NETHERLANDS

NETHERLANDS, a kingdom newly erected in Europe, in consequence of the fall of the French empire. It is composed of the ancient republic of the United Netherlands, usually denominated Holland, of the Austrian Netherlands, commonly called the Belgian Provinces, of the Bishoprick of Liege, and of the provinces of Huissen and Zevenaar, formerly belonging to Prussia. It is a compact do-

minion, bounded on the west by the German Ocean, Netherlands, on the north by the German Ocean and the Zuyder Sea, on the east by the duchy of Oldenburg, and by the Prussian provinces of Westphalia and the Lower Rhine, and on the south by France.

The erection of the kingdom of Holland by Bonaparte, and its subsequent union with France, were attended with alterations in the names and the divisions of the Provinces, or, as they were previously called, the States; and similar divisions were made in the Austrian provinces, which produced much confusion; but since the establishment of the new kingdom, such divisions have been adopted as best reconcile the ancient denominations with the novel political condition of the country.

The recent divisions of the kingdom are into the following provinces, which are arranged according to their ranks.

The other most considerable cities and their population are the following:

Alost, 10,920. Cortryk, 13,570. Delft, 13,850. Dornick, 21,300. Dort, 19,500. Gouda, 11,370. Haarlem, 20,100. Hague, 42,700. Leyden, 30,680. Lokeren, 11,940. Louvain, 18,580. Maastricht, 17,960. Mechlin, 16,090. Ostend, 10,500. Rotterdam, 33,800. St Nicholas, 10,980. Verviers, 10,070. Ypres, 15,150, and Zwoll, 13,060.

Although the duchy of Luxembourg is included in the kingdom of the Netherlands, in the view we are taking of it, yet it is in reality a part of Germany, and its capital, one of the strongest fortresses in Europe, is garrisoned by the confederates. The King of the Netherlands has, indeed, the nomination of the governor of the castle, but the consent of the Allies is requisite, before he can enter upon the command. Thus, the annexation of Luxembourg to the kingdom of the Netherlands resembles that of the duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg to the kingdom of Denmark.

The surface of this kingdom, according to the

Netherlands most accurate calculations, amounts, in the northern provinces, to 16,388 square English miles; from which must be deducted for the Zuyder Sea, the lakes, rivers, and canals, 5205 square miles; leaving 11,383 miles. The whole extent will then be thus:

Population. According to the census of the year 1816, the population was as follows:

5,491,945, being

somewhat more than one human being to every three acres of land; a density of population far exceeding that of any other country of Europe, with the exception of the small and highly productive duchy of Lucca in Italy. The difference in the density of population in the different provinces is very great. The most thickly peopled of them, East Flanders, contains 560 inhabitants to the square mile, or nearly one to each acre; whilst Drenthe contains only 59 to the square mile, or less than one to every ten acres. The average population of the provinces of the United Netherlands is 180 to the square mile, or about one person to three acres and a half; of the provinces of the Austrian Netherlands 296 to the square mile, or one person to two acres and a quarter; and of the duchy of Luxembourg, 66 to the square mile, or nearly one to ten acres.*

Face of the Country. Almost the whole of this united kingdom possesses a flat surface, with scarcely a hill on the greater part of it. The level of most of the lands on the northern part is below that of the sea that bounds it, when the tide is at the highest, and is only protected from inundations by such powerful embankments called dikes, as demonstrate the patient perseverance and the wealth of the proprietors. In the southern part, the Belgian provinces are mostly level, though sufficiently above the sea not to need the protection of embankments. In the parts bordering on towards France, especially in the provinces of Liege, Namur, and Luxembourg, including a portion of the ancient forest of Ardennes, the surface is more irregular, in some parts undulating, in others hilly, approaching almost to mountainous. There are no forests, and but few trees in the northern parts, except willows, which are abundantly planted on the sides of the canals and embankments. In the ancient Belgic provinces, trees are more frequent, both on the borders of the fields and around the villages, but there are few woods except in Liege and Luxem-

bourg. From this description, it will be readily perceived, that no picturesque scenery is displayed; but the cleanliness and appearance of substantial comforts in all the villages and thickly planted farms, gives to the traveller pleasing sensations, and evince most powerfully the wonders which industry and perseverance can achieve.

