General Bonaparte was dispatched to St. Helena, a fate which of late has inspired many sentimental folk to the point of writing books, and the Kingdom of Holland-Belgium could begin its independent existence in all seriousness. King William, in this new country, remained the absolute ruler. Instead of one there were to be two chambers in his new domains. But the executive and legislative power was all vested in the hands of his Majesty. He, on the whole, made use of them for the very best purposes. In a material way he attempted every possible remedy for the poverty of the country. As far as dollars and cents go he was an excellent king. Canals were dug all over the country; commerce was encouraged in every possible way; the colonies were exploited with energy; factories were built with and without support of the state, and the mineral riches of Belgium were fully developed. A plan for a Panama, or, rather, a Nicaraguan Canal was seriously discussed. And yet William failed. The task to which he had been called was an impossible one. Belgium and Holland had nothing in common but their mutual dislike of each other. Protestant Holland, proud of its history, had no sympathy for Catholic Belgium, where the Middle Ages had peacefully continued while the rest of the world had moved forward. Catholic Belgium returned these uncordial sentiments most heartily, and with the worst of prejudices awaited the things which must be inflicted upon it by a Protestant king.

A man of such pronounced views as King William was certain to have many and sincere enemies. Furthermore, the French part of Belgium, following the example of its esteemed neighbours, enjoyed a noisy opposition to the powers that were as a sort of inspiring political picnic. But the real difficulties of William's reign began when he got into a quarrel with the Catholic Church. This well-organized institution, which will provide all things to all men, under all conditions and circumstances, was directly responsible for the ultimate break between the two countries. We are not discussing the Church as an establishment for the propagation of a certain sort of religious ethics; but we must regretfully state that the entrance of the Church upon the field of practical politics has invariably been followed by trouble in the most all-around sense of the word.

William as King of the Netherlands felt his responsibility and felt it heavily. He and He Only (make it capitals) was the head of the nation. And when it appeared that the Bishop of Rome or the Bishop of Liège or any other bishop aspired to the rôle of the power above the throne he found in William a most determined and most sincere enemy. The Church, assured of her power in a country which for so many centuries had been under her absolute influence, became very aggressive, and her leaders became very bold. William promptly landed the boldest among the bishops in jail. And that was the beginning of a quarrel which lasted until Catholics and Liberals, water and fire, had been forced to make common cause against their mutual enemy and started a secret revolution against William's rule, which broke forth in the open in the year 1830.

The northern part of the country, for the first time in almost thirty years, began to take an interest in politics and commenced showing hopeful signs of life. And when in February, 1831, the commander of a small Dutch gunboat, Lieutenant van Speyck, blew his ship and all his sailors into the kingdom of brave men rather than surrender to the Belgian rabble which had climbed on board his disabled craft, such an unexpected enthusiasm broke loose that it took Holland just ten days in which to reconquer most of the rebellious provinces.

This, however, was not to the liking of France. In the first place, France was under the influence of a strong Catholic reaction and felt compelled to help the suffering brethren in Belgium. In the second place, France did not like the idea of a sentinel of England and hastened to recognize and support the Prince of Saxe-Coburg, who was called upon to mount the newly founded throne of the independent state of Belgium.

A large French army marched north to oppose a further advance of the Hollanders. William had to give up all idea of reuniting the two countries. Since when, divorced from their incompatible companions, the two nations have gone their different ways in excellent friendship and have established great mutual respect and understanding.

To King William, however, who had devoted his time and strength quite as much to Belgium as to Holland, the separation came as a terrible blow. William was one of those sovereigns who take a cup of coffee and a bun at five in the morning and then set to work to do everything for everybody. He could not understand that mere devotion to duty was not sufficient to make all his subjects love him. Perhaps he had not always shown great tact in dealing with religious matters. But, then, look at his material results. The Prince, who seventeen years before had been hailed as the saviour of his country, now began to suffer under the undeserved slights of his discontented citizens and was made a subject for attacks which were wholly unwarranted. That the conditions in the kingdom were in many ways quite unsatisfactory, is true; but it was not so entirely the fault of the king as his contemporaries were so eager to believe. They themselves had at first given him too much power. They had without examination accepted a constitution which allowed their parliament no control over monetary matters. The result of this state of affairs had been a wholesale system of thefts and graft. The king knew nothing of this, could not have known it. There were private individuals who thought that they could prove it, but the ministers of state were not responsible to the parliament, and there was no legitimate way of bringing these unsound conditions to the attention of the sovereign.

