Irish in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: "For the Ireland of the Magyar state, for this is what the unfortunate Transylvania is, we have endured in these lands for longer than 2000 years. All our tribulations and hopes bond us to the land on which we live". On the adoption of the Trefort education bill in 1879, which sought to make the Hungarian language mandatory in primary and confessional schools, Pop de Băsești stated the following: "If it's a sin to make an attempt on another man's life, in the case of the present law it is a greater sin to make an attempt on the life of an ethnicity, even of more nationalities, of all nationalities of the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen". Pop de Băsești's personality gained the respect of his political opponent Kálmán Tisza, who declared: "You're a fierce man, fanatical Daco-Romanian! We are a world apart from each other. We shall never find any common ground. However I respect the deep convinction with which you defended so heartily the cause of your people". In 1879, Pop de Băsești resigned from the (where he held the position of vice president) after having lost the belief that Romanians' and Hungarians' interests could be reconciled. His resignation provided the occasion for Kálmán Tisza to attempt convincing Gheorghe Pop de Băsești to join his party: "We would need brave and determined men. Come and join us and I guarantee there is no dignity in Hungary you couldn't obtain", to which Pop de Băsești replied: "Even if you gave me the whole Hungary I would not betray the righteous cause of my poor and unfortunate people, who, beside God, my comrades and myself, has no other defenders against your oppressive tendencies". Romanian National Party Subsequently, Pop de Băsești joined the National Party of Romanians in Transylvania. Between 12–14 May 1881, he participated at the national conference in Nagyszeben that sealed the merger of the National Party of Romanians in Transylvania with the National Party of Romanians in Banat and Hungary into the Romanian National Party (, PNR). Pop de Băsești was also elected in the executive committee of the party as the central coordinator for the Szilágy, Szatmár and Máramaros counties. In 1881, Pop de Băsești ran again for a deputy seat in Szilágycseh, however he lost after the authorities called in 120 gendarmes from 5