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Rh for, as was natural, they realised immediately that an independent Hungary under Magyar domination meant death to the Slavs, especially to the Slovaks.

For a long time the Magyars were believed in England and France to be the enemies of the Viennese Court and the champions of liberty, justice, and independence. Sympathies were shown to a people who, formerly oppressed, had been able in 1848 to throw off the yoke and raise the revolutionary flag. The respect which such energy called forth allowed them to pursue their political plans in 1861-1867, and even to the present day the outside world does not realise that for a long time they have been no longer an oppressed nation, but on the contrary have assumed the character of a most cruel and unscrupulous oppressor. They have emancipated themselves from Vienna to become the executioners of Slovaks, Serbs, Croats, and Rumanians, not to mention Ruthenes. Still the old belief in them remained, thanks to the manoeuvres of the able Magyar politicians. They had the power in their hands, as well as fame and money. They bought up the Press, published books, reviews, and newspapers. Their propaganda represented the Magyars as the foremost pioneers of civilisation. Moreover, their rich aristocracy contracted ties with most countries and had the entrée to the political centres of all