No part of Europe enjoys such advantages for Rivers, Canals, and Lakes. dispensing abroad its more bulky productions as the kingdom of the Netherlands. Its navigable rivers, which are connected together by numerous canals, that serve the purposes both of draining and conveyance, intersect the whole of the northern and the greater part of the southern division of the kingdom. The principal of these rivers, the Rhine, is divided into two branches; the southernmost of these takes the name of the Waal, and, after receiving the water of the Merwe, assumes the name Maas, and enters the German Ocean. The northernmost branch of the Rhine is divided into two streams, one, called the Yssel, runs to the Zuyder Sea, the other, retaining its original name, after receiving the waters of the Lech and the Vecht, disappears in the sands. The Meuse, the most important river to the Belgic provinces, is navigable through the whole territory, and is the means of conveying from Liege the stone for building, which abounds in that vicinity, and of which the provinces on the coast are wholly destitute. The Sheldt, a river of a short course, but of excellent navigation, divides itself into two branches, called the East and West Sheldt, before it enters the German Ocean. The Lys, the Dender, the Dyle, the Sambre, the Lesse, the Nethe, and many others of smaller magnitude, are tributary streams to the Meuse or to the Sheldt. The Moselle, though it forms the boundary of this kingdom on its south-eastern side, and is highly beneficial to its commerce, passes through no part of it. There are few lakes in this country. The principal is that of Haarlem, extending over about 16,000 English acres, which is connected with two smaller ones, the Dollart and the Biesbosch. The interior communication by water is so great, that it employs 5700 barges of different burden, and upwards of 15,000 boats.

The climate of this kingdom, from its vicinity to the sea, and from the abundance of its rivers and canals, is peculiarly foggy. In summer the heat is excessive, but highly favourable to vegetation. In winter the frosts are usually very severe, and in some years, the rivers are so frozen as to bear the conveyance of cannon and heavy loaded waggons. Only the most scrupulous attention to cleanliness can, in any degree, protect the inhabitants from the deleterious effects of their moist atmosphere, and with all the care that is exercised, they are much subject to fevers.

The constitution of this country is a limited mon- Government, hereditary in the House of Orange-Nassau, to which the females may succeed, in case no male heir is left by the last monarch. The king can hold

Netherlands. no foreign crown, nor remove the seat of government out of the kingdom. He is authorized to take from the treasury 2,400,000 guildens annually, for his own expenditure. He is allowed a summer and winter palace at the expence of the public, but the sum expended on them must not exceed 100,000 guildens annually. The heir-apparent bears the title of Prince of Orange, and enjoys an income of 100,000 guildens. The king's minority terminates on the completion of his eighteenth year, and whilst under that age, the government is administered by a regency consisting of the members of the royal family. The executive government is vested, but with many restrictions, arising from the independent and varied constitution of the several states, in the king, who is commander of the army and navy, has the power of dispensing pardons, and whose consent is necessary both to the laws passed in the Provincial and in the General Assemblies of the States.

Each state has its assemblies, which are convoked annually, or more frequently if deemed necessary, by the monarch. The members are in two classes, viz. 1st, the nobles and knights; and, 2d, the citizens, who elect members to fill the vacancies that occur in their body. With the assembly of the citizens, or burghers, rests the local administration, and, jointly with the nobles, the power of enacting provincial laws. They appoint committees from their body to attend to the administration of justice, of the revenues, and the expenditure; which committees meet as well during the prorogation as the session of the states, and are the medium of intercourse between their several provinces, the monarch, and states-general. The levying taxes for provincial purposes is executed by this body, who carefully guard against the imposts they levy being made to fall heavier on articles produced in the other states than on those produced within their own; as, without such precaution, the consent of the king to the enactment would be withheld. A commissary, or administrator, nominated by the monarch, is joined to each assembly of the provincial states, and has considerable powers for superintending the execution of the laws. The police is managed jointly by this officer and the provincial states, and is generally conducted with judgment, economy, and great attention to the liberty of the subject.

The supreme legislature, or States-General, meets either at Brussels or the Hague. It is divided into two chambers. The upper house consists of not less than forty, nor more than sixty members, who are nominated by the king, and hold their seats for life, but do not transmit them to their heirs. The lower house consists of one hundred and ten members, who are nominated by the provincial assemblies of the different states. The members of these two bodies are chosen both from the Dutch and Belgian provinces; and, as in the latter, the French language is used by all but the peasantry, their debates are conducted in either the Dutch or the French tongues, according to the part of the kingdom of which the speaker is a native.

Judicial Administration. The judicial administration is in an imperfect state at present, owing to the different provinces having different systems of law. The legislative body has

been sedulously employed in forming a general code Netherlands. which shall embrace the whole kingdom, but, from the various usages and rights of ancient establishment, which they wish to protect, it has been found to be attended with almost insurmountable difficulties.

In the meantime, the securities for the personal liberty of the subject are of more practical efficacy than are to be found in any other country of Europe, except in Great Britain. No one can be arrested without a previous communication to the judge, and the prisoner must be made acquainted with the charge against him within three days after his commitment. No one can be withdrawn from the judge of one district to be tried before that of another, without his own appeal, or at least his consent. Every judgment against an offender must specify the precise article in the law under which the punishment is awarded. In all civil causes, the reasons upon which the decision of the court is founded must appear upon the face of the judgment. Each province has its own courts, both for criminal and civil cases; besides which, there is a supreme court for the whole kingdom, denominated the Superior Council of the Netherlands. Equal protection is extended to every description of religious worship, and the professors of all the various sects are equally admissible to every civil, military, and judicial post, and may enjoy like civic and political dignities and privileges.

