retreating. A convention was concluded between him and the French general, in consequence of which he returned
to Holland and the French army repassed the frontier.Leopold now proceeded with vigour to strengthen his posi tion, and to restore order and confidence. French officers were selected for the training and disciplining of the army, the civil list was arranged with economy and order, and the other branches of the public service were reformed or rearranged. He kept on the best terms with the Roman Catholic clergy and the Roman Catholic nobility ; and his subsequent marriage with a daughter of the French king (9th August 1832), and a contract that the children of the marriage should be educated in the Roman Catholic faith, did much to inspire confidence in his good intentions. While these things were going on the conference in London was engaged in determining the terms of peace, and a pro ject of a treaty for the separation of the two states was drawn up and declared to be " final and irrevocable." The first basis of separation had determined that the grand- duchy of Luxembourg, which belonged to the king of Holland as grand-duke, should continue to belong to Holland. By the subsequent treaty of the eighteen articles, Belgium received the right to treat for the purchase or redemption of Luxembourg from Holland on fair terms. These articles were adopted by the Belgian congress in July 1831, but the king of Holland rejected them, and followed up his rejection, as we have seen, by the invasion of Belgium. The terms of the treaty which followed this invasion were much more favourable to Holland than those of the previous one ; for the feeble resistance that Belgium had been able to make had affected very unfavourably the directing powers, who considered that, in the interests of the peace of Europe, their first duty was to strengthen the defensive power of Holland. The new proposals, there fore, caused great excitement in Belgium, and met with much opposition ; but, eventually, they were adopted by a majority of 59 to 38 in the Chamber of Representatives, and 35 to 8 in the Senate.
The treaty was signed on loth November, and its condi tions were embraced in twenty-four articles. By these articles the grand-duchy of Luxembourg was to be divided, but the fortress of Luxembourg was to remain in the hands of the king of Holland as grand-duke, who was also to receive a portion of Linibourg for the part of Luxembourg ceded to Belgium. The district of Maestricht was also partitioned, the fortress of that name remaining with Holland ; the Scheldt was to be open to the commerce of both countries , and the national debt was apportioned to Belgium sixteen thirty-firsts, and the rest to Holland. It was also declared that Belgium " shall form an independent and perfectly neutral state."[1] This agreement was ratified by the Belgian and French sovereigns on the 20th and 24th November, by the British, 6th December ; but the Austrian and Prussian sovereigns did not accede to it till 18th April 1832, and the Russian not till 4th May. The Dutch still continued to protest against it, and maintained their possession of Antwerp. After fruitless efforts on the part of the great powers to obtain their acquiescence, France and England resolved to have recourse to force. On the 5th November, therefore, their combined fleets sailed for the coast of Holland, and on the 18th, a French army, under the command of Marshal Gerard, crossed the Belgian frontier to besiege Antwerp. The garrison con sisted of only about 5000 men. while the besieging force numbered 60,000. Operations commenced 30th November, and the siege in a military point of view is a memorable one. The garrison surrendered to the French on 23d December, on the 31st the fortress was handed over to the Belgians, and some days after wards the French troops recrossed the frontier. Long and complicated diplomatic negotiations followed, but matters were at length adjusted, and on the 21st of May 1833 a convention was agreed to and signed by all the parties. The House of Orange still numbered many partisans in Belgium, whose proceedings embarrassed the Government ; and in Brussels, and some of the other towns, the people rose up against them, pillaging the houses of some of the leaders, and were appeased with difficulty. The king now gave his attention to the improvement of the manufactures and commerce of Belgium; and on 1st May 1834 he sanctioned the law which was to create the first railroad on the continent of Europe.
In 1835 the alien bill gave rise to considerable discus sion, but it was at length carried. Its object was to give Government the power to send out of the kingdom, or to compel to reside in a particular place, any foreigner whose conduct was calculated to endanger the public peace. In 1836 an Act to regulate the municipal form of government in the towns and communes was passed. The election of the members of the municipal councils was continued in the citizens, but the appointment of the burgomaster and magistrates was vested in the king from among the members of the councils. The manufactures and commerce continued to flourish and extend, and the formation of railways was actively carried on. As Holland had not yet acceded to all the conditions of the twenty-four articles, Belgium still kept possession of the whole of Limbourg and Luxembourg except the fortress of the latter, with a small area round it, which was occupied by Prussian troops. These territories had been treated in every way as a part of Belgium, and had sent representatives to both chambers. Great indignation was therefore felt at the idea of their being separated, when Holland, on 14th of March 1838, signi fied its readiness to accept the conditions of the treaty. The chambers argued that Belgium had been induced to agree to the twenty -four articles in 1832 in the hope of thereby at once terminating all harassing disputes, but that as Holland did not then accept them, the conditions were no longer binding, and the circumstances were now quite changed. They urged that Luxembourg in effect formed an integral part of their territory, and that the people were totally opposed to a union with Holland. They offered to pay for the territory in dispute, but the treaty gave them no right of purchase, and the proposal was not entertained. The two chambers unanimously voted addresses to the king, expressing a hope that the integrity of Belgium would be maintained. Similar addresses were sent from all parts of the country, and the people were roused to a great state of excitement. The king was at one with his people, and every preparation was made for war. But the firmness of the allied powers, and their determination to uphold the conditions of the treaty, at last brought the king, though with extreme reluctance, to give in to their views. After violent discussions the Chamber of Repre sentatives gave its adhesion on 19th March 1839, and some days later the Senate followed the example. The treaty was signed at London on the 19th of April. The annual payment by Belgium for its share of the national debt, which had been fixed at 8,400,000 florins, R-as reduced to 5,000,000 florins, or 4 16, 6 6 6, with quittance of arrears prior to 1st January 1839. When this excitement was at its height the Bank of Brussels failed, and much misery and distress among the people was the result. This was immediately followed by the failure of the Brussels Savings- Bank, but the Government instantly came forward and guaranteed the claims thereupon, amounting to 1,500,000 florins.
- ↑ See Parliamentary paper, Aug. 1870, Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg Treaties 0/1831. 1839. and 1867.
