Ságvári Ágnes (szerk.): Budapest. The History of a Capital (Budapest, 1975)
Documents
Minutes of the first meeting of the Pest Committee of Public Order March 15th, 1848 VII ... Until the High Council of the City of Buda is notified of the events in full detail by the City of Pest and since the first duty of this Committee is to be firm in maintaining order and public safety moved by fraternal sentiment towards the sister city... It has been deemed necessary to inform the captain of the City of Buda immediately and directly that the Committee, having declined the use of military force in this matter, has had recourse to the patriotic zeal of the present civic guard of Pest, which has already gathered with no delay and is beginning to maintain a watch over public safety this night, whereby the Committee requests the noble captain of the sister city to take similar precautions for the public safety of the sister city. Given on the above day, at 10 o’clock in the evening. On behalf of the community of the City of Pest the undersigned take great pleasure in officially notifying the Hungarian nation that what had cost the blood of citizens in other countries—the reform—has been accomplished in Budapest peacefully and legally, by fraternal unity within twenty-four hours. Namely the municipal Council, having learned from the constituent citizens that the citizens and inhabitants of the city desire to discuss over the serious developments of the times with the council, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon of March 15th in the year 1848 opened the doors of the council chambers, closed for centuries to the people, and the Council, having understood their lawful wishes as the patriotic desires they have themselves in the past long cherished in their hearts, have accepted them and have unanimously identified themselves with them; and have moreover at this general meeting subscribed to the twelve points which have so frequently been urged by the nation in the legislature since 1790 in the form of a petition to be submitted to the Diet. The said points of the desires of the nation are as follows: 1. Freedom of the press, with the abolition of censorship 2. A responsible government in Buda-Pest 3. An annual National Assembly in Pest 4. Equality before the law in civil and religious matters 5. A national guard 6. The tax burden to be shared by all 7. Abolition of socage 8. Trial by jury based on equal representation 9. A national bank Leopold Rottenbiller, Chairman of the Committee, Gábor Klauzál Pál Nyáry Samu Egressy József Irinyi Gáspár Tóth Pál Vasvári Sándor Petőfi Máthé Gyurkovics 88
