The North Otago Times SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1916 RUMANIA'S CALL.

North Otago Times, Volume CIV, Issue 13662, 2 September 1916, Page 4

The North Otago Times SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1916 RUMANIA'S CALL.

.Recent cable,messages anomvced that 0iic.,.,0f the. dearest ambitions 'of fiumania is the Banat ofTemesvar, l''or-ce»turie,s -thc--A'oiee'of .the -Riimanlans in Transylvania has-called- across the Carpathians, but Eumania has been impotent in face of the great problems that have, from,time, immemorial troubled the peoples' of the Near East. It is an historic fact that the most important problem-in Hungary, with its heterogeneous and polyglot population, is Me question of .nationalities. The aim of Hungarian statesmen lutp been to transform this-polyglot kingdom into a homogeneous 'Magyar Stale, and this policy'of Magyarisatipn lias been ■ ■carried ■ cm- ceaselessly, ami in many instances liy ruthless methods. .Bill, jnsi. as, liic .Magyars had' opposed all atlempis of (I'ermnni'zalion by the ■Vicuna, (.I'overnincnt, 50...n0w the Slavonic nationalities—l lie Croats, Serbs', 'Jfiillifi'iaiis—as well as liu; JJiiiiianiuns; who form the.majority of'the popula'' (ion in Transylvania, resisted all attempts at. Magyarizaliou. In the last century -the Hungarians revolted

against Austrian misrule in tin* iiiiinii of liberty, Tlioir struggles aroused the warmest, synipathy-r .in! .England; and tliuir leaders became heroes in British eyes. The Hungarian cause appealed to the Knglish people all (lie more •strongly .as they were told that the Hungarians were a democratic people, who had possessed parliamentary institutions since the earliest times, InHungary received full - self-" government, ;luid.'. as soon as ; t)Vey had' obtained this boon, Hie .Magyars' began' '•nielly to oppress nil the noii-.Mugyur races dwelling in Hungary. Although;' Hungary is nominally.a democratic! State possessed of parliamentary institutions, if is in reality an oligarchy of the crudest type. The census lias been juggled with so that the number of .Magyars is very greatly .overstated and that of the Rumanians gi;eatly understated. It is estimated' that the Rumanians in Transylvania number about .'!.i)UO,f)oo. In'; other: words, there are two Magyars in every Kuniaman, while, according to the census Hgures, there are about three Magyars to every single .Rumanian.. The fundamental, principle of democracy is •justice. .Hut the barest justice is not allowed the Rumanians in Hungary, and Rumania is in the war to-day to gain her national aspirations,; that is, to .say, to emancipate the millions of Rumanians 'who

'dwell in the countries immediately contiguous to her own. In Hungary, parliiuneiitary representation is a. sham ami a fraud.. Despite the fact that the Rumanians are numerically the strongest of the subject races dwelling in Hungary, (hoy have only five members on the Hungarian Parliament of 413 representatives, while the Magyar members occupy 404 seats! The ".Rumanians occupy the Banat of Tcmesvar and the- form 'of self-govcrnniens

which they -auce enjoyed was taken away from them by the Magyars by fraud, trickery and violence. On .paper Hungary is a democracy, and different nationalities are treated with perfect equality. If an Hungarian is accused of being unjust and unfair to the subject races he Tvill* point to the Hungarian Law of Nationalities. This law however, i 3 a dead loiter. , In Transylvania, which is the goal of Eumania, there are 200,000 Magyars who dwell among. 1,500,000 Rumanians; neverthe-

less, the legislators have, by a judicious configuration of the electoral districts, arranged that the Magyars obtain a majority of the votes polled. In the districts inhabited by Rumanians there is one member of Parliament to every 50,000 to GO,OOO inhabitants. Among the Magyars there is one member to every 4000 to 5000. The abuses and acts of violence that take place at election time prompted flic Rumanians to resolve to withdraw altogether from the Reichstag at Budapest. But their language, their customs, and their institutions, have survived notwithstanding all. attempts at denationalising ihem'.'-'Despite'the Hungarian Law of Nationalities, in .the whole of the King-

(loin of Hungary there is neither a single holiest nor a second highest county official of Rumanian race. There is not a single President of the Law Courts for* which there arc sixty-five) who is a Rumanian, All the judges and justices arc'mostly men who do not know Rumanian,' and.the Law Courts business is exclusive]}- transacted in the Magyar language. Tn all the Government offices the Rumanian language is absolutely excluded. There is not.a single Rumanian educational institution supported by the State. There is not a a single university. The Rumanians iu Hungary have not been given a single intermediate school, not a single commercial or agricultural school,and not a single teachers' training school. Besides, they have been denied the privilege of being allowed lo establish voluntary intermediate schools with their own means. .Discretionary powers over the Rumanian press has been given to the publie .prosecutors, and this has enabled .them to suppress the expression of views which arc not approved by the Government. Tn LSfIS a deputation, composed of tlir.ee hundred of the most prominent Rumanians of Hungary, was sent to Vienna Id present a petition to I'ac Emperor-King; but the Hungarian Government put pressure upon the Empojw; s\ nd prevented the. petilioh being received. As the Humniiian leaders lia.d 'been prevented from present: iug this petition to the Emperor, they printed it rs a pamphlet, Although it was 'written in a tone of studied moderation, and although the facts given in the petition were indisputably correct, its .authors and signatories wore prosecuted by the Hungarian Government "for incitement against the Magyar nationality." The jury was exclusively composed of Magyar chauvinists, the counsel for the defence was iined and intimidated by the Magyar judge until they laid down their office. , The defendants received together thlrty : one years and two mouths of imprisonment for, having ventured fo exercise their legal rights of petitioning their Sovereign. Victory for the"Entente 'Powers means everything to the'■' Rumanians who arc. being, oppressed'by. Magyar misrule. For two years—since the outbreak of the world war— : the. inarticulate'* cry of the Rumanians in Hungary-has gone across tlio Carpathians to ''their brothers in Rumania. The psychological moment for which they have waited centuries has arrived. To-day the tramp of armed men aitd the roar of the cannons of liberation -resound through the Transylvanian Alps. The day of Magyar misrule and

tyranny is passing, and from the smoke and stress of war, a (Greater Rumania will arise and before long Hungary will reap the harvest, of hatred she has sown with so lavish a hand among the dAvellers in Transylvania, wlio have resisted all attempts of the ".Prussians of Hungary" to denationalise (hem and their'. I'liildren.