THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
One of the reasons which influenced the archdukes and the King of Spain
to make large concessions in order to secure the assent of the
States-General to the conclusion of a twelve years' truce was their firm
belief that the unstable political condition of the United Provinces
must lead to civil discord, as soon as the relaxing of the pressure of
war loosened the bonds which had, since Leicester's departure, held
together a number of separate authorities and discordant interests. They
were right in their supposition. In order, therefore, to understand the
course of events in the republic, which had been correctly recognised by
the treaty not as a single state, but as a group of "free and
independent States," it is necessary to give a brief account of one of
the most strangely complicated systems of government that the world has
ever seen--especially strange because no one could ever say positively
where or with whom the sovereignty really resided.
Let us take into separate consideration the powers and functions of (1)
the Council of State, (2) the States-General, (3) the Provincial
Estates, (4) the Stadholders, (5) the Advocate (later the
_Raad-Pensionarius_ or Council-Pensionary) of Holland, (6) the Admiralty
Colleges.
The Council of State was not a legislative, but an executive, body. In
the time of Leicester the Council was the executive arm of the
governor-general and had large powers. After his departure the presence
of the English ambassador, who by treaty had a seat in the Council,
caused the States-General gradually to absorb its powers, and to make
its functions subordinate to their own, until at last its authority was
confined to the administration of the affairs of war and of finance. The
right of the English representative to sit in the Council and take an
active part in its deliberations continued till 1626. The Stadholders
were also _ex officio_ members. The Provinces, since 1588, were
represented by twelve councillors. Holland had three; Gelderland,
Zeeland and Friesland two each; Utrecht, Overyssel and Groningen
(_Stad en Landeri_) one each. The treasurer-general and the clerk
(_Griffier_) of the States-General took part in the deliberations and
had great influence. The chief duty of the Council, during the period
with which we are dealing, was the raising of the "quotas" from the
various provinces for the military defence of the State. The General
Petition or War Budget was prepared by the Council and presented to the
States-General at the end of each year, providing for the military
expenses in the following twelve months. The "quotas" due towards these
expenses from the several provinces were set forth in smaller petitions
sent to the Provincial Estates, whose consent was necessary. The
so-called _repartitie_ fixing the amount of these quotas was likewise
drawn up by the Council of State, and was the subject at times of
considerable haggling and discontent. In 1612 it was settled that the
proportions to be borne by the provinces should be Holland 57.1 per
cent.; Friesland 11.4; Zeeland 11 (afterwards reduced to 9); Utrecht and
Groningen 5.5; Overyssel 3.5. It will thus be seen that the quota of
Holland was considerably more than half of the whole; and, as the naval
expenditure was to an even larger extent borne by Holland, the
preponderating influence of this province in the Union can be easily
understood. The forces of the republic that were distributed in the
several provinces received their pay from the provinces, but those
maintained by the Council, as troops of the State, were paid by monies
received from the Generality lands, _i.e._ lands such as the conquered
portions of Brabant and Flanders, governed by the States-General, but
without representation in that body. The Council of State, though its
political powers were curtailed and absorbed by the States-General,
continued to exercise, as a court of justice, appellate jurisdiction in
military and financial questions.
The States-General consisted of representatives of the Estates of the
seven sovereign provinces of Gelderland, Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht,
Friesland, Overyssel, and Groningen (_Stad en Landeri_) in the order of
precedence given above. Gelderland, having been a duchy, ranked before
those that had formerly been counties or lordships. The provinces sent
deputations varying in number; Holland and Gelderland generally six, the
others less. Each province had but a single vote. The president changed
week by week, being chosen in turn from each province according to their
order of precedence. Holland had nominally no more weight than the
others; its practical influence, however, was great in proportion to the
burden of taxation that it bore and was increased by the fact that the
sessions, which after 1593 were permanent, were held at the Hague in the
same building with the Estates of Holland, and that the
Council-Pensionary of Holland was the spokesman of the province in the
States-General. The States-General had control of the foreign affairs of
the Union. To them belonged the supreme control of military and naval
matters. The Captain-General and Admiral-General of the Union were
appointed by them; and a deputation of the States-General accompanied
the army into the field and the commanders were bound to consult it.