And so the discontented elements started upon a campaign of calumny and of silent disapproval, until finally William, who strongly felt that he had done his duty to the best of his ability, became so thoroughly disgusted with the ingratitude of his subjects that he resigned in favour of his son, who, as William II, came to the throne in 1840. William then left the country and never returned.

What must we say of William II? We are not trying to write a detailed history of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This little book merely tries to fill out the mysterious and unexplored space between the end of the old Dutch Republic and the modern kingdom. Even these twenty years it does not try to describe too minutely, because on the whole (except for the people themselves) the period was so absolutely uninteresting to the outside world that we would not be warranted in asking the attention of the intelligent reader for more than a limited number of pages. William II was a good king in that he was a constitutional king. The year 1848 did not see the erection of barricades in the quiet Dutch cities. If the people, or, rather, the few liberals who had begun to develop out of the mass of indifferent material—if these gentlemen wanted another and a more liberal constitution very badly, they could have it as far as William II was concerned. And without revolution or undue noise the absolute kingdom which the men of 1813 had constructed to keep the men of 1795 in check was quietly changed into an absolutely constitutional monarchy after the British pattern, with responsible ministers and a parliament ruled by the different political parties. The budget now became a public institution, openly discussed every year by the whole people through their chosen representatives and their newspapers.

The king in this way became the hereditary president of a constitutional republic. There can be no doubt that the system was personally disagreeable to William II as well as to his son William III, who succeeded him in 1849. But neither of them for a moment thought of deviating from the narrow road which alone guaranteed safety to themselves and to their subjects. However much they may have liked or disliked certain individuals who as the result of a change in party had to be appointed to be ministers of the government, they never allowed their own personal feelings to interfere with the provisions of the constitution to which at their ascension to the throne they had sworn allegiance. This policy they continued with such excellent success that whatever strength the socialistic party or the other parties of economic discontent may at present be able to develop, those who would actually like to see the monarchy changed into a republic are so very rare and form such an insignificant part of the total population that a continuation of the present system seems assured for an indefinite length of time, which is saying a great deal in our day of democratic unrest.

As we write these final words a hundred years have gone by since the days of the French domination and of the many revolutionary upheavals; the nation of the year 1813, broken down under the hopeless feeling of failure, and the people, despairing of the future and indifferent to everything of the present which did not touch their bread and butter, have disappeared. One after the other they travelled the road to those open air cemeteries which they had so much detested as a revolutionary innovation, their ancestors all slept under their own church-pews, and their place was taken by younger blood.

But it was not until the year 1870 that we could notice a more hopeful attitude in the point of view of the Dutch nation. Then, at last, it recovered from the blows of the first twelve years of the century. Then it regained the courage of its own individual convictions and once more was ready to take up the burden of nationality. Once more the low countries aspired to that place among the nations to which their favourable geographical position, the thrift of their population, and the enterprise of their leading merchants so fully entitled them. The revival, when it came, was along all lines. Scholarship in many branches of learning compared very favourably with the best days of the old republic. The arts revived and brought back glimpses of the seventeenth century. Social legislation gave the country an honourable place among those states which earnestly endeavour to mitigate the disadvantages of our present capitalistic development and by direct interference of the legislature aim for a higher type of society in which the many shall not spend their lives in a daily drudgery for the benefit of the few.

The feeling that colonies were merely an agreeable asset to the merchants of the country and called for no special obligations upon their part gradually gave way to the modern view that the colonies are a trust which for many a year to come must stay in the hands of European men before they shall be able to render them to the natives for a rule of their own people. Finally that most awful and most despondent of all sentimental meditations, that "we have been a great country once," that "we have had our time," has begun to make place for the conviction that at this very moment no other nation of such a small area and insignificant number of people is capable of performing such valuable service in so many fields of human endeavour as is the modern Dutch nation.

