Kossuth's personal wants and the necessities of his family and friends
were met by the sale of Hungarian bonds and by voluntary contributions;
but no substantial aid was given to Hungary in its contest with Austria
and Russia.
In his many speeches Kossuth set forth his views upon national and
international topics with freedom, and often with great wisdom. Said
he on one occasion: "I take political economy for a science not
exactly like mathematics. It is quite a practical thing, depending
upon circumstances; but in certain proceedings a negative principle
exists. In political economy it is not good for the people that a
prohibitory system be adopted. Protection may sometimes be of service
to a nation, but prohibition never." Thus did he qualify the claim
of authors and students, who assert that political economy deserves
rank among the sciences, whether exact or speculative, and thus did he
recognize the protective theory as adapted to the condition of states
while in the transition period in the development of the higher
industries.
It was a favorite thought with Kossuth that England would become
republican, and that the United States and republican England could
lead the world in civilization and in the work and duty of elevating
the masses. His influence in Hungary had been due, in a large measure,
to his active agency in the work of establishing associations for the
advancement of agriculture, public education, commerce, and the
mechanic arts.
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