Hungary of to-day

Preface

So much ignorance still prevails concerning the great kingdom of Hungary that no apology is needed for some account of its constitution ; its relation to other states ; its commerce, internal administration and philanthropic societies, written for the most part by members of the Hungarian Government or by those who have been in large measure responsible for Government Departments.

Even to-day nothing is more noticeable than the confusion of thought which exists in respect of the relationship which Hungary bears to Austria. It is generally taken for granted that Hungary forms a part of the Austrian empire, and many publicists frequently refer to Austria as including Hungary, forgetting or ignoring the fact that in law Hungary is an independent kingdom. Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria, is King of Hungary by virtue of his election as apostolicus rex, and except for certain clearly defined and specific purposes, Hungary is an absolutely autonomous and independent state. The fact that for these specific purposes, such, for example, as war and foreign affairs, mutual arrangements have been made by virtue of which Austria-Hungary acts as one kingdom, does not in any degree lessen that independence.

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The hostile criticism which has fallen to the lot of Hungary is not always deserved or well founded. We are far too apt, in judging of the progress of Hungary, to use as our standard the Western nations which have not been involved, as in the case of that country, in external wars which have rendered the progress of social reform and industrial development almost impossible. It is only since 1867, the date of the " Ausgleich " or Compromise, that it has been possible for Hungary to devote attention to her own internal affairs, and to develop her own resources. We have to remember that the roots of modern Hungary, as we now understand it, are fixed in the 'forties of the last century, and that since that time a very large number of measures have been passed to forward the economic and social progress of the country, and for improving the conditions of the working classes. Those of us who are inclined to condemn the Hungarian Government as being reactionary, or lacking in sympathy with modern forms of industrial betterment, must remember how short a time she has had in which to achieve these reforms as compared with the older civilizations, who have even now to deplore vast gaps in the general plan of reform marked out by the common consent of civilized nations.

The great national revival led by Count Szechenyi, Julius Andrassy, Francis Deak and Louis Kossuth, which resulted in the Law of 1848, led to the abolition of the mediaeval system of land tenure, the abolition of many privileges of the nobility, and the formation of a modern responsible and parliamentary constitution. Since that time a

PREFACE vii

large number of Acts have been passed which have had for their avowed object the improvement of the conditions of the working classes, especially of the agricultural labourers, and the development of national industries. That much remains yet to be done and that there is urgent need of fresh legislation is admitted, but the contention that Hungary is still so far behind Western nations as to be sunk in barbarism, as one is almost tempted to believe after reading certain criticisms, will not bear the slightest investigation on the part of the unprejudiced student of politics.

In some respects Hungary leads the way and sets an example to Western nations. This is notably the case in her treatment of child life. Nothing is more striking than the methods employed in dealing with the waifs and strays and neglected children of both town and village, and the student of social questions will admire the carefully planned and scientific machinery for preventing the waste of child life which is all too common both in England and on the Continent.

This series of articles does not pretend to deal with what may be called the lighter side of Hungarian life, but those who are seeking for health and recreation would do well to visit a country which abounds in health resorts and picturesque scenery. Many of these health resorts are upon the domains, and under the control, of the State, and those situated in the region of the High Tatra in the Carpathians deserve special mention. We find in the High Tatra, which includes Tatra Fured, Tatra-Lomnicz, Lake Csorba, and the environs of Fenyohaza, the beginnings of a great viii PREFACE

national park developed on the right lines by the forethought of the Agriculture Department. The famous Hercules Bath in Cserna Vallev is one of true finest natural hot saline-sulphur springs in the world, while Vizakna, in Transylvania, is also noted for its salt and mud baths — the latter with wonderful iodine properties. When the cure is completed the visitor may well spend some time in exploring the natural beauties of Hungary, but no one should leave the country without paying a visit to the famous Iron Gates of the Danube, where the action of the Government has rendered navigable perhaps the most picturesque portion of that great river.