The failure of the men of 1795, who dreamed their honest but ineffectual dream of a prosperous and united fatherland, the apparent failure of the first Dutch king who in the true belief of his own direct responsibility still belonged to a bygone age, have at last made place for a healthy and modern state capable of normal development.

Out of the ruins of the old divided republic—a selfish commercial body—there has risen, after a hundred years of experimenting and suffering, a new and honourable country—a single nation, not merely an indifferent confederacy of independent little sovereignties—a civic body managing its own household affairs without interference from abroad and without disastrous partisanship at home—a people who again dare to see visions beyond the direct interests of their daily bread, and who are given the fullest scope for the pursuit of prosperity and individual happiness under a government of their own choice and under the gracious leadership of her Majesty Queen Wilhelmina.

Brussels.
Christmas, 1914.

THE END

GIVING THE DETAILS OF THE RESURRECTION OF HOLLAND IN 1812

For this period we have, as may be seen from the following list of books, very few memoirs, only a limited number of newspapers, and no books which show us in detail the inside work of the big and little political events of the day.

The rôle which the Batavian Republic played was so little flattering that the chief participants in the drama of national decadence preferred not to chronicle their own adventures between the years 1795 and 1815 and expose their private conduct to the public judgment of their children and grandchildren.

THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC

Van der Aa, Biographisch woordenboek, the only source of information for the lives of many of the men of this period.

Appelius, J.H., de staatsomwenteling van 1795 in haren aard, loop en gevolgen beschouwd. Leiden, 1801.

D'Auzon de Boisminart W.P., Gedenkschriften, 1788-1840. The Hague, 1841-1843.

Bas, F. de, De overgave van de Bataafsche vloot in 1795. Utrecht, 1884.

Berkhey, J. le Francq van, de Bataafsche menschelykheid enz. Leiden, 1801.

Beynen, G.J.W. Koolemans, Het Terugtrekken van Daendels in 1799 uit de Zype naar de Schermer. Leiden, 1898.

Blok, P.J., Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche volk. The new standard history in eight volumes. Translated into English. The part treating of the last hundred years of the Dutch Republic has not been translated as fully as the earlier history.

Bouwens, R.L., aan zyne committenten over het politiek en finantieel gedrag der ministers van het vorige bewind. Amsterdam, 1797.

Brauw, W.M. de, de Departmenten van Algemeen Bestuur in Nederland sedert de omwenteling van 1795. Utrecht, 1864.

Brougham, Henry Lord, Life and Times, written by himself. Edinburgh, 1871. This book contains a description of a voyage through the Batavian Republic in the year 1804.

Byleveld, H.J.J., de geschillen met Frankryk betreffende Vlissingen sedert 1795 tot 1806. The Hague, 1865.

Castlereagh, Memoirs and correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, London, 1848, contains the diplomatic correspondence upon many subjects concerning the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of Holland.

Colenbrander, Gedenkschriften der Algemeene Geschiedenis van Nederland. Collection of official documents. 1795-1798, 1798-1801 (2 vols.); 1801-1806 (2 vols.), 1806 1810 (2 vols.), 1810-1813 (3 vols.) The standard work of sources for this period.

Courant, de Bataafsche Binnenlandsche, a newspaper with some news but little of any value.

Covens C. Beknopte staatsbeschryving der Bataafsche Republiek. Amsterdam, 1800.

Dagverhaal der handelingen van de eerste en tweede nationale and constitueerende vergadering representeerende het Volk van Nederland. The Hague, 1796-1801. A sort of congressional record in twenty-two volumes.

Decreeten der Nationale Vergadering, March, 1796 to January, 1798. Twenty-three volumes. An enormous mass of state papers of the National Assembly.

Decreeten, Register der, van de Vergadering van het Provintiaal Bestuur van Holland. March 2, 1796 to January 31, 1798. The records of the provincial government of Holland, which succeeded the estates of Holland.

Doorninck, J. van, Het Alliantie tractaat met Frankryk van 16 Mei 1795. Deventer, 1852.