They exercised a strong supervision of finance, and sovereign authority
over the entire administration of the "Generality" lands. Ambassadors
were appointed by them, also the Treasurer-General of the Union, and
numerous other important officials. Yet with all these attributes and
powers the States-General possessed only a derived, not an inherent,
authority. To foreigners the sovereignty of the republic of the United
Netherlands appeared to be vested in their "High-Mightinesses." In
reality the States-General was, as already stated, a gathering of
deputations from the seven sovereign provinces. Each deputation voted as
a unit; and in all important affairs of peace and war, treaties and
finance, there must be no dissentient. A single province, however small,
could, by obstinate opposition, block the way to the acceptance of any
given proposal. Moreover the members, despite their lofty designation as
High-Mightinesses, did not vote according to their convictions or
persuasions, but according to the charge they had received from their
principals. The deputation of a province had no right to sanction any
disputable measure or proposal without referring it back to the Estates
of that province for approval or disapproval. Hence arose endless
opportunities and occasions for friction and dissension and manifold
delays in the transaction of the business of the republic, oftentimes
in a manner inimical to its vital interests.
The Provincial Estates in their turn were by no means homogeneous or
truly representative bodies. In Holland the nobles had one vote; and
eighteen towns, Dordrecht, Haarlem, Delft, Leyden, Amsterdam, Gouda,
Rotterdam, Gorkum, Schiedam, Schoonhoven, Brill, Alkmaar, Hoorn,
Enkhuizen, Edam, Monnikendam, Medemblik and Purmerend, had one each.
The nobles, though they had only one vote, were influential, as they
represented the rural districts and the small towns which had no
franchise, and they voted first. Here again, as in the States-General,
though each of the privileged towns counted equal in the voting, as a
matter of fact their weight and influence was very different. The
opposition of wealthy and populous Amsterdam was again and again
sufficient to override the decision of the majority, for there was no
power to enforce its submission, except the employment of armed force.
For at this point it may be as well to explain that each one of these
municipalities (_vroedschappen_) claimed to be a sovereign entity, and
yet, far from being bodies representing the citizens as a whole, they
were close corporations of the narrowest description. The ordinary
inhabitants of these towns had no voice whatever in the management of
their own affairs. The governing body or _vroedschap_ consisted of a
limited number of persons, sometimes not more than forty, belonging to
certain families, which filled up vacancies by co-option and chose the
burgomasters and sheriffs (_schepenen_). Thus it will be seen that
popular representation had no place in Holland. The regent-burghers were
a small patrician oligarchy, in whose hands the entire government and
administration of the towns rested, and from their number were chosen
the deputies, who represented the eighteen privileged cities in the
Provincial Estates.
The other provinces do not need such detailed notice. In Zeeland the
Estates consisted of seven members, the "first noble" (who presided) and
six towns. There was but one noble, the Marquis of Flushing and Veere.
William the Silent in 1581 obtained this marquisate by purchase; and his
heirs, through its possession, continued to exercise great influence in
the Provincial Estates. As Philip William, Prince of Orange, was in
Madrid, Maurice sat in the assembly as "first noble" in his place. In
Utrecht the three Estates were represented, _i.e._ the nobles, the towns
(four in number) and the clergy. The representatives of the clergy
were, however, chosen no longer from the Chapter but from the possessors
of what had been Church lands and property. They were elected by the
knights and the small towns out of a list drawn up by the corporation of
Utrecht. They necessarily belonged to the Reformed (Calvinist) faith.
Gelderland was divided into three (so-called) quarters, Nijmwegen,
Zutphen and Arnhem. Each of these quarters had its separate assembly;
and there was also a general diet. The nobles, who were numerous and had
large estates, were here very influential. Friesland was divided into
four quarters, three of which (Oostergoo, Westergoo and Zevenwolden)
were country districts, the fourth a gathering of the deputies of eleven
towns. The Diet of Friesland was not formed of Estates, the nobles and
the town representatives sitting together in the same assembly, which was
elected by a popular vote, all who had a small property-qualification
possessing the franchise, Roman Catholics excepted. The system of
administration and divided authority was in Friesland a very
complicated one, inherited from mediaeval times, but here again the
nobles, being large land-owners, had much influence. The stadholder
presided at the diet and had a casting vote. The Estates of Groningen
were divided into two parts--town and districts--each with one vote. The
districts were those of Hunsingoo, Fivelingoo and the West-Quarter. Here
also the stadholder had a casting vote. In Overyssel the Estates, like
those of Groningen, consisted of two members, the nobles from the
three quarters, Sallant, Twente and Vollenhove, and the deputies of
the three towns, Deventer, Kampen and Zwolle.
