drawn. Despite the fact that the Austrian
Army bill had been voted by the Reichsrath (February 19), the crown
consented to withdraw the bills and thus compelled the Austrian parliament
to repeal, at the dictation of the Hungarian obstructionists, what it
regarded as a patriotic measure. Austrian feeling became embittered towards
Hungary and the action of the crown was openly criticized.

[Sidenote: The Magyar words of command.]

Meanwhile the Hungarian Opposition broke its engagement. Obstruction was
continued by a section of the independence party; and Kossuth, seeing his
authority ignored, resigned the leadership. The obstructionists now raised
the cry that the German words of command in the joint army must be replaced
by Magyar words in the regiments recruited from Hungary--a demand which,
apart from its disintegrating influence on the army, the crown considered
to be an encroachment upon the royal military prerogatives as defined by
the Hungarian Fundamental Law XII. of 1867. Clause 11 of the law runs:--"In
pursuance of the constitutional military prerogatives of His Majesty,
everything relating to the unitary direction, leadership and inner
organization of the whole army, and thus also of the Hungarian army as a
complementary part of the whole army, is recognized as subject to His
Majesty's disposal." The cry for the Magyar words of command on which the
subsequent constitutional crisis turned, was tantamount to a demand that
the monarch should differentiate the Hungarian from the Austrian part of
the joint army, and should render it impossible for any but Magyar officers
to command Hungarian regiments, less than half of which have a majority of
Magyar recruits. The partisans of the Magyar words of command based their
claim upon clause 12 of the Fundamental Law XII. of 1867--which
runs:--"Nevertheless the country reserves its right periodically to
complete the Hungarian army and the right of granting recruits, _the fixing
of the conditions on which the recruits are granted,_ the fixing of the
term of service and all the dispositions concerning the stationing and the
supplies of the troops according to existing law both as regards
legislation and administration." Since Hungary reserved her right to fix
the conditions on which recruits should be granted, the partisans of the
Magyar words of command argued that the abolition of the German words of
command in the Hungarian regiments might be made such a condition, despit