The Sun.
London, England, 1832-01-27 00:00:00

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King of Holland bad a right to complain that he had not
even been consulted. The protocol of Aix-la-Chapelle
was an act of what had been often called by Noble Lords
on the other side, the Holy Alliance : that instrument de-
clared that foreign Powers should only interfere at the re-
quest of States themselves, and after due consultation and
concert with all. Where was the request on the part of
Hol'and ? The Conference, indeed, said, " You might
have come if you had pleased—we were always ready to
hear ;" but was this fulfilling the spirit, or even the letter
of the engagement in the protocol of Aix-la-Chapelle ?
Here, all that has been done, has not only been without
participation, but even without consulatation. Give him
the Holy Alliance.—(Hear, bear.) Give him, he re-
peated, the Holy Alliance; for if it condemned, it heard.—
(Cheers.) If the Foreign Minister of this country had set
his wits to work to devise causes of intermivable war, he
coul I not have adopted a more effectual course. If war
commenced with Holland, who could say where it would
end ?—(Hear, bear.) One thing was quite certain, that
whatever might be the result, it would tend directly to the
gain of France. When formerly Great Britain was en-
gaged in a war with Holland, because we suspected that
she was about to acknowledge the independence of our re-
volted colonies, the effect was to throw Holland at once
into the arms of France. In this instance France would have
every reason to be satisfied with the footing upon which
Great Britain stood with Holland, and she would he sure
of a good friend in Belgium. It was principally for this
reason he had deprecated the decision of Prince Leopold,
when, unfortunately for himself and for his country, he
consented to accept the Sovereignty. Appealing to his acts,
would it he said that he had not conducted himself exactly
as the French Government wished? He had appro-
priated to himself territory unquestionably and imme-
morially belonging to Holland, and then he had endea-
voured to maintain himself in the possession of it. What
was then done ? The Prince of Orange retired before the
French force, and before the declarations of those whom he
considered as the friends of his brother, and under whose
auspices he had advanced. The King of Belgium had
asked for 12,000 men to remain and protect him—that
was refused. The French army retreated in consequence
of what his Noble Friend had so strongly urged upon the
Ministers; but though the army retired, hundreds, and he
believed he might say thousands, of the men who composed
it, returned in different dresses into Belgium, asd within
two or three days afterwards took service under that State.
He now came to another subject, on which be thought
strong observations were fairly called for. He meant
the destruction of the fortresses, and it certainly was
a curious circumstance, that the King of the Netherlands
should have been excluded from the conferences on that sub-
ject. It was said that it was necessary to destroy these for-
tresses for the purpose of preserving peace ; but King Leopold
had thought fit to make their destruction a proof of the
confidence he placed in the French King. Indeed he
seemed as if he would willingly have made France a pre-
sent of every one of the fortresses. The fortresses name I
were Philippeville, Marienbourg,
.Mons, Liege, and Na-
But then Philippeville and Marienbourg had been
cormerly French fortresses, and so their destruction was
objected to, for it was supposed that an opportunity might
afterwards occur of France repossessing herself of these
fortresses. Did not the fact of the objection to the de-
struction of these fortresses show that it was supposed they
would not permanently belong to Belgium ?—(Hear,
hear.) Well, then, after all this, how was the treaty to
be enforced ? The only means stated by the Convention
to secure the execution of the treaty was the employment
of force. What would be the consequence of such a
comae? It had been well described by Mr. Fox in 17S1,
who, in a speech then delivered, supposed the then King
of France, Louis XVI., to be engaged in a discussion
with his subjects, with a view to promote the universal
dominion of France, and in order to effect that object,
desiring, of course, to paralyse the opposition of Great
Britain. "If there should be a deliberation between the
King of France and his subjects on the best means of
extending and establishing the projected universal Mo-
narchy, what would be the tenor of their conversation ?
We must (the King would say) weaken and de-
destroy our grand and most formidable rival, Great Bri-
tain. To be sure, reply the subjects; but this cannot
be done without diminishing and exhausting ourselves.
Yes, says the King, we shall not strike a blow ; we will
make them cut and mangle one another; we will employ
our Ministers ; those Ministers who are paid by Great
Britain for doing our business, to go to war with their
master's subjects and destroy themselves.' " He would
not say bow far that desirable object had been fulfilled on
the present occasion, but he thought he saw the creation
of a domestic difference of a description almost as for-
midable—(Hear, hear, hear)—a firebrand thrown into
the country to divide and weaken us, and so to paralyse
our exertions as to render us contemptible in the eyes of
foreigners.—(Hear, hear) Mr. Fox went en to say, that
