A Tour Through the Batavian Republic/Letter XVII
LETTER XVII.
Amsterdam, 1800.
THE mighty commerce which Amsterdam, in former periods, carried on with all the quarters of the globe, is now, by the inauspicious circumstances of the times, reduced to a petty inland traffic, and an inconsiderable trade with foreign parts by the means of neutral vessels. The immense number of dismantled ships with which the harbour is crowded bespeaks the former commercial prosperity of Amsterdam, and its present impoverished state. The greater part of the ships are in the worst condition imaginable, and would, were peace to bid the commerce of Holland revive, be found unfit for the purposes of navigation. I perceived that the small vessels were generally in a more disabled and decayed condition than the large ones; probably from the circumstance that their owners, persons in the middle walks of life, had suffered more by the war than the wealthier classes concerned, in shipping, and consequently were unable to be at sufficient expence for the preservation of their property.
At an early period of the revolution, the circumstances of the Dutch East-India Company, the greatest commercial institution in the United Provinces, underwent a rigorous investigation. The stadtholder, by virtue of an agreement made in 1787, was governor of this company, and enjoyed, in consequence of his situation, the lucrative patronage of many valuable offices. In the disposal of the offices in his gift, it appeared that the stadtholder, or his ministers, had not often consulted the interests of the company; and the subsequent loss of the Dutch settlements in the East, which fell an easy prey to the English, was attributed in a great measure to the treachery or lukewarmness of the persons appointed to high situations of confidence and trust in the colonies by the Prince of Orange.
The honour of Colonel Gordon, the governor of the Cape of Good Hope at the time of its capture, is, however, unimpeached and his memory is cherished with sentiments of esteem and regret. He was unfortunate, but not culpable. Having made an unskilful disposition of his forces, they were repulsed by the invading army, and he was obliged to surrender the colony, entrusted to his command. A fine sense of feeling, honourable to his heart as a soldier, prevented him from surviving this misfortune, and after he had reluctantly consented to the capitulation, he put a period to his existence with a pistol. His death atoned for his mistake, and Gordon may rank with the commandants of Longwi and Verdun.
The finances of the East-India Company were found in a disordered state, and it had contracted a heavy debt with the bank of Amsterdam. Corruption and disorder prevailed in the settlements abroad, and neglect and abuses in all the departments at home. A multiplicity of useless offices had been created for the purpose of pensioning the friends of the stadtholder, and of the expenditure of large sums no reasonable account could be given.
But the extensive warehouses of the company were full of the precious commodities of the East; and the people had the satisfaction to learn, that should their intercourse with India be suspended for seven years, there would still remain in the store-houses of the company an ample provision of the spices and drugs of Asia. An intercourse is kept up with the settlement of Batavia, chiefly through the means of American vessels, three or four of which arrive annually at Amsterdam laden with the produce of that colony; and notwithstanding it is probable it will be attacked by the English, the Dutch do not appear to entertain any fears for the safety of this, their most valuable establishment in India. The loss of their other colonies and islands affects them more for the disgrace which their capture has brought on the Dutch arms, than for any essential injury which the nation has thereby sustained. The superiority of the English at sea must of necessity have suspended their intercourse with these foreign possessions and they believe with great confidence, that whenever peace is concluded, their colonies, without exception, will be restored.
The late revolution of France, which has placed at the head of the government of that country one of the greatest generals, one of the most profound statesmen and enlightened legislators, that the world ever saw, is regarded in Holland as an event singularly fortunate for the republic. The character of Bonaparte is considered in Holland with the highest sentiments of veneration and attachment. His military talents, the moderate use he has invariably made of victory, the clemency of his disposition, his sincere endeavours so restore peace to Europe, and his munificent encouragement of arts and sciences, are subjects of loud and general panegyric. The pictures and busts of this great man that are exhibited for sale ia Holland are innumerable; and from the avidity of the people to possess likenesses of so distinguished a character, they are readily disposed of. At every table where toasts are given, the health of Bonaparte is always enthusiastically drank; and at French tables, the health of the first consul of the republic is constantly given in the same manner as that of the king is in England.
I had the happiness to meet with more than one person who was well acquainted with Bonaparte, and had seen him since his elevation to the first magistracy of the French republic. The exalted situation which he fills has scarcely produced any change in his character or manners. He is, as formerly, reserved with strangers, but affable, condescending, and familiar, with his friends. When a person with whom he is acquainted is admitted to an audience with him, it is usual for the consul to walk up and down the room, holding with the engaging ease of friendship or personal kindness the arm or sleeve of the man with whom he converses. His memory is so uncommonly retentive, that he minutely remembers places, times, and circumstances, however obscure or remote; and when reviewing the troops, he frequently notices, with expressions of commendation, individuals in the ranks who, at different periods of the war, have served under him and distinguished themselves. To be noticed by the consul is a distinction highly flattering to a French soldier, and particularly as this approbation always proceeds from a clear and distinct recollection of the actions which give birth to it. Bonaparte is equally beloved by the soldiers and officers of the army; and between the two there exists a kind of emulation, which shall shew him the strongest marks of affection and attachment. I never heard him spoken of by a French officer but in terms of almost idolatrous admiration, and the same sentiments pervade the lowest ranks of the army.
