HISTORICAL MINUTES OF THE UNITED PROVINCES, FROM THEIR DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, TILL THE ARMINIAN CONTROVERSY.

The present chapter will lead our readers to the public life of Grotius:  in a former page we succinctly mentioned the principal events in the history of the United Provinces, from their first insurrection against Philip II. till their declaration of independence.  On that event, they continued Prince William of Orange in the Stadtholderate:  he was entitled to it by his civil and military talents.  Application, activity, liberality, eloquence, intrepidity, enterprise and discretion, were united in him in an extraordinary degree:  he could accommodate himself to all persons and occurrences, accelerate or retard events, as best served the interests of his cause, or his own designs.  In the rare talent of governing popular assemblies, and procuring the co-operation of persons of opposite views, he has had few equals.  He wanted no quality, which a chief of a party should possess, either to insure the success of the public object, or to further his private aims.

[Sidenote:  CHAP.  IV. 1597-1610.]

These had, for some time, been suspected:  it was generally observed, that he affected the exercise of sovereign authority; that he endeavoured to attach the military to his own person; that he always sought to have the acts of the States issued in his own name; that, on many occasions, he avoided consulting the States, or doing any thing which could be considered an explicit recognition of their supremacy; and that in several instances, in which the constitution required the co-operation of the States, he acted independently of them.  This gave rise to a party, which was jealous of his power, and on many occasions thwarted, what they thought the projects of his private ambition.  From their attachment to the constitution, they were termed the republican party:  Barneveldt, the Grand-Pensionary of the States General, was their leader.

[Sidenote:  Assassination of William Prince of Orange.]

Whatever were the projects of the prince, there appeared to be great probability of their ultimate success.  In 1684, he had gained so for, that the States of Holland, Zealand and Frizeland, had come to a resolution to confer upon him the sovereignty of their states, under the title of Count.  All the conditions were settled:  on one hand, the rights of the prince, on the other, the rights of the people, were defined and recognised; a contravention of them by any of the people was declared to be treason; the infringement of them by the prince, was declared to be a forfeiture of his sovereignty.  Thus the prince seemed to be on the eve of receiving the fruit of all his exertions.  But, as we have already mentioned, he was assassinated by Balthazar Gerard, a fanatic Spaniard.  The last words of the prince were, “Lord! have mercy on my soul! have pity on my poor country!”