CHAP. 1786. Prussia. Gorcum to that of Dort. Zeebergen, pensionary of Haarlem, had made himself conspicuous in supporting the project of France when she undertook to regulate the commercial privileges of Holland, and he obtained for his town all the advantages which had before been enjoyed by Amsterdam. These men, and those who felt and acted with them, were delighted with the contumely displayed by the French ambassador toward the Prince and Princess of Orange*; but their views were limited to their own country, where they were anxious to keep up the spirit of faction; incapable of discerning the future consequences of their proceedings. Notwithstanding the treatment which Holland had experienced in the treaties of peace, this party, the patriots, persevered in their efforts, insensible to the alarming state of their country, and indifferent to her prostration at the feet of her favoured ally. The Dutch East India Company was in a state approaching to bankruptcy; colonies most important were effectually retained by the French; they kept at the Cape a force of two thousand five hundred men, not encamped in the suburbs, but quartered in the town and in the citadel, and they were in perfect possession of Trincomale. For their passiveness before a foreign power, the patriots made themselves amends by their increased insolence to their native ruler. They professed intentions to alter the constitution of the state, by depriving him of the command of the army, and, in the excess of their fury, published placards inciting the people to bring him to the block, or banish him. The Princess of Orange, an amiable, accomplished, and sensible lady, was equally persecuted; insulted both in private and in public, and the subject of atrocious libels and furi ous menaces. Her affinity to the King of Prussia warranted an expectation that he would exert himself in restraining the popular violence. In fact, his minister, M. de Thulemeyer, did present some strenuous remonstrances; * Appendix to vol. iii. but the patriots were too well acquainted with the condition of the King to treat them with much regard. Age, a love of indulgence, bodily infirmity, and an indisposition to put in hazard those great interests which, by his valour and wisdom, he had in his early days so gloriously acquired, rendered his interference extremely improbable. The difference between his views and those of France was, that he desired to preserve the form, at least, of an aristocratic government, while France, expecting advantage from throwing the country into a state of anarchy, was endeavouring to establish a pure democracy. A large portion of the people were adverse to the schemes of the patriots, and desirous to retain their ancient form of government, and to renew their beneficial connexion with Great Britain; but they were indolent, passive, and separate, wanting a master mind to inspire, and a commanding spirit to unite and lead them. The Prince of Orange, to whom they should naturally have looked up, was not so gifted; he had neither the quick perception, nor the vigorous resolution required by his circumstances: he relied for an impulse on the Princess, and she could only impart that which she received from the King of Prussia*. CHAP. LXII. 1786. During the dispute respecting the Scheldt, the The Emperor. public attention was absorbed, and the proceedings of the patriots less energetic than they had been: their leader, Van Berkel, displayed some love of his country, by declaring that her last shilling ought to be expended rather than submit to the terms proposed by the Emperor. If, in their further proceedings, they could have apprehended any interference on his part, his circumstances demonstrated the improbability. Embarrassed by the effect of his own rash innovations, he could not implicitly rely on his subjects in Flanders, and prudence obliged him to watch with care the proceedings of other states. Russia was as little to be Russia. feared; the Empress was avowedly pursuing schemes of aggrandisement on the side of Turkey, and, perhaps, * Chiefly from Letters by Sir James Harris to Lord Carmaerthen, in 1784. State Papers. CHAP. 1786. Proceedings in Holland. Plans of the patriots. other designs, which were ripened and disclosed by time. 66 66 In proroguing the Parliament, the King adverted to transactions then in progress in Holland, which were intitled to particular notice. Although disappointed in expectations of foreign aid, and not seconded so warmly as they expected by their countrymen in all parts of the Republic, the patriots had formed and avowed a project of reform, of which the leading particulars were-"That the forms of the pre"sent government should continue; but the States were to be completely independent of the Stadt"holder, who was no longer to enjoy a seat in any of "the colleges of the Republic. The réglemens, which "were privileges held by the provinces of Guelderland, Utrecht, and Overyssel*, were to be abolished. They "were established in virtue of certain regulations "framed by the Pensionary Fagel, under the direc"tion of William the Third, in 1674, by which the magistrates in those towns were appointed immedi"ately by the Stadtholder, without the nomination "of the councils. The right of the Prince to recom"mend candidates for vacant magistracies in the town "of Holland was to cease. The rank of Captain "General was to be separated from the office of Stadtholder, or at least the Prince should retain the "title only; while the duties were exercised by elected deputies. In general, his powers were to be reduced "to the lowest degree, consistent with his executing "the orders of the state; and, not unless he acceded "to these conditions, was the Prince of Orange to “hold the hereditary dignity of Stadtholder." 