Chapter VI: Brussels (2)

Under these circumstances, the position of King Leopold must be any thing but an easy one, if his ambition extends to the foundation of a royal dynasty for his descendants. The religious grievances of the nation are, it is too much to be feared, beyond his reach to correct, and the evils which beset and endanger its internal prosperity, arising out of the circumscribed resources of the nation, must look in vain to them for redress. The fundamental defect is the want of an adequate consumption for the produce of the national industry, and for this the ingenuity of the government has been ineffectually tortured to discover a remedy. It is idle to look to Germany or England for _commercial treaties_ which would afford an opening for Belgian manufactures in competition with their own; important concessions have been made to France, by the reduction of duties upon her produce, when imported into Belgium, but no reciprocal advantages have been obtained in return; on the contrary, ever since 1815, when the Netherlands were taken from her, to be given to Holland, she has exhibited a waspish impatience to embarrass and undermine her prosperity. _Prospects of colonization_ have been discussed and even proposals made to other states for permission to attempt settlements on their distant territory--and where these have failed, commercial expeditions have been dispatched to Algiers, to Egypt, to Brasil, to Bolivia and Peru, all with a view to open a trading intercourse with the natives, but each and all have proved hopelessly unsuccessful.

The manufacturers of Ghent and Verviers, have thus turned their eyes towards the Zoll-Verein, and year after year attempts have been made to effect a connexion, if not a formal juncture with the Prussian Commercial League; but here again disappointment alone awaited them, for independently of the fact, that by the constitution of the Zoll-Verein, it is accessible only to those of German blood (on which score Luxembourg might have been admissible), it was manifestly hostile to the very spirit of the league, whose object is to protect their own native manufacturers, to admit amongst them a formidable rival, who would inundate them with her produce, and could take nothing from them in return.

But if the necessities and weakness of Belgium, render it impracticable for her to continue as she is, and if national independence be irreconcilable with her prosperity, the question which occupies the thoughts of her discontented subjects, is to what quarter she shall turn for relief from without. To attach herself again to Austria, as before the French revolution, is a matter impracticable and could be productive of no advantage, even if it were otherwise. The condition of the Rhenish provinces, under the dominion of Prussia, would make her eager for a similar incorporation, but this the interests of Europe, as well as those of Prussia herself forbid.

An union with France would be equally hopeless and incompatible with the policy of the Congress of Vienna, and would, with the exception of the districts immediately bordering on the French frontier, be in the highest degree distasteful to the population at large. Their annexation to the territory of France in 1794, had been resisted by the clergy, and its termination in 1814 was hailed with rapturous impatience by all classes. Their condition under the empire had been one “of the most insignificant vassalage. Their religious institutions destroyed, their cherished privileges annihilated, and all their rights and immunities for which they had been contending for centuries before, trodden under foot.”[41] Even their commerce and manufactures were jeopardised by the jealous rivalry of their new allies, their clergy debased, and their youth drafted off by conscription to feed the slaughter of Europe. The recollection of this has left no vigorous desire for a return to fraternization with France, nor would France herself, however important Belgium might be as a political acquisition, consult the interest of her native manufactures by imparting an equality in all her advantages to competitors so formidable. Still so impatient are the Belgians to fly from the “ills they have,” that at the present moment, whilst the possibility of war between France and the rest of Europe occupies the attention of all the world, I was repeatedly assured in Belgium that it would only require France to give the signal, and a powerful section of the people would declare in her favour. So conscious are all parties of this, that the bare probability of war in Europe is looked to with the utmost alarm by the government, and the _Controleur_, an appropriately named journal, the organ of the clerical party, was anxiously busied, whilst I was in Ghent, in decrying any idea of a re-union with France, declaring in one of its publications early in September: “Et comme nous n’avons pas pour habitude de cacher notre manière de voir, nous dirons rondement, _que nous serions plutôt Hollandais que Français_.--En dépit de M. Rogier.”

