T HE world respects a man who knows his own mind,
and looks with favour upon Count Tisza's struggle with the forces which in the name of Constitutionalism are doing their best to make Parliamentary government in Hungary impossible. The events of Tuesday will not impair this sympathy. On that day at 10 o'clock the new Session of the Hungarian Parliament was to be opened. An hour before the time a mob of Opposition Deputies arrived at the Chamber, and forced their way to the Hall through policemen and the new Parliamentary guards, who were either overpowered by numbers or scrupled to lay hands upon the chosen of the people. There was a fierce scrimmage, the Captain of the guard was wounded, and his men thought it wise to beat a hurried retreat. Then began one of those scenes of childish outrage which are specially associated with representative assemblies when they lose their heads. The Premier's chair, the benches, and the furniture generally were torn up, broken, and piled in the middle of the floor ; while the Deputies per- formed a corybantic dance around the heap, and a certain Clerical Deputy in cassock and violet sash perched him- self on the top. Small wonder that observers saw in the performance an omen of clerical supremacy throned on the ruins of Parliament. Meanwhile the mob which had entered with the Deputies proceeded to wreck the other parts of the building, stripping the velvet from the seats and tear- ing down the panelling. On this Bacchic scene punctually at the stroke of 10 appeared the Opposition leaders to survey with satisfaction the execution of their plan. On the Sunday before Count Albert Apponyi had proclaimed " passive 7' resistance as the Opposition policy ; and the world is curious to learn his definition of passivity. M. Kossuth saw in the spectacle "the political maturity of the Magyars, who, after asserting their rights, refrain from excess " ; and we are equally curious to known what he understands by moderation. Then ensued as scandalous a scene as ever disgraced a popular Chamber. The leaders were photographed in various attitudes, like Marius among the ruins, and were kept busy signing their names on broken table-legs as souvenirs of the happy day for their followers. Count Tisza looked in for a minute, and regarded the sight with curious, and no doubt complacent, eyes ; for, like the rest of the world, he must recognise that these posturing Deputies have turned their cause into a farce. An agitation may succeed in the paths of tragedy, but it is damned if it touches the comic. The Government played the wise part, and left the rioters alone. Two o'clock came, the legal time for closing the sitting, and the day passed with Parliament unopened. What Count Tisza will do does not yet appear. So far he has acted with great discretion, having summoned a Conference of the Liberal party and discussed the facts soberly before it. If the Opposition thought to make government impossible in so crude a fashion, they would soon learn, he said, that they were mistaken. They had committed criminal acts, and they must answer for such acts before the Courts of Law. He added, what is doubt- less true, that any hope of arriving at an amicable compromise on the question of Parliamentary pro- cedure was now at an end. The Opposition had declared war, and war they must have. There could be no compromise until law and order had regained their authority. In this attitude we believe that the Premier is fully supported by the people of Hungary. He stands for the sane and liberal view of Parliamentary government. No democratic institution can permit anarchy within itself, for disorder should be as foreign to a popular aa, to an aristocratic rt:gime. As things stand, the Liberals have an effective strength of 260 votes, as against the 190 votes of the Opposition,—an ample work- ing majority. But certain factious elements in opposi- tion, finding themselves impotent to carry their point by Constitutional means, resorted to a species of obstruction which brought the Parliamentary machine to a standstill. Count Tisza desired to give Parliament a power of closure by revising its procedure, a power essential to its efficiency. The Opposition raised the cry of illegality and tampering with the Constitution, and in their enthusiasm for the "continuity of legal right" have brought most of their number within the pale of the law. In such a crisis sober public opinion all over the country, even when it is opposed on other grounds to the Government, must side with the Premier against the obstructionists. Count Tisza's one mistake was the creation of the special Parlia- mentary police, recruited from ex-Guardsmen, to provide against riot. Such a precaution only stimulates disorder ; and in most cases, as in this, is perfectly unable to restrain it. In other respects his conduct has been unim- peachable. In his speech to his party he deprecated any hasty act, done in irritation, that might have the effect of fanning the flames which had been kindled. But he added that if the Opposition sought a "bodyguard from the pavement," and attempted to hold the streets, it would be his duty to show that "in Hungary every man has his rights, but mob law is not supreme." There seems good hope, however, that this contingency will not arise. The mass of opinion in Budapest is on his side, the action of Count Apponyi and his friends being deprecated even in many Opposition circles. Elsewhere in the country the Government's supporters are in a great majority. The Premier added that if it became impossible to hold sittings of Parliament, he would at once appeal to the nation. We believe that, whatever happens, this would be the wisest course. It will give proof of the Constitutional loyalty of the Government, and it will take the only serious weapon from the Opposition's hands. If Count Tisza dissolves, he goes to the country with as strong a case as ever leader had to fight opponents who have dis- credited themselves by acts which are both blunders and crimes.
For it is clear that the Opposition have played away their best cards. Probably Count Tisza's conduct in his pro- posed reform of Parliamentary procedure was not above criticism. Possibly he played a high-handed game, and infringed certain legal technicalities. But he acted on Constitutional lines, and it behoved his opponents, who stood as defenders of the Constitution, to follow his example. Instead of that, they have broken the law in the name of legality, and in their zeal for the Constitution have struck at the very tradition which makes Constitutionalism possible. If Count Tisza neglected the form, they have done their best to destroy both form and spirit. There is no figure in history more futile than the Constitutionalist who has had recourse to unconstitutional methods. He becomes an outlaw from his own creed, an ineffective creature thinking one policy and acting other. But the Opposition have not only given away their logical justification,—they have made themselves ridiculous. To smash up furniture and be photographed among the debris is conduct calcu- lated to make the sternest patriot look foolish; and ridicule, as we have said, is a bad thing for a promising agitation to begin with. These autographed table-legs will not soon be forgotten. So far as we can judge, the majority of their countrymen seem disposed to take this view of their performance. It appears to them disorderly, and therefore to be discountenanced,—silly, and therefore to be discounted. But the most serious fault of the Opposition lies in the aim which is admitted to be implicit in their policy. They wish to make such a serious dis- turbance that Count Tisza will be prejudiced with the Emperor, and ultimately, they hope, disavowed by him. The Emperor is an old man and a lover of peace; but he is also a very wise and experienced statesman, and is not likely to be misled by so specious a trick. And in the eyes of their countrymen this manceuvre is calculated to do them irreparable harm. Under a pretence of defending popular rights, they are in reality playing the game of a jealous courtier striving to oust a rival from the Royal favour, and their methods are on a par with their inten- tions. Their rowdiness is a crime against the Constitution, but their purpose is an offence against political honesty.
THE TRUE DOCTRINE OF MONARCHY.
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