JSO 



NETHERLANDS (HISTORY.) 



occupied with the rights and privileges of the 

 reigning dynasty ; the most important civil regu- 

 lations, particularly those of the provincial estates, 

 were left to be settled subsequently ; and the 

 principles of the judiciary and of the finances re- 

 mained undetermined. This sketch was made public 

 before voting on it; but all amendments to the. con- 

 stitution were prevented, by the rule forbidding all 

 remarks and discussion in the convention, to which 

 600 notables, from all the departments of the former 

 United Provinces, were summoned. Only 475 ap- 

 peared. Among the 125 absent, there were distin- 

 guished men, who would neither have submitted to 

 express their opinion merely by yeas or nays, nor 

 would have deemed themselves justified in conferring 

 the sovereignty, without express instructions, or with- 

 out the loudly-declared assent of the whole nation. 

 Of those present, many acquiesced conditionally, al- 

 though their votes were reported as unconditional. 

 The result was, that there were 26 votes only uncon- 

 ditionally opposed to the plan of the constitution, 

 which was therefore adopted, by a majority of 449 

 votes. By a resolve of the congress of Vienna, the 

 Belgic provinces were united with the United Nether- 

 lands, to form the kingdom of the Netherlands, and 

 the prince William I. (q- v.) was recognised by all 

 the powers as sovereign king of the Netherlands. As 

 an indemnification for the cession of liis territories of 

 Nassau, in Germany, the duchy of Luxemburg was 

 given to him, with the title of a grand-duchy, which 

 still, however, belonged to the Germanic confedera- 

 tion ; the king of the Netherlands, as granrl-duke of 

 Luxemburg, had a seat (the llth) in the diet of the 

 confederation, and three votes in the plenum. It was 

 left in the power of the king to make such a disposi- 

 tion as to the succession of the grand-duchy, as he 

 might deem proper. To these territories was also 

 annexed the ancient bishopric of Liege. IV. Since 

 1815. In June, 1815, the king acceded to the Ger- 

 manic confederation. The incorporation of so many 

 provinces, inhabited by people who, although an- 

 ciently of the same origin, differed in manners, cus- 

 toms, and religious opinions, naturally rendered a 

 revision of the constitution necessary. Conformably 

 with the 143d article, the 55 members of the states- 

 general were eventually doubled, by the provincial 

 estates, in order to deliberate on the needful altera- 

 tions. A majority of two thirds was requisite for the 

 adoption of any proposition, which was then to be 

 submitted to the approval of the prince. These pre- 

 liminaries having been gone through, a convention of 

 the notables was assembled at Brussels, of whom a 

 greater number, in proportion to the population, was 

 from the southern provinces. One sixth of these, 

 however, did not appear, so that the whole number 

 present was 1323, of whom 527 voted for, and 796 

 against, the constitution. But it being found that 

 not only some votes had been given conditionally, 

 contrary to rule, but that 12(5 votes were given 

 against the constitution merely from religious motives, 

 these last, together with the 280 absent, were counted 

 in favour of the constitution, for which a majority was 

 thus obtained ; and, August 24, it was declared to be 

 adopted. October 11, a treaty on the subject of the 

 Belgic national debt was concluded between the king 

 of the Netherlands and Austria. By the second 

 peace of Paris, November 20, 1815, France ceded to 

 the kingdom of the Netherlands whatever it still re- 

 tained of the former Austrian Netherlands, particu- 

 larly a rich mineral district, situated in the centre of 

 the Ardennes, between Hainault and Namur, the loss 

 of which had been severely felt by the inhabitants of 

 the Netherlandish province of Hainault, with the for- 

 tresses of Marienburg and Philippeville. The crown 

 of the Netherlands also obtained the sovereignty of 



the small duchy of Bouillon (q. v.), between Luxem- 

 burg and Champagne. By the treaty with England, 

 of October 29, 1814, in consideration of the relin- 

 quishment of all the claims of Holland to the Cape of 

 Good Rope, and to the colonies of Demerary, Ksse- 

 quibo, and Berbice, all the other colonies that Hol- 

 land possessed anterior to 1794, in Asia, Africa, and 

 America, were restored to William I. May 17, 1816, 

 a Netherlandish fleet, under the admiral Van der 

 Capellen, joined the English under lord Exmouth, in 

 the bay of Algiers, and compelled the dey of Algiers 

 to recognise the European law of nations. On the 

 25th, a compact was concluded between the kings of 

 Prussia and of the Netherlands respecting the cession 

 of a tract of country to the latter. June 21, 1816, 

 the king of the Netherlands acceded to the holy alli- 

 ance. The want of a common feeling between the 

 Belgic and Dutch subjects of the new monarchy was 

 strongly displayed on several occasions. The great 

 influence of the Belgic clergy (who were disaffected 

 to a Protestant dynasty), even over the higher classes ; 

 the mutual dislike of the Belgians and the Dutch ; 

 the dissatisfaction of the latter with the long resi- 

 dence of the court in Brussels ; and the division in 

 the Dutch provinces, since the establishment of the 

 monarchy, of the professed adherents of the reigning 

 family into the old Orange party, or friends of a here- 

 ditary stadtholderate or republican system, and the 

 new Orange party, or partisans of the monarchy (to 

 which belonged the greater part of the nobility and 

 army) caused much discontent, which was, however, 

 counterbalanced by the increasing confidence in the 

 personal character and the conciliatory policy of the 

 king. In the foreign relations of the kingdom, the 

 government, for the most part, pursued the British 

 system. The marriage of the crown prince with a 

 Russian grand princess produced beneficial relations 

 with that empire. With the bordering state of 

 Prussia, commercial subjects produced some colli- 

 sions ; but between the two reigning families a close 

 connexion has existed since the marriage of prince 

 Frederic, in 1825, with Louisa, daughter of the king 

 of Prussia. The political relations of France with 

 its new neighbour were pacific. With Sweden and 

 Denmark, as with Spain and Portugal, the relations 

 were purely commercial. The commercial relations 

 with the United States of North America had been 

 established on principles of reciprocity. The Nether- 

 lands had recognised the new republics of South 

 America, and, in 1826, sent a deputy to the congress 

 of Panama. Though this incongruously compounded 

 state had made some progress since 1818, under the 

 influence of its constitution, yet the amalgamation of 

 the Dutch and Belgians into one nation was not suc- 

 cessful ; both nations disdained to bear the common 

 name of the state of the Netherlands. This recipro- 

 cal aversion of the northern and the southern people, 

 stimulated by the events of late years, was several 

 times exhibited, with great animosity, in the church, 

 in the army, and even in the chambers of the states- 

 general. But the spirit of dissension entered most 

 deeply into the popular feeling, and was maintained 

 in vigour for years, by some Catholic clergy, who 

 inculcated opposition to the constitutional system in 

 the pulpit and in the confessional ; for the pope had 

 allowed the Belgic priests to grant absolution to the 

 Netherlandish officers of government only when they 

 swore fidelity to the constitution merely in. a civil 

 sense ; while the government allowed no restriction. 

 The opposition of the Catholic clergy to the govern- 

 ment, gave rise, at first, to such great dissatisfaction 

 on the part of the people, that the government was 

 obliged to organize a strict police in the southern 

 provinces, which again produced new complaints. It 

 was therefore abolished, April 1, 1818. The gov- 