Although equal protection is granted to all religious sects, yet the establishments of the two predominant confessions, whose opinions prevail in the northern and southern parts of the kingdom, give to the Catholic and the Calvinistic parties a considerable degree of preponderance. The sovereign is of the reformed or Calvinistic profession, as are the greater part of the inhabitants of the northern provinces, who adhere to the catechism of Heidelberg, and the confession of Dort, and are regulated by parochial church councils, classes, and synods. In Utrecht is a Catholic archbishop, and in Haarlem a bishop. The religion of almost the whole inhabitants of the southern provinces is the Catholic, to which they are most rigidly attached. They have one archbishop, four bishops, and more than three thousand priests; although, since these provinces were formed into one of the French departments, their number and emoluments have considerably diminished. The universal toleration which has long prevailed in the northern part of this kingdom has familiarized it to the most bigotted members of the established church; but, in the southern parts, where it has only been introduced since the dissolution of the French empire, it has been most strenuously opposed, especially by the ecclesiastics, and its establishment has caused in some places tumults, and in others great dissatisfaction, which is by no means yet removed. The practical enjoyment of religious toleration in the Belgian provinces is indeed even now rather to be wished than expected.

The inhabitants of this kingdom are descended Origin and Character of the People. from three different races, and even now discover those differences which they have derived from their origin. The people of Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, Guelderland, Overijssel, and Drenthe, are of Batavian origin, probably descended from the ancient

Netherlands. Katti, and speak a flat Deutsche, or Low German language. They are more prudent than active, their minds more exact than comprehensive. They usually reason slowly, but accurately. They are economical, prudent, and cleanly, but too eager for gain, and, by the prospect of it, can alone be stimulated to deeds of daring or adventure. The people of Friesland, Gröningen, and the islands of the ocean, and the Zuyder Sea, are descended from the Frisi. They differ from the Hollanders in their language and dress, and, unlike them, are more addicted to agriculture, to the rearing of cattle, and to the fisheries, than to navigation and commerce. The southern provinces are inhabited by the descendants of the Walloons, a branch of the great German family, whose habits they still in a great degree retain; though they have become somewhat Frenchified, and whose language is a dialect of the German, but differing materially from that spoken either by the Hollanders, or the people of Westphalia and Lower Saxony.

Few countries have, according to their extent and population, more institutions for the promotion of learning than are to be found in the Netherlands. There are six universities, viz. Leyden, Utrecht, and Gröningen, in the northern, and Louvain, Ghent, and Liege, in the southern provinces. Besides these are the atheneums of Amsterdam, Middleburg, Deventer, and Doornich, and 105 public grammar schools for classical instruction, in which is kept alive that taste for literature which formerly produced some of the best editions of the writings of antiquity. In the northern part of the kingdom, the instruction of the lower classes is amply provided for by numerous well regulated burgher schools, in which gratuitous education is extensively, almost universally, dispensed, and the new system of mutual instruction generally adopted. In the southern provinces, the education of the poor is much neglected, but the present government has pledged itself to remedy this evil, and is taking steps for that purpose.

The freedom of the press in this kingdom was, at its first establishment, without restriction; but the vicinity of Brussels to France, the great number of those Frenchmen who were dissatisfied with the restoration of the ancient monarchy that took up their residence there, and the attempts made by them to spread disaffection, on the ground that religious toleration was incompatible with the rights of the Catholic Church, compelled the Government to place the smaller works which issued from the press under several restrictions. These restrictions do not extend to works containing more than four sheets, and larger works may be published without any previous licence; but the authors and publishers are amenable to the tribunals for their contents, if they are judged to be treasonable, seditious, irreligious, or immoral.

In the most remote periods, the Netherlands were distinguished by their manufacturing skill and industry. Under the Romans, the inhabitants of Aras and several other Flemish cities were celebrated for the production of woollen cloths. At a later period, under the Emperor Charlemagne, a present of fine linen and of woollen cloth, sent to the Caliph of

