The reconstruction of South-Eastern Europe

SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE

that if it were in the right hands, Hungary might be kept in check by Croatia. The hint was at once accepted by the Court, as Austrian diplomacy always prided itself on its skill in playing off one party against another.

To be able to rely absolutely upon Croatia, Vienna looked for a Ban loyal to the Austrian Crown and acceptable to the national party in Croatia, yet at the same time capable and trustworthy. The man who satisfied all these requirements was Baron Joseph Jelati¢, a soldier of high distinction in the Austrian Army and Colonel of the 1st Banal Frontier Regiment.

Then came the fateful year of 1848. The French February Revolution filled all the nationalities in Austria with new hopes and enthusiasm. Metternich and his system were swept aside and the ‘‘ Constitution”? which was considered a panacea for all the evils and miseries under which the Austrian nationalities laboured dawned upon them at last. The Serbs also firmly believed that a new and a happier era was setting in and they at once attempted to come to a friendly understanding with the Magyars.

The Serbs, in acknowledging the unity and integrity of Hungary, demanded only the equality of civil and political rights with safeguards for their national individuality. But Kossuth, who since April 1848 had already been a member of the Hungarian Government, bluntly refused to consider their demands and said that the sword

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