Another suggestion has been the _partition_ of Belgium between the surrounding states, but to this equally insurmountable obstacles present themselves. Antwerp and the districts on the Dutch frontier, if assigned to Holland, would have no longer employment for their capital and ships, and would again sink under the more favoured rivalry of Amsterdam and Rotterdam; and as Hainault and the fortresses along the Meuse and the Sambre would necessarily fall to the lot of France, a measure so menacing to the future security of Europe, would not be tolerated by her courts, unless these strongholds were garrisoned by the allies, an expedient which would be equally opposed by the pride and ambition of the French.

If the further experience should unfortunately decide finally against the permanence of Belgium as an independent nation, the only practical expedient which remains, and that which has already received the sanction of all the great powers of Europe, would be a return to the disposition made by the Congress of Vienna, and the reincorporation of Holland and Belgium, to form again the united kingdom of the Netherlands. Personal aversion to King William would no longer oppose a barrier to such an arrangement, as his dominion has passed into other hands, and the Prince of Orange, the present king at all times enjoyed the popular affections, if not the national confidence of the people. Should any fresh convulsion arise, which for the sake of the peace of Europe, not less than for that of King Leopold, it is most earnestly to be hoped may be yet averted, all I have either seen or been able to learn from those best informed upon the matter, leaves little doubt in my mind, that the almost unanimous wish of the people, should they be compelled to change their present dynasty, would point to the restoration of the House of Nassau.

END OF VOL. I.

LONDON:
PRINTED BY SCHULZE AND CO., 13, POLAND STREET.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Made by Nurse and Co. Crawford Street, Bryanstone Square.

[2] So styled in the act by which Philip II, ceded to them the Sovereignty of the Low Countries.

[3] Wordsworth’s Sonnet to Bruges.

[4] Query, St. Salvador.

[5] I must take this early opportunity of adding my tribute of gratitude to the compiler of these most invaluable volumes, the Hand-books of Northern and Southern Germany, they have been my constant companions, and I cannot do less than unite with every tourist, whom I met on the continent, in pronouncing them as matchless in the value and variety of their contents, as they are faultless in their accuracy.

[6] It is the custom in Belgium, in order to distinguish one member of the same family, to append to the surname of the husband that of his lady.

[7] At Ghent, this fee has been reduced to one half the sum.

[8] De l’Industrie en Belgique, Causes de Decadence et de Prosperité, &c. par M. N. Briavionne, Bruxelles, 1839, vol. ii, p. 345.

[9] By the French commercial code, there are three descriptions of trading companies. First, _sociétés en nom collectif_, with all the attributes of an ordinary partnership in England; secondly, _sociétés en commandite_, where the great majority of the associated capitalists are sleeping partners, with no share in the management, no name in the firm, and responsible only to the extent of their registered capital, one or more of the partners, alone, having the conduct of the establishment, and being responsible to the public to the full extent of their property; and thirdly, the _sociétés anonymes_, which are, in every incident and particular analogous to the joint stock companies of England, only with a liability, limited in every instance to the amount of their shares.

[10] These engines are in great esteem, and I have found them in almost universal use in Belgium. The one alluded to above, was consuming from 5½ of to 6½ lbs. of coals, per hour, per horse power; whilst a low pressure engine in England, would require from 12 to 14lbs. In this country, they are likewise coming in greater demand, although here the saving of coal is a matter of less importance, and may be, in some degree, counterbalanced by the risk, and more frequent repairs, incidental to high pressure engines.

[11] The price of coal at Ghent, when I visited its manufactories was 20 francs for 1000 kilogrammes, or about sixteen shillings a ton for coals of Mons, which are brought from a considerable distance by the Scheldt; those of Charleroi are of better quality, and a shade higher in price. Coals have increased in price in Belgium within the last few years, as well from the greater demand, as an apprehension that the coal fields of the Ardennes were rapidly exhausting, but this alarm has of late been regarded as groundless. England, with a liberality, which manufactoring jealousy scarcely sanctions, has recently permitted the free export of coal both to Belgium, France and Prussia, a boon for which these governments, which are prohibiting British manufactures, and their mechanics and mill owners, who are contending with our own for the market, cannot be too grateful.

