Holland of the Dutch UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME 6s. net. Belgium of the Belgians. By D. C. BOULGER France of the French. By E. Harrison Barker Germany of the Germans. By Robert M. Berry Italy of the Italians. By Helen Zimmern Turkey of the Ottomans. By Lucy M. J. Garnett Spain of the Spanish. By Mrs. Villiers-Wardell Servia of the Servians. By Chedo MlJATOVICH Switzerland of the Swiss. By Frank Webb Japan of the Japanese. J. H. Longford By Prof. Other volumes in preparation H.M. QUEEN WILHELMINA Holland of the Dutch By J Demetrius C. Boulger Author of *• Belgium of the Belgians ** NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 597-599 Fifth Avenue 1920 J)Jm Printed by Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd., London TO MY FRIENDS IN HOLLAND BE TO ITS MERITS EVER KIND, AND TO ITS FAULTS A LITTLE BLIND.' CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE DEDICATION .V I. THE LAND WE CALL HOLLAND. ... 1 II. WILLIAM OF ORANGE 12 III. A BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH .... 22 IV. THE DUTCH CONSTITUTION .... 36 V. THE COURT AND SOCIETY .... 45 VI. RIVERS AND CANALS 52 VII. LAW AND JUSTICE 61 VIII. EDUCATION t r 68 IX. THE DUTCH ARMY 79 X. THE DUTCH NAVY 91 XI. HOLLAND'S COLONIAL EMPIRE .... 99 XII. REVENUE, FINANCE, AND DEBT . . .110 XIII. THE POPULATION — VITAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 119 XIV. V^ COMMERCE, RAILWAYS, AND INDUSTRY . .126 XV. AGRICULTURE V'' 137 XVI. RELIGION AND THE CHURCHES. . . .149 XVII. AMUSEMENTS AND FETES . '-/ . . . .157 XVIII. COSTUMES AND WEDDINGS ^. . . . 168 vil Vlll CONTENTS CHAP. / PAGE XIX. LITERATURE AND JOURNALISM . . .179 XX. ART, OLD AND NEW 188 XXI. MUSIC AND THE DRAMA .... 195 XXII. THE PROVINCE OF LIMBURG .... 203 XXIII. THE CITY OF AMSTERDAM .... 214 XXIV. THE ZUYDER ZEE 226 XXV. NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND SOME TYPES . 236 XXVI. CONCLUSION 251 INDEX ....... 263 ILLUSTRATIONS H.M. QUEEN WILHELMINA .... DORDRECHT QUEEN WILHELMINA AND THE PRINCESS JULIANA ROYAL PALACE AT THE HAGUE . H.R.H. PRINCE HENDRIK OF THE NETHERLANDS H.M. QUEEN EMMA H.R.H. PRINCESS JULIANA .... THE COFFEE HOUR : BARGEMEN AT COFFEE . THE LAND HOUSE AT DELFT THE BINNENHOF — THE HAGUE . THE OLD CANAL, UTRECHT .... ST. JANSKERK, VIEW FROM THE OLD CANAL, UTRECHT THE CANAL AND DYKE. AT KAMPEN . PRINCE HENDRIK QUAY, AMSTERDAM . THE GROOTE MARKET, HAARLEM. THE COOLSINGEL AT ROTTERDAM. A TYPICAL TEAM IN FRIESLAND . INTERIOR OF FARM-HOUSE, LICHTERWOORDE . SHOOTING BOX NEAR DELDEN CANAL VIEW AT DORDRECHT Frontispiece facing page 8 14 26 34 44 48 58 64 68 74 ECHT 82 88 94 . 108 . 128 . 138 . 144 . 148 . 152 IX X ILLUSTRATIONS PROCESSION WITH DRUMMERS A WOMAN OF ZEELAND A MAN OF ZEELAND . CHARLES BOISSEVAIN. THE HON. DR. KUYPER VIEW OF VENLO THE KAISER SAAL (ST. SERVATIUS, MAESTRICHT) LIEWE VROUWENKERK, MAESTRICHT . CANAL VIEW AT AMSTERDAM BRIDGE OVER THE AMSTEL, AMSTERDAM THE GROOTE MARKET, NIJMEGEN. MAJOR-GENERAL DE BAS .... W. H. DE BEAUFORT facing page 158 168 172 180 184 204 208 212 216 222 236 240 252 Holland of the Dutch CHAPTER I THE LAND WE CALL HOLLAND In the first place, an apology is due to Nederland and the Nederlanders for using the commonly accepted but inaccurate terms Holland and Dutchmen. Much as we Nederland. should like to introduce the change in English usage, the effort is too hopeless of success to be attempted here. The only defence that can be made for the name Holland as applying to the whole country instead of a province is that it distinguishes it from Belgium, which also forms part of the historic and natural Netherlands. The same consideration or difficulty has led French writers to adopt a similar usage as far as the country is concerned, but with them the description of the people as Hollandais {i.e., Hollanders) is a more faithful rendering than our term " Dutch," which is based on the radical error of treating them as Germans. A tendency to call their country Holland has recently become noticeable among the people themselves, but there is none at all to speak of their nationality otherwise than as Netherlanders. At the zenith of his power Napoleon I haughtily described Holland as the alluvion of French rivers, and probably but for the Russian adventure this description would figure in French geographical works to-day. The lower courses of the Rhine, the Meuse, and the Scheldt reach the North Sea at various points separated by no more than sixty miles from north to south, and within that range not fewer than eight main channels have forced their ways to the ocean. It is south of what is called the mouth of the 1 I— (3390) 2 Holland of the Dutch Meuse — although that passage includes three separate channels from the Rhine — ^that the coast presents the broken-up appearance of an archipelago, to the greater The Alluvion p^j-j- Qf which has been firiven the expressive of Three Great ^ x 'z i j i-i,- xi. • x xi. Rivers. name of Zeeland. This was the region of the marsh-lands which long placed a barrier in the path of the Romans and created the tradition of Batavian liberty. The rivers rushed uncontrolled to the sea, and the tribes found but a precarious and shifting foothold on the sandy dunes rising above the waters. We know nothing of the system of government that held them together, but at least it sufficed to nurture and sustain the purest patriotism. The Romans passed, and the Franks stood in their place. The Frank system was extremely simple. Behind the dunes and the sea-lands lay the forests ; and a Land.^^ forester was appointed to control the forests, and also the land that lay beyond them, the Hollow Land, below or on the level of the sea. When the Carlovingian Empire came to be parcelled out in fiefs, what was more natural than that a Count of Holland should figure amongst the first creations ? And in the countdom of Holland was included not only Zeeland but Frisia, then connected with Holland by land, for in those days the Zuyder Zee was still a lake. The coast of Holland thus formed a feudal entity, and its lord was one of the leading vassals of the King of France until, in the time of Philip the Good, the family became merged in the House of Burgundy. It may be well to remember that the Theodores and Florences of Holland represented the only reigning but feudal family in the Northern Provinces, for the Duchies of Brabant and Limburg were always essentially Belgian, and Southern. As a consequence of this tradition the hold of the Orange family on the loyalty of the nation has always been firmest in what was the ancient Countdom of Holland. It was there The Land we Call Holland 3 that William of Orange was proclaimed Stadtholder in 1572 as the chief of the Dutch Netherlanders in their struggle with Philip of Spain. The exigencies of space, the perils of existence on an expanse of shifting sands and uncertain bottom, led at an early period to attempts to repel the floods of the sea and the^Sea^ the rivers, and to build up the land so that the occupants might feel somewhat surer of the ground they stood on. But we have no details until the Middle Ages were far advanced, and w'e can only infer from the fact that Amsterdam and Rotterdam were only fishing villages when Ghent and Bruges were walled cities maintaining their independence against great States, that the shores of Holland offered but httle inducement for fixed settlement. Periodic inundations — those of 1421 and 1570 are historical — swept away not only large tracts of coast land, but also the population who had had the courage to settle upon them. In the first place, the Netherlanders sought only to obtain compensation for the land lost to the sea by draining the meers or lakes, and this process began as early as the year 1440. But the success that attended these efforts encouraged the bolder scheme of repeUing and placing limits to the sea. Without troubling ourselves about indentations and gaps, Holland has a coast line from the Dollart to Flanders of something over 200 miles. The Frisian isles from Borkum to Texel represent, no doubt, detached portions of the mainland at the time when the Zuyder Zee was no more than an inland piece of water, but they serve now to break the force of the ocean as it beats on the coasts of Friesland and Groningen. On the other hand, from the Helder to Sluis the coast is exposed to its unbroken force, and it is here that the dunes have been fortified and supplemented by sea-walls, ramparts, and break- waters to repel the encroachments of a ruthless invader. Notwithstanding all the art of man, and the tireless vigilance of the special service long entrusted with the task of preserving 4 Holland of the Dutch the dykes, he does occasionally break through, as in the Texel in 1825, and in Friesland in 1861. These inroads were as nothing, however, compared to the peril that menaced the whole artificial barrier at the close of the eighteenth cen- tury from the secret operations of a wood worm called " taret," which had eaten into and shaken the piles that supported the whole fabric of the coast defences. The mischief was fortunately discovered, and by a national effort not less heroic than the resistance so often made against a human invader, the wooden piles were strengthened with iron and copper, and the efforts of the " taret " worm were baffled by the interposition of a metal barrier. The dunes and the sea-dyke tower 40 feet above the North Sea. Below them, and at a level in some places from 20 to 40 feet inferior to that of the sea, stretch The Polders, the rich polders, the thickly cultivated fields, of the western provinces of Holland. When the sea was arrested only the first part of a great task had been accomplished ; there remained the reclamation of a land much of which was under water. This process began in the earlier half of the sixteenth century ; some of the most remarkable achievements of the kind, like the draining of the Haarlem Lake, occurred in the nineteenth, and it will be very strange if the present century does not witness a strenuous effort to reclaim at least a good part of the Zuyder Zee. In the struggle between man and nature it has been com- puted that the sea has wrested nearly 400,000 acres from Holland, but that man has given her back one million acres ; but it is right to say that in the former figure the lost part of the Zuyder Zee is not included. It is well to bear in mind also that the portions of the country below sea-level are con- fined to Zeeland, the two Hollands, and detached bits of Friesland and Groningen. The six remaining provinces are entirely above sea-level with the exception of a small tract round Zwolle in Overyssel. The Land we Call Holland 5 The soil of the seaboard provinces, largely mingled with sand and gravel, did not favour the raising of regular crops, and it has therefore become a region essen- ^ovinces.^ tially devoted to pasture, the cultivation of vegetables, and the growth of plants and flowers. But the inland provinces are becoming more and more centres of the cultivation of wheat and cereals, agri- culture being in general favour. Limburg produces immense quantities of grain, and North Brabant, which not so long ago was covered \sdth moor and marsh land, is now being rapidly brought under the plough. It is usual to regard Holland as a once-submerged land, in the sense of its having been re- claimed from the sea, but the description appHes to less than one-third of the territory, while the remaining two-thirds stand, and have always stood, at a secure altitude above the highest tides. No doubt the maritime enterprise of the nation, the great overseas trade, the possession of a Colonial Empire, have brought into stronger rehef the representation, so popular with historical writers since the time of Motley, that Holland was wrested from the sea. It might have been a greater State if, leaving the sea to do its worst, the national energy had been turned to the acquisition of East Frisia and the mouth of the Ems. Dealing with the facts as they are, it is only necessary to observe that the American writer's opening description in his principal work appUes only to part, and that not the greater part, of Holland. Modern Holland is divided into eleven Pro\ninces, viz., Zeeland, South Holland, North Holland, Utrecht, North Brabant, Gelderland, Drenthe, Overyssel, Provin^(Ss. Groningen, Friesland, and Limburg. In order to avoid confusion, it may here be stated that the Seven Provinces which formed in 1579 the Union of Utrecht were HoUand, Zeeland, Gueldres, Utrecht, Frisia, Overyssel, and Groningen. The subdivision of Holland, and the additions of Drenthe, Limburg, and North Brabant make up the present total. The province of Holland was 6 Holland of the Dutch subdivided with the view of placing the two capitals — ^The Hague and Amsterdam — on an equal footing. The area of the country is computed at 13,464 square miles, its greatest length being 210 miles, and its greatest breadth 120 miles, but at Coevorden Prussia is only 30 miles distant from the Zuyder Zee. The population has increased with equal rapidity to that of Belgium. It now numbers approx- imately six millions, the total of the last census in 1909 having been 5,898,429 souls. Much of the country and notably North Brabant is still sparsely inhabited, but, on the other hand, this is the region where the area under cultivation and the population alike are showing the most notable increase. Before many decades are passed the reclamation of the Zuyder Zee will have become imperative, in order to provide fresh elbow-room for a nation increasing by more than half a million in every ten years. It is obvious that any check of the national prosperity, any adverse blow by the diversion of the traffic now traversing Holland as the shortest route to other countries, would be attended by the pinch of necessity in the densely peopled areas round the great ports. Water plays another and more beneficent role in the life of the country than as the enemy which threatens to extinguish it. It fills the arteries which sustain the Waterways, existence and the prosperity of the Dutch nation. The great rivers Rhine and Meuse are the conductors of much of the trade of Germany, Belgium, and even France. Holland benefits by the cheapest means of transport, and although new German railways and canals may divert some of the traffic they can never deprive the Rhine of the superiority with which it has been endowed by Nature. Nor is there much reason to doubt that the traffic on the Meuse can and will be enormously developed by joint Franco-Belgian efforts, as soon as the impending German restrictions on the Moselle route bear fruit. But in Holland the rivers have been supplemented by the canals and canalised waterways, which not merely provide The Land we Call Holland 7 fresh routes and avenues traversing the country in all direc- tions, but supplement, and rectify the faults of, the rivers where Nature has given them too wide a curve or a false direction. We shaU have to speak in detail further on of Holland's waterways, but in this general introduction of the subject to the reader it is enough to record the impression that it is the one country of Europe where water may be found everywhere, and where a state of drought must be unknown. Some imaginative writer has called the Dutch an amphibious people, by which it may be assumed is meant that they have known how to turn the natural conditions of their country to the greatest possible advantage. The scenery of Holland presents three different aspects : the concealed land, the flat land, and in parts of Gueldres and Limburg the mountain and wood if only in Scenery. miniature, which made some enthusiastic Zeelander compare that region with Switzer- land. The concealed land is that of the polders protected and hidden by the embankments which confine the waterways. As the traveller in his boat or steamer passes along the canals and estuaries the only indication he obtains of the fact that on the further side of the ramparts is a cultivated and popula- ted land is the occasional sight of a church tower or a windmill. The flat land is the bulk of HoUand. There the landscape presents a monotonous and unbroken surface with nothing distinctive upon which the eye can fasten until, wearied by the sameness of the scene, it omits to look. Only in Gueldres and Limburg does the picturesque present itself. Round the heights of Arnhem, in the woods of Het Loo, on Holland's one mountain, Wisselschebosch, the traveller will find some semblance of more favoured and attractive scenes. The south-eastern boundary of Holland is formed by the range of hills that separates Limburg from Prussia, but the hills do not belong to Holland. In 1814 Prussia took very good care when demarcating the frontier to appropriate them, leaving the Dutch what was then only marsh and moorland. 8 Holland of the Dutch Some of these hills attain five or six hundred feet in height, but the Germans now see below them no longer marshes and . . uncultivated plains, but productive corn- ^^PrussiZ^ fields and, where agriculture stops, the coal mines of Sittard and Heerlen. After all, then, time has provided its own compensation. The assign- ment of territory a hundred years ago has not proved quite so one-sided as was intended. But the most striking feature in the life and aspect of Holland is to be found in her towns. If none of these can boast the antiquity of Bruges, they all possess Old Cities. in a remarkable degree the form and traces of mediaevalism. Nowhere out of Nuremberg can houses of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries be seen in such a perfect state of preservation as in Dordrecht and Utrecht. In towns like Utrecht, Maestricht, Groningen and others which were bishoprics and abbeys centuries before the Reformation, the churches form their main features. These have come down to the present day in a wonderful state of preservation, due no doubt to the fact that the Spaniards spared them alone of all buildings during the savage scenes of the sixteenth century. The three largest towns, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague, became cities almost together at the close of the fifteenth or the commencement of the sixteenth century. The two first named were originally fishing villages, and developed into centres of commerce only after the decline of Bruges as one of the great marts of Europe. They did not begin to acquire real importance, however, until after the eclipse of Antwerp amid the troubles of the last half of the sixteenth century. The Hague, originally the hunting-place of the Counts of HoUand, was made the capital of the United Provinces when they repudiated the supremacy of Spain in 1580, and has always retained the aspect and status of a capital and of a Court residence, owing nothing of its import- ance and prosperity to commerce or trade. Amsterdam, built Q The Land we Call Holland 9 on piles, has been called the Venice of the North, and many of its streets are waterways crossed as its citizens boast, by nine hundred bridges. It is one of the half-dozen greatest seaports in the world, and this is the more remarkable because it stands on an inland sea, as it were, and holds communication with the outer world through a narrow canal. But while Amsterdam has probably reached the zenith of its prosperity Rotterdam is forging ahead, and here rather than on the Zuyder Zee is the most formidable rival of Antwerp and Hamburg. In these two cities of the ancient Holland are concentrated the commercial enterprise and wealth of the State. They are the ports for Java and the other Dutch colonies, they deal with England and the Americas, and their bankers and merchants represent the voice and weight of Dutch finance on the great international exchange, which, without a fixed home or precise entity, now plays so large a part in controlling the destinies of mankind. It is in the smaller towns, however, that the distinctive features of Dutch life reveal themselves more clearly. The innate conservatism of the people, their Other Towns, old-fashioned ways, their rigid adherence to the " oude sleure," their belief that what was best must still be best, are naturally more evident in com- paratively small provincial towns than in the great cities where there is always more or less of a cosmopolitan society. At Arnhem, and in a lesser degree at Nijmegen, the wealthy planters of the Indies, and the rich merchants of Amsterdam form a community, or even a caste, quite distinct from any other in the country. Amid pretty surroundings they have created a villadom which is not to be matched anywhere, and they pass their leisured ease in an atmosphere from which cares and responsibilities are excluded with the close attenticn bestowed in less favoured circles on the keeping out of draughts. It may be a life of inglorious ease, but the members of this plutocracy are quite happy ; and more especially would they 10 Holland of the Dutch be so if they only realised that their comfort and luxury do not raise the envy of their less favoured countrymen, as happens in other lands that could be named. If in these places we find commercial prosperity in either its active or its passive phases at its height,^ at Groningen, Assen, and Leeuwarden are to be seen the A '^^fti results of agricultural activity and wealth. Region. That is the realm of the agriculturist, the home of the " boers," where farmer and farm labourer are on a level, where everyone owns his land and has his own horses, where the womenkind lay up great store of gold and silver ornaments, and where a man is poor if he has not a thousand pounds ready to his call./ It is wealth gained in the most honest occupation under the sun, the extraction from the soil of its natural produce, and accumulated during generations and even centuries by the thrift and prudence of the race. Holland is stiU the land where agriculture stands much in honour, and the backward provinces like North Brabant and Limburg are now being raised to something approaching the level of Friesland and its neighbour. Despite the flatness of the country, and the absence of woods and of hills, the attractiveness of Holland grows upon one with closer acquaintance. It is difficult HoUande " *^ analyse the feeling, but perhaps the cause may lie in its prevailing and imperturbable calm. In the absence of the striking and the abnormal the mind becomes reconciled to the consideration of minor details, and finding them in everything harmonising and appropriate, conceives a new ideal of beauty. Something of this sentiment must have become part of Dutch mentality, for we find large numbers of Dutchmen, with the means of travel at their disposal, who never leave their native province, and who think if they adventure (" go abroad " = huiten) so far as another province that they have made a great jour- ney. Whatever explanation may be attempted of this reluc- tance to leave the home, one thing is certain ; Dutch opinion The Land we Call Holland 11 is dominated and swayed by the spirit of content. It flou- rishes in a kind of Capua beneath the grey skies of our northern hemisphere, where principles once adopted are more firmly held than under the suns of Campania. This explains why to the Netherlander his country is always " Mooi Hollande " (pretty Holland). CHAPTER II WILLIAM OF ORANGE As the founder of Dutch independence, William of Orange claims a chapter to himself, but we do not propose to cover ground already traversed by others. For Fami^ ^^^ information of the general reader it is necessary, however, to explain briefly the manner in which the present reigning family came to power, and through what vicissitudes Holland passed in attaining the dignity of a nation. Although there have been breaches in the concord, the fame of Holland has been more or less intertwined for three and a half centuries with the fortunes of the Orange-Nassau. House of Orange-Nassau, that is to say, for the whole period of its national existence. In a sense that does not apply to any other country, Holland was the creation of one man, William of Orange, who was the champion of its national and religious liberties. If there had been no WiUiam the Silent, if he had left no sons of " the generous blood of Nassau " to continue and complete his work, there can hardly be any reasonable doubt that Alva and Parma would have accomplished their task and broken the spirit of the Northern Netherlands, as they had that of the Southern. When the populace of Amsterdam and Leyden raise to-day the cry of " Oranje Boven " — " Long live Orange I " — they show that nations are still capable of the sentiment of gratitude. There was nothing in their earlier history to suggest that a member of this family would found a dynasty on the shores of the North Sea. The family of Nassau was among the most ancient ruling houses in Germany. Seven centuries ago Adolphus of Nassau was raised to the Imperial throne, and 12 William of Orange 13 although the principality has now gone to swell the greatness of Prussia, the castle which was the cradle of the race and gave it a name still figures among the sights ^^FaS'y.^'' of the Lahn VaUey. In the middle of the thirteenth century (1254) the family of Nassau divided into two branches, the elder or Walranian line retain- ing the Duchy, the younger or Othonian estabUshing itself at DiUenburg, in the modem state of Hesse. In the year 1350 Otho of Nassau-DiUenburg (the descendant of the first Otho) married the last Countess of Vianden in Luxemburg, and thus began the connection of this family with the Netherlands. A hundred years later his descendant, Engelbert of Nassau, was one of the chief ad\'isers and supporters of Charles the Bold, and left the large estates in Brabant, which he had acquired in the service of the Emperor Maximihan, to his brother John. It was John, the grandfather of WiUiam of Orange, who built the Nassau palace in Brussels while he was holding the office of Governor of Brabant for the Emperor Maximihan, Regent for his son Phihp the Fair. John III, known as the Younger, married the Princess Ehzabeth of Hesse, and left two sons, Henry and WiUiam, the former of whom was prominent among the courtiers and councillors of the Emperor Charles V. On his father's death he took the German estates, while those in the Netherlands passed to his brother WiUiam. But Henry is important for another reason in that it was he who brought the Orange title and principahty into the Nassau famUy. The principahty of Orange was situated in France in the province of Dauphin^, a short distance north of the city of Avignon. It had been dependent on the o"arang? various Burgundian dynasties, and its so- caUed independence only dated from the time of Phihbert of Orange, who attached himself to the then win- ning German side under Charles V. He repudiated his aUegiance to the King of France, and as Orange had never been the fief of the Empire it necessarily foUowed that it thus 14 Holland of the Dutch became independent. But this independence was never recognised by France, and when William III (William Henry I of Nassau-Orange), sometime King of England as well as Stadt- holder of the Netherlands, died in 1702, Orange was declared an extinct fief and united with France — a position recognised by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1714. Let us retrace the history as to how Orange passed to the Nassau family. In the year 1373 Orange had passed into the hands of the family of Chalons, and at the beginning of the sixteenth century it was still in their possession. In the year 1515 Henry of Nassau — ^just mentioned — married Claudia, the only sister of the reigning Prince Philibert of Orange, the last male of his race. Philibert was a general of much promise who served the Emperor Charles V, but he was killed early in his career in 1530 at the siege of Florence. His rights and the succession passed to his nephew Rene, the only son of Henry of Nassau and Claudia of Chalons. Rene was also a soldier, and like his uncle served the Emperor well. Like him also, he was killed at a siege, that of St. Dizier, in 1544. Before proceeding to the wars he made a will dated 20th June, 1544, leaving the title and possessions of Orange to his first cousin William of Nassau, at that time a boy of twelve years of age. It will thus be seen that William WcLS only a collateral heir, and that he had no co-relationship in blood with the families of Orange and Chalons. Yet of all the holders of the title he was the one destined to make it most famous. The second son of John of Nassau and Elizabeth of Hesse was William, known in the family annals as the " Vieux," or the Old. He inherited from his father the "^Stotberg!^ estates in the Netherlands, which certainly included the Castle of Vianden and the palace in Brussels. This prince married the Countess Juliana of Stolberg, by whom he had a large family of sons and daughters. Of the sons, William, born in 1532, and subsequently known as the Silent, was the eldest. He was the ninth bearer of his QUEEN WILHELMINA AND THE PRINCESS JULIANA William of Orange 15 name in the Nassau pedigree, and the first in that of Orange. Motley is inaccurate in calling him " William the Ninth of Orange.'' Three of his brothers, Louis, Adolphus, and Henry, fell in the wars with Spain, and to John, the youngest, came eventually the German estates upon which the ancient line of Nassau-Dillenburg was continued. We shall note later on the marriage of Anna, William's daughter, with her cousin William Louis — John's son. Having established the two essential facts for our purpose as to how the Nassau family came into the Netherlands, and as to how it acquired the title of Orange, it would be entirely beyond our purpose to attempt here any biography of the prince who founded Dutch independence. If there was no other reason, space alone would forbid. But, indeed, there is no need, for no ruler or maker of history has ever been the subject of such close study and analysis. This must be attributed to the fact that none was ever associated with a more stormy period of politics or a more dramatic phase of human passion. There is one observation that may be made here as to the limitations of his success with due regard to the scope and object of this work. William of Orange failed Belgian Views, in the Southern Netherlands — that is to say, Belgium — for two reasons. He left the Roman Church when the peoples of those provinces refused to leave it at least in the mass or even in the majority. In the next place he did not occupy the commanding place among the Belgian nobles to which Motley elevates him. He was rather a new-comer, one of those German immigrants who owed their fortune to the Emperors Maximilian and Charles, but the Belgians never loved, nor do they now love, the Germans. Motley descants on his connection with the Netherlands because a remote ancestor named Otho married, in the year 1050, a member of the ruling house of Gueldres, but William, better appreciating his own position, placed himself in the background of the conclave of Belgian nobles. 16 Holland of the Dutch The more circumstances and his own ambition raised him to the position of a Dictator, the more did he incur the jealousy and distrust of his peers. But the very facts which prevented his welding the Belgic communities under his sway were those that mainly con- tributed to his triumph in the North, where Protestantism, he had to deal not with a class but with a people. If he had not become a Protestant, the Netherlanders would not have elected him their Stadt- holder, nor would he have been the hero of ** the beggars of the sea." There was another and a subtler reason. The noble feudal class in Holland and the great cities was prac- tically extinct. The Prince of Orange had then no rivals. He was fighting the battle of the people for freedom and independence not merely in religious but in poUtical and social matters. In this effort his lieutenants among his own order were only his brothers, a few German kinsmen, and the elite of the city rulers. He stood alone, and thus it came about that he founded what in the end developed into a dynasty. The assassination of WiUiam of Orange in 1584 was one of those felon acts when the kiUing of a leader is expected to entail the death of a cause, but which frequently produce the opposite effect by strengthening it. It was perpetrated in Delft, where the house in which the deed was done is still carefully preserved. In the neighbouring church stands the fine monument erected by the Dutch nation to their great liberator. The following description from the animated pages of the Italian author, the late Signor De Amicis, gives perhaps the most just impression we possess of the career and work of WiUiam the Silent, who acquired that sobriquet from the self-control he displayed when Henry II of France revealed to him Philip's intention to introduce the Spanish Inquisition into the Netherlands. I aUow myself to quote it^ because ^ This quotation is made with the permission of Messrs. Putnam's Sons, the publishers of the last edition of Holland and its People, by Edmondo De Amicis. William of Orange 17 I believe it to be so little known, and because it seems to harmonise with the character of this work — " The mausoleum of William the Silent is in the middle of the Church. It is a sort of small temple in black and white marble loaded with ornament and sustained by columns between which are four statues j^ A • • representing Liberty, Prudence, Justice and Religion. \A7^*^^^^ Upon the sarcophagus lies the figure of the prince in the SI t" ^^^^^ marble, and at his feet the effigy of the little ' dog that saved his life at the siege of Malines, waking him by its barkings one night in his tent when two Spaniards were creeping upon him to assassinate him. At the feet of this figure rises a fine bronze statue of Victory with outspread wings, and supported only upon the toes of the left foot, and opposite, on the other side of the little temple, another bronze statue representing William seated dressed in his armour with uncovered head, the helmet lying at his feet. A Latin inscription sets forth that the monument was raised by the States of Holland " to the eternal memory of that William of Nassau whom Philip II, scourge of Europe, feared, and never overcame or conquered but killed by atrocious guile." His sons are sepulchred beside him, and in the crypt below lie all the princes of his dynasty. ' ' In the presence of this monument the lightest and most frivolous mind feels itself constrained to stop and ponder, recalling the tremendous struggle whose hero and conqueror lies below. " On one side is Philip II, on the other William of Orange. Philip, shut up in the gloomy solitudes of the Escurial, lord of an Empire that embraced all Spain, the north and south of Italy, Belgium and Holland ; in Africa, Oran, Tunis, the Cape de Verde and Canary Islands ; in Asia, the Philippine Islands ; in America, the Antilles, Mexico, Peru ; married to the Queen of England ; nephew of the Emperor of Germany who obeyed him almost as a vassal ; sovereign, it may be said, of Europe, since his nearer neighbours are all weakened by political and religious dissensions ; having under his hand the best soldiers in Europe, the greatest captains of the time, the gold of America, the industry of Flanders, the science of Italy, an army of informers chosen from all nations, fanatically devoted to himself, the blind instruments of his will ; the most astute, the most mysterious of the princes of his time ; having on his side everything that enchains, corrupts, terrifies, and moves the world ; arms, riches, glory, genius, religion. Before this formidable being around whom all creatures prostrate themselves, rises William of Orange. " This man, without a kingdom and without an army, is more powerful than he. Like Philip, he has been a disciple of Charles V, and has learned the art of founding thrones, and the art of overturning them as well. Like Philip he is astute and impenetrable ; but he sees more clearly with the eyes of his intellect into the future. He possesses, as does his enemy, the faculty of reading the souls of men, but he has also what his enemy has not, the power of gaining their hearts. He has a good cause to sustain ; but he knows how to make use of all 2— (3390) 18 Holland of the Dutch the arts by which bad ones are supported. Philip, who spies upon and reads all men, is himself spied upon and read by him. The designs of the great King are discovered and circumvented before they are put in action ; mysterious hands search his caskets and his pockets, and mysterious eyes read his secret papers. William in Holland reads the thoughts of Philip in the Escurial ; foresees, unravels, overturns all his plots ; mines the earth under his feet, provokes and flies before him, but returns again perpetually like a phantom that he sees but cannot clutch, or clutching cannot destroy. And when at last he dies victory remains with him dead, and defeat with his living enemy. Holland is without her head, but the Spanish monarchy is shaken to its fall and never will recover. " In this prodigious struggle in which the figure of the King becomes smaller and smaller until it finally disappears, that of the Prince of Orange grows and grows, until it becomes the most glorious figure of the century. On that day when hostage with the King of France he discovered the design of Philip to establish the Inquisition in the Low Countries he consecrated himself to the defence of the liberties of his country, and never in his life did he hesitate for one moment in the path he had chosen. The advantages of noble birth, a royal fortune, the peaceful and splendid existence that he loved by nature and habit, he sacrificed all for his country ; proscribed and reduced to poverty, he constantly rejected the offers of freedom and favour that were made to him, under a thousand forms and in a thousand ways, by the enemy who hated and feared him. Surrounded by assassins, the mark for the most atrocious calumnies, accused even of cowardice before the enemy, and of the murder of his wife w^hom he adored ; looked upon sometimes with suspicion by the very people whom he was defending ; he bore all with calmness and in silence. He went about his chosen work con- fronting infinite peril with tranquil courage. Never did he flatter or bend before the people, never was he blinded by their passion ; he was their guide, their chief, their leader always ; he was the mind, the conscience and the arm of the revolution ; the beacon fire whence irradiated the heat by which his country lived. Great in audacity as in prudence he preserved his integrity in the time of perjury and perfidy ; calm in the midst of violence he kept his hands immaculate when all the courts in Europe were stained with blood. With an army gathered up here and there, with allies weak and doubtful, harassed by the internal discords of Lutheran and Calvinist, noble and burgher, magistrates and people, with no great captains under him, he had to struggle against the municipal spirit of the provinces that scoffed at his authority and slipped from under his hand, and he triumphed in a cause that seemed beyond human control. He tired out the Duke of Alva, he tired out Requescens, he tired out Don John of Austria, he tired out Alexander Farnese (Parma) ; he brought to nought the plots of foreign princes who wished to succour his country in order to subjugate it. He conquered sympathy and aid from every part of Europe, and completing one of the most splendid revolutions in history, founded a free state in spite of an Empire that was the terror of the Universe. William of Orange 19 " This man, so tremendous and great a figure before the world, was also a loving husband and father, a kind friend and affable companion, fond of gaiety and festivals, a magnificent and polished host. He was accomplished, knowing, besides the Flemish tongue, P'rench, German, Spanish, Italian, Latin, and could discourse learnedly of most things. Although surnamed William the Silent (m.ore for having kept so long the secret discovered at the French Court than because he was habitu- ally taciturn) he was one of the most eloquent men of his day. He was simple in his manners, plain in his dress, loved and was beloved by the people. " He frequently walked in the streets of the city alone and with his head uncovered, conversing with the workmen and the fishermen who offered him drink in their own cups ; he listened to their grievances, settled their differences, and entered their homes to re-establish peace in families, and they called him Father William. He was indeed the father, rather than the son of his country. The sentiments of admira- tion and gratitude that still live for him in the hearts of the Hollanders have all the intimate and tender character of filial affection ; his venerated name may still be heard in their mouths ; his greatness despoiled of every veil or ornament remains entire, clear, firm and solid, like his work." William of Orange was married four times. His first wife was Anne of Egmont, daughter of Count de Bur en and cousin of the famous Lamoral Egmont executed on Four Wives. ^^^ Grand Place of Brussels by Alva's order. By her he had one son, Philip William, and one daughter Mary. Philip was taken to Spain at an early age and educated there under the close supervision of the King. There is a story to the effect that he once threw a Spanish officer out of a window for traducing his father, but when he returned to the Netherlands after his father's death he was a strict Catholic and a supporter of Spain. He died in 1618 having married in 1606 Eleanor de Bourbon, Princess of Conde, and aunt of " the great Conde," leaving no heir. His sister Mary married Count Hohenlohe. William's second wife was Anne of Saxony, by whom he had one son, Maurice, who succeeded him as Stadtholder, and of whom we shall say more in the next chapter. There were also two daughters of this marriage, Anna, who married her cousin. Count William Louis, son of John, who returned to Germany, and Emiha, who married Prince Emanuel of Portugal. 