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great, and mighty lords, that this is the fecond time that the Equef trian order has been obliged, within a little fpace, to propofe fuch a detail of advice to this illuftrious affembly; the objects of it were of the utmost importance, and made the Equestrian order declare its fentiments on political affairs once for

all.

This they have done without fear, though they know the judgment a contrary fyftem forms of it; nor are they ignorant of the menaces which public report an nounces to them. If they are executed; if we must fuffer the lot of our brothers of Dort, we are affured that we may fay with them,

"Juftum & tenacem propofiti virum,
Non civium ardor prava jubentium,
Non vultus inftantis tyranni,
Mente quatit folida.
Si fractus illabatur orbis,
Impavidum ferient ruinæ."

And then dying in a noble caufe, we will not with our last breath call down the vengeance of the Almighty, but we will ufe that tender prayer, "Forgive them, Lord, they know not what they do."

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an intention as that of my going to the Hague would have had fuch ferious effects, and fo entirely op pofite to the falutary views which determined me to undertake that journey.

I expected great obstacles before I fucceeded in my endeavours to restore peace and tranquillity; but the only difficulty for which I was unprepared, because it was the leaft probable, was unfortunately that which deprived me of every means of attaining my end, by topping my journey by violent means.

But if the unheard of proceed ing used towards me in Holland, a proceeding, the impreffion of which has only been modified by my inward knowledge of not having me rited it if this proceeding, 1 fay, has been difapproved by all the courts, and every man of honour and good breeding, what must be thought of thofe who compofe the prefent plurality of the lates of Holland, to fee them mifconftrue and facrifice the interells of their country to little perfonal views, and oblige the king to take a farisfaction they have obftinately refused to his friendly exhortations.

The king, by declaring he con fidered the offence as against himfelf, penetrated my heart with gra dared to anfwer him, and the injuftice which this pretended majority did not ceafe committing, that declaration would have raised my greatest fears for that country which for 20 years I have confidered as my own, and whofe interests are infeparable from thofe of my houfe, if I had not been made easy by the declaration of the states general, that of the principal members of the affembly of the states of Holland, and of the greatest part the nation, as well as by the mag

titude; but after the manner they

of

nanimous

nanimous fentiments which characterize his majesty.

The king could not give a ftronger proof of thofe fentiments than by charging your highnefs with the execution of his orders; and the fentiments, fir, you have defired to fhew towards me, and which your highness has manifefted in your declaration to the ftates of Holland, do not permit me to doubt of the wisdom and equity of your intentions; but your highness must pardon me if I dare to implore your clemency towards that part of the inhabitants who are blinded and led aftray by paffion, and to affure you I fhall confider your behaviour towards them, and the protection you fhew to the wife part of the nation, as fo many favours done to myfelf. In the mean time I do folemnly declare here that, perfectly agreeable to the moderate principle fhewn by the prince in his laft declaration, I will never profit from any circumstances whatever to procure my family a greater authority than the conftitution and true liberty of the provinces grant it; and that for myself I fhall always be ready to employ my good offices for the welfare of this country, and those of my houfe, with out fear of trouble or difputes. I have no ambition for any influence, and I will only accept that which I owe to the confidence and friendhip I have merited. It is with thefe fentiments and the warmest gratitude I fhall all my life remain with the highest confideration, fir, your ferene highness's most devoted fervant and coufin,

WILHELMINA."

fired me to requeft the king my brother to permit 3000 or 4000 of his troops to remain fome time in this province, I haften to inform your highnefs of this refolution of their noble and great mightineffes, a copy of which is annexed, befeeching your highnefs to fupport this demand with your good offices: the fignal marks of kindness and protection of his Majefty make me hope he will not refuse them.

