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Notions on the Ethnography and Statistics of Transylvania and Hungary.

Origin of the Roumanians

The Roumanians live in compact masses, in countries to the west of Austro-Hungary, Bess-Arabia and the kingdom of Roumania.

Remains of this same people are also to be found in Serbia, Bulgaria and especially in Macedonia.

According to the researches of our own historians, as well as of those of other countries, the Roumanians are a people of Daco-Roumanian origin, who, at the present time, alter 17 centuries of sufferings, still speak a Roman language, derived from the Latin Rustic tongue.[1]

The Magyars, for want of other arms, wherewith to combat our just national pretensions, question our Daco-Roumanian origin, and declare that though we are really Roumanians, we are not autocthon in Dacia, that on the contrary, our nationality is formed from Roman elements in Thrace, whence gradually and almost by stealth, we have passed into our present country, after the coming of the Magyars. C. Q. F. D.

These same assertions are maintained by the Magyars in their Reply. The question of our origin may be settled thus:

After fierce wars, the Emperor Trajan conquered Dacia and established there about 106. AD. a multitude of Roman colonies and legions.

In a short time Dacia became a rich province, and the Roumanians called it Dacia-Felix.

Under Aurelian, as the epoch of the invasion of the barbarians approached, he took away the legions, about 260, and established them in the Moesia, situated in the Balkan peninsula.

Actually, after-the lapse of 16 centuries, the ex-Roman territory of Dacia is inhabited by a Roman people, who speak a neo-roman language.

We put this question: Are we the descendants of the Dacians and of the Romans who remained in Dacia, or if not, whence, when and how did we come?

Most foreign historians maintain that Aurelian could only have brought back from beyond the Danube, the legions and the inhabitants of the towns, whereas the mass of the people inhabiting of the country continued to live in Dacia, whose plains, to these unhappy times, have preserved their language and nationality.

The historical school of Roumania explains our origin in the same manner. Messrs Hunfalvy[2] and Rethy, two Magyars, in some articles overflowing with hatred against the Wallachians or Roumanians[3] as they call us, have propagated the idea of a German professor, Robert Roessler, who denied that the Roumanian element had remained in Dacia.

According to the opinion of these three gentlemen, we Roumanians are certainly a neo-latin people, but we came into this country after the arrival of the Magyars.

To the only decisive questions, namely: when, whence, and how we came, neither Roessler, nor his Magyar partisans answer anything, for the excellent reason that in no history is there to be found a single indication which gives a clue to the epoch or the cause, which could have brought the Roumanian nation precisely into Dacia.

In spite of that, the Magyars do not desist, but on the contrary maintain their having arrived before us.

Space is wanting here to discuss this point.

Besides, we make it a rule not to waste our time in discussing with the Magyar political historians the question of our own origin.

We dispute their right of decision in this matter, for the very eloquent reason, that they are the roost implacable enemies of all that concerns the existence, glory and pride of our nation.

Our Roumanian nation has for ages had the consciousness and the firm conviction of this fact, that we are descended from the Roman colonies brought by Trajan into Dacia.

The history, as far as we know it, the language, dress, type, and even the name of Roumanians, are convicting proofs of our origin.

Most of the impartial foreign historians are in favor of our autocthon in Dacia.

Even he who denies with the greatest vehemence this continuance of our existence in Dacia, the new Magyar Hunfaivy, is obliged to admit our origin: « As the reader will see by the quotations that we have just given the Latin origin of the Roumanian people is and always has been recognized, there is no difference of opinion as far as the Latin origin of the Roumanians is concerned.

Most writers, as well as Gibbon and Ranke are convinced that the ancestors of the Roumanians of the present day have never ceased since Trajan, to inhabit ancient Dacia, that is to say Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia, and that consequently the Roumanian inhabitants of these countries are the direct descendants of the colonies established by Trajan in Dacia »[4] Later on we shall see that this is the truth.