English visitors will find the Hungarians to be an extremely hospitable race. Their leading statesmen are full of admiration for this country and desirous of showing their friendly feeling in every way. If this book, technical as it may seem, serves the purpose of attracting more attention to a country about which little is known, but which, historically and geographically, is full of interest to the student and traveller, it will not have been written in vain. I have only to add that I have been materially helped in the reading and revision of the proofs by Mr. Eugene Golonya, Editor of " Hungary," Mr. A. L. DeLisle, and Mr. Edward E. Hayward, M.A., of the British Institute of Social Service.

Percy Alden

Contents

CHAP.

Preface

By Percy Alden, M.P v

Chapter I Hungary : Its Peoples, Industries And Finances

By Julius de Vargha, D. Juris., Director of the Central

Statistical Office of Hungary, etc.

i. The Country

The Hungarian kingdom takes rank as seventh among the states of Europe, in point both of territory and population. With an area of 324*851 square kilometres it exceeds in size such countries as Great Britain, Austria, and Italy : and the value of this extensive territory is enhanced by the mildness of the climate, the wealth of the soil, and the abundance of natural treasures.

Hungary lies in the centre of Europe, on the borders of East and West, a bastion of Western Europe projecting eastwards : the country indeed, for ten centuries of European history, played the part of a breakwater, against which the waves of Oriental barbarism dashed and were broken. With its sharply defined natural border, it has been destined by nature herself to be a uniform state.

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From the point where, on the west, the Danube enters Hungarian territory, to the point where, in the south-east, it leaves the country, the long chain of the Carpathians forms a huge semi-circle round Hungary : while the southern frontier is formed by the Lower Danube and the Save, in a channel corresponding to the northern line of the Carpathians. Thereby the whole country assumes the form of an ellipse, the regular shape of which is only broken by the neck of land projecting on the Adriatic Sea.

Besides the external formation, the orological and hydrographical conditions impart a peculiarly uniform character to the territory of Hungary. The long chain of mountains forming the northern and eastern frontiers throws branches out as far as the great plain stretching over the centre of the country. The rivers, too, all display a centripetal tendency, hastening to unite with the mighty stream of the Danube, and then continue their course towards the Black Sea. This distinctly concentric character makes the various parts of the country interdependent, and welds them into an organic whole : while their products, owing to their manifold nature, as it were complement each other.

In geological respects, practically every stratum, from the earliest geographical formations to the latest deposits of mud (clay) made by the rivers, is represented : though the latest formations, the diluvial and alluvial deposits, are the most preponacre

WINTER srORT IN THE HIGH TATRA. — I derant. These latter cover the surface of the small and great Hungarian Alfold (Lowlands), the greater part of the right bank of the Danube and of the district between the Drave and the Save, and provide that deep soil, rich in vegetable mould, in which is grown the Hungarian grain of unexcelled quality.

The chain of the Carpathians, one of the mightiest mountain ranges in Europe, offers a panorama strikingly rich in natural beauties. Though it cannot rival the wild masses of the Alps, and scarcely rises at all to the level of the regions of eternal snows, some parts of its long line rise to a very significant height, and many of its peaks exceed 2000 metres. Its highest peak on the north is 2663, that on the south-east 2534 metres high.

The best-known part of the Carpathians, which has recently been visited by large numbers of foreigners, is the High Tatra, which rises up in enormous proportions without any foothills at all. Its rugged, fissured granite rocks, covered with snow, that rise above a dark-green zone of thick pine forests, rank among the most enchanting natural beauties. At a great height, deep, crystal-clear lakes, the so called " tarns," present glittering mirrors playing in light and shade. At every step bubbling streams, and in places mighty waterfalls roar and blend with the bleak stillness of the dark pine forests. On the southern slopes of the Tatra a whole series of watering-places has been created, which attract pleasure-seekers longing to enjoy the delights of nature not only in summer, but, of recent years, in winter too. The gigantic rocky wall of the High Tatra protects the southern slopes from the north winds. After the winter snow has fallen, we get a long period of clear weather. A cloudless blue sky forms an enchanting canopy over the white snow-world, while the sun's rays are so hot that visitors are able to enjoy all the beauties of winter in a summer warmth. The whole neighbourhood is alive ; all kinds of winter sports are engaged in ; horse sleighs and bobsleighs, skis and snow-shoes offer a variety of amusement that attract even guests from all Europe.