I leave it to your highness's confideration, if, after the arrangement taken to difarm the unconftitutional citizens of Amsterdam, you may not regard the conditions of the fatisfaction required by the king as entirely fulfilled, and withdraw the troops, except the num ber the flates of Holland have de manded, which will be both a relief to this country, and to the troops themfelves, on account of the bad feafon. Your highness will at the fame time permit me to intercede for the inhabitants of thefe provinces who are prifoners of war at Wezel: I request your highnefs to release them, and flatter myfelf you will not disapprove the fhare I take in their unfortunate fituation. When you were on the point of entering Holland at the head of the Pruffian troops, you deigned to receive the inftances I addreffed to you in favour of this nation, whofe welfare and interefts in general are the object of my conftant wifhes: accept then at prefent the expreffions of my gratitude, and thofe of this nation, who have daily difcovered the eminent qualities which characterize your highness. The remembrance of our obligations to you will al

From the Same to the Same; Nov. 3, ways remain deeply engraven in

SIR,

1787.

our hearts, and we fhall never forget that your highnefs has not only (F 4)

The fates of Holland having de- gloriously fulfilled the object of

your

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your commiffion, but that the most happy revolution has likewife refulted from it, which has reflored this country to its liberty and independence, by ftrengthening the conftitution, and re-establishing the prince my confort in his juft rights and privileges. I have the honour to remain, with fentiments of an inviolable attachment, and the moft diftinguished confideration,

(Signed) WILHELMINA,"

The Anfewer of his. Serene Highness the reigning Duke of Brunswick, dated Nov. 5, 1787; to the preceding Letter.

Madam,

Your royal highness has notifiled to me the request which the ftates of Holland have made, at the fame time defiring to obtain permition from the king for a body of 3000 or 4000 men to remain for fome time in this province.

Perfuaded as I am of the fincere defire the king has to oblige your royal highness, and to concur towards the welfare of the republic and the province of Holland, I think his majefty will not refufe that request. I will immediately make my most humble report to the king of the contents of your letter of the 3d inft. and I think, by leaving a body of 4000 men in this province, until the arrival of his majesty's orders, I fhall only fulfil his defires. As the commiffion fent by his highnefs the prince of Orange to finish entirely the difarming of unconftitutional armed citizens, and the re-establishment of the council of war, accomplished all the objects which remained of the fatisfaction, I think of fucceffively recalling the troops of the king, except thole who at the request of the states shall remain, if his majef

ty confents to it, for fome time longer in this province.

What your royal highnefs deigns to mention concerning the inhabi tants of this country kept prifoners of war at Wezel, is analogous with the generous fentiments you fhewed at the entrance of the king's troops on the territory of this republic, and I will certainly reprefent to the king the intereft you take in the fate of thefe unfortunate men. I esteem myself too happy in having fatisfied your royal highnefs in a commiffion which fo near ly concerned the happiness of the republic, and which could only fucceed by the concurrence of the major part of the inhabitants, who endeavoured to free themfelves from a yoke which an opprelive cabal placed on them.

Deign, madam, to grant me a continuance of your god opinion, and to believe that nothing can exceed the profound refpect with which I am, madam, your royal highnefs's, &c.

(Signed) CHARLES, G. F."

The Emperor's Declaration to the

States of his Belgic Provinces,
July 3, 1787, in Anfawer to their
Remonflrance of the 22d of June.

To the right rev. and rev. fathers in God, noble, dear, and wellbeloved, we the emperor and king.

My chancellor of ftate has prefented me your remonftrance, dated the z2d of June last; and I will, in anfwer to its contents, to ac quaint you, by these prefents, that it never was my intention to overturn the conflitution of my provinces in Flanders, and that all the inftructions, with which I have

charged

charged my governors - general, have invariably tended, and without even the fhadow of any perfonal intereft, to the advantage of my faithful fubjects in the Low Countries; at the fame time that I would not deprive the body of the nation of any of their ancient rights, privileges, and liberties enjoyed by them. Every step I have taken ought to convince you of the truth of this affertion, if you yet remain willing to render them the juice which is their due.

I occupied myfelf on fome reforms in the administration of juftice, only at the intance of numerous and repeated requests that were made me, praying to obtain a fhorter or lefs difficult mode of proceedings in law; and the fuperintendants appointed in confequence had no other aim than to ice that the laws were put in force, and that those who were amenable to them should pay them proper regard.

