GENERAL HISTORY. 



[127 



merce. To protect thisj the pro- 

 posed law permits the transit of 

 all goods and merchandise free 

 of import and export duties, with 

 the payment alone of a moderate 

 duty for such transit over our 

 territory. With this view it is 

 proposed, that in every to\vn 

 where any extensive commerce is 

 carried on, an entrepot should be 

 established, where, for a very mo- 

 derate duty, goods should be 

 placed under the inspection and 

 care of the administration of con- 

 voys and licenses." 



The session of the States-ge- 

 neral, held in turn at Brussels, 

 opened on October 21st, with a 

 speechfrom thethrone. It touched 

 upon various topics relative to 

 the state of the country, one of 

 which was a meditated exchange 

 of small portions of territory on 

 the Prussian frontier, with equi- 

 valent portions belonging to that 

 power, for mutual convenience. 

 The most interesting topic was 

 that of the finances, concerning 

 which his Majesty spoke in the 

 following terms : " When the 

 view of the receipts and the ex- 

 penses of the public treasury shall 

 be communicated to the States- 

 general, your High Mightinesses 

 will see, I hope, with satisfaction, 

 the considerable reduction which, 

 conformably to your wish and 

 mine, ha« been effected in the 

 charges of the general adminis- 

 tration. In consequence, no aug- 

 mentation of the existing means, 

 no creation of extraordinaiy re- 

 sources, will be necessary to 

 cover them. At the same time, 

 the regularity and the facility of 

 the collection of the revenues 

 in ahnost all the provinces, de- 

 moiistiate the salutary influence 



which the liberty of commerce 

 and of every species of industry, 

 has already had on the situation 

 of the inhabitants. But neither 

 this circumstance, nor any of the 

 facts from which it is permitted 

 to presume the still increasing 

 solidity of the public credit, Avill 

 make me foi-get the necessity of 

 further economy, and the duty 

 imposed on me, not to require 

 from my subjects any sacrifices, 

 but such as are strictly indispen- 

 sable to maintain the honour and 

 safety of the state." 



On rising, after the delivery of 

 his speech, the King was saluted 

 by the repeated acclamations of 

 the whole assembly ; and there is 

 reason to suppose, that no sove- 

 reign in Europe has bettei suc- 

 ceeded in acquiring the general 

 'confidence of his people in the 

 sincerity of his declarations of 

 regarding their interests as ex- 

 clusively his own. 



A treaty was laid befoi'e the 

 States concluded between the 

 King of the Netherlands and the 

 Prince Regent of Great Britain and 

 Hanover, the purpose of which 

 was to abolish the tax called the 

 Droit d'Aubaine, and the imposts 

 named Gabelle d'Heredite and 

 Redevance d'Emigration, when 

 an inlieritance passes from the 

 States of the King of the Nether- 

 lands to the dominions of Hano- 

 ver, and reciprocally ; which ar- 

 rangement is extended, not only 

 to the duties and imposts which 

 come into the public tj'easury, 

 but to those levied on account of 

 provinces, towns, corporations, 

 and other public bodies. 



The defence of the Netherlands 

 against any future att'ick from a 

 powerful neighbour, could not 



but 



