Magyar külpolitika, 1930 (11. évfolyam, 1-7. szám)

1930 / 6. szám - The Hungarian Situation. Lecture delivered in Hull by Count Rubido Zichy, Hungarian Minister in London, in the League of Nation lecture series

November 1930 HUNGÁRIA LLOYD 25 asserl and 1 would Like you to reálisé that it is almost a superhuinan task whicli the present írovernmenl has to Eace and. thai this task has beér tackled with an honest endeavour to make the besl ot' it and with a success exceeding áll expedtationsi For the moinent the difficulties we have to face and which may give a generál impression of mstability in our pari of the world, are twofold, political and economio. The political difficulty consists in a generál uneasiness which is the natnral outcome of the recent drastic re-shaping of Eastern Europe. This uaeasy [feelihg is the oause of administrative and political measures especiálly in the newly förmed States which instead of oohsolidating the political lit'e put continually new difficulties in the way of those statesmen who work for a peaceful solution of the problems. Economically Eastern Europe has to face beside the generál world-crisis, the fact that all these newly organised young States in their endeavour to make themselves self-sufficient and as much as possible independent from the outer world, have raised nearly unsurmontable tariffwals which prevent the free exchange of necessary goods compressing I the ecooomic hfe into small units and thus increasing the generál (impoverishment. There are certain signs which point towards a growing understanding of the economic folly implied in an absolute isolation of small units íand I can only express my hope that this tendency will in the long run prevail, but I don't believe that this development can lead to a satisfactory result unless all the different nations are put on the same levél, i. e. unless the full sovereignty of all States is restituted ;id integrum. It seems quite unimaginable that international negotiations may lead to satisfactory results as long as the States concerned 'are not absolutely equal in their sovereign rights. The sovereignty of those nations which have lost the world-war is still far from being as complete as that of the victors who were joined in the last moment by most of our neighhouring States. I don't want to dot the „i"s but I ani giving you this hint for further unhiassed reflcction. I am very anxious that a political position may be reached which makes mutual understanding possible and so removes most of the probabilities of a possible pretext for violent solulions. The things which at this momcnt stand principally in the Way of a generál reapprochement between the States of South-Eastern Europe are to my mind the treatment of the national minorities, the appalling relatíve incongruity of armaments. the nearly limit less tendency of (economic reclusion, and, finally, certain political theories which have sprung up since the war and which, in certain cases, result in outsidé interference with the internál affairs of fundamental importance of other States. It is only a few days before 1 came here that J was told that this gathering was in commemoration of Armistice Day. As you know we were obliged by the pplitical constellation in Europe to fight on the other side and so it is very difficult for me to say something ahout this annivcrsary which would appeal to all of you. One thing, however, I can assert and that is, that we have suffered just as much or more than you during the war and that we are suffering still very deeply from the consequences of it. So it is only natural that, contrary to what I so often hear repeated by a more or less jbiassed propaganda, we are abhorring warlike developments just as much or perhaps more than you, but we want conditions which make it materiaüly possible for our country to go on and to. have a place among the nations relative to our size and strength, but without unjust and one-sided limitations, and this is the reason why we try to state our case before the tribunal of the world's public opinion. Our theory is, and I think most of you will agree with it, that too great political and economic disadvantages either lead to an inferiority complex or to desperation and each of these mentái states is habouring dangerous possibilities for the future of a big part of our Continent. The first by strenthening radical tendencies in neighhouring coüritries, the second by preparing the ground for any desperate propaganda in the country itself; An Hungárián Epos by Zsolt Harsányi I am not fond of big words, but the story I heard the other day is history itself, and I hav^ recorded it faithfully and pass it on to someone whc will somé day write the history of the collapse and revival of Hungary. A young engineer, Endre Ma gyári, of the wireless experimentál department ot the post office gave me the story which follows: „We were quite a number who came up in 1918 from Nagyvárad to Budapest to the College of Engineering Science. The reason was that the students who passed their maturity examination in 1917 were enlisted at once in the Army and by the time they returned from the broken front they had, on entering the University, t*o jóin students one year their juniors. Thus it happened that twelve Nagyvárad boys registered at the same time at the College of Engineering as Ereshmen. We kept together alsó in Budapest, especiálly in our studies. During our second term in Marcii the communism broke out in Budapest. We clicl not like the situation. We arranged a meeting the same day, ah twelve of us, discussed matters and made the unanimous decision to stay no longer in a bolshevht centre and decided to return to Nagyvárad. And so, on the day following the outbreak of communism, we left the capital. We had hardly spenl a few days at home, when the Rumanians marched into Nagyvárad. We were frightened and worried as to how we should continue our studies. For a week or two we waited embarrassed hoping that somé change would occur, but the only change was that the Rumanian occupation was re-inforced. Seeing that there was nothing further to wait for we came together and established a „technical college" in Nagyvárad; we alone, twelve freshmeu. We worked out in detail the constitution of our „branch college". The drawing class of one of tha tniddle schools constituted our premises, — after short negotiations with the Board of Professors we obtaincd permission to use it; of course, for the