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The treasonable perfidy of the Prince of Orange, Stadtholder &
Captain General of the United Netherlands, in the war which England
waged against them for entering into a treaty of commerce with the U.
S. is known to all. As their Executive officer, charged with the
conduct of the war, he contrived to baffle all the measures of the
States General, to dislocate all their military plans, & played false
into the hands of England and against his own country on every
possible occasion, confident in her protection, and in that of the
King of Prussia, brother to his Princess. The States General
indignant at this patricidal conduct applied to France for aid,
according to the stipulations of the treaty concluded with her in 85.
It was assured to them readily, and in cordial terms, in a letter
from the Ct. de Vergennes to the Marquis de Verac, Ambassador of
France at the Hague, of which the following is an extract.
"Extrait de la depeche de Monsr. le Comte de Vergennes a Monsr.
le Marquis de Verac, Ambassadeur de France a la Haye, du 1er Mars
1786.
"Le Roi concourrera, autant qu'il sera en son pouvoir, au
succes de la chose, et vous inviterez de sa part les patriotes de lui
communiquer leurs vues, leurs plans, et leurs envieux. Vous les
assurerez que le roi prend un interet veritable a leurs personnes
comme a leur cause, et qu' ils peuvent compter sur sa protection.
Ils doivent y compter d' autant plus, Monsieur, que nous ne
dissimulons pas que si Monsr. le Stadhoulder reprend son ancienne
influence, le systeme Anglois ne tardera pas de prevaloir, et que
notre alliance deviendroit unetre de raison. Les Patriotes sentiront
facilement que cette position seroit incompatible avec la dignite,
comme avec la consideration de sa majeste. Mais dans le cas,
Monsieur, ou les chefs des Patriotes auroient a craindre une
scission, ils auroient le temps suffisant pour ramener ceux de leurs
amis que les Anglomanes ont egares, et preparer les choses de maniere
que la question de nouveau mise en deliberation soit decide selon
leurs desirs. Dans cette hypothese, le roi vous autorise a agir de
concert avec eux, de suivre la direction qu' ils jugeront devoir vous
donner, et d' employer tous les moyens pour augmenter le nombre des
partisans de la bonne cause. Il me reste, Monsieur, il me reste
Monsieur, de vous parler de la surete personelle des patriotes. Vous
les assurerez que dans tout etat de cause, le roi les prend sous sa
protection immediate, et vous ferez connoitre partout ou vous le
jugerez necessaire, que sa Majeste regarderoit comme une offense
personnelle tout ce qu' on entreprenderoit contre leur liberte. Il
est a presumer que ce langage, tenu avec energie, en imposera a
l'audace des Anglomanes et que Monsr. le Prince de Nassau croira
courir quelque risque en provoquant le ressentiment de sa Majeste."
This letter was communicated by the Patriots to me when at
Amsterdam in 1788. and a copy sent by me to Mr. Jay in my letter to
him of Mar. 16. 1788.
The object of the Patriots was to establish a representative
and republican government. The majority of the States general were
with them, but the majority of the populace of the towns was with the
Prince of Orange; and that populace was played off with great effect
by the triumvirate of Harris the English Ambassador afterwards Ld.
Malmesbury, the Prince of Orange a stupid man, and the Princess as
much a man as either of her colleagues, in audaciousness, in
enterprise, & in the thirst of domination. By these the mobs of the
Hague were excited against the members of the States general, their
persons were insulted & endangered in the streets, the sanctuary of
their houses was violated, and the Prince whose function & duty it
was to repress and punish these violations of order, took no steps
for that purpose. The States General, for their own protection were
therefore obliged to place their militia under the command of a
Committee. The Prince filled the courts of London and Berlin with
complaints at this usurpation of his prerogatives, and forgetting
that he was but the first servant of a republic, marched his regular
troops against the city of Utrecht, where the States were in session.
They were repulsed by the militia. His interests now became
marshalled with those of the public enemy & against his own country.
