measure 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 committee of the provincial affembly, That measure indeed had been condemned by moderate men as preeipitate 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 itself. Nothing Therefore could be lefs agreeable to the conftitution, than the introduction of a garrifon without the confent, and even in oppofition to the remonstrances of the town councils. The alarm, that was excited by this measure, was greatly increased by the demand, that almoft immediately followed, from the states of Amersfort for a detachment of troops to reduce to obedience the city of Utrecht. on the third of September, and a few shot were fired on both fides, without killing or wounding any one either of the affailants or the befieged. The free corps at length withdrew themfelves, together with the more enthufiaftic partifans of the democracy, the people opened the gates, and the foldiers entered without farther obstacle. In Hattem the magiftrates entered into ar ticles of capitulation without the confent of the people, and the place fell into the poffeffion of the military. The news of the capture of thefe two places was not brought to the Hague till the fixth of September. The states immediately dispatched 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 themselves in readiness to march at a moment's warning. The next day they received the addreffes of feveral bodies of armed burghers, requesting permiffion to fet out immediately for the relief and defence of the city of Utrecht. The petitions were favourably received; states 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 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 ftates 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 ftates of Holland was dated on the twenty-eighth they repaired in a body to fifth of Auguft, and they at the fame time forbad the troops of their divifion, to march without an exprefs permiffion from the provincial affembly. But these proceedings were infufficient to change the determination of the prince of Orange. His troops arrived before Elburg the number of fifty, to the affembly of the ftates 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 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 obedience 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 captain general was really fufpended from the exercite 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 twenty-fecond a refolution was paffed, adopting the principles of the report, and further directing that the appellation of captain general fhould be withdrawn out of the titles of the ftadtholder in the established liturgy. This refolution was ap proved by fixteen voices, out of the nineteen of which the states of Holland are compofed, and it was followed by the protest of the equeftrian order, and of the prince of Orange. In the former of these 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 conftitution 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 ftates of Guelderland, was merely that to which he was ob obliged by his oath of office. С НА Р. 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. HE misunderstanding be- poffible that it could be terminated tween the republic and the in any other way than by the prince of Orange was now fo far fword. The great question, that matured, that it fcarcely feemed remained, was, whether the deci 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 catastrophe. The king of Great Britain was known to be favourably difpofed towards his coufin, the stadtholder; but our country was scarcely ready to engage in military contention, and the averfion of the ministers for war was strongly prefumed. The court of France was in long habits of connection with the oligarchical party in the government of Holland, and the count de Vergennes, her minister for foreign affairs, and the marquis de Verac, his creature and the prefent ambaflador at the Hague from the court of Versailles, 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 themselves 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 counter marches, fuch as had taken place in 1778 in the affair of Bavaria, were fcarcely any additional burthen upon the public treafury. 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 administration. But the king of Pruffia, if he were new to the conduct of a Frederic William the Second, up- that 1 that affembly on the feventeenth day of that month. The profpect with which this minifter opened his inftructions, was not particularly flattering. The ftates of Holland had upon different occafions declared loudly against any foreign interference. In the preceding July an answer had been prepared on the part of the ftates general to the memorials of Pruffia and Great Britain, inviting their mediation; and, this answer being approved by fix of the provinces, there appears to have been a defign to carry it through furreptitiously, without communica. tion with the deputies of Holland. The provincial affembly was highly inflamed by fo unauthorised a proceeding, and they came to a refolution, rather to strike out their names from the union of Utrecht, and finally to defert the confederacy of the states 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 ftates general, and the ftates of Holland now expreffed the fame averfion to all steps 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 ufelefs; and, if this affembly were once brought over, the peace and ultimate fettlement of the republic would inevitably follow. But the king of Prufia was not fo easily to be deterred from the fettlement he had projected. He had yet one expedient in reserve. The attachment of his court to the prince of Orange was too notorious. But the fame objection, which was felt against the interfer ence of Pruffia, would not probably 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 reasonable terms. The fentiments of the French adminiftration were fimilar to thofe of the king of Pruffia. Like him, they defired to fee the party they favoured in the repub lie 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 must 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 minitter, who had already negociated with credit the treaty with the Thirteen United, States of America, and the treaty of commerce with Mr. Eden, the commithioner of Great Britain. He fet out upon his embassy in the middle of November. The court of the prince of O range, encouraged by the progrefs. of their fentiments in the province of Guelderland, and influenced by the the critical appearance, which the fituation of affairs had now affumed, removed in the commencement of the winter, from the cattle of Loo to the city of Nimeguen, the refidence of the provincial fiates. Thither they were followed, in the beginning of December by the count de Goertz, who carried along with him the outlines of the terms, upon which the flates of Holland were willing to adjust their differences, and throw into oblivion the misunderstandings that had paffed. Thefe terms were, that the prince fhould renounce the influence, which he poffeffed by the regulation of 1674 in the election of the town councils. That he fhould be reflored to the office of captain general, with the exception of the right of patents, or the prerogative of marching the national troops out of the territories of any of the provinces into those of another, without the previous confent of the fiates of the province into which they were to be marched. And that he fhould be reinftated in the command of the garrifon of the Hague upon the conditions which had been propofed by the council of Amfterdam. A correfpondence was carried on upon these propofitions for feveral weeks. But the profpect of conciliation daily diminished, and on the fixteenth of January 1787, M. de Rayneval fet out upon his return to Paris. The count de Goertz took. his leave of the states general in the conclufion of the fame month. The fudden and premature termination of these negociations was a topic of mutual recrimination between the contending parties. The ofgarchical leaders exclaimed with warmth upon the inflexibility and obstinacy of the prince of Orange. Far from showing any deference to the states, who were his lawful fo vereigns, he infisted in the most vei hement manner upon his minutest claims. He had fhown no accommodation to the neceffity of his fituation, or to the fpirit of the times. He had acknowledged no regret for the violent and injudicious measures, into which he had been precipitated. There was not a fingle conceffion, that had ever been hinted at by the court of Nimeguen. All the advances had been made, and all the moderation dif played, on the part of the states of Holland. But, if the oligarchy were vehement in exclaiming againft the prince, the stadtholder on his part was not fparing in cenfore and recrimination. He im puted the unfavourable termination of the bufinefs, folely to the imperious and impracticable fpirit of the envoy of France. M. de Rayneval had actually withdrawn himself, when the accommodation feemed to have the most favourable appearance. He would listen to no delay; he would allow for no preju dices. He was to dictate the terms, of peace, and, because they were, not accepted without a moment's hefitation, had abruptly withdrawn, himself, and thus facrificed the welfare of a whole country to his own, pride and felf-importance. In order to prove these allega.. tions, the stadtholder thought proper to publish the letters of M. de Rayneval to the count de Goertz, and the answers of the princess of Orange, who upon this occafion had undertaken the business of the correfpondence on the part of her, confort. It was immediately re marked by his adverfaries, that the letters of the count de Goertz did, not appear in this publication; and they profeffed to be at no lofs to account for the omiffion. The late king of Pruffia had recommended con |