MY Y juft difpleasure at what has paffed in my Belgic provinces, is not to be appeased by a flow of words only; it must be fuch that follow to prove to me the reality of thofe fentiments of fidelity and attachment, of which you have given me an affurance on the part of your conftituents. I have given orders to the prince de Kaunitz, to communicate to you in writing, and for the notice of your ftates, the orders which I have jent to my government; and the execution of which I expect to be effected before entering into any deliberation whatever. The welfare of my fubjects is the fole object of all my proceedings, of which you ought to be perfuaded by my calling you together in the moment when you have been bold enough to merit my indignation; and with all the means in my power to punith, I have, neverthelefs, repeated the affurance of preferving you." The Orders alluded to in the preceding Answer, and tranfmitted to the Comte de Murray, were as fullows. The Emperor and King. Trufty and well-beloved Comte de Murray, my counsellor of ftate, lieutenant-general of my armies, general-commandant, and my lieutenant-general, and captain general, ad interim, of the Low Countries. You will find, by the narrative annexed, in what terms I explained myself to the deputation from the ftates of my Belgic provinces in the audience which I gave them; and I fend you this that you may know more particularly my intentions and pleasure on the fubject of the indifpenfable preliminaries of which the narrative makes mention, All the proceedings, more or lefs, of which the ftates and a part of the people have been guilty, are notorious. Confequently it is impoflible for me to yield to the fentiments of clemency which I am inclined to cherish, nor to the favourable difpofitions which I manifefted to the deputation of the states, until there fhall not remain the fmalleft veftige of any part of what they have dared to commit in contempt of the fovereign authority fince the first of April of this year. To this effect it is neceffary, 1. That in all the provinces of the Low Countries every thing fhould be restored to the footing on which it stood before the firft of April of this year.. 2. The univerfity and general feminary of Louvaine, with all the perfons employed and belonging to each, must be re-established in the condition in which they food, or ought to have ftood, on the said first of April; and it must be the fame with the feminary of Luxembourg. 3. The ftates of all the provinces They appeared before the emperor on the 5th of August 1787, in order to juftify their conduct; and their remonstrance was made by the Abbé de Grimbergue, in the name of the reft. muft 'muft fubmit implicitly to the payn:ent of the fubfidies, both those that are in arrear, and those which are current. 4. The companies of burgeffes, their military exercifes, uniforms, cockades, and all other marks of party fpirit, as well as all other illegal affociations and meetings, fhall be forthwith abolished; and in defect of troops, each magifirate fhall take the most effectual meafures for the fupport of the police and of good order. 5. The convents fuppreffed previous to the firft of April laft thall remain fuppreffed for ever, and the nominations that may have been made fince that period to the vacant abbey fhall be null, and produce no effect in favour of the religious perfons fo appointed. 6. All the perfons in office, whom they have prefumed to difplace, must be restored; with the exception of the intendants and members of the new tribunals of juftice these two topics being of the number of thofe on which I am difpofed to listen to my states, and to commune with them. 7. It is alfo indifpenfable, that all which regards the chapters of Chanonopes, the religious fraternities, and all which refpects the clergy as citizens and fubje&s of the ftates; and generally, that all things fhall be reftored to the condition, and be made inftantly conformable to the ordinances exifting at the above period. In a word, there muft not remain the smallest veftige of any thing committed contrary to my orders and intentions, and fince the fift of April of this year. My dignity renders all thefe preliminary re-establishments abfolute ly indifpenfable. The affemblies of the ftates will perceive, I hope, the neceffity; and I confequently flatter myfelf that every one of them will immediately and peaceably take place if poffible. But if it fhall happen against all expectation, that any one fhall dare to oppofe this reftitution, which muft be complete and preliminary, I authorize you by thefe prefents, to employ for this purpofe all the means of authority which I have confided in you, and which, but with much regret, though I find it to be neceffary, I am obliged to augment as far as the occafion fhall require. As foon as you fhall inform me that all the above preliminaries are fulfilled, and that every thing is reftored to order, I fhall be ready to concert with the affemblies of the ftates, or their deputies duly authorized, what will be the best in the feveral branches of adminiftration, without being contrary to the fundamental conftitution of my Belgic provinces; or, on the contrary, I fhall find myself under the neceffity, for the general good, to employ all the means which are abundantly in my power, and of which I do not defire to make ufe, from the affection which I yet bear for my Belgic people, although they have in my eyes been highly criminal. And in fo far my trusty and wellbeloved, may God have you in his holy keeping. Vienna, 16th Auguft. JOSEPH. Memorial of the Deputies of the Belgic Provinces to Prince Kaunitz, occafioned caftoned by bis communicating the foregoing Orders to them. THE HE deputies of the ftates of the Auftrian Belgic provinces who are proftrate at the foot of the throne of their auguft fovereign, have feen, with the moft fenfible grief, their endeavours and hopes fruftrated in not being able to obtain the proofs of his paternal tenderness, and that fort of declaration, which, by terminating the evils and misfortunes of this nation, would have raised its gratitude to its higheft pitch; instead of which, my lord, our concern is augmented, and our alarms are redoubled, at the knowledge of the orders which his majefty has resolved to send to the government general of our provinces, and which you have deigned to communicate to us. The faithful inhabitants of thofe provinces, full of confidence in his majefty's paternal bounty, did not doubt but he would put the feal of approbation to the declarations which we were charged to folicit, and thereby renew the public confidence, without which commerce and industry must languish, if not become exting, which