20 Holland of the Dutch His third wife was Charlotte de Bourbon, daughter of the Duke de Montpensier, upon whom the office and title of Abbess de Jouarre had been imposed when but still a child. She escaped to Germany in 1572, and three years later married the Prince of Orange. Of this union there were six daughters. They were — (1) Louisa Juliana, married Frederick IV, Prince Palatine. (2) Ehzabeth, married Henri de la Tour, Due de Bouillon, and was the mother of the famous Marshal Turenne. (3) Catherine Belgica, married Philip, Count de Hanau, a ruling German family which became extinct in 1736, and whose possessions have been merged in Hesse. (4) Flandrina, Abbess of Ste Croix, Poitiers, who died in 1640. (5) Charlotte Brabantina, married the Due de Thouars, of the famous family of la TremoiUe. (6) Emilia Secunda, married Frederick Casimir, Count Palatine. Charlotte de Bourbon died in 1582, and in the following year William took as his fourth wife Louise de Coligny, daughter of the famous Admiral de CoHgny, de Coligny ^^^ widow of Teligny , both of whom perished in the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. By her he had one son, Frederick Henry, and one daughter, Ren^e — thus having thirteen children in all by his four wives. Ren^e, whom Motley overlooks, died in France when she was seventeen years of age. Of WiUiam of Orange's three sons, the eldest, Philip, was alienated and left no heirs, and Maurice never married. The succession was thus left with Frederick Henry, the son of Louise de Coligny, who married Emilia de Solms, daughter of Count Solms Braunfels, head of a principality in close prox- imity to the States of Hesse and Nassau. By her he had one son, William, who succeeded him as Stadtholder, being William X of Nassau, and four daughters. Of these, the eldest, Louisa Henrietta, married Frederick William, Elector William of Orange 21 of Brandenburg, ancestor of the present German Emperor. The second, Albertina Agnes, married her cousin, William Frederick of Nassau ; the third, Mary, married Louis Henry of Bavaria ; and the fourth, Henrietta Catherine, married the Count of Ostfrise, who governed East Frisia for the Kings of Hanover. With this enumeration of the family of William the Silent, it will be easier for the reader to follow the history of the Dutch royal house. CHAPTER III A BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH Although this work is not a history, some account of the pohtical events that make up the history of Holland between » *^^ ^^^^ ^^ William of Orange and the reign Assassination. ^^ Queen Wilhelmina is both appropriate and necessary. When William the Silent was got rid of by the act of a murderer the hope was indulged both at Madrid and Brussels that the separatist movement in the Northern Provinces would collapse and that the Bur- gundian possessions might again be reconciled under their liege lord. But things had happened that could not be wiped out. Between the Dutch and Spain flowed a river of blood that no bridge could span. Even if WilHam had left no successor the struggle would have gone on, and a leader would have been found outside the family of Orange-Nassau. But he left a worthy champion of his work and race in his son Maurice, who was barely eighteen years of age at the time of his father's death. The sentiment of gratitude to the father, combined with a fortunate discernment that the son would prove worthy of his ancestry, led the people of the three most Nassau. important provinces, Holland, Zeeland, and Utrecht, to proclaim on the morrow of the tragedy at Delft, Maurice their Stadtholder, and at the same time to make him High Admiral of their forces at sea. Their choice and confidence were fully vindicated within a few short years. For a time the prospect looked black for the Netherlands. Parma, the ablest of Philip's commanders, triumphed over the Belgians, and stamped out the Protestant factions which had gained temporary ascendancy in Ghent, Brussels and 22 A Brief Historical Sketch 23 Antwerp. In one point his policy differed from Alva's. Alva would have massacred his prisoners, Parma banished the Protestants, who came to England and Parma. increased her industrial prosperity. It is not at all impossible that, if Parma had been left a free hand, he might have overwhelmed Maurice in the year 1588, but by Philip's orders he kept his troops on the coast in readiness for the Armada destined to conquer England, which never reached its intended port. In the following years he was directed, as soon as spring opened the campaign, to march into France to help the League against Henry of Navarre, and thus the full force of Spanish wrath and power was for a time diverted from Holland, and in the meantime Maurice of Nassau grew up. The death of Parma himself at the end of 1592 was equivalent to a decisive victory for the Dutch, as there was no one left to take the place of the Great Captain. In the meantime Maurice had won his spurs as a leader of men by the capture by stratagem of Breda which had baffled his father. The pressure on the south being thus reUeved he turned his attention to the recovery of the northern provinces. He regained Friesland, Groningen, Overyssel, and the city of Nijmegen in 1591. Gueldres came over to him in the following year, and thus the seven provinces were once more united. They all recognised him in turn as their Stadtholder, and in this manner the Northern Provinces again formed a single state under the House of Nassau. After these events Philip of Spain ceded the Netherlands to his daughter Isabella on her marriage with her cousin, the Archduke Albert, and an attempt was made IsabelS? through Belgian delegates to induce the Dutch to follow their example and submit to the new regime which was no longer Spanish, but which in a restricted sense might be termed national. The Hollanders would have nothing to do with what they called a sham government, and so the war continued with the old bitterness, 24 Holland of the Dutch Maurice on one side with the irregular and uncertain aid of England and Queen Elizabeth ; Albert and Isabella on the other with the co-operation of Spain and the Empire of Germany ruled by Albert's brother Rudolph. The struggle with the House of Spain had been marked in its first phase by battles in the open field like Heiliger Lee, Jemmingen and Mook, - but it had long Nieuport** passed into the phase of sieges and counter- sieges. In the year 1600 Maurice resolved to give the war a new character by invading Flanders, and bringing his enemy to a pitched battle. This was the easier for him because he held possession of Ostend, which was then one of the strongest fortresses of the age. He advanced along the coast with a picked force of 15,000 men and escorted by his fleet. The Archduke marched with an almost equal force from Bruges to attack him, and when the two bodies came in sight Maurice ordered his fleet to return to Sluys, telling his men that they must conquer or perish. The result of the battle fought on the dunes at Westende near Nieuport was in his favour, but it did not greatly weaken Albert's power, and the Dutch troops returned to Sluys without having accomplished any durable results. Albert determined to obtain his revenge by the capture of Ostend, and began the attack on that place in 1601. After a seige of three years, rendered remarkable Ostend. ^y ^^^ valour of the garrison and the skill displayed by Spinola in conducting the operations against the town, Ostend made an honourable surrender. The desire for peace at last began to reveal itself on both sides, and in 1609 a twelve years' truce was concluded at Antwerp. In 1621, just as the truce came to an end, Albert died, and as he left no children the Belgian Provinces, in accordance with the deed of cession, reverted to Spain. War followed, and the Spaniards led by Spinola obtained several successes which culminated in the capture of Breda, A Brief Historical Sketch 25 Maurice had had trouble within his own dominion. His quarrel with Van Barneveldt, followed by his summary execution and the popular behef that he wished to found a despotic power, had weakened his hold on the Dutch people. The public were further alienated by the execution of one of Barneveldt's sons, accused rightly or wrongly of having plotted the assassination of Maurice, but generally believed to be more innocent than his brother, who escaped. These facts explain how when Maurice declared the country in danger on Spinola's invasion, only a feeble response was made to his appeal and he consequently found himself unable to go to the aid of Breda. The capture of Breda thirty-five years earlier had been Maurice's first exploit ; his inability to relieve it caused him such grief that he retired to The Hague and died there of a broken heart. Maurice had never married and he was succeeded by his half-brother Frederick Henry, son of Louise de Coligny. . His father, William of Orange, was essentially Henry. ^ statesman rather than a soldier, while his brother Maurice was a soldier rather than a statesman. Frederick himself, perhaps the greatest member of his House, was both. If Maurice had been the ruler of a large country he would very probably have added his name to the list of great conquerors. The merit of Frederick Henry was in attaining the utmost possible results within the limits of his resources. He was " the father of his soldiers," but he was still more famous as one of the authors of the Treaty of Munster which closed the Thirty Years' War and finally established the place of Holland in the family of nations. Up to his time the Stadtholders had only been styled Excellency ; in 1637 Richelieu addressed him as Your Highness, and all the rest of the world followed suit. Frederick Henry continued the war in which his father was engaged and with better fortune. He captured Grol in 1627 and Bois le Due two years later, but it was not 26 Holland of the Dutch until 1637 that he recovered Breda. He was the friend of RicheHeu and the ally of Gustavus Adolphus, but his tolerance was not great enough to propitiate Richelieu. the Belgians, who only required an assurance of their religious liberties to have joined the Northern Confederacy. No doubt the Dutch had lost patience with what was considered the trimming attitude of the Flemings towards Spain, and Holland came thus to regard Belgium very much as Ulster looks down on Munster. The times were not favourable to toleration, and men judged one another by hard and immovable tests. Frederick Henry died in the year of the treaty, indeed before it was signed ; and he was succeeded by his only son William, second of his name in Holland, ^" Mafria'S"*''*' who had married our King Charles I's daughter. The Dutch people made no demur to his accession and if he had lived long enough the Stadt- holdership might have been made hereditary, but he was carried off by smallpox in the year 1650 before he had ruled two years. William II left a posthumous child also named William, but he was not proclaimed Stadtholder. The Repub- lican spirit, led by Amsterdam and Utrecht, reasserted itself, and John de Witt was elected to administer the country under the style of the Grand Pensionary. This was the period of the Commonwealth in England, and it is possible that the example of the one country reacted on the other, but the real causes of the national John de Witt, defection from the House of Orange-Nassau on this occasion and subsequently were the dislike of hereditary rule and the fact that it had no tradi- tional claim on the people of the Western Provinces where feudalism had never existed. It was, therefore, quite natural that John de Witt should be the ally of Oliver Cromwell, although the friendship did not prevent wars between the two States on questions of Naval and colonial competition. The Pensionary was also at intervals the ally of France, but this o < X w H H o < O A Brief Historical Sketch 27 did not prevent the attack on the Netherlands by France and England as the sequel of the treaty effected at Dover between Louis XIV and Charles II. In fact, John de Witt was one of those idealists who proclaim the advantages of peace and who are beheved until it is broken. Very often this is accompanied by the discovery that the country is in great danger. De Witt's case was one in point. In 1672 the French army under the command of Conde and accom- panied by Louis in person, invaded HoUand. De Witt had made no preparations to meet it and so far as he was concerned the country lay open to the invader. During these years the young Prince of Orange — ^the posthumous son of WiUiam II and Henrietta Maria of „,.,,. , England — as he was called, had been growing Wilham of *> i x Orange, up, and his ambition was qmte equal to i-e., that of any of his predecessors. He had wuiiam . fQj-jQgjj a.n Orange party, and the army looked to him as their natural leader. When the Pensionary fell from his position as a popular idol, the Prince was ready to step into his place. The assassination of John and his brother, Cornelius de Witt, by the mob of The Hague was the act of an enraged and alarmed people, but it cleared the way for WiUiam, the third of his name to rule the country since the severance from Spain, and also destined by a curious coincidence to be the third of his name as EngHsh King. When the French armies reached the neighbourhood of Amsterdam in 1672 William resorted to the supreme measure of Dutch defence by cutting the dykes and ^Dykes. ^ flooding the country. To show the temper of the people, it may be mentioned that at the same time ships were collected to convey the inhabitants to a new home in America if the waters failed to hold back the enemy. The latter course was not necessary as the dykes did their work, and Louis with his two great Marshals beat a retreat. William followed up his success and the scene 28 Holland of the Dutch of hostilities was transferred from Holland to Belgium. He also succeeded in arousing German apprehension at the growth of French power, and he concluded the first Grand Alliance with the Emperor and other German princes. But although his energy and fortitude had saved his country he could not gain battles in the open field. He was signally defeated by Cond6 at Seneffe (11th August, 1674), although the veteran's compliment that " The Prince of Orange con- ducted himself in every way like an old general except in exposing himself like a young soldier," somewhat lightened the sting of defeat. Nor were the following campaigns more fortunate, but he succeeded in keeping the scene of war outside Dutch territory, and when the Treaty of Nijmegen restored peace in 1678 Holland had lost nothing, while she recovered the privileges and possessions she had gained by the Treaty of Munster. But the Treaty of Nijmegen left the great problem of the Spanish Succession unaffected, and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes — one of the colossal blunders Augsburg. ° of France — ^stirred up religious antipathies again. William became the centre of the anti-French movement which led to the league of Augsburg. At this juncture Charles H died, and William's other Enghsh uncle succeeded as James II. He was in sympathy with the religious policy of the French King, and it was clear that he would not join the Leaguers. The defection of England was a serious blow to William's schemes and the desire to avert it was the main cause of his interference in Enghsh politics. His wife, Mary, being James's eldest daughter, he came forward as the champion of the Protestant Succession, and succeeded in ousting his uncle and father-in-law from the throne. The story forms part of English history and must not detain us. After William had consolidated his position in the United Kingdom he sent an English army^ to the Netherlands and the Anglo-Dutch fleets co-operated. But William's military success was not greater than it had been in A Brief Historical Sketch 29 the earlier wars. He was defeated at Steinkerk and Landen, but, on the other hand, his defence was well planned, and he kept the French out of Holland. In N^theriands. ^^^^ the King of France felt compelled to conclude the Peace of Ryswyck, which recognised William as Kiiig of Great Britain and Ireland. But although William had succeeded in so much and among other things in making his Dutch subjects more amenable to his authority than they had Dtes Out? ^^^^ ^^ ^^y ^^ ^^ predecessors, he had one great disappointment. He had no children, and the male line of William of Orange expired with him. During his last years he attempted to continue the succession in the Nassau family by making his cousin, Count John WiUiam of Frisia, his heir. This personage was descended in the male line from John of Nassau, brother of William the Silent, and his grandmother was the daughter of Frederick Henry and William's own aunt. But when William died in 1702 his will was ignored on the plea that he had no power to dis- pose of the government of the country, and Holland reverted to the Republican form of rule, which it retained for the space of forty-five years. There was another consequence of the death of William. Louis XIV declared that the Nassau family was extinct and that the fief of Orange was escheated. PrincipaHty^ He occupied the little principality, which then disappeared from the map. Its nominal independence was more or less of a fiction. The French repeatedly occupied it during the wars and sometimes pillaged it. In 1662 they razed the fortress which Maurice had been allowed, as the ally of France, to construct there against Germany. But although the principality was lost the House of Nassau in HoUand has always clung tenaciously to the title of Prince of Orange, and the colour has always been claimed as its distinctive badge. 30 Holland of the Dutch After William III then, the Stadtholdership being abolished, the government was again carried on by a Grand Pensionary who might be styled a sort of delegate for Heinsius. the States-General. Anthony Heinsius, a great jurist and diplomatist, who hated the French as much as William himself, was elected to the office, and it was with him that Marlborough carried on the business of the alUes during the long struggle of the Spanish succession. The great general found negotiations at The Hague extremely slow and difficult, and it has been alleged rightly or wrongly that many of his best laid plans went awry on that account. But Heinsius was not without some of the gifts of a states- man and when the war ended he secured for his country highly advantageous terms under the Barrier Treaty. By its provisions Namur and Tournai received Dutch garrisons, an army of 15,000 men was paid out of the Belgian provinces, and the Scheldt was closed to external commerce. From Belgium Holland received an annual subsidy of 1,250,000 florins. Heinsius died in 1720, but even before his death the old sectarian and political differences, so evident under De Witt, began to reveal themselves. Holland, secure Friesland. against the external enemy, began to suffer from domestic feuds which sapped her strength. The union among the Provinces grew enfeebled, and only one retained the form of Stadtholder government. Friesland alone among the Provinces had continued to regard Count John William as its legal Stadtholder. In 1718 when Heinsius was growing old Groningen followed suit and in 1722 Gelder- land also proclaimed the Hoase of Orange. The most thickly inhabited parts of the State, including the centres of trade, retained the Republican form of government, and so for another quarter of a century there were two administrative systems existing side by side in the country. They might have con- tinued for a much longer period than they did but for some foreign complications which entailed a serious diminution of A Brief Historical Sketch 31 national power and the loss of some of the advantages that had been gained during the long wars with Louis XIV. The Treaty of Utrecht gave Belgium or the South Nether- lands to Austria, but the Treaty of the Barrier, which was a kind of codicil to it, installed Dutch garrisons The Barrier • • i tj. j. Treaty. ^^ various places. It was not a very pro- mising arrangement and soon the Emperor chafed at it. In the war of the Austrian Succession Holland, like England, stood by Austria, and the Treaty of Aix-la- Ghapelle left the position undisturbed, but in the Seven Years' War the roles were reversed. England sided with Prussia and Holland remained neutral. These international comphcations had assisted the return to power of the Orange- Nassau family. The States-General without a head found themselves ill-equipped to cope with the diplomatic changes going on in Europe, and their losses in the earher war at the hands of the French Marshal Maurice de Saxe, who captured both Maestricht and Bois le Due, had rendered them less confident of their own super-excellence. Under these changed conditions the Count of East Frisia, Stadtholder of the three Northern Provinces, obtained his chance. He was a principal party to the Aix-U-^apelle. negotiations at Aix-la-Chapelle, and closely connected as he was with the House of Brunswick, he had less difficulty in recovering for Holland all she had lost. The revival of the privileges of the Barrier Treaty secured the revival in his favour of the suspended Stadtholdership, and in 1747 after an interval of forty-five years he was proclaimed at Amsterdam and The Hague as William IV. He did not enjoy the position long for he died in 1751 , leaving the succession to his young son, William V, on whose behalf a regency was formed under his mother and the Duke of Brunswick. The reign of William V was not at all fortunate. It was marked by an unfortunate and unsuccessful war with England, and by the repudiation of the Barrier Treaty by the Emperor 32 Holland of the Dutch Joseph II. The Dutch garrisons were withdrawn from Belgium, and beyond doubt a sensible decUne in the European status of Holland became perceptible at this *th?"**^^f epoch. There was a corresponding decline in Belgium. ^^^ influence of the Stadtholder in Holland itself, and when the French invaded the country in 1795 the populace of the great cities rose in rebellion and proclaimed their own Republic. Wilham V, with his family, more fortunate than the French Bourbons, escaped to England in a fishing smack from Scheveningen, and made it his chief place of residence until his death, which occurred at Brunswick in 1806. ?>1 The French government recognised the Batavian Republic — Holland's new name — as a friend and ally, and for ten years it was governed by the States-General. Republic!^" During that period the Dutch suffered many losses, some temporary and others permanent. Their fleet was practically destroyed at Camperdown and the Texel by the English, and many of their colonies — ^the Cape and Ceylon being the most important — ^were occupied by this country. On the other hand, for the seventeen or eighteen years of French military ascendancy on the continent Holland enjoyed internal peace and immunity from war. But events soon showed that she was not mistress in her own house. The establishment of his Empire rendered relations with a Republic disagreeable to Napoleon, and in 1805 he abolished that of Bat a via, recognising in its place the King^LouFs. ^' o^^er Dutch form of Dictatorship under a Grand Pensionary. Schimmelpenninck, an able man who had gained a reputation for moderation among the republicans, was raised to the post, and during the fifteen months that he held it he gained deserved praise. But even a Dictatorship or Consulate did not suit Napoleon's views or requirements, and in 1806 he made his brother, the very unwilling Louis, King of Holland. But Louis, far from prov- ing himself an autocrat, was most desirous of propitiating A Brief Historical Sketch 33 the Dutch and gained amongst them the sobriquet of " the gentle King Louis." This did not accord with the Emperor's views, and in 1810, on his brother's abdication, he annexed Holland to France. This closing phase of French intervention in Holland proved brief, for the Empire had reached its apogee. In November, 1813, as part of the European uprising against Napoleon, a revolution broke out in Holland, and the French were expelled the country. In their emotion the Dutch again bethought them of their national dynasty, and sent an invitation to the Prince of Orange to return from England to head their efforts to expel the foreigner. The invitation was promptly accepted and a fortnight after the first out- break at The Hague the Prince, accompanied by his son, who had served on Wellington's staff in the Peninsula, landed at Scheveningen. After other projects had been considered, the Congress of Vienna decided to unite Holland and Belgium as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Prince of Orange Union of became its first sovereign as Wilham I, Holland and . . . .-, ^- ^t, x-.i Belgium. ^^^ ^^^ assuming at the same time the title of Prince of Orange. The Union of Holland and Belgium was officially proclaimed at Amsterdam and Brussels on 24th February, 1815, and the recognition of King William was made in the same places on the following 17th March, as the first sovereign of the Netherlands. Then followed the Hundred Days and the Waterloo Campaign, in which the young Prince of Orange greatly distinguished himself. During fifteen years Holland and Belgium occupied a place on the map of Europe as a single kingdom, but in August, 1830, the Belgians revolted, and the Revolution, result was that the two countries separated and spht into independent kingdoms. De- spite the split, the Dutch government has continued the use of the style of kingdom of the Netherlands. WiUiam I 3— (2390) 34 Holland of the Dutch reigned throughout the whole of this troubled period, but on its close he abdicated in 1840, and his son, the Waterloo hero, succeeded as William II. His reign proved short, for he died in 1849, and was in turn succeeded by his son WiUiam who reigned until 1890 as the third of his name. William III was twice married, but his children by his first wife having predeceased him, his only daughter by his second wife, Emma of Waldeck Pyrmont, ascended the throne, and is her present reigning Majesty Queen Wilhelmina. The Queen was born in 1880, and married in 1901 Prince Henry of Mecklenburg (Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands), by whom she has one daughter, the Princess Juliana. The following genealogical table shows wihT^" , Her Majesty's descent in the female line Descent. from William the Silent and Louise de Coligny, and in the male line from William's brother, John of Nassau. H.R.H. PRINXE HEXDRIK OF THE NETHERLANDS ^ £ o ^0, O CO (^ 'Si 5 a2 O H i-i O Q d o Q T3 S3 O ^^ .-^ N <— < w en ffia O V4 :3plH o i-i 4) X3 tato d "3 M (u d > 9 -a S.t: S 4) to d o d o 9) c3 L^ (U rd ■CO ffl •-' d d W) S ■Mm 3 go ^ 73 d J5 "So d d S "" ^ ^— »_d S o^ :3 a jQ d d o to 3 o d d u pq O Oi-I d s o O d* o o .5 to O d W (0 o •> 0) •r' ri .3 W3tJ «« > .S >> ^S (U o V P^ d 4) 'to to fe o d Si ^ d OS CO CO o Q 1 1 1) to CO 6 to d 'u d d <1 O i Ph O 1 t5 .2 to to 3 1 P4 d O ^ § ^ 'S .2 § > 0) -t-> o c3 2 d o tg a o o "a" -4-> 'u d o to Henry F lliam IV) 1 .5 — to - 03 a O ct3 d a r;3 1 'C - 1 O d biO d d < l-H l-H h-4 1 a o |5 a .2 a .2 a a s 5 s=' .9 s ^ ^ ffi o g ^ ^ ^ ^ CHAPTER IV THE DUTCH CONSTITUTION Holland (meaning of course the Countdom) owed its first constitution to Mary of Burgundy. This was *' The Great Privilege " which added civic rights to the PrivUegef'^' ^^^ feudal law and opened civil courts, as opposed to clerical, for the laity. The privileges co-existed with the feudal dependence on the House of Burgundy and eventually on the Empire (to which Spain succeeded on the abdication of Charles V), but in 1582 the Dutch declared themselves free and independent of any and all authority, and the feudal tie originating in the days of the Carlovingians was broken for all time. The Constitution of 1582 left supreme power in the hands of the commonwealth or people. The Stadtholder was governor for life, but could not transmit his Stadtholder. authority to a successor. Moreover all his acts and decisions had to be ratified and accepted by the States-General. He had no control over the finances or the justice of the country. He could not declare war ; he could not make peace or an alliance. His authority was in every particular subordinate to and overshadowed by that of the parliament designated the States. If limitations were imposed on William the Silent at the height of his fame, it can easily be imagined that they were held more binding on his successors. The subsequent internal disputes may be largely explained on one side by the tenacity with which the Dutch people clung to their position as the dispensers of authority, and on the other by the resolution displayed by able rulers like Maurice, Frederick Henry, and William III to shake off the dependence which qualified their sovereign rights. The extreme measures that marked 36 The Dutch Constitution 37 the course of the struggle were illustrated by De Witt's Perpetual Edict abolishing the Stadtholdership, by its repeal a few years later, and by the successive depositions and restora- tions of princes of the House of Orange-Nassau as already described. But the Constitution of 1582 remained in other respects unchanged down to the French Revolution. The eighteen years during which Holland was attached to France led to many changes and additions, and it was found that the simple and concise constitution of « 7^^ ^ t the sixteenth century was no longer adequate Fundamental . ., ,... , ^' ,- e La^^ for the conditions and complications of modern life. It was not, however, till the expulsion of the French that the Dutch got a chance of amend- ing their constitution, and at the same time adapting it to the requirements of an hereditary monarchy. For the Dutch people had at last decided not merely to welcome back the House of Orange-Nassau, but to vest the sovereignty of their country in its hands as a hereditary possession. It was, therefore, necessary to draft a new constitution, and the ministers and jurists were busily employed during the winter of 1813-4 in drawing up what was called " The fundamental law of the United Provinces." The need of a new constitution was rendered all the greater when it was ascertained during the progress of drafting it that it would have to apply, not to Holland ^^^of the^^"^ alone, but to the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Netherlands represented by Belgium as well as Holland. The first article enumerates the seventeen provinces for the kingdom, but after the severance of the two States in 1830-1 this clause died a natural death and ceased to possess any force. The consti- tution contained 234 articles, divided under eleven heads. Most of these are still in full vigour, and form the existing law of Holland. The second heading, under which are grouped sixty-five articles, comprehends the law of succession vested in Prince 38 Holland of the Dutch William Frederick of Orange-Nassau {i.e., King William I) and his heirs of both sexes, the revenues of the Crown, the procedure during a minority, the case of Succession. regency, the King's inauguration {i.e., Corona- tion), the Royal Prerogative, and the State Council. Most of these clauses remain intact, and indeed the only notable change has been with regard to the annual sum allowed the Sovereign from the public revenue. William I received 2,400,000 florins (£200,000) a year; whereas Queen Wilhelmina gets only 800,000 florins (or £66,666) a year. The succession was to pass in the first place through the male line from WiUiam I, but females took their place in each generation after their brothers, or if there was no brother as the heir apparent. In other words, the daughter of the reigning sovereign preceded her father's brother. A pro- vision was also made that if William's descendants died out the inheritance should pass to the descendants of his great aunt, the Princess Caroline of Orange, who had married the Prince of Nassau-Weilbourg. Finally, provision was made for the case of " special events rendering necessary a change in the order of succession to the kingdom," when the King had the right " to propose a suitable successor to the States- General." If the King died without heir or appointed successor, then the States-General have the reserved power to select the person they deem most suitable to fill the throne. It must be noted that the succession law could not be apphed to the Province of Luxemburg, a fief of the German Empire, where the Salic law was in force. Duchy. ^^^ *^^^ ^^^ confirmed by the London Convention in 1867 proclaiming the neutrality of the Grand Duchy. When William III died in 1890, the Grand Duchy passed to his cousin Adolphus, Duke of Nassau, who in turn was succeeded in 1906 by his only son, William. On the latter's death in 1912 this branch of the Nassaus became extinct in the male line, and by a provision The Dutch Constitution 39 of the old Nassau Family Law of 1782, ratified by the Luxem- burg Chamber prior to the Grand Duke's death, the succession passed to the last Grand Duke's daughter, the Princess Marie, who is now reigning Duchess. The new Constitution of the Netherlands of 1814 made the Sovereign the Head of the army and navy, and gave him the direction of external affairs. He was the Constitutk)n ^ source of honour, and had the right to bestow titles. He sanctioned bills before they could be placed before the Legislature, and he could veto its proposals. All these privileges have been modified by subsequent enact- ments and the States-General have acquired a freer hand in deahng with legislation. The new law of 21st of December, 1861, transferred many of the functions under the Constitution of 1814 from the Sove- reign to a New Council of State, of which the of State.^* Sovereign was to be President and the Heir Apparent a member on reaching the age of eighteen. It numbered besides a Vice-President and fourteen members. The supreme governing power may be said to he with this State Council. The legislature consists of the States General or " Staten Generaal." They are divided into two chambers. The first or Eerste Kamer is the Senate, sometimes loosely called the Chambre des Seigneurs, or House of Lords. The The States- General. second, or Tweede Kamer, is the Chamber of Deputies. The Chambers sit in the Binnenhof at The Hague, where they open their session on the third Tuesday of September in each year. The session begins with the taking of an oath, not to the Sovereign, but to the constitution and political probity. Members have some, but not many, privileges ; among others they cannot be held responsible in the courts of law for their speeches in the Chamber. On the other hand no act of the House has any legal force unless half the members are present. The Sovereign 40 Holland of the Dutch retains one right of great importance as a check on hasty and prejudiced legislation. He can dissolve the Chambers of his own initiative. The Senate is composed of fifty members elected by the Provincial States, and returned for the period of nine years, with the qualification that one-third of the The Senate, number must retire every three years for re- election. Members of the Senate must be over thirty years of age and of course Dutch citizens. They are paid eight florins a day for attendance during the session and receive an indemnity for their travelling expenses if they reside out of The Hague. The Senate has no power of initiat- ing Legislation. It criticises, controls and corrects that of the Lower House. In the 1814 Constitution, members of the Senate were chosen for life by the King ; but this was changed to the present system in 1847. The Provincial States are ^ Stetes?