Bagdad, Harun al Raschid, was deemed to display the most curious specimens of the industry and skill of the Western World. In the instructions of that monarch (Capitular. de villis Regum Francorum), it appears that at Liege and other cities of the Netherlands, very extensive manufactories, both from flax and wool, existed, in the dyeing of which madder and kermes berries were used, and were forbidden to be adulterated. The ancient condition of the manufactories of the Netherlands is peculiarly interesting, because it is to them that we and the rest of Europe are indebted for the first rudiments of those arts, which have since been so widely extended in England, Scotland, France, Germany, and Holland. In the time of Charlemagne, it appears from the same collection, and from the Historia Monasterii Salmuriensis, that iron wares, gold and silver work, embroidery, arms, horse furniture, and various other articles, were extensively manufactured. The earliest Flemish fabrics were those of linen; and as early as the year 960, free marts were established in several of the cities, to which great numbers of merchants from foreign countries periodically resorted. The present state of the linen manufacture is by no means flourishing; but large quantities of the finer kinds from flax, of their native growth, is supplied by the inhabitants of this kingdom, and is everywhere most highly esteemed. The finest yarn and the best bleaches are at Haarlem; the best linen is wove at Herzogenbusch, Eindoven, and some other places; but some fine linen, spun in Westphalia, is mixed with that of those places, and when bleached in Holland, is not distinguishable from it. The curious manufacture of thread lace originated in this country, and still distinguishes it. The best is that of Brussels and Mecklin. In the former city and its vicinity it once gave employment to more than 14,000 persons; and at one period the exports of goods fabricated in Flanders, from flax of their own growth, amounted to more than L. 2,000,000 Sterling. The woollen manufactories of Flanders were in a flourishing state as early as the year 980, but were most extensive from the twelfth to the sixteenth century. In the city of Louvain, in the year 1317, there were 4000 looms for weaving woollens. Brussels and Antwerp employed an equal number. Ghent was, however, the most distinguished city for its fabrics, both of wool and flax, and at that period employed 40,000 looms. When called upon to take arms, the weavers, under the banners of their trade, mustered 16,000 men. Ypres contained 4000 looms. Bruges was the storehouse and central point for the commerce of half Europe; but the situation was changed for that of Antwerp in 1478, which continued to be one of the most flourishing cities of the world till the beginning of the sixteenth century, when the tyranny and fanaticism of Philip the Second of Spain inflicted on the Flemish provinces the most distressing sufferings. The great prevalence of goods made from cotton, the improvements that have been made in machinery for spinning thread from that substance, as well as from flax and wool, and the long war, which suspended a great portion of the export trade, have had a very injurious effect on the manufactures of this kingdom; but they still exceed, both

Netherlands in the numbers of people to whom they give employment, and in the excellence of their productions, those of any other country of Europe, except the British dominions. Woollen goods are extensively produced in Verviers, Eupen, Hodimont, Leyden, and Utrecht, and in smaller quantities in many other places. Cotton articles are made principally in Brussels and Amsterdam. Silk, though on the decline, is worked at Haarlem. Leather of an excellent quality is produced at Liege and Maastricht. Tobacco and snuff are manufactured at Amsterdam and Rotterdam, in which places 24,000 persons are occupied in that trade. In Amsterdam are seventy sugar refineries, in Rotterdam eighteen, in Dort twelve, and several in Antwerp, Ghent, and Ostend. Iron goods are produced in many places; but the cutlery made at Namur, and the arms made at Liege, are peculiarly valued. The earthenware of Delft, formerly so celebrated, has been almost superseded by the English potteries. The quantity of pipes for smoking tobacco produced in this country is so great, that in the town of Gouda alone their fabrication employs more than 5000 persons. The breweries are both numerous and upon a large scale, but are inferior to the distilleries, which furnish a corn spirit, when flavoured with juniper berries, well known throughout the world by the name of Geneva or gin. The greater concerns of this kind are established at Scheidam, at Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Weesp. That which is made at the latter place is said to have the peculiar property of preserving its qualities in the hottest climates, and is largely exported to the East and West Indies.

Agriculture. The agriculture of the kingdom of the Netherlands, which, even in the northern portion, that was formerly the Seven United Provinces, was more the foundation of its wealth than either manufactures or navigation, deserves the most close examination, and merits more detailed accounts than our limits will allow. As this northern part is principally a country of land redeemed from the sea, it is naturally appropriated chiefly to the growth of the various grasses whose produce affords sustenance for horned cattle, and the profit of which is derived from the butter and cheese that these cattle yield. The corn land of Holland is insufficient for its own consumption, but the productions of the dairy afford ample means for purchasing the requisite quantities of grain. The cows of this district are fine cattle; and though they do not yield, on an average, so large a quantity of milk as many of our English cows, yet, from the butter and cheese they produce, it seems to be of a better quality. The answers of Mr Van de Poes to some queries of Sir John Sinclair state, that the quantity of milk from each cow averages about three quarts daily; that the annual produce of each cow is calculated by the Committee of Agriculture of the Province of South Holland at 78 pounds of butter, and 180 pounds of cheese. During the winter months the cattle are fed with hay, turnips, carrots, grains from the distilleries, linseed oil cake, and bear meal, and are confined to their stalls. In the summer months, soiling or stall-feeding is not practised, but the cattle are grazed day and night in the meadows. The bulls are used for the purposes of pro-

pagation from the age of one year and a half to two years and a half. At reaching that age, they are no longer so employed. The whole offspring, being thus derived solely from young males, are considered to be more valuable than could be obtained by a different plan. In the management of the dairies, both from the milking the cows, and through every subsequent operation, the most scrupulous attention is paid to cleanliness, and this attention is visible in all the utensils, as well as in the temperature which is maintained in the houses, and the state of neatness exhibited in the stalls, the litter, and on the bodies of the animals. The butter of Holland is made wholly of cream; the churning is commonly performed by very simple machinery, set on motion sometimes by a horse, and often by two dogs; in the progress of making, frequent washings are used, and it is preserved solely by being well salted. The butter-milk is applied to feed calves or to fatten pigs, and the skimmed milk is converted into an inferior kind of cheese.

