progrefs of the democracy, but they were determined to retain the friendship of the new party, and dared not declare openly against them. We have found, that the provincial affembly of Guelderland was, of all the public bodies in the republic, the most devoted to the prince of Orange. But the feelings of the rest of the inhabitants did not altogether coincide with the principles of the ftates. So early as the month of June 1784, the burghers of Arnheim prefented a remonftrance, claiming a right of appointing to the office of counfellor by the mode of popular election. M. de Capellen of Marfch, one of the nobles of the province, who had formerly been chamberlain of the hufhold to the prince of Orange, but was now deeply engaged in the democratical measures, endeavoured to effect in the district of Zutphen the abolition of the regulation of 1674. In a word, the fpirit of reform daily advanced in its progrefs, and the states of Guelderland thought proper in May 1786 to publish a refolution, which they required the magiftrates to poft up in the market places of all the principal towns of Guelderland, confirming the regulation of 1674, condemning the drawing up any petitions for the redrefs of that regulation, and prohibiting the affociation of any bodies of armed burghers within their jurifdiction. quired to account for fo extraordi- The inhabitants of the towns of Elburg and Hattem had been particularly active in the promotion of the intended reform; and they appear to have received the countenance of their magiftrates. Upon the prefent occafion two of the counfallors of Elburg exprefly forbad the pofting up of the refolution of the states; and, having been re One of the motives which was faid to have influences the court of the ftadtholder, to whose views the provincial affembly of Guelderland was blindly devoted, to adopt so untemporifing a conduct, was the death on the feventeenth of August of Frederick the Second, king of Pruffia, whofe fucceffor, equally at the head of an army of two or three hundred tho and men, was in the vigour of his age, and was more nearly related to the ftadtholder, as being brother to his confort, the princefs of Orange. Be that as it will, the burghers of Elburg and Hattem, encouraged by the proceedings of Utrecht and Wyk, cleared their fortifications, erected batteries, and prepared to refift the forces that fhould be fent against them. They were affifted by the free corps of the province of Holland, fome of whom marched to their immediate relief, and the reft proffered their fuccour in cafe of neceflity. A general alarm was fpread through the whole extent of the union by a meafure fo formidable as that which was now adopted. It is true that in the preceding year a garrifon had been marched into the town of Amersfort. But that mcafure meafure was not equally violent in its appearance, fince the troops had been demanded by the town Council of the place, and their demand enforced by the council conmittee of the provincial affembly. That measure it deed had been condemned by moderate men as precipitate and irregular; but the prefent proceeding was faid to be in defiance of all the known principles of the government of the republic. It was notorious, that the council of every town was fovereign and paramount within itfelf. Nothing therefore could be lefs agreeable to the constitution, than the introduction of a garrifon without the confent, and even in oppofition to the remonftrances of the town councils. The alarm, that was excited by this meafure, was greatly increafed by the demand, that almoft immediately followed, from the fates of Amersfort for a detachment of troops to reduce to obedience the city of Utrecht. on the third of September, and a few hot were fired on both fides, without killing or wounding any one either of the affailants or the bieged. The free corps at length withdrew themfelves, together with the more enthufiaflic partians of the democracy, the people opened the gates, and the foldiers entered without father obtacle. In Hattem the magidrates entered into ar• ticles of capitulation without the confent of the people, and the place fell into the poffeffion of the inilitary. The news of the capture of these two places was not brought to the Hague till the fixth of September, The ftates immediately difpatc', ed a letter to the prince of Orange, demanding from him in twentyfour hours a declaration of his intentions; and an explanation and apology were accordingly returned within the time prefcribed. They alfo iffued orders to the troops of their divifion, to hold themfelves in readiness to march at a moment's warning. The next day they received the addreffes of feveral bodies of armed burghers, requesting permiflion to fet out immediately for the relief and defence of the city of Utrecht. The petitions were favourably received; the ftates took the free corps of the province under their protection; and opened their military maga zine at Woerden for the affiftance of Utrecht, which was expected to be immediately affaulted. On the Upon this occafion the flates