Note 19 — CRIMES OF THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA AGAINST MANKIND. (continued 6)

The diet of Hungary is composed of two chambers, or “tables,” as they are there called.

At the first table sit the dignitaries of the church and the state, and the titled nobility, or magnates. This table is presided over by the Palatine.

The second table is composed of the deputies of the counties. Each county sends two deputies. The royal cities, and certain chapters and privileged districts, send also their deputies to the diet. These, however, before the extension of representation in 1848, had but one collective vote. Croatia sent three deputies to the diet, one of which sat in the upper and two in the lower house. The chamber of magnates did not form a part of the ancient constitution of Hungary. Before the accession of the Archdukes of Austria, the diets were held in the open air, and all the noble inhabitants of the country had a right to be present at them, and take part in the deliberations. The foreign government found its account in raising up a class whose interests were separated from those of the main body of the nation. The “second table,” or chamber of deputies, is still called, by distinction, “the States.” The initiative belongs to the king and the second table of the diet. The deputies are bound to vote according to the instruction of their constituents, and can be recalled if they fail to satisfy them.