Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/543

Rh Prince William Frederick of Nassau, who took the title of king of the Netherlands (23d March ISlaj. The Congress of Vienna (31st May 1815) determined the relations and fixed the boundaries of the new kingdom ; and the new constitution was promulgated on the 24th of August following, the king taking the oath at Brussels, Sept. 27. The union, however, was not a particularly fortunate or happy one. It was brought about by the allied powers with little regard to the wishes or inclinations of the people, their main object being to form here a strong kingdom to serve as a check upon the ambitious designs of France. The character, habits, language, and religion of the Belgians were all against such an alliance Through their connec tion and intercourse with France they had acquired much of the spirit, habits, and ideas of the people of that country ; while the slow, staid, conservative habits and ideas of the Dutch were repugnant to them The Belgians were chiefly engaged in agriculture and tie manufactures, while the Dutch were mainly given to commerce and the fisheries. The French was the common language of Belgium, at least in the higher circles and in all public proceedings. But the principal difficulty arose from the difference in religion. The Roman Catholic clergy of Belgium were from the first opposed to a union with a Protestant country like Holland, and the great ma?.i of the people were very ignorant, and much under the influence of the priests Nevertheless, had a mild and conciliatory policy been adopted by the Dutch it would have done much to remove or lessen these difficulties This, however, was not done. Belgium was regarded too much in the light of a conquered country, at whose expense they might lawfully enrich themselves. Though the population of Belgium was 3,400,000 and that of Holland only 2,000,000, the latter had as many repre sentatives in the States-general as the former. This fre quently rendered decision on important legislative questions a matter of extreme doubt and difficulty. In matters that affected, or were believed to affect, the two countries in different or opposite ways, the decision often depended on the accidental absence of a member on the one side or the other. The use of the French language was also attempted to be abolished in all Government and judicial proceedings. The great majority of the public offices were filled by Dutchmen, and the government was conducted principally in the interests of Holland. In .1830, of the seven Govern ment ministers only one was a Belgian ; in the ministry of the interior, of 11&quot; officials only 11 were Belgians ; in the ministry of war, of 102 officials only 3 were Belgians ; and among 1967 officers of the army, only 288 were Belgians. The partisans of Holland attempt to explain away these facts, but with only very partial success ; both sides, however, acquit the king of any intentional unfair ness, and consider that he was led to act as he did by force of circumstances. The Belgians admit that he always manifested a sincere regard for their welfare, but accuse him of giving too ready an acquiescence to what they tauntingly called the schemes of their Dutch cousins. Notwithstanding these drawbacks Belgium enjoyed daring her union with Holland a degree of prosperity that was quite remarkable. The mineral wealth of the country was largely developed, the iron manufactures of Lie^ge rapidly advanced in prosperity, the woollen manufactures of Verviers received a similar impulse, and many large establishments were formed at Ghent and other places where cotton goods were fabricated which rivalled those of England and far surpassed those of France. The extensive colonial and foreign trade of the Dutch furnished them with new markets for their produce ; while the opening of the navigation of the Scheldt raised Antwerp to a place of the first commercial importance. The Government also did much in the way of improving the internal communications of the country, iu repairing the roads and canals, and form ing new ones, deepening and widening rivers, and the like. Nor was the social and intellectual improvement of the people by any means neglected. A new university was formed at Liege, normal schools for the instruction of teachers were instituted, and numerous elementary schools and schools for higher instruction were established over the country. That the Government should take upon itself the direction and regulation of the education of the people was particularly hateful to the priests, still more so were the attempts subsequently made to improve the education of the priests themselves. The king had determined that no priest should be inducted who had not passed two years in the study of the literce Jiumaniores before his ordination ; and he appropriated a college at Louvain for that purpose, some of the professors in which were not priests, but laymen and Protestants. This gave great offence to the prelates and clergy, and some of the former, who had indulged in very intemperate language, were prosecuted. These pro ceedings were at the time applauded and encouraged by the active party of the Liberals, but afterwards these saw it their interest to join with the most bigoted of the Pioman Catholics against the Government. With the view of termi nating these differences the king in 1827 entered into a concordat with the Pope, settling the right of nomination to the bishoprics, and providing that the education of the priests should be under the control of the prelates, but that in the seminaries professors should be appointed to teach the sciences as well as what related to ecclesiastical matters. This, however, was far from satisfying the more violent of the clergy; and the two most opposite parties, the Catholic Ultramontanes and the French Liberals, united their efforts to effect the overthrow of the Government. The Liberals affected a zeal for the Catholic faith, and urged the clergy to make extravagant demands upon the Government, which they knew if granted would be hurtful to it, and if refused would increase the agitation then going on. Brussels was at this time, too, a city of refuge for the intriguing and discontented of almost every country of Europe, and the press teemed with libels not only against the Belgian Government, but also against almost every other, so that the people were constantly kept in a high state of political excitement. At length the Government took proceedings against some of the more notorious of the inflammatory writers, and several of them were banished from the kingdom. Matters were in this state when the news of the success of the Paris revolution of 1830 reached Belgium. Num bers of the propagandists came to Brussels, where they paraded the streets and talked loudly in the public places of the glories of the Revolution and of the future des tinies of France. The first outbreak occurred on the 25th of August, just a month after the commencement of that of Paris. A play, called La Muette, which abounds in passages well calculated to inflame the populace in their then excited state, was performed in the theatre, and when the curtain fell the audience rushed out into the street shouting, &quot;Imitons les Parisiens.&quot; They were speedily joined by others, and the mob at once proceeded to deeds of violence, destroying or damaging a number of public buildings, manufactories, and private houses. The guards and posts in the centre of the city were overcome or quietly surrendered ; the troops were drawn out, but they were too few in number to contend with the insurgents, arid they either retreated to their barracks or were withdrawn to the upper part of the city, where they piled their arms in front of the king s palace, and renounced all attempts at suppressing the tumult. A number of the more influential and the middle- class citizens now enrolled themselves into a burgher guard for the protection of life and property, and to interpose m 