The International Quarterly
by Frederick Albert Richardson (9781458919991)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: FROM THE DUTCH F. C. CONYBEARE OXFORD I. THE kingdom of the Netherlands was the name given to the political union, in 1814, under the Dutch Prince, William of Orange-Nassau, of the two countries of Belgium and Holland. It was an union which was,, so to speak, born on the battle-field and imposed by the overpowering force which the anti-Napoleonic league, known as the Holy Alliance, wielded for the settlement of the map of Europe. Deep lines of cleavage, differences of race, of aptitudes, but above all of religion, separated the two countries thus linked together in what was at best a " marriage de convenance." The Dutch themselves would probably have preferred to a monarchy the restitution of their old and glorious republic. But the European states, which on the field of Leipzig had shattered the strength of Napoleon and rung the death-knell of his continental system, were afraid of republics. The Dutch in particular, under the not wholly unpopular regime of Louis Napoleon, had been partly broken in to the idea of a monarchy, and were not averse to a new sovereign who was one of themselves, a son of the "Stadhouder" they had driven into exile in 1787, and who promised to safeguard all their ancient liberties. Thus in his proclamation to his new subjects issued early in December, 1813, William of Nassau used the following words:? " Men of the Low Countries, you wish me to become in your regard more than I could ever have been, had not my term of exile intervened. Your trust in me, your affection for my person, place the sceptre in my hands, and I am urged on all sides to accept it, because my country's circumstances and the state of Europe require it. Well, I will sacrifice my scruples to your wishes. I accept what the Low Countries offer me. But I only accept it un...

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