The ordinary executive and administrative work of Provincial
government was carried out in Holland by a body known as the
Commissioned-Councillors--_Gecommitteerde-Raden;_ in the other provinces
by Deputed-Estates--_Gedeputeerde-Staten._ The Commissioned-Councillors
were to the Estates of Holland what the Council of State was to the
States-General. They enjoyed considerable independence, for they were
not appointed by the Estates but directly by the nobles and cities
according to a fixed system of rotation, and they sat continuously,
whereas the Estates only met for short sessions. Their duty was to see
that all provincial edicts and ordinances decreed by the Estates were
published and enforced, to control the finances and to undertake the
provision and oversight of all military requirements; and to them it
belonged to summon the meetings of the Estates. The Deputed-Estates in
the other provinces had similar but generally less extensive and
authoritative functions.
Such a medley of diverse and often conflicting authorities within a
state of so small an area has no counterpart in history. It seemed
impossible that government could be carried on, or that there could be
any concerted action or national policy in a republic which was rather a
many-headed confederation than a federal state. That the United
Netherlands, in spite of all these disadvantages, rapidly rose in the
17th century to be a maritime and commercial power of the first rank was
largely due to the fact that the foreign policy of the republic and the
general control of its administration was directed by a succession of
very able men, the stadholders of the house of Orange-Nassau and the
council-pensionaries of Holland. For a right understanding of the period
of Dutch history with which we are about to deal, it is necessary to
define clearly what was the position of the stadholder and of the
council-pensionary in this cumbrous and creaking machinery of government
that has just been described, and the character of those offices, which
conferred upon their holders such wide-reaching influence and authority.
The Stadholder or governor was really, both in title and office, an
anomaly in a republic. Under the Burgundian and Habsburg rulers the
Stadholder exercised the local authority in civil and also in military
matters as representing the sovereign duke, count or lord in the
province to which he was appointed, and was by that fact clothed with
certain sovereign attributes during his tenure of office. William the
Silent was Stadholder of Holland and Zeeland at the outbreak of the
revolt, and, though deprived of his offices, he continued until the time
of the Union of Utrecht to exercise authority in those and other
provinces professedly in the name of the king. After his death one would
have expected that the office would have fallen into abeyance, but the
coming of Leicester into the Netherlands led to a revival of the
stadholderate. Holland and Zeeland, in their desire to exercise a check
upon the governor-general's arbitrary exercise of his powers, appointed
Maurice of Nassau to take his father's place; and at the same time
William Lewis of Nassau became Stadholder of Friesland, and stadholders
were also appointed in Utrecht, Gelderland and Overyssel. In 1609
Maurice was Stadholder in the five provinces of Holland, Zeeland,
Gelderland, Utrecht and Overyssel; his cousin William Lewis in Friesland
and Groningen with Drente. The powers of the stadholder were not the
same in the different provinces, but generally speaking he was the
executive officer of the Estates; and in Holland, where his authority
was the greatest, he had the supervision of the administration of
justice, the appointment of a large number of municipal magistrates,
and the prerogative of pardon, and he was charged with the military and
naval defence of the province. The stadholder received his commission
both from the Provincial Estates and from the States-General and took an
oath of allegiance to the latter. In so far, then, as he exercised
quasi-sovereign functions, he did it in the name of the States, whose
servant he nominally was. But when the stadholder, as was the case with
Maurice and the other Princes of Orange, was himself a sovereign-prince
and the heir of a great name, he was able to exercise an authority far
exceeding those of a mere official. The descendants of William the
Silent--Maurice, Frederick Henry, William II and William III--were,
moreover, all of them men of exceptional ability; and the stadholderate
became in their hands a position of almost semi-monarchical dignity and
influence, the stadholder being regarded both by foreign potentates and
by the people of the Netherlands generally as "the eminent head of the
State." Maurice, as stated above, was stadholder in five provinces;
Frederick Henry, William II and William III in six; the seventh
province, Friesland, remaining loyal, right through the 17th century, to
their cousins of the house of Nassau-Siegen, the ancestors of the
present Dutch royal family. That the authority of the States-General and
States-Provincial should from time to time come into conflict with that
of the stadholder was to be expected, for the relations between them
were anomalous in the extreme. The Stadholder of Holland for instance
appointed, directly or indirectly, the larger part of the municipal
magistrates; they in their turn the representatives who formed the
Estates of the Province. But, as the stadholder was the servant of the
Estates, he, in a sense, may be said to have had the power of appointing
his own masters. The stadholders of the house of Orange had also, in
addition to the prestige attaching to their name, the possession of
large property and considerable wealth, which with the emoluments they
received from the States-General, as Captain-General and
Admiral-General of the Union, and from the various provinces, where they
held the post of stadholder, enabled them in the days of Frederick Henry
and his successors to maintain the state and dignity of a court.