[12] Three hundred bundles per day, being as nearly as possible eleven cuts to the spindle.

[13] COMPARATIVE WAGES PAID WORKERS.

+-----------------------+----------------+-------------+-------------+
| | Wages per day |Wages per day|Wages per day|
|Description of Workers.| of 11½ hours. |of 11½ hours.|of 11 hours. |
| | ENGLAND. |BELFAST. |GHENT. |
+-----------------------+----------------+-------------+-------------+
| | Average. | Average. | Average. |
| | _s. d. s. d._| _d._ | _s. d._ |
| Spreaders | 1 3 to 1 6 | 10 | 0 11¾ |
| First Drawing | 1 0 1 3 | 8½ | 0 8½ |
| Second Drawing | 1 0 1 3 | 8½ | 0 8½ |
| Roving | 1 1 1 5 | 9 | 0 9¼ |
| Carding | 1 0 1 6 | 7½ to 9½ | 0 9¼ |
| Spinner | 1 0 1 4 | 10 | 0 8½ |
| Doffer | 0 8 | 5½ | 0 4¾ |
| Reeler (piece work) | 1 0 1 6 | 10 to 11 | 0 9¼ |
| Dyer | 2 6 3 0 | 1_s._ 4_d._ | 1 3 |
| Bundler | 2 6 3 0 | 1_s._ 5½ | 1 5 |
| Hackler (Roughing for | | | |
| Machine) | 1_s._ 6_d._ | 1_s._ 4_d._ | 1 7 |
| Overlooker | 4_s._ 6_d._ | 3_s._ 6_d._ | 2 4½ |
+-----------------------+----------------+-------------+-------------+

These wages, _at present_, paying in Ghent, it must be borne in mind, are hardly a fair criterion, as flax spinning being entirely a new trade there, it was necessary to give an inducement by extra wages, for the cotton spinner’s to leave the work to which they were accustomed; but this will soon find its level.

[14] One cannot but remark the wretched quality of the window-glass, even in the most luxurious houses. It is uneven, warped, and of a dirty-green colour. It is chiefly made at Charleroi.

[15] The joke against Mechlin arises from an alarm being given that the cathedral was on fire, by some one who had seen the moonbeams shining through its gothic steeple--whence the proverb, that “the wise men of Mechlin went to put out the moon.”

[16] Les machines sont là aussi multipliés, aussi variées que les besoins où on les applique: il y en a une pour chaque pensée, ou plutôt, c’est la même pensée qui a mille ministres; l’une scie, l’autre fend, l’autre coupe, l’autre rabotte; il y en a pour degrossir la pièce, il y en a pour lui donner la forme exacte, il y en a pour l’orner; il y en a pour la polir, le ciseau, le tour, le rabot, l’emporte pièce la tenaille, le marteau tous les instruments du menuisier, du tourneur, du forgeron, s’évertuent sur le fer comme sur le bois la plus tendre, mais sans menuisier, sans tourneur, sans forgeron--_la main qui les meut est une machine_, cette main, toujours sûre, toujours ferme, délicate, légère, qui n’a pas d’inégalité, qui ne depende pas d’une pensée capricieuse, qui ne se lasse pas, qui ne s’alourdit pas, qui ne vieillit pas! * * * * Cette machine n’a besoin de personne: on lui donne sa tâche un certain jour, et pourvu qu’on ne lui retire pas la portion de force motrice qui l’anime, elle terminera cette tâche à jour fixe: elle vous la livrera comme un ouvrier à la pièce: vous arriverez un beau matin, et vous la trouverez sortie du cylindre et tournant à vide, en attendant que vous lui donniez une nouvelle tâche.--_From an account of the great works at Seraing, in the_ REVUE DE PARIS.

