The Sun.
London, England, 1830-03-22 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

We have received a file of Brussels Papers to the
20th inst., which, though they contain no particula
news, supply us with the means of forming an opi-

- .. .
&on on the state of the Netherlane.s by no means

uninteresting at the present crisis. Our last notice
of that country described the fermentation which
had been created in the Belgic portion of it in con-
sequence of the steps taken by the Court to punish
such of its refractory servants as had voted with
the majority of the States-General vi hen that
assembly rejected the budget. Those who were
officers of the King's household, it will be remem-
bered, were stripped of their employments, and
others were deprived of their pensions. The occa-
sion was instantly laid hold of by the Belgic oppo-
sHon to propose the establishment of a grand
national association, with its treasurer, its exchequer,
its honorary distinctions, its badges, its law-officers,
and its political omnipotence, under pretence of in-
demnifying, in the first instance, the persons who had
been dismissed ; and, in the second, of counteracting
all such acts of arbitrary violence in future. M. de
Potter, now in prison for a former libel, was the

author of this project, and has since, in consequence,
along with four or five other persons (three of whom
are editors of newspapers) been accused of a con—
spiracy against the existing dynasty. 'I he formation
of the grand association which these agitators pro-
posed has, therefore, for the present, been arrested
by the prompt intefference, or, as some call it, the
unlawful rigour of the Government; but the coun-
try has not yet recovered its tranquillity. The con-
trivances of mischief, or the machinery of alarm,
which w ere so successfully organised during last Pet,
sion of the States-General, have been continued
itt
the present. Societies have been formed for the
purpose of promoting petitions all over the country ;
and cart-loads of paper or parchment, filled with the
complaints of the Belgians, have been forwarded to
the Hague. The conspiracy of De Potter and Co.
was nothing to this universal nuisance.
" From plots and treasons Heaven protect my years;
" But guard me most from my petitioners."
No less than from 950 to 1,000 petitions have
been transmitted to the Second Chamber of the
States-General in the course of a few weeks, sub-
scribed by 300,000 persons. All these addresses
proceed from the Belgic provinces, and are supported
in the Legislature by the Belgic members. There
is scarcely a village or hamlet in the whole country
which has not contributed its quota of grievances,
under the skilful direction of some fanatic priest or
liberal agitator. Formulas of petitions have been
carried, ready for subscription, from province to ro-,
vince, from city to city, from parish to parish. The
humble cultivator of the toil and the industrious
artisan have been canvassed for their expressions of
was,
whether adjourned
complaint, and have ail at once found out that they
must be oppressed (though they could not tell why),
and therefore ought to be relieved. The subjects of
all these petitions are nearly the same, and the lan-
guage often varies so little as to show that they must
have proceeded from the same manufactory. They all
pray for the maintenance of the freedom of the press,
—for the abolition of the monopoly of education,—
for a law to establish ministerial responsibility,—for
the free use of the French language in all public
acts—for an equal participation by the Belgians
with their Dutch brethren in the honours and emo-
luments of office, and for the abolition of certain un•
popular taxes. Thus it often happened that the
mark of a person who could not write was appended
to a humble demand for the freedom of the press.--
that a peasant who could not distinguish a minister
of state from the burgomaster of his village, decided
on the necessity of completing the Constitution by
a law on Ministerial responsibility—and that a boo
who could only speak bad Flemish professed his
indignation that his posterity would not be pet.
mitted to plead in French before the courts of jus-
tice. There were, no doubt, grievances, but they
had existed for fourteen years without calling forth
petitions for their redress, and were scarcely heard
of among foreigners till the formation of the strange
coalition between the liberals and the priests about
two years ago. Independently of discussions on the
presentation of single petitions, the Second Cheat•
ber of the States-General was engaged three suc-
cessive days (from the Bth to the 11th instant),
in
and prayer,uarinu
a cis thousand,oeustiidonp a
sto ,tboteot
hdeecide
whichd
v
%%.e Dave
order
of the day, and thus express a sort of disapproba-
tion of the manner in which the petitions had beers
jotehdd oeefd debateisnearlysem o n the substance, form,
The
bl y
got up, or should receive them and allow their to.
lie on the table. Very eloquent speeches vvere'de-
livered on both sides—speeches in which the right
of petitioning and the merits of the petitioners 'were
discussed with a degree of talent and an extent of
ch.oonnsotuitruttioonaaillyknaosswelmedbglye.
which They allw professed tlrdo e
respect for the right of petitioning, though they
sasved dons
their
dif-
fered as to the propriety of its exercise on the pre-
sent occasion. The Dutch members enlarged on
the abuses of so valuable a privilege,—pointed out
the culpable intrigues and manoeuvres of the peti-
tion-mongers to obtain signatures,—described the
cajolery or intimidation which had been employed
by the priests to make their flocks join the faction
of (what one of them called) the theo-democeacy,—
and denounced the agents who had brought together
such lists of names as turbulent and seditious dema-
gogues, seeking to overawe the Legislature or drive
it to concessions by the magnitude of their numbers or
their array of physical force. On the other hand, the
Belgic supporters of the petitioners denied these
alleged manoeuvres to obtain signatures, justified
the contents of the petitions, and showed the well-
grounded causes of jealousy or alarm which had in
cited the people to denounce the conduct of Govern-
ment. One of the latter (Mr. de Gerlache) declared
that " the chief grievances mentioned in the peti-
tions had for a long time resounded in the Chamber,
but had been disregarded. In 1828, the petitioners
came to support our demands, Ministers then
scoffed at their limited number. Since then the
nation had, as it were, risen en masse. Then we
heard the cry of intrigue, and of faction, instead of
an accusation against the conduct of Ministry.
They however made demi-concessions enough to
prove to the petitioners that they were riot wrong
in petitioning, but too little to satisfy their just de-
mands. Yes, there is a reaction on the part of the
nation, but a reaction which has saved the state and
the Government itself, which was undermining and
changing the constitution, and which would soon
have left us nothing to do but to vote budgets.
To conclude," cried the deputy, " a mortal
combat has been declared between public opinion
and those who wish to exercise the mono-
poly of power, —to interpret arbitrarily the
constitution, and to govern without controul."
The Chamber agreed to receive the petitions
by a majority of 88 to 11, ;newly of the
Dutch Members voting with the majority, to pre-
vent the exasperation which a rejection might have
occasioned. Though there is still a considerable
ferment in the public mind in the Netherlands, it is
evident that its violence has somewhat abated since
Christmas. Questions are discussed in the Legisla-
ture with more temper. The clergy are more satis-
fied with their situation since the adoption of the
i to last
li The
as has
t tthe
le on lessenedoanggmre iircnuaittt than
nomination nissotf
a Bergimthe
it
concordat, the abolition of the philosophical school
of Louvain, and the appointment of a Catholic to
afit the
tui ministrytlhas
LMinisterc iobnercoiaflli
as is
public
ofbd
thelicot
the
worship.
Interiornrseihlnydp o
antipathy of some, while the abolition of the tax on
and lower orders. The union between the Jesuits
can serve the interests of a faction. When such hete-
rogeneous combinations fall to pieces, the King's
Government will recover the public confidence, and,
like the waters of the Nile, diffuse, as formerly, its
blessings without noise or tumult—" nullo confessus
murmure vires."—nmes.
One advantage to be obtained from the prolonged
and reiterated debates on Mr. Davenport's' motion,
in return for the profuse consumption of the time
and labour of Parliament, will be, we trust, what