The office of Land's Advocate or Council-Pensionary was different
altogether in character from the stadholderate, but at times scarcely
less influential, when filled by a man of commanding talents. The
Advocate in the time of Oldenbarneveldt combined the duties of being
legal adviser to the Estates of Holland, and of presiding over and
conducting the business of the Estates at their meetings, and also those
of the Commissioned-Councillors. He was the leader and spokesman of the
Holland deputies in the States-General. He kept the minutes, introduced
the business and counted the votes at the provincial assemblies. It was
his duty to draw up and register the resolutions. What was perhaps
equally important, he carried on the correspondence with the ambassadors
of the republic at foreign courts, and received their despatches, and
conducted negotiations with the foreign ambassadors at the Hague. It is
easy to see how a man like Oldenbarneveldt, of great industry and
capacity for affairs, although nominally the paid servant of the
Estates, gradually acquired an almost complete control over every
department of administration and became, as it were, a Minister of State
of all affairs. In Oldenbarneveldt's time the post was held for life;
and, as Maurice did not for many years trouble himself about matters of
internal government and foreign diplomacy, the Advocate by the length of
his tenure of office had at the opening of the 17th century become the
virtual director and arbiter of the policy of the State. After his death
the title of advocate and the life-tenure ceased. His successors were
known as Council-Pensionaries, and they held office for five years only,
but with the possibility of re-election. The career of John de Witt
showed, however, that in the case of a supremely able man these
restrictions did not prevent a _Raad-Pensionarius_[4] from exercising
for eighteen years an authority and influence greater even than that of
Oldenbarneveldt.
An account of the multiplied subdivision of administrative control in
the United Provinces would not be complete without some mention of the
Admiralty Colleges in Holland. Holland with Zeeland furnished the fleets
on which the existence and well-being of the republic depended. Both
William the Silent and his son Maurice were, as stadholders, admirals of
Holland and of Zeeland, and both likewise were by the States-General
appointed Admirals-General of the Union. They thus wielded a double
authority over maritime affairs in the two provinces. In 1574 William
had at his side a Council of Admiralty erected by the Provincial
Estates, but Leicester in 1585 was annoyed by the immediate control of
naval matters being withdrawn from the governor-general and the
Council of State. He succeeded therefore in obtaining a division of the
Council of Admiralty into three Chambers, shortly afterwards increased
to five--Rotterdam, Hoorn with Enkhuizen, Veere, Amsterdam and Harlingen
with Dokkum. In 1597 it was determined that each Admiralty should
consist of seven members nominated by the States-General. The
Admiral-General presided over each College and over joint meetings of
the five Colleges. The Admiralties nominated the lieutenants of the
ships and proposed a list of captains to be finally chosen by the
States-General. The Lieutenant-Admiral and Vice-Admirals of Holland and
the Vice-Admiral of Zeeland were chosen by the Provincial Estates. The
States-General appointed the Commander-in-Chief. Such a system seemed to
be devised to prevent any prompt action or swift decision being taken at
times of emergency or sudden danger.
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