100] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1814. 



try guarded, as during the Flem- 

 ish wars of former times. 



The Prince Sovereign of the 

 Netherlands having returned to 

 the Hague on November 7th, he 

 opened the first ordinary session of 

 the States General with a speech. 

 He began with recounting the 

 happy auspices under which their 

 sitting commenced. " Perfect 

 tranquillity reigns in every part of 

 the country, though scarcely rege- 

 nerated : the organization of the 

 principal branches of the admini- 

 stration is prosecuting conform- 

 ably to the regulations of the fun- 

 damental laws, without obstacle 

 or even difficulty ; every where 

 the spirit of industry and commerce 

 manifests itself more and more, 

 which we had reason to fear nii^ht 

 have been totally extinguished 

 and annihilated during so many 

 unhappy years." His Royal High- 

 ness then proceeded to touch upon 

 particulars relative to their situa- 

 tion. He regretted, that till the 

 termination of the congress he 

 could not inform them with cer- 

 tainty of the extent of the territory 

 of the state, and of its possessions 

 beyond sea, but adverted to the 

 arrangements with the crown of 

 England, which had enabled him 

 to take measures for the re-occu- 

 pation of the most considerable 

 part of their ancient foreign domi- 

 nions. He spoke with great sa- 

 tisfaction of the state of the pub- 

 lic finances, by which, at the end 

 of 1814, sixteen n.onths of the in- 

 terest of the national debt, and the 

 vast expenses required by the re- 



establishment of so many branches 

 of the administration, might be 

 wholly paid, all the accounts of 

 government services since his ac- 

 cession to power be liquidated, and 

 a considerable sum left in the trea- 

 sury applicable to the expenses of 

 the next year. On the whole, the 

 view given by his Royal Highness 

 of the state of the country was 

 such as might gratify every pa- 

 triot. 



On December 8th, the secretary 

 of finance, Mr. Falck, presented 

 to the States an estimate of the 

 expenditure for the year 1815, 

 which amounted to fifty-one mil- 

 lions of guilders. He acquainted 

 them that by care and economy 

 the expense of the last year had 

 been reduced 3,700,000 guilders 

 below the estimate, and that there 

 would remain in the treasury, at 

 the end of the year, a sum of about 

 ten millions and a half. He gave 

 reasons for the persisting,at the pre- 

 sent time, in making extraordinary 

 exertions, and recommended the 

 continuance of the existing taxes, 

 with the exception of some altera- 

 tion in that of patents. The States 

 General, after deliberating on the 

 report, and on the plan of a law 

 with which it was accompanied, 

 passed a resolution, approving of 

 the same; and the patience with 

 which necessary burdens are borne 

 in this country, and the wise fru- 

 gality displayed in the administra- 

 tion of its revenues, are equally 

 deserving of the applause and imi- 

 tation of other states. 