[17] “Les manufactures de Manchester ne voulant pas s’en remettre de ce soin au gouvernement, se sont cotisés, out réuni une somme annuelle suffisante pour organiser autour de leur ville une ligne de douane specialement consacré à empêcher la sortie des mécaniques qu’ils inventaient.”--DE L’INDUSTRIE DE BELGIQUE, vol. ii, p. 326.

[18] “She was in black down to her toes, with her hair concealed under a cambric border, laid close to the forehead: she was one of those kind of nuns, and please your honour, of which there are a good many in Flanders.” “By thy description Trim,” said my uncle Toby, “I dare say she was a young Beguine, of whom there are none to be found any where, except in the Spanish Netherlands, they differ from other nuns in this, that they can quit their cloisters, if they chose to marry--they visit, and take care of the sick by profession, but I had rather, for my own part, they did it out of good nature.”--STERNE.

[19] The 17th article of the _Constitution Belge_, contains the following pithy enactment as to national education. “L’Enseignement _est libre_, toute mesure préventive est interdite.”

[20] “_Quelques mots sur l’état actuel de l’instruction primaire en Belgique, et sur la nécessité de l’améliorer._”

See also a clever paper by R. W. Rawson, Esq. in the Quarterly Journal of the Statistical Society of London, vol. 2, p. 385.

[21] The linen which we saw was of low quality, coarse and strong, and by no means cheap. It consisted of sheeting, for export to the Havannah, which, for five quarter’s wide, was sold at one shilling a yard.

[22] This latter quantity is found in the tables published by the Board of Trade, under the head of “Flax, Tow, or Codilla of Hemp and Tow.” The importation of “undressed hemp” is under another head, and amounts to 730,375 cwt.

[23] It is curious that this process which all concur in representing to be one requiring the utmost cleanliness and purity, should of all places be performed in Holland with an utter neglect of both. In an able document by Mr. Acton, in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture for 1832, he gives the following account of the operation. “The mode of watering flax in Holland, and in the low lands of Belgium and France, is to put a dam across the canal, clean out the weeds and mud for a few yards next the dam, lay in three or four rows of sheaves of flax next the dam, and then covering these six inches deep with the rank herbage that grows in the canal, and the mud raked up from its bottom. A few more courses of sheaves are next placed in the same way as the first, and covered in the same way with weeds and mud, till the whole is put in steep. These fosses, and the mode of placing the flax in them, are as they ought to be, but the propriety of dragging up so much mud or slime from the bottom of the canals, to cover the sheaves, six inches deep, may well be doubted, it cannot fail to besmear the lint so much, as to render it so nasty, that it would require to be much rinsed and washed in the water to remove the mud. This not only creates labour, by no means the most agreeable, but must greatly injure the flax by ruffling it in the water, a thing that ought to be avoided.”--Vol. iv. p. 174.

[24] This important association has been for some years in operation, and amongst its functions has sent several commissioners into other countries to ascertain the relative value of their various processes. The result of these inquiries, they have condensed into a short manual for the use of the farmers and others engaged in the trade in Flanders; in order to confine it to whom it has been written and printed in Flemish. A copy of this valuable document translated into French, for which I am indebted to a particular source, I have placed in the appendix to these volumes. Knowing it as I do, to be the genuine and anxious suggestions of the best practical men in Belgium, it may be regarded as a faithful guide to their process, and would be well deserving of extensive circulation in the flax districts of Great Britain and Ireland.

[25] It consists, I believe, of about thirteen sail of small vessels.

[26] On the first out-break of the revolution, the people of Antwerp, strongly opposed to it, sent the following address to the King of Holland. “Sire, it is not without painful sensations that we have been apprised of the demand made to your Majesty, tending to obtain a separation of interests between the southern and northern provinces. The fear that our silence may be interpreted as an adhesion to this proposition, imposes upon us the duty of exposing to your Majesty, that the wish is in no way participated in by us. The experience of fifteen years has proved to us, in the most evident manner, that is to the free and mutual exchange of produce, that we are indebted for reciprocal prosperity. _The advantages that navigation derives from the colonies, the increasing outlets that these same colonies constantly offer to the produce of our industry, are irrefragible proofs, that any separation would not only be fatal to this province, but to the commercial industry of all Belgium._ Intimately persuaded of this great truth, we dare to make it known to your Majesty, with that confidence and respect inspired by a King, who desires the welfare of his people, and who will never labour but in the interest of its well understood prosperity.”--_Antwerp, September _13_th, 1830.

[27] De l’Industrie en Belgique, vol. 2, p. 384.

[28] _Exposé de la situation de la Province de la Flandre Orientale, pour l’année 1840. Ghent de l’imprimerie de Vanryckegem-Hovaerz, imprimeur du Governement Provincial._

The numbers are as follows:

Two whose deficiency is between 1,000 ff. and 2,000.
Four ” ” 2,000 ” 3,000.
One ” ” 3,000 ” 4,000.
One ” ” 6,000 ” 7,000.
Two ” ” 7,000 ” 8,000.
One ” ” 14,000 ” 15,000.
One ” ” 19,000 ” 20,000.
One ” ” 20,000 ” 25,000.
Three ” ” 25,000 ” 30,000.
One ” ” 35,000 ” 40,000.
Two ” ” unknown

[29] Le Guide Indispensable, p. 103.

[30] The Belgian manufacturers themselves were, as I have before stated, perfectly alive to the mischief which the separation from Holland was certain to entail upon them; and it is curious, as well as interesting, to remark the circumstantial fidelity with which these protectors warned the movement party of the consequences which they were provoking, and which have since been accomplished to the letter. The following reasons against separation from Holland were published at the time in one of the journals of Antwerp, when the prospect of Repealing the Union was most unpalatable:

“Ever since some parts of our southern provinces have unfurled the banner of insurrection, all business has ceased. Circulation has been interrupted, and several establishments, which required the employment of great capital and afforded the means of subsistance to numerous families, have been destroyed and burned. Public tranquillity disturbed in every manner; men, the most peaceable, and a short time ago happy in the bosom of their families, prospering under the protection of order and the laws, now forcibly torn from their homes to perform military service of which they are ignorant, and which they dislike; their property every day exposed and ready to become the prey of an unbridled populace--a state of anarchy which will end by creating parties who will shortly lacerate each other; and lastly, a most forbidding future preparing for them. Such is a faint picture of the evils which a rebellious and unconstitutional rising has already produced. But all that has hitherto been witnessed is in no wise to be compared to the consequences which must result from an unseasonable separation, which has been demanded with a levity which no man of sense can comprehend.

It is true, that among the men who figure as the authors and supporters of a separation, there are to be observed no manufacturers: and, indeed, what manufacturer, what merchant, what agriculturist even, could fall into such an error?

You cry out for a separation, and would fain persuade yourselves that it would be all in your favour. With similar levity you take upon yourselves to dictate the conditions of a separation. This shows but little foresight.

The northern part of the kingdom has taken up the gauntlet, which you so imprudently threw down. Hear one of their organs, and consider the consequences which must, and ought to ensue to Belgium when once isolated and abandoned to itself.”

The following is the reply of the Dutch to your challenge:--

“‘We are glad,’ say they, ‘that the proposal for a divorce has been made by you. Let it take place, and the cloud which has darkened the horizon of our country will be dissipated. A glorious sun will then soon shine upon it. Soon will the decadence of Amsterdam and its causes cease, and the separation will give it the life and activity which it lost by the union.

But let us examine what will be the result of this divorce to the northern provinces?

Relieved from an odious manufacturing system, we shall be able to establish our customs on a perfectly commercial system: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Dort, Middleburgh, will become so many free ports, into which moderate duties, exempt from vexatious modes of collection, will bring back our old commerce in all its force. The duties at present imposed upon sugar, coffee, and other articles of trade, will be revoked.