The Eastern Carpathians, too, abound in wondrously beautiful spots that surprise even the most experienced tourists ; while at the most southern extremity of that range the Danube presents a series of natural beauties with which not even the valley of the Rhine can vie. The lower reaches of the Danube, from Bazias to Orsova, are quite unrivalled in their majestic wildness. The mighty river, shut in by rocky passes, carves its way by sheer force, forming eddying whirlpools and rushing torrents in its rapid course. It was to Hungary and Hungarian engineers that Europe entrusted the glorious task of overcoming the dangers to navigation of this stretch of water and opening it to the traffic of the world.

All the mountains of Hungary do not belong to the system of the Carpathians. On the west three branches of the Alps enter Hungarian territory. One of these stretches along the shores of the Adriatic ; a second extends east between the Save and the Drave ; while the third flanks the long frontier line of the country between the Drave and the Danube, and after being intersected by the valleys of rivers and being reduced in many places to low-lying hills, ends at the Danube, in the neighbourhood of Budapest. This branch of the Alps stretching towards the east, near Visegrad faces the spurs of the Carpathians, which also extend right down to the Danube where the mighty stream is enclosed by wooded mountains, constituting a magnificent panorama.

That part of the country which extends along the right bank of the Danube, the Pannonia of the Romans, is generally speaking composed of gentle slopes and more extensive flatlands. Here are situated the two largest lakes in Hungary, the Balaton and the Ferto. The former occupies an area of 690 square kilometres and stretches 76 kilometres in length, from N.E. to S.W. Its banks are flanked by watering-places : and from the hills surrounding it rich vineyards smile down upon us. On the very edge of Lake Balaton rises the huge basalt cone of Mount Badacsony, which produces excellent wine : while in the background, other cones, which are also the outcome of volcanic forces, may be seen, each of them crowned with the ruins of a castle. The right bank of the Danube, the home of a culture that has lasted, practically without a break, for over 1500 years, is still the most cultivated district in Hungary. Its soil cannot indeed vie with the deep vegetable mould of the Lowlands : but the long years of cultivation have not exhausted its fertility ; and it still yields one of the largest averages of natural produce, a fact which testifies to a rational system of cultivation.

The great Hungarian Lowlands are an enormous stretch of flat country with a surface of from 70 to 130 metres above the level of the sea. It occupies the central part of the country ; to the south it stretches right down to the frontier ; and on the N.E. it penetrates a long way into the Carpathians. There are slight elevations scattered over the infinite expanse of flatland, above which, in the close heat of the summer, the fairy-like phenomenon of the mirage may be seen hovering. Ever since the expulsion of the Turks, the depopulated Lowlands were mostly covered with pasturelands and marshes. Its few inhabitants tended their flocks and cattle on the rich meadows, while the interminable rush-brakes of the flooded districts swarmed with myriads of water-fowl. To-day the picture presented by the Lowlands is an entirely different one. Owing to the regulation of the rivers, the inundations have disappeared ; ploughed lands stretch over the spots once occupied by pastures ; in the sandy districts we meet flourishing vineyards and extensive orchards, and the confines of the more populous villages and towns are studded with white farm-houses.

The wide valleys and plateaus that skirt the Carpathians and the mountain ranges that in some places extend right into the heart of the country, into the large plains, are also well adapted for cultivation, in many parts for viticulture (the Hegyalja range that produces the world-famed Tokay wine is itself a spur of the Carpathians); but their natural wealth in wood, metals, and minerals predestines them as the home of industry, while the enormous water power available may also be employed for industrial purposes. The only things required are capital and a spirit of enterprise.