Although the greater part of the agricultural attention of Holland is directed to dairies, and the fattening of cattle, yet, on receding from the coast, and reaching the more elevated lands towards the German frontier, the husbandry assumes the character of that of the midland counties of England; but with such variations as are adapted to the soil, climate, and habits of the people. On the banks of the Rhine in Guelderland, as well as in the province of Utrecht, the arable husbandry is judiciously conducted. The manure is preserved with great care, the ploughing well executed, and a good rotation of crops followed. On some of the lighter soils, the land, when cleaned and manured, is sowed in May with buck-wheat. This crop is harvested in August, when rye is sown on it; and after the rye is carried, which is usually done in the succeeding July, turnips are sowed. The land thus produces three crops in two years. On the stronger soils, the usual rotation is beans, wheat, clover, and oats; and, on the most tenacious of all the soils, they precede the beans by a whole year's clean fallow. In such soils the produce of four harvests exceeds those of five harvests when the fallow is omitted. During the existence of the Continental System of Buonaparte, the cultivation of tobacco, and of beets of different kind for making sugar was introduced, and extended over large surfaces; but the return of peace, by which the ports of the Continent were opened to those productions from the western world, created a competition, which the Dutch husbandmen were unable to withstand, and the cultivators of these articles have become involved in great distress.

The agriculture of the southern division of the kingdom, formerly the Austrian Netherlands, is peculiarly interesting, and conducted upon plans complete with economy, and productive of the most uniform and beneficial results. The land of Flanders was not naturally fertile; on the contrary, the quality of it is merely such as to admit of fertilization, by a series of operations more or less expensive and laborious. Where cultivation has not been extended, the soil produces nothing but heath and fir. As the property of such lands may be acquired for a very small sum, many individuals

Netherlands have attempted to bring portions of it into cultivation, but have almost uniformly found the expence of doing so far exceed the value of the produce that can be drawn from it. Abbé Mann, to whom we are indebted for some valuable communications on the subject of Flemish agriculture, observes, "What land is cultivated in the Campine of Brabant, is owing to the religious houses founded in it, especially to the two great abbeys of Tongerlo and Everbode. Their uninterrupted duration for five or six hundred years, and their indefatigable industry, have conquered the barren harsh sands, and rendered many parts of them highly productive. The method they follow is simple and uniform; they never undertake to cultivate more of this barren soil than they have sufficient manure for; seldom more than five or six bunders (fifteen or eighteen acres) in a year; and when it is brought, by labour and manuring, into a state capable of producing sufficient for a family to live on, it is let out to farmers on easy terms, after having built them comfortable habitations. From the undoubted testimony of the historians of the Low Countries, it appears, that the cultivation of the greatest part of these rich provinces took its rise from the self-same means, 800 or 1000 years back, when they were in a manner one continued forest." Although, from the destruction, dispersion, or diminution of the religious communities, by the French Revolution, the process of reclaiming other parts of the heaths has been suspended or rendered languid; yet the excellent agricultural practices, which a long series of years had ingrafted into the minds and habits of the sluggish peasantry, have been adhered to with a tenacity that is obviously distinguishable in all the other customs, as well as in the manners, dress, food, and religion of the people. Besides that general system of economy, which is indispensable to the success of all efforts, and which there enters into the minutest details of their husbandry, the two great objects which seem to be aimed at in all their operations, are the increase of those crops which afford sustenance for cattle, and the careful preservation of every substance that can be converted into manure, and returned again to the land, to renew its exhausted fertility.

