476 



BELGIUM. 



r.lxilition of the philosophical college nl Lou vain 

 nil instiliitkm founded with the best intentions '"it 

 n stumbling-block to the majority of (In- Catholic 

 rlergy of Itelgiuin, who thought the light of science 

 incompatible with the objects, at which they aimed. 

 But this measure did not satiety the Belgians: the 

 great Ixxly of them haled the Dutch as Protestants, 

 while those who did not e.ire for religions distinctions 

 were equally hostile, because ilie Dutch, as they 

 thought, were preferred to them. Thus it happened 

 that (he moderate party of liberals, and the ultra- 

 Catholic party (which liad already successfully op- 

 posed the reforms of Joseph II.), united strange as 

 it may seem in order to oppose the Dutch Protes- 

 tant government, as they called it (though no Catho- 

 lic was ever molested iii his religious rights), in the 

 duunl>ers, periodicals, and by petit ions, with a mingled 

 spirit of republicanism and ultramontanism ; so that 

 foreign observers were often struck with the tone of 

 their newspapers as singularly inconsistent. 



The feeling of grievances now outweighed by far 

 the consciousness of advantages secured to the Bel- 

 gians by the act of union. One great complaint had 

 always Ix-en that the Belgian deputies originally had 

 actually rejected the constitution, which gave to the 

 Dutch provinces, though much inferior in area and 

 population, an equal number of representatives in 

 the states-general with the Belgians, for which rea- 

 son Uie majority of the Belgian notables rejected it ; 

 but, as the votes of the members not present were 

 counted as ayes, the new constitution was, neverthe- 

 less, declared to have been adopted. This was the 

 first ostensible cause of the discontent of the Belgians, 

 which continually increased. Hence the Belgic op- 

 position waged a continual war against the adminis- 

 tration, perhaps so much the more violent as they 

 had been obliged to observe a deathlike silence under 

 Napoleon's government. The liberals, uniting with 

 the ultramontane party, demanded, under pretext of 

 freedom of education, the continuation or restoration 

 of the Catholic colleges, yet on the old Jesuitical 

 plan ; for which reason the clergy, who were highly 

 influential with the lower classes, joined with the 

 liberals in the demand for the liberty of the press, 

 juries, and the responsibility of ministers. Laws had 

 been passed respecting the schools, which limited 

 the right of instruction so, that the government could 

 exercise a supervision as to the competency of the 

 teachers. The clergy hated this restriction, as it 

 deprived them of the sole management and direction ; 

 so that the Catholic clergy in Belgium demanded for 

 the people the same thing which it denied, at that 

 very time, to the liberals in France. The opposition 

 had become so violent, and not unfrequently, as re- 

 spected the tone of the newspapers, so revolutionary, 

 that the government thought itself obliged, towards 

 the end of 1829, to resolve upon a firm resistance, 

 having tried in vain to allay the spirit of opposition 

 by various concessions. Those officers who, in the 



but, on the contrary, may be considered as an advantage, 

 as it U generally connected with greater versatility of the 

 mental powers, and a readier power of perception. But, 

 even if it should be considered desirable to limit, by de- 

 grees, the use of the Polish language, and thus to dena- 

 tionalize the people, yet every open step towards the 

 extirpation of the language would only tend to defeat the 

 object. With the religion and language of a nation all 

 their feelings and thoughts are interwoven. A government 

 which acknowledges, values, and protects these, may be 

 ure to gain the hearts of its subjects ; but one which slights 

 or attacks them, embitters or dishonours the people, and 

 makes disloyal and bad subjects. But those who may 

 think that it would materially contribute to the civilization 

 of the Polish nation to be Germanized, at least in language, 

 are greapy mistaken. The cultivation of an individual and 

 of a nation can only be effected through the vernacular 

 toneue. The language in which a man thinks, is the most 



house of deputies, had voted against the budget, iost 

 their offices and pensions ; and a prosecution lor trea- 

 son was undertaken on the ground of l)e Potter's 

 private correspondence. During the next session of 

 the sLites-gt neral, !)61 petitions remained unnoticed ; 

 and the new law of the press, having linden." 

 slight modification, was adopted, May 21,' ' 



tnothcr Word OH the Ifi'l^inn-lhili-lt (Jui;stiMi, 

 January 1832, Hamburg, by a minister of state, in 

 (ierniau, intended to prove the necessity of separa- 

 tion ; also count Hogendorp's Si'jHimtitni <k In llul- 

 landectdcla Bclgiquc, of October 22, 1830.) 



We may learn the grievances of the. Belgians from 

 the address sent in by the city of Mons._ It contains 

 fntecn of them: 1. It demands the responsibility ot 

 ministers, which, by the terms of the constitution, 

 was to be established by a law. 2. Liberty t<> 

 in legal and other instruments, the French language 

 as Hie language of the country. 3. A more propor 

 tionate distribution of offices and appointments ai 

 the Belgians and Dutch. The equality desired had 

 reference to cabinet offices, and, in general, those 

 connected with the higher branches ot the adminis- 

 tration, because, as to the offices in the pro-- 

 and communes, there was no reason for complaint. 

 But, in October, 1830, of six ministers actually in 

 possession of portefcuilles, four were Dutch and two 

 Belgians. Also the chief places in the various de- 

 partments, particularly those of war, the navy, and 

 the finances, were generally in the hands of Dutch- 

 men ; for which the reason given was that there was 

 not a sufficient number of persons among the Bel- 

 gians qualified for those offices, owing to their former 

 situation under the French government, in which 

 few Belgians had opportunity to Income acquainted 

 with the duties of the most important offices, whih- 

 the Dutch had continued nlmost uninterruptedly 

 under their own officers ; but it must be allowed that, 

 in the war department at least, the Belgians were 

 probably capable of furnishing as well qualified offi- 

 cers as the Dutch, owing to their having served for 

 so long a tune in Napoleon's army. Some writers 

 have inferred the contrary from the deficiency of 

 officers among the Belgians immediately after their 

 revolution, which obliged them to take French offi- 

 cers ; but this was owing to the fact that most of 

 the higher officers of Belgian extraction remained in 

 the Dutch army. As to the professors in the Bel- 

 gian colleges, it was natural both that the govern- 

 ment should invite Germans to occupy the chairs, 

 and that the Belgians should dislike this. 4, The 

 location of the supreme court in a city in the centre 

 of the kingdom. The place eventually chosen for 

 the court was the Hague, with which the Belgians 

 were much dissatisfied. 5. The introduction of juries 

 in criminal cases, in trials for political offences, and 

 for offences against the liberty of the press. The 

 trial by jury had been abolished in 1814; and, in 

 the states-general of 1828, it had been rejected, as 



proper and powerful element of his improvement ; he may 

 have learned a great deal in foreign languages ; but that 

 which he actually knows and understands, he knows and 

 understands only in one language, namely, in that in 

 which he thinks, therefore generally in his vernacular 

 tongue. To take from him this, and to force upon him 

 another, would be a preposterous mode of promoting the 

 improvement even of an individual ; how much more un- 

 suitable is it to be applied to a whole nation ! even if the 

 latter had not so rich, independently developed, and gram- 

 matically perfect a language as the Polish. If it is truly 

 desirable to aid in the cultivation of the Polish nation, this 

 will always be done most certainly by means of their own 

 language ; and the interest of government will be suffi- 

 ciently provided for, if the German language is introduced 

 into every Polish school as one of the subjects of instruc- 

 tion, and care is taken that children are well versed in it 

 before they leave the school." 