Though the whole territory of Hungary falls within 440 and 490 (latitude) North, /. e. within the temperate zone, yet there are great divergencies between the various parts of the country in respect of mean, minimum, and maximum temperature. The mean annual temperature varies between 5-4° and 14-2° C. The highest mean temperature is in a little inlet of the shores of the Adriatic, in the neighbourhood of Fiume : while the lowest is to be found on the skirts of the Carpathians, particularly in the N.E. and N. The annual mean temperature is generally a high one in the Lowlands, in the part of the Trans-Danubian district between Lake Balaton and the confluence of the Danube and Drave, and in the greater part of the territory lying between the Drave, the Danube, and the Save.

The monthly temperatures show considerable divergencies from the mean annual temperature. In January the temperature is highest in the western half of the country and lowers gradually towards the east. In July, on the other hand, it is highest on the sea-coast, and in the district between the southern frontier and the centre of the country on the right and left banks of the Tisza : though the greatest degree of warmth is to be found in the latter part. In accordance with its situation on the Continent the climate of Hungary is characterised by extremes — great heat in summer and extreme cold in winter. But enormous fluctuations have been observed in the same season, and actually in one and the same month.

In point of rainfall there are great divergencies between the several parts of the country. At the foot of the N.E. Carpathians there is an average annual rainfall of 1 500 millimetres (59/055 inches) ; in the Karst (mountain) district near the Adriatic the average annual rainfall is more than 2000 millimetres (about 79 inches) ; whereas in the Small Hungarian Lowlands it is only 500 millimetres, and in the Great Hungarian Lowlands about 600 millimetres. But even this comparatively slight rainfall is not distributed uniformly : and it often happens that a long summer drought spoils the growth of late spring plants and vegetables. Yet the restorative power of Hungarian soil is wonderful : and crops that seemed completely ruined, have very often been entirely restored by one or two good showers.

Notwithstanding this fact, the dearth of rain in the Hungarian Lowlands is a great obstacle in the way of the complete success of agriculture, which depends in no small measure upon the existence of a large number of animals, a conditio sine qua non for which is the provision of fodder that requires an extensive rainfall. Until the regulation of the Tisza and its tributaries the Hungarian Lowlands were blessed with a far greater rainfall. The extensive inundations did much to produce rainfall and dew. Something should be done to remedy the defect by watering : the difficulty is that all through summer there is not enough water in the fallen rivers to supply the ditches and troughs that would have to be used to feed the fields. Gigantic dams would have to be built among the hills to close the valleys and collect the enormous volume of water that rushes down in spring, when the snow melts, often causing the inhabitants of the villages that skirt the river banks to struggle desperately to preserve their goods from destruction when the dykes have been washed away.

A splendid field for the use of capital and technical genius is offered by the work of collecting all the waters that flow away, are wasted, and in many cases cause the gravest damage, and of supplying the Hungarian Lowlands with ditches and troughs for the object of watering the parched soil. A more profitable enterprise could scarcely be conceived : for it would transform the Hungarian Lowlands into the wealthiest land in Europe.

2. The Nationalist Question

The Hungarian kingdom is not inhabited by people of one uniform tongue. According to the census of 1900, the number of Magyars, who constitute the nucleus of the State, was 8,742,301, /. e. 45 '4% °f the whole population, a number which, by the inclusion of those of other tongues who know Hungarian (Magyar), is raised to 10,175,514, i.e. 52*8% of the entire population. But as Act XXX of 1868 recognised Croatian as the official language of Croatia and Slavonia — a language which is the mother tongue of 6i*6% of the inhabitants of those crown-lands — from the point of view of the Magyars it is only the linguistic conditions of Hungary proper that are of importance : consequently we shall confine ourselves to the statistics of the mother country.

According to the census of 1900, of the 16,838,255 people inhabiting Hungary proper (/. e. without reckoning Croatia and Slavonia),

WINTER SPORT IN THE HIGH TATRA.— III.

Erdelyi

[To face p. 22.

51*4%, i.e. 8,651,520 were Magyars by tongue; while of the non-Magyars 1,384,729 spoke Hungarian, so that the number of persons who knew Hungarian amounted to 10,036,249, i.e. nearly 60% of the whole population.

