whom they have prefumed to difplace, muit be restored; with the exception of the intendants and members of the new tribunals of juftice: thefe two topicks being of the number of thofe on which I am disposed to listen to my states and to commune with them.

7. It is alfo indifpenfable, that all which regards the chapters of Chanonopes, the religious fraternities, and all which refpects the clergy as citizens and fubjects of the itates; and generally, that all things fhall be restored to the condition, and be made inftantly conformable to the ordinances exifting at the above period.

In a word, there must not remain the final left veftige of any thing committed contrary to my orders and intentions, and fince the first of April of this year.

My dignity renders all thefe preliminary re-establishments, abfolutely indifpenfable. The affemblies. of the flates will perceive, I hope, the neceffity, and I confequently flatter myfelf that every one of them will immediately and peaceably take place if poffible.

But if it fhall happen, against all expectation, that any one fhall dare to oppofe this reftitution, which must be complete and preliminary, I authorize you by thefe prefents, to employ for this purpofe, all the means of authority which I have confided in you, and which, but with much regret, though I find it to be neceffary, I am obliged to augment as far as the occafion fhall require.

As foon as you fhall inform me that all the above preliminaries are fulfilled, and that every thing is reftored to order, I fhall be ready to concert with the affemblies of the ftates, or their deputies duly authorized, what will be the best in

the feveral branches of adminiftration, without being contrary to the fundamental conftitution of my Belgic provinces; or, on the contrary, 1 fhall find myfelf under the neceffity, for the general good, to employ all the means which are abundantly in my power, and of which I do not defire to make use from the affection which I yet bear for my Belgic people, although they have in my eyes been highly criminal.

And in fo far, my trusty and wellbeloved, may God have you in his holy keeping.

Vienna, 16th Auguft.

JOSEPH.

Memorial of the Deputies of the Belgic Provinces to Prince Kaunitz, occafioned by his communicating the foregoing Orders to them.

The deputies of the ftates of the Auftrian Belgic provinces, who are proftrate at the foot of the throne of their auguft fovereign, have seen with the moft fenfible grief their endeavours and hopes fruftrated in not being able to obtain the proofs of his paternal tendernefs, and that fort of declaration, which, by terminating the evils and misfortunes of this nation, would have raised its gratitude to its highest pitch; instead of which, my lord, our concern is augmented, and our alarms are redoubled, at the knowledge of the orders which his majefty has refolved to fend to the government general of our provinces, and which you have deigned to communicate to us.

The faithful inhabitants of those

provinces, full of confidence in his majesty's paternal bounty, did not doubt but he would put the feal of approbation to the declarations

which

which we were charged to folicit, and thereby renew the public confidence, without which coinmerce and induftry muft languifh, if not become extinct, which will bring on a certain inactivity, the bane of wealth. They hoped that a fimple and precife declaration, tending to preferve all our rights, ufages, and privileges which we had reafon to expect from his ma jelly, would recover in the minds of foreigners that confidence they have a right to expect from an upnight honelt people, living peaceably under the protection of its wife and ancient confiitution, which would have caufed the national credit (greatly hurt by the fear of a new fyftem) to refume its former vigour. They alfo hoped, that the inhabitants of thofe countries, who were ready to forfake their narive foil by reafon of internal divifrons, would feek and find an afylum with them, which they certainly will not do now, until the new tribunals of juice are irrevocably fuppreffed, and the fatal intendencies abolifhed by an exprefs declaration.

In the orders fent to the government every one will fee his majefty relaxes in nothing relating to the ecclefiaftical affairs, which are fo trongly linked with the rights and privileges of the other claffes of citizens, that it feems as if it was all one intereft. They will fee that his majesty, previous to entering into any deliberation whatfo, ever, requires the fubfidies to be granted and paid, whilst it has always been an invariable rule that the confenting to the fubfidies was dependent upon the exact obfervance of the privileges and liberties of the country.

The penetration of your highfs cannot fail to obferve the cruel

fenfations which these orders will have on the minds of the Belgic people, as well as on thofe of foreigners, as they must appear to be only given to frengthen the new difpofitions iffured in the facred name of his majefy, and which are the fubject of our just complaints.

We are not ignorant, my lord, that his majefty can employ that force which the divine providence has but into his hands; but will the goodness of his heart permit him to ufe means fo contrary to the welfare of his fubjects? Will he deliver his children to the deftructive effects of military execu tions, and that only because they remain attached to a conftitution, which, in fupporting the lawful power of the sovereign, affects at the fame time the happiness of the people? Will the pa ernal tendernefs of his majefty fuffer him to deftroy his faithful fubjects, instead of ruling them by their indigenous laws, which have caufed their happinefs and profperity for fo many ages? Can fuch deftructive means be reconciled with the paternal difpositions which he has deigned to profefs for them, and which their inviolable fidelity has rendered them fo worthy of? Will what his majefty thinks due to his offended dignity be completed, if, to revenge it, he gives up his faithful fubjects to fo many horrors, those subjects who are always ready to fpend their wealth and blood in his defence, and for the glory of the country?