^^ delegates chosen in each Province by the three orders into which the people are divided, (1) the noble or knightly order, (2) the citizens of the towns, and (3) the country or agricultural population. The oath taken by the Provincial Representative on his election gives an idea of the dominating sentiment in Dutch political life. It reads — " I promise to observe the Fundamental Law of the King- dom without deviating from it in any way or under any pretext whatever, to conform with the regulations of the Province, and to do everything within my power to increase its prosperity." The Second Chamber contains one hundred members, and exists for periods of four years, a general dissolution excepted. Half the members have to retire Chamber! ^^^ re-election at the end of two years. Here again it is a condition of eligibility that members must not be under thirty years of age. A deputy receives an annual allowance of 2,000 florins, or £166. This The Dutch Constitution 41 Chamber is the active partner in the legislature. All legisla- tion originates with it, and it has the right besides to depute two delegates to argue the case for any of its measures before the Senate. Down to 1897 the suffrage was restricted, but since that year the great majority of the people have possessed votes. The qualification for a vote is employment The Suffrage, or the capacity of earning. As an illustration, bargemen by virtue of their craft enjoy the franchise. But any hmitation at all is resented by the Sociahst leaders who are now agitating for Universal Suffrage pure and simple. Formerly there were only two Parties in the State, Liberals and Conservatives. Now there are four, viz.. Liberals, Catholics, Anti- Revolutionary Party, and Socialists. The Catholics and Anti-Revolutionaries worked together for some time and formed the Union Party, called by their opponents " The monstrous CoaUtion." At the last election the Anti- Revolutionaries lost many seats, and their influence in the country waned very much. The Administration has of late years comprehended members of all parties, and has been of the nature of a coahtion, but at the present time the predominant influence in it is Catholic. Dr. Abraham Kuyper, the veteran leader of the Anti-Revolutionaries who held office for six years from 1901 to 1906, has now retired from pohtical Ufe. The Dutch Chamber does not possess the absolute control over the national finance that the House of Commons has . acquired in England. This is felt to be Finance. ^^^ ^^^ grave a charge for men whose financial knowledge and other qualifica- tions have to be taken on trust. In Holland it is fully understood that the gentlemen who gain the votes of the electors may be very poor arithmeticians and ignorant of the principles of sound finance. They are consequently never allowed to feel the temptation of carrying out their 42 Holland of the Dutch own theories and upsetting the fiscal system at their pleasure or through party prejudice, for this subject is withdrawn from their purview. There is a Minister of Finance, but he has to arrange his budget not to please the Chamber but to satisfy the require- ments and principles of a special body of Comptes. ^^ experts entitled the Cour des Comptes. This Court or permanent Commission is composed of seven members elected for life. It is true that the Chamber prepares a list of eligibles as candidates for appointment to the Court from time to time, but the selec- tion and appointment are made by the Sovereign alone. This moderating and revising body provides a barrier against revolutionary and subversive legislation striking at the root of national union and prosperity. It is an institution worthy of imitation. The Dutch Cabinet consisted of eight portfolios or great Departments down to the present year, but henceforth there will be only seven. The eight Departments The Cabinet. Were : Foreign Affairs, Justice, Interior, Finance, Army, Navy, Colonies, and Water- staat Industry and Commerce combined. The Army and Navy have now been merged in a single Department which is to be called that of National Defence, making a grand total of seven. The history of the Dutch constitution may be divided into three stages. The first stage was that when the Stadtholder was the nominee of the States-General, Mona^ch^. '^^^^ ^^^ ^i**^^ independent authority— so little indeed that for considerable periods he was even dispensed with altogether. This state of things continued to the French Revolution, after which the Dutch got such a surfeit of republicanism that when the French regime came to an end the country adopted for the first time monarchical institutions, and the House of Orange-Nassau was restored with privileges and powers it had never enjoyed The Dutch Constitution 43 previously. William I of the United Kingdom of the Nether- lands was to all intents and purposes an absolute sovereign. Among his privileges were the nomination of the Upper House, a veto on all legislation, control of foreign poHcy, and the command of the army and navy. The third stage was marked by the curtailment of the personal power conferred on the King in 1814-5 by the legis- lative changes of 1847 and 1861. These Changes." changes made the Sovereign's authority less personal, and created a State Council as a buffer between the Crown and the Chambers. Although sociahsm has its followers, there is no reason to think that the bulk of the Dutch people are not perfectly satisfied with their political institutions as they exist. The demand for Universal Suffrage pure and simple, that is to say, every man over twenty-one years of age to possess a vote, has lately made itself heard, and no doubt it is a principle sure to be adopted sooner or later. It is the more likely to be adopted in Holland because the system practically exists there already, but when it comes it will be difiicult not to couple with it the concession of the franchise to women as well. Things move slowly in Holland and for the very reason that one problem cannot be settled without the other, Dutch pohticians are not hkely to be in a great hurry to alter the existing system. There is no need to attach any grave significance to the demand for Universal Suffrage in Holland because in the first place it would change very httle in the electoral body. In Belgium the position is quite different on account of the existence of the plural vote. In the second place, the problem of woman suffrage has not yet been taken into serious con- sideration in Holland, and in a country where everything is done by ancient custom and precedent great reluctance is manifested in grappling with the grave sex problem of the twentieth century. It is put as far as possible on one side. A fresh law has just been passed, during the session of 1913, 44 Holland of the Dutch which introduces some slight changes into the legislative system. The first Chamber obtains the right to introduce amendments, and members of the second Chamber are to receive 3,000 florins a year instead of 2,000. The duration of the second chamber is prolonged from four to five years. The Queen is to receive 100,000 florins a year more, making a total of 900,000 florins or £75,000. H.M. QUEEN EMMA CHAPTER V THE COURT AND SOCIETY The Dutch Court, reflecting the life of the people, has never been what would be termed^a gay one, and simplicity is its main characteristic. Although Holland has The Hague, no proclaimed capital. The Hague ('s Graven- hage or simply Den Haag) has always been the seat of the Court, and there two palaces have co-existed since the reign of WilUam III, if not further back, as the residences of the sovereign. One, the Royal Palace in the Noordeinde, is still in occupation ; the other, known as the Huis ten Bosch (the house in the wood), is only used now for official purposes. For instance, the first meetings of the Peace Conference were held there, and pending the completion of the Palace of Peace, The Hague Arbitration Court still holds its meetings in this building. The Royal Palace is a low building of no great architectural effect, but^it contains some fine rooms, and is described by those who know it as a very comfortable residence. This palace was built by William HI of England and the Nether- lands for his wife, Mary Stuart, afterwards Queen of England. Behind it are extensive gardens, and in the square in front of it is the mounted statue of William the Silent. He faces the Palace, and watches, as it were, over the destinies of his dynasty. It is said that the reigning Queen found the warning gesture of her great ancestor a stimulus in her efforts to learn how to carry on the Orange tradition, as she regarded it, during the days of her childhood from the drawing-room windows of the Palace. There is a second statue at The Hague of William the Silent, on foot, in the centre of De Plein. The Court season at The Hague begins in October and ends 45 46 Holland of the Dutch at the commencement of June. During that period the Queen principally occupies herself with public matters, and regularly attends the Councils of State. If for any The Court. reason Her Majesty cannot attend, the Council is adjourned, for she is its President. For prominent ministers, officers, and public men to be invited to dinner or luncheon in the intimacy of the Royal Family is, of course, of common occurrence ; but there are only two State banquets during the season, and Court balls, although sometimes talked about, have still to be introduced. In June the Court moves to Amsterdam, where it is con- sidered indispensable that it should remain ten days. Banquets are given almost every night and for a week Annual Visit to ,1 >-v t. u x- x i Amsterdam. ^^^ Queen holds an open reception of her people. Every subject is entitled to pass through the Grand Saloon of the Palace du Dam — ^reputed to be the largest room in Europe — ^before the Sovereign, and most of them insist on shaking hands. It is said that Queen Wilhelmina thoroughly enjoys the ordeal, and probably her great popularity may be partly attributed to the evident pleasure she displays in coming into close touch with her subjects. At The Hague the barriers of a Court are not more easily passed than elsewhere ; at Amsterdam Court trammels are laid aside and the Sovereign comes down from the Throne, as it were, to participate in a popular manifestation. There is one fact in connection with the visit to Amsterdam which is interesting enough to call for mention. It costs the Sovereign nothing, for while it lasts he or she is the guest of the City. The Amsterdam visit brings the Dutch season to an end, and the Court then passes on to Het Loo, the Royal country residence, where it remains until recalled to Het Loo. The Hague at the end of September for the opening of the Parliamentary session. Het Loo (the Wood) is situated near Apeldoorn, in Gueldres, not very far from the eastern shore of the Zuyder Zee. The The Court and Society 47 castle is surrounded by a deer park and woods, and the shooting is first rate. It was the favourite residence of William I of the Netherlands and his grandson, the late King William III, and forms part of the Queen's large private patrimony. Before Queen Wilhelmina's marriage the coverts were overstocked ; but Prince Henry is a great sportsman and the battues at Het Loo have in his time become famous. It was in the year 1898 that the Queen Emma's regency ended and that Queen WiUielmina was inaugurated as Sove- reign of the Netherlands at Amsterdam and wihT^" , The Hague. Three years later her marriage Accession. ^^th Prince Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, raised a fresh outburst of loyalty, and although the Prince, now generally called Hendrik, was not very popular at first, he has quite lived down this indifference on the part of the public, and since the wreck of the Berlin steamer at the Hook, on which occasion he displayed great courage and resource, he has been quite a popular hero. The birth of the Princess Juliana in 1909 also assured the continuance of the dynasty in the direct Line. The Princess Juliana, named after her ancestress Juliana Juliana. ^^ Stolberg, William the Silent's mother, is blessed with particularly good health and high spirits, and has the credit of being the Ufe of the Court. Certainly the little Princess, or " Royal girl," as she is called by the people, takes an evident pleasure in the ceremonies in which she is allowed to figure, and many stories are told of her pretty pertness. Perhaps space may be made for one of them. A Dutch general with a particularly nice head of curly hair, attracted her attention and admiration one day, while visiting the Palace. When the time for leave-taking came the little Princess called out, " Good-bye, Curly Head ! " The Queen corrected her by saying, "Oh, you should not say that ; say, ' Good-bye, General.' " With some difficulty the Princess 48 Holland of the Dutch was induced to say with a little pout, " Good-bye, General," but as he got into his carriage to drive away she ran forward to the door shouting as loudly as a child's voice allows : " Good-bye, General ! Good-bye, Curly Head ! " and clapping her hands in childish glee. The Princess Juliana is still the only child of the marriage, and the heir to the throne. There is a third palace at The Hague, situated in that part of the Lange Voorhout which looks down the long avenue. Here is the residence of Queen Emma, the Queen Emma, widow of William HI, who acted so ably as Regent during her daughter's minority. Queen Emma is very much respected in Holland and of late years her principal attention has been devoted to the promotion of charitable works. A special fund named after Her Majesty, " Konigen Emma-fonds," fills the place of our Hospital Sunday cc '^ ':tion, and on New Year's Day and other public holidays cc actions are made in the streets by young ladies wearing white badges. It is hardly necessary to mention that Queen Emma is the sister of the Duchess of Albany. Mention has been made of the House in the Wood at The Hague, but interesting as is the House itself, it is the wood which is still more worthy of attention. This The Wood. is virgin forest handed down from a remote past. It may have been there in the time of the Romans ; it was certainly there six centuries ago when Jacqueline of Bavaria, Countess of Holland, hunted in the forest. This wood, which is beautifully kept, measures at least three miles in circumference, and is the favourite resort of The Hague citizens on Sundays, especially in the summer. There are Chinese kiosks, tea-houses, band-stands, and finally the House, with its beautiful rooms and their ornate decoration, just as it was constructed two hundred and seventy years ago to the order of Amelia de Solms, widow of the great Stadtholder, Frederick Henry, whose memory she thus honoured. H.R.H. PRINCESS JULIANA The Court and Society 49 Society at The Hague is made up of the noble class, very limited in numbers, the official world, the army, retired officials, a few literary and scientific men, and SocSty. *^^ diplomatic corps. The aristocratic quarter lies near the Palace on the western side of the great lake called the Vijver. Here the Limburg-Stirums, the Van Heeckerens, the Van Zuylens, the Bentincks, and the Melvils, have their family houses handed down for at least two centuries. They are not very pretentious mansions, but they are far more spacious than might be imagined at a first glance from outside. The life of this society follows very closely on the lines of the Court. It is familiar and very intimate, rather than one of parade and ostentation. Dinners and small receptions are quite frequent, but balls are rare, and " crushes " are wholly unknown. It may be noted as a general rule that, except in the southern provinces of Limburg and Nord Brabant, dancing is not in fashion or favour with the Dutch. The presence of the corps diplomatique and the visit of foreign- ers of all kinds who are attracted to the capital on different errands give to life in The Hague a cosmopolitan character, which is not to be found in any other Dutch city. This is the more remarkable because the commercial influence which is the most leavening of all is entirely absent. Club life is also a notable phase in The Hague social relations. There are several leading clubs, some reserved to the members, others more hospitable open Clubs. their doors to strangers. Among the largest and most influential are, in the first place, the Besogne Societeit, the most exclusive, and, in the second place, the Witte Societeit (the White Club). The latter has a fine building on the open square known as De Plein, and another house in the Wood which is only open during the summer months. Clubs in Holland are essentially meet- ing-places for gossip and more serious talk and discussion. The coffee hour, as it is called, seems to go on all day, and 4~(a39o) 50 Holland of the Dutch there is no such thing in Holland as hurry and rush. This is not more evident among the leisured classes of The Hague than at the Raad or weekly meetings of the notables in the smaller towns or gemeente. There is always ample time and to spare for a talk, or if there is no one to talk to, for a cup of coffee, followed by its corrective in a glass of water, and for a smoke. There is another room in the Dutch club which is very much in request. This is the reading-room which combines, with an excellent library, a very comprehensive and con- stantly replenished supply of the principal periodicals of Europe and America. Here silence is obligatory. The only sound to reach the ear is the distant hum from the Conversations Zaal. Dinners are served in the clubs, but it is unusual for the head of a family to absent himself from dinner in his own house. This, the most important repast of Dinners. the day, is taken between five and six, and, as luncheon is not a heavy meal, as in Belgium and France, but rather of the nature of a snack, it is always made up of several courses. In fact, the Dutchman dines well, and as a rule he takes claret of good quality with his dinner. Bordeaux is the favourite wine in Holland, just as Burgundy is in Belgium. In Amsterdam and Rotterdam society is largely composed of the commercial class, and consequently a great many more meals are taken in restaurants than at The Arnhem. Hague, where life is chiefly passed en famille. In towns like Arnhem and Nijmegen, on the other hand, fashion follows the example of The Hague. Rich planters from Java, retired officials from the Indies, who have put by a nest egg or two, wealthy Amsterdam shipowners who prefer the air of the hills of Gueldres to the smells of the Amstel, congregate in these two pleasant cities, where exten- sive and attractive modern suburbs radiate from the older portions of the historic towns. Of the two, Arnhem, with The Court and Society 51 its beautiful park of Sonsbeck, and its fine avenue to Velp, is the more attractive, and perhaps its claim to be considered the most charming place of residence in Holland cannot be disputed. In the neighbourhood, too, are many fine country seats, and the views from the hills overlooking the Rhine are fine and extensive. The Dutch are hospitably incHned. They will not merely invite their foreign friends to formal dinner-parties, but they will take them home with them for pot-luck Hospitality without any regular preparation or even a word of warning to their wives. The explana- tion of this readiness to bring a friend into the family circle unannounced — which is in striking contrast ^mh the practice in Belgium and France, where madame would never forgive her husband such an indiscretion — ^is no doubt the simple fact that a dinner in Holland is always cls good as the status and circumstances of the host will allow. It is never a scratch meal, and therefore a visitor is not regarded as an intruder, for he finds the Dutch family at its best. In this respect, and it is very far indeed from being the only point of close resem- blance between the two countries, Holland and England are very much alike. In Holland hfe both at the Court and in society is simple, and foUows the old customs. It is free from the rush of plutocratic competitors to fill the front rows and monopoHse attention. A man finds his place naturally by his own merit, his family claims, or the appreciation of his friends. A different world from ours — perhaps similar to the one know^n to our grandfathers — flourishes, passes its daily round and is happy under the grey Bat avian skies which are so near akin to our own. In the company of Dutch gentlemen and ladies one easily forgets that they are not EngUsh — only they are EngUsh of the Victorian age. CHAPTER VI RIVERS AND CANALS Water plays the largest part in the life of Holland, and has exercised the greatest influence of all extraneous circumstances in the moulding of Dutch character. The The Main country was won from the sea, and it has to Consideration , -^ , , . . m •, in Holland. ^^ preserved by constant vigilance and energy from the same enemy. The rivers and canals are the main arteries of national life, but they, too, have to be kept under control and in good order lest from a blessing they become a scourge. From year's end to year's end the uppermost thought in the mind of every Dutchman turns and revolves round the efficacy of the system of national defence against the arch-enemy, who in this case is not the ambitious human neighbour, but the dark mysterious ocean ever knocking at the gates of the sea dyke and trying and testing the hidden joints of the sunken barrier. " God gave the sea but we made the shore," is the Nether- lander's proudest boast, but to make it good requires a cease- less effort. Water is the care of a great special department called the Wat erst aat, and water figures more prominently than any other element in the folk-lore of the people. Where we say that we try " to keep our heads above water," the Dutchman puts it, " you must keep the water out," and the phrase reveals his mental as well as physical horizon. Dutch history in the past and in the present consists mainly in the accompHshment of that achievement. Napoleon called Holland the alluvion of French rivers ; if for the territorial adjective were substituted the specific names of the Scheldt, the Meuse, and the Rhine, the description would be true. The several courses of those rivers are augmented by further channels either created or improved 52 Rivers and Canals 53 by human agency, such as the Waal, the Leek, and the two Yssels. The Yssel of'Gueldres is generally attributed to Drusus, the Leek to Civilis, and there are Channels. several claimants to the distinction of having linked the Rhine and the Meuse through the Waal. Of these the Waal and the Leek carry the bulk of the Rhine traffic to Rotterdam and the North Sea, Next to the rivers come the canals, which are of two kinds. One for ocean-going traffic, the other for internal traffic, which is either of home utility, or for the transport o7 Canals.^ of goods from Holland to Belgium, Germany, and France, and vice versa. The bulk of this traffic is with Germany by the Rhine, and it has been said that that country receives half its foreign food supplies through Rotterdam. Proportionally when it is remembered that Germany has at least eight times the population of Belgium, the traffic with the latter country by the Meuse and the canals is quite as great. The two principal sea-canals are those constructed for the benefit of Amsterdam, which lies on the southern shore of the unnavigable (for large steamers) gulf known Canals. ^^ ^^^ Zuyder Zee. These canals are called respectively the North Canal and the North Sea Canal. The former connects Amsterdam with the Helder, opposite the island of Texel, and the latter provides a direct route from the commercial capital to the North Sea at Ymuiden. When it was discovered after the great Peace, a hundred years ago, that commerce would be carried in ships too large for navigating the Zuyder Zee, the merchants Canal. ^^ Amsterdam were confronted with the prospect of finding themselves cut off from the outer world. To obviate this calamity. King William I sanctioned and encouraged the construction of the North Canal, which commences at Tolhuis (the Toll House), opposite Amsterdam, and traverses North Holland from south to north. 54 Holland of the Dutch At Tolhuis is the great lock called Willemsslius, and at Wormerveer the canal takes a western bend to utilise the old lake of Alkmaar, whence the canal may be traced due north- wards to the Helder, the head station of the Dutch fleet, sometimes called the Northern Gibraltar. Alkmaar is also connected by water with Zaandam through the Marker Vaart canal and the Zaan stream. The construction of this canal was commenced in 1819, and completed in 1825. It was the work of a well-known engineer named Blanken, and cost eight million florins (or £666,666). Its breadth varies from 40 to 45 yards, and it has a uniform depth of 20 feet. Its surface is throughout below the level of the sea, at some places as much as 10 feet. The total length of the canal is 75 kilometres, or nearly 47 miles. But after thirty years had passed it was found that the North Canal did not suffice for the requirements of one of the greatest ports in the world. It was ^ Canal. decided to pierce a new canal of larger dimen- sions through the narrow isthmus west of Amsterdam, where the girth of Holland is smallest [Holland op zyn smalst). The new canal is called the North Sea Canal, and has a length of 25 kilometres (or 15| miles) from Amster- dam to the sea at Ymuiden. The breadth of the canal ranges from 65 to 110 yards, and its depth from 23 to 26 feet. The works were commenced in 1865 and completed in 1876, and the total cost amounted to thirty-five million florins, or a little under three millions sterling. The entrance to the canal from the sea is protected by three powerful locks, and two piers projecting over 1,500 yards out to sea guard the approach and afford a further barrier against siltmg and corrosion. Powerful dredgers are also more or less continuously at work to keep the navigable channel clear. Two lighthouses stand at the extremities of the piers. The cost of the undertaking was borne by the city of Amsterdam and the State, but the sale of the reclaimed and reduced the burden by about ten miUion florins. Rivers and Canals 55 Remarkable as the North Sea Canal was at the time of its construction, and confident as people were in 1876 that a depth of 26 feet would suffice for the requirements of the largest ships indefinitely, the development of large steamers has falsified these anticipations, and the North Sea Canal requires deepening and widening. A scheme was accordingly drawn up and approved, and work was commenced in 1911. It is estimated that in seven years' time and at a cost of about £1,100,000, the canal will be deepened to a depth of 14 metres or 46 feet, which is considerably lower than the Kiel Canal. A new lock at Ymuiden forms one of the most striking features of the undertaking. The canal is protected not only on the side of the sea, but also at its eastern extremity against the sands that are constantly shifting from the Zuyder Zee. At Schellingwonde, which is a few miles east of Tolhuis, the river Y. has been closed by a formidable dyke nearly a mile across from bank to bank. Half-way across are five locks in direct rectilinear succession, which allow of communication between the Y. and the Zuyder Zee without risk to the clear way in the canal. These locks are among the most remarkable in exist- ence, and are frequently visited as one of the most striking testimonies to Dutch engineering enterprise and skill. These are the two principal sea-canals in Holland. There is a third of minor importance in the Reitdiep, which gives access to Groningen from the Lauwer Zee. Other Sea Canals. ^^^ canalisation of the different waterways between the islands forming the Zeeland archipelago comes under the same head. Among the more important may be named the South Beveland Canal, which connects as it were the western and eastern arms of the Scheldt ; the Keete Canal separating the islands of Tholen and Duiveland ; the Dordsche Kil and the Noord channels of the Meuse forming the approaches to Dordrecht and Rotterdam from the south. These canals are flanked by very high embankments which completely cut off all view of the 56 Holland of the Dutch surrounding country. They are the ramparts as it were of the islands of Walcheren and Beveland, which without them would be flooded periodically and finally submerged. This fate actually befell much of the latter of these two islands where the description " verdronken land " indicates the sites swept over by great inundations in the past. The larger number of Dutch canals, however, are not sea or salt-water canals. They owe their origin to two different motives or sets of circumstances. They were Canals!^ made first of all to control and turn into distinct channels the great volume of water coming from the overflow of the rivers Rhine and Meuse. The accumulation of canals at Amsterdam where there are six lines of water circumvallation, one ring within the other, is a striking instance of the way in which the flood waters have been regulated and made amenable to human direction. But the bulk of them were constructed from the motive of providing the country with the cheapest form of transport. In much of Holland roads could only have been laid down with great difficulty and at much cost, and they would have left the great problem of dealing with an excess of water untouched and unsolved. The Dutch realised that canals accomplished the double purpose of providing routes and diminishing the volume of water that had to be dealt with. In this respect they were only following the example of Flan- ders, where canals had been in existence from the eleventh century. The most important of these canals — the arteries of Dutch activity — are those called the South William, the Orange, the Dieren, the Drenthe, and the Terneuzen. William °Canal. ^^^ ^^^ ^^ these is the longest and most important. It was constructed with the idea of saving the great bend of the Meuse by providing a direct route from Bois le Due to Maestricht. It connects with the Noorden Canal near Weert, and through it effects a junction with the canal de la Campine, in Belgium. The last-named Rivers and Canals 57 canal is more correctly designated that of the Scheldt-Meuse, and reaches the Meuse at Maestricht. The eastern branch of the William Canal reaches the Meuse at Roermond. The Orange and the Drenthe Canals connect with the Reitdiep and the Yssel, thus giving Groningen direct com- munication by water with the Rhine. The Dieren Canal connects that place with Apeldoorn and Zwolle. The Terneuzen Canal flows between the Scheldt and Ghent, half of it being in Belgian and the other in Dutch territory. The canal is less than 30 miles in length, Terneuzen. and the tonnage conveyed over it exceeds 1,500,000 tons annually. Terneuzen is in Dutch Flanders, rather nearer Flushing than Antwerp. Canals and rivers, so far as goods traffic is concerned, play a more important part in the internal communications of Holland than railways, and it is only of late years that the development of railways across North Brabant has aroused public attention to the fact that speed and regularity in transmission are more than an equivalent for cheapness of freight. But hitherto no effort has been made to accelerate the barge service. On the canals the barges are still drawn by horses or their crew. On the Rhine and the Electric Power, ^^^^e tugs are frequently employed, and the larger barges with a capacity of between 1,000 and 1,500 tons employ sails. But electricity as a motive power has not yet been introduced, although several projects are afoot to accelerate the canal service generally. A more important project relates to the canalisation of the Meuse above Venlo. This is a very old question, and the delay in dealing with it led in the past to of *the ^Meuse. considerable recrimination between the Dutch and the Belgians. The Dutch alleged that the Belgians were holding back because they feared that the exports from Li^ge would be diverted from Antwerp to Rotterdam ; while the Belgians attributed the delay to the 58 Holland of the Dutch proverbial slowness of the Dutch. The efforts of a joint Dutch-Belgian Commission to promote a common under- standing seem now to have been successful, and before long the work may be taken in hand to provide a channel navigable for steamers of 2,000 or 3,000 tons burden between Venlo, Maestricht, and Liege. When this has been accomplished the minerals of Li6ge and Limburg will find a cheaper and more expeditious outlet to the foreign market than they possess at present. This description of Dutch canals would be incomplete without some account of the large population which makes its permanent home upon them. Estimates Population, place this population at anything between 50,000 and 100,000 persons, and it must be understood that these people actually reside in their boats and barges, and have no habitation on shore. As a rule, the bargee owns his own tjalk or trekschuyt (the latter carrying passengers as well as goods), and the stem with an elevated poop is fitted up as a residence. It is brightly painted, and, in imitation of the typical Dutch cottage, has two or more windows with shutters in glowing colours. The brass work reveals " the rage and fury of cleanliness," which counts as a Dutch virtue. Finally, to complete the resemblance, plants and the semblance of a garden flank the tiller. This is the home of the bargee and his family. It is generally on the move, and it is only laid up for any length of time when the ice floes in the Meuse and the Rhine block navigation. Accord- ing to the census of 1909, 12,059 barges were returned as houses or residences,which would give a population of 50,000 at least. The canal population stands apart from the rest of the community and lives its own Hfe. After many generations it has become a close guild recruited from GuiW inside. The barge is regarded as a family possession just as much as if it were a farm or a shop. It is the source of livelihood to those connected with it, and when the young generation grow up their ambition < ■ A Rivers and Canals 59 is to acquire a barge of their own. The life of the canal population has been sketched in the following words : ** The children are born and grow up on the water ; the boat carries all their small belongings, their domestic affections, their past, their present, and their future. They labour and save, and after many years they buy a larger boat, selling the old one to a family poorer than themselves or handing it over to the eldest son, who in his turn instals his wife taken from another boat, and seen for the first time in a chance meeting on the canal." The following statistics will give the reader a fair idea of the magnitude of the traffic on the rivers and canals — Boats Proceeding beyond the Frontier by River. Number. Tonnage (in cubic metres). 64,245 27,262,000 Boats Arriving from Foreign Countries by River. Number. Tonnage (in cubic metres). 73,475 29,289,000 The bulk of this traffic is on the Rhine, which is checked first at Lobith on reaching Dutch territory, and subsequently at Arnhem for the smaller portion proceeding by the lower course of the Rhine in preference to the Waal. About five-eighths of this river traffic is under the Dutch flag ; the remainder being divided between Germany, Belgium, and France, the names being written in the order of the magnitude of their participation. The figures of the canals give a truer indication of the magnitude of the traffic by barges and of the number of persons concerned therewith. Here are some instances — Boats. Tonnage (cubic metres) Voorne Canal 5,110 336.000 Walcheren Canal 13,706 1.997,000 South Beveland Canal 58.822 13,617.000 Merwede Canal 62.036 6.503.000 Dieze Canal . . 