Page:Diplomacy and the War (Andrassy 1921).djvu/215

 The national tendency gained strength through the theory that the law which brought about the adjustment, especially in regard to questions regulating the army, the "Hungarian Army" is mentioned, and it was therefore regarded as the duty of the king to organize the Hungarian Army on a Hungarian basis as a supplementary portion of the entire forces.

Personally, I regarded this theory as no less erroneous than the theory of the king.

I have fought against this idea as much as against the wishes of the king. Nevertheless, this theory was far spread and accentuated the opposition because it caused the impression that the king would violate the law. The struggles of the Hungarian nation had in the past century been designed to protect the constitution against the interference of the king, and for this reason the struggle was increased, because the quarrel concerning the army could assume the old shape and because Parliament could demand the desired reforms as part of the execution of the law.

The situation in Parliament also assisted in increasing the conflict. After the many crises, the country needed rest in order to devote itself to economic and cultural work after the many political battles. The régime of the first Tisza recognized this necessity. This régime bears an extraordinary resemblance to the régime of Walpole in England in the eighteenth century, whose historical duty was the same as that of Tisza's régime. Koloman Tisza was the greatest tactician of the Hungarian Parliament and he possessed