" all this may be supposed to have occurred between the
King of France and his subjects, and still farther it might
have been said, that in order to complete the design of
establishing an Universal Monarchy, they must destroy the
other rival Powers of Europe ; the Naval Powers were the
most to be dreaded, and, after Great Britain, of these
Naval Powers the Dutch were the first to be overthrown.
How could they de that without weakening thernsels es?
Why, replies the King of France, how but by instigating
our faithful servants, the Ministers of Great Britain, to go
to war with their nearest, dearest, and best friends the
Dutch. True, their interests are inseparable ; they are like
the right hand and the left of one immense and terrible
body : by a brotherly combination of strength and action
they are irresistible, and the House of Bourbon must fall be.
fore them ; but divide them, nay, not only separate, but set
them to tear one another, and they will crumble before us.
To do this would be impracticable with any other_set of
men ; but nothing is impossible for those Ministers in the
scale of absurdity or madness to attempt.—(Hear.) This
would no doubt be said, and what must be the astonish.
went, what the feelings, what the transport of French-
men, when they perceived Great Britain go to war with
the Dutch without a cause, for he declared he never yet
could discover a cause for which we went to war with that
Power, forgetting all the interests, all the policy, all the
connection by which we had ever been, and ought always
to be, guided with respect to her." In the present in-
stance the Ministers said they would force the acceptance
of this Convention on the Dutch. That declaration either
was an empty boast, which no one believed it to be—
(Hear, hear)—or it was a declaration of war, in case
war should be necessary to compel the acceptance of the
treaty. The Noble Earl would probably say he had no
hostile feelings towards the Dutch; on the contrary, he
desired their friendship ; but, whatever object be might
have in view, his conduct had been such that he hall ex-
cited, throughout the world, a feeling of hatred towards
this country.--(Hear, hear.) The Dutch perfectly well
knew, and our good friends the French had taken especial
care they should know, that they were indebted to the
Noble Earl and his colleagues for every thing which they
now suffered, injurious, harassing, and oppressive.—
(Hear, hear.) Three times within the last year had the
British navy received orders to be prepared to act hostilely
towards the Dutch, and the consequence of the hostility
thus manifested was, the Dutch officers had entered into a
solemn engagement, never, under any circumstances to
strike to a British vessel, but rather, like their celebrated
countryman, blow up or sink their own. The Dutch were
no braggarts—(Hear)—and they would do what they pro-
mised. He did not speak this from any other feeling but
that of calling attention to it as a demonstration of mind,
hostile and embittered, such as the common course of war
never produced. When he saw this—when he saw that
the interests of all whom we ought to have cherished and
protected had been violated—when he saw that, in conse-
quence of the conduct of Ministers, the honour of the King
had been called in question, he could not but feel strongly,
and could not avoid taking the earliest opportunity to ex-
press his feelings. With these feelings he should move an
humble address to his Majesty. The Noble Lord then
moved the following address:—
" To assure his Majesty that we duly appreciate the ettlirts of
his Majesty to terminate, in conjunction with his Allies, the dis-
sensions which have prevailed in the Kingdom of the Nether
lands, and to maintain inviolate the peace of Europe. That
without calling in question the necessity of facilitating a separa-
tion of Holland and Belgium upon just and equitable principles,
we beg humbly to represent to his Majesty, that we have seen
with much concern the project of a treaty which has been
made public, and which has for its object the provisions con-
sequent upon a final separation of the two States; but which,
in our humble apprehension, contains stipulations incompatible
with the interests of this country, and injurious to the honour of
your Majesty.

MUT.

" Humbly to express to his Majesty our conviction that an en-
gagement to guarantee the execution of all the articles of which
the said treaty consists would be improvident and dangerous.
That we fear it might lead to the necessity of imposing addi-
tional burdens upon his Majesty's subjects ; and, as the interests
which are involved in some of these articles are various and
complicated, the interference requisite to ensure their execution
must be so frequent, that we cannot but contemplate the proba-
bility of future discussions calculated to effect the stability of the
general peace.
" Humbly to submit to his Majety, that stipulations e.n_tezed__
into without the participation or consent of the KingOfthe
therlanils, by which a privilege is given to the subjects of a
foreign State to navigate in the internal waters and
Holland, and to carry roads or canals through the canals of
Dutch terri-
tory, must be regarded as a manifest violation of national inde-
pendence, and as destructive of the rights
of Sovereignty.
" Humbly to remind his Majesty that it has long been the
established policy of this country, and the practice of his Ma-
jesty's Royal predecessors, to cultivate the strictest union with