The inhabitants will purchase fuel, clothing, stuffs, and all the commodities which trade, manufacture, and the necessities of a people require, in England, and wherever they can produce them upon better terms than in the southern provinces, where all these articles will be loaded with duties and restrictions, and will be therefore dearer.

Our country will again become the centre and mart of all the productions and riches of the world which are destined for and consumed in Germany and the provinces of France bordering on the Rhine, as well as in many other places which now escape us.

The products of our colonies will be no longer carried except to our own ports, to the exclusion of all others, and they will be freed from all the duties and charges with which they are at present burdened, and which our Sovereign has established for the advantage of the Belgians alone. Thus not only the mother country, but the colonies, also, will enjoy the advantage of the separation. The duty of 25 per cent. established at Java in favour of the Belgians will be abolished, and it is thus that, wherever the standard of Holland shall be displayed, liberty, prosperity, and public happiness will prevail; and let no one present to you as a burdensome set-off the debt which will remain to our charge.’”

[31] White, v. i, p. 124, &c.

[32] A full detail of the state of the kingdom, at the outbreak of the revolution will be found in a volume published by the Baron Keverberg, who had been governor of East Flanders under the King of Holland, _Du Royaume des Pays-Bas, sous la rapport de son origine, de son developement, et de sa crise actuelle, Brussels, 1836_.

[33] _Essai historique et critique sur la révolution Belge._ _Par_ M. NOTHCOMB. _Brussels, 1833._

[34] A copy of this singular document, will be found at the end of these volume.

[35] Un des plus excellens moyens, et peut-être le seul qui existe aujourd’hui, d’assurer aux jeunes gens une éducation qui réunit tout à la fois l’esprit de la religion et les talens les plus éminens _serait de rétablie les jesuites_ dans la Belgique.--_Memor. art. 8._

[36] This singular manifesto will be found in the appendix at the end of these volumes.

[37] Jurer d’observer et de maintenir une loi qui _suppose_ (_!_) que l’église catholique est soumise aux lois d’état, c’est manifestaient s’exposer a coopérer à l’asservissement de l’église.--_Jugement doctrinal_, (Art. 193, see appendix).

[38] Page 193.

[39] The list of candidates suggested for the throne of Belgium in 1831, contains some names which are rather extraordinary, such as Colonel Murat, La Fayette, Colonel Fabvier the Philhellene, Sebastiani, Châteaubriand, Prince Carignan of Piedmont, M. Rogier, Count de Merode, the present King of Greece, Prince John of Saxony, the Duke of Leuchtenberg, son to Eugene Beauharnais, Louis Philippe, and the Duke de Nemours, who was actually chosen, but declined the honour.

[40] La Belgique, No. 1, p. 13, 16, 20, 23, 24, 27; and No. 2, p. 49.

[41] White, vol. i. p. 23.

Corrections

The word “controul” was changed to “control” throughout the text.

The first line indicates the original, the second the correction.

p. 39

the sign-board of the “Diaman-zetter,”
the sign-board of the “Diamant-zetter,”

p. 91

it was ever dragged to to the field
it was ever dragged to the field

p. 115

lying immediatetely in front
lying immediately in front

p. 153

would get over their associaton
would get over their association

p. 160

that the goverment reduced the term
that the government reduced the term

p. 176

fearful of the slighest speculation
fearful of the slightest speculation

p. 252

in the nineteenth centurry
in the nineteenth century

p. 261

at no measure, how-ver
at no measure, however

p. 268

the consciencious, but inefficient opponents
the conscientious, but inefficient opponents

p. 277

were jeopardied by the jealous rivalry
were jeopardised by the jealous rivalry

Errata

“Hans Hemling” should read “Hans Memling”.

“Audeghem” should read “Auderghem”.

The errata have been applied to this etext.