6. Against the dual system and the will for annexation, against peace based on violence, and, still more emphatically, against the shameful exploitation of Czecho-Slovak territory through requisitions and incessant contributions. The Czecho-Slovak Deputies added: An attempt is being made to starve our country, which was the granary of the whole Hapsburg Monarchy, and whose population, alike in villages and cities, is now suffering atrociously from famine and misery. Our declaration is, above all, a unanimous manifestation of the collective will of the nation. It proves: That the Czecho-Slovak Nation is firmly resolved to dispose henceforth of its own life and goods and children by the sole agency of its freely elected representatives. That our nation and, first and foremost, our women demand a general and just peace, which alone can bring liberty and independence to the nation, and which alone can cause justice to reign in the whole world. That we wish henceforth to live our own life in a State of our own, as a member of a society of free nations, a society that will solve without violence the questions that arise between peoples, depending upon a friendly understanding, and thus bringing happiness to liberated humanity. When the Austro-Hungarian Government under Premier von Seidler found itself confronted by a hostile Slavic majority in the Reichsrat, threatening the defeat of its war budgets, Emperor Charles empowered the Premier to "adjourn Parliament forthwith and inaugurate measures to render impossible the resumption of its activities." This was done on May 4. The Parliament had been composed of 233 Germans, 108 Czechs, 92 Poles, 33 Ruthenians, 42 Jugoslavs, and 19 Italians. The Germans had considerably less than a majority. In another respect the suppression of Parliament was viewed as a concession to the Magyars. Those holding reign in Hungary since 1867 had been resentful at the claims of the Czechs and the Jugoslavs, fearing that the Government would be forced to make some concessions to them. If the project of unity were realized Hungary would be reduced to about half of its present size. On several occasions the Magyars had called on the Government at Vienna to suppress the Parliamentary agitation, threatening to form a separate Hungarian army and impose restrictions on the exportation of foodstuffs. The Government, in a public statement, ascribed its action to the food crisis, which was very acute, adding: "The Government will devote its entire strength to the economic problem and will try to create conditions required to enable the population to hold out." THE PREMIER'S ADMISSION