29,081 4.145.000 Of course, " boats " in the statistics signffies the voyage 60 Holland of the Dutch or passage of a boat. The total number of barges is not definitely ascertained, but must approximate to 50,000 (of which one-fourth are houses or residences) under the Dutch flag alone, and it is computed that they spend about eight months of the year in active work. The latest statistics as to the number of persons connected with them point to a total of 80,000, of whom probably not more than 50,000 live, as already stated, on the boats. Unfortunately, the official statistics are not absolutely clear on these points. CHAPTER VII LAW AND JUSTICE The Code Napoleon embodies the law of Holland, and justice is dispensed in accordance with its clear and simple provisions. The Courts of Justice are, in their order, the The Courts. High Court at The Hague (Hooge Raad), the Appeal Courts (Gerechtshoven) , the Arron- dissement Courts (Rechthanken) , and the Cantonal Courts (Kantongerechten) . Trial by jury in our sense does not exist. The board or conclave of judges takes its place. All justice is dispensed by trained judges, who must have obtained the degree of Doctor of Laws at one of the Universities. The Dutch hold firmly to the belief that to administer the law properly, it is necessary to be a master of the law ; in other words, a trained lawyer and jurist. For this reason the erratic decisions of emotional or ignorant juries are unknown, and opportunities for a plausible and eloquent advocate to work upon the feelings of the Court never occur. In Holland the law court is rather a dull place for the audience, and much of its work is done in what might be called the judge's private room and without reporters. The High Court is composed of a President, a Vice-President, and a number of councillors, generally fourteen, who form the board of trained consultants which discharge Court; ^^^ duties of our jury. Like all the courts in HoUand, it has its criminal and its civil side, no special courts or assizes being appointed or held for the former. The High Court, which sits only at The Hague, is the Revising Court, or Cour de Cassation, for the whole kingdom. It passes in review for final approval and ratification all the sentences and judgments passed or made by the courts below it^ 61 62 Holland of the Dutch with the few exceptions for minor ofiences which are dealt with summarily by the Cantonal Courts, as will be explained later on. Unlike om" Courts of Appeal, the Cour dc Cassation under the Code Napolion works automatically. No sentence can be carried out or judgment enforced until the High Court has reviewed and approved it. In criminal matters the High Court is moved by either the Minister of Justice or the accused. The retmns for 1910 show 46 cases standing over from the previous year, and 698 new ones submitted during the year. Of these 74 sen- tences were reveised, and 635 confu'med leaving 35 over for the year 1911. The Appeal Courts in criminal matters have to try cases that come up to them from the lower courts, or that are sent back to them by the Hidi Court Courts Taking the facts relating to their work in the same order as for the High Com't, 168 cases were brought forward, 1,218 new ones came into the Hst, and judgments were given m 1,210, leaving 176 cases to be carried forward. A large proportion of sentences were quashed, 681 persons being released as against 711 condemned. There are five Appeal Courts (Gerechishoven) , each composed of a President and Vice-President, with twelve councillors, and of course the Registrar and clerks (greffiers), who keep the Court records. The Rechthanken or Trihunaux d' Arrondissenumt are really the Courts of First Instance, and number twenty-three in all. They try cases for the firet time, and they are Courto^ also a sort of Appeal Comt for the Cantonal Courts. In the former capacity 23,182 persons were brought before them, and of that number 1,674 were acquitted, 17 sent to lunatic asylums, 324 placed under Stale control, and 20,471 received sentence — the balance being implicated in unreached cases. On the appellate side 889 cases were put in the list, of which 58 were ciuried forward. Here a large proportion of the Law and Justice 63 judgments from the lower Courts were quashed, 653 decrees being reversed as against 264 upheld. The statistics sUghtly vary, because in the former instance they refer to the number of cases, and in the latter to the number of persons interested or implicated in them. We now come to the Kantongerechten, presided over by Juges de Canton, who may be compared to our Police Court Magistrates. They possess a power of sum- Courts*°'^ mary jurisdiction in trivial cases, which is the only instance of the absence of the right of appeal in Holland. In 1910 156,714 cases were brought before the Courts, and out of that number 72,822 were not of a character to allow of appeal, that is to say, the penalty was a fine of less than 25 florins, or the equivalent term of imprisonment for non- payment. As only 500 voluntarily paid off their fines, it may be assumed that the great majority of Dutch prisoners prefer a term in prison to parting with their money. The proportion of acquitted to sentenced is very small, only 5,603, as compared to 160,461. Nearly half these cases relate to what are considered trivial matters in Holland, e.g., damage to property, poaching, petty assaults, and disorderly conduct. A few months' imprisonment represent a heavy sentence, and a Juge de Canton will never think of imposing a longer term than twelve months. The Criminal Courts are extremely indulgent m Holland. Capital punishment was abolished in 1861, and the tradition of the law is to be as lenient and indulgent Sentences. ^^ possible to all offenders. As this gentleness, far from diminishing crime, has only resulted in increasing it and encouraging the law-breaker, some hard- headed men, able to look facts in the face without heeding the hydra-headed monster called Public Opinion, have formed a party which openly calls for the restoration of capital punish- ment. But, although it is not likely to succeed in its main effort, it may encourage Dutch magistrates to show some 64 Holland of the Dutch courage in increasing their sentences and imposing adequate punishment on criminals. Although the Dutch are a northern people, inhabiting a temperate clime, they are as much addicted to the use of the knife as the Italian or Spaniard. Knifing is the most common offence in Holland. When two men quarrel over their cups in the drinking shops they settle it with their knives ; when two men hustle each other in the street out come their knives, and during the kermis men sometimes run amuk and stab whom they meet. In all such cases even where there is a fatal result, the offender is treated with the greatest leniency. Only last year a sergeant of the Colonial Army (Indische leger) ran amuk at Nijmegen, and drawing his bayonet stabbed several people, one of whom died. He received a sentence of three months' imprisonment. Offences against property, and especially breaches of trust, are more severely punished than attacks on the person, and with regard to them alone may it be said that Offences a^i"st ^j^^ punishment seems in fair proportion to the offence. In close connection with the working of the criminal law is the subject of the prisons (gevangeniswezen). These are of four kinds, in addition to labour colonies, Prisons. schools of correction, and probational training schools. There are special prisons, ordinary prisons, lock-ups for each arrondissement, and smaller lock-ups for the Cantonal Courts. There are only three special prisons with a total capacity of accommodating 441 prisoners. There are few life and long-term sentences. There are twenty-five ordinary prisons, which serve for short-term sentences and for periods of detention. These together can put up 2,250 prisoners. Each arrondissement has its own lock-up, so there are twenty-three of them. They can accommodate about 2,000 persons. The four main lock-ups are no more than police cells, capable of putting up only 46 persons. n THE LAXD HOUSE AT DELFT Law and Justice 65 The labour colonies — ^five in number — can provide for 4,278 people ; the schools of correction for 264 ; and the training schools for 732. The total Colonies^etc. accommodation provided for prisoners and probationers reaches a total of 10,000 persons. Bearing this total capacity in mind, it is interesting to note that the total inmates on 31st Dec, 1909, was only a Httle over 7,000, divided as follows — Men. Women. Special Prisons 244 12 Ordinary Prisons 1,977 75 Lock-ups, arrondissements . 1.074 37 Lock-ups, small 23 Labour Colonies 2.797 70 Schools of Correction 199 27 Training Schools 616 57 6.930 278^ 7.208 In these figures are included nearly 700 cases of persons detained in the lock-ups pending trial. Prisoners are kept at di:fferent kinds of work, and, as far as possible, tasks of a remunerative chaxacter are chosen. A portion of the sum thus earned is retained for the benefit of the prisoners on release, and the sum given is apportioned to the needs and prospects of the individual case. One of the most gratifying features in Dutch hfe is the comparative rareness of female crime — females charged being only 5 per cent, of males, and of prisoners only 3 per cent. As has been said, the tendency of Dutch law and opinion is to make the sentence as Httle severe as possible. The judge has the right to grant a delay in the Respite? serving of a sentence, that is to say, avec sursis. It is one of the merits of the Code Napoleon. When the sentenced person can show that the immediate serving of the sentence would be especially hard and injurious on him he is allowed a respite which may cover a period of several months. It is very rarely indeed that 3— (3390) 66 Holland of the Dutch this kind of parole is broken, but it is indicative of the simple- ness of Dutch Hfe that such an arrangement should be possible. There are crimes in Holland as in every country, but the professional criminal hardly exists at all. A few words may now be said about civil actions, which are tried by the Courts already enumerated. The High Court revises the judgments of the lower Courts, but in civil matters also considers cases referred to it from the Colonies. It also tries cases of high treason, Actions. pirs^cy, and acts of war against a friendly Power, but instances under these heads are so rare that this function of the High Court is almost forgotten. Its work in 1910 related to 137 cases in all — 50 brought forward and 87 additions to the list. Of these 95 were dealt with, leaving 42 for the 1911 session. Of these judgments 8 were annulled, 19 sent down for re-trial, 63 confirmed, 1 declared outside the Court's jurisdiction, and 4 withdrawn. The greatest number of cases come before the Arrondisse- ment and Canton Courts, the latter corresponding for them to our County Courts. These relate mostly to small debts and legacies. A large number of these cases are settled out of court, as we should say, only the cantonal judges sign the settlements. There were 79,015 such cases in 1910, and among the others were as many as 12,699 not admitting of appeal because the amount at issue was less than twenty-five florins. There is another characteristic legal tribunal in Holland, the like of which is not to be found elsewhere. This is a Consultation Bureau, which is found attached ^ ^Burelu^*'*^" ^^ ^^.ch provincial Court. The poor Htigant can obtain from it not merely gratuitous legal advice, but also practical help, for if there is a genuine case an advocate is appointed to plead for the party before the proper Court, that is to say, either of the Canton or the Arron- dissement. In criminal cases also the judge will never allow a prisoner to be tried without legal defence. Law and Justice 67 The code of honour is very high at the Dutch Bar. There exists in every town, where there is a Court, a society or club of all barristers resident in the locality. A ^Bar" ^ committee is dispensed with because all are members on an equal footing, and the oldest barrister present takes the chair when the business seems to require a president. Any member can bring cases of unpro- fessional conduct before the society, and if it were found that such had been committed of sufficient gravity, the offender would be dismissed from the society and forbidden to appear in any Court. Instances of its being necessary to proceed to this length are rare, but gentle reprimands and exhortations to uphold the strict etiquette and honour of the Bar are common, and thus it may be said that Dutch barristers stimulate one another. As Holland is a great commercial country, it is not surprising to find that failures are rather numerous and that fraudulent bankruptcy is not unknown. In 1909 1,788 persons, 7 firms, 18 limited companies, and 13 unlimited companies failed for a total indebtedness of 19,862,000 florins. Di\'idends seem to have been recovered for 3,549,000, leaving a net loss of 16,313,000 florins. Of these cases, nine were pronounced fraudulent bankruptcy. Imprisonment for debt is enforced under special circumstances ; first of all for fraud, and, secondly, if there is any reason to think that the debtor may abscond. A considerable number of persons are detained in the lock-ups until the exact cir- cumstances of their failure to pay has been ascertained. These cases relate generall}^ to small sums, chiefly for taxes and fines. CHAPTER VIII EDUCATION The system of education in Holland is very simple and practical. Primary education is compulsory between the ages of seven and thirteen, but its application SclioSZ ^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ possible to voluntary private agencies, and it is only where these are lacking that the State steps in to combine with the local authorities (i.e., Provincial and Communal) in providing public ones. In the last twenty years the numbers in the private schools have increased far more rapidly than in the public schools — Public Schools. Private Schools. Year. Boys. Girls. Boys. Girls. 1910 313,000 249.824 150,347 190,971 1890 251,114 203,812 83.331 104.721 In 1910, therefore, 463,347 boys and 440,795 girls were receiving primary education in HoUand, making together a grand total of 904,142. Of that total nearly 95 per cent, were regular attendants. A very elaborate table, prepared each year, shows the maximiun number of attendances that the scholars of all the primary schools might have attained, and the total of absences divided into the two categories " with permission " and " without permission." This table shows the very remarkable results of 5*24 per cent, of absences with permission, and only '83 without permission, or 6'07 per cent, together. In the Roman Catholic schools the ratio was still lower, being only 4*23, and in the Jewish lowest of all, or no more than 3*66 per cent. Of these totals 119,629 boys and 95,287 girls in the public schools, and 25,374 boys and 37,502 girls in the private schools, were receiving their education free. The number of primary schools was in 1910, the year to 68 Education 69 which all these statistics apply, 3,289 public schools and 2,016 private. Of the latter, 1,889 claimed and received a subvention from the State under Article 59 Scholars. ^^ *^^ Education law. As they receive no assistance from local funds, they are not amenable to the communal authorities. Instruction was imparted in these schools by a staff totalling (in 1909) 29,298 persons. It is divided into three grades Teaching for both sexes, viz., head teachers, assistant Staff. teachers, and student assistants. The numbers of each class were as follows — Head Teachers. Assistant Teachers. Student Assistants Males . . Females . . 4,675 598 11,422 9,378 1,336 1,889 These figures give the high average of one teacher for thirty scholars. The State expenditure on primary education in 1909 amounted to 21,073,000 florins (or £1,756,083 approx- imately). This sum is subdivided into grants s4te.° to communes, grants to private schools, training schools for teachers, pensions for teachers, and cost of examinations. AU examinations, whether in public or private schools, are conducted under the supervision of Government Inspectors. There are three Inspector-Generals, twenty-five District Inspectors, and ninety-four Sub-district Inspectors. The first two grades are paid regular salaries, viz., £350 and £235 per annum (circa) respectively ; while the last only receive their travelling and personal expenses. Two of the special features of the Dutch system of primary education (and primary education everywhere represents that to which the bulk of a nation can alone be subjected) are the training of the teaching staff and the frequency of the testing examinations. 70 Holland of the Dutch In the first place, no one can teach in Holland without having passed a Government examination adapted to the grade he or she fills in the educational service ^ Staff! *"^ ^^ ^^^ country. This appUes to the private teacher as well as to those in State employ. A fresh examination has to be passed prior to promotion from one grade to another, and these examinations are not made too easy. The principle of examining those entrusted with the instruction of the young is so rigorously applied that even foreigners imported for the piu*pose of teaching their own language have first to satisfy a board of Dutch examiners as to their capacity to teach their own tongue. In 1909 the State expended 1,562,791 florins in normal schools or other training courses for teachers, and the communes devoted 208,892 florins to the same purpose. The second merit of the system is the closeness of the inspection which takes place twice a year, accompanied by examinations which aim principally at ascer- Examinations. Gaining whether the pupils are making satis- factory progress in their promotion from one class to another. While it is ostensibly an examination of the pupils, it is also indirectly a testing of the masters, and as the inspection is made at irregular intervals owing to the numerous engagements of the inspectors, the staff is kept on the tenterhooks of anxiety until the ordeal is over. In addition to the State examination, communes have the right at any time to institute an inquiry of their own, accompanied, of course, by an examination of schools receiving their support. Some writers have said, " There is a fury of cleanliness in Holland." In the matter of education the rage is one for examinations. The new educational system, which dates no further back than 1900, has done much to put an end to the illiteracy which existed so widely in Holland before its introduction. There are no returns to show the state of the case for the whole community, but returns are available for three classes Education 71 of men : first, the annual contingent of young men of 19-20 for the Army; secondly, scholars admitted to regimental schools ; and, thirdly, prisoners. The Illiteracy. following table shows the difference in the percentage of illiterates in each category for 1900 and 1910— Regimental Contingent. Schools. Prisoners. lO 2-3. 22-3 15-9 10 23-7 10-9 The curious increase of illiteracy among the entrants to regimental schools is to be explained by the fact that those who " read and write badly " are now classed among illit- erates. The return may, however, show that a good many of those who leave the primary schools at the age of thirteen have forgotten what they learnt there by the time their military obligations commence seven years later. The subjects taught in the lower classes of the primary schools are the three R's, but in the two higher forms — the majority of these schools are divided into Taught. ^^^^ forms — ^geography, history, and an optional subject, which may be either botany or drawing, are added. Geography, history, and especially national history, are simplified by chromolithographs and drawings which cover the walls not only of the class-rooms but of the corridors as well. The subjects illustrated are generally of a patriotic order. The blackboard is in frequent use for purposes of illustration. Drawing is in special favour with pupils, as well as teachers, and the greatest facilities are placed in the way of the development of latent artistic talent. Music, so far as chorus singing implies such knowledge, is part of the curriculum, and in the girls' schools sewing is taught. A simple gymnasium is attached to each school, and the boys are drilled sufficiently to be able to march in order. But at thirteen boys and girls alike end their schooling, and 72 Holland of the Dutch enter upon the serious business of life. If they have attained the final grade and pass an outgoing examination to the Inspector's satisfaction, they are allowed to leave at twelve. This, of course, applies to those (the great majority) who have no intention or chance of proceeding to the secondary schools. The salary of the headmaster of a communal school is small. From the State he receives no more than 700 florins. to which the commune adds a further sum of Salaries. (generally speaking) 500 florins, making together about £100 a year. He is also pro- vided with a free house which, whenever possible, must have a garden attached to it. A small deduction of 2 per cent, is made from the salary by the State, which in return gua- rantees a pension, after the age of sixty-five, or on retirement earlier through ill-health, ranging from two-fifths to two-thirds of the salary. We now come to the question of secondary or intermediate education {middelbaar onderwijs). The schools under this system are of several categories. There are Educati^. Lower Schools, Industrial Schools, Drawing Schools, and Professional Schools. In 1909 they numbered altogether 362 schools, with an attendance of 33,969 and a teaching staff of 2,804. The average total of scholars per school is, therefore, about ninety, and for each teacher there are twelve pupils. Too much stress must not be laid upon this proportion because there is a teacher for every subject, and some give only one, or at the most two, lessons or lectures a week. The lower schools are chiefly evening schools, at which the education of the primary schools is carried on some stages further. In them the course of instruction School? ^^ guided by the trade or profession which the scholar either intends to follow or has already begun to practise. There are forty-eight schools of this character with a nominal total of 8,163 in attendance. Education 73 Here the teaching staff consists of 118 permanently attached teachers and 564 occasional or special teachers. The course is an obligatory one for three years, and there is an entrance and also a passing out examination. The average number of failures at the former is 27 per cent., and at the latter 22 per cent. The instruction at these schools includes one or more foreign languages, book-keeping, and advanced drawing. There are also classes for science and music. Industrial and Drawing Schools are grouped together, and in the same building will be found separate rooms or halls assigned to drawing, painting, art embroidery, Education. carpentry, and smith's work. They are technical schools, in which instruction is imparted under the most competent staff on the basis of a three years* apprenticeship. Nowadays no one in HoUand can dream of getting employment as a carpenter, or a smith, or a cabinet-maker, or upholsterer, who has not passed through his course creditably at one of these Teeken-en-Industriescholen. There are 222 such schools, with an attendance of 14,081 and a teaching staff of 1,101. In 1900 there were only 82 schools, 8,653 pupils, and 474 instructors. The great increase has been on the technical side, and these schools are undoubtedly doing the best training work in HoUand to-day. In the last place, among the secondary schools, come the professional schools. These are divided into two grades, Lower and Upper. The latter are called Ambachtsscholen for boys, and Industriescholen voor meisjes {i.e., for girls). Of the former there are 64 schools, with an attendance of 6,435, and a teaching staff of 626 ; and of the latter 26 schools, with 5,290 pupils, and 395 teachers. Professional schools mean what the word implies, only the basis of instruction in the lower grade is entirely non-classical. Several modern languages, algebra, natural science, and botany form the principal items in the curriculum. 74 Holland of the Dutch In the upper grade professional schools {Hoogere Burger- scholen) a classical, as well as modern, side is to be found, and the complete course is one of five years. S^chool?^ The Burger schools are the nearest approach to the English grammar school. There are only 81 of them altogether, with 10,663 boys and 1,298 masters. There are similar schools for girls, 15 in all, with an attendance of 1,646, and a teaching staff of 196 lady teachers and 42 men. But 2,347 girls attended the boys' Burger schools in mixed classes. The average ratio of failures to pass the entrance examination is for boys 16 per cent., and for girls 10 per cent. A very large proportion fail and leave at the end of the first year, and at the final passing out examination the proportion of failures is 15 per cent. We come now to Higher Education, under which heading are grouped the Technical Academy, the four Universities, the medical course, and the gymnasia. To take Edu?ation. ^^® ^^^^ named first. These are the most important schools in Holland, where young men are trained before going to the Universities or entering the prescribed Governmental course of instruction and examination for the liberal professions. In 1909 there were 30 gymnasia all receiving pupils of both sexes. The number attending was 2,250 young men and 603 young ladies. In 1895 it was 2,495 young men and only 100 young ladies, and these figures give a not unfaithful idea of the growth of higher female education. The number of professors attending in 1909 was 456. The Gymnasia are the nearest approach to the English Public School. Admission begins at twelve years of age, and the course is for six years. Instruction is Gymnasia. given in both the classics and foreign languages (French, English, and German), and all the subjects are compulsory. Many critics declare that too many subjects are taught, and that in consequence the knowledge of foreign languages in particular is not at all deep or thorough. H H Education 75 The Technical Academy contained 1,198 male and 57 female students on the roster. They are classed according to the branch of the public service or the profession they intend to enter. They are chiefly engineers (subdivided into six different categories) and architects. There is a stiff entrance examination, and the course is one of three years. The Universities are the four historic ones of Leyden, Utrecht, Groningen, and Amsterdam, and the Free University at Amsterdam. Leyden was founded in Universities. ^^7^' Groningen in 1624, Utrecht in 1636. Amsterdam (previously the Illustrious Ath- enaeum) in 1875, and the Free in 1880. All the Universities have five Faculties, viz., theology, law, medicine, science, physics and mathematics combined, and letters. Students of both sexes are received at all except the Free, which is a small institution with only 160 theological students on its register. The numbers inscribed at the four others were, in their numerical order — Males. Females Leyden Amsterdam Utrecht Groningen . . . 1,116 . 1,096 . 1,063 510 152 190 185 134 Free University (Calvinist) 3,785 160 661 3,945 Giving a grand total of 4,606 of both sexes undergoing University training. It is rather difficult to classify the favourite courses at each University, but theology has most followers at Utrecht and the Free University, law at Leyden, medicine at Amsterdam, science at Amsterdam and Utrecht, and letters at Groningen. The degrees conferred by all the Universities are those of Bachelor and Doctor, and several examinations — those for 76 Holland of the Dutch Candidature, Promotion, and Doctorandus — have to be undergone during the course. The Universities cost the State a net sum of 2,701,100 florins, and the Communes contribute 301,000 florins, so that Holland pays £250,000 for providing the Expenditure, elite of her citizens with University education. The Gymnasia cost the State 373,000 florins and the Communes 439,000 florins, or 812,000 together. The charge of the Technical Academy, viz., 905,000 florins, is borne by the State alone. Secondary education in all its forms costs the State 2,338,000, the Provinces 257,000, and the Communes 2,158,000 florins, or 4,753,000 florins together. Thus the total expen- diture on education of all kinds in Holland by the State, the Provinces, and the Communes was, in 1909, 40,297,000 florins, or about £3,358,000. Among other educational establishments in Holland may be mentioned the State School of Agriculture at Wageningen. Since 1905 it has been divided into three Agricultm-e. departments : Higher School of Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry, School of Agri- culture, and the Lower School. There were 243 students in the two former sections in 1909, and the institution is growing in importance and popularity. After the course at Wageningen, the student of forestry can attend the State courses on the Van Sweeten properties, where woods are developed and tended on scientific principles. Very important schools of a different character are those of navigation. There are eleven in all, with 857 students and 101 professors. Diplomas are granted for the different grades in the merchant service, and without them no one can be employed even as captain of a fishing smack. Finally, a word may be said about the physically incapa- citated. There are three deaf and dumb schools at Gronin- gen, Rotterdam, and St. Michielsgistel, and one school for the blind at Amsterdam. Education 77 Enough has been said to show that the educational system of Holland is as well organised and equipped as any in the world. The development of the technical schools in the last four or five years is quite remarkable, and primary education will probably show more definite or rather durable results in another generation. The system of hoUdays is rather curious in Holland. The period of the vacation is fixed by law at ten weeks, but no specific date is named for it. This is left to the discretion of the headmaster, who is only enjoined to select the period when the services of the boys and girls may be most useful to their parents. This is not unnaturally assumed to be during the time of harvest, and the ten weeks' vacation is generally taken as a whole. From the end of July, then, until the beginning of October all the schools in Holland are closed. There are no holiday tasks, and it may be imagined that during this lengthy absence much learnt in the preceding months has been forgotten by the time the schools re-open. Perhaps this is a defect in the Dutch system, affecting primary education more particularly, but as it suits the convenience of both masters and parents, the arrangement is not likely to be altered. Primary schools exist in Holland solely for the purpose of imparting instruction, and thus removing the reproach of illiteracy against the mass of the nation. System.^^" In the higher-grade schools the object is to prepare the scholars for the examinations which are the indispensable conditions of employment and entrance to the professions. Life at the Universities is on the same lines. The main object of education in Holland is cut and dried as the acquisition of book-learning. Formation of character is not yet thought of, because school has no hold on the mind of the scholars as a place of association. The Dutch boy does not feel any pride in the particular school he attended, and this is more or less true of the Universities as well. As there are no colleges, students reside either at home 78 Holland of the Dutch or in apartments, if their homes are away from the University town they attend. The worst that can be said against the Dutch system of higher education is that it is strictly utiHtarian. It is not hkely to produce an Erasmus or a Grotius, but for the work- aday needs of a modern nation it will serve as well as any other. CHAPTER IX THE DUTCH ARMY When the great part taken by the Dutch Army in the wars of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is remembered, it cannot be denied that it no longer plays Wars ^^^ same prominent role in Europe. In those days the Dutch claimed to ha\e as big a voice as any other country in shaping the map of our Con- tinent ; now they will be weU satisfied if the Army suffices to preserve their hard-won independence. For a long period it was held that this independence was not in danger, and therefore the Army was neglected, with the result that it sank in numbers and in that efficiency for modem war which can only be acquired by a generous and sustained expenditure. Quite recently Dutch opinion became ahve to the fact that its armed forces were unequal to the task of defending the bulk of the country at all, or the most favoured part of it, that behind the Water Line defences, for more than a few months. Thereupon there was a demand for reforms, and it proved sufficiently strong to secure for the Government popular support in introducing measures which considerably increased the numerical strength of the regular Army and substituted for the antiquated and useless Schut- terij an efficient landwehr which in this case may be described as a useful territorial force. The organisation of the Dutch Army rests primarily on the law of 1861, which was modified in 1898 and in 1901, and finally altered in a radical sense by the new The law of 1861 provided that the Army was to be raised partly by conscription and partly by voluntary enlistment. Every man became Hable to conscription on attaining the age of nineteen, but as the right of purchasing a 79 80 Holland of the Dutch substitute continued in force until 1898 all persons in easy circumstances escaped military service by the payment of a fixed sum. Besides, everything was done to make the service as light as possible. The nominal period of five years was reduced in practice to one of a year with the colours, followed by four annual periods of six weeks' training each. The annual contingent was fixed at the very low total of 11,000 men each year. On this basis it was not difiicult to keep up a peace effective of 2,000 officers and 26,000 men with the minimum of offence to citizens, who frankly detested any miHtary service at all. This small army mobilised for war gave the modest total of 68,000 men. In 1898 the right of pre-emption was abolished, but as volunteering for the active army continued to be encouraged in every possible way, the burden of conscrip- Abolished. ^^^^ ^^^^ rendered general and compulsory was hghtened in a considerable degree. The reader will understand how every volunteer entering the service freed a conscript from his obligations. Moreover, the annual contingent still remained at the low figure of 11,000, of which 500 were assigned to the Navy. In 1901 a more serious attempt was made to bring the Dutch Army up to date, but of course serious attempt must be interpreted by the standard of Dutch politics, and not of a thorough military reorganisation. I mean that the prejudice of the people against a truly national army is almost as great in Holland as it is in England. The annual contingent was, in the first place, raised from 11,000 to 17,000 men (about one-third of the total number of the inscribed population attaining the age of Increased.* nineteen each year with the present popula- tion). It was anticipated that this measure would eventually increase the war strength of the Army from 68,000 men to 118,000 men, and as far as the paper strength goes this result has been attained. The seven The Dutch Army 81 classes of released men give a total of close on 100,000 Reservists. In the second place, the old Schutterij, or Rifle Volunteers, were abolished by the new military law of 1901, and in their place was substituted a regular territorial A Landwehr. army or landwehr {landweer) of time-expired soldiers, whose military service in one form or another covered the total period of fifteen years, viz., eight years in the regular army and the reserve, and seven years in the landwehr. The period of active service with the colours, however, for infantry was reduced to eight and a half months, but in cases where the recruit had not learned his drill this could be in- creased to twelve months. The infantryman has also to serve for a further term of ten weeks, but this is spread over seven years and three and a half months, and divided into three periods. At the end of eight years the soldier passes into the landwehr, of which he forms a unit for seven years. In those seven years he has only to turn out for two trainings, each of no more than six days. The increased contingent has thus been purchased at the heavy price of reducing the period of service to a minimum perilous to efficient military training. In figures the following are the results of the new organisation. In 1910 the Peace Effective of the regular army was represented by 2,015 officers and 27,276 men. Effective. These figures are not absolutely dependable, for the returns vary from month to month. Practically speaking, there has been little or no variation in the total of the Peace Effective during the last twenty years under the old system or the new. The reserve of the National Militia (the Regular Dutch Army), which would be at once incorporated The Reserve, with the Army on mobilisation, mustered in 1910 for the seven free classes 110,000 men, which should provide a total of 100,000 effectives. 6— (2390) 82 Holland of the Dutch The following statement shows the composition of the andwehr force (1911) — Officers. 1.124 Men. Infantry 1,008 54,912 Garrison Artillery 96 6,216 Engineers 8 812 Pontoon Corps 4 406 Telegraph ,, 2 160 Hospital ,, 4 962 Administration 2 114 I 63.582 A new arrangement has been made for accelerating the assembly of the landwehr on mobihsation. Formerly the uniforms and rifles of the men were kept in depots, and mobilisation was hampered by the delay caused in sending the men to them, more especially as they are rather scattered. But by the new regulation they are to be allowed to keep them in their homes, so that immediately on receipt of orders they can leave fully equipped and armed, except for ammunition, for the rallying point. This certainly saves time and appears from every point of view a practical arrangement. The infantry of the regular army is divided into one Grena- dier and eleven line regiments of four battalions each. The battalion contains four companies, each 240 Tnfanfrv Regiments. strong on war footing. In peace the strength is about two-fifths of the total. One regiment, known as " the Regiment of Grenadiers and Chasseurs," always garrisons The Hague. It is composed of two battalions of Grenadiers and two battalions of Chasseurs. The cavalry consists of four regiments of Hussars. Each regiment contains four field squadrons and two extra squadrons, one at the dep6t and one for orderly work. Horses are provided for about five and a half squadrons altogether. The Dutch Army 83 sufficient for the immediate purposes of the army on mobiUsation, as will be described. There is also a corps of Marechaussee or gendarmes, muster- ing four divisions of 500 men apiece. The functions of this corps are to hasten and facilitate the mobihsation, to provide escorts for the baggage train, and to perform various other duties which are not clearly defined. It is in every sense of the word a corps d' elite, and all the men have served the first part at least of army service. The artillery consists of horse, mounted, garrison, and fortress. The first two were provided in 1905 with 75 m.m. Krupp quick-firers, equipped with shields, Artillery. and there are twenty-four batteries of mounted artillery (that is to say, field) of six guns each. Of horse artillery there are only two batteries with the same number of guns apiece. The total field artillery of twenty-four batteries represent 144 guns. This force is divided into four regiments, one for each division. The horse artillery is attached to the separate Cavalry Division. The garrison artillery is divided into four regiments, which are quartered at Utrecht, Amsterdam, Gorinchem, and Helder respectively in their numerical order. A detachment of the 2nd regiment from Amsterdam has its headquarters at Naarden. The artillery school is at Zwolle. There is a special corps of Pantserfort, that is, fortress, artillery, divided into four companies of a total strength of 920 men. The landwehr garrison artillery joins on mobilisation the regular troops for the defence of the points assigned. It consists of twenty-four companies, each composed of 4 officers and 259 men, giving a grand total of 96 officers and 6,216 men. The Engineer corps is divided into four Commandemenden (or commands). They are Utrecht, Amsterdam, Breda, and Arnhem. Attached to each are a large number of magazines 84 Holland of the Dutch formed at places within the radius of each but they need not be specified. The Dutch Army is organised on the basis of four distinct divisions of approximately equal field strength. Each division is composed of three regiments of Divisions. infantry six batteries of artillery, a squadron of cavalry for orderly work, a company of cyclists, a company of engineers, a contingent of eight machine guns, and other units producing a total of 19,000 men. The respective headquarters of these divisions are The Hague, Arnhem, Breda, and Amersfoort. The Dutch Army is thus expected to furnish a field force of 76,000 men, after providing for the defence of the fortified positions by the remainder of the regular Army, chiefly artillery and engineers supported by the landwehr. There is good reason to think, however, that the Arnhem division would be absorbed in the defence and not available for the field, at least in the first stages of a war. To these numbers must be added the separate cavalry under its own general composed of four Hussar regiments of four squadrons each and two horse batteries approximately 3,500 men together. Hitherto the small cavalry force has been very much dis- persed, and broken up into small garrisons, but arrangements are being made to keep the regiments at cen- The Cavalry, tral points well within the country. For instance, the cavalry regiment quartered at Venlo and Roermond will be concentrated at Tilburg, an important railway junction, as soon as the new barracks now building for them are ready. The infantry is armed with a Mannlicher (6*5 m.m.) rifle, with a magazine of five cartridges. Composition ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ some interest and possible of a Dutch utility to give a statement of the composition Division. ^nd strength of a Dutch division after mobilis- ation on the existing scale. It will be composed ar follows — The Dutch Army 85 Horses , Officers. Men. Officers. Men. Carts. General Staff .. 