Clover. The foundation on which the agriculture rests is the cultivation of clover, which seems indigenous, since none of the most ancient records notice its introduction, but speak of it as familiarly as of hay or oats. It is probably from this country that the plant in question has been, though but recently, slowly, and hitherto partially, introduced to the adoption of the farmers of Germany, France, and Great Britain. The clover in Flanders is sowed in every sort of grain, in wheat, rye, and winter barley, in the spring of the year, when the blades of those plants have acquired a growth of three or four inches; and with oats and summer barley at the same time with those seeds. It is also often sowed with flax; and, in general, the crops grown between those plants are more luxuriant than when sowed with the cerealia. It frequently happens when sowed with flax, that clover yields a heavy crop a few months after it is sown, two still more abundant crops the next year, and sometimes even three; and

if, as it occasionally happens, it is suffered to stand another year, it will yield one heavy crop, and afterwards good pasture for cattle, till it is ploughed up to receive the seed of wheat, which usually follows it. The original strength of the plants which yield such abundant nourishment is due, undoubtedly, to the care taken in pulverizing the soil by frequent ploughings and harrowings, to the careful extirpation of all weeds, and to the copious stores of manure, and its complete amalgamation with the soil; but the successive harvests which the plants yield is attributed, and with apparent probability, to the top-dressings which are bestowed upon them. The top-dressings administered to the young clover consists either of rotten yard-dung, lime, pigeons' dung, or coal, or native turf-ashes, and is laid on as soon as the plants begin to extend themselves over the ground. Sometimes the plants are refreshed with a liquid manure, which will be hereafter noticed. These manures, though administered to the clovers, as far as they can be obtained, are found far inferior in powers of fertility to that substance which is most generally used, and whose effects form the theme of the praises of all who have witnessed the Belgian husbandry. The turf-ashes of Holland are sowed by hand on the clovers, in quantities varying from eighteen to twenty bushels to the English acre. This small quantity produces a most surprising, and almost magical effect. Within a few weeks after it is sown, a field where none, or but slight straggling plants are to be seen, becomes covered with a most abundant herbage. The parts of a field sowed with these ashes, at the first mowing, show their efficacy in a most striking manner, the clover being frequently a foot higher on such parts than on those where its sowing has been omitted. These ashes are found superior in efficacy to such as are made from the turf commonly used for fuel in Flanders, in so much, that one-third of the quantity is deemed to afford as great productiveness. We have no analysis of the turf-ashes of Flanders, by which we can form a comparative estimate of the proportional substances which create so vast a difference between the vegetative faculties of them and of the turf-ashes of Holland. The latter have been carefully analyzed by Mr Brande, Secretary to the Royal Society of London, who found them to contain

These ashes are brought from Holland by the canals to Brussels, from whence they are conveyed by land carriage to the different farms where they are applied. Long practice has so convinced the Flemish farmers of their benefit, that a common proverb, in the patois of the country, may be thus translated: "He that buys ashes for his clover pays no-

Netherlands. thing, but he who does it not pays double." They are frequently fetched from the canal by persons who have to carry them forty or even fifty miles by land.

Manure. The abundance of clover produced from the soil of Flanders enables the cultivator to maintain a great number of cattle, principally cows, whose dung is managed with an attention and care that is highly worthy of imitation, and contributes to maintain, in a state of high fertility, that soil which yields the most exhausting crops. "The farmers," says the Abbé Mann, "supply the want of straw in the following manner: The peat, or sods, which are cut from the heath, are placed in the stables and cow-stalls as litter for the cattle. The ground under them is dug to a certain depth, so as to admit a considerable quantity of these peat sods, and fresh ones are added as the feet of the cattle tread them down into less compass. These compose so many beds of manure, thoroughly impregnated with the urine and dung of the cattle. This mixture produces a compost of excellent quality for fertilizing ground where corn is to be sown."

The most unique practice of the Flemish cultivators is the application of liquid manure. Under the farm buildings, large reservoirs are constructed, into which the draining of the dung, the urine of the cattle, and the contents of the privies, run. This receptacle is divided by rails, so as to prevent any more solid substances from coming into that part where the pump is placed, by which it is raised from the reservoir into the carts that convey it to the fields. The liquid in these receptacles is commonly increased in efficacy, by throwing into them, for solution, large quantities of rape-cake. This liquid manure, enriched by oil-cake in proportion to the purse, or the spirit, of the proprietor, is spread over the land, sometimes by hand; and by habit the workmen have acquired the tact of distributing it equally and in previously prescribed proportions over a whole field. More commonly it is conveyed to the fields in large casks on wheels, to the bung-hole of which is appended a wooden shoot, narrow at the top and broad at the lower extremity, which spreads the substance equally. For the flax and rape crops this manure is most liberally used. The quantity of this liquid applied to an acre of flax is commonly about 2500 gallons of English beer measure, in which about 1000 rape-cakes of three pounds each have been dissolved.

Productions. No country in Europe provides from its soil so great a quantity of sustenance for its inhabitants, so large a surplus of food for exportation, and such valuable commodities to exchange for articles of foreign growth, as Flanders. Besides wheat, rye, barley, oats, pease, beans, and buck-wheat; madder, rape-seed, hops, tobacco, clover-seed, mustard-seed, flax, hemp, poppy-oil, and some other productions, are raised beneficially, both for home consumption and for exportation. As the inhabitants are in every thing averse to innovation or improvement, the implements of husbandry are in a rude state, and very little variation is made from the examples set by their ancestors some centuries ago. The various machines used in England for abridging animal la-

bour in husbandry are unknown, and the use of human beings in many operations is still retained there, for which horses and machinery are adopted with us. The same aversion to innovate is seen in the management of the cows, the sheep, and the pigs; the races not having been improved by crossing as in some other countries. The horses seem to have drawn more attention, and the race commonly seen is excellent for agricultural purposes, and for the road.

