are
likewise great, glorious, and free, their republicanism gives no
sufficient reason to hate and discredit monarchical government in
England. It entirely belongs to the right of every nation to dispose of
its domestic concerns. Therefore I claim for my own country also, that
England, seeing from our past that our cause is just, should profess the
sovereign right of every nation to dispose of itself, and should allow
no power whatever to interfere with our domestic matters. Since I thus
regard the internal affairs of every nation to be its own separate
concern, I did not think it became me here in England to speak about the
future organization of our country.

But my behavior has not been everywhere appreciated as I hoped. I have
met in certain quarters the remark that I "am slippery, and evade the
question." Now on the point of sincerity I am particularly susceptible.
I have the sentiment of being a straightforward man, and I would not be
charged with having stolen into the sympathies of England without
displaying my true colours. Therefore I must clearly state, that in our
past struggle it was NOT _we_ who made a revolution. We began
peacefully and legislatively to transform the monarchico-aristocratical
constitution of Hungary into a monarchico-democratical constitution. We
preserved our municipal institutions, as our most valuable treasure; but
to them, as well as to the legislative power, we gave, as basis, the
common liberty of the people, instead of the class-privileges of old.
Moreover, in place of the old Board of Council,--which, being a
corporate body, was of course a mockery in regard to that responsibility
of the Executive, which was our chartered right on paper,--we
established the real and personal responsibility of ministers. In this,
we merely[*] upheld what was due to us by constitution, by treaties, by
the coronation-oath of every king,--the right to be "governed as a
self-consistent, independent country, by our native institutions,
according to our own laws." This and all our other reforms we effected
peacefully by careful legislation, which the King sanctioned and swore
to maintain.

[Footnote *: Many Englishmen have un