In private life, Bonaparte is represented to be temperate, regular, and abstemious: indulging in no expensive pleasures, and sternly discountenancing all irregularity of manners. I was curious to know what were his religious opinions, if any; and the idea I found which generally prevailed on this subject was, that the existence of a Supreme Being was a belief firmly established on his mind.
Madame Bonaparte is spoken of as a woman of uncommonly vigorous powers of mind, and most amiable manners. Her taste for, and patronage of, the fine arts are equally to be commended, and indigent merit of every kind finds in her a liberal benefactress. She does not want the disposition for intriguing in state affairs, which under the old government distinguished the ladies of the French court; but wherever her influence is thought to be exerted, it is for the prosperity of the nation, and the glory of the hero to whom she has the happiness to be allied. She is less beautiful than Madame Tallien, who continues to enjoy the admiration of Paris, and past the period of life for having children, but nevertheless a woman of great personal charms, Her daughters by a former marriage are represented as some of the most beautiful and graceful women in France.
When Bonaparte officially notified to the Batavian government his elevation to the first consulship of the French republic, he repeated the assurances made by the preceding rulers of France, that the independence of Holland should at all times be an object of the peculiar care of the French nation; and it was afterwards communicated to the directory, that the interests of the Batavian republic would be faithfully attended to, in any negotiations that might be carried on between the governments of France and Great Britain.Since Bonaparte's accession to the government of France, the Dutch have been less harassed than formerly with contributions and exactions. A loan was indeed attempted to be negociated at Amsterdam in favour of France, but without the success that was expected. It did not entirely fail, but only an inconsiderable sum was subscribed. The last requisition made to the Dutch was for a quantity of cheese and butter, for the use of the French fleet at Toulon; and five large swift-sailing cutters, laden with these commodities, for the above-mentioned destination, sailed from the Maese on the day that we entered that river. Other vessels of a similar construction, and with the same cargoes, had put to sea a few days before.
The amount of the contributions, under various forms, levied by the French on the Dutch, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain. A merchant of the greatest respectability, whose accuracy and information I have every reason to confide in, conversing with me on the subject, estimated his losses from the French, in the various ways of requisitions, loans, voluntary contributions, the expence of keeping, or furnishing quarters for soldiers, and other items too long for enumeration, at five-and-forty per cent on his capital. The circumstances of his traffic perhaps made the quota of his contributions heavier than was felt by the generality of the inhabitants of the United Provinces, and this he admitted himself; but he contended, that the general loss sustained by Holland from the French could not be far short of forty per cent on the whole capital of the country. The amount of the losses sustained by the republic from other causes, he could not pretend to ascertain. He urged with great plausibility, that England had suffered an equal, if not a more serious diminution of its capital, from the enormous debt incurred by the war, and the profligate expenditure of its ministers. No opinion prevails in Holland more generally than that, whenever peace is restored to Europe, a national bankruptcy will take place in Great Britain; and this persuasion is so firmly established, that many of the Dutch who have property in the English funds, account it of no more value than their French assignats.
I shall now conclude my remarks oh the revolution of Holland, with a short detail of the probable future state of the country, according to the ideas of well-informed persons in it, whenever a general peace shall take place.
Greatly as the Dutch nation has suffered by the war, as well before as since its conquests by the French, its condition is not yet desperate, or its salvation hopeless. Its opulence is wasted, but the sources from whence that opulence was derived, though impoverished, are not dried up. The heavy calamities that have fallen on Holland, have in some degree produced a beneficial effect; they have opened the eyes of the nation to a true sense of its condition, and obliged the people to the exercise of those virtues — frugality, temperance, and simplicity of manners — formerly contributed so largely to the prosperity of the republic.
By the overthrow of the old government, the nation is exonerated from a vast mass of corruption, feebleness, and abuses; and however defective the present system may be, it is, for most useful purposes, less faulty than the subverted constitution. The abolition of the aristocracy of Holland, though that body was neither numerous nor powerful, ought to be regarded as an event fortunate for the republic; and still more must its deliverance from the authority of the stadholder, as it was increased and established in 1787, be considered as a change favourable to the interests of Holland.
At no distant period, the faults of the present government of Holland may be obviated, and a salutary system established, which shall conduct the republic to its former prosperity and greatness. The principal objection to the present system is, that the commercial part of the republic has not an influence, in the deliberations and proceedings of the legislature, equal to its importance. Were peace to be restored, this evil, unless speedily remedied, would produce the most mischievous consequences.
To restore the commerce of Holland, encouragement must be given to the old mercantile system and interest: the rich capitalists of the country, who have emigrated in consequence of the revolution, must be invited and allured to return; and the great trading companies of Amsterdam, and the other cities of the republic, must be re-established with all their former immunities and privileges. This is contrary to the system recommended by eminent writers in France and England, who contend for free trade, and disclaim against exclusive privileges, but by such a system alone can the commerce of Holland be revived.
Should the wise policy be pursued, of placing the commerce of the republic, as far as possible, on its former footing, the industry, frugality, and unwearied perseverance, of the Dutch nation, will, in a few years of tranquillity, with such encouragement as a legislature well versed in mercantile affairs may further bestow, not only recover from its misfortunes, but probably arrive at a state of opulence, little inferior to the most flourishing days of the republic.