In regard to many ancient privileges, I only wish to reform, at the defire of thofe concerned, the abuses that were become hurtful, and which had crept in by the lapfe of time, contrary to the intent of their original purposes.

Far, then, from forefeeing any oppofition, and efpecially one fo criminal and bold, I expected that the ftates of my provinces in Flanders would have entered on the new regulations with as much alacrity as gratitude and I ftill am willing, as a kind guardian, and as a man who knows how to commiferate the ill-advised, and who wishes to forgive, to attribute what has yet been done, and what you have dared to do, to a misinterpretation of my intentions, made and spread abroad by perfons more attached to their private interest than to the

general good, and who have no eftate to lofe.

Be it as it may, it is my pleasure that the execution of the new or dinances in question fhould remain, for the prefent, fufpended; and when their royal highneffes, my lieutenants and governois-general, agreeably to the intentions which I have lately communicated to them, fhall be affembled at Vienna with the deputies of the different flates, to reprefent before me their griev ances aloud, and to learn my intentions, which they will always find calculated on the principles of the trictest juftice, and tending folely to the benefit of my fubjects, we will then agree on fome regulations to be made for the ge neral good, according to the ella. blifhed law of the land.

But it, contrary to every intent, this laft token of my goodness towards you fhould be difregarded, inafmuch that you should refuse to come and lay before me your complaints, your fears, your doubts, and to listen to me with confidence, and that you continue your thamefulexceffes and unpardonable proceedings, then you will draw on yourselves all the unhappy confequences which muft refult from them, and which I pray God may never come to (Signed) JOSEPH.

pais.

(Counter-figned)

A. G. DE LEDEROR.

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given me an affurance on the part of your constituents.

I have given orders to the prince de Kaunitz, to communicate to you in writing, and for the notice of your ftates, the orders which I have Jent to my government; and the execution of which I expect to be effected before entering into any deLiberation whatever.

The welfare of my subjects is the fole object of all my proceedings, of which you ought to be perfuaded by my calling you together in the moment when you have been bald enough to merit my indignation; and with all the means in my power to punith, I have, neverthelets, repeated the affurance of preferving you.

The Emperor's Orders alluded to in the preceding Anfwer, and tranfmitted to the Compte de Murray.

The Emperor and King, Trusty and well beloved Comte de Murray, my counsellor of state, lieutenant-general of my armies, general-commandant, and my fieutenant-general, and captain general, ad interim, of the Low Countries.

You will find by the narrative annexed, in what terms I explained myself to the deputation from the fates of my Belgic provinces in the audience which I gave them; and I fend you this that you may know more particularly my intentions and pleasure on the fubject of the indifpenfable preliminaries of which the narrative makes mention.

All the proceedings, more or lefs, of which the ftates, and a part of the people have heen guilty, are notorious. Confequently

it is impoffible for me to yield to the fentiments of clemency which I am inclined to cherish, nor to the favourable difpofitions which I manifefted to the deputation of the states, until there fhall not remain the fmallest veftige of any part of what they have dared to commit in contempt of the fovereign authori ty fince the first of April of this year.

To this effect it is neceffary.

I.

That in all the provinces of the Low Countries every thing thould be restored to the footing on which it flood before the first of April of this year.

2. The university and general feminary of Louvaine, with all the pertons employed and belonging to each, must be re-established in the condition in which they food, or ought to have ftood, on the faid firit of April; and it must be the fame with the feminary of Luxembourg.

3. The fates of all the provinces must fubmit implicitly to the thofe that are in arrear, and those of the fubfidies, both payment which are current.

4.

The companies of burgeffes, their military exercifes, uniforms, cockades, and all other marks of party fpirit, as well as all other illegal affociations and meetings, fhall be forthwith abolished; and in defect of troops, each magiftrate fhall take the inoft effectual meafures for the fupport of the police and of good order.

5. The convents fuppreffed previous to the first of April laft, fhall remain fuppreffed for ever, and the nominations that may have been made fince that period to the vacant abbey fhall be null, and produce no effect in favour of the religious perfons fo appointed.

6. All the perfons in office, whom

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