60 310 100 220 — Three regiments of infantry .. ..321 15.801 69 348 153 One company of cyclists 3 152 One squadron of Hussars 6 152 10 48 6 One regiment of Field Artillery .. ..37 993 69 1,016 147 One company of Field Pioneers . . . . 3 167 1 15 6 Munition train . . 3 204 4 246 103 Artillery Munition train 3 178 4 183 41 One company telegraphists 1 109 1 12 7 Medical Train . . 4 152 2 126 52 Ambulance Corps 22 308 7 107 27 Field Hospital .. 2 29 1 9 2 Pontoon section . . 2 108 3 54 12 467 18.663 271 2.484 556 The infantry regiments are counted in the above table as having five battalions each, for the very first order under the mobilisation scheme is the formation of a Battalions ^^^ battaUon, and in addition the preliminary steps are to be taken at the same time for the further formation of a 6th battahon. On mobihsation the field artillery is to be increased by the formation of a reserve field battery at each head depot, that is to say, four batteries altogether. The strength of this battery is fixed at 4 officers, 157 men, 169 horses, and 23 carts. In addition a Howitzer battery is to be formed, but it is not clear whether this means one for each division or only one for the whole army. The following table shows the strength of the cavahy brigade — Horses. Officers. Staff 6 Hussar Regiments (4) 120 Cavalry Munition train Two batteries Horse Artillery 26 Artillery Munition train 152 Men. Officers*. Men's. Carta. 39 10 33 2 2,512 220 2,444 104 400 400 100 632 46 728 74 118 116 28 3.701 276 3.721 308 86 Holland of the Dutch It may be mentioned that the following regiments are affected to the divisions indicated — Grenadier-Chasseur Regiment and 4th and 10th Regiments, . . . . 1st division. 7th, 8th and 11th .. .. 2nd 2nd, 3rd and 6th . . . . 3rd 1st, 5th and 9th 4th The increase in the total strength of the Army by the new law of 1912-3 means an addition of at least 25 per cent, to each division, but nothing is yet decided as l^^^^ to the organisation that will be adopted. Nor is it yet known whether part of the scheme wiU be an increase of the cavalry and horse artillery, but it is reported on good authority that the number of infantry regiments will be increased to 24. Reference has been made to the volunteering system adopted long ago and still maintained for the purpose of lightening the burden of conscription for the general public, and a few details may be given. In the first place, it may be mentioned that, as the cavalry and artillery have to serve, except in very exceptional cases, two years with the colours, their ranks contain a larger proportion of volunteers than the infantry. The volunteer, having to engage himself for a long fixed period, is by far the best trained man in the Dutch Army, and in the infantry he very soon reaches the ^Systelm. ^^ grade of non-commissioned officer. Indeed, he is the only true professional soldier in the country. Unfortunately, the country has his services for a total period of no more than six years as against the fifteen years' liability of the ordinary conscript, but the State benefits through those services being continuous. On completing his term the volunteer is free of all military liability whatever, and is not amenable to the new landwehr law. Any Dutch subject may volunteer for the Army on reaching the age of seventeen. He formally enlists for six years. He may volunteer as early as fifteen and a half, but then the term will be for eight years. The Dutch Army 87 Volunteers may, however, remain in the Army for longer periods, provided they continue their education and succeed in passing the examinations that are incumbent on them at stated intervals as the condition of promotion to the suc- cessive grades of ensign, Ueutenant, and captain of the Reserve. Although the pay is good, few volunteers continue beyond the period of six years, the probable explanation being that the educational test is too high for men who left school so young. The system of education for the officers themselves is excellent. All, with an exception to be noted, have to pass through the Royal MHitary Academy at Breda, ^^cefs.° which prepares for all branches of the Army ; but they may commence at the cadets' school at Alkmaar. At Breda the limit of age for entrants is seven- teen to twenty-one ; at Alkmaar fifteen to eighteen. The course at Breda is one of three years, and at Alkmaar of two. The condition of admission to the cadets' school is nine years' service in the Army, of which five may be passed in the Reserve. At Breda also the student must engage for seven years' service as officer. These obHgations are compensated for by the fact that the fees are very low, and the education excel- lent. It is reckoned that the cost at Alkmaar is less than £24, and at Breda not more than £40 a year. There is a third military educational establishment at Kampen, but this is only for infantry and the non-combatant branches, and is of a different character to at Kampen. ^^^ others, being for the Army itself. To this school non-commissioned officers are sent who wish to quahfy for a commission. The term of instruc- tion depends on the amount of education possessed by the aspirant, but there are many regimental schools in which preliminary and general instruction is given for two years. The aspirant must, however, pass out within two years of commencing the final course. The headquarters of the Engineers are at Utrecht, while those of the artillery, the infantry, and the cavalry are now 88 Holland of the Dutch concentrated at The Hague. Utrecht, in addition to being the headquarters of the corps of military engineers, is also the seat of the college in which the civil engineers of the State aspiring for employment in the Wat erst aat Department are trained. At Amersfoort there is a riding school, and at Oldebrook, near Zwolle, a polygon for artillery practice and manoeuvres. The fundamental idea of Dutch defence is the opening of the dykes from Utrecht and Amsterdam, and the holding of what is called the water-line along which have Water-Line. ^^^^ constructed a good many forts and batteries. The passage down the Rhine is blocked by a powerful fort at Westervoort, supplemented by batteries at the Hoofddam at Pannerden, outside Arnhem. The position thus formed, which is known as Holland Fortress, is one of very considerable strength, and so long as the Helder forts closed the back entrance by the Zuyder Zee it would take the most powerful enemy a long time to surmount this obstacle. But, unfortunately, this defence applies to only a very small portion of the country. It leaves the southern and eastern provinces entirely open to invasion. For this reason the Dutch plan of defence includes the operations of a field army with its base at Breda or possibly Tilburg. On the assumption that the active army produces on mobil- isation 120,000 men, and the landwehr 50,000 more, it is considered possible to place a force of at least ^^my.^^ 76,000 men in the field, composed exclusively of regulars. The question of the co-operation of the landwehr in field operations is left over for the events themselves to decide. The four cavalry regiments, and the two batteries of horse artniery would, as already stated, be combined as a mounted contingent under the command of the Inspector of Cavalry, who would be left to his own discretion to turn his small < Q Q < < < o w K H The Dutch Army 89 corps to the best account. Useless by itself, it might still form a useful addition to an allied army, and the Dutch cavalry man makes a good impression on the observer. Indeed, the whole army would form a very valuable accession of strength to any other force that the Dutch might invite to come to their assistance. In addition to the forts on the Water-Line there are those of the Helder — the northern Gibraltar — and at the entrance of the Amsterdam and Rotterdam Canals, ^rts!^ besides minor forts on the Scheldt, HoUandsch Diep, like Volkerak and Elewoutsdyk. Quite recently there was a proposal to expend a large amount on the fortification of Flushing, and the magnitude of the sum to be spent, quite as much as the local considerations, drew marked attention to the proposal in the countries most likely to be affected by it. The project has not been abandoned ; but it is receiving fuller consideration, and the outcome will probably be its modification. The real defensive system of Holland reposes on her water defences, and these are believed to be in thorough working order, and susceptible of being made ready for invasion at a few hours' notice. But over and beyond maintaining her defensive position, Holland possesses an army which could play a great part in conjunction with friendly forces such as England and Belgium might naturally be assumed as ready to willingly supply. A new proposal for further strengthening the Dutch Army was voted in 1912, and will receive its full sanction in the form of a law during the present year (1913). 10 12. ^y ^^ ^^^ annual contingent is raised from 17,000 men to 23,000, and it is expected that in this way Holland will be able to put a mobile army in the field of at least 100,000 men, besides providing more ade- quately than in the plan of 1901 for the defence of all her fortified positions. It will take some time to work out the details of this scheme, 90 Holland of the Dutch and a year or two must elapse before it brings any material addition to the strength of the Dutch Army, but it shows the spreading of the opinion that before very long all nations will have to establish their position as independent States by being strong and well prepared to resist and defeat wanton attack. CHAPTER X THE DUTCH NAVY The Dutch Navy, although now in the second rank, has a record of glorious achievement not inferior to any in the world. It may be said to date from the time pit°^^ of the Gueux de la mer (beggars of the sea), who were the true conquerors of the Spaniards. But for them, it may be doubted whether the superior resources and numbers at the disposal of Madrid would not have overborne the heroic Netherlanders. They gave an early object lesson, perhaps the first in modern times, of the value of sea-power. To the " beggars " succeeded the bold mariners and adven- turers who founded on the ruins of Portuguese dominion a colonial empire that extended from the Cape to China and Japan. Van Riebeck founded Cape Town ; Hartighs, Nuyts, and Tasman visited the coasts of AustraHa, and gave it the name of New Holland ; Schouten, who rounded South America, attached the name of his natal town to Cape Horn ; Behring proved that Asia and America were not joined by land ; and, last but not least, the heroic Barendts disappeared in the Arctic mists with his eyes fixed on the North-East Passage. But whether the scene lay on and beyond the Tropic of Cancer or within the Polar Circle, the courage, constancy, and persistency of Dutch navigators figured in the van among the illuminators of the world's dark places. And if we turn from peaceful explorers and pioneers of trade to the fighting leaders, the record reads not less bril- Hantly. De Ruyter and the two Van Tromps ^e Ruyter?" ^^^ names that sound in Dutch ears hke those of Blake and Nelson to Enghshmen. It was the elder Van Tromp who captured Sheerness and hoisted 91 92 HoUand of the Dutch a broom at his mainmast to signify that he had swept the Channel. De Ruyter also shared his glory and took a promi- nent part in the long-drawn out struggle with Blake, glorious to both sides and conclusive for neither. His career ended in the Mediterranean before an opponent worthy of his steel, the great French naval leader Duquesne, from whom Louis XIV withheld the rank of admiral because he was a Protestant. The two Van Tromps, Martin and Cornehus, were his equals in capacity and achievement. Martin, ten years his senior, was in a sense his instructor. He fought the battles of the Dunes, of Portland, Nieuport, and Dunkirk, and if he had not been killed in a small affair at Catwik, in 1653, he might have become still more famous. Both he and Ruyter rose from the ranks, each learning their profession as simple sailors. His son, Cornehus, helped by his father's achievements, attained the rank of captain at twenty-one, and before he was thirty-six found himself head of the Dutch Navy. When displaced in that post by Ruyter, who was twenty years his senior, he retired in pique, and then on appointment as his second in command during the war with Charles H, allowed his jealousy to induce him to neglect to support his chief at a critical moment. This led to his retirement in disgrace, and during these years he used to amuse himself with fighting his battles over again with model ships on the pond in the garden of his villa. William HI, at the most critical moment, in 1691, of his long struggle with France, reappointed him to the command in chief of his fleet, and the old sailor eagerly answered the call, believing that fresh laurels awaited him. But fate intervened. Before his fleet could sail to meet the enemy the last of the Van Tromps was dead. Although the Dutch fleet of the eighteenth century failed to carry on the record of brilliant successes that had marked its course in the seventeenth, it continued to rank among the first naval forces in the world, and it produced sailors of the highest skill and valour. Among them was Admiral de The Dutch Navy 93 Winter, who, after a heroic struggle against superior odds, was compelled to strike his flag to Admiral Duncan at Camper- down in the last year of the eighteenth century. When peace was restored after Waterloo, the Netherlands Government made but a feeble effort to restore its fleet, and indeed the nucleus of it was provided by the voluntary restoration by England of several of the old vessels that had fallen into her hands. But the possession of Java imposed on the Hague author- ities the necessity of having some ships of war, and as soon as these had been got together they took an Co-operation, honourable part in co-operation with Lord Exmouth's expedition, in the bombardment of Algiers in 1817. The Dutch Admiral, Van Capellen, was thanked by the British Parhament for his services, and received the Order of the Bath and a sword of honour. Some years after this event an incident occurred which showed that the spirit of Dutch sailors stood as high as ever, and it deserves mention here because it is treasured by the people of Holland as one of their heroic episodes. It was during the Belgian Revolution when General Chasse held possession of the Citadel of Antwerp, and a Dutch squadron held the Scheldt and secured his communications with Holland. In February, 1831, during a heavy gale a Dutch gunboat went adrift and grounded near the river bank. The Belgians determined to secure what seemed an easy Hero. prize, and boarded the boat. The young commander, Lieut. Van Speyck, had only thirty-one men under him, there were several hundred Bel- gians, and resistance was really out of the question ; but he refused to haul down his flag. He opened the door of the magazine, and as the assailants rushed to seize him he fired his pistol into the powder and the ship was blown to pieces with nearly every one on board. The incident made a tre- mendous sensation throughout Europe. Van Speyck was proclaimed the national hero, a fine monument was erected 94 Holland of the Dutch to him in Amsterdam, and more than one Dutch artist has depicted the scene in the Uttle gunboat on the Scheldt. The old spirit of " the beggars of the sea '* survives, and everyone who has met Dutch naval officers of the present day has been favourably impressed by their good Materfal. quahties and their quiet conscientiousness, so much so that more than one EngHsh admi- ral — the late Sir Harry Keppel, himself, in descent as well as spirit, " a sea beggar " to the core, may be named — has declared Dutch naval men only need the ships to show that they are just as good as ever they were. And if this is true of the officers, it is not less true of the men, who are just the right stamp for man-o'-warsmen. The Dreadnoughts are absent but the men to man them are there, and now that the Government at The Hague are becoming aUve to the needs of the hour it may not be very long before the ships are forthcoming. Now that the Navy is merged with the Army in one Depart- ment of National Defence, organic changes are not improbable, but they will probably be spread over a good many years. The existing staff and personnel are sufficiently strong in num- bers to provide for the increased fleet likely to come into being between the present year and 1916. Moreover, the increased annual contingent will allow of at least 1 ,000 men being passed into the Navy instead of only 500, as has been hitherto the case. But it is on the existing cadres that the new force will have to be grafted, and the following figures are based on the official returns for the year 1912. The staff and personnel of the Dutch Navy was then com- posed as follows. There are three vice-admirals — the highest , . naval rank — on the active Ust, and four rear- ^Staf? *"^ admirals. Of capitaines d la mer, the equi- valent of our post captains, there are 28 ; 37 commanders, 143 captain-Ueutenants, 350 Heutenants divided into two classes or lieutenants and ensigns, and 96 cadets or adeborsten, complete the combatant side of the 'i: < P W H < w I— ( w w u I— I a, i 4 The Dutch Navy 95 Navy. The total reaches 701 ; but a project of increasing the number of Heutenants by about 100 will probably come into effect immediately. The mechanical side is also organised on similar hues. The mechanicians are employed on ships in commission, and the engineers at the arsenals and shipyards, their duties relating to the ships when laid up or at least stationary. Taking the mechanicians first, there are 23 officers divided into two grades, and 212 mechanicians divided into four classes. The engineers consist of a director of naval construction, 4 chief engineers, 10 engineers (divided into two grades), and 2 cadets. The Commissariat Department is composed of one chief inspector, 2 inspectors, 72 commissaries, and 13 assistants. The medical officers number 1 inspector, 5 directors, and 74 health officers. The personnel is composed of 7,000 bluejackets. The Dutch Navy, hke our own, has a corps of Marines. According to the latest returns, it numbered 50 officers and 2,600 men. The corps of officers was divided as follows : 1 colonel, 3 commandants, 1 1 captains, and 35 heutenants. The total personnel of the Dutch Navy, therefore, numbers nearly 11,000 men all told. All commissioned officers have to pass through the naval school at Willemsvord at the Helder. The training is good, and includes much practical work in sailing School. ships on the Zuyder Zee. A fresh naval programme was adopted in 1909, and in the last three years a certain number of new ships have been built taking the places of old and indeed out-of-date units. But the Dutch have shown great moderation in their designs and have not attempted to enter into competition with other nations in respect of battleships and battle cruisers. Their largest battleship afloat is one of only 7,600 tons. The battleships are divided into three of 3,520 tons, four of 5,000 96 Holland of the Dutch tons, one of 5,300 tons, one of 6,500 tons, and one of 7,600 tons, or ten altogether. These vessels are armed in their main battery with 1 1 inch guns. Six new cruisers were added during the same period, three being of 3,900 tons and three of 3,950 tons. The subsidiary part of the Navy is made up of 1 river moni- tor, stationed at Nijmegen, 50 torpedo boats, 33 gunboats, and 2 submarines. In 1912 8 destroyers and 4 new torpedo boats were added. One grave defect in the Dutch system is that there is no gun foundry in Holland. For the Navy, as for the Army, the artillery has to be bought abroad, and there is not uniformity of system, for some ships are armed with Krupps and others with Armstrongs. As to the new programme, nothing can be said of the details because they come under the head of official secrets. They are so secret that they are not Hkely to have Programme. ^^Y tangible existence before next winter, when the States-General may be called upon to pass the necessary Bill, but there is an idea prevalent that Holland will build some larger ships than she has ever done in the past. It has been suggested that a battleship on " Dreadnought " lines of about 17,000 tons would meet the case ; but if this would be a good unit for the North Sea it is not so clear that it would be the best for the Indian Ocean, and half of Dutch anxieties centre in Java since the rise of Japan and the awakening of the Far East. Public opinion has been rather stirred in Holland by a rumour that the Government contemplated beginning the strengthening of the Dutch fleet by purchas- ^ J^^ ing a discarded "Dreadnought" at present Questioi? ill the service of a foreign Power, and this commotion was not allayed when a further report was circulated to the effect that the selling Power would be Germany. It is quite true that Holland possesses no yard capable of turning out a " Dreadnought " of even 17,000 tons, but why not order a new one from an EngUsh The Dutch Navy 97 shipyard ? That question has been prominently asked in Holland. With the view of appeasing the pubUc a statement was made that this project only referred to the Colonial Navy, but the colonials are making a still louder protest, declaring that nothing but the most up-to-date vessels will satisfy their needs and expectations. In regard to naval power, it is well to remember that there is a separate naval estabUshment for the Indies, and that the cruiser permanently stationed at Batavia forms part of the Indian marine. The bulk of the flotilla was composed of paddle-wheel gunboats especially suitable for operations in the rivers and creeks of the archipelago. But since 1909 the Indian squadron has been strengthened by the addition of 2 torpedo-destroyers, 9 torpedo boats, 1 mine-laying boat, and 10 special service boats. The last named serve the purpose of the old gunboats, but are faster and more power- fully armed. The latest proposal is to keep a battleship and two cruisers permanently on the station, and it is considered that the colonial budget can easily bear an annual naval vote of 2J miUions sterUng. It seems safe to assume, therefore, that the new naval measures of the Dutch will include an Eastern as well as a Western programme, and that the resources Programmes. °^ *^^ great Colony as well as of the Mother Country wiU be drawn upon for the purpose. But it is clear that no half measures will satisfy the people at Batavia. In Europe the main purpose of the fleet will be to co-operate in the defence of the Helder, and to prevent a hostile squadron getting into the Zuyder Zee, and turning the Water-Une defence into a trap by an attack from the rear. A second idea is to hold in hand a sufficient movable naval force to assume the offensive against any invader of Zeeland. Perhaps the third idea is the predominant one. It is felt that Holland ought to have for her own dignity a sufficient naval force to combine with her friends in the defence of her national 7— (3390) 98 Holland of the Dutch rights, and this is what she is now likely to make a serious effort to furnish. But in the reaHsation of such a programme, the Dutch Government is confronted by many difficulties besides the provision of the necessary funds. She has no A Dilemma, shipyards for battleships. From whom shall she order the ships ? She has no foundries, where shall she obtain their cannon ? For uniformity's sake they ought to come from the same source, but that means giving the whole of the order to either England or Germany, and Dutch opinion generally hesitates a long time before committing itself so positively. The only conclusion that seems safe is that there must be a good deal of delay before the final move is made. In Asia the same objections do not apply. There the only important matter to be arranged is the provision of the funds. Holland herself can build the smaller units in the Indian squadron, and the acquisition of a cruiser or two in the open market would not attract much notice wherever the business was done. The defence of the Dutch colonial possessions, with their immense wealth, has become a question of the day, and as the natives and half-breeds already participate in the task, the Home Government has not the anxiety of providing an increased European contingent for the purpose. In the Dutch East Indies the problem of Asiatic crews for warships has been fairly faced, and the nucleus at least of what may become an efficient organisation is already in existence. CHAPTER XI HOLLAND'S COLONL\L EMPIRE Three centuries ago Holland was the rival of England in the task of building up a Colonial Empire, and for a short time she even possessed a superior place in inter- Colonial ^Power riational competition to this country. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries she stripped Portugal and Spain of the greater part of their Asiatic possessions ; she planted herself in South Africa and Ceylon ; she secured the monopoly of trade with Japan, and she even gave Australia its first name as New Holland. In America her success was almost as striking as it had been in Africa and Asia, if it proved less permanent. For a small country with a restricted population she accomphshed wonders in the acquisition of colonies, but her resources in men were not sufficient for the retention of so many prizes along the great world routes that necessarily excited the cupidity of her rivals, and the time at last came when some of them were lost. This, no doubt, was due to the dechne in Holland's maritime power, for after the close of the eighteenth centiu-y she sank to the second or third rank among naval States ; but here again the same cause is perceptible — a deficiency of popula- tion. The da}^ of Little States had gone by never to return, so far at least as the appropriation of Colonies was concerned. It may be recalled that the Dutch lost their colonies indi- rectly as the consequence of their inabihty to defend their country against the French at the end of the eighteenth century, for England being at war with France natiu-ally regarded Holland as an antagonist when she succumbed to French influences. England, thereupon, proceeded to make sure of her fleet, and gradually occupied all her colonies. This 99 100 Holland of the Dutch process began with Ceylon in 1795 and ended with Java in 1810. When peace was proclaimed at Vienna there was a re- shuffling of the cards, and different principles were applied in the adjustment of a balance between the Restored. ^^^ countries. With regard to Ceylon, the Dutch had ceded their stations in that island by a formal treaty signed at Colombo. This was left undis- turbed. With regard to the Cape of Good Hope, England paid an indemnity of two millions for its retention. On the other hand, Java, Malacca, Surinam, and Cura^oa were restored to Holland, and these constitute the present Dutch Colonial Empire with the exception that Sumatra was subsequently exchanged by formal treaty in 1828 for Malacca. But although Holland is no longer the first of Colonial Powers, as she was in the days of Van Tromp and De Ruyter, she is still the possessor of a splendid Colonial dominion. Much of the national wealth and prosperity is derived from it, and even if we regard the saying that " without Java Holland would be dead " as a great exaggeration, still the possession of the Dutch Indies does undoubtedly enhance her prosperity, and add to her dignity in the eyes of the world. Like us, Holland breathes that larger atmosphere created by the possession of remote territories and Imperial responsibilities. The capital of the Dutch Indies is Batavia, the principal town of the island of Java, and a Governor-General directs from its Government House, or from the Indies.*^ country residence at Buitenzorg, the affairs of the most marvellous conglomeration of islands on the surface of the globe. Their computed area is 738,000 square miles, and the main islands with their dependent isles and islets may be counted by hundreds. They produce all the fruits and flowers, the grains and berries, the essences and oils of the Tropics. Rich in precious metals and minerals, no limit can be placed to Holland's Colonial Empire 101 their productiveness especially when we bear in mind that many of them are really virgin soil, and that only in Java and Sumatra can up-to-date methods be said to have been em- ployed, and even there it has been only over a limited area. The Dutch Colonies in the East are consequently among the richest, if not the very richest, in the world. If evidence of this were needed it would be found in the fact that one hundred thousand Netherlanders reside in the Sunda Isles, which is a larger white population than the English form in India, excluding the garrison. The population of the Dutch Indies by the last census (1st Jan., 1910) was given as 37,815,400, and of this total 30,098,000 lived in Java and Madura, the adjacent island always linked with it in the administration. The Colonial revenue was, according to the Budget for the year 1911, ^f 17,884,147, and the expenditure £19,918,063, but as the deficit was due to capital outlay Reveniw. ^^ railways and other remunerative public works, it has no sinister significance. The reader wiU not fail to note that the Budget of the Colony is larger than that of the Mother Country. The total exports from the Indies were valued at £56,528,292, and the imports at £22,451,479. The bulk of the white population is engaged in planting or trade. The number of officials is not very great, being composed of the white staff of the army, and ^^ aJJ^v"'^^ of the Civil Service. The Army mustered in 1911 a total of 33,495 men, of whom 1,339 were European officers and 10,656 European privates and non-coms. The native troops accordingly numbered 21,500. The force is organised in battalions of four companies, three being native and one European as a rule, but in picked bat- talions the proportion is reversed, three being European and one native. Formerly two-thirds of the white force were of other nation- alities than Dutch, principally Belgian and German, but of 102 Holland of the Dutch late years more Dutchmen go to the East, tempted principally by the good pension which can be earned after twelve years' service. It is estimated that the larger half of the European army is now Dutch, while the German element has increased at the same time as the Belgian has declined. The staff of the native army as shown numbers close on 1,400 European officers, but an increasing number of half- castes are being admitted every year, and some persons predict that the time is approaching when the Dutch Indian Army will be mainly composed of Cloerlings. The Dutch Govern- ment is, therefore, nearer finding a solution of the Eurasian problem than we are in India. It is true that it is a more urgent problem with them than with us, for the number of half-castes is far greater in proportion to the white population in Java than in India. The improvement in the social position of the natives of Java, or Javantsijs, in the last twenty-five years has also greatly simplified the question. Formerly ProWem!*" *^^ natives had no rights as against Europeans, and their social inferiority was so marked that if a Javanese 'of position^met a Dutchman of even the lowest rank on the high roads he had to dismount if riding and salute him as a superior. This practice has been either abandoned or greatly modified, and is only enforced in the case of the higher officials. But the most important change of all has been in the rela- tions of the sexes. Formerly every Dutchman kept a Njai, half housekeeper and half mistress, and a legal marriage was never thought of. The children of their union were not merely bastards, but they were called so in popular parlance. In many cases the father refrained from marrying elsewhere, thus treating his union with the Njai as of a permanent nature, and did his best for his children even to the extent of sending them to Holland to be educated, but in those days he never thought of marrying his Njai, and thus making his children legitimate. Times have so changed that this step is becoming Holland's Colonial Empire 103 quite common, and the increased facilities for education in Java will no doubt contribute towards making it the general practice. This reform movement was largely due to the sensation produced in Holland by the revelations made in Max Havelaar, the great work by the popular author E. Havelai." Douwes Dekker, wio from his ow^n experience in the Indies described the abuses that existed there. The natives, and more especially the Javanese and BaHnese, are now ahve to the advantages of being made " the legal wife," and as the knowledge of Dutch is spreading fast among the people it is inevitable that this sentiment must be- come the permanent conviction among the Malay ladies. The legal marriage with a native is in every respect as binding as with an European, and the children have absolutely the same rights of inheritance in the family not merely in the Indies but at home. Already many of the offspring of these unions hold commissions in the Dutch army and marine, but as a matter of fact they either select themselves or are selected for service in the Indies. In this way an entirely new race or community is springing into existence in south-east Asia, and an Eurasian experiment on a large scale is in process of evolution in A New Race, the Dutch Indies. No one can predict how it will turn out, but at least it deserves study and watching. Opinions in Holland differ as to the mental capacity and character of the half-castes. Perhaps on the whole the verdict is unfavourable (many Dutchmen the Half-Castes. ^^-^^^S them both stupid and untruthful), but a more correct conclusion is likely to be arrived at on the spot than in the Mother Country where racial feeling runs high. The Eurasian is the product of the Tropics ; it is in the Indies that he has to exist and to establish his right to live. Those to be seen in Holland, chiefly at The Hague and Amsterdam, give an appearance of delicacy which 104 Holland of the Dutch may not be justified by the facts, and suggest the idea that they are only exotics. The Dutch Colonials themselves make a distinction between the children of different races, and, according to them, those of Amboynese mothers show the least deterioration and give the most promise. Probably the most important factor in the problem will be the improved educa- tion of the mothers, and this must take a generation or two before a marked advancement can be discerned. Although the whole of the Dutch Indies lie in the Tropics, the greater part of them are quite suitable for European residents, and it is only on the coast that malaria and enteric fever are at all common. Baron Van der Capellen proved during his government that fever could be combated by ordi- nary sanitary precautions. Java, in particular, at five miles' distance from the sea is a white man's land. The same may be said of Sumatra, while among the smaller islands Banca and Billiton are exceptionally healthy. The Dutch connection with Java goes back over three centuries. After Goa, Batavia is the oldest European pos- session in Asia still left in the hands of its Batavia. original founders, and the name perpetuates the fame of the Batavian tribes from which the Dutch descend. Batavia is the seat of government and the residence of the Governor-General, who is assisted by a Supreme Council of four members. The greater part of the year, however, is spent at Buitenzorg, 35 miles south of Bata- via, where there is a charming residence surrounded by the most beautiful gardens and tropical plantations. Batavia possesses one of the finest harbours in the East, and this is the more remarkable because the land is constantly gaining at the expense of the sea, and the port first used by the Dutch navigators is now terra firma, but the roadstead is almost beyond comparison the best in Asia. Sourabaya, east of Batavia on the north coast of Java, is regarded as a superior port to it, and Telok and Bencoolen, both in Sumatra, are also important trading places. In the year 1910 the trade Holland's Colonial Empire 105 between the Dutch Indies and Holland amounted to 493,900,000 florins of exports from the former, and 113,800,000 florins of imports. Sumatra belonged to England until 1829, when it was exchanged with the Dutch for their possessions in Malacca on what is now called the Malay Peninsula. Sumatra. One of the consequences of this transfer was that the Dutch became embroiled with the independent State of Atchin, which forms the northern extre- mity of the island. For over seventy years a state of almost continuous war ensued, and numerous expeditions were fitted out to bring the turbulent Atchinese into a state of subjection. This has now been accomplished, and although there may be troubles of a minor degree we are not likely to hear of another war in Atchin like those waged there so frequently during half a century. This and the war in Lombok in 1894-6 were the two rudest trials of strength to which the Dutch have been subjected of late years. The military results of these campaigns tended to consolidate their position, and so far as can be foreseen Holland has no internal danger to face in her East Indian possessions. The Dutch system of administration is carried out on the principle of residents who advise and control the native chiefs. In order to harmonise the old system and the Residents. ^^^ *^^ Sultans and Tuans, while left in possession of their old titles, are given the new style of Regent of a special district, or Residency. They are responsible to the Government through its Resident for the maintenance of good order, and also for ensuring that the produce of the province does not decline. It is the main object of the authorities to keep up the output at its present high figure, and this is not easy seeing that the Javanese themselves are exceedingly indolent and contented with little. The Dutch system is that of indirect control as practised by us in the majority of the feudal States of India. The Resident gives good advice and is the intermediary between the 106 Holland of the Dutch Government and the native princes. At the same time his advice has to be followed, and if it is not followed the Regent will in extreme cases of disobedience be removed. In Java alone there are twenty-two Residencies, and these are subdivided into 104 districts, over each of which a sub- Resident or Controller is placed. In the other islands the system is less elaborate, there being only twelve Residents altogether, but Sumatra, Borneo and the Celebes, have each a separate government. The authority of the Governor- General and his Council of four is supreme over the whole archipelago. Dutch rule is exceedingly light and indulgent. The native rulers are left to follow their own devices, and find salvation in the traditional manner, always provided Indulgent Rule. ^^^ taxes and produce reach the anticipated totals. Fortunately for themselves, Dutch officials are not yet harassed by the activity and criticism of aboriginal Protection societies at home preaching an ideal state of perfection. Some foreign critics have censured the Dutch for leaving the Courts of Jojocarta and Suracarta undisturbed in their barbaric splendour, but the Dutch are impervious to such outside criticism and attribute it to motives of envy and jealousy. They have dealt lightly with national customs, and they have been wise to do so. No one has ever ventured to say that the Javanese native com- munity is not one of the happiest and lightest-hearted in the world, and perhaps that is the best testimonial to Dutch rule. The Dutch have done a great deal to improve internal communications in Java. A trunk railway runs from Batavia to the eastern end of the island. Another nSlways. ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ P^^^ ^^ Samarang joins it at Suracarta. Light railways are being intro- duced. But the bulk of the internal transport is carried along the main roads, and an excellent system of post stages has been introduced. At every few miles a police station and forwarding depot has been established and latterly these have Holland^s Colonial Empire 107 been connected by telegraph and telephone. Horses or hand litters can be ordered in advance and thus travelling at a rapid rate by short stages is practicable and comfortable. The police in Java are exclusively native. They wear a sort of uniform and discharge in the main the duties of a constabulary. As a rule, three or four men Police *^^ are to be found at each station. The inspectors are European, but they control large areas, and, like everything else in Java, the system works as well as it does simply because the people are so easily led and so easily satisfied. Government by delegation to the native powers is an appropriate description of Dutch rule in the Eastern Archi- pelago. In Java, which is strongly held, the supervision is close ; in Sumatra, which is also fully under control, it is adequate ; but in the minor islands it is relaxed. Where other colonising Powers boast of introducing what is known as civilisation, Holland has studied to leave native life and customs undisturbed. Hers is a peaceful rule, and it is very suitable for the unwarUke Javanese. Like the English in India, the Dutch have never favoured any religious propaganda, and the Malays who constitute the bulk of the population, are Mohammedans anism. " almost to a man — the exceptions being found on the islands of Bali and Lombok. The only races which are non- Mussulman are the Battaks of Sumatra, the Dyaks of Borneo, and the Papuans of New Guinea. The almost universal adoption of Mohammedanism is all the more remarkable since its introduction dates no further back than the middle of the fifteenth century, but the Arab navigators traded with the Archipelago from the ninth century. There are about half a million Chinese residents in Dutch India, and their labour is essential for the proper development of the plantations. As the cultivation of rubber extends, their co-operation will become more and more essential as the Malays seem incapable of sustained physical effort. 108 Holland of the Dutch Quite recently the Chinese settlers have been giving trouble, and the authorities at Batavia are rather anxious as to the outlook. The Chinese, encouraged by the formation of their Republic, and perhaps a little inflated by Japanese success, have grown rather bumptious. They are subject to special regulations, not only as to admission but also as to residence, and some of the Dutch members of the Java Legislative Council are beginning to ask, in view of the evolution of Chinese opinion, whether this way of treating the yellow race is just or can be maintained. The Dutch possessions in South America and the West Indies are of small account in comparison with those in Asia. The province of Dutch Guiana, or Surinam, on Guyana ^^^ South American mainland, has a popula- tion of less than 100,000 inhabitants (85,098 by census of 1910, including Indians in the backwoods), and its trade is represented by £695,454 of exports and £618,725 of imports. Dutch Guiana serves as a buffer state between British and French Guiana and has a vaguely defined frontier in the interior with Brazil. The probability of this region proving highly auriferous is increasing and already there is a considerable export of gold from Surinam to Holland. In the West Indies the island of Cura9oa is alone of import- ance. It has a population of under 33,000, and a trade repre- sented by £77,115 of exports and £263,525 Cura^oa. of imports. The five other isles contain together 125,000 people, and show a trade of £143,074 of exports and of £296,330 of imports. The following tabular statement shows the colonies still belonging to Holland and may be useful for reference — Possessions in Asia known as the Dutch Indies The Sunda Islands (the main or Greater Group), including Java, Sumatra, the Celebes, the greater part of Borneo, the western half of New Guinea, and the western half of Timor. The lesser Sunda Group, extending from the Eastern extremity of Java to New Guinea, includes Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sandal- wood Island, Flores, Solor, and Alor. The Moluccas. w H < H (/) W H in O O o Holland's Colonial Empire 109 American Possessions In South America. Dutch Guiana or Surinam (capital Paramaribo). In the West Indies. The island of Curagoa and five smaller islands of the Antilles or Caribbee group. The latter are Bonaire, Aruba, St. Eustache, Saba, and St. Martin. The last named is held in division with France. Although Holland has been so long a colonising Power it has never possessed a school for giving instruction in the scientific treatment of colonial problems, including the study of tropical diseases. At Delft and Leyden there are special schools for teaching Indian languages, and they fulfil a useful purpose in their way. But they are conducted on old- fashioned lines, and do not come up to the requirements of the new world schools. Nor has any attempt been made to popularise Colonial life in Holland itself. The only institution identified with the East Indies was the Colonial Museum 1nst?tSi*^ founded at Haarlem in 1777. But the increasing rivalry and jealousy among the nations in respect to colonial possessions have roused Dutch statesmen to the need of reviving the interest of their country- men in their great and extraordinarily attractive colonies. With this end in view a Colonial Institute on a scale appro- priate to the importance of the subject is to be founded at Amsterdam, and an appeal was recently made to the Dutch public to subscribe the necessary funds. The response cer- tainly dispels the theory that the Dutch are apathetic in their views on colonial questions. The city of Amsterdam has given the land for the building free, and made a grant of 630,000 florins in addition. But far more significant is the fact that the public subscriptions have brought in 2,730,000 florins, or over a quarter of a million sterling. Of the total sum, 2,940,000 florins are to be expended on the buildings, and the balance of 420,000 florins is to serve as an endowment. Finally, the Haarlem Colonial Museum will be transferred to the new Institute at Amsterdam and incorporated with it. CHAPTER XII REVENUE, FINANCE, AND DEBT Every year a statement as to the financial position of the country, or rather of the Government, is laid before the States-General, and latterly it has been based Statement. ^^ ^^^ admission of a deficit. This has been due first to increased votes for defence pur- poses, and, secondly, to a certain inelasticity in national finance attributable to the ineradicable objection of the people to new taxes. For the last five years the Finance Minister has got over some part of his difficulties by simply levying 10 per cent, additional on incomes derived from professions and capital. As this additional levy brings in no more than two miUion florins (or less than £200,000), it cannot be regarded as of any very great assistance to an anxious head of the Treasury. The loan of 1910 Ughtened matters for the moment, but in view of increased expenditure on pubhc objects since that issue some fresh source of revenue of a permanent character will have to be found. r The following table shows the total revenue and expenditure in florins of Holland from the year 1891 to 1910 inclusive — Year. Revenue. Expenditure 1891 130.163.000 130,163.000 1892 131.686.000 151.789,000 1893 126.827.000 134.945.000 1894 132,903.000 131.257.000 1895 132.458.000 133.297.000 1896 134.413.000 133.090.000 1897 135.968.000 138.511.000 1898 147.228.000 150.203.000 1899 147.815,000 149.689.000 1900 155.391,000 154.161.000 1901 153.354.000 152.310.000 1902 161.142.000 162.155.000 1903 166.121.000 163.834.000 1904 170.557.000 175.038.000 1905 175.963.000 173.731.000 1906 181.976.000 177.910.000 110 Revenue, Finance, and Debt 111 Year. 1907 1908 1909 1910 Revenue. 183.535.000 183.491.000 191.303,000 199.499.000 Expenditure 182.099.000 194.052.000 197.410.000 204,747,000 The Dutch official returns divide the revenue un heads, viz. — Ordinary Receipts Sale of Lands Extraordinary Receipts 198,043,000 600,000 856.000 Return for year 1910 . . . . 199,499,000 florins If we analyse this total a little more we find the following chief contributories — Direct Taxes — Land Tax Personal Tax Taxes on Professions Tax on Capital Direct Taxes — Total Excise — Sugar. . Wine Distilled Liquors Salt Beer and Vinegar . . Slaughtering Oxen (capitation) Excise — Total Indirect Taxes — Stamps Registration Mortgages Succession Duties . . Indirect Taxes — Total Customs Dues Domains Postal Service Telegrams State Lottery . . Tax on Goldsmiths . . Fishing and Shooting Licences Pilotage Tax on Mines . . Grand Total 14,666,000 11,520.000 10,199,000 10,234.000 23.674,000 1.659.000 28.311.000 1,815,000 1,361,000 5,417.000 5,703,000 6,847.000 696.000 14.698.000 13.331.000 46.619.000 62.237,000 27,944,000 13.331,000 1.553.000 15.704.000 4.097.000 653.000 466.000 163.000 3.132,000 31,000 175.930.000 112 Holland of the Dutch The difference between this sum and the total of 199,499,000, viz., 23,569,000, is made up of minor contributants over two hundred in number. The profit, however, on the railways, about eleven million florins, forms nearly half of this total. Considering the magnitude and extent of the trade of Holland, the contribution to the revenue from Customs dues is very small, no more than 13,331,000 florins, Tarifr ^^ £1,110,900. This is only a little over the thirteenth part of the total regular revenue, whereas in most countries they provide one-fifth or one-sixth of the total receipts. The tariff is based on a five per cent. scale, the only exceptions above it being beer (50 per cent.), pastry and sweets (25 per cent.), tobacco (10 per cent.), petrol and honey (8 per cent.). Manufactures of all kinds pass in at 5 per cent. The financial position of the country, added to the restricted area for increased direct taxation, makes it probable that an increase in the tariff provides the surest source from which a larger revenue to meet the greater requirements of the country can be drawn. The following table shows the different articles contributing to the Customs. Most of them are so small in quantity and general demand that it requires no long search to discover those that would bear an increased duty with some reasonable prospect of helping the Treasury to an appreciable extent. Receipts for Customs in 1910 Tissue Manufactures ^ ^ , . 2,395,000 Miscellaneous (unspecified) . 2.322,000 Tea . 1.242,000 Petroleum 937,000 Other Oils 306.000 W^rought Iron 898,000 Clothes 771,000 Silks 651,000 Cotton patterns 527,000 „ plain . . 257,000 Paper . . 451.000 Revenue, Finance, and Debt 113 Receipts for Customs in 1910 — Cont. Tobacco 266.000 Instruments . . . . . . 382.000 Glass . . 291,000 Pastry- Novelties 321,000 243,000 Carpets Fruit fresh and dried 263,000 242,000 Total from eighteen principal articles . . . 12.765,000 Total from thirty-five minor classified articles 565.600 Grand Total 13,330.600 florins. Taxes on Income. If we pass from Customs to the other sources of revenue, we do not find many openings for an increase. With regard to direct taxes, it is admitted that the three items termed Personal, Professional, and Capital imposts do not admit of any increase. The personal tax is based on the value of the house, the number of hearths, the furniture, the number of servants, the posses- sion of a horse, a bicycle or a motor-car — each category being made the subject of separate levy, and most of them being amenable to the levy of the additional cents, up to ten per cent., which goes to the Provincial and Communal funds. There is no reason to believe that it can be increased by an augmentation of rate. The Dutch householder already feels it so heavily that he dispenses with hearths and servants as much as he can, and never expends his money lavishly on furnishing his house. As for the possession of horses and motor-cars, they are only for a very restricted class, and the supply of horses, except for farming purposes — ^is limited and declining. The Land Tax, which brings in nearly 20 per cent, more than any of the other direct taxes, seems to allow of little or no increase. In four out of the eleven provinces, the total shows a marked decline and in all of them the proportion 8— (2390) 114 Holland of the Dutch of exemptions and suspensions for various causes is increasing. Any addition to the burden would be extremely unpopular, and as a general conclusion it may be safely The Land Tax. declared that no addition to direct taxation, which already produces three and a half times the amount from Customs, comes within the sphere of practical politics. With regard to Excise and indirect taxes, which at present bring in nearly half the revenue, there is wider scope for additions. A large quantity of sugar (molas- Indirect Taxes, ses and glucose), salt, methylated and other spirits, all used for either distilling or manu- facturing purposes, are exempted from Excise. Nearly 12,000 tons of salt and over 13,000 tons of sugar are admitted into the country free in this form. In 1909, an exceptional year, the total of sugar exceeded 31,000 tons — ^this sugar being, of course, molasses and the saccharine processes for the distilleries, and not for domestic purposes. The price of sugar is one of the domestic tragedies of Dutch life, its market price being exactly double what it is in England. For this reason loaf sugar is always served Sugar. in a powdered form not quite as fine as castor sugar ; and when sugar is offered in the lump it is generally presented as a great luxury in a dainty paper packet as an accompaniment of the coffee. The little packet contains two lumps, no more, no less. When we turn to the side of expenditure, we find the principal outlay comes under six heads, one of which, the interest and sinking fund of the debt, has not Expenditure, greatly varied in the last twenty-five years. The principal increases in the last ten years have been under the heads of Interior, Navy, and Army. The expenditure of the Interior or Home Department rose from 16,682,106 florins in 1902 to 34,961,284 in 1910, and this increase was mainly due to the development of education and the larger participation of the State in the matter. Revenue, Finance, and Debt 115 Besides this increase the expenditure on Navy and Army reads small. Taking the same years, the Navy rose from 16,524,712 to 20,123,305 ; and the Army from 23,424,090 to 28,467,313, and in 1912 this had further risen to 30,299,059. Indeed, military expenditure is likely to increase in Holland, as in most other States, for it is only a form of national insiurance. The follo\ving table shows the total State expenditure for the year 1910, divided under the twelve official headings — (1) The Sovereign (really Royal Household — Huis der Koningin) , 800.000 (2) The Legislature, etc. 719,260 (3) Foreign Department 1,119,103 (4) Justice 9,621,316 (5) Interior . 34,961,284 (6) Navy . 20,123,305 (7a) National Debt . 36,585,001 (7b) Finance . 27,046,608 (8) War . 28,467,313 (9) Waterstaat . . . 34,213,399 (10) Land . . . . 8,127,467 (11) Colonies 2,926,663 (12) Unforeseen . . 36,606 204.747,325 The Sovereign's Civil List, or more correctly, State salary, is fixed at each accession by mutual agreement. When Queen Wilhelmina took over personal rule it was arranged that it should be 800,000 florins, but sometimes the amount is in- creased by a special grant as in 1911, when it rose to 945,000 florins. The new law of 1913 fixes it at 900,000 florins al- together. No allowance is made to the Prince Consort, but in the event of the Queen predeceasing him he is guaranteed a pension of 150,0(X) florins. This is the sum which is also paid to the Queen-Mother Emma, who gained the esteem of the Dutch people by the prudence and tact she displayed in the difficult part of Regent. The sums mentioned may not seem very large according to English ideas, but in Holland they are regarded as positively generous. 116 Holland of the Dutcli Pensions to public functionaries form an important item in the expenditure of each Department, and are divided into several sections. There are first the allow- Pensions. ances to unattached officials. Next come the regular pensions to the retired members of the services. In the third place, there are the pensions to the widows and children of officials who died in active service. Of these divisions the first is necessarily the smallest and least important — ^263 officials receiving allowances of 70,953 florins. The figures are those of 1909, the last return issued. Coming to the regular pension list, we find 4,051 pensioned officials receiving 3,062,331 florins, or an average of 750 florins (£62 10s.). To these totals must be added the figures for retired teachers of primary education. They showed in 1909— State Schools. Number. Amount. Private Schools, partial aid. Number. Amount. Males Females Widows Children Total 396 140 164 263 321,232 60.579 74,468 13.747 106 46 61 98 80,062 17.076 27,454 5.032 963 472.026 311 129.624 Turning to the pensions of the regular service, we find — Number. Amount. Widows .. .. 4.063 1.410,498 Orphans (mother living) .. .. 2.094 114.707 Orphans (both parents dead) .. .. 338 23.221 In concluding this chapter, a few words may be said about the National Debt. The figures quoted a few pages back giving the total revenue and expenditure record an increase of revenue in the twenty years of 53*275 per cent, and in expenditure of 57*3. As they also disclose a deficit, which, in the three years, 1908-10, Revenue, Finance, and Debt 117 amounted to two millions sterling, and as this sum had to be made up by a public loan in 1910 the following The National table showing the growth in the public debt Debt. of Holland becomes interesting and invites study as the complement of the Budget. Year. Amount of Debt. Interest Paid 1903 1.137,116.676 31.352.842 1904 1,133.415.556 31.097.959 1905 1,106.492.076 31.640.242 1906 1.144.961.426 32.009.411 1907 1.139.679.626 31.671,196 1908 1.134,064.426 31,673,204 1909 1.128.385,260 31,612,632 1910 1.122.659,710 31,351,256 1911 1.116.870.310 32,122,544 1912 1,163.455.660 32.437.363 There is nothing in these figures to suggest any unsoundness or instabihty in Dutch finance, and this impression is rather strengthened than weakened if the survey is carried back for a longer period. It will be sufficient to say here that the debt in 1911 as compared with 1850 showed a diminution of 70,354,540 (nearly six millions sterling) in the total, and of 3,963,882 florins in the annual charges ; and this diminution takes into account the new 1910 loan for 52,492,700 florins. The prices of the Dutch 2 J and 3 per cent. Rentes in the years given below will show their variation. Lowest Highest ^ear. Stock. Price. Price. 1881 . 2i % 64| 68 »i • . 3 o/o 76f 83^ 1890 . . 2i % 77f 84 »» • . 3 % 91 99 1901 . 2i 0/^ 76 81 »» • . 3 % 89f 95i 1910 . . 2i % 72 77f »» • . 3 % 87i 92i The facts and figures placed before the reader in this chapter prove that the financial condition of Holland is quite sound and healthy, the total burden of State contributions 118 Holland of the Dutch averaging thirty-four florins per head of population, or less than £3. It is clear, however, that the Dutch Government, resembling in this respect every other, will have to provide larger sums for urgent national requirements than ever in the past. A certain rigidity and reluctance to impose new taxes or to increase those in force may be noticed, but there can be no doubt that under the pressure of necessity the Dutch Government will seek to utilise some of those sources of revenue which are at present either untouched or little developed. CHAPTER XIII THE POPULATION — VITAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS In order to have a solid foundation for an opinion as to the stability of a country and the weU-being of its people it is necessary to possess some knowledge of its StaSSfcs. ^^tal and social conditions. This knowledge can only be acquired by examining the sta- tistics published by the State and by deducing from them some generally instructive conclusions. If the reader finds statis- tics of any kind too heavy or exacting for his attention, then this chapter can be passed over. If, on the other hand, they interest him he can make his own conclusions for himself by comparing the figures with the corresponding ones in other countries. Holland contains by the cadastral survey 3,411,211 hec- tares, or 8,528,027 acres. In 1833 the area was less by 140,252 hectares, but much of the difference is due Area. to the inclusion of water areas in the later statistics. The gain to the land by drainage, however, is certainly not less than 35,000 hectares since 1861. The population, according to the census of 1909, was 5,858,175, whereas in 1830, after the loss of Belgium, it had been only 2,613,487. Assuming the rate of Population, the last ten years to have been sustained, it must at the end of 1912 have exceeded 6,100,000. The last censas shows a population of 439 to the square mile. (8,528,027 acres = 13,325 sq. ms. circa.) The larger half, viz., 3,488,219, still inhabit the country or towns with a lower population than 20,000, while 2,369,940 dwell in the thirty-one communes containing over 20,000 119 120 Holland of the Dutch inhabitants. Dividing the population by sex, there are 2,959,050 women to 2,899,125 men, the ratio per cent, being 50'51 to 49-49. Dividing it again by the civil status, the returns show — Unmarried — Men .. 1.806,388 Women .. 1.770.938 Married — Men 990.991 "Women 993.171 Widowers 96.269 Wido'w's . . 186.735 Divorced Persons — Men 3.843 Women 6.102 Separated— Men 1.551 Women 2.082 Unspecified — Men 83 Women 22 Total . . 5,858.175 Foreigners in Holland. The foreign colony, chiefly Germans and Belgians, is not very large. There were 37,534 Germans, 18,338 Belgians, 2,645 French, 2,102 EngUsh, and 9,363 of aU other nationalities combined resident in HoUand in 1909. The Dutch are a long-Uved people. In 1909 there were 18,654 men and 24,702 women who had reached eighty years and over. The health of the nation is particularly good, showing the natural increase of population to be at the high rate of fifteen per thousand per annum, or per cent, for the Statistics. decennial period. In 1910 there were 42,740 marriages, 168,894 hving births, and 79,984 deaths — an excess of births of 88,910. Since 1891 the death- rate had fallen from 2*07 per cent, to r36 per annum, and the birth-rate from 3 37 to 2*86 ; but the normal increase rose Population — Vital and Social Conditions 121 from 1*30 to 1*50, the decline in the birth-rate being more than compensated for by the improved health of the community. Of all the great towns, Rotterdam and The Hague have made the largest proportional increase in population since 1830. In that year The Hague had 56,105 Large Cities inhabitants ; in 1910 the total had risen to 280,515. Rotterdam had 72,204 at the earlier date ; it has now 426,888. In 1830 Amsterdam was the only city with over 100,000 inhabitants. It had 202,364, which has now become 573,983. The day may not be very far distant when Rotterdam will have caught it up, for it has more open space for expansion than the other city. Emigration from Holland is very limited. In 1910, an average year, only 3,220 persons left the country, and of those 2,984 went to North America. Of Emigration, course, the emigrants to the Indies are not included in these figures, and those who survive the Tropics are expected to return some day or other, as the great majority certainly do. There are thirty-three lunatic asylums in Holland, whose inmates numbered at the end of 1909, 5,931 men and 5,815 women. During the course of that year, Lunatics. 1,351 men and 1,309 women were admitted. The total number of deaths in the twelve months were 436 men and 394 women. Cures were reported in the cases of 336 men and 395 women, and 128 men and 158 women left the asylum for different reasons but not as cured. Of the total of 2,660 persons admitted during 1909— 305 were under twenty 1,423 were unmarried 1,577 between twenty and forty-nine 941 married 778 above fifty 296 widowers, widows and divorced persons 2,660 2.660 122 Holland of the Dutch The statistics relating to the blind show a total of 1,349 men and 1,361 women. Of these 212 and 139 respectively were under fifteen years of age. With regard to deaf and dumb persons, there were 1,228 men and 1,077 women. In connection with the conscription and the annual levy for the Army, statistics of height are carefully recorded up ^ . to 5 ft. 6i in. Those of that height and Statistics of Height. anything above it are classed together, and in 1910 formed 45*61 per cent, of the inscribed total. Those between 5 ft. 2} in. and 5 ft. 6J in. formed 46*54 per cent. ; those between 5 ft. 1 in. and 5 ft. 2f in., 5*87 ; and under 5*1 the remainder or 1*98. The tallest men come from Friesland, North Holland, Utrecht and Groningen ; the shortest from North Brabant and Limburg. A compara- tive table in the last census shows a remarkable increase of stature in the last fifty years. Statistics throw a clear light on the social condition and prosperity of a country. The occupations and professions of the nation are divided in Holland under ^^^ ' thirty-six heads, which include those without profession or occupation, the bulk of whom are children. The latest of these tabular returns is based on the census of 1899, when the population of the country was only 5,104,137. Of that total— 1,023,444 males 2,149,987 females 3,173,431 were without profession 1,930,706 living as workers of one kind or other 5,104,137 (population of 1899) The largest ''number were naturally absorbed in agriculture, the figures being 490,694 men and 79,584 women. The following table gives the order in numbers of the principal employments, distinguishing the sexes from one another — Population — Vital and Social Conditions 123 Occupation. Males. Females. Total. Agriculture .. .. 490.694 79.584 570,278 Commerce .. .. 146,929 39,181 186.110 Building Trade and Public Works . . 144,377 523 144,900 Transport and Com- merce .. .. 125.926 10.153 136.079 Food Factories . . .. 109,258 5,084 114,342 State Employ . . . . 33,989 257 34,246 General Workers, no special trade . . .. 33,219 17 33,296 Textile Industry . . 34,878 14.608 49.486 Metal Workers . . . . 39.645 679 40,324 Diamond Cutters .. 8,860 1,091 9,951 Glass Workers . . . . 22,828 2,317 25.145 In the following the females exceed the males — Occupation. Males. Females. Total. Domestic service .. 7,930 189,581 197,511 Clothes and Dyeing .. 36,081 55,486 91.567 Teaching, not State Employ .. .. 6,860 8,268 15,128 Labour is organised in Holland and the syndicates are registered at a Central State Bureau. Although the total number of members in 1911 was no more ^l^l than 153,689, there were 2,359 syndicates or unions with an average membership of 65*15 to each. With regard to the hours of labour, the great majority work between ten and eleven hours. In the last twelve years wages have risen between 20 and 25 per cent. In 1910 there were 12 lock-outs and 131 strikes. In 26 strikes the men succeeded, in 52 they failed, and in 48 there was a compromise. The cost of the principal articles of food is rather less than it is here. Wheaten bread is less than 2id. for the 2J lb. loaf. Rye bread is Ifd. for the same weight. Prii^s Butter is Is. a pound, beef only 6d., and pota- toes less than Jd. The only article that is really dear is sugar. Vegetables and fish are far cheaper than in England. The British pabUc wiU have to reconsider its views about the cost of food in Continental States. Mutton 124 HoUand of the Dutch is almost a luxury in Holland, but there is plenty of beef, veal, and pork of the first quality. The best cheeses, like that of Edam, can be bought for 6d. a pound. Assistance to the out of work and the indigent poor is well organised. It is dispensed by private bodies and by the municipalities. In 1908 the municipalities had under them 1,060 institutions of a general character. There were also under public direction 1,199 relief centres or distributing offices. Institutions. Those in connection with the different churches were the most numerous of all, viz., 4,052 ; institutions under private direction totalled 819. Many of these societies or guilds only distribute food in winter, but hospitals, homes for the poor, and l5dng-in hospitals are included in all the totals. The returns for 1908 showed that 278,105 were assisted in a general way, that 72,069 received outside medical treat- ment from visiting doctors and nurses, that Hospitals. 4,401 confinements were treated in the lying-in hospitals, that 86,940 persons were either in or out-patients of the hospitals and asylums, and that work was found for 3,941 applicants. These figures show that there is much poverty and distress existing in Holland side by side with great affluence and prosperity. The figures of the Post Office Savings Bank are interesting. At the close of the year 1910 there were 1,510,033 books out, and 83,650 accounts had been closed during ^^1^ that year. The balance in hand from depositors' payments was 164,277,593 florins (say £13,689,799), but for the only time on record the payments out including interest in the year named exceeded the pay- ments in. The average in the previous ten years had been an excess of deposits of about five million florins. The average balance per account open was 109 florins, and it is curious to note that the highest savings were found in the least Dutch provinces of Limburg and Nord Brabant. Population — Vital and Social Conditions 125 There are several institutions for helping financially the different classes of the community who do not possess capital. The most modest of these are the caisses, which take charge of the working man's savings during the good months of summer so that he may be able to draw upon them when work is difficult to find in winter. These spaarkassen (spare cash) play but a modest role. In 1909 3,767 persons had paid in but 240,000 florins and drawn out 181,000. The Hulphanken — i.^., banks for making advances to working men — advanced in 1909 3,193,000 florins to 12,389 persons ; and the loss during the year on unrecoverable debts was only 4,026 florins ('125 per cent.). The Boerenleenbanken are intended to help the farming classes on the Raiffeisen system, and are what we would call Agricultural Banks. There are 603 branches in the kingdom, and in 1909 they advanced to 8,812 persons, sums totalling 6,370,000 florins. The total loans outstanding at the end of the year named amounted to 13,508,000 florins or over a milUon sterling. The business seems one of a profitable character, for the net profit at the end of the year named amounted to 108,000 florins. Finally, in the list of loan offices we come to the pawn shops, which are politely called Banken van Leening (Lending Banks). These are of two kinds, those con- Shops, trolled by the Communes, and those run by private firms. There are no returns from the latter since 1890, with the exception of a few farmed out by the Communes. These had dwindled down to one in the year 1909. The sixteen communal pawn shops lent (1909) on 2,110,000 articles the total sum of 8,063,000 florins. In the same period 2,066,000 articles on which 7,932,000 florins had been lent were reclaimed. In the same period 70,000 pledged articles were sold for 258,000 florins, proving that they were articles belonging to the very poor. The sales showed a profit of 15,000 florins. The costs of administration were 269,000 florins or about 3 per cent. CHAPTER XIV COMMERCE, RAILWAYS, AND INDUSTRY Although much of Holland's trade, like that of Belgium, is one merely of transit, there remains sufficient to put the country in the fourth place among the great commercial nations of Europe. This ascendancy is to be mainly explained in the case of this small country by its enormous agricultural and horticultural productiveness which has been already discussed. In proof of this it may be mentioned that cereals, butter, fish and eggs represent over one-fourth of the total exports of Holland. The returns of the country's trade are divided into two categories. There is first of all the General Trade, which includes everything, meaning transport trade Special Trade. ^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^* ^^ commercial transactions ; and then there is the return of Special Trade, which gives the true state of trade in the country. With regard to the former, the statistics can necessarily give only weight not value, for freight is decided by bulk, and the total General Trade is, therefore, merely expressed as follows — Tons. Imports 47,580.000 Exports 35,530,000 From these totals together, for no distinction is made Transit between imports and exports, have to be Trade. deducted the transport trade, which is thus particularised — Tons. Transport trade — With unloading . . .. 1.828,000 Without „ .. .. 10.856.000 12.684,000 which leaves the bulk of the Special Trade at 70,426,000 tons, 126 Commerce, Railways, and Industry 127 i.e., 83,110,000 minus 12,684,000, thus making the transport trade about 15 per cent, of the whole. Turning now to the special trade, we find its value given as — Florins. Imports .. .. 3,265,000,000 Exports .. .. 2,632.000,000 Together . . 5,897,000,000 or about 491,416,500 pounds sterling. The mere citing of those figures is sufficient to show the immense prosperity of the country. Some of the details are interesting. Butter was exported to the extent of 32,866 tons, valued at 1,000 florins the ton, or a total of 32,866,000 florins. The « .. ^ J whole, of a value in English money of Butter Trade. ^^ _^^ i or • ^ j. t- i j £2,738,125, is sent to England. Eggs are also measured and valued by the ton, and the total for 1910 is given at 20,105 tons at 450 florins the ton, or a total value of 9,047,250 florins, or £753,937. By far the greater part of these also were sent to England. The trade in artificial butter and margarine is also immense, the export being for 56,400 tons at 800 florins the ton, or a total value of 45,120,000 florins, the equiva- ^Buft^r^ lent of £3,760,000. One of the greatest margarine factories in the country is at Oss, between Nijmegen and Bois-le-Duc, and it is mentioned here because its proprietor, Mr. Jurens, employs only English clerks in his counting-house, and runs it on the lines of an English Joint Stock Company. Coffee, of course, figures as both an import and an export, the latter exceeding the former by nearly 50 per cent. While 79,000 tons were imported 120,000 tons were exported, the latter being valued at 440 florins per ton, or a total of 52,800,000 florins, that is £4,400,000. In connection with coffee, it is interesting to note that a very considerable part of it is that imported from Java and Sumatra and sold on Government account at public auction. Colonial produce 128 Holland of the Dutch sold in this manner reached in 1910 the high total value of 2J millions sterling. Trade with ^he following table shows the principal Principal countries with which Holland carried on Countries. trade, and their participation in her exports and imports (in florins) — Imports. Belgium 301.000.000 Exports. 330,000.000 545.000.000 24,000.000 113.000,000 1,226.000,000 60,000,000 32,000,000 84,000,000 4,000,000 15,000.000 18.500.000 Great Britain .. .. 324.000,000 France 38,000,000 Java 493,000,000 Prussia 760,000,000 Hamburg 54,500,000 Bremen 5,300,000 U.S.A 295,000,000 British India .. .. 81,000.000 Russia 433,000,000 Sweden 52,000,000 The Dutch mercantile fleet is very considerable, and the trade of Amsterdam and Rotterdam is largely carried on in Dutch bottoms. During the year 1910, Navigation. 14,874 steamers and sailing ships of a total tonnage of 39,718,000, entered Dutch ports, and 16,258 of a total tonnage of 45,842,000 sailed from them. The Dutch share in this navigation amounted to 4,293 ships of 10,709,000 tons for the incoming traffic, and 4,553 ships of 11,969,000 tons for the outgoing. Holland therefore participates to the extent of about 2t of the total. In 1910 there were 11,778 Dutch seamen employed on Dutch ships. Of these 1,945 served on saiUng ships and 9,833 on steamships. The crews are classified as follows — 764 Second-Captains .. 1.251 Mates . . 180 Engineers 989 Stokers . . .. 2.126 Carpenters 185 Sailors . . . . 2.605 Others 3.678 Total .. 11.778 < Q « W H H O « H <: h-1 W o I— ( in h-i O o u w w H I Commerce, Railways, and Industry 129 As between Amsterdam and Rotterdam there is now not much difference in the shipping registered at each port. In 1910 the number of ships and tonnage at the two places was — ^1"^^^ Tons. 2*^^^- Tons. Snips. snips. Rotterdam .. 