Of this the Magyars may be sure, that the opinions of foreign historians, absolutely impartial to the question, have for us a value, not to be compared with all the sophisms of the fanatical historians of Magyarism.[5]

But supposing even (which is not a concession) that we arrived after the Magyars, no one in the world shall ever make us renounce our natural and imprescriptible right to our national individuality in the country in which we live.

We are a compact people of 3 millions; we live in the most strategic district of Transylvania and Hungary; we pay with our labour all the contributions towards the state: thousands of times we have shed our blood and given our lives in defence of the monarchy; the money which we pay, the blood which our fathers have shed, give us, by right, the best grounded titles to our national pretensions.

Let us see now what the men of science say concerning our origin.

But let us first-observe that all the old Magyar chronicles consider us as autocthons in Dacia.[6]

The Magyar historians, who treat us as strangers, only took up this theory when the puriciple of nationalities began to become a force! —

Professor Jung, late pupil of Mommsen, writes: « If we judge fairly of the above statements, we see that the best solution of the question as to the origin of the Roumanians is to admit the continuity of the Roman people in Trajan Dacia and in the south of the Balkan peninsula.

» The solution to this question lies especially, says Mr. K. Kiepert, in the fact that the actual territory where the Roumanian language is spoken coincides almost entirely with the frontiers of the Roman empire and with those of the province of Dacia.

The consanguinity of the Wallachians or Roumanians of the present time with their Dacian ancestors of two thousand years ago, is proved in the most unmistakeable manner, by the uniformity of their external appearance, not alone by their features and the colour of their hair, but by the very same dress which the people have kept intact and which may be seen in the figures of the vanquished Dacian warriors on the artistic monuments raised in honour of the victories of Trajan.

Non datur saltus in natura! [7]

The celebrated slav Miklositsch expresses himself thus: « The origin of the Roumanian language dates from the 2^nd century, when the Roman colonies were established on the left bank of the Danube » ..... [8]

Professor Pie, who has written several works upon our origin, says. « In no case, can one maintain that the Roumanians who inhabit the country to the north of the Danube, are descended from the Roumanians of Macedonia. » [9]

Fessier, the author so well known for his historical studies on Hungary, says in his turn « The Roumanians who but lately were the masters of Transylvania and who even now forn the greater part of the population, have been subjugated to other nations by conquest, and have fallen more and more into slavery, etc. » [10]

The celebrated German historian Leopold von Ranke, expresses himself thus on our Daco-Roman province. The natives (the Roumanians) still call the road which goes from Roumania to Transylvania Calea Traianului (Trajan's way) and the pass which comes after Turnu Rosu, Poarta Romanilor (the door of the Romans). »

« They are the descendants of the people that Trajan brought into Dace from all the provinces of the Roman empire. »

« These provinces (Dacian) were already romanized, as is shown by the actual language of this country (Roumanian) which language has been maintained to the present day ».[11]

Traugott Tamm, writing a critical study on the subject of our origin arrives at the following conclusion: The Roumanians still inhabit the place where 17 centuries ago their forefathers inhabited: nation has succeeded to nation in the domination of the provinces of the Lower Danube, but none has been able to destroy the national existence of roumanianism. The water flows, the stones remain, says a Roumanian proverb.

The tribes of people who have abandoned their native country to emigrate, have perished as the clouds in the sun, hut roumanianism, bowing her head, allows the storm to pass over her in Dacia, and holds the land inherited from her ancestors, until the fine weather arrives, then she rises, and shakes her limbs ».[12]

We will end this series of proofs, by quoting the opinion of the great French historian Victor Duruy, who, in his grand work on the Romans, writes thus concerning our origin: When he (Trajan) had made the Carpathian mountains the frontier of the empire, he felt that a garrison here and there in this vast province would not suffice to restrain the Dacians, and that barbarism being driven back would gradually return as the victorious army withdrew: so that he took from the old provinces an entire nation. In spite of fifteen hundred years of misery, the Roumanians number to-day twelve millions of people.... We shall not so easily as Aurelian say a definitive adieu to this valiant Roman population of Trajan Dacia. Worthy of its origin and of him who founded its first cities, it has acted in the Carpathians, the part of Pelage and his companions in the Asturies, defying all invasions from the height of its impregnable fortress, regaining foot by foot the lost ground,and reconstituting alter sixteen centuries of combat a new Italy, Tzeara Romaneasca, whose accession to the rank of a free nation is hailed by all the people of the latin race ».[13]

It may thus» be seen that most of the historians explain our origin as being that of autocthon in the provinces inhabited by the Roumanians.

