which was so important to the national culture and politics, especially in the second half of the ipth century, should have fallen into decay, due largely to the growth of extravagance and love of pleasure, and to a reluctance to learn, which was in marked contrast to the earlier days. The chief cause of this decadence was, indeed, the deterioration in their own standard of life. They suffered severely from the abrogation of the urbarium (dues paid by the peasants to their landlords) , and from the fact that the method of indemnification at the time of the absolute government (during the 'fifties of the last century) was not one calculated to benefit the Hungarian nobleman in possession. To this must be added that the agrarian crisis of the last decades of the 1 9th century greatly impaired the smaller estates. The weak- ness of the lesser landowners rendered them incapable of absorb- ing the new Hungarian elements, so that they forfeited their intellectual leadership without achieving importance in the indus- trial sphere, where they had never played any part. Latterly the majority of the gentry, after being driven from their mis- managed estates, which had hitherto been the basis of their existence, found themselves almost entirely dependent on the public services; though deprived of landed possessions they remained proudly conscious of their class, and this prevented them from seeking a means of livelihood in other spheres. The Hungarian nobleman had always considered it beneath his dig- nity, exactly as in feudal Hungary before 1848, to occupy himself with commerce and industry; and as late as the 'seventies of the last century no girl belonging to the better classes would have been seen in Kolozvar (Klausenburg) walking in the streets, arm in arm with a mere business man. Exclusiveness and a domineering temper were the characteristics of the gentry, who were perhaps even prouder than the aristocracy, and in former days even avoided connexion with them by marriage. They did not desire to become baron, count or prince: good birth was of more value in their eyes than the most dazzling title.
When we come to the plain citizen class, it must be noted that they had never played so important a part historically in Hun- gary as in England, France, Germany and Italy. Characteristic- ally enough, before 1848 all the towns of Hungary had together only two votes in the Diet. Pozsony (Pressburg), as the town where the coronation took place and the Diet met, occupied an outstanding position. At other times lonely and deserted, the tide of social life there ran high whenever the Diet assembled. The other towns, especially of western and upper Hungary, where German education was in the ascendant, had no influence on the intellectual progress of Hungary. The German popula- tion of the towns maintained a close intercourse with the Hun- garian, from whom they borrowed new ideas, often absorbing at the same time their nationality and language. Many a leader of the Hungarian Liberal movement sprang from what were originally German middle-class families, and in the same way German cities became Hungarian. On the other hand the Saxons, who had settled in Transylvania and possessed autonomous institutions hallowed by tradition, which gave them political privileges, clung to their German nationality and acquired their education at German universities.
With the exception of the Transylvanian Saxon towns, which resembled those of mediaeval Germany, the Hungarian towns were for a long time merely large villages. Even in the early 'sixties of last century Pest was small, but little developed and badly paved. In those days a citizen of Pest who made a jour- ney to Paris was an object of curiosity. In Debreczen, the " pearl of the Alfold " (the Hungarian central plain), when the season was wet, it was necessary to lay planks across the streets in order to make communication possible. No vehicle could pass along the roads without sinking halfway up the wheels in mud. It was not till after the Ausgleich with Austria of 1867 that a sudden development took place throughout the country. This is shown by a comparison of the increase in population of the different towns. In 1781 Pest had a pop. of 52,944; in 1869 it had 254,500, and in 1910 as many as 880,371 inhabitants. Pozsony (Pressburg), with a pop. of 26,898 in 1781, in 1910 had 78,223 inhabitants. Debreczen, with 20,153 in i?8i, had 92,729 in 1910.
The census of 1920 will have shown still higher figures, since the flow of population from the country to the towns had increased enormously, hand in hand with the development of industry, commerce and the means of communication. Those who knew Budapest, the capital, before the Ausgleich as a little town, found it just before the World War a stately European city of enormous dimensions. Within two or three decades everything there had undergone a change. Old-fashioned streets and indeed whole quarters were demolished to make room for broad thoroughfares and imposing buildings. Between 1870 and 1910 the number of houses increased from 9,351 to 19,637. Endeavours were made to remedy the lack of public gardens. A number of bridges, among them the grandiose and daringly conceived Elizabeth Bridge, and the world-famed suspension bridge, unite Pest with Ofen which is beautifully situated on the opposite bank. It was in the full swing of this great development that Budapest was struck down by Bolshevist rule and the Rumanian occupation. As regards the working-classes, the origins of socialism in Hungary can be traced back to the year 1868. About this time the " Working-man's Paper " (Munk&sok ujs&ga), edited by Kunsagi, made its appearance. This paper, which was of short duration, was succeeded by others, such as " The Golden Trum- pet " (Arany Trombita) edited by Tancsics and the " Weekly Labour Chronicle " (Munkds heti kronika) edited from 1876-81 by Leon Frankel, who was at the head of the Ministry of Works at the time of the Paris Commune. This was followed in 1880 by the " Voice of the People " (Repszava), founded by Viktor Kiil- foldy, which became the most powerful organ of the Hungarian Social Democratic party which from the outset was closely con- nected with international social democracy. Labour in Hungary had a centralized organization, with its headquarters at Buda- pest, whence the whole movement received its impetus. How- ever, a split occurred in 1897 when Varkonyi founded the Inde- pendent Socialist party, and another in 1900 when Mezofi began to lead the Reorganized Socialist party. Among these three par- ties the most successful were the Social Democrats, who organ- ized an agricultural strike in 1897, with the result that the extraordinarily low wages of often only 25 heller per day were doubled and even trebled. After several Acts had been passed for the protection of labour, for instance that of 1891, the law of 1898 was passed, which aimed at the prevention of self- help and was called " the Law of Slaves " by the Socialists, since it made strikes illegal and compelled men to work at the point of the bayonet. But this did not suppress the move- ment. Its chief cause lay in the unequal division of land. A large part was owned by the rich landowners as estates many possessing as much as 20,000 Joch (about 28,400 ac.)- whereas another part known as Mortmain was in the hands of the Church. As such conditions made it impossible for the proletariat to buy land of its own, and industry was not as yet developed enough to provide food and means of livelihood for the poor, many were forced to emigrate. It has been calculated that within 10 years more than i^ millions left their own country in order to win for themselves across the Atlantic a new home and a more hopeful existence. Those who were left behind swelled the ranks of Social Democracy, which split up and formed several camps. All were organized and led by different leaders. But a common cry bound them together, to win the franchise, from which they were excluded. Their aim was to enter Parlia- ment by this means and there to give weight to and defend their interests through their own representatives.
The earliest legislation dealing with electoral law in Hungary is to be found in Article 5 of the law of 1848. It was not until 1874 that; the subject was again introduced, and Article 30 of that year was in reality a retrograde step, in that it im- posed higher property and taxation qualifications than had been demanded in the ordinance of 1848. In spite of the no- table increase in the population, the number of those entitled to vote was not greater than it had been in 1848 namely 700,- ooo to 800,000. Another period of inactivity followed. After the Electoral League had for some time been agitating for universal franchise the Delegate Vazsonyi introduced a motion by
