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ful campaign abroad for the destruction of the Austrian Monarchy and the attainment of Czechoslovak independence.

The persecutions, sometimes revolting in their cruelty, to which (on account of their pro-Ally sympathies) the Czechs were subjected during the first two years of the war, had the effect of uniting all the different political parties into one single national block; and when the Austrian Parliament was at length convoked in May 1917 the Czech parties made a unanimous declaration that it was their aim to work for the union of Czechs and Slovaks as one people in an independent state.

As the war proceeded, further declarations of national and anti-Austrian sentiment were made, the most notable being the "Twelfth Night Manifesto," issued at Prague on Jan. 6 1918, in which all the Czech deputies of the Austrian Reichsrat and of the Diets of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia unanimously demanded full independence and representation at the future conference which should conclude peace in Europe.

Meanwhile the Czechs, who were as Austrian subjects obliged to serve in the Austrian army, lost no opportunity of passing over to the Allies. Of 70,000 prisoners taken by Serbia early in the war 35,000 were Czechs. Of these 32,000 perished during the Serbian retreat or died of fever or cholera. The remnant, 3,000 in number, proceeded to France and there joined the Czechoslovak legions already fighting on the French front. Of a total of 600,000 Czech troops in the Austrian army over one-half surrendered to the Allies. In Russia a Czechoslovak legion was formed at the outset of the war, and later this grew into a regular army which by 1918 numbered 100,000 men.

The activities of Prof. Masaryk in Russia, England and America, enthusiastically supported by his compatriots living abroad, and especially by the Czechs and Slovaks who had emigrated to the United States, the self-sacrificing valour of the Czechoslovak legions on the French, Italian and Russian fronts, and the work of the Czechoslovak Council with its headquarters at Paris, moved the Allies to acknowledge the last-named body as the de facto Provisional Government of the Czechoslovak State. On July 13 1918 a Czechoslovak National Council, representing all parties, was formed at Prague as a complement to the National Council already existing at Paris. This was the first direct step taken at home towards the establishment of the new State.

On Aug. 9 1918 the British Government issued the following declaration:

"Since the beginning of the war the Czechoslovak nation has resisted the common enemy by every means in its power. The Czechoslovaks have constituted a considerable army, fighting on three different battle-fields and attempting, in Russia and Siberia, to arrest the Germanic invasion. In consideration of their efforts to achieve independence, Great Britain regards the Czechoslovaks as an Allied nation and recognizes the unity of the three Czechoslovak armies as an Allied and belligerent army waging a regular warfare against Austria-Hungary and Germany. . . ."

 

This declaration materially helped to seal the fate of Austria, and implicitly recognized Czechoslovak independence as an accomplished fact. France and Italy, by accepting the assistance of Czechoslovak legions on the French and Italian fronts, had already practically acknowledged Czechoslovakia's claims (Briand, 1916). In the first week of Sept. 1918 the United States of America and Japan issued declarations practically endorsing the British declaration. On Oct. 14 1918 the Czechoslovak National Council was constituted as a Provisional Government with all the attributes of sovereign and independent power.

On Oct. 17 the Austrian Emperor Charles issued a manifesto offering the various nationalities of his empire a measure of autonomy on the basis of an Austrian federation. The offer was too partial and came too late. Austria's hour had struck. The Czechs at home declined even discussion with the Vienna Government, and declared that the question of Czechoslovakia must be left to the Peace Conference. On the 18th the Provisional Government at Paris issued a declaration of independence, signed by Prof. Masaryk, Dr. Beneš and Gen. Štefánik. On Oct. 27 the Austro-Hungarian Government recognized the rights of the Czechoslovaks, and cabled to President Wilson at Washington a request for an armistice and peace negotiations.

Thus, on Oct. 28 1918 the Czechs regained the independence which they had lost almost 300 years before, at the ill-fated battle of the White Mountain on Nov. 8 1620. The National Council at Prague issued a proclamation of independence and took over the reins of government. In spite of the presence of Austrian and Hungarian garrisons in Prague and other towns, there was no bloodshed. Every consideration was shown to the Imperial troops and the Imperial civil authorities, who were allowed to vacate their posts without being subjected to force, and the universal rejoicings of a liberated people were happily marred by no scenes of violence.

On Nov. 16 the first representative body of the Czechoslovak people—the National Assembly as it was called—met at Prague. Its members, 236 in number, were selected from all the different political parties in proportion to their strength as shown by the last parliamentary election previous to the war. The Assembly proceeded to decide upon the form of government to be adopted. The unanimous decision of the Assembly was in favour of a republic, and Prof. Masaryk, at that time still absent abroad, was unanimously chosen as first president. A Cabinet was formed, with Dr. Kramář, who during the war had been sentenced to death for treason and afterwards reprieved, as premier, and Dr. Beneš as foreign minister.

Two days after the declaration of the independence of the Czechoslovak State, which had been signed also by the representatives of Slovakia, the Slovak National Council issued a "Declaration of the Slovak nation," wherein it was solemnly set forth that the Slovaks in blood, in language and civilization form part of the Czechoslovak nation. A considerable time, however, elapsed before the Slovaks were allowed without hindrance to unite fully with the Czechs. The Hungarians (Magyars) declined to surrender the territories inhabited by Slovaks, and it was necessary to call in the military help of the Czechs before the last Hungarian troops, who had initiated a reign of terror in Slovakia, could be driven out of the land.

In the extreme eastern corner of the Czechoslovak Republic, there is situated a little autonomous region of Russinia (or Sub-Carpathian Russia), which, together with Slovakia, was part and parcel of the Hungarian Kingdom till the Treaty of St. Germain permitted its incorporation with Czechoslovakia. The National Central Council of the Ruthenians, which met on May 8 1919 at Užhorod, their capital, unanimously adopted a resolution approving of incorporation with Czechoslovakia, on special terms of autonomy. Thus by the express will of their peoples, the various lands represented in the Czechoslovak Republic, viz. Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Slovakia and Russinia, united to form one State with a single central Government having its seat at Prague. The tasks, almost infinite in number, confronting the new State were of great gravity. The country had been brought by the Austro-Hungarian war policy to the very brink of economic and financial ruin. A starved and decimated population stood face to face with difficulties, not only on every frontier but indeed to some extent within the borders of the State itself. The spirit of courage and endurance which had enabled the Czechoslovaks to achieve their independence was now to inspire a further work of no mean significance the consolidation of a free, democratic and enlightened republic in the heart of Europe, the most westerly outpost of the great Slavonic world stretching from the banks of the Elbe and the Danube to the Pacific Ocean, and at the same time a nation bound by ties of gratitude and common interest to the Anglo-Saxon and Latin races. "At home we feel sufficiently confident," said Dr. Kramář, the premier, at the first session of the National Assembly, "of being able to rely upon our own powers alone, and that without injustice to others. We shall count upon the devotion of all towards the State and we shall show that not only have we been able to achieve our liberty but that we know how to preserve it and to be really free worthy of our great past, of our traditions and of our sufferings."

The National Assembly confirmed all the emergency measures which had been passed by the National Council between Oct. 28 and the date of the first session of the Assembly, such for