We are, therefore, bold enough to implore your highness to deign to employ your good offices and great intereft in our favour, and to inform his majesty of our just fears, that thereby we may obtain a repeal of thofe orders, or fome abate

ment

country, fhall henceforth remain on the former footing, fo that there will be no further mention made of the new form which had been talk ed of to be introduced in the different branches of public adminiftration, in regard to which the two diplomas of the ft of January, 1787, are entirely at an end: wherefore the dignities of grand bailiffs and civil governors hall continue in full force; and the fupport of the states requires that the fame should be understood of thofe abbeys whofe abbots are members of the faid ftates, and the latter fhall be provided with abbots according to the joyous entry and the conftitutions.

Laftly, in regard to redreffing any infraction of the joyous entry, conferences fhall be held with the ftates according to their requifition, their propofals on that head fhall confequently be attended to, and his majefty fhall difpofe thereof according to equity, justice, and the fundamental laws of the province. Whereupon, gentlemen, I pray God to have you in his holy keep

"FERDINAND, &c.

"Gentlemen, For your information and inftruction we fend you the annexed copy of a difpatch which we this day addrefs to the council of Brabant.

"TRAUTTMANSDORFF. "Bruffels, Dec. 13, 1787. "Counterfigned by order of his excellency,

"L. C. VANDEVELD." FERDINAND, &c. Gentlemen, It is with the greateft furprise that we faw a printed letter in circulation addreffed to you on the 3d inftant by the ftates of Brabant, at the rifing of their af fembly, to thank you for the affistance you had given them for the prefervation of the fundamental laws and privileges of Brabant, in which work your wifdom had facilitated their proceedings, by means of the conferences which they had held with commiffioners from your body; the ftates inviting you at the fame time to maintain in future the fame understanding with them. on every point in any wife relating to the public good, and particularly to the prefervation of privileges; and requiring you, with a view of making this common agreement more certain and advantageous, firmly to refolve that no edict or inftrument of government, having any relation whatever to the joyful entry, which may be fent to the council or chancery of Brabant, fhall be published or carried into execution, without the knowledge and advice of the states or their deputies, who will deliberate upon them with fuch of their colleagues

as may be prefent, and requiring you finally, in order that their wishes on this head may be fulfilled, to take fuch further meafures (and to communicate them to the ftates) as your wonted wifdom may fuggeft.

Without dwelling upon the indecency with which the ftates exprefs, in this letter, the little confideuce they have in the folemn and repeated promifes made by his majelty to maintain their contitution, and which he is moft firmly refolved to maintain in all its parts, we declare to you that his majetty will never fuffer any encroachment whatever upon his fovereign rights, under the fpecious pretext of privileges; and after that, we cannot refrain from reminding you molt ferioufly, that though your oath of office for maintaining the joyful enry has been taken to and before the states, you are not, for all that, in any respect their officers, or authorised by that oath to have the least connection with them, with out the knowledge and confent of the emperor, your only matter, of whom alone you are officers, both by the places you fill, and the oath you have taken; for which reafon, we most exprefly forbid you, by thefe prefents, to hold any connec tion, relation, correfpondence, or keep up any understanding whatever on public affairs, either in a body or by commiffioners, with the ftates or their deputies, without the previous knowledge or exprefs command of his majesty or his reprefentative.

It being our intention, that if in any edict, ordinance, or inftrument, that government may fend you, you find any thing which to you may appear contrary to the joyful entry, you confine yourfelves barely to make a reprefentation of it to

2

government, whofe bufinefs it will then be to judge, whether the na-' ture of the cafe is fuch, that the ftates ought to be heard upon it. We also strictly forbid you to return the ftates any answer to the letter in question; and we command you, in cafe you fhould have already anfwered it, or come to any refolution upon the fubject matter of it, to fend us immedi ately a copy of it.

TRAUTTMANSDORFF. Counterfigned, by order of his excellency,

L. C. VANDEVELD." Bruffels, Dec. 13, 1787.

Circular Letter tranfinitted by the

United States of America, in Congrefs affembled, to the Governors of the refpective States.

SIR,

New-York, April 17.

Our fecretary for foreign affairs. has tranfmitted to you copies of a letter to him from our minister at the court of London, of the 4th day of March, 1786, and of the papers mentioned to have been enclofed in it.

We have deliberately and difpaffionately examined and confidered the feveral facts and matters urged by Britain as infractions of the treaty of peace on the part of America, and we regret that in fome of the ftates too little attens tion appears to have been paid to the public faith pledged by that treaty.

Not only the obvious dictates of religion, morality, and national honour, but alfo the first principles of good policy, demnand a candid and punctual compliance with engage ments conftitutionally and fairly made.

Our