114

APPROACH TO THE HAGUE.

September, 1697, between Louis XIV. and the confederate powers, called the Treaty of Ryswick. I mention this as a guide for strangers who may follow me, and who may not be fascinated as I was by my situation in the boat, and content with the highly cultivated and embellished scenery around me. A man must be in bad humour with nature indeed, who can pass, in the summer, from Delft to the Hague without emotions of strong delight.

As we approached the Hague, the scenery became more refined and beautiful, and the last light of a setting sun purpled the lofty edifices of that celebrated city: it was quite dusk as we passsd the water-houses, in which the royal yachts are contained, the rich gilded carving of which was just visible through the grated doors; and after gliding along the suburbs, which were well lighted, though not in this respect comparable with London, I disembarked, bade adieu to my charming companions, and proceeded with my usual attendant, through the greater part of the city to the Mareschal de Turenne, an excellent hotel, but at a most inconvenient distance from the place where the Delft boats stop, and where the others for Leyden or Haerlem start from.

The morning after my arrival there was a grand review of the Dutch troops, who presented a very soldierly ap

pearance; that of the body-guard, both horse and infantry, was very superb in military appointments. I was well informed that the king felt so secure in his government, that there were not at this time twenty French soldiers in the country, and that, accompanied by his queen, he was attending to his health at the waters of Wisbaden, in the south of Germany. The French interest, however, was predominant, and it was indispensably necessary that the passport of every foreigner should be countersigned by the French consul, whose fiat upon all such occasions was final,

The king had been at the Hague, or rather at his palace in the wood adjoining, only about six weeks, in the course of which, I was credibly informed, he had displayed uncommon activity and talent in the discharge of the great duties of his station. Although an invalid, he was at his bureau with his ministers every morning at six o'clock, which he never quitted until the business of the day was completed. The poor-laws occupied much of his attention, and they are, I hear, to undergo a considerable amelioration. I have already mentioned his abolition of useless offices, sinecures, and unmerited pensions, the reduction of excessive salaries, and an extension of the time devoted to the service of the state in the public offices. These advantages could only be expected to flow

116

OLD AND NEW CONSTITUTIONS.

from that vast power which revolutions, after their effervescence has subsided, generally deposit with some fortunate individual, who, if he has talent and good inclinations, is enabled to consult the prosperity of a state, by measures at once prompt, summary, and efficacious, unretarded by forms, clashing interests, or hoary prejudices. The first of a new has ever this advantage over the last of an old dynasty.

The hereditary successor of a long line of princes is like the owner of an ancient mansion devolved to him by hereditary right; he must take the edifice as it is, with its commodious and inconvenient chambers, its fantastic turrets and heavy chimney-pieces, its dark and its cheerful passages; or if he alters, it must be with a cautious and gentle hand, otherwise the whole fabric will fall about his ears whilst he who is elevated by revolutions to command, may choose his ground, build wholly with new, or partly with the old materials of the prostrate constitution..

An

In order to appreciate the present constitution, it may be necessary to take a slight review of the old one. terior to 1747 the United Provinces subsisted in one common confederacy, yet each province had an internal government or constitution, wholly independent of the others, called the States of such a Province, and its dele

ANTIENT CONSTITUTION OF HOLLAND.

117

gates the States General, in whom the supreme sovereignty of the whole confederacy was lodged; and notwithstanding the number of delegates which a province might send, yet in every constitutional measure each province had only one voice, and the sanction of every province, and of every city within it, was necessary before such a measure could pass into a law, and every resolution of the states of a particular province required unanimous adoption. The Council of State consisted also of deputies from the several provinces, but differed in its constitution from the States General; it was composed of twelve persons, of whom Holland sent three; Guelderland, two; Zealand, two; Utrecht, two; Friesland, one; Overyssel, one; and Groningen, one. Such deputies could only vote personally it was their department to prepare estimates, and ways and means, &c. to be submitted to the States General. The states of the provinces were styled "Noble and Mighty Lords;" those of Holland, "Noble and "most Mighty Lords; and the States General, High "and Mighty Lords," or "the Lords of the States Ge"neral of the United Netherlands," or "their High

Mightinesses." Queen Elizabeth called them in her time Messieurs the States. The Chamber of Accounts, in which all the public accounts were audited, and composed. of provincial deputies, was placed under these two bodies. The executive part of the Admiralty was committed to

113

ANCIENT CONSTITUTION OF HOLLAND.

five colleges, in the three maritime provinces of Holland, Zealand and Frieseland. In Holland the people were excluded from choosing their representatives or magistrates. In Amsterdam, which had precedence in all public deliberations, the magistracy was lodged in thirty-six senators chosen for life, and every vacancy filled up by the survivors, and the representatives for the cities in the province of Holland, were elected by the same senate.

Such a complicated piece of machinery must have proceeded slowly if it proceeded regularly, and must have been constantly exposed to the peril of being disordered, without a principal head to guide it, which led to the stadtholdership becoming hereditary in the year 1747. The wonderful and constant vicissitudes to which Holland has been exposed, rendered such an expedient, however, objectionable; it afterwards proved to be in many instances necessary to the preservation of the country. The history of the republic for 147 years, namely, from its first entering the field of battle in 1566 to the peace of Utrecht in 1713, is a tissue of battles lost and won. The twelve years' truce which produced an hiatus in her many wars with Spain, did not extend to the Indian possessions of the Dutch; and after a prodigal effusion of blood, the peace obtained in 1648 lasted only four years. The first war with Great Britain continued to 1654; and scarcely had the republic