39 13,143 181 281,925 Amsterdam .. — — 187 277.812 In the last ten years, contrary to the general opinion, Amsterdam has forged ahead faster than its rival, but of course this relates to native-owned ships, for at Rotterdam foreign ships are in marked and increasing ascendancy. There are five principal Dutch hues for passenger service. They are the " Nederland," the Rotterdam Lloyd, the Neder- land American, the Royal Nederland, and the Zeeland. The last named runs the postal service steamers from Flushing to Queensborough and Folkestone, and this route is patronised by every patriotic Dutchman. It is a very good service, but the ships are in no way superior to those on the British hne from Harwich to the Hook of Holland. This Hne is somewhat boycotted by the Dutch, more especially since the Berlin accident, but it is largely used by Germans. In 1910 there were 3,190 kilometres, or nearly 2,000 miles, of railways in working order in Holland. Of these 1,796 ks. were State railways, and 1,127 ks. were Railways! owned by the Dutch Railway Company — the 267 remaining kilometres being chiefly 148 ks. of the Dutch Central line and 52 ks. as the Dutch por- tion of the Boxtel Wesel line, which is run by an essentially German, although nominally mixed, company. The cost of constructing these lines seems to have been 380,000,000 florins, or about 130,000 florins per kilometre. Of the total distance only 1,459 ks. were double railed. From another statistical return we learn that in the year mentioned there were 1,142 engines, 2,970 coaches for passen- gers, and 19,944 wagons for goods as the total rolling stock of the kingdom. 9— (3390) 130 Holland of the Dutch Dutch railways are very well built, especially those that are double railed, and some of the bridges and causeways are fine examples of engineering skill. Note- Brfdge."^ worthy among these are the eastern Unes flanking the Zuyder Zee, which are carried over causeways that stand somewhat above the level of the highest floods on record. This is especially noticeable in the somewhat desolate province of Drenthe, where the collection of peat represents the chief industry and resource of the people. But the Dutch are proudest of the famous bridge over the Moerdijk, which is nearly 1,700 yards in length. It crosses the Hollandsch Diep between Rosendael and Dordrecht, and presents an imposing appearance more especially when viewed from the passenger steamer plying between Antwerp and the last-named city. The number of passengers totalled 46,221,000, of whom — 1,640,000 were 1st class 10,134,000 „ 2nd „ 32.696.000 „ 3rd ., 1,751.000 „ at reduced fares 4"6.22 1.000 Reduced fares are those for which travellers take out a kilometric book, and pay at a fixed rate per kilometre actually travelled. This means a great reduction in cost and fulfils in a simple and practical manner the role of the season ticket in England. During the summer months travellers have another great privilege. What are called vacantie karten are issued from 1st July to 1st October. For the sum of four florins, 1st class, and three florins, 2nd class, a traveller can take a ticket from one end of Holland to the other ; for instance, from Flushing to Groningen. There is, however, one obUgation on him, as he has to travel straight through to his destination. It is also obvious that the system does not help for short journeys, and the foreigner has always to make a careful comparison with the regular fare before deciding to take a vacantie karten or not. Railway fares are not high in Commerce, Railways, and Industry 131 Holland, and most people with any pretension to gentility travel first class. It is worth noting, however, that there is no reduction on return tickets, which are always the double fare. The total receipts from the railways were, for passengers — Florins. 1st class . . . . . . 2,630,000 2nd „ 7,880,000 Receipts. 3rd 13,071,000 Special Tickets .. .. 7,113,000 30,694.000 The receipts from goods traffic were nearly as heavy, amounting to 29,548,000 florins ; so that the total income of all the railways from both sources amounted to 60,242,000 florins, or a httle over five miUions sterhng. Goods were carried to the extent of over 16,000,000 tons. These are differentiated as follows — Tons. 78.000 293,000 1,151,000 13.667,000 524.000 317.000 Travellers' luggage Goods by fast train ., by slow ,, by goods „ Official or Administration Parcels Horses and Cattle (in number) In addition, 20,000 carriages were also conveyed over the different systems. Dutch railways are, therefore, in a flourishing state, and show a profit on the working expenses of not less than 25 per cent. The following figures give the working cost and the receipts of the four groups into which the railways of the country are divided — Working Group. Expenses. Receipts. Profit. State Railways 28,540.000 33,878,000 5,338.000 Dutch Railway Company . . 20,430,000 25,751,000 5.321.000 Central Railway Company . . 1.926.000 2,700.000 774.000 Boxtel to Wesel 815.000 1.164,000 349.000 Totals 51,711.000 63,493.000 11.782.000 (or nearly one milloin sterling) 132 Holland of the Dutch With regard to the kilometre books just mentioned, there is one peculiar feature that deserves to be noticed. These books are issued for a special total number of ^Bo^^s?^ kilometres, generaUy 1,000, but that total is too high for the ordinary Dutch traveller, and if there were no way of getting over the difficulty this fact would curtail the use of the book and restrict its sale. There is a ready market for half or quarter used kilometre books, which can be passed from hand to hand through the medium of a recognised agent, generally a tobacconist or newsagent. The applicant for a partially used book says : "I want one for 250 kilometres," and then he is sooner or later accommodated by some one who has that amount unused. As the transactions are quite numerous, the apphcant will not have very long to wait. Considering the number of passengers carried, accidents are very rare in • Holland, as the following table for 1910 shows — Number of derailments . . . . . . 41 ,, collisions . . . . . . 28 „ other accidents . . . . 27 Passengers killed . . „ ,, through their own fault „ injured „ ,, through their own fault Employees killed . . „ ,, through their own fault „ ,, whilst coupling trains ,, injured „ ,, through their own fault ,, ,, whilst coupling trains Other persons, neither travellers nor employees Killed (8 suicides) Injured Total (53 killed. 119 injured). . 3 29 15 7 7 12 31 13 14 24 17 172 Any description of Dutch railways that omitted a brief notice of the tramways would be incomplete. The light railway as known in England and Belgium does not exist. Commerce, Railways, and Industry 133 although many of the single rail lines are practically of this category. Tramways are now of two categories — steam and electric. In the large towns all trams Tramways. are driven by electric power, and the carriages, painted in cream, are particularly attractive-looking, but we need not concern ourselves about them here. The trams which serve as means of communication between towns and their neighbours supplement the main railways, and are practically identical with light railways. On the last day of 1909 there were altogether in working order — 2,111 kilometres of single-railed trams, and 227 „ „ double- „ They carried in the year over 153,000,000 passengers, and more than 1,330,000 tons of merchandise, and the receipts were over 12,842,000 florins, or above a million sterling. But a great extension has taken place since 1909, and hues are being laid down in all directions, more especially in the undeveloped districts bordering the eastern frontier and across North Brabant. The new lines are almost entirely worked by electricity, and generally by the overhead system. One of the most important of them is that between Maestricht and the German frontier at Vaals, on the main road to Aix-la- Chapelle. This has been under discussion for a great many years, but there now seems to be a chance of its being seriously undertaken. The line will help to open up a part of South Limburg, which is at present very ill-suppUed with means of communication. Another much-needed line has been taken in hand north of Venlo, traversing a region on the right bank of the Meuse, which the Dutch Government had singularly neglected. This is practically ready for exploitation. A word may be said about telegraphs and telephones. In 1911, with regard to the former, 7,526 kilometres of routes 134 Holland of the Dutch and 36,884 kilometres of wires were in working order. The offices at which telegrams were received numbered 1,048, or about half the number of communes in VeSphones." *^^ kingdom. As in England, the telegraph service does not pay; the receipts being only 2,544,000 florins, and the expenses 4,180,000 florins. For lovers of statistics, it may be mentioned that over six million messages were despatched or received in the year 1910. The telephone service, which is exceptionally developed in the large towns, and notably in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague, where, practically speaking, every house possesses a telephone, is now beginning to be remunerative, the service in 1910 showing a surplus of 86,000 florins. About 67,000 kilometres of wires were working, and about 10,000 kilometres of new wires are added annually. The telephone has become an indispensable adjunct of civilisation in Holland. In 1911 the number of subscribers in the three chief cities exceeded 25,000. Finally, the transactions of the Post Office reveal some remarkable features. Letters to a total of 112,293,000 for the home service and of 51,846,000 for the exterior Office!^ service passed through the post. Post cards, which are somewhat discredited in England, are exceedingly popular in Holland, where as many as 88,942,386 were sent in the year 1910. These do not include those with a reply-paid card, which numbered 583,518 in the year named. Besides these for internal use, there were 16,451,443 cards to foreign countries, as well as 117,008 with replies. Post cards have become so generally used in Holland that they have to a great extent superseded letter writing, and communications of a private or semi-confidential character are made on them which would find no other place in another country than in a sealed envelope. But they appeal irre- sistibly to the national habit of thrift which finds a vent in the desire to save a few cents on every transaction. Industrial enterprises in Holland represent a total capitalised Commerce, Railways, and Industry 135 sum of 250 millions sterling. The following table shows some of the principal industries and the amount of capital invested in them — Nature of Industry. Transport Breweries Distilleries Banks Insurance General Commerce, wholesale „ „ retail Sugar Factories of all kinds Metal Factories Books and Newspapers Hotels Margarine, etc. . . Chemicals Flour and Bread Tobacco Theatres Coffee and Cocoa Factories Jam Manufacture Capital invested (Florins). 560,000.000 440,000,000 350,000,000 346,000,000 250,000,000 240,000.000 47,500,000 199.500,000 49.000.000 31,000.000 31.000.000 20.000.000 18.600.000 18.500,000 8.100,000 7,000.000 6.650.000 4.500,000 3,500,000 Coal Mines. Soap Mines are rare in Holland, and may be regarded as restricted to the province of Limburg, where they are productive and prosperous, mainly through the energy sup- phed by the intervention of French capitahsts. In this region, which may be roughly defined as lying between Sittard and Heerlen, there are six separate coal mines, one worked by the State and five by private com- panies. The State mine (1910) employs 1,092 persons, raises 191,903 tons of coal, and the value of the output is given as 1,326,000 florins. The coal was sold at an average price of seven florins a ton. The five private companies employ 5,338 persons, raise 1,100,386 tons, which are valued at 6,905,000 florins. At present the coal region is hmited to the south-east corner of Limburg, but there is no doubt that it extends far northwards, and it is not improbable that this belt continues to as far as the neighbourhood of Venlo. What the Dutch would very 136 Holland of the Dutch much like to know is whether coal exists west of the Meuse, and whether the discoveries in the Belgian Campine are the prelude to similar ones in the province of Nord Brabant. At present all that is being done consists in boring for petroleum, but as a general rule there is very little Dutch capital available for these home undertakings. The commerce and industry of the country reveal the high state of prosperity to which Holland has attained, but every one agrees that Dutch activity is slumbering, and that the people there are content with what they possess rather than bestirring themselves to develop and multiply the existing resources. This means that by the growth of the population, and the comparatively superior development of other nations this prosperity is arrested and confined. As labour is propor- tionally far less remunerated in Holland than in any other of the leading European States, it is clear that the time must come when necessity will drive Dutch capitalists to make an increased effort to develop the barren or less productive parts of the land, and to increase the territorial area by draining some part at least of the Zuyder Zee. CHAPTER XV AGRICULTURE The basis of all national prosperity if it is to endure must be the cultivation of the land, but in Holland agriculture plays a more important part than in most countries. Cultivation. ^^^ ^^ ^^^ converted a poor soil into one of the most fertile and productive regions in Europe. In the course of centuries Holland has been provided by importation, building up and ceaseless renovation, with a new top layer of mould, as it were, which furnishes unequalled pasturage, vegetable and flower gardens, forcing beds on a large scale, such as are not to be found elsewhere. It is all highly artificial, but as one sees the vast herds of Frisia and Groningen amid the waving green of the polders, the feeling of admiration is not diminished by the reflection that this is the work of man rather than of Nature. Four-fifths of the firm land of Holland is under cultivation, and it increases as the peat wastes of Brabant and Drenthe are drained and brought under cultivation. Peat. Peat has played a great part in the develop- ment and reclamation of Holland. It was discovered long ago that the blending of peat and sand made a very good earth, which contained considerable powers of restraining subsoil waters. Thus was obtained to a great extent the firm bottom so much needed in the western pro- vinces. Peat is still used as largely for building up the dykes as it is for purposes of fuel. The production from the tour- bieres runs into hundreds of millions of blocks, and as the peat-fields are exhausted the land is drained with the view of being turned into orchards or used for arable purposes. The more usual course is to begin with fruit cultivation, and this with a double end. The great defect of Holland is the absence 137 138 Holland of the Dutch of wood. Less than 6 per cent, of the area figures as wood or forest, and several of the provinces cannot boast a single tree outside a private garden. The estabHshment of orchards promotes fruit cultivation, which is a new and very increasing industry in Holland, and at the same time it adds to the wooded area of the country. The Government lends its aid to those who work on a systematic basis. Although it is usual to regard Holland as a country where far more land is given up to pasturage than to cultivation, there are four out of the eleven provinces in which the arable area exceeds that under grass. These are Nord Brabant, Groningen, Zeeland, and Limburg, and for the whole kingdom the proportion of arable to pasture is no more than as 41*7 to 58*3. The provinces in which orchards most abound are Gueldres, South Holland, and Limburg. Market gardens are found mainly in the two Hollands, Gueldres, and Nord Bra- bant. Gueldres and Brabant have considerably more than half the wood in the country between them. Land is worked by either the proprietors (Eigenaars) or farmers (Pachters). The former are interested in 55*3 per cent, of the cultivated land and the latter in 44*7 Systems. P^^ cent. The proportion of actual proprie- tors is highest in Groningen, where it reaches 82 per cent., and in Overyssel where it comes next it is 69*2. In Zeeland and Friesland the farmers are more numerous, being 64-2 and 62*3 of the totals respectively. In Groningen there is a special tenure called beklem regt, which leaves the farmer in undisturbed possession so long as he pays his rent, with a further liability for a year's rent on each succession to the owner. The following figures give an idea of the magnitude of the farm stock in Holland. In 1910 there were 327,400 horses employed in agriculture. The stock of cattle reached a total of 2,026,900, of which 1,068,400 were milch cows. The number of sheep was 889,000, of goats 224,200, and of pigs 1,259,800. The finest horses are of the Friesland breed. Q < w 1—1 < H ' ..1.) >:<_'.«.. Agriculture 139 There are three recognised breeds of cattle, viz., those of Friesland, Groningen, and Gueldres. The Belgian economist, Emile de Laveleye, made a profound study of Dutch agriculture fifty years ago, and although the details have greatly altered, the information Farming. ■^^ suppHes is still fundamentally sound and accurate. The success of Dutch farming is based on scrupulous cleanUness, attention to sanitary condi- tions, and the personal control of details by the proprietor or farmer. In the spring and summer when the cattle are in the fields, the dairy becomes the family's Hving room. In the winter when the cattle is stalled in the big barn or pent- house which forms part of the farm-house, and is only separated from the sitting and bedrooms by a thin partition, the whole family hve in a kind of easy contentment amidst their live stock. It is said that the cattle display semi-human intelli- gence. They require no leading, they stall themselves, and they chew the cud contentedly while their toilet is being attended to. They are washed, combed, and Uttered with the close attention that is paid in England to a race-horse, and during the winter their tails are often tied up to a beam in the roof to prevent their getting soiled. Their stalls are cleaned out several times a day, the floor is kept carefully sanded, and in order to add to the effect patterns are traced and retraced in the sand whenever it is disturbed or disarranged. It may not be doubted that this care and cleanliness effects a double object. It makes the proximity of the cattle to the residence not merely possible but free Cows. from disagreeabiUty, and it conduces to the health of the animals themselves. Over 350 veterinary surgeons are constantly engaged in examining for signs of tuberculosis, and all milk must be sold in sealed bottles bearing an ofi&cial guarantee. This State control has become still more severe since the last outbreak of the cattle plague in 1907, when 341,287 animals had to be destroyed on 17,816 farms. 140 Holland of the Dutch The average yield of milk per cow in North Holland is placed as high as 30 quarts a day, and the greater portion is set aside for conversion into cheese and butter. Milk. These articles are chiefly manufactured in special buildings or factories, called Zuivel- fabrieken. Although the manufacture of cheese is not res- tricted to a single province, it is in North Holland that it attains the greatest production and the most perfect quahty. Dutch cheeses are of two kinds. There is the round cheese resembhng a red ball known to commerce as Dutch, and in Holland itself as simply cheese. Then there is Edam, called especially after that place, and made in flat blocks. Both cheeses are excellent and although it is the fashion in foreign countries to treat Edam as a superior production, the market price of both in Holland is the same, or about 5d. a pound. The principal market for Edam cheese is at Purmerend, and other great cheese markets are held at Bodegraven, Gouda, Utrecht, Leyden, and Leeuwarden. Cheeses. The total output of cheese in Holland is valued at two millions sterling. That of butter cannot be much less, and these figures give a fair idea of the amount of foreign money that is brought back into Holland as the reward of land cultivation. It is said that the Dutch butter trade is feeling the effects of colonial competition, but the cheese is so excellent in quality that the demand for it is considerably greater than the supply. This trade explains why the Dutch agriculturist finds pasture more profitable than cultivation. The draining of the lakes round Alkmaar and their conversion %oWer!^ ^ ^^^^ polders became a most remunerative process for the capital expenditure was soon recovered. Some of these polders are worked in common by a sort of guild composed of the proprietors. For instance, there is the Beemster polder formed out of one of the forty- three lakes that used to cover so much of the Alkmaar district. It has a superficies of 17,500 acres, spht up into 300 farms. Agriculture 141 Each farmer pays into a common fund a sum fixed at a rate per hectare, which meets all the Habilities of the Httle com- munity. Among these figure prominently the expense of preserving the polder from inundation, for, l5^ng as it does nearly 12 feet lower than the level of Amsterdam, the surplus water has to be persistently drawn off by the action of water- mills to the sea. In these polders, although there are narrow walks on the top of the walls between which flow the irrigation canals, aU traffic is carried on by boat, and the farmhouses are themselves surrounded by moats, which are crossed by drawbridges raised at nightfall. As it is impossible for the cattle to get outside of the polder, and as all the polders are bound together by common interest, there is no attempt at herding, and the cattle are left to roam and pasture at will. Reference to the polders suggests the question of the storks who are given free lodgment in them for the services they render in keeping down the multitudes of The Storks, frogs and toads. The stork is a friendly bird, and he is essentially the bird of Holland. If there are no storks in a polder every inducement is held out to them to come by the erection of posts which form the support for storks' nests. These posts, crowned by their little bundles of sticks and wattle cunningly knit together, form the only breaks in the monotony of the view presented by the polders. Formerly storks were more numerous than they are now, and no Dutch city was without its own pet colony. The tragedy of the stork colony at Delft is one of the classics of Dutch folk-lore. It occurred in the fifteenth century, and during the breeding season. The town caught fire and the wooden houses burnt rapidly. The storks, hke the inhabitants, made preparation for flight, but their offspring were too young for flight and too heavy to carry. The old birds could only save their own fives by abandoning their young. They refused, returning to their nests, and all perished together. Reference was made in an earlier passage of this chapter 142 Holland of the Dutch to the form of tenure known as beklem-regt. This system is only found in Groningen, where it has existed for many cen- turies. It is beUeved to have originated in the agreements made between the abbeys and convents on one side, and the farmers on the other, who worked the church lands. The latter asked for some security of tenure in return for giving their best efforts to the improvement of the land. The farmer paid a quit rent, and in return got a deed guaranteeing him against dispossession so long as he paid it. But he got in the course of time something more than this. He obtained the privilege of passing on his right to his heir, provided the latter paid an additional year's rent as a kind of succession duty. In the course of centuries this tenure has developed into one of almost absolute possession, and it is only very rarely that land held on these terms comes into the market. Such cases arise through the failure of the holder, not in agriculture, but by bad investments in other directions. The sale includes not only the farm but the Farms. improvements on it in respect of buildings and farm implements. The price paid for the latter goes to help the seller and his family, or to liquidate their debts. The acquirer of the farm must be able to show that he is in a position to discharge all the obHgations that its possession wiU entail towards the State, the Commune, and himself. Of late years things have not gone so very well with the farmers, and forced sales have been more frequent. There has also been a difficulty in hiring labour owing to the higher pay in industrial employment and also to the attrac- tions of Belgium and Germany, where in good seasons labour is deficient. For these reasons inducements are being held out to the farm-labouring class to remain at home, and a system of allotments has been introduced which may develop. But when we remember that the farm labourer rarely earns more than 9s. a week with a house, it is pretty clear that wages will have to go up considerably if he is to be kept at home. Agriculture 143 There is no great social distinction between the farmer and the agricultural class in general. Both are Boeren, both use the wooden shoe or klompen for work in the Class. fields, and both never trouble themselves about anything except their land until Saturday evening approaches. Then they go to their village or the neighbouring townlet, where they have their weekly shave and their weekly gossip. This takes place in the Raad or weekly assembly, which sometimes meets in the store, but more usually in the inn, which of late years has attracted the majority by the provision of a billiard table. These discus- sions are the event of the week, and cover a wide range of poUtics and religious topics, as well as the affairs of the locaUty. Perhaps it is because the last named are so dull that the poUtics are so discursive, and this is particu- larly the case in the North, where Dutch character is much more free and outspoken. There also the difference between proprietor and farmer is very sHght, and the class of farm labourer as understood in England does not exist. The homestead in Groningen and Frisia provides accom- modation from the Dutch point of view for a very considerable family. It is not the practice to provide Arrangements, separate bedrooms. The beds are placed in receptacles, cupboards, and even a kind of ingenious sliding drawer round the sitting-room, which is generally kitchen and dining-room in one. The receptacles are curtained off, the lockers and cupboards are practically invisible, and if a stranger could suddenly enter the dwelling at night and take up his place at the hearth he would never imagine that perhaps twenty people quite concealed from view were sleeping around him. There is always a state or spare bedroom which is never used, but ever kept in careful readi- ness for the honoured guest who never arrives. Sometimes the room itself does not exist, but in that case there will be a becurtained and belaced bed in the sitting-room which 144 Holland of the Dutch answers the same purpose, and is guarded as a monument of the family's respectabiHty. At the weekly Raad the Boer smokes his long Gouda pipe, and enjoys his glass or two of Schiedam, or whatever may be his favourite form of gin, while the more The Raad. eloquent discuss and decide the affairs of the country. The clergyman, the doctor, and the schoolmaster are also present, and are supposed to give a slightly higher tone to the discourse. Moreover, a certain amount of local business is transacted, for the Raad is the meeting-place of the gemeente, which is ruled by the Burgo- master and a small council, generally called " the leden van den Raad.'* All this serves to make the weekly Raad of greater interest, and those who take part in it may be excused if, like members of more famous assembhes, they imagine themselves to be persons of importance. The Dutch are enormous smokers, and pipes or cigars are rarely out of their mouths. An immense quantity of tobacco is imported from Sumatra, and cigars of home manufacture are excellent and cheap. Children are allowed to smoke almost as soon as they can light a piece of paper, and the youth are encouraged to smoke in the presence of their fathers. There is nothing shamefaced about it, but, on the other hand, this indispensable practice for the masculine gender has produced no imitativeness in the other sex. Dutch ladies do not smoke. Mention of smoking in Holland recalls the story of the famous Van Klaes of Rotterdam. Van Klaes made a fortune in the Indies, and on his return he built a fine Tobacco. mansion in his native town and proceeded to turn it into a museum of pipes. His collec- tion of pipes contained many specimens of the instruments for burning hemp or weeds used by primitive man long before the discovery of tobacco. He received many visitors to see his curios, and they were not made any the less numerous by the fact that it was notorious that he never allowed them Q K O o H o O Agriculture 145 to depart without a certain number of his very excellent cigars in their pockets. Van Klaes smoked about half a pound of tobacco every day, and to save himself trouble he used a particularly large pipe, which gained him the nickname of Father Great Pipe. The doctors could not declare that there was anything very inju- rious in the habit, for the man Hved to be ninety-eight, and almost the last act recorded of him is that he Ht his pipe to make his will — the only one in the world's history for the benefit of smokers. The document began by inviting all smokers in the country to his funeral. Each person who attended was to receive 10 lbs. of tobacco and two pipes bearing the name of the donor, his arms and the date of his death, but he imposed the con- dition that they were to smoke without interruption during the funeral ceremony. Even his cook, for whom he provided, was obUged for this occasion to forego her aversion to smoke, and to join the procession smoking under penalty of forfeiting her legacy. Finally, his coffin was to be lined with the wood of his old cigar boxes, and beside him were to be placed his favourite pipe, a supply of tobacco, and a box of matches for, as the will sententiously sets forth, no one knows what may happen. The story of Van Klaes appeals to every Dutchman, for smoking is the ruhng passion, and the Raad meetings would be less popular and attended if pipes had to be left at the door. There is another weekly meeting-place as regularly fre- quented as the Raad, and not by one sex alone. This is the church or kirk. Going to church is a very Church-going, serious business in Holland, and whatever may be the sect all the members of it attend. The women dress in their best, the men put on black coats and coloured ties, and every one is prepared to pass between two and three hours in the church. The schoolmaster reads a long lesson, there is a good deal of psalm-singing, but the serious part is the pastor's sermon, which never lasts less than 10 — (2390) 146 Holland of the Dutch an hour and a half in delivery. There is an interruption half way through his discourse for a collection, and at that moment, as the stir in the church shows, most of the women are asleep. But the men take great pride in hearing the sermon through, and the more discursive the preacher makes it, the more will it be to their taste. Perhaps this explains why so many Dutch preachers have become popular journalists. After the church is over the congregations return to their dinners, and Sunday afternoons are marked by the drinking of cordials, generally brandy with sugar, and the eating of sweet cakes. It is a general day of relaxation from the labours of the week. The agricultural class keep entirely to them- selves, and have rather a contempt for those whose work is of a different nature. Manual labour, and not book know- ledge, is the test of a man, and even their own village school- master, the chief embodiment of book learning within their horizon, is rather looked down upon as a useless person. Whether the new education law will bring about a change in this respect remains to be proved. There is another branch of agriculture in Holland which has been raised to the level of a fine art. This is gardening and tulip-growing. About 12,500 acres are Cultivation, specially devoted to the cultivation of bulbs of all kinds (oignons d fleur or bloem-bollen) , and Haarlem is the centre, visited by the bulb buyers of all the world. It was in the sixteenth century only that the tulip was introduced into Europe from Western Asia, and the mania for developing new species of fantastic colours from the original bulbs seized the Dutch people. GambUng in tuhps became a form of popular amusement. Fabulous prices were paid for rare bulbs. As much as a thousand pounds was paid for one specimen, the last of its genus. Cor- ners were formed in the bulbs, and at last the State had to intervene to put an end to what had become a pubUc scandal. But although gambhng over tulips was stopped, their culti- vation in a natural and reasonable manner has continued Agriculture 147 unabated. To the cultivation of tulips has been added that of many other plants Hke hyacinths, carnations, cameHcLS, etc., so that Haarlem appears to the visitor in the spring Hke a city surrounded by a flower garden. There is an enormous export not merely to England but to South America, and the gardeners of Holland are among the most prosperous class drawing their hvelihood or their profit from the land. Zeeland, which has neither gardens nor orchards, is in some respects the most remarkably developed of all the provinces. It is, in the first place, the one that has been Coimtry entirely rescued from the sea. All its compo- nent islands have to be defended on all sides against the encroachments of the sea and river floods. The whole of the land is below sea-leveL Nowhere else are the water wheels more powerful or more constantly at work. Admitting the boldness and courage of the Netherlanders, no one would assume that they would have thought of turning such a submerged and reclaimed land to any other purpose than one of pasturage. But Zeeland was the inner fortress of the Netherlands against Spain, and as man does not Uve on grass it was to the cultivation of wheat and grain that the Zeelander turned his attention. Laveleye has written : " In point of agriculture Zeeland is the richest province in the Low Countries. The soil is one of wonderful fertihty. Grain, flax, colza, and madder grow as in few other places. There are fine large cattle and colossal horses. The people are strong and weU made, preserving their ancient customs and living contented in their prosperity and peace. Zeeland is a hidden paradise." Of late years Groningen has worked its way up to the second place, but Zeeland is still the home of the golden grain in Holland. In Friesland, the land of the Free Frisians, farming is car- ried on on more scientific principles than is Frisia. general in other parts of Holland. The stock seems to be apportioned to the size of the farm. One milch cow is counted per hectare, two beef 148 Holland of the Dutch cattle for the same area. No farm will be without a certain number of sheep, whose milk is used in preparing a special cheese. The number of horses is also in proportion. An average holding is one of about 100 acres, and the Frisian farmer is generally a small capitaUst as well. Fortunes of seven or eight thousand pounds are common and the Frisian farmer who had not half that sum would be esteemed quite poor. As a consequence of the possession of private means, the Frisian farmer is the best educated man of his class, and it is not uncommon to find among them men who have attended one of the Universities. w Q w Q < w X o pq O H O O CHAPTER XVI RELIGION AND THE CHURCHES Considering the part taken by Holland in establishing Protestantism in Europe, and the long period during which the Church of Rome was forbidden admission Tokration. ^^^^ ^^® country, the present state of religious toleration and equality among the churches must appear a strange anomaly and a striking instance of the " whirligig of time bringing its own revenges/' Many good Dutchmen bitterly regret the disappearance of the State Church and of the old law against the Papacy ; but it has to be remembered that modern Holland contains two Catholic provinces which formerly belonged to the Austrian or Belgic Netherlands. Those provinces could not very well have been taken over if their inhabitants were not to be allowed to practise their own religion. But as a matter of fact, it was the French Revolution which destroyed the old estabHshed Church and opened the door to religious toleration. The Batavian Republic, the ally of France, adopted the tenets and principles of the Paris Convention, which either abolished religion altogether or left it to each man's own choice. We may assume that the Dutch decided for religious equality and toleration on the latter ground. When the Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed there was a still more potent reason for not reviving the National Church and earlier State policy towards the Church of Rome, in the fact that more than half the subjects of the newly- formed kingdom, which comprised Belgium as well as Hol- land, were Roman Catholics. After the scission between the two countries in 1830-31, there remained the inhabitants of North Brabant, Limburg, and part of Gueldres as a solid 149 150 Holland of the Dutch block of Catholic fellow-subjects. The uniformity aimed at in the sixteenth century could not then be sustained in the nineteenth. But there was another and a deeper cause for the pre- valence of tolerance and moderation. The old National Church no longer held undisputed possession The Old Qf ^j^g field. Schisms and splits had divided NsuonAl Church. the Protestants into several factions, and this had been going on more or less ever since the dawn of the seventeenth century, when the Arminians and Gomarists waged war over what the former called their " five articles." Independence of opinion even among the most ardent Calvinists is, therefore, of old date, and in the Holland of to-day there are several distinct Churches or sects even among the Protestants. There is, first of all, " the Reformed Church," which is the successor, as it were, of the old State Church prior to 1795. Its members pose as the orthodox, and in numbers they far exceed all the other Protestants combined. The administration of this Church, officially designated " Hervormde," is carried on by one General and ten Provincial Synods. The " Modem Church," which is a sort of cave in the body of the Hervormde community, came into prominence about the year 1850 as an attempt to reconcile the The Modems, old religious tenets with modem science. Its members are Unitarian, and have had some brilliant leaders, like Scholter and Opzoomer. In most communities this movement would never have assumed any other form than a controversial discussion between rival professors ; but in HoUand it was quite natural for the movement to begin where in other countries it would have ended — ^\ith the founding of a Church. The Modems call themselves the Netherlands Protestant League, to distinguish themselves from the Reformed Church, which is essentially orthodox and Calvinistic, and they have Religion and the Churches 151 a good many meeting-houses and schools scattered over the country. Their congregations are to be found chiefly in towns Hke Amsterdam, Utrecht, and Ley den, but they do not seem to have acquired any hold on the rural population. The aggressiveness of the " Moderns" led to the drawing apart of those who were resolved in upholding the Bible as an unalterable canon, and for many years ^^^ ChuJch!