The mines of this kingdom form but an inconsiderable portion of its wealth. They are wholly confined to the southern provinces of Liege, Hainault, and Namur, and yield only iron, calamine, and coals. The quantity of iron annually produced is, on an average, about 1000 tons, of calamine, about 750 tons, and of coals, 2500 tons. The turf commonly used for fuel is valued at L.500,000 annually. The clay-pits in the northern provinces, from which their porcelain is made, and the stone quarries in the southern provinces, especially in Liege, are considerable sources of wealth.

The fisheries of Holland, which were in some measure the foundation of its national prosperity and naval power, have greatly declined under the political calamities which the last thirty years have witnessed, and are yet by no means restored to their former flourishing state. At the beginning of the last century, the fisheries gave occupation to about 60,000 families, and consequently supported 300,000 persons; at present, the families so employed do not exceed 20,000. At that period, 1500 busses, of 40 tons each, were annually equipped for the herring fishery, whereas, in the year 1818, their number did not exceed 200. The whale and cod-fisheries now employ not more than 60 ships; and the fishery on their coasts, which once supplied the markets of England, is much diminished, though it still employs about 6000 boats. The whole of the gross product of the fisheries is estimated, by Dutch writers, at about L.1,000,000 Sterling annually.

Although much declined from its former eminence, the foreign trade of the Netherlands is considerable, and, since the foundation of the new kingdom, has gone on gradually, though not rapidly, increasing. The period of the most prosperous condition of the foreign trade of Holland was that commencing with the first voyage to the East Indies, under Cornelius Houtman, in 1595, who seized a large portion of the possessions of Spain, or rather of Portugal, then subjected to Spain. The East India Company was established in 1602. It conquered the Molucca Islands in 1618; established at Batavia, on the Island of Java, the central point of their commerce and power, and opened a lucrative trade with Japan. From 1620 to 1650, Brazil and the West India possessions of Holland were acquired, and their establishment at the Cape of Good Hope was founded. In the middle of the seventeenth century, from 1640 to its close, the foreign trade of Holland to that of Great Britain bore the proportion of five to one. In the beginning of the nineteenth century, the trade of Holland, as compared with that of England, gradually declined, and the events which followed the Revolution in France reduced it to a very low ebb.

Netherlands. Since the union of the two countries, the Batavians have become a more commercial people than before, and, on the whole, their foreign commerce is reaching a respectable station among the European nations. Since the year 1815, the average number of vessels, under the Netherland flag, that have passed the Sound, has amounted to about 1600. At present, the commerce of the Netherlands with England amounts to about 44,000,000 Dutch florins; with France, 38,000,000; with Spain, Italy, and Germany, 30,000,000 each; with the East Indies, 36,000,000; and with the West Indies, 29,000,000. Holland requires from foreign countries more than half of its bread corn, salt, wine, fuel, and metals; the former is, indeed, in some measure supplied from the southern parts of the newly established kingdom. The principal articles of export are cheese, butter, madder, tobacco, linen, paper, laces, cloths, leather, arms, cutlery, herrings and stock-fish, corn, spirits, whalebone, seed and fish oils, tobacco-pipes, and many articles of less note. Besides the exportation of its native commodities, this country has a considerable commerce in the valuable productions of both the Indies, which are brought to their ports, and from thence re-exported by sea to the more northern countries, or transmitted, by means of the navigable canals and great rivers, to the centre of middle Europe. This transit trade has in some years amounted to 36,000,000 pounds of coffee, 12,000,000 pounds of cotton wool, 14,000 hogsheads of sugar, 5000 pipes of rum, 100,000 pounds of cloves, 160,000 pounds of nutmegs, and 50,000 pounds of mace, besides other valuable spices.

Foreign Dominions. The foreign settlements belonging to the kingdom of the Netherlands, having been given back by Great Britain at the treaty of Paris, are, in Asia, 1st, The Island of Celebes, as far as the Dutch possessed it, viz. Macassar on the west coast, with four fortresses and several factories; Monada, under which is Gontolo, from which the principal exports are ivory, gold, and diamonds. 2d, Banda, with nine surrounding small islands. 3d, Amboyna, whose principal productions are cloves, mace, and cinnamon. 4th, Timor, one part of which belongs to Portugal, governed by a sub-prefect. 5th, Ternate, the principal of the Moluccas, where a civil and military governor resides. 6th, Palembang, on the island of Sumatra. And, 7th, Banjermassing, on the island of Borneo. The most considerable foreign establishment is, however, on the Island of Java, where Batavia, is the capital, one of the largest cities of India, is the seat of active and extensive commerce. The number of subjects of the King of the Netherlands, including all the different races on this island, are estimated at two millions and a half, and those on the other islands which have been enumerated, at one million and a half. Besides these there are some factories of the Netherlands on the coasts of Coromandel and Malabar, and some in Japan and Persia.