The Magyars after having quoted « Paul Hunfalvy », then, « Hunfaivy Pàl »[14] exclaim with emphasis: « That is where the question of the origin of the Roumanians before the tribunal of science is « Probably they meant to say »: Before the tribunal of Magyar fanaticism, »

We might form a perfect library of the Roumanian historians who have treated this question, such as Petru Maior, Sincai, Balcescu, Densusianu, Xenopol, Onciul. Tocilescu, etc. But we have desired to bring forward the proofs of those only who were both-foreign and impartial, in order to shew how far the tribunal of Magyar science may be relied on.

Before the tribunal of Cluj only, can the Roumanian nationality be compelled to allow itself to be judged by its own enemies; strangers can better judge of our origin.

How the Magyars are multiplied.

The young Magyars, as well as the society of which they form a part, do all they possibly can, to hide the existence of non-magyar nations from the eyes of foreign readers.

At the risk of vexing our Fellow Students, we affirm that Hungary is inhabited by six[15] nations, who differ from one another not only in origin, and in the language they speak, but still more in their manners, customs, habits, aspirations and partly in their religion.

These nations are the

Magyars Slavs

Roumanians Ruthenes

Germans Serbians

The Croatians forming a relatively independent state in Hungary are omitted in this statement.

Before remarking on the statistical errors contained in the Magyar reply, there is one point we must observe.

The census of the population in Transylvania and Hungary assumes a character pan-magyar, as all the institutions granted to these countries by the Magyar supremacy do.

It is therefore easily understood that the census made by the Magyar officials, by order of their government, cannot be otherwise than partial to magyarism, and hostile to those nations, who refuse to allow their individuality to be taken away.

It is not we alone who say this, but all foreigners who know the state of things here.

To give you an example, Professor Jung writes as follows: « The Magyars are a nation full of vain-glory, who, living amongst people of different races, have always had the pretension of ruling over and magyarizing them, and that in such a way, that science itself suffers by it. »

« For example, in the census, the ruling idea is to represent the Magyars as being more numerous than they are in reality ».[16]

Well! Our Magyar Colleagues make this affirmation... » If we make a computation of our numbers, we find vie are still nine millions of Magyars... »

« The former eight millions have already become nine ».[17]

But we, who are not bound to rely on the word of the Magyars look into the official Magyar statistic[18] and there we find that the distribution of the nationalities in Hungary and Transylvania is as follows:

Magyars[19] ....... 6,403,687

Non-Magyars ....... 9,335,684

In face of these indisputable official figures, what can one think of the boasting affirmation of the Magyars that from eight millions they have already increased to nine?

And it is these same men who have the audacity to build up this lie with another still more patent, when, striking their breasts, they exclaim: « Truth and honesty, these are our weapons! »

Oh! what a fine arsenal!

Origin of the story relative to the « 9 » millions of Magyars.

The 3^st of december 1890, a census was taken in our country.

To quench the fiery thirst of the pan-magyar fanaticism, M. Carol Keleti (formerly Karl Klette) held a conference at Pesth, in the Magyar academy, a few days after the census.

M. Keleti, after having acknowledged that the had taken as basis, not the census, which in so short a time would have been impossible, but a simple estimation, concludes that there must be at present in the country « 8,200,200 citizens speaking the Magyar language ».

