The Work of other County Assemblies in Virovitica in the Time of the Great District Prefect J. J. Strossmayer

J. J. Strossmayer svojim je radom na mnogim poljima javnog života dao neizmjeran doprinos i u velikoj mjeri obilježio vrijeme i prostor u kojem je djelovao. Javnosti je najpoznatiji kao biskup đakovačko-srijemski, a manje je poznato da je obnašao dužnost i čast velikog župana Virovitičke županije od siječnja 1861. do travnja 1862. godine. Radom prvih dviju županijskih skupština pod njegovim predsjedanjem bavili su se neki drugi autori, a mi smo ovdje razmotrili rad ostalih skupština. Da bismo shvatili odluke skupštine iz toga razdoblja, potrebno je poznavati društveno-političko okruženje u kojem je ona djelovala. Misao vodilja u radu i odlukama skupština, a čiji je glavni protagonist veliki župan Strossmayer, bila je ideja o integritetu i suverenosti zemalja trojednog kraljevstva, što bi u konačnosti trebalo dovesti do onoga što danas i imamo: slobodne i neovisne Hrvatske. Stoga je potpuno neosnovano kada ga pojedinci pokušavaju prikazati kao Jugoslavena i protivnika hrvatske državnopravne ideje. Strossmayer je podcrtavao važnost ustava za hrvatski narod. Ako netko dira u hrvatski ustav, dira u hrvatsku dušu i hrvatsko srce. Tako se skupština Virovitičke županije suprotstavljala raznim neustavnim naredbama tijela vlasti, prije svega Dvorskog dikasterija i Kraljevskog namjesničkog vijeća, između ostalog neustavnom novačenju i protuzakonitom ubiranju poreza vojnom silom. Skupština se nadalje zalaže za županijsku sudbenost kao garanciju ustavnih sloboda na lokalnoj razini. Skupština je stala i u obranu hrvatskog jezika – zalagala se za njegovo uvođenje u sve hrvatske škole i javne institucije. Bile su to sve plemenite i pravedne odluke skupštine, prožete duhom i mišlju velikog župana Strossmayera. Prije svega, njegove pastirske dužnosti bile su uzrokom njegova povlačenja s časti velikog župana. No razlozi su ipak bili i politički. Njegovo je povlačenje značilo velik gubitak za Virovitičku županiju. Iako je tom ostavkom polako nagovijestio svoje povlačenje iz javnog političkog života, on nikada nije prestao, koristeći svoj upliv kao crkveni dostojanstvenik, javno djelovati za dobrobit svoje domovine.The work of J. J. Strossmayer contributed greatly to many fields of public life and he characterized in large scale the time and space in which he lived and worked. To public eye he was mainly known as the bishop of the Đakovo-Srijem county and it is less known that he was by duty and dignity the great district prefect of the Virovitica county from January 1861 until April 1862. The work of the first two county assemblies under his presidency has been dealt by some other authors and we have considered here the work of other county assemblies. In order to comprehend the decisions of the county assembly from that time, it is necessary to know the social-political millieu in which it was active. A guiding principle in work and decision of the assembly, and whose main figure was the great district prefect Strossmayer, was an idea of integrity and sovereignty of the Triune Kingdom countries that eventually should have brought the same thing that we have nowadays; free and independent Croatia. Thus, it is utterly unfounded when some individuals try to portray him as a Yugoslav and opponent to Croatian public law idea. Strossmayer underlined the significance of the constitution for Croatian people. If someone tampers with the Croatian constitution, he does harm the Croatian spirit and Croatian heart. In this way the Virovitica county assembly opposed various unconstitutional decrees made by government bodies, first of all Regency Council; among other things an unconstitutional recruiting and illegal tax collecting by military force. Furthermore, the assembly pledges for county legal competence as a guarantee of constitutional freedoms on local level. The assembly stood up for Croatian language; it pledged for its introduction in Croatian schools and public institutions. It was noble and righteous assembly’s decisions imbued by the spirit and thought of the great district perfect Strossmayer. His pastoral duties were the reason for his retreat from dignity of the great district prefect. But nevertheless the reasons were also political ones. His retreat meant a huge loss to the Virovitica county. Although his resignation slowly predicted his retreat from the public life, he never stopped, using his interference as an ecclesiastic dignitary, working publicly for the benefit of his homeland