Page:Edvard Beneš – Bohemia's case for independence.pdf/132

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BOHEMIA'S CASE FOR INDEPENDENCE

The first of the two documents is a resolution proposed by Count Clam-Martinitz in the Electoral Committee of Large Landowners of Bohemia on December 6th, 1916, which he hoped would give him certain powers and prepare the ground for his mission. The second document is the verdict passed on the Czech deputy, Kramář.

The first document contains amongst other things the following:—

"In the course of this war we have observed with feelings of profound grief that the subversive propaganda conducted for years past by elements hostile to the State has succeeded in perverting the military honour and sense of duty of the Czech nation towards the State. This is a matter of common knowledge, and the enemies of the Czech people record it with the greatest precision. Certain troops recruited from the Czech countries failed to do their duty on the battlefields in spite of the glorious traditions of the ancient and famous Czech regiments. Behind the front also this criminal agitation has had its fruits; moreover, part of the Czech Press, especially during the first months of the war, failed in loyalty to Austria.

"Nevertheless we may say with satisfaction that for some time there has been an improvement in this respect, and it would certainly be ungrateful not to recognise emphatically that other Czech