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

treaty upon those grounds alone ; he would go more
minutely into the subject, and examine it more in detail.
Ile (Earl Grey) had already said that the treaty was
nothing more than a developement of that basis tspou which
Holland had previously agreed to a separation ; and even
the Noble Earl himself admits that the document so often
referred to, does contain much sound argument. In his
(Lord Grey's) opinion, a more able document had ❑ever
come under his consideration, especially that portion of it
which comprehended the statement relative to the naviga-
tion of the Scheldt. In that basis of separation which
was agreed to on the 27th of January, as to the rivers
passing through the territories of both States, it was
agreed their navigation should be perfectly free; that,
Noble Lords, would remember, was i❑ perfect accordance
with the Treaty of Vienna; that Treaty of Vienna was as
explicit as any treaty could possibly be, on the point that
those rivers, and the several branches of them, were to be
freely navigated by both countries. For fifteen years the
King of Holland held out against the interpetration put
upon that treaty by Prussia, Baden, and France, and
every State in Europe, which had occasion to deliver an
opinion on the subject. There was no man who looked
upon the subject with the eyes of common sense would
deny that dispute had now been carried on for more than
15 years; and so far was this carried, that in the conven-
tion of Naples it clearly appeared the King of Holland
held out against all the othei Powers, and opposei his
single opinion to theirs, though they appear to have pro-
ceeded with the least possible disposition to dispute. Now
lie would ask Noble Lords whether they thought it would
be sane or expedient to leave matters in such a situation?
And all men must admit that to have agreed upon the 24
articles was making a step which was of the very highest
importance—it was, he would repeat it, of the very
highest importance that the Belgians should unite with the
Dutch in freeing the navigation of the Scheldt the whole
way to the Rhine. The principle asserted in the twenty-
four articles was, he would maintain, in perfect accord-
ance with the treaty—at least with his interpretation of
the treaty, and with the interpretation put upon it by
every mind in Europe, to which it was submitted, except-
ing the King of Holland. His views of the interpretation
of the treaty were not adopted in the formation of the
twenty-four articles, but in other respects the utmost at-
tention waa paid to the wishes of Holland, and in all points
to her true interests, by the members of the Conference.
On the 15th a proposition was made to Holland, to which
no answer was received—none whatever, until the 14th of
December. Though the treaty did not arrive from Hol-
land in London till the 14th of December, yet there was
the best reason for knowing that it was dispatched to St.
Petersburgh as early as the 6th of that month, and com-
municated to the Dutch Chambers before it was known in
London. It would, of course, be in the recollection of the
House, that Holland had, at all times, betrayed a strong
jealousy of Antwerp. There could be no doubt, that,
during they union, that city enjoyed as many advantages
as she could now expect to enjoy under any change of cir-
cumstances. She certainly would be in no way a gainer
under the al rangement recently made, as compared with
her positio❑ under the union, and therefore, relatively,
Holland would be in no worse condition, and Rotterdam
and Amsterdam would have no more formidable rivalry to
encounter than before ; and if Holland was as Holland had
ever been, and the Dutch people of the same character as
they had ever proved themselves, he had no fear but that

they would enter into a competition with their commer-
cial rivals on terms of the most perfect equality, even though
they should never enjoy that monopoly of the naviga-
.

dun of those rivers upon which they appeared to set
so much value. Those, then, were the only advantages
which the Belgians had gained in that treaty, of which so
much complaint had been made. Then the divisio❑ of
the debt was immensely in favour of Holland. He was
not then prepared to go through all the details, but the re-
sult, which he had upon the best information, was, that
in strictness Belgium was not liable to more than
5,000,000 of florins, and by the treaty she had under-
taken 8,400,000 florins, in return for the freedom of navi-
gation conceded to her. That freedom of navigation was
essential to her existence as an independent State: she
pesoessed no other means of communication with the Ger-
man States. Next came the cession of Luxemburgh, and
There he thought the defence of the treaty stood upon
equally tenable ground, and whatever discontent Holland
might think proper to express, it was not to be put in
competition with the peace of Europe. He disliked as
much as any man having recourse to force for the purpose
of putting into execution a treaty of that nature, but he
felt that, rather than hazard the peace of Europe, anything
short of actual war ought to be resorted to. He did hope,
that, under the circumstances, Holland might be induced
to yield. He certainly had not anticipated anything like
opposition from Holland, whatever might been the case
with Belgium—but in the case of Belgium he certainly
was disappointed. The Noble Earl then adverted to the
horror which the Noble Lord opposite seemed to feel at
the annexation of territory without the consent of its in -
habitants, asking him if he remembered the cases of Nor-
way, Saxony, Genoa, Greece, and others ? There were
those who, for the purpose of advancing objects of a mere
pecuniary nature, would sacrifice the best interests of so-
ciety. In the words of a poet,
Hinc usura vorax avidumque intempore fcenus,
Et coneussa fides et multis ultis utile bellum."

He had very little more to add, except that he still trusted
the treaty would receive a full and speedy ratification.
The Duke of WELLINGTON agreed certainly with his
Noble Friend, that he owed some apology for the vote
which he was about to give in favour of the address; but
lie confessed, that what principally induced him to consent
to the present motion being brought on, was his sense of
the injustice done to Holland by the departure from the
principles of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. Holland
had been forced to consent to the measures determined on
by the Conference of London, without having time for the
consideration of them. It was upon that ground lie rested
his justification for requiring that that treaty should now
be reconsidered, and he should endeavour to prevail upon
the Noble Lords opposite to re-consider it themselves,
with the belief that the Noble Lord—his time being oc-
cupied with the necessary attention to other subjects—had
not been able to give his attention to this particular fact,
such as never, he believed, occurred in negociations be-
tween any two Powers, except on the occasion of the in-
terference of the three sowers between the Turks and
Greeks. But the Noble Lord said that the interference
with Belgium and Holland was not a mediation. It cer-
tainly did not commence in a mediation, but-it had t,rmi-
flitted in the assumption of an arbitration, the most tyran-
nical that ever was known, on the part of the five Powers;
for the parties were never called on to hear the reasons of
the sentence which was passed on them, nor had they any
opportunity of making their defence until the sentence had
been pronounced to be irrevocable. The Noble Lord had
spoke of the concurrence of the French Government. But
for his part, he (the Duke of Wellington) did not know
whether that Government had concurred in the treaty or
not. But if they had concurred, they must certainly have
changed their mind since, for they had declared that they
would not hear of the alteration from a mediation to an
arbitration. He did not know whether they meant that

principle to be applied to the Belgians only. He could not
suppose that they did not mean that there should be a me-
diation as respected Belgium, but that the powers of an ar-
bitration should be employed against the King of the Nether-
lands. Their Lordships were well aware of the important
distinction between the two terms. In February M. Se-
hastiani said that the interference of the Five Powers was
only in the way of mediation, and that tie French Govern-
ment could never consent that it should lose that character.
(Hear.) But now their Lordships were told that the cha-
racter of an arbitration was forced upon the Conference.
Was it forced upon them by those of the five Powers who
had refused to ratify the treaty because it had become an
arbitration ?—(Cheers.) Was it they who, as their Lord-
ships were told, carried the rest of Europe by force along
with them ? The person then addressing the House
had had a long experience in these affairs—(Hear)—
and lie would assure their Lordships of his sincere be-
lief, that if England should give up Holland, every other
Power in Europe would be ready to peck at her. It
was on such considerations he grounded the vote which
he was about to give.—( Hear, hear, hear.) (The Noble
Duke was frequently inaudible in the course of his ad-
dress, and was followed throughout with great difficulty.)
The Noble Lord (Earl Grey) had been pleased to charge
the Members of the late Government with having prepared
the embarrassments in which his Majesty's present Minis-
ters were involved. Now he (the Duke of Wellington)
had often challenged the Noble Lou] to come forward and
prove that any embarrasamenc of the present Administra-
tion had been caused by the Government of which he had
been a Member.—(Cheers.) He had said before that the
last revolution in France was a visitation upon Europe,
for which the late Government of this country was as little
to blame as the Noble Etrl himself, or as any other per-
s. nat that time in opposition to the Government. He
had often said in that House that there was nut an indi-
vidual in Europe who had less to do with that revolution
and with the measures of Prince Polignac, than the indi-
t
v ..ehy had alsolressing the satisfaction,heiri
Lordships. But if the Mem-
hers of the late Government had nothing to do with that
d resolution,ual he a
they
the consolation,
of reflecting that they had never eulogised it.—(Loud
cheers.) The Noble Lord spoke, as usual, very harshly
respecting the settlement of Europe in 1814 and 1815.
But the Noble Lord ought to remember that that set-
dement had maintained the peace of Europe ever since—.