^^"* two bodies, entitled the Afgescheidenen Church and the " Christ elyk Gereformeerden," worked on separatist lines, on the ground that those who tolerated any deviation from orthodoxy were as bad as the unorthodox. These two bodies, or the bulk of them, were amalgamated in 1892 under the style of the Independent or Gereformeerden Churches. In politics, they are the anti-revolutionaries. Dr. Abraham Kuyper has been their leader and president from the beginning of the movement, and it was with the idea of maintaining stricter theology that he founded the New University at Amsterdam. The Nieuwe Kerk at Amsterdam is the headquarters of this body, which had a following of 491,450 persons in 1910. Formerly the State exercised a slight control over the appointment of its pastors and teachers ; but, thanks mainly to Dr Kuyper, this was abolished in 1872. The Gereformeerden body is more aggres- sively propagandist than the Hervormden, and embraces politics and religion in its programme. These two principal Churches, although they contain eleven-twelfths of the Protestants, are far from exhausting the number of Protestant sects in the country. The Lutherans have their churches, as weU as those who look more or less to Calvin, and (like them) they have split into two bodies, viz., the Evangelical and the Modern Lutherans. The former number 81,833 followers, while the latter, who are more particularly known as the Herstites, have no more than 15,867. In the next place we come to the Mennonites, who are called by some authorities Baptists, and by others Quakers. 152 Holland of the Dutch They maintain no regular clergy, but are ruled by the elder of each community. They are one of the oldest bodies in Holland, going back to a time prior to Mennonites. *^^ suppression of Spanish authority. Their founder, Menno Simons, flourished between 1540 and 1560 ; and it is a remarkable tribute to the simpli- city and excellence of his teaching, that, despite active per- secution and the more deadly sap of general indifference, this little body has held together as a separate community for four centuries. Laveleye, the great Belgian economist and writer, has described the Mennonite settlements in Groningen. He expatiates on the union between the members of this small religious body, who help one another in times of stress and trouble, so that there are never any poor to be found among them. Their community numbers 64,245 persons, but its steady increase is due not to proselytism, but solely to the normal growth of the population. Last among the Protestant sects come the Remonstrants, who are the modern representatives of the Arminians. They are social reformers, and believe that the The Remonstrants. *^^^ ^^ rehgion is its influence on conduct. They are more akin to and in sympathy with the Mennonites than with the regular chiu-ches, and they often meet together to hold discussions in what is called open meeting or Raads. The Remonstrants number 27,450. Finally, there is a very small body of 9,660 souls grouped under the name of the Walloon Church. This is really the French Reformed or Protestant Church, although it claims a separate and purely Belgian origin. But there is one remarkable feature in the Protestant religious life of Holland. There is no active strife or enmity between the different sects. At the worst, ° Stxife.*^**" ^^^^ relations are only formal and unsym- pathetic. They can live side by side with- out longing to do one another a mortal injury. But there is another view of the picture, and it may be doubted whether O O P H < Religion and the Churches 153 this religious equanimity is not symptomatic of the some- what lethargic public spirit which colours the whole of Dutch life. No one who knows them can doubt that the Dutch are a most admirable people, that their national life attains a high moral and material standard ; yet it may be ques- tioned whether the pubUc spirit of the nation burns with the virile force of yore. The somewhat easy-going views about creeds now prevalent are, at least, in striking variance with the old anathema : " Sooner Turks than Papists " ; and religion, whether it be merely a formality or a reality, provides one of the surest means of judging the condition of a country. Although the Church of Rome is a united Church in a sense that does not apply to any other body in Christendom, Holland, faithful to its reputation for recep- Catholics. tivity of new ideas, does contain representa- tives of the only two schisms that have dis- turbed the calm of the Papacy since the Reformation. In Holland we find the Church of Rome, as properly under- stood, with a large proportion of the population — ^two-fifths — in its fold, and the influence it exercises is very consider- able in the political and social world. But, at the same time, we find representatives of the Jansenist schism, and of the old Catholics Uving their own separate lives quite peaceably in the midst of a community which regards their heresies and defiance of authority with a kind of tolerant indifference. The Roman Church in Holland is under the direction of a hierarchy composed of an Archbishop of Utrecht and Bishops of Haarlem, S'Hertogenbosch, Breda, and Roermond. The total number of Catholics, speaking of the recognised members of the Church, is 2,053,021. They have increased by 745,256 since 1869, whereas the Dutch Church has only gained 631,409 in the same period. On the other hand, we must remember that the Reformed Churches, which did not exist in 1869, have now 491 .451 members. A fairer comparison 154 Holland of the Dutch may be instituted by the fact that in 1869, when the population was 3,579,529, there were 2,192,013 Pro- testants altogether and 1,307,765 Catholics ; and in 1909, with a total population of 5,858,175, there were 3,334,487 Protestants and 2,053,021 Catholics. These figures show an increase of 52*15 for the Protestants (grouped together) and of 56*98 for the Catholics (excluding the unorthodox) It is not true to say, as many English writers have said, that the Church of Rome is losing ground in Holland. With the development of Nord Brabant and Limburg, it is hkely to expand. The Jansenist Church is an old body, which has existed on Dutch soil for the greater part of three centuries. Perhaps Dutch hospitality was originally Jansenists. extended to it all the more readily because the movement was anti- Jesuit and came under the special condemnation of Louis XIV. Jansenius himself had died, in 1638, as Bishop of Ypres, before the formal separation and expulsion of his followers from the Church occurred. Of his successors, Pascal was the most famous ; and it was probably the force and brilhance of that great thinker's reflections and of the influence of the famous school or coterie of Port Royal that brought down on the sect the persecution of the French Court and Govern- ment. Finally, the Jansenists were expelled from France in 1713 as the consequence of the famous Bull of Pope Clement XI, entitled " Unigenitus." They joined the Dutch members of the church who had drawn together under the name of pupils of St. Augustin at Utrecht, Haarlem, and Deventer, but principally at the first-named place, which is their present headquarters. The Jansenist Archbishop of Utrecht is the official head of the Church ; and as they still claim to be orthodox Catholics, his appointment on each succession is duly noti- fied at Rome, to which notification for a long time past no reply has been vouchsafed. Under the Archbishop are Religion and the Churches 155 bishops at Haarlem and Deventer, The Jansenist survival is a curious instance of the tenacity with which men can cling to an opinion, for the main point with the sect is the freedom of grace. The Old CathoHcs are less numerous than the Jansenists and have a more recent origin, dating only from the Kulter- kampf movement under Dr. DoUinguer against the Infalli- bility dogma. They have no hierarchy, and the Dutch treat them as forming one community with the Jansenists. Their total together is no more than 10,082, which seems a small body to be ruled by an Archbishop and two Bishops. A few words may now be said about the non-Christian com- munities, of whom the Jewish is naturally the most important. The Jews were the only section of the community whose views and prejudices were not taken into account by the framers of the nineteenth century constitu- The Jews. tion, and for many years they had to carry on their rites in secrecy. Amsterdam con- tains the bulk of the Dutch Jews, and the Ghetto there is said to possess a population of 60,000 Jews, most of them living in extreme poverty. One of the modifications intro- duced into the Constitution in 1847 removed all fetters from the right of meeting, and under this the Jews were able to come together for the first time in their synagogues. It was then found that the Jews had forgotten much of their ritual ; and it was only by the aid and munificence of their wealthier members in other parts of Holland and abroad that the synagogues were properly endowed and the people brought back to the strict observance of the religion to which they had clung in name, at least, under persecution and great difficulties, for so many centuries. Even among the Jews the separatist tendency is visible. The main body form the Israelite congregation ; but the Portuguese Jews, who number many Brazihans, have their own separate synagogues and governing body. The total number of Jews in Holland is 99,785, to which may be added the Portuguese sect of 6,624. 156 Holland of the Dutch One of the most surprising features in the last Census returns was the admission by 290,960 persons that they had " no rehgion at all." In 1899 the total was Atheists. only 115,179; and in 1879, the first year of an inquiry on the point, no more than 12,253. In conclusion, it may be stated, as the point has not been made clear by other writers on Holland, that the State does not support religion, as is the case in Belgium. The Budget contains no provision for the clergy or the Churches — in short, for les cultes in any form. But the Communes levy a local rate for the partial payment of the clergy of all creeds, and for the maintenance and preservation of the Churches, both in the rehgious sense and in that, also, of being historical and architectural monuments. I CHAPTER XVII AMUSEMENTS AND FETES It is quite a common criticism of Dutch school life in EngUsh books to regret the absence of popular games, and to assume that because there are none, as Ganws.** ^^ understand them, the schools themselves must be defective as educational establish- ments. The criticism wiU not bear examination, and is, in fact, rather ridiculous. In this age of fierce international competition, when the struggle for Hfe is becoming more acute through the increase of the world's population and the higher scale of comfort and luxury claimed as the right of the individual — not only in the centres of civiHsation, but also in what were called backward countries — schools must become less and less mere playgrounds and more and more institutions for fitting the young for the battle of life. The nation who trains their youth in gymnastics, drill and rifle practice, for their proper physical development, and for the efi&cient discharge of their duties as citizens, must, in the long run, have an immense advantage over those who believe that the same end can be attained by devotion to cricket, football, and hockey. Because there is not a rage for games in Holland it must not be assumed that the youth of the country is soft. They can do some forms of athletics quite as weU as any other people. They are most expert cyclists and skaters ; but as mihtary training is not yet in vogue to the same extent as it is in Germany and Switzerland, their acquaintance with rifle firing and even with gymnastics is not very extensive. 157 158 Holland of the Dutch Whether this will not be changed by the increase of the army and by the adoption of the Boy Scout movement remains to be seen ; but, at all events, the Movemen"! Padvinden ("Pathfinders"), as the Dutch Boy Scouts are called, are very much in evidence just now, and good judges pronounce them to be among the most efficient. In order to show the extent to which cycling is practised in HoUand, it may be mentioned that in 1910 there were 506,704 bicycles belonging to private persons Cycling. who paid the licence for one apiece, and, in addition, there were 32,856 others belonging to dealers and hirers out. There were also 3,254 motor cycles, 1,973 automobiles, and twenty-nine electromobiles. Horse-riding is comparatively rare, as shown by the number of the horses, which is not surprising considering the character of the country ; but it also seems to be falling off. In 1910 there were only 1,938 horses in private ownership as compared with 2,655 in 1897. Medical men in 1897 owned 982 horses ; but in 1910 the number had fallen to 710, which points to the adoption of some other means of locomotion. The total of taxed horses in the kingdom in 1910 was 60,906. After cycling, the great popular recreation of the country is skating ; and, in point of time, it is the ancient national sport, rendered famous on so many life-like Skating. Dutch canvases during the last three cen- turies. But cycling can be practised all the year round, whereas skating can only be indulged in when the lakes and canals are held in the grip of frost ; and of late the winters have been milder, and the old ice festivals on the Meuse, which used to be of regular annual occurrence, have now become rare. But in Friesland and Groningen the canals are always frozen for some part of the winter, and then locomotion is performed almost exclusively on skates. The Frisian and northerner generally has his own t3 p O I— I (/) w o O a. Amusements and Fetes 159 style of skating. It is thoroughly utilitarian and practical, the object being to cover distance in the shortest possible time. He, therefore, skates straight ahead in as nearly as possible to a bee Hne. Stories are told of how the Frisian skater can race and beat an express train, and thinks nothing of an afternoon excursion of a hundred miles. One of the estabUshed records is four miles in five minutes. When skating is known to be practicable, one of the first expeditions made is that from Utrecht to Gouda, which is famous for its long pipes, something like our Some qI^ " Churchwardens." The trip is made not Boisterous 1 r ^^i r ■> • J^^ - Play. merely for the purpose of buymg the pipes, but of bringing them back safely. The skater sometimes carries them in his mouth or stuck about his coat, and the " fun of the fair " hes in trying to prevent his getting home without having them broken by the roysterers who set out to waylay him. In the same way the women buy at Gouda a brittle cake, which they carry back in bags, and their opponents endeavour to knock them out of their hands as they skate homewards. The whole spirit of the thing is rather rough and boisterous, and, indeed, a certain roughness in the streets is one of the least pleasant features of Dutch life. It is not at all uncommon for a harmless wayfarer to be half swept ofi his feet by a man or woman suddenly charging him from behind in the sudden desire to reach — regardless of anybody else's convenience — some scene of commotion ahead, such as the arrest of a drunken man, the appearance of a fire engine, or even a trifling street accident. In the western provinces of Holland proper, figure-skating as a fine art is in vogue, and mere speed becomes of less con- sideration. The Hague, Amsterdam, and Utrecht produce their rival champions, and the competition between them is exceedingly keen. Skating is ruled in Holland by a national society called the Hollandsche Ijsvereeniging, for which the subscription 160 Holland of the Dutch is so small that everyone can join it. It decides when skating is possible, marks out the routes over the ice, employs a corps of sweepers to keep the ^^Sk^t'^°"^^ tracks clear of snow, and issues rules which Society. every one obeys. It also directs and awards prizes for the ice competitions and races that excite the same enthusiasm in Holland that a great cricket match or boat race does in England. There is one striking thing about skating in Holland, and that is the remarkable rarity of serious accidents. This may be due to Dutch caution ; but perhaps the extreme care shown by the Society named in marking off rotten ice and in placing scouts to warn away skaters, has as much to do with the result. Occasionally the Zuyder Zee is frozen over, and then excursions are made to Marken, the islet where the people retain the primitive manners and the pic- Scenes^^ turesque costumes of centuries ago, at a time when it was still part of the mainland. But this is a rare event, and has latterly become rarer. When it does happen, however, the most exciting scene on the Zuyder Zee is the fleet of small boats which, with sails set, are rapidly carried over the surface of the frozen sea by the force of the wind. Leyden and the Gelgenwater is another favourite rendezvous. There is a straight course here for races, as weU as an open space for figure-skating, and many of the most exciting displays have been held on this branch of the old Rhine. Sleighing is also indulged in, more especially by the fashionable world of The Hague. Of late years there has been an increasing tendency to found Ijs clubs. Two separate motives are at the root of this movement ; one is the desire of the Ice Clubs. well-to-do for greater privacy in their amuse- ments, but the other cause is of greater importance. The winters have become so mild, that the canals are rarely frost-bound, and the rivers practically never. But a comparatively slight frost will suffice to make flooded Amusements and Fetes 161 meadows or a shallow pond a good skating ground. Hence arose the Ijs Club, the rendezvous of the fashionable world at places like Arnhem and Breda ; but, owing to the popu- larity of the pastime, no club is without its rink of artificial ice, and so the sport is carried on all the year round. Boating is also in vogue, more especially at Amsterdam, where there is a first-rate club formed on the Hues of the Thames Rowing Club. It has produced Boating. some very good rowing men, and sent teams to Henley and other international regattas. But boating is entirely in the second rank as compared with skating and cycling, and has a very limited following. Leyden University and Leyden Gymnasia have each a regular cricket and football club. The fact deserves notice from its exceptional character. But it is when we turn to the popular fetes that we get a glimpse behind "the impassive countenance of the Nether- lander into his soul. The visitor to Holland F6test^ will often feel oppressed by the sameness and dulness of the life and, wondering how men and women can endure the monotony from year to year, will ask some Dutch friend the question : " But have not the people any amusement ? '* No matter to what class his informant may belong, his reply, with an unwonted air of vivacity, will be : " There is the Kermis " ; and the meaning he wishes to convey is that that week's outburst is ample compensation for the other fifty-one weeks of sober, quiet life. The Kermis (or Kermesse in Belgium) is the popular fete — half religious, half commercicJ, in its origin — ^that was celebrated during the early Middle Ages in The Kermis, the market-place which always adjoined the church. The market-place nestled under the church for the protection of the only Peace agency in those warlike times, and the Church — tolerant of human weakness — ^gave its sanction to the feasting and rejoicing that seemed II— (2390) 162 HoUand of the Dutch natural when the harvest had been gathered in and the chief market of the year had witnessed its disposal. In the course of centuries the religious aspect has dis- appeared, but the kermis still survives, as a popular festival, the one amusement of the Netherlander, in which he shows a reckless disregard of economy, propriety, and even decency. The tolerant Dutch critic says, in extenuation of the popular orgy : " It is only once a year, and it only lasts a week." But the Dutch reformer demands its abolition, and already " kermis " has disappeared from the life of many cities. At The Hague, for instance, where the Court used to take part in the festivities by paying regular afternoon visits to the fair, it has long been abolished ; but at Rotterdam, Delft, Nijmegen, Maestricht, and the large majority of pro- vincial towns, kermis is still the great annual event — a kind of Saturnalia passed down to this twentieth century. There is no regular fixed date for the kermis. It is cele- brated in different places at different times, but care is taken to avoid clashing. The owners of the booths DuratSn ^^^ roundabouts can make their arrange- ments so that they may proceed to each kermis in due rotation. But the season for the kermis is the summer. Some places have it as early as June, others in September ; but before the schools re-open in October, kermis is finished everywhere till the following year. There is another uniform point about it : kermis lasts for eight days, but not an hour longer. Formerly, kermis was quite independent of all control, and no official authorisation was required for its celebration. But for a good many years past the muni- Licences, cipalities have intervened and imposed the restriction of their licence. For this, natur- ally, the promoters of the shows have to pay, and the sums paid are far more considerable than would be supposed. An idea of what they are may be formed from the following fact. One of the most popular centres of attraction in the fair Amusements and Fetes 163 are the roundabouts. There are roundabouts in the open for the masses, where the charge begins at a cent. There is another roundabout for the elite, where the charge begins at 25 cents or a quarter florin. This is shut in and surrounded with a wooden hoarding, which is plentifully ornamented with tinsel paper and mirrors. It is also brilliantly lit up at nights, for the fun goes on until long after midnight. So popular is the amusement with the young people, that they will spend hours together in doing nothing else than patron- ising the roundabouts. Their owners, knowing this passion, issue a comprehensive ticket for the week at 8 florins, or 13s. 4d. of our money, and nearly all those who use the gilded hall take this pass. The reader will be able to judge the extent to which this practice is carried and the multitude that must have recourse to them, when it is stated that at Nijmegen Municipalities. *^^ proprietor of the roundabouts alone pays to the municipality the sum of 100,000 florins (over £8,000) for the right to erect them. How this is pos- sible may be inferred from the fact that the whole community is saving up for the kermis during the rest of the year, that the young people of the middle class and well-to-do families expect a very handsome sum to be given them to spend during the week, and that a young lady who gets only 25 florins (£2) from her parents will think them rather stingy. But these are the amusements of the upper classes, prac- tised to a certain extent under cover or in a reserved enclosure, and it is not at Nijmegen that one ^^^K^^^s."^^"" sees the fuU riot of the kermis. For that it is necessary to go to Rotterdam. Here the kermis is exclusively for the mass. There is the usual fair, with its booths, theatres, roundabouts, swings, exhibi- tions of Nature's freaks, drinking bars, and cake shops ; but there is no reserved enclosure. It would not be safe, the mob would sweep it to the ground. Therefore, at Rotterdam, 164 HoUand of the Dutch the respectable class keeps away from the kermis and, if possible, at home, for during a week the city is in the hands of a wad mob of both sexes, excited by drink and by the repudiation of a year's restraint. The domestic ser^'ants leave their service to take part in the kermis. WTien they are tired out they come back for a rest ; but as soon as they have shaken off their weariness, they sally forth again, and no mistress dares to restrain them. If they do not return at night, that must be forgiven them on the ground that it is '* kermis time.'* The philosophical mistress can only take solace in the reflection that the ordeal ends with the week. If it were asked, " How do these people amuse them- selves ? " or, to put it in other words, " In what lies the attraction of the kermis ? " it would be rather hard to reply. The amusements of the fair soon satisfy the Wsitors or empty their pockets ; but there seems to be an endless attraction in dancing through the streets ^Song ^ in a line, singing the popular song, " Hos ! Hos ! " which a French ^^Titer has rendered as foUoxs's — " Hossentent, hossentent ! Ainsi nous roulons vers Bruges, Ainsi nous roulons vers Gand. De Gand a Nieuport, vers Xieuport, ho ! Roulons nous vers Wiele\N-ale, Wielewale ho ! O ! mon cher petit coeur ! J'ai le mien qui me toume ; C'est la suite de tous ces sauts par dessus ces grandes gouttes Hos ! Hos ! Hos ! " The dancers are al^vays either partially or completely drunk, and compel every one they meet to dance with them. If the unlucky person shoN\*s resistance, he is encircled, hustled, and kept mo\'ing for an hour or so by his tormentors, who are delighted at being provided with a piece of amusement gratuitously. The mob are no respecters of persons. Not so many years ago, the Burgomaster of Rotterdam was molested in this wzy, and although he took it in good part, he was obliged to dance tmtil he fell do\\*n from exhaustion. Amusements and Fetes 165 In some cities this incident would have been sufficient to put an end to kermis ; but in Rotterdam it not merely finds its strongest citadel, but the arm of the law OrS^ ^^ there is at its weakest. This great city and port of nearly half a million people has only a few hundred soldiers as a garrison, and not as many police- men. In kermis week the crowd are left to do as they like ; and the authorities are thankful if the people have done nothing worse than to exhaust themselves by shouting and dancing, and getting drunk with " ces grandes Gouttes " of gin, rum, and brandy. There are many critics of this somewhat degrading exhibi- tion who consider that drink really saves the situation from some of its worst features. Notwithstanding the general repudiation of all restraint, and a coarseness in the attitude of the two sexes towards one another not to be found in any other country, vice in the ordinary sense of the term is not a marked feature of the pandemonium. The goal before man and woman seems to be to reach the culminating stage of hopeless and helpless drunkenness. It is not surprising that respectable Dutchmen are beginning to see that the licence of the kermis is something of the nature of a national scandal. The Talk of steps already taken have somewhat dim- inished its worst features, except in Rotter- dam and one or two other places, and the rumours of a drastic reform are in the air ; but things move slowly in Holland, and public opinion is swayed by respect for custom and tradition more than by anything else. Perhaps the spreading of education and the adoption of a more general military service may bring the public round to the view that the riotous side of the kermis is out of date. No sweeping measure of reform is likely to be adopted, however, until the authorities feel that they have sufficient force behind them to end the kermis at Rotterdam without causing an insurrection. 166 Holland of the Dutch The kermis has been compared to the Carnival, but the comparison is scarcely fair to the latter. This can be judged by anyone who sees the kermis at Rotterdam and the carnival at Maestricht. The carnival is as quiet, tame, and orderly as the kermis is the opposite. It occupies three daj's, separated from each other by an interval of three weeks. It is more or less subject to the control of the Church. The participants amuse themselves by singing and dancing. They do not molest strangers, and they do not to any visible extent get drunk. The attitude of Dutch Protestants towards the carnival is curious. They do not take part in it because it is looked upon as a relic of Catholic supremacy, but they do not interfere with it because it is upheld by a large section of their fellow-subjects. Their attitude may be described as one of studied indifference. There is another popular fete which deserves brief notice. This is the children's fete of St. Nicholas (St. Niklaas), cele- brated on 5th December. It is not exclu- St. Nicholas, sively a children's fete, for presents are sent among grown-up people as well, but always under a thinly veiled anonymity. St. Nicholas was the Bishop of Lycia, who rewarded good children and punished bad, and who was chosen as the patron saint of Amsterdam in the Middle ^msterdam^^ Ages. For centuries, Dutch children have been brought up in the belief that he makes his appearance on his anniversary and places toys in their shoes. In Amsterdam, the Bishop, got up in an imposing costume, rides through the streets mounted on a white pony, and followed by his black servant, armed with a birch rod, driving a cart loaded with toys and packages. He is loudly cheered by the assembled groups of expectant children, and in every household the arrival of the porters from the shops, as the good Bishop's delegates, is eagerly awaited. St. Nicholas was famous for doing good deeds in the dark, and not letting those who benefited by them know whence Amusements and Fetes 167 they came ; this tradition explains his visit being in the evening. As for the black servant and the birch rod — although it is recorded that he once thrashed an insub- ordinate priest who refused to play his music, their presence is probably intended only as a warning, for there is no established case on record of a child being bad enough to be passed over by St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas' Day, as has been said, is not only for the young. It is the occasion for the distribution of presents among relations and friends, but there is one Giving indispensable condition, the sender must employ all his ingenuity in concealing his identity. Disguised hand\vriting and fantastic letters are resorted to for the purpose. The humorous side of the Dutch character comes out in the preparation of subtle devices for the occasion. The present will sometimes be folded up in a dozen wraps, each bearing the name of a different member of the same family, and it is passed from hand to hand as each superscription is reached. Another joke is to send a very small article in a very large parcel, such as a penknife in a bandbox. St. Nicholas' Day corre- sponds, practically speaking, with our Twelfth Night, if its observance may still be considered in vogue, and it has some resemblance to All Fools' Day as well. CHAPTER XVIII COSTUMES AND WEDDINGS One of the old attractions for the visitor to Holland was the picturesque and mediaeval costumes worn in some of the provinces. A Dutchman can name his fellow-countryman's province by his accent or dialect. The foreigner had an easier way of deciding by the size of the cap, the position of the earring, or the presence of the silver and golden bands which suggest the wearing of a helmet. It is true that these ornaments are not in such common use as they were formerly, but one cannot travel very far in any part of the country with- out seeing some specimens of them. What is generally true is that the wealthier classes have given up this practice of their forefathers, and although the ladies of Friesland may, in their intimacy and at festivals, retain the use of the golden helmet, they would no longer wear their national head-dress on their travels. These centres of picturesque costumes may be fixed at four points. There are those of Zeeland, Scheveningen, Marken, and Friesland. In Zeeland each of Costumes! separate island is said to have a distinctive costume, but as the difference turns on such a trifle as the exact placing of a brooch or a buckle it would not be Ukely to fix the notice of a stranger. The women of Zeeland wear a fine cambric or Unen cap, fitting tightly to the head. Part of it consists of a band drawn across the forehead and then turned WonTen. backwards to cover the ears. From the back two wings or veils faU in a loose fold below the chin. These caps are generally embroidered or contain a worked pattern sometimes in pink or blue, but lace is never employed, and as this is one of the distinctive features in 168 A WOMAN OF ZEELAND Costumes and Weddings 169 other provinces, a Zeelander can be told at once by its absence. Sometimes the cap has no dependent veils, but then the earrings are worn in a shghtly different position to that they occupy with the more elaborate head-covering. With the veils the earrings are placed on a velvet or silk band on the front of the forehead. They are very elaborate and include golden balls attached to the spiral corkscrew-Hke frame of the ring. When the veils are not worn the earrings are attached to the side, of the cap on a level with the eyebrows. The rings are never worn in the ears themselves, which are seemingly never pierced. There has been much speculation as to the origin of these so-called earrings, which are more correctly face ornaments. As they stand out from the face, it has been represented, perhaps facetiously, that they were introduced to protect the Zeeland beauties from the impertinent advances of the Spanish soldiers. Another view is that they formed part of a more elaborate head ornament which has dropped into disuse. Over the cap the Zeeland woman wears in her walks abroad a high straw hat something Hke a Welsh woman's bonnet, and round which she fastens a good many ribbons or streamers. If she is proud of her cap she is still prouder of her chemise, which is always most elaborately embroidered, and promi- nently displayed at the neck and chest where the gown is always cut away for the purpose. The arms are always left bare to above the elbow, and the gowns are generally of some dark colour, blue for preference. Another characteristic feature is that the bodice of the dress has puffs which stand up above the shoulders as a sort of wing. In some instances these wings rise almost to the level of the head. Those who have them attach a large number of lockets and chains to the front of their bodice, which gives them a certain incongruous appearance. The male Zeelander is also rather proud of himself when dressed up for any special occasion. What the earrings are for his sisters, the buttons of his vest and the buckle 170 Holland of the Dutch in his belt are for him. Their short tight -fitting jacket is always left open in front to display the row of silver buttons or coins fastening an inner vest or waistcoat, j^gj^^ highly embroidered in different colours. Their breeches — formerly only short breeches, were worn, but they are now disappearing before the trouser — are held by a broad leather belt round the waist fastened by a large silver buckle or ring about the size of a tea plate. These ornaments indicate by their size or their number the degree of worldly prosperity he has attained. On his head he wears a cap several sizes too small for it, with a leather peak and an embroidered band. He also rather affects a red tie. Scheveningen Ues on the coast just due west of The Hague, and there is a splendid electric tram service by two separate routes through the Bosch between the two Fishermen^." places. But Scheveningen, the fishing village, retains its individuality unchanged despite the proximity of the capital, and there is nothing in common and very little sympathy between the two places. Of course, we are speaking of old Scheveningen and not the new fashion- able resort which lies at its door. New Scheveningen has a magnificent sea-front with a sea-wall and drive over two miles in length, and behind it are gigantic hotels and innumer- able villas amid the dunes. Thither come every season for the sea-bathing a hundred thousand prosperous Germans and perhaps half as many more of different nationaUties, but for seven months in the year the shutters are up, the hotels are closed, and the parade is only used by a few hardy beUevers in the virtue of Charles Kingsley's " keen east wind." But whether the season be winter or summer, the fishing village is full of its own life, and shows no change. It Hes south of the other, and under the lee of a small mountain of sand which seems to have been piled up by the ocean out of pity for the special protection of the place against its own ravages. Here on the culminating knoll is the parish church, Costumes and Weddings 171 and on a lower mound of sand has been erected a triumphal column to commemorate the landing of King WiUiam I, when he returned in November, 1813. There is a very popular picture in Holland engraved and chromo-hthographed by every known process sho\\dng the fishermen and women wel- coming the return of their Prince after nearly twenty years of exile. But for the column the scene is unchanged, and so also are the costumes. The fishermen of Scheveningen live on the herring fishery. At the end of May they sail away into the North Sea to the grounds beyond Caithness and the Orkneys, Fishery ^^^ there they remain till November is on the wane. It is said that their first catch is sent back at once so that it may be sent as an offering of loyalty to the Palace at The Hague, and it also serves as a formal announcement that the season's fishing has begun. For the rest of the year the Scheveningen fisherman takes his ease. Any form of manual labour is beneath his notice. Wliat he earns in six months on the fishing grounds has to keep him for the other half year, and the fishing boats are drawn up amid the dunes above the highest tide level. During the months of ease he is always very well dressed in a suit of black broadcloth, unreheved by an}^ colour. The coat is always a reefer jacket particularly full at the skirt, and the trousers are loose in proportion. The jacket is cut with very sloping shoulders and the effect is that the burhest man appears to have a small head out of proportion to his size. On the top of his head he wears a diminutive cap, two or three sizes too small, and apparently kept in its place by balance. They gain nothing from their costume, but if they are carefully examined they are seen to be men of thews and sinews. They have the complexions of girls, are absolutely unemotional, walk to The Hague and back as a sort of con- stitutional, and although they must all be smokers are never to be seen smoking in the streets of the capital. They are 172 Holland of the Dutch described as God-fearing men, who take their Bibles with them when they go away fishing, and it is certain that they keