[Belgic Provinces.] of the Dutch provinces, on the one side, and the Belgic provinces on the other, shall be at the charge of the Treasurer-General of the Netherlands. Expenses of Frontier Fortresses to be paid by the Netherlands. ART. VII. Upon the same principles, the expenses necessary for the establishment and preservation of the Frontier Fortresses of the new State, shall be defrayed by the Treasurer-General, as resulting from an object connected with the safety and independence of all the provinces and of the whole Nation. Repair of Dykes. ART. VIII. The expenses of establishing and repairing Dykes shall be defrayed by the districts more immediately interested in this part of the public convenience; the State in general, however, shall not be exempted from contributing towards the same, in case of extraordinary disaster, as it has hitherto been. the custom in Holland. And His Royal Highness having accepted these 8 Articles, as the Bases and Conditions of the Union of Belgium with Holland, under the Sovereignty of His Royal Highness; The Undersigned, Anne William Charles Baron de Nagell, Chamberlain to His Royal Highness the Prince Sovereign of the Netherlands, and his Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, is charged and authorised, in the name and on the part of His august Master, to accept the Sovereignty of the Belgic Provinces, upon the conditions contained in the 8 preceding Articles, and to guarantee, by the present Act, their acceptance and execution. In faith of which the Undersigned, Anne William Charles. Baron de Nagell, Chamberlain to His Royal Highness the Prince Sovereign of the United Netherlands, and his Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, has confirmed the present Act by his signature, and has caused to be affixed thereunto the Seal of his Arms. Done at the Hague, the 21st of July, 1814. (L.S.) A. W. C. DE NAGELL. [Belgium and Holland.] PROTOCOL of Conference between Great Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia. Vienna, 14th June, 1814. [Protocol referred to in Preamble of preceding Act.] TABLE. Preamble. Union of Belgium to Holland. Equilibrium of Europe. Right of Conquest. Interests of Holland and Belgium. Provisional Government. Prince of Orange to Sanction Provisional Government. Separate Arrangements to be entered into with the Allies under Mediation of England. (Translation.) THE measures to be taken to effect the Union of Belgium to Holland, and those relative to the delivery of the Provisional Government to the Prince of Orange, are the subjects for discussion. The principles from which the Powers start, relative to the union of Belgium and Holland, are the following :— Union of Belgium to Holland. Equilibrium of Europe. Right of Conquest. 1. That Union was decided by virtue of the political principles adopted by them for the establishment of a state of equilibrium in Europe; they put those principles into execution by virtue of their right of conquest of Belgium. Interests of Holland and Belgium. 2. Animated by a spirit of liberality, and wishing to insure the repose of Europe by the reciprocal well being of the parties composing it, the Powers wish to consult the particular interests both of Holland and Belgium, in order to effect the most perfect amalgamation between the two Countries. Provisional Government. 3. The Powers think they have found the means of attaining that end by adopting as a basis of the Union the points put forward by Lord Clancarty, and agreed to by the Sovereign Prince of Holland. Prince of Orange to sanction Provisional Government. The Powers shall in consequence invite the Prince of Orange to give his formal sanction to the conditions of the Union of the [Belgium and Holland.] two Countries. He shall afterwards appoint a person charged with the Provisional Government of Belgium. The Governor-General shall enter into the functions of the actual Austrian Governor, and he shall administer that country in the name of the Allied Powers, until the definitive and formal Union, which can only take place at the time of the general arrangements of Europe. Separate Arrangements to be entered into with the Allies under Mediation of England. The Prince of Orange shall nevertheless be invited to act under the most liberal principles, and in a spirit of conciliation, in order to prepare and effect the amalgamation of the two Countries on the basis adopted by the Powers. The demands of the Powers on Holland and Belgium shall be the object of a separate transaction with the Prince of Orange, to whom England will extend her mediation. The negotiation relative to this object shall also take place at Vienna. Vienna, 14th June, 1814. NESSELRODE. HARDENBERG. METTERNICH. [Dutch Colonies.] No. 5.-CONVENTION between Great Britain and the Netherlands.-Signed at London, 13th August, 1814. Preamble. House of Orange. Arrangements respecting Dutch Colonies conquered during the war. 1. Colonies restored to the Netherlands; the Cape of Good Hope, Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice excepted. 2. Cession of Island of Banca by Great Britain to the Netherlands in exchange for Cochin. 3. Surrender of Places and Forts. 4. Commerce, &c., of the Dutch within British Dominions in India placed on footing of the most favoured nation. No Fortifications to be erected by the Dutch. Number of Troops to be limited in Colonies restored. 5. Periods of Cession. 6. Security of Persons and Property in Countries ceded and restored. 7. Right of Emigration. 8. Abolition of the Slave Trade. 9. Ratifications. Additional Articles. 1. § 1. Compensation to Sweden for Guadaloupe. § 2. Expenses of Defence of the Low Countries. § 3. Union with Holland. Cession to Great Britain of the Cape of Good Hope, Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice. in Berbice. Resort of Dutch ships to the Cape. Dutch proprietors 2. Cession to Great Britain of District of Bernagore, near Calcutta. 3. Validity of Additional Articles. To be ratified with Treaty. Preamble. House of Orange. Arrangement respecting Dutch Colonies during the war. (English version.*) In the name of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity. THE United Provinces of the Netherlands, under the favour of Divine Providence, having been restored to their Independence, and having been placed by the loyalty of the Dutch people and the achievements of the Allied Powers, under the Government of the Illustrious House of Orange ;t and His Britannic Majesty being desirous of entering into such arrangements with the Prince Sovereign of the United Netherlands, concerning the Colonies of the said United Netherlands, which have been conquered by His Majesty's arms during the late war, as may conduce to the prosperity of the said State, and may afford a lasting testimony of His Majesty's friendship and attachment to the family of Orange and to the Dutch nation; the said High Contracting *For French Version, see "State Papers," vol. ii, p. 370. + See Treaty of 30th May, 1814, Art. VI. [Dutch Colonies.] Parties, equally animated by those sentiments of cordial goodwill and attachment to each other, have nominated for their Plenipotentiaries, namely: His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Right Honourable Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, one of His said Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, a Member of Parliament, Colonel of the Londonderry Regiment of Militia, Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter, and his Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, &c.; And His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange-Nassau, Prince Sovereign of the United Netherlands, his Excellency Henry Fagel, his Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Court of His Britannic Majesty; Who, after having exchanged their Full Powers, found in good and due form, have agreed to the following Articles : Colonies restored to the Netherlands;-the Cape of Good Hope, Demerara, Essequiho, and Berbice excepted. ART. I. His Britannic Majesty engages to restore to the Prince Sovereign of the United Netherlands, within the term which shall be hereafter fixed, the Colonies, Factories, and Establishments, which were possessed by Holland at the commencement of the late War, viz., on the 1st of January, 1803, in the Seas and on the continents of America, Africa, and Asia, with the exception of the Cape of Good Hope and the Settlements of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice, of which possessions the High Contracting Parties reserve to themselves the right to dispose by a Supplementary Convention, hereafter to be negotiated according to their mutual interests; and especially with reference to the provisions contained in Articles VI and IX of the Treaty of Peace sigued between His Britannic Majesty and His Most Christian Majesty, on the 30th of May, 1814 (No. 1). * Cession of Banca by Great Britain to the Netherlands, in exchange for Cochin. ART. II. His Britannic Majesty agrees to cede in full Sovereignty the Island of Banca, in the Eastern Seas, to the Prince Sovereign of the Netherlands, in exchange for the Settlement of Cochin and its dependencies on the coast of Malabar, which is to remain in full Sovereignty to His Britannic Majesty. *See 1st Additional Article; and Convention between Great Britain and Netherlands of 12th August, 1815. |