Netherlands. According to the statement of General Daendels, the income derived from these settlements in the year 1811 amounted to 25,890,000 florins, and the expenditure to only 21,500,000; leaving a net product of 4,390,000 florins, or 440,000 pounds Sterling, at the service of the parent state. On the coast of Guinea the Netherlands have thirteen factories with forts, and small establishments. The principal of these are Fort Nassau and Fort Elmina. The number of their subjects is estimated at about 10,000. In South America this kingdom possesses the province of Surinam in Guyana, which extends over 6400 English square miles, and contains about 300,000 inhabitants, the greater part of whom are negro slaves of the African race. In the West Indies, the Islands of Curaçoa, St Eustatia, and St Martins, have been given back by Great Britain, and are estimated to contain 40,000 inhabitants. These islands are by no means fertile, and are principally valuable as depots for commerce, especially Curaçoa, from whence large quantities of European goods used to be exported to the settlements of Spain upon the continent.

The national income of the kingdom is derived from various direct and indirect taxes, which, together, amount, on an average, to about fourteen Rhenish florins, or twenty-eight shillings Sterling, to each individual. These taxes are varied according to the exigencies of the state, as estimated in the annual budget presented to the States-General. The budget of 1818 is reduced lower than that of 1816 by about one-tenth, the whole of which is covered by taxes raised within the year, and includes the interest on the public debt. The expenditure thus covered is distributed in the following manner:—

Or about L. 7,500,000 Sterling. Among other causes National which contribute to retard, if not prevent, a cor. Debt.

Netherlands. dial union betwixt the two dissimilar portions of this kingdom, the public debt is not the least considerable. This debt was almost wholly contracted by the Seven United Provinces, either during their existence as an independent government, or whilst under the yoke of France, when it was greatly augmented. It is also principally owing to the great monied capitalists of Holland. The Belgians are therefore dissatisfied with this burden, and the consequent taxes with which the Union has loaded them. The amount of the debt is as follows, viz.—

Or nearly L. 170,000,000 Sterling.

The peculiar situation of this kingdom, established under the auspices of Great Britain, and designed as a check on the land side to act against any encroachments of France, renders it necessary to maintain many strong fortresses on the frontiers, and to keep up a respectable land force. A chain of strong fortifications has been planned, and in part executed, the expence of which is defrayed by the contributions inflicted on France when the Allies occupied it after the battle of Waterloo. The army of the Netherlands at present consists of about 62,000 men, formed into six military divisions. The same connection with Great Britain which induces the maintenance of so large a land force, has rendered it unnecessary to support a proportionably extensive naval armament. At present the fleet consists only of sixteen ships of the line and ten frigates, besides smaller craft. There seems no disposition to increase the number of their larger ships, but several frigates and corvettes are now building and equipping, which will somewhat augment that description of force.

In the Belgic Provinces the French decimal system of weights and measures has been introduced, but is yet reluctantly adopted, except in the commercial cities. In the villages and small towns the weights and measures are very various, differing in almost each of them, but the decimal reckoning of money much more extensively prevails. In the Dutch Provinces accounts are kept in guilders, stivers, and penningers. The gilder is fifty-five kreutzers, or twelve Saxon groschen. The gold coins are, ruyders, value fourteen florins Rhenish, and ducats, five florins five stivers. Coins have recently been made of one, two, and three guilders, and of half and quarter guilders, which has been done to facilitate the decimal arithmetic in current transactions. Mints for coining these pieces are established both in Amsterdam and Brussels. The old silver coins still most commonly current are, ducatoons, three florins three stivers, rix-dollars, two florins ten stivers, and lowenthalars, forty-two stivers. The common weight of commerce is the shipshound of three hundred weight. The tonnage of ships is estimated by last,

consisting of two tons, and the ton is a space so large as to contain as much sea-water as weighs 2000 pounds; thus a ship of 200 tons is of such capacity as to hold, when filled with sea-water, 400,000 pounds weight.

See Metelenkamp, de toestand van Nederlande; Van der Palm, Geschieden redenkunstig Gederkschrift, van Nederlands Herstelling; Almanac Royal des Pais-bas pour l'an 1819; Handels-Geschichte von Flandern und Brabant, Von A. F. W. Crome; Anleitung zur kenntniss der Belgischen Landwirthschaft, Von J. N. Schwarz; Radcliffe's Report on the Agriculture of Eastern and Western Flanders; Abbé Mann's Communications to the Board of Agriculture; Jacob's View of Germany and Holland, 1820.

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