Galdi M. Quadro politico delle rivoluzioni delle Provincie Unite e della Republica Batava e dello stato attuale del regno di Olande. Milan, 1809.

Groen van Prinsterer. Handboek der Geschiedenis van Het Vaderland. Standard work written from point of view opposed to the French Revolution.

Hall, M.C. van, Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck, voornamelyk als Bataafsch afgezant op het Vredescongres te Amiens in 1802. Amsterdam, 1847.

Hartog, J., De Joden in het eerste jaar der Bataafsche vryheid. Amsterdam, 1875. A discussion of the emancipation of the Jews in the Batavian Republic.

Herzeele P. van and J. Goldberg, Rapport der commissie tot het onderzoek naar den staat der finantien op 4 Januari, 1797. The Hague, 1797.

Hingman, J.H., Stukken betreffende het voorstel tot deportatie van Van de Spiegel, Bentinck, Rhoon en Repelaer, 1795-1798. Utrecht, 1888.

Jaarboeken der Bataafsche Republiek. Amsterdam 1795-1798. Thirteen volumes. A continuation of the old year books of the Dutch Republic. Minute record of official acts, documents, etc.

Kesman, J.H., Receuil van den zakelyken inhoud van alle sedert, 1795 gestelde orders van den lande, de armée betreffende. The Hague, 1805.

Kluit, W.P. Sautyn, Studies over de Nederlandsche journalistiek, 1795-1813. The Hague, 1876-1885. A discussion of the Gazette de Hollande, the "Nationaale en Bataafsche couranten," and the official newspaper of the State before the restoration of 1814.

Krayenhoff, Geschiedkundige beschouwing van den oorlog op het grondgebied der Bataafsche republiek in 1799. Nymwegen, 1832.

Langres, Lonbard de, Byzonderheden uit de tyden der onwenteling en betrekkingen van Nederland in 1798. The Hague, 1820.

Langres was French minister between 1798 and 1799. Nothing much of importance.

Legrand, L., La révolution française en Hollande; la République Batave. Paris, 1894.

Naber, J.A., Journal van het gepasseerede gedurende het verblyf der Nationale Trouppen in s'Gravenhage. January 21 to April 20, 1795. The Hague, 1895.

Notulen van het Staatsbewind der Bataafsche Republiek. October 17, 1801 to April 29, 1805. Twelve volumes of records of the proceedings of the Batavian Executive.

Paulus, Aanspraak by de opening van de vergadering der Nationale Vergadering. March 1, 1796. The Hague, 1796. A report of this speech is found in Wagenaar.

Rogge C., Tafereel van de geschiedenis der jongste omwenteling in de Vereenigde Nederlanden. Amsterdam, 1796.

Rogge C., Geschiedenis der staatsregeling voor het Bataafsche volk. Amsterdam, 1799.

Rogge C., Schaduwbeelden der leden van de Nationale Vergadering.

Schimmelpenninck, G., Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck en eenige gebeurtenissen van zyn tyd. The Hague, 1845. See also under M.C. van Hall.

Staatsbesluiten der Bataafsche Republiek, April 29 to December 31, 1805. Three volumes of official decrees.

Staatscourant, Bataafsche. See Kluit.

Swildens, J.H., Godsdienstig Staatsboek. Amsterdam, 1803. Discussion of the revolution from an orthodox protestant point of view.

Vitringa, C.L., Staatkundige geschiedenis der Bataafsche Republiek. Arnhem, 1858-1864.

Vitringa, H.H., Advisen over de eenheid der Bataafsche Republiek, den godsdienst, de verandering der constitutie, de vermeniging der oude provincieele schulden, etc. Amsterdam, 1796.

Vonk L.C., Geschiedenis der landing van het Engelsch Russisch leger in Noord Holland. Haarlem, 1801.

Vreede, G.W., Bydragen tot de geschiedenis der omwenteling van 1795-1798. Amsterdam, 1847-1851.

Vreede G.W., Geschiedenis der diplomatie van de Bataafsche Republiek. Three volumes of diplomatic history of the Batavian Republic.

