Star.
London, England, 1830-09-03 00:00:00

THE KING OF THE NETHERLANDS.

The King is a good but not a great man. He would have made
an exellent merchant, an admirable farmer, or a perfect country gen.
tionan ; but, " the angels wept " when they saw him made Hang.
To be a King in Europe, since the schoolmaster has been abroad,
is no easy task ; and, to be a King of a divided country—of a nation
composed of two distinct people, whose feelings, interests, passions,
prejudices, language, manners, and wants, are completely opposed to
each other, and, above all, between whom there exist eternal jealousies,
is undoubtedly yet more difficult than to be King either of France
or Great Britain. The King of the Pays Baa, like most good sort
of men, has a good many prejudices—and he is by no means de.
ficient in obstinacy. He has got it into his head that as England,
Ireland, and Scotland, are united, therefore it is just as easy to unite
Belgium and Holland. He never could be made to understand that
England was stronger than either Ireland or Scotland, and that in the
union there was a good deal of force and conquest. He never could be'.
induced to believe that England and Ireland were not really united in'
spite of the Act of Union, and that had not Catholic Emancipation
been recently granted, Ireland, though less powerful than England, would
have declared herself independent. He never could be brought to feel and
understand that Scotland retained her national religion, her national
laws, and ancient front time immemorial approved ; nor would he
ever believe, that usagesa not such concessions been made, the South.
ems would never have maintained their position in the land o' cakes.'
The King of the Pays Baa is not, however, an ignorant, or ill read man,
but he is not sufficiently enlightened for 1890, and he does not comps.
bend why that which may be very good for Amsterdam, may be very
bad for Antwerp. What have been the consequences of this error ?
Why the King has governed two different people by the same rules_
the same laws, the same Parliament, the same Constitution, and with
the same Ministers. He has imposed taxes of a general character, that
have borne heavily on the Belgians, and lightly en the Dutch, simply
because he would have the same system adopted with reference to all his
subjects. Because he was a protestant, at.d attached to a particular
system of education, he thought that the same system was the best for
the Belgians and the Catholics. Because in Holland they did not
:peak French, therefore he thought that it was not desirable
that they Should adopt the language in Belgium. Because he was a
Dutchman and a Protestant, and attached to Holland, he thought that
as King he was bound to pursue a Dutch system with reference to all his
subjects. He forgot that the Belgians, paying more direct taxes than
the Dutch, had a right to demand or to expect that the Belgian system
should be pursued, and not the Dutch ; or that at least, as a sort of
compromise, that one system should be pursued in one country and the
other system in the other part of the kingdom. When his Flemish
übjects protested against the same system of Civil, Military, and
.ctlestastical Government being pursued in both countries, he
treated the protesters as rebels, and said, " You wish to divide
Holland from Belgium, whilst I wish to unite them." But union
sex impossible. Yet the King was unconvinced, and like the
shstinate Prussian General who, because green spectacles suited his eye.
a~required that all officers and privates who had weak eyes should
wear green spectacles, even though with them they were unable to dia.
cover a inane wall at the distance of a yard--so the King of the Pays
Bat said, " My system is a good one for Holland—and the Dutch are
contented with it—and Holland thrives under it ; and therefore it is an
admirable system for Belgium, and you must be attached to is—must
respect and love it—and must he benefitted by it." The Ah of the
Pays Baa, resembling your St. John Long, with one oil of witzd appli.

acton for all complaints. insisted upon it, after the manner of your
anti Table modern Esculapin*, that that which was good for con-
sumption was excellent for the head-ache, the heart-ache, and
broken bones, But at length Miss Cashin died—and at length
the Belgians would. submit to the Dutch embrocation no longer. If
they had continued to use the specific of the King of the Pays Bas,
their liberties would have expired, and Belgium would have become a
mere Colony of Holland. The only difference between St. John Long
and good King William and Holland is, that the former deceived others,
whilst the latter was himself deceived. And the only difference between
the patients of the former and the subjects of the latter is, that the pa.
tients of the quack had faith even to the tomb, whilst the subjects of the
King had only faith to a certain time, when they perceived the danger
of their condition, and applied promptly other remedies, and set about
in right earnest to cure themselves.