will bring on a certain inactivity, the bane of wealth. They hoped that a fimple and precife declaration, tending to preferve all our rights, ufages, and privileges, which we had reafon to expect from his majefty, would recover in the minds of foreigners that confidence they have a right to expect from an upright honeft people, living peaceably under the protection of its wife and ancient, conftitution, which would have caufed the national credit (greatly hurt by the fear of a new fyftem) to refume its former vigour. They alfo hoped, that the inhabitants of thofe countries, who were ready to forfake their native foil by reason of internal divifions, would seek and find an afylum with them, which they certainly will not do now, until the new tribunals of justice are irrevocably fuppreffed, and the fatal intendencies abolished by an exprefs declaration. In the orders fent to the government every one will fee his majesty relaxes in nothing relating to the ecclefiaftical affairs, which are fo ftrongly linked with the rights and privileges of the other claffes of citizens, that it feems as if it was all one intereft. They will fee that his majefty, previous to entering into any deliberation whatsoever, requires the fubfidies to be granted and paid, whilft it has always been an invariable rule that the confenting to the fubfidies was dependent upon the exact obfervance of, the privileges and liberties of the country. The penetration of your highnefs cannot fail to obferve the cruel fenfations which these orders will have on the minds of the Belgic people, as well as on thofe of foreigners, as they must appear to be only given to ftrengthen the new difpofitions iffued in the facred name of his majefty, and which are the subject of our juft complaints. We are not ignorant, my lord, that his majefty can employ that force which the divine providence has put into his hands; but will the goodnefs of his heart permit him to ufe means fo contrary to the welfare of his fubjects? Will he deliver his children to the deftructive effects of military executions, and that only because they remain remain attached to a conftitution, which, in fupporting the lawful power of the fovereign, affects at the fame time the happiness of the people? Will the paternal tendernefs of his majesty suffer him to deftroy his faithful fubjects, inftead of ruling them by their indigenous laws, which have caufed their happinefs and profperity for fo many ages? Can fuch deftructive means be reconciled with the paternal difpofitions which he has deigned to profefs for them, and which their inviolable fidelity has rendered them to worthy of? Will what his majefty thinks due to his offended dignity be completed, if, to revenge it, he gives up his faithful fubjects to fo many horrors, thofe fubjects who are always ready to spend their wealth and blood in his defence, and for the glory of the country? We are, therefore, bold enough to implore your highnefs to deign to employ your good offices and great intereft in our favour, and to inform his najefty of our juft fears, that thereby we may obtain a repeal of thofe orders, or fome abatement of them, or, at leaft, the fufpenfion of the departure of the courier, that we may have time to give notice to our conftituents, that they may, with the zeal that has always animated them, prepare the people for the fad news, and endeavour to avoid thofe evils which, from the knowledge we have of the state of things, we cannot but expect and dread. Done at Vienna, Aug. 16, 1787. Declaration of the Emperor to the Jofeph Comte de Murray, baron Melgum, knight of the military order of Maria-Theresa, chamberlain and privy-counsellor of flate to his majesty the emperor and king, colonel-proprietor of a regiment of infantry in his faid majesty's fervice, commander in chief in the Netherlands, his lieutenant-governor and captain-general, ad interim, &c. T Gentlemen, the provincial ftates appoint HE folemn deputation from ed to lay at the foot of the throne the public teftimony of the nation's attachment to his majefty's auguft perfon, and the vote of the said states inthelaft concentration of the troops, being an additional inftance of that fincerity, finally, the declaration of the aforefaid ftates concerning the execution of the preliminary articles, prefcribed by the royal dispatch of the 16th of Auguft laft, together with the explanatory act of the ift inftant, which was approved of as fatisfactory to the dignity of the throne, empowers the emperor to follow the dictates of his paternal heart. His majesty, in the first place, informed by our report of the fatisfactory explanation given by the refpective deputies of the provinces fucceffively, was graciously pleased, in order to calm the alarms of his subjects, to fend us his commands, that in cafe the declarations of the ftates fhould be agreeable to the execution of the preliminaries, his royal pleasure thould be fignified, which his dignity could not permit him before to make known. We have the fingular happiness to have it now in our power to obey his commands: wherefore we here by 1 by declare, in the name of the emperor and king, and in confequence of his orders: ift, That all the conditions, fundamental laws, privileges, and franchises, in fine, the joyous entry, are, and fhall be maintained, and remain untouched, conformably to the acts of his majefty's inauguration, both as to the civil and ecclefiaftical order. zdly, That the new tribunal of juftice, the intendancies and their committees, fhall no longer be fufpended, but be, and are entirely fuppreffed; his majefty, by his parental fondnefs, and his juftice, being induced to give up this point, as well as those which had been regulated by two diplomas, iffued out the firft of January laft, concerning the adminiftrations, the provincial ftates, and the intermediate committee, or deputation from the faid ftates. 3dly, This tribunal, fuperior and inferior jurifdictions of the towns, and of the flat country, in fine, the order and adminiftrations of juftice, the states and their deputies, as well as the refpective adminiftrations of the towns and of the flat country, fhall henceforth remain on the former footing, fo that there will be no further mention made of the new form which had been talked of to be introduced in the different branches of public adminiftration, in regard to which the two diplomas of the 1ft of January, 1787, are entirely at an end: wherefore the dignities of grand bailiffs and civil governors fhall continue in full force; and the fupport of the ftates requires that the fame fhould be understood of those abbeys whofe abbots are members of the faid ftates, and the latter VOL. XXIX. |