Vreede, P., Verantwoording. Leyden, 1798. Explanation of his official acts as member of the Executive.

Wagenaar. Vaderlandsche Historie. See the three volumes of Vervolg written by Loosjes and his forty-eight volumes of Vervolg which bring Wagenaar down to the year 1806. Stuart in 1821 wrote four more volumes which continue the Historie until the year 1810 is reached. The same tendency to endless reports of facts without any comment, except from the revolutionary point of view, is met in this Vervolg, which is only useful as a book of information.

For the pamphlets of this period see the last column of the Catalogue of Knuttel, Catalogus van de pamphletten verzameling berustende in de Koninklyke Bibliotheek. The Hague.

THE KINGDOM OF HOLLAND

Blik op Holland of schildery van dat Koninkryk in 1806. Amsterdam, 1807.

Bonaparte, L., Documents historiques et réflexions sur le gouvernement de la Hollande. Bruxelles, 1820. Translated into Dutch in the same year.

Cour, La de Hollande sous le règne de Louis Bonaparte. Paris, 1823.

Dykshoorn, J., Van de Landing der Engelschen in Zeeland. Vlissingen, 1809.

Fruin, R., Twee nieuwe bydragen tot de kennis van het tydvak van Koning Lodewyk. The Hague, 1888.

Geslachts—levens—en karakterschets van Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. Schiedam, 1806.

Hoek, S. van, Landing en inval der Engelschen in Zeeland, 1809. Haarlem, 1810.

Hortense de Beauharnais, Mémoires sur Madame la Duchesse de St. Leu, ex-reine de Hollande. London, 1832.

Hugenpoth d'Aerdt G.J.J.A., Notes historiques sur le règne de Louis Napoleon. The Hague, 1829.

Jorissen Th., Napoleon I et le Roi de Hollande, 1806-1813. The Hague, 1868.

Jorissen Th., De ondergang van het koninkryk Holland. Arnhem, 1871.

Jorissen Th., De commissie van 22 Juli 1810 te Parys.

Maaskamp. E., Reis door Holland in 1806. Amsterdam, 1806.

Rocqain F., Napoléon premier et le Roi Louis. Paris, 1875, with original documents.

Roel, W.F., Verslag van het verblyf des konings te Parys 1909-1910. Amsterdam, 1837.

Wichers L., De Regeering van Koning Lodewyk Napoleon, 1806-1810. Utrecht, 1892. The best book upon the subject which has as yet appeared.

See Colenbrander's Gedenkstukken, Blok, Groen, and Wagenaar.

FRENCH OCCUPATION

Bas, F. de and Snouckaert van Schauburg, Het 2de Hollandsche regiment Huzaren. Breda, 1892. Story of the adventures of the Eleventh Regiment French Hussars.

Daendels, Staat van Nederlandsch Oost Indie onder het bestuur van H.W. Daendels. The Hague, 1814.

The same subject treated by N. Engelhard. About Daendels, see his life by I. Mendels. For the colonial history of this period see also M.L. van Deventer. Het Nederlandsch Gezag over Java. The Hague, 1891.

Hogendorp D. van (brother of Gysbrecht Karel), Memoirs, 1761-1814. The Hague, 1887.

Hogendorp, Gysbrecht Karel van, Brieven en gedenkschriften. The Hague, 1762-1813.

Kanter J. de, de Franschen in Walcheren. Middelburg, 1814. Krayenhoff. Bydragen tot de vaderlandsche geschiedenis van de jaren, 1809 en 1810. Nymegen, 1831.

See Colenbrander's Gedenkstukken, Blok, Groen en Wagenaar.

THE RESTORATION

During the centenary celebration of the revival of the Dutch independence the events of the years 1812 and 1813 were made the subject of numerous publications large of volume and dreary of reading. The art of reproduction having been greatly perfected during those last years, every single scrap of document was dutifully copied and royal battles were fought about the exact wording of long-forgotten proclamations. Most of these works of history appeared in serials and many have not approached any further than the dreary works of 1814. In the second edition of this book it will perhaps be possible to give a complete bibliography for the years 1812-1815.