desire to save Austria, the whole of Austria, you must make justice the
basis of your policy towards the Slavs. Do not then say that we did not
warn you. _Discite justitiam moniti_."

In the same sense also Palacky warned the government against dualism,
pointing out that if it were introduced it would inevitably lead to the
break-up of Austria. Seeing that Austria did not listen to his warning, he
later on declared that he no longer believed in the future of Austria, and
added: "We existed before Austria, we shall also exist after her."

The greatest mistake the Czechs made was when in 1866, after the battle of
Sadova, they thought that Austria would cease to be the bulwark of
Pan-Germanism and would do justice to her subject Slavs, and thus become a
protection against Germany. It is true that Austria did cease to be the
head of the Pan-German Confederation, but instead of becoming a bulwark
against Prussia, she became her faithful ally and obedient tool. The
Czechs, who feared lest they should be annexed by Prussia, failed to grasp
the subtle plans of Bismarck who in a short time succeeded in converting
Austria into Germany's bridge to the East.

When the victorious Prussians entered Prague in 1866, they issued a
proclamation to the Czechs recognising their right to independence. This
proclamation was probably drafted by the Czech exile J.V. Fric, an ardent
democrat who fled abroad after the abortive revolution of 1848. Fric, who
was a man of keen sense for political reality and a great friend of the
Poles, exerted all his influence with the Czech leaders to proclaim Bohemia
independent, without an armed revolt, simply by means of a plebiscite, as
he was aware that the masses were always thoroughly anti-Austrian and
desired nothing more than independence. He proposed to his
fellow-countrymen to establish a monarchy, with some other dynasty than the