If we consider the question of mother tongue merely, the Magyars form an absolute majority over all other races combined, a fact which, in addition to their superiority in point of wealth, culture, and social qualifications, justifies their supremacy over the nationalities, proving as it does that they are faced, not by one compact nationality, but by a number of smaller peoples of various extraction. The number of those whose mother tongue is Roumanian (Wallachian) represent i6'6, that of the Germans 11*3, of the Slovaks 11*3, of the Servians 2*6, of the Ruthenians 2*5, of the Croatians it, and that of other races combined 2 per cent, of the whole population. Even if we take the aggregate of all the inhabitants speaking Slav languages, we find they comprise no more than 19*6%, whereas in Austria the Slavs form a strong absolute majority of 60*4%, over against the German element, which represents only 35*8% of the whole population of that country.

The geographical situation of the Magyar element too is a favourable one. For the most part they live in the centre of Hungary, and compose as it were the kernel of the population ; and by the aid of the expansive force of this central situation, they are endeavouring to extend the ethnographical confines in ever-widening circles. In this endeavour they are effectively assisted by two other factors : the greater fertility and economic development of the soil on which they dwell, and the greater density of population connected in part therewith. It is to these facts that we must attribute the disproportionate increase in population of the Magyars as opposed to the nationalities. During the twenty years from 1880 to 1900, while the number of inhabitants whose native tongue was Magyar increased by 34*1%, that of the non- Magyars advanced only 10*7%. It cannot, however, be doubted that this favourable result is due not only to the difference in the proportion of natural increase, but partly to assimilation. It is particularly in the towns that the power of Magyar culture is at work as a permanent force acting voluntarily, without the least sign of constraint, in the interests of the creation of a uniform speech.

The nations of Western Europe have had the nationalistic question of Hungary presented to them for the most part in an entirely false light. The belief that the Magyar nation stands quite alone as a stranger among the nations of Europe is itself a mere fallacy. They are no strangers even in point of blood. During ten centuries the Magyars, a branch of the Ural-Altaic family, have absorbed numerous Indo-Germanic elements ; and the Hungarian (Magyar) nation of to-day is no longer an Asiatic people, but a European nation composed of the intermingling of various races under the influence of the natural conditions prevailing in the country. The same process has taken place in Hungary as took place in the case of the nations of Western Europe which are similarly composed of the intermingling of various peoples and the heaping upon one another of various racial strata. It is to the credit of the Magyar race that this enormous transformation has taken place without their being deprived of their linguistic and national individuality. Mighty conquering peoples — the Goths, Franks, Lombards, Normans, and, of the Hunno-Scythian peoples, the Bulgarians — became completely absorbed in the conquered races : only the Hungarians have succeeded in maintaining their racial individuality, despite the intermixture of blood. Their language has adopted a large number of foreign words, but has transformed them according to its own rules of phonology and made them its own : while it has preserved in its original purity all its peculiarities of construction and idiom.

The Hungarian nation, which on obtaining possession of its new home was thrown on a huge ocean of foreign races, owes its preservation as a nation entirely to the fact that it was never exclusive. It was never in favour of racial exclusiveness, and was always only too glad to receive into its ranks the best sons of other races. This fact resulted in a certain racial excellence. The selected representatives of foreign peoples brought with them the best characteristics of their own race, and helped to form a strong, hardy, almost indomitable nation, which was able to endure terrible catastrophes that would have wiped other peoples entirely off the face of the globe.

Even where absorption in point of speech did not take place, the various races of Hungary have been endowed with many common characteristics, partly owing to the intermingling of races, partly to the assimilating power of the Hungarian soil : in fact a veritable uniform Magyar type has been produced. This is particularly conspicuous in the Great Lowlands, where the multilingual peoples (German, Slovak, Servian, etc.) show all the racial characteristics of the Magyar, in dress, external appearance, habits, morality, in fact in their whole ethnical being. Under such circumstances there cannot be any question of differences between Magyar and non-Magyar, and it is much to be regretted that attempts are made to undermine this peaceful harmony.

