426 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1814-. 



Happy if, in multiplying my 

 claims to your esteem, I shall suc- 

 ceed in preparing and facilitating 

 the union which is to fix your des- 

 tiny, and which will permit my 

 love to make no difference between 

 you and that people, whom nature 

 herself seems to have destined to 

 form with Belgium one powerful 

 and prosperous state. 



Given at Brussels, 1st August. 

 (Signed) William. 



By his Royal Highness, 



(Signed) A. R. Falck. 



Proclamation of the King of Swe- 

 den to the Norwegians. 



At the moment when our well- 

 beloved Son, the Prince Royal of 

 Sweden, is about to put himself at 

 the head of our forces, by sea and 

 land, in order to take possession of 

 the kingdom of Norway; we can- 

 not refuse to our paternal heart 

 tile satisfaction of once more open- 

 ing the path of peace and concilia- 

 tion to our misled subjects, before 

 the calamities inevitable from the 

 entrance of an armed force con- 

 found the innocent with the 

 guilty. 



Inhabitants of Norway ! Your 

 political existence has been irrevo- 

 cably decided by the great results 

 of the war, and sanctioned by tiie 

 most solemn treaties. A few fac- 

 tious persons, who would deceive 

 your truth and good faith, no lon- 

 ger have it in their power to oppose 

 obstacles to the establishment in 

 the North of a new order of things, 

 which has been unanimously gua- 

 ranteed by all the preponderating 

 powers of Europe. 



The incontestable rights of Swe- 

 ,den to the union of Norway have 



beeij too dearly purchased by the 

 blood and patriotic efforts of our 

 subjects, that we should hesitate u 

 single instant to render them 

 effectual, and to support them by 

 all the means which Providence 

 has placed at our disposal. 



For all the sacrifices by which 

 we have contributed to the gene- 

 ral deliverance of Europe, we 

 have desired no other reward but 

 the future peace and tranquillity of 

 the Scandinavian Peninsula. It 

 was to facilitate the happy union 

 of Norway to Sweden, and to 

 cement it by all the principles of 

 honour and good faith, that we 

 consented to restore to the King of 

 Denmark the most valuable of his 

 continental possessions, conquered 

 and then occupied by our victori- 

 ous troops and those of our allies. 

 It was in consideration of this ob- 

 ject, so much desired, that we 

 hastened at once to put a stop to 

 the payment of all the contribu- 

 tions which had already been im- 

 posed on the Danish provinces ; 

 that we solemnly renounced all 

 the old claims which we were en- 

 titled to make on the court of 

 Copenhagen in favour of our sub- 

 jects, and that we added to these 

 disinterested conditions of peace 

 offers still more considerable, and 

 snc.ifices very painful to our heart, 

 as an ulterior indemnity for the 

 peaceable cession of Norway. 



Unfortunately a single individual 

 has hitherto disregarded ail our ef- 

 forts, and thoseof our august allies. 

 That individual is the late governor 

 of his Danish Majesty, who takes 

 upon him to abuse your confidence, 

 in onier to make you act crimi- 

 nally towards the |)owers who 

 have sanctioned the union of the 

 Scandinavian states, and who have 



