744 ^ N E T H E R 
majefty alfo renounces the principality of Fulda, and the 
other diftriCts and territories which were fecured to him 
by the iath article of the principal Recefs of the extra¬ 
ordinary Deputation of the Empire of the 25th of Fe¬ 
bruary, 1803. 
LXXI. The right and order of fucceffion, eftablifhed 
between the two branches of the Houle of Naliau, by the 
aCt of 1783, called JSaJfmdJ'cher Erbverein, is confirmed, 
and transferred from the four principalities of Orange 
Naffau to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. 
LXXIL His majefty the King of the Netherlands, in 
uniting under his fovereignty the countries delignated 
in the 66th and 68th articles, enters into all the rights, 
and takes upon him (elf all the charges and all the ftipu- 
lated engagements, relative to the provinces and diftriCts 
detached from France by the treaty of peace concluded 
at Paris the 30th of May, 1814. 
LXXIII. His majefty the King of the Netherlands, 
having recognifed and fanCtioned, under date of the 21ft 
July, 1814, as the bafis of the union of the Belgic Pro¬ 
vinces with the United Provinces, the eight articles con¬ 
tained in the document annexed to the prefent treaty, the 
laid articles flin.ll have the fame force and validity as if they 
were inferted, word for word, in the prefent inftrument. 
The population of the kingdom of the Netherlands, as 
thus coniiituted, amounts to 5,451,000 perfons. 
On the 18th of July, a proclamation was iffued by the 
king, notifying the union of the United Provinces with 
Belgium, asagreed upon by the allied po wers, and accepted 
by himfelf, with the leading articles of that union. The 
firft of thefe is, that the two countries fhall form one ftafe, 
governed by the conftitution already eftablifhed in Hol¬ 
land, modified by confent, according to the new ftate of 
things. It declares, that the Belgian provinces (hall be 
duly reprelented in the ftates-general, which are to be 
held alternately in a town of Holland, and in one of Bel¬ 
gium ; but fays, that, before the introduction of the fun¬ 
damental law, his majefty has refolved to convince him¬ 
felf of the afient of his fubjeCls, for which purpofe he has 
convoked deputies, or notables, from each diftriCt, to be 
the organs of the general opinion. The conftitutional 
plan was laid before a fpecial aflembly of the ftates-general 
of the United Netherlands on the 8th of Auguft; and its 
unanimous acceptance was announced on the 19th, by a 
deputation which waited on the king. 
By the new conftitution of the Netherlands, the pre¬ 
rogative of the fovereign is conliderabiy greater than in 
England; fince, in addition to the power of making war 
and peace, difpofing of the naval and military force, and 
conferring titles of nobility, he pofiefles the fupreme di¬ 
rection of the colonies; and all this without being coun- 
terpoifed in any effectual manner by the influence of par¬ 
liament. The Belgic or Dutch Peers have their title 
only for life, and cannot enter the houfe until the age of 
forty; cbaraCteriftics which will bring to the recollection 
of our readers the council of elders in the French con¬ 
ftitution of 1795. Another feature, unfavourable to the 
independance of either lords or commons, is their ac¬ 
ceptance of a pecuniary indemnity for their expenles; in 
other words, of an annual falary of between 200I. and 
300I. a-year. The peers may vary in number from forty 
to fixty; while the commons are fixed to one hundred and 
ten, of whom fifty-five are from the Dutch provinces, and 
a Jimilar number from thofe of Flanders. The following 
are the proportions. 
Dutch Departments. 
Flemijh Department 
Guelderland .... 
6 
South Brabant . . . 
8 
Holland. 
22 
Limburg. 
4 
Zealand. 
3 
Liege.. 
6 
Utrecht. 
3 
Eafl Flanders .... 
IO 
Friefland ..... 
5 
Welt Flanders . . . 
8 
Overiflel .... 
4 
Hainault. 
8 
Dutch Brabant . . . 
7 
Antwerp. 
5 
Groningen .... 
4 
Namur. 
2 
Drenthe. 
I 
55 
Luxembourg .... 