of Zealand and Groningen exprefly prohibited the ftadtholder from marching any of the troops of their divifion into the provinces of Guelderland and Utrecht. The flates of Overyffel and Holland demanded from him an explicit declaration of his intentions, and recommended the entire removal of the troops, which had already been marched to different deftinations in confequence of the prefent fituation of affairs. The letter of the states or Holland was dated on the twenty-eighth they repaired in a body to fifth of August, and they at the fame time forbad the troops of their divifion, to march without an exprefs permiffion from the provincial affembly. But thefe proceedings were infufficient to change the determ nation of the prince of Orange. His, troops arrived before Elburg the number of fifty, to the affembly of the fates general, in order to account for their conduct, and to acquaint them with the critical fituation of affairs. The next day they iffued orders to the troops, to march with all poffible expedition to the frontier of the province; they voted an augmentation of twelve fous per week to their pay; and they took into their fervice the corps of the rhingrave of Salm, which it had been in contemplation to fupprefs among the other military reductions. The troops appear to have yielded inftant obedence to the provincial affembly; they poured in from all quarters, and under the command of general van Reyffel formed a cordon along the province of Utrecht from Naarden to schoonhoven, while two confiderable detachments were ftationed at the town of Haerlem in one extremity, and of Heufden in the other. On the fixteenth of September a report was prefented to the ftates of Holland by a committee of that body, the tendency of which was to fhew, that, as by the orders already iffued to the troops the cap. tain general was really fufpended from the exercife of his functions, it was proper, that that fufpenfion fhould be made in a folemn manner, and that particularly he fhould be deprived of the right of nominating to any military appointment from that of enfign and upwards. This report was favourably received by the states; and on the twen ty-fecond a refolution was paffed, adopting the principles of the report, and further directing that the appellation of captain general hould be withdrawn out of the titles of the fladtholder in the etablished liturgy. This refolution was approved by fixteen voices, out of the nineteen of which the fates of Holland are compofed, and it was fipllowed by the proteft of the equeftrian order, and of the prince of Orange. In the former of thele it was obferved, that the office of captain general had been conferred by the unanimous vote of the province, and that therefore it could not be withdrawn by the mere vote of a majority; and it was added, that fome heinous crimes and mifdemeanours ought to be proved upon the ftadtholder, before they could adopt fo penal a measure. By the prince it was afferted, that he was not even accused of infringing the conflitution of Holland; that that province had no right to animadvert upon the delinquencies, of which he might be fuppofed to have been guilty in the territories of the other provinces; and that what he had done at the requifition of the states of Guelderland, was merely that to which he was ob obliged by his oath of office. CHA P. III. Mediation of Pruffia and France. Revolution in the City of Amfterdam. Fluctuation of the States of Holland. Hoftilities in the Province of Utrecht. Tumults. Preparations for War. fion, if this mode of decifion were adopted, was to fpring from the mere efforts of the parties among themselves, or whether any foreign powers were to interfere, fo as to haften, or to give magnitude and dignity to the catatrophe. The king of Great Britain was known to be favourably difpofed towards his coufin, the fladtholder; but our country was fcarcely ready to engage in military contention, and the aversion of the minifters for war was strongly prefumed. The court of France was in long habits of connection with the oligarchical party in the government of Hol land, and the count de Vergennes, her minifter for foreign affairs, and the marquis de Verac, his creature and the prefent ambaffador at the Hague from the court of Verfailles, had cultivated the connection with much affiduity. But France was emerged out of war as lately as ourselves, and the feeds of a revolution of government in that country were then fermenting, which have fince difplayed themfelves in more unequivocal fymptoms. The king of Pruffia of all the parties in question was the best prepared for a military decifion. His army was infinitely the most numerous, and the difcipline of that army was exemplary. His country had long been difengaged from any ferious war, and the marches and countermarches, fuch as had taken place in 1778 in the affair of Bavaria, were scarcely any additional burthen upon the public treasury. The king was in the commencement of his reign, and might naturally be fuppofed defirous of diftinguishing himself by fome vigorous