Századok – 2011

200 ÉVE SZÜLETETT PERCZEL MÓR - Urbán Aladár: Perczel Mór, a rendőrfőnök III/637

654 URBÁN ALADÁR MÓR PERCZEL, THE POLICE CHIEF by Aladár Urbán (Summary) Mór Perczel (1811-1899Ï was an outstanding member of the Hungarian reform movement. In the county of Tolna he initiated the establishment of the so-called Védegylet, the aim of which was the protection of home-made products. In March 1848 he participated to the revolutionary events which took place at Pest. He was sent by the Committee of Order of Pest to the diet of Pozsony, and on 31 March he brought together with József Eötvös the royal script in the matter of the formation of a responsible government and the liberation of dependant peasantry. After the formation of the Batthyány government, on 26 April Perczel was appointed as head and counsellor of the police department in the ministry of domestic affairs. In the course of May and June his task consisted in the control of strangers staying at Pest and in keeping an eye on the movement of unemployed guildsmen. He secured the work of the representative assembly which opened on 5 June with the help of the national guard of the city of Pest. When the assembly introduced tickets for visiting the parliament's galleries, on 9 and 10 June he prevented forcefully the protesting youth from making an upheaval. In the response to be given to the royal scipt which had been sent for the opening of the parliament, the majority of the representatives was willing to offer help to the Austrian troops fighting in Italy. Although this help would have been conditional upon the fulfilment of certain demands (such as crushing the Serb revolt and curbing Croatian resistance), Perczel protested as a representative and resigned his office before the question was put to final voting. In his letter sent to the minister of domestic affairs on 20 July he justified his resignation with his unwillingness to help the king against the Italians fighting for their freedom. In his letter of resignation, which is published in the annex of the present study, Perczel maintained that he had taken on this burdensome office because he had been convinced that the freshly established responsible government was in need of peaceful conditions.