_4 
55 
LANDS. 
The mode of eleCting deputies is not, as with us, *by 
the direCfc aCt of the conftituents, but by the agency of 
intermediate bodies. Firft is named a college or°council 
of eleftors, who appoint the town-council; after which, 
the latter, or the electors juft mentioned, proceed to choole 
what are called the Provincial States, or permanent county¬ 
meeting ; whole jurifdiCtion is very exteniive, comprifing 
all the details of police and local economy of the public 
education, the execution of the laws relative to public 
worlhip, and, in general, all provincial affairs not falling- 
under the legiflative operation of the ftates-general, or 
national reprefentatives. Here lies a.material difference 
between our forms and thofe of the Netherlands ; the 
latter continuing in a great meafure that federal plan, 
that habit of leaving to each province the management 
of its local concerns, (as in North-America,) which with 
us has given way to the general jurifdiCtion of parlia¬ 
ment. Bills for making canals, harbours, of bridges, 
for inclofing commons, improving towns, &c. do not, as 
in England, require the fanCtion of the national reprefen¬ 
tatives; all fuch bufinefs being fettled by the Provincial 
States. The members of the Commons’ Houfe of Parlia¬ 
ment in the.Netherlands are chofen for three years, and 
a third part is renewed in every year; fo that the annual 
election can never exceed thirty-fix or thirty-feven mem¬ 
bers. In the Netherlands and in France, no bill can be 
brought into parliament but by the minifters of the crown; 
and we have to mention the want of another very im¬ 
portant privilege, the right of petitioning in conjunft 
bodies; it being a law that petitions muft be drawn in the 
name of an individual, and not in that of a collective 
number. 
One great difficulty, which might be forefeen in effect¬ 
ing a coalefcence of the whole Netherlands under one 
form of law and government, arole from the very different 
feelings concerning religion which prevailed in the two 
portions of the country. The feven Dutch provinces 
were in a great meafure indebted for their profperity to 
that principle of general toleration in which they long 
ftood diftinguifiied among the nations of Europe, and 
which was fundamental in their political fyftem. The ten 
Fiemifti provinces, on the contrary, from the time of their 
reparation from the others, adopted in its extreme theex- 
clufive maxim of the Roman-catholic church, and acquired 
the charaCler of fome of the molt bigoted and intolerant 
members of that community. The attempts of the em¬ 
peror Jofeph to enforce a toleration of different religions 
were reckoned among his moft heinous violations of the 
Belgic rights, and were finally deieated with the reft of 
his projects. It might be luppofed, that the great political 
changes fince his time, and particularly the long fubjeCtion 
of thofe provinces to France, would have produced a 
change in men’s opinions on this fubjeCt: and this was 
probably the cafe with refpeCt to the body of the laity; 
but, among the high clergy, whofe prejudices and interefts 
combined in the fupport of the ancient lyftem, there 
exilled ail the former repugnance to admit a principle 
equally hoftiie to both. The operation of thefe com¬ 
bined motives was remarkably manifefted by the publi¬ 
cation of an addrefs from certain of the Belgian prelates 
to the king of the Netherlands, dated July 28. Begin¬ 
ning with the king’s aflurance, in his proclamation, of 
confirming to the catholic church its eftablifhment and 
privileges, they affirm that thefe are inconfiftent with an 
article in the plan of the new conftitution, by which equal 
favour and protection are promifed to all religions. They 
next endeavour hiftorically to prove the incompatibility 
of fuch,a toleration with the canonical laws and funda¬ 
mental principles of the catholic church. They fay, “ We 
are bound, fire, incefiantly to preferve the people entrufted 
to our care from the doctrines which are in oppofition to 
thofe of the catholic church. We could not releafe our- 
felves from this obligation without violating our moft 
facred duties; and, if your majefty, by virtue of a fun¬ 
damental law, (hould proteCt in thefe provinces the public 
profeffion and fpreading ot thefe doCtrines, we fhouid be 
in formal oppofition to the laws of the ftate.” In a kind 
oS 