Then M. Keleti asks: « Are they all Magyars in heart and soul? »

« Who could doubt it? ».[20]

It is not for M. Keleti, but for us to answer this question, and we say: Ten millions of non-magyars, who inhabit this country have great misgivings as to it, and consider this modern invention of the magyarian census as an unheard of insolence.

If it be a question of reasoning, we declare that in this country there are seven millions of citizens speaking German, about five millions who speak Roumanian, and the whole Roumanian nation would reckon this way twenty thousand of such adherents.

Only an unhealthy passion for grandeur can authorize this confusion between the knowledge of a language and the fact of belonging to such or such a nationality.

Do not let us be astonished then if the learned Magyar Academy tells us one day that the number of Magyars has augmented to 20 millions, and that all the non-magyar nationalities have ceased to exist.

Territory of the Roumanians in Transylvania and in Hungary.

The Magyars maintain that in the 25 counties in which the three millions of Roumanians inhabit, there are more than 2,900,000 non-Roumanians.

Even if this were true, it would not be of any importance, because the limits of the counties do not in any way settle the question.

The Magyar government can, if it wishes, divide these counties in such a manner, that besides the Roumanians, they include not 2,900,000 but 10 millions of non-Roumanians.

The only question that is of any importance, is the following one: The Roumanians of Transylvania and Hungary do they or do they not constitute a national compact element in Transylvania and Hungary?

The answer can only be a decidedly affirmative one.

But we will let the Magyar statistic speak tor itself.

There were 2,081,043 inhabitants in Transylvania in 1880, of which:[21]

Roumanians .... 1,184,883

Magyars ..... 630,477

Saxons ...... 211,748

Considering the Magyar statistic as a basis, we aver that taking the Magyars and the Saxons together, the Roumanian people constitute the absolute majority in the counties of Caras-Severin, [22]Arad, Selagin and in the counties of Bihor, Satmar, Timis, Maramures and Torontal the Roumanians form the minority; but these minorities lie in the immediate neighbourhood of the counties mentioned above, where the Roumanian element prevails, and in that of Transylvania, to which country they are closely allied.

If from the point called Moldova-Noua[23] we draw a line which passes through Biserica-Alba, Oradea-Mare,

Timisoara, Baia-Mare,

Salonta-Mare, Borza,

from this line to the Transylvanian frontier, the whole territory is inhabited by a compact Roumanian element, where a few thousand foreigners only are found, which number corresponds with that of the few thousand Roumanians to be found in Hungary beyond this line, in the direction of the Tissa,

Consequently, apart from the clever distribution of the counties, the Roumanians of Hungary proper form a compact national element, much more homogenous even than in Transylvania itself.

That the Roumanian counties which adjoin the centre of Magyarism have been so formed that Magyarism is in a majority there, is a fact which proves of itself the injustice done to the Roumanians.

We see then that the Roumanian people form a complete nation, and that, on this national Roumanian territory, the non-roumanians amount to scarcely a million, which is far from the 2 to 3 millions invented by the Magyars.[24]

Besides, they evidently without knowing it, give us a proof of the truth of our assenions, when they state this fact, that hardly 6% of the Roumanians speak the Hungarian tongue.

We enquire; if bare Roumanianism constituted an absolute and overwhelming majority on this territory, and magyarism nothing but small and insignificant enclosures lost in the Roumanian centre, could the intercourse between the Roumanians who know and those who do not know the Magyar language be so small?

And what do these limited relations prove? They prove more eloquently than ten Magyar Replies could do, that the Roumanians do not learn the Magyar language, because they have no real need of it, this territory being that of the Roumanian nation, with a few Magyar and Saxon enclosures.

Our Magyar Colleagues have omitted another point.

It is a noted fact that the greater number of the non-Roumanians who inhabit this territory both know and speak Roumanian, without in any way being forced to it, either by the schools or the administration.

Every one knows that when a Saxon and a Hungarian speak together, they employ the Roumanian language.

What is the reason of this fact?

It is a simple and natural one: these foreign enclosures are only isles in the Roumanian ocean.