The States therefore, exercising their rights of sovereignty,
deprived him of all his powers. The great Frederic had died in
August 86. (*5) He had never intended to break with France in
support of the Prince of Orange. During the illness of which he
died, he had thro' the Duke of Brunswick, declared to the Marquis de
la Fayette, who was then at Berlin, that he meant not to support the
English interest in Holland: that he might assure the government of
France his only wish was that some honorable place in the
Constitution should be reserved for the Stadtholder and his children,
and that he would take no part in the quarrel unless an entire
abolition of the Stadtholderate should be attempted. But his place
was now occupied by Frederic William, his great nephew, a man of
little understanding, much caprice, & very inconsiderate; and the
Princess his sister, altho' her husband was in arms against the
legitimate authorities of the country, attempting to go to Amsterdam
for the purpose of exciting the mobs of that place and being refused
permission to pass a military post on the way, he put the Duke of
Brunswick at the head of 20,000 men, and made demonstrations of
marching on Holland. The King of France hereupon declared, by his
Charge des Affaires in Holland that if the Prussian troops continued
to menace Holland with an invasion, his Majesty, in quality of Ally,
was determined to succor that province. (*6) In answer to this Eden
gave official information to Count Montmorin, that England must
consider as at an end, it's convention with France relative to giving
notice of it's naval armaments and that she was arming generally. (*7) War being now imminent, Eden questioned me on the effect of our
treaty with France in the case of a war, & what might be our
dispositions. I told him frankly and without hesitation that our
dispositions would be neutral, and that I thought it would be the
interest of both these powers that we should be so; because it would
relieve both from all anxiety as to feeding their W. India islands.
That England too, by suffering us to remain so, would avoid a heavy
land-war on our continent, which might very much cripple her
proceedings elsewhere; that our treaty indeed obliged us to receive
into our ports the armed vessels of France, with their prizes, and to
refuse admission to the prizes made on her by her enemies: that there
was a clause also by which we guaranteed to France her American
possessions, which might perhaps force us into the war, if these were
attacked. "Then it will be war, said he, for they will assuredly be
attacked." (*8) Liston, at Madrid, about the same time, made the
same inquiries of Carmichael. The government of France then declared
a determination to form a camp of observation at Givet, commenced
arming her marine, and named the Bailli de Suffrein their
Generalissimo on the Ocean. She secretly engaged also in
negotiations with Russia, Austria, & Spain to form a quadruple
alliance. The Duke of Brunswick having advanced to the confines of
Holland, sent some of his officers to Givet to reconnoitre the state
of things there, and report them to him. He said afterwards that "if
there had been only a few tents at that place, he should not have
advanced further, for that the King would not merely for the interest
of his sister, engage in a war with France." But finding that there
was not a single company there, he boldly entered the country, took
their towns as fast as he presented himself before them, and advanced
on Utrecht. The States had appointed the Rhingrave of Salm their
Commander-in-chief, a Prince without talents, without courage, and
without principle. He might have held out in Utrecht for a
considerable time, but he surrendered the place without firing a gun,
literally ran away & hid himself so that for months it was not known
what had become of him. Amsterdam was then attacked and capitulated.
In the meantime the negotiations for the quadruple alliance were
proceeding favorably. But the secrecy with which they were attempted
to be conducted, was penetrated by Fraser, Charge des affaires of
England at St. Petersburg, who instantly notified his court, and
gave the alarm to Prussia. The King saw at once what would be his
situation between the jaws of France, Austria, and Russia. In great
dismay he besought the court of London not to abandon him, sent
Alvensleben to Paris to explain and soothe, and England thro' the D.
of Dorset and Eden, renewed her conferences for accommodation. The
Archbishop, who shuddered at the idea of war, and preferred a
peaceful surrender of right to an armed vindication of it, received
them with open arms, entered into cordial conferences, and a
declaration, and counter declaration were cooked up at Versailles and
sent to London for approbation. They were approved there, reached
Paris at 1 o'clock of the 27th. and were signed that night at
Versailles. It was said and believed at Paris that M. de Montmorin,
literally "pleuroit comme un enfant," when obliged to sign this
counter declaration; so distressed was he by the dishonor of
sacrificing the Patriots after assurances so solemn of protection,
and absolute encouragement to proceed. (*9) The Prince of Orange
was reinstated in all his powers, now become regal. A great
emigration of the Patriots took place, all were deprived of office,
many exiled, and their property confiscated. They were received in
France, and subsisted for some time on her bounty. Thus fell
Holland, by the treachery of her chief, from her honorable
independence to become a province of England, and so also her
Stadtholder from the high station of the first citizen of a free
republic, to be the servile Viceroy of a foreign sovereign. And this
was effected by a mere scene of bullying & demonstration, not one of
the parties, France England or Prussia having ever really meant to
encounter actual war for the interest of the Prince of Orange. But
it had all the effect of a real and decisive war.
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