History is distinctly against the disintegrating tendencies of the nationalities. In this respect the situation in Hungary is quite different to that in Austria, the nationalistic conditions of which country are very frequently employed as an aid to the appreciation of the state of affairs in Hungary. In Austria, the Bohemians and Poles, in their struggle with the Germans, can refer to the greatness of their former national kingdoms ; whereas the historical traditions of the peoples of Hungaryderive from one only source, viz. the past history of the Hungarian national state. No single non- Magyar race living in Hungary can base any claim to a separate national existence on the right of first settlement, as they all settled in the country, as welcome colonists, during the rule of the Hungarian kings. Unbiassed historians have proved that even the theory that the Roumanians (Wallachians) are descendants of the Dacian legionaries of Trajan, a belief that has for over a century been treasured by them with religious fervour, is nothing more nor less than an historical fable. The Roumanians are a mixed race, taking their origin from the Balkan Peninsula, who did not make their appearance in Hungary until the thirteenth century, when they were to be found as shepherds tending flocks in the hills. They began to spread in the sixteenth, and particularly in the eighteenth century, receiving additions in the form of settlers from Moldavia and the Alpine Lowlands, from which districts the Roumanian feudatories, groaning under the tyrannical yoke of the Boyars, were attracted by the kinder and more humane treatment of the Hungarian landed proprietors.

As for historical rights, they can be claimed at most by the Saxons of Transylvania, who for more than seven centuries enjoyed certain special privileges. But, though they have always strictly guarded, and still guard, their racial consciousness, they are adherents of the policy of a uniform Hungarian State : and even by the preservation of their native tongue (German) they are rendering a service to Hungarian interests, acting as they do as obstacles in the way of pan-Roumanian aspirations.

The fact that the uniformity of speech to be found in most of the states of Western Europe could not be secured in Hungary, is due chiefly to the stormy past of the country, and partly to the excessive toleration, one might almost say the absolute indifference, of the Magyar race. The devastation of the Mongols towards the middle of the thirteenth century enormously decreased the population of the country, and rendered large settlements imperative ; while at the opening of the fourteenth century began the gigantic struggle with the Ottoman power and its endeavour to conquer the world, a struggle that lasted for three long centuries and involved terrible bloodshed, particularly during the century and a half when a considerable portion of Hungary was under Turkish rule. It was the richest and most Magyar part of the country which was entirely depopulated and reduced to a barren waste. The settlements were too large to admit of the new settlers being absorbed : consequently a uniformity of speech could not be secured.

Yet there was no difference in point of feeling.

In the lower strata their want of education prevented the nationalities from entertaining any nationalistic consciousness or feeling : while the majority of the Ruthenians and Slovaks were inspired (and are still inspired) by the heart-stirring memories of the war of independence of Rakoczi, and still encircle the ideal figure of the champion of Hungarian liberty with a halo of glory. The inhabitants of the towns were for the most part German by speech : but they vied with their Magyar compatriots in devotion to their country. This fact explains the circumstance that during the past few decades, when the schools put the acquirement of Hungarian within the reach of everybody, the towns of Hungary became Hungarian in point of language too at one blow. The Magyarisation of the country has made rapid strides even in towns far distant from the district where Hungarian is the universal language, which have naturally been deprived, in consequence, of the beneficial effects of every-day intercourse with Magyars.

Finally, as for the third great division of the population under the ancient constitution, viz. the nobility, it was in fact the champion of the Hungarian national idea. Any one, of whatever nationality, who obtained rank as a Hungarian noble, became a Magyar. The same is true of the men who filled public offices. And when the abolition of the privileges of the nobility overthrew class distinctions, although oppressive absolutism did all in its power to Germanise the country, all those who had enjoyed a good education and had thereby become members of the educated classes, of whatever nationality and whatever class of society, became good Magyars, both in tongue and feeling. Even the children of strangers recently settled in the country have become Hungarian in the first generation, not being in the least different to the children of out-and-out Magyars.