action, that might establish his character, and attach veneration to his name during the remainder of his admipiftration. But the king of Pruffia, if he were new to the conduct of a great nation, had however outlived the romantic paflions of carly youth, and was reported to be chiefly distinguished by the reafonablenefs and fobriety of his understanding. He could fcarcely expect, that the court of France, the firft political power in Europe, would quietly depart from that interference with the politics of Holland, upon which for centuries the had placed fo high a value. He might make his account in a vio lent fruggle on that fide, and, if fuch were the event, the conquett of the republic would be no holiday expedition. Frederic William the Second, upon his acceffion to the throne, ap, pears to have been influenced precifely by the fentiments we have deferibed. One circumftance there was in favour of a pacific fettlement of differences, and of that one circumstance he was determined to make the utmost use. The extreme fymptoms of contention had broken out in the autumn, and it was natural, in a controverty, which, whether it were terminated upon a larger or a fmaller scale, promifed an oblinate war, that hoftilities fhould be fufpended till the enfuing fpring. Here then was a period, in which to make an experiment upon the fuccefs of treaty and mediation. The king accordingly loft no time. Immediately upon his acceffion to the throne he difpatched the count de Goertz, a perfon of weight and political reputation, to reinforce by his perfonal appearance the remonftrances of M. de Thulemeyer, the flated Pruffian envoy. This minitter carried with him a memorial, dated on the fecond of September, and addreffed to the states general; and he had his first audience of that that affembly on the feventeenth day of that month.. had yet one expedient in referve. The attachment of his court to the prince of Orange was too notorious. But the fame objection, which was felt against the interfer operate against the court of Verfailles. Frederic William therefore directed his ambaffador at that court to learn, whether they would be willing to join a commiffioner. of their appointment with his minifter, the count de Goertz, to endeavour by their joint interference to bring the parties to reafonable terms. The fentiments of the French adminiflration were fimilar to those of the king of Pruffia. Like him, they defired to fee the party they favoured in the repub The profpect with which this minifter opened his inftructions, was not particularly flattering. The ftates of Holland had upon difference of Pruffia, would not probably ent occafions declared loudly against any foreign interference. In the preceding July an anfwer had been prepared on the part of the ftates general to the memorials of Pruffia and Great Britain, inviting their mediation; and, this anfwer being approved by fix of the provinces, there appears to have been a defign to carry it through furreptitioully, without communication with the deputies of Holland. The provincial ffembly was highly inflamed by fo unauthorifed a proceeding, and they came to a refolution, rather to ftrike out their names from the. union of Utrecht, and finally to defert the confederacy of the ftates general, than to fuffer fuch a measure to receive the fanction of the republic. The memorial, tranfmitted by the count de Goertz, was taken ad referendum by the deputies in the lates general, and the tates of Holland now expreffed the fame averfion to all fteps towards a mediation, as they had done during the life of Frederic the Second. Accordingly the Pruffian commiffioner was able to make no progrefs in the object, for which he had been employed. The ftates of Holland were the only party, with which he could negociate. All difcuffion with any other affembly would have been ineffectual and useless; and, if this affembly were once brought over, the peace and ultimate fettlement of the republic would inevitably follow. But the king of Pruffia was not fo easily to be deterred from the fettlement he had projected. He lic extricated from their fituation with advantage; and, like him, they were unwilling to try the fortune of war, till every other experiment had failed. They had yet another motive to conciliation, which the king of Pruffia could not have. The party in oppofition to the prince of Orange had now an unquestionable fuperiority; and, if a pacific fettlement took place, the inevitable confequence muft be, that the government of the United Provinces would be lefs in the hands of one man, than it had been at the commencement of the dif fentions. Accordingly they nominated without delay M. Gerard de Rayneval as their minifter, who had already negociated with credit the treaty with the Thirteen United States of America, and the treaty of commerce with Mr. Eden, the commiffioner of Great Britain. He fet out upon his embaffy in the middle of November. The court of the prince of Orange, encouraged by the progrefs of their fentiments in the province of Guelderland, and influenced by the |