Page:English Historical Review Volume 35.djvu/543

 1920 DUTCH MISSIONS TO ENGLAND IN 1689 535 inadequately throughout the difficult times since 1680 and was to remain until 1694. He was not, however, a diplomatist of outstanding merit and, as we shall see, he neither had the full confidence of William III nor always backed William's policy so faithfully as the statesmen of the inner ring. During the critical period in which the foundations of the alliance were laid, he took a secondary place, sending his usual routine dispatches and dealing with certain parts of the current business, but on the whole overshadowed and often overruled by the various special missions which came to deal with the mass of new and urgent business. Of these the first was ' not in form a diplomatic mission to England, although its members after- wards became the nucleus of the most important of the three special missions we have to distinguish, but a ' deputation ' from the states general to WUliam as stadtholder. Two days after William entered St. James's Palace he wrote to the states general asking for three of their ' deputies for the secret affairs ' to be sent over to confer with him, naming in a postscript Nassau- Odijk, Dijkveld, and a regent burgomaster of Amsterdam.^ The first two were amongst the most prominent of his fellow- countrymen — Odijk, his blood relation and almost a dictator in the self-willed province of Zeeland ; Dijkveld, one of the most practised negotiators in the small circle of men closely intimate with the stadtholder, to whom he always entrusted great affairs. The reasons for adding one of the heads of the great city of Amsterdam were evident. For every act of state the consent of Amsterdam was needed. The support or hostility of Amsterdam had always meant much to the house of Orange, and at this time there were certain small differences outstanding between William and the great city which must not be allowed to get worse, but must somehow be smoothed over. The states general quickly took the necessary action,^ and three deputies were appointed, with instructions covering the whole course of public business in the republic since William's departure, but more especially the requirements of the Dutch army and fleet for the coming campaign. The naval provisions could not be treated apart Brieven, Engeland, Stat. Gen.-7336 fE.). There are transcripts in Brit. Mus. Add. MS. 17677. » Journaal van Constantijn Huygens, den zoon, 1688-96, Deel I (Hist. Gen. Utrecht, Werken, New Series, 23), imder date 20 December 1689. Res. 1 1 January their instructions, consisting of report of deputies for foreign affairs, military report drawn up by the deputies for military affairs in conference with deputies of the council of state and admiralty report (Seer. Res. 5 January) drawn up by deputies of the admiralties and presented by deputies ' ter zee ' after a secret conference (' besoigne ') with them. Their report, ' Verbaal der Gedeputeerden ', is in Leg. 810 in the Rijks-Archief at The Hague, and gives copies of the dispatches to 15/25 March 1689 with a short summary report.
 * Bes. Stat. Oen., 8 January appointment of the deputies, 10 January and Secret