66 66 66 As it was easily to be foreseen that all the members would not concur in a plan so subversive of the principles on which the union of Utrecht had been established, the patriots, who had acquired an ascendancy in the States of Holland, resolved to assert, on all occasions, the independence of those states, to diminish * Called, from these regulations, Provinces aux réglemeus. the powers of the States General, and to disregard the opposition of other members of the union. СНАР. LXII. 1786. ance of the When the Stadtholder, in exercise of his longacknowledged rights, attempted to nominate magis- Their resisttrates in the provinces to which the regulations Stadtholder. extended, the patriots commenced an open and undisguised resistance. Under their three leaders they assailed the supreme authority, not only in this, but in every other particular. The first subject on which this spirit was displayed seems but slight and trifling; but, in revolutions and insurrections, a great disparity between proximate causes and ultimate effects is not uncommon. The northern gate of the palace at the Hague had been considered as a way reserved peculiarly for the Stadtholder to the hall of the States General. Gyzlaer forced this passage, and in this conduct was supported March 6th. by his colleagues. In maintaining this point, he had, on another occasion, been exposed to personal danger; and, after some dispute, the gate was finally thrown open, not to the deputies alone, but to the public in general. dition. State of the At this period the affairs of the Prince wore a His embarmost gloomy aspect. He possessed authority over the rassed conregular troops, whose number was said not to exceed six thousand, while the patriots had unlimited influence military. over the burgher's guard, a sort of militia formed during the war, respectable in numbers, although defective in discipline. To counteract this disparity, the patriots not only made every exertion to augment and animate their own force, but used their authority to diminish or supersede that of the Prince. The people were in arms on one side or the other. The Stadtholder collected a body of guards, and issued an Restraint of edict against the press. If this measure was illegal, the Press. the conduct of the patriots provoked it; for nothing could exceed the virulence and coarseness of the numerous libels against the Prince, his family, and all who were supposed to be his friends. The patriots, on the other hand, finding that they could not secure a a majority of members in the States General, influenced Insults to the Prince. CHAP. 1786. Captures of Sep. 5th. Further proceedings of the patriots. Sep. 4th. each several state to legislate, arm, and act for itself. The Stadtholder was not dispossessed of the command of the forces, but was humbled by seeing his family arms excluded from the banners in which they had been hitherto most conspicuous; and such a popular fury was excited against the orange colour, that not only was it banished from every public display, but it was prohibited in dress; even the flowers and fruits of the earth were concealed from public view, if nature had marked them with the proscribed hue. Still, amidst all this arming and irritation, no act of real vigour, no military enterprize of a decisive character was undertaken. The Stadtholder had long ago retired to his palace at Loo, and there issued his proclamations and directions. Two towns in the province of Guelderland, Elburg and Hattem, having been garrisoned for the purpose of resisting the Prince's authority, a force, under General Sprengelev, was dispatched to subdue them. On receiving his summons, the free corps in garrison at Hattem declared their resolution to defend the town to the last extremity, and perish in the ruins rather than submit; and they commenced a cannonade which killed one man. The General having fired a shot into the air, and a shell into the town, the garrison retreated into Overyssel, and the burghers surrendered; Elburg yielded without a shot, a defiance, or a boast. In their decrees the patriots were more powerful than in the field. Gyzlaer, charging all the misfortunes which had so long afflicted the republic, the miscarriages of the American war, the late disgraceful arrangement with the Emperor, and many acts of oppression, to the personal misconduct of the Stadtholder, declared that it was now necessary to demand an explicit declaration of his intentions; and, if that were unsatisfactory, to suspend him, provisionally at least, from his office of Captain General; and obtained from the States of Holland a decree that the oath which obliged the army to obey the orders of the States General should be dispensed with; that the troops on the repartition of the province should be |
