Archduke
Francis Joseph, who at his first coming forward earned the love of the
nation--for him there waits the inheritance of a splendid throne which
derives its strength from freedom. Toward a dynasty which bases itself
on the freedoms of its people's enthusiasm will always be roused; for it
is only the freeman who can be faithful from his heart; for a
bureaucracy there can be no enthusiasm."

He then urged that the future of the dynasty depended on the hearty
union between the nations which lived under it. "This union," he said,
"can be brought about only by respecting the nationalities, and by that
bond of constitutionalism which can produce a kindred feeling. The
bureau and the bayonet are miserable bonds." He then went on to
apologize for not examining the difficulties between Hungary and
Croatia. The solution of the difficulties of the empire would, he held,
solve the Croatian question too. If it did not, he promised to consider
that question with sympathy, and examine it in all its details. He
concluded by proposing an address to the Emperor which should point out
that it was the want of constitutional life in the whole empire which
hindered the progress of Hungary; and that, while an independent
government and a separate responsible ministry were absolutely essential
to Hungary, it was also necessary that the Emperor should surround his
throne, in all matters of the Government, with such constitutional
arrangements as were indispensably demanded by the needs of the time.

This utterance has been called the "Baptismal Speech of the Revolution."
Coming as it did directly after the news of the French revolution, it
gave a definiteness to the growing demands for freedom; but it did more
than this. Metternich had cherished a growing hope that the demand for
constitutional government in Vienna might be gradually used to crush out
the independent position of Hungary, by absorbing the Hungarians in a
common Austrian parliament; and he had looked upon a Croatian question
as a means for still further weakening the power of the Hungarian Diet.
Kossuth's speech struck a blow at these hopes by declaring that freedom
for any part of the empire could be obtained only by working for the
freedom of the whole; he swept aside for the moment those national and
provincial jealousies which were the great strength of the Austrian
despotism, and appealed to all the Liberals of the empire to unite
against the system which was oppressi