1830.] The Wellington and the Grey Administrations. 



have preserved his dominions from revolt, and that the wise and prudent 

 measure of submitting the desires and the complaints of his people to the 

 deliberation of an extraordinary meeting of the States-General, should have 

 led to no satisfactory result. 



"I am endeavouring, in concert with my Allies, to devise such means of 

 restoring tranquillity as may be compatible with the welfare and good govern- 

 ment of the Netherlands, and with the future security of other States!" 



And this was non-intervention. This was abstaining from taking a side. 

 This was " giving no opinion either way/' Men of plain understanding, 

 from London to St. Petersburg, read it in a totally different way ; and 

 the stocks fell instantly, in the expectation of immediate measures of war. 

 All Belgium read it in the same plain way, and set down England in 

 the ranks of its enemies. All Europe had made up its mind upon the 

 subject ; and it seems likely that nothing but the extreme caution of the 

 French King could have prevented his cabinet from issuing a counter 

 declaration, and declaring, " that he had witnessed with deep regret the 

 state of affairs in the Low Countrie.3. He lamented that the enlightened 

 administration bf the Belgium Insurrection had not preserved its domi- 

 nions from the attacks of tyranny ; and that the wise and prudent mea- 

 sure of submitting the desires and complaints of the people to a native 

 Legislature should have led to no satisfactory results. In consequence 

 whereof the King of the French was endeavouring in concert with his 

 Allies, to devise such means of restoring tranquillity as were compatible 

 with the welfare and good government of the Netherlands ; and with 

 the future security of other Slates." 



Is there a man in England who could have doubted that such a paper 

 was a manifesto ? or that the French were preparing to uphold the 

 Belgians by arms ? On this point Earl Grey's observations in the debate 

 are unanswerable. 



" We should consider well the nature of the sacrifices we were called on to 

 make, in order to maintain the union between these countries. If his Majesty, 

 in his speech, only meant to lament that troubles had broken out in the 

 Netherlands, and to deprecate the consequences that might flow from them, 

 he (Earl Grey) had not a single word to say on the subject. But the speech 

 went further, and pronounced an opinion on the transactions referred to, by 

 speaking of the ' revolt' of one of the parties against an * enlightened admi- 

 nistration.' This was totally inconsistent with the principles of non-inter- 

 ference, which ought to regulate our policy in such cases it was taking up 

 the cause of the King against his ' revolted' subjects revolted, too, from a 

 wise and ' enlightened' government: if so, the revolt ought to be sup- 

 pressed and punished ; and was the Noble Duke (Wellington) prepared to 

 aid the King of the Netherlands in bringing matters to that issue ? He 

 trusted not ; but trusted that if the Noble Duke were of that mind, the House 

 would not support such conduct. (Hear !) He believed the Noble Duke 

 would find no support for such an attempt in a country too much at- 

 tached to liberty itself to interfere with the liberty of others. But would the 

 Noble Duke mediate? How would he act the part of an impartial mediator 

 after pronouncing an opinion on the conduct of one of the parties ? The 

 allusion to the state of Belgium was ill-judged, to say the least. If it came 

 at last to the issue which he expected namely, that the Netherlands would 

 constitute a new State, independent of other countries ; if it should come 

 to that, in what situation would the Noble Duke stand, when he should be 

 obliged to acknowledge a Government composed of people whom he had 

 denounced as rebels ? He was sure if the Noble Duke proposed to France 

 such an interference as appeared to be contemplated, that she would resist, 

 and the consequence must be an interruption of tranquillity." 



