Introduction. 25 



tharges as war or other circumstances may require. But the 

 king has the right of a negative on the decisions of the diet, 

 nor can any be in force till they obtain his sanction, when they 

 are published in his name throughout the kingdom. 



In his exercite of the executive power, the king's organ is a 

 particular council, altogether independent of those which re- 

 gulate the other parts of the empire. This is called the chan- 

 celry of Hungary, is resident at Vienna, and constitutes the 

 first authority of the kingdom. The lieutenancy of the king- 

 dom, or council of state, at Buda, over which the palatine, or 

 viceroy, presides, has the direction of affairs relating to the 

 interior. To this board the chancelry transmits the king's 

 orders, the legality of which it has a right to investigate, and 

 to forward them afterwards to the public functionaries. Every 

 comitat or county has a governor, who corresponds, directly, 

 with this central administration, which, moreover, has under 

 it all that concerns the police, justice, the execution of govern- 

 ment orders, and of those of the county. 



The administration of the military frontiers depends imme- 

 diately on the Aulic council of war at Vienna ; every regiment 

 has a commandant, who has under him a number of officers. 

 All business is transacted in a military way, the people being 

 soldiers, though attached to and cultivating the soil. 



The legislative code consists of laws enacted under different 

 sovereigns, and accepted, generally, by the states, but various 

 nations or divisions have their particular laws, and certain 

 privileges granted to them separately, but assured to them, 

 subsequently to their union, as a nation. Some among them 

 are entirely governed by the Germanic code. Each of the 

 states of the kingdom, each division of people, and, indeed, 

 every city that has special laws, has its particular magistrates 

 and judges, acting only among themselves : there lies an ap- 

 peal, however, to the supreme courts, for cases not especially 

 provided for. 



With respect to the public revenue, it depends on the pro- 

 duce of the mines, and on the taxes which are levied on indi- 

 viduals, on cattle, on land, and articles of trade. There are 

 no monopolies on the productions of the soil, but the annual 

 contributions fall exclusively on the burgesses of the free towns, 

 and on the peasantry ; the noblesse are exempted, having the 

 right of taxing themselves. The gentlemen, however, con- 

 tribute towards the temporary taxes fixed by the diet, for ex- 

 traordinary occasions, as also to the charges of a war, when 

 within the kingdom, and they arm a quota of men proportion- 

 ed to their estates. Indeed, they are to rise in mass, when 

 called upon by the sovereign, in defence of the state. This 



VOYAGBS and TRAVELS, No. L, VOL. IX. E 



