When the Croat National party looked at Serbia they saw a people torn
in two by rival dynasties: Michael, the son of Milo[vs], had after a
few years followed his father into exile, as he also could not grow
accustomed to ruling with a Constitution. After him came Alexander,
son of the assassinated Kara George. He was a cold, indifferent,
slothful prince, and constantly the banished house of Obrenovi['c] was
plotting to turn out this scion of the house of Kara George. But after
sixteen years his people turned him out.... In the Banat the Serbs
were going backward. For example, they were at the summit of their
strength in Arad in the eighteenth century, and since then they had
been unable to resist the German wave. Time was when Arad had a
Serbian princess, the wife of blinded Bela; and they were much
esteemed when from 1703-1711 the Serbian cavalry and infantry had
fought so strenuously for Austria against the rebels. Afterwards the
Austrians believed they could get on without the Serbs; they started
to destroy their privileges and to persuade them to give up their
Church--it was in consequence of this that many of the Serbs in Arad
went to Russia. A certain Colonel Peter Szejadinac objected to the
Austrian policy and came to Arad for the purpose of procuring some
alleviation for the Serbs, but he was broken on the wheel. In
Teme[vs]var the Serbs had also basked in glory. Until 1818 they had
owned all but seventeen houses of the inner town; they had their own
magistrature. Until 1860 they remained the wealthiest community, but
here also there was an influx of Germans against which they could not
stand.