The Representative Assembly: A Council of State (Executive
The highest power in the State, Council, in Dutch: Staatsbewind)
to which all other governmental consisting of twelve members.
bodies are responsible. A Legislative Assembly.
The Executive Council of five National Syndicate consisting
directors. of three judicial officers to
The Representative Assembly control all officials of the State
has the right of legislation, State and all departments of the
of making alliances and treaties, government.
of declaring war, of discussing The Legislative Assembly
accepting the yearly budget, discusses all laws proposed by the
of appointing the directors of Council of State. It discusses and
the Executive Council. It can gives its final approval to all
grant pensions and has the right treaties (except certain articles
of pardon, and will decide in of such treaties). It has to give
all such questions which are not its approval to any declaration of
explicitly provided for by the war. It discusses and approves the
constitution. annual budget.
The Executive Council must The Council of State
see to the strict execution of (Staatsbewind) makes up the annual
of all the laws of the budget and proposes new laws to
Representative Assembly. It the Legislative Assembly. It sees
makes up a yearly budget which to the execution of the laws which
must be submitted to the the Legislative body has accepted.
Representative Assembly. It has It declares war (after it has
the right to appoint diplomatic obtained the approval of the
and consular representatives. Legislative Assembly). It is the
It negotiates treaties and highest power in all affairs of
alliances, subject, however, to army and navy, and it has the
approval of the Representative right of appointment of the
body. principal state officers. The
The Representative Assembly The Legislative Assembly
shall consist of one member for consists of one single chamber of
every 20,000 inhabitants. Every thirty-five members.
year the Representative body The members of the Legislative
shall be divided into a second Assembly are for the first time to
chamber of thirty members and be appointed by the Council of
a first chamber containing all State. Afterward their election
the others. (There were will be regulated by law.
ninety-four members in all.) To be entitled to vote one must
The Representative Assembly is be either a Hollander who has
to be elected in the following lived in the country for one year
way: The country shall be divided or a foreigner who has lived in
into ninety-four districts of the country for six whole years.
20,000 people each. These The declaration of abhorrence of
districts are again divided the Stadholder, aristocracy, etc.,
into forty sub-districts is no longer insisted upon. A
(grondvergadering) of 500 people single promise to "remain faithful
Stadholder, aristocracy, etc., to the constitution" is now
each. Each subdistrict elects one sufficient.
candidate and one elector. If the The Council of State is composed
same candidate was elected in of twelve members. The first seven
twenty-one sub-districts he members are appointed by "the
became a Representative. present Executive Council" (this
Otherwise forty electors choose meant the three authors of the
a Representative from among the constitution of the year 1810).
three candidates who had the These seven were to appoint their
largest number of votes. five colleagues. Each year one of
Each year one third of the the twelve members was supposed to
members of the Representative resign. A vacancy was filled as
Assembly must resign, and a follows: The departmental circles
new election for their places proposed four people. Out of those
must be held. four the Legislative Assembly
To be entitled to vote one elected two. From among those two
must be either a Hollander who the Council of State then selected
during the last two years has their new colleague.
lived in the country or a The agents are replaced by
foreigner who has resided in small advisory councils of three
the republic during the last ten members. They are responsible
years. The voter must be able to the Council of State.
to read and write the Dutch The Legislative Assembly meets
language, and must have passed twice a year: April 15 to June 1,
the age of twenty. To qualify and October 15 to December 15.
as a voter one must swear a The Council of State, however, can
solemn oath to the effect that call together the Legislative
one abhors the Stadholder, Assembly as often as it pleases.
anarchy, aristocracy, and The Council of State proposes
federalism, and that one never all laws. Twelve members of the
shall vote for any person whose Legislative Assembly appointed by
opinions upon these subjects are this body discuss the laws. The
not entirely above suspicion. Legislative Assembly then accepts
The Executive Council is the law or vetoes it. No further
appointed by the Representative discussion allowed in the
Assembly, but the members of the Legislative Assembly.
Council may not be members of the The country is divided into
Executive. The first chamber eight departments. The provincial
proposes three candidates. The frontiers of the old republic are
second chamber elects the member reëstablished. Drenthe comes to
from among those three. Each year Overysel and Brabant becomes the
one new member of the Council is new, the eighth, department.
to be elected. After his Local government remains as
resignation he is not reëligible before, but each city is allowed
until five years later. greater liberty in civic affairs,
The Executive Council appoints provided the city does not try to
eight agents to act as heads of change the original idea of a
different departments (as democratic, representative
ministers more or less). These government. The cities in this
agents are responsible and way regain a great deal of their
subordinate to the Council. old autonomy. The old interstate
The Representative Assembly tariff scheme of the former
meets the whole year round. republic is not allowed. But
New laws are proposed in and otherwise the cities regain most
discussed by the first chamber. of their former power.
Then they are submitted to the
second chamber, which has the
right of approval or veto, but
not the right of discussion.
The Executive Council must see
to the execution of these laws.
The country is divided into
eight departments with new names:
The department of the Eems, of
the Old Ysel, of the Rhine, of
the Amstel, of Texel, of the
Delf, of the Dommel, and of the
Scheldt and Maas. Their former
boundaries are given up and
arbitrary boundaries are made.
Each department is divided into
seven circles and the circles are
divided into communes.
Each department has a local
governmental body somewhat
resembling the old Provential
Estates. Each circle is
represented in this by one
member. These seven members are
elected by the voters. The
officials of the commune are
elected in the same way. These
local, departmental, and civic
bodies are responsible to the
Executive Council.