The mercantile interest at once took the alarm, because it was supposed that the finance-chamber, was intended to crush the merchants.  Early in April an Act had been passed by the state-council, prohibiting commerce with the Spanish possessions.  The embargo was intended to injure the obedient Provinces and their sovereign, but it was shown that its effect would be to blast the commerce of Holland.  It forbade the exportation from the republic not only of all provisions and munitions of war, but of all goods and merchandize whatever, to Spain, Portugal, the Spanish Netherlands, or any other of Philip’s territories, either in Dutch or neutral vessel.  It would certainly seem, at first sight, that such an act was reasonable, although the result would really be, not to deprive the enemy of supplies, but to throw the whole Baltic trade into the hands of the Bremen, Hamburg, and “Osterling” merchants.  Leicester expected to derive a considerable revenue by granting passports and licenses to such neutral traders, but the edict became so unpopular that it was never thoroughly enforced, and was before long rescinded.

The odium of the measure was thrown upon the governor-general, yet he had in truth opposed it in the state-council, and was influential in procuring its repeal.

Another important Act had been directed against the mercantile interest, and excited much general discontent.  The Netherlands wished the staple of the English cloth manufacture to be removed from Emden—­the petty, sovereign of which place was the humble servant of Spain—­to Amsterdam or Delft.  The desire was certainly, natural, and the Dutch merchants sent a committee to confer with Leicester.  He was much impressed with their views, and with the sagacity of their chairman, one Mylward, “a wise fellow and well languaged, an ancient man and very, religious,” as the Earl pronounced him to be.

Notwithstanding the wisdom however, of this well-languaged fellow, the Queen, for some strange reason, could not be induced to change the staple from Emden, although it was shown that the public revenue of the Netherlands would gain twenty thousand pounds a year by the measure.  “All Holland will cry out for it,” said Leicester; “but I had rather they cried than that England should weep.”

Thus the mercantile community, and especially the patrician families of Holland and Zeeland, all engaged in trade, became more and more hostile to the governor-general and to his financial trio, who were soon almost as unpopular as the famous Consults of Cardinal Granvelle had been.  It was the custom of the States to consider the men who surrounded the Earl as needy and unprincipled renegades and adventurers.  It was the policy of his advisers to represent the merchants and the States—­which mainly consisted of, or were controlled by merchants—­as a body of corrupt, selfish, greedy money-getters.