402 
sentiments, to see only the fulfil- 
ment of our most important du- 
ties, under present circumstances, 
only a new proof oj our devotion 
to your sacred person, only the 
sincere wish that your Majesty 
may reign over these fine provin- 
ces in constant peace, by a per- 
fectly paternal government, and 
by a powerful and durable union 
between the Clergy and the Royal 
Authority. 
We are, with the profoundest 
veneration, your Majesty’s most 
humble, obedient, and faithful 
servant s 
(Signed 
Prince Maurice of Broglio, 
Bishop of Ghent. 
J.A. Barrett, Vicar-Gene- 
ral Capitulary of Liege. 
J. Forcrur, Vicar-General 
of the Archbishoprick of 
Malines. 
Cuarues Francis JosEP# 
Pisant, Bishop of Namur. 
Francis JoserH, Bishop of 
Tournay. 
July 28, 1815. 
Speech of the King of the Nether- 
lands on opening the assembly 
of the States General of the 
United Netherlands. 
Hague, August 8. 
High and Mighty Lords,—A 
few months ago I announced to 
the States General the union of 
all the Netherlands under the 
Royal Sceptre; but that this 
union may be permanent and be- 
neficial, it is not enough that all 
the inhabitants be united under 
one Sovereign ; they must, be- 
sides, be most intimately bound 
together by the same laws and 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1815, 
the same institutions ; the party 
walls raised. under other circum= 
stances must be removed, «,d 
they rust mutually regard each 
other as inhabitants of one house, 
and children of one family. 
Your High Mightinesses know 
thatsuch are also the views of the 
united Powers of Europe in es- 
tablishing the new Monarchy,— 
Faithful to the principle of every. 
where maintaining and preserv- 
ing the already established rela- 
tions, they have especially re- 
quired that our Constitution shall 
be maintained, and only altered 
in so far as the change of circum- 
stances should, upon common de- 
liberation, appear to demand. My, 
own wishes coincide with this de- 
termination. I haye chosen for 
the revision of the Constitution 
those measures which appeared to 
me most adapted to the end pro- 
posed. Men assembled from all 
the provinces of the kingdom, 
without any other end in view 
than the welfare and glory of 
their countrymen, have fulfilled 
the important task, and in their 
dispassionate, concordant, and 
confidential deliberations, I have 
seen, with joy, a new and flatter- 
ing presage of the fraternal union 
of all my subjects. 
These deliberations still conti- 
nued, when the tumult of war, 
unexpected, and with unusual 
rage (but, God be thanked, for a 
short time only), surprised our, 
territory. The danger, though 
short, was. urgent ; but the cou- 
rage of our warriors was superior 
to the danger. No consideration, 
no examples of a neighbouring 
country even, could make one 
doubt a moment of the security 
of engagements voluntarily taken 
