Baron Rauch took proceedings against Mrazović for libel
in the military courts, but Mrazović substantiated his accusations
and was acquitted. Baron Rauch resigned, and the Nationalist Party
scored its first victory. He was succeeded by Ban Bedeković, another
Hungarian nominee, who was, however, unable to prevent a triumphant
Nationalist victory in the election of 1871. The Hungarians asserted
that this victory had been subsidized by funds from Russia and Serbia,
and this accusation contains the substance of all subsequent charges of
high treason. The Opposition replied with a manifesto, in which they
clearly set forth the gravity of the numerous infringements of the
constitution. Because of this manifesto, the Government wished to take
proceedings against the leaders of the Opposition for high treason, but
they refrained through fear of offending European public opinion. At
this time the Constitutionalist Kvaternik, a good patriot but wholly
unpractical, started an armed rebellion among the peasantry in the
Rakovica district. It was put down by a strong military force, and
Kvaternik lost his life. The October manifesto, in conjunction with
the rebellion in Rakovica, afforded Andrassy (then Minister of Foreign
Affairs) a pretext for opposing every form of Slavophile policy and
ascribing both the manifesto and the rebellion to Russian influence.
The policy then inaugurated remains in force to this day. Brutal
Imperialism is rampant in Croatia, and the Agreement has become a
mere “scrap of paper.” But oppression begets opposition, and during
these critical times the Southern Slavs found not only their greatest
tyrant but their greatest patriot. From 1883 to 1903 Count Carl
Khuen-Hedervary was Ban of Croatia, and the twenty years of his
administration have been the blackest period as regards political,
economic and personal thraldom. Countless Magyar schools were scattered
throughout the country to promote the denationalization of the people;
espionage and Secret Police flourished as in Darkest Russia. The
archives of the State, with the Constitutional Charters of Croatia,
Slavonia and Dalmatia, were incorporated with the State archives in
Budapest, and, _last but not least, the Agreement itself was falsified
by the pasting of a slip of paper over the specification of Fiume as a
“Corpus separatum adnexæ rex”_ converting it into a “corpus separatum
adnexæ _Hungariam_,” whereby this important Croatian seaport became
exclusively Hungarian property. But this same period also witnessed
the labours of the greatest of all Southern Slavs, the benefactor and
father of his people, Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer.
II.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account