The united States replied on the 13th September.  Expressing deep regret that neutral nations should suffer, they pronounced it to be impossible but that some sparks from the great fire, now desolating their land, should fly over into their neighbours’ ground.  The States were fighting the battle of liberty against slavery, in which the future generations of Germany, as well as of the Netherlands were interested.  They were combating that horrible institution, the Holy Inquisition.  They were doing their best to strike down the universal monarchy of Spain, which they described as a bloodthirsty, insatiable, insolent, absolute dominion of Saracenic, Moorish Christians.  They warred with a system which placed inquisitors on the seats of judges, which made it unlawful to read the Scriptures, which violated all oaths, suppressed all civic freedom, trampled, on all laws and customs, raised inordinate taxes by arbitrary decree, and subjected high and low to indiscriminate murder.  Spain had sworn the destruction of the provinces and their subjugation to her absolute dominion, in order to carry out her scheme of universal empire.

These were the deeds and designs against which the States were waging that war, concerning some inconvenient results of which their neighbours, now happily neutral, were complaining.  But the cause of the States was the cause of humanity itself.  This Saracenic, Moorish, universal monarchy had been seen by Germany to murder, despoil, and trample upon the Netherlands.  It had murdered millions of innocent Indians and Granadians.  It had kept Naples and Milan in abject slavery.  It had seized Portugal.  It had deliberately planned and attempted an accursed invasion of England and Ireland.  It had overrun and plundered many cities of the empire.  It had spread a web of secret intrigue about Scotland.  At last it was sending great armies to conquer France and snatch its crown.  Poor France now saw the plans of this Spanish tyranny and bewailed her misery.  The subjects of her lawful king were ordered to rise against him, on account of religion and conscience.  Such holy pretexts were used by these Saracenic Christians in order to gain possession of that kingdom.

For all these reasons, men should not reproach the inhabitants of the Netherlands, because seeing the aims of this accursed tyranny, they had set themselves to resist it.  It was contrary to reason to consider them as disturbers of the general peace, or to hold them guilty of violating their oaths or their duty to the laws of the holy empire.  The States-General were sure that they had been hitherto faithful and loyal, and they were resolved to continue in that path.

As members of the holy empire, in part—­as of old they were considered to be—­they had rather the right to expect, instead of reproaches, assistance against the enormous power and inhuman oppression of their enemies.  They had demanded it heretofore by their ambassadors, and they still continued to claim it.  They urged that, according to the laws of the empire, all foreign soldiers, Spaniards, Saracens, and the like should be driven out of the limits of the empire.  Through these means the German Highland and the German Netherland might be restored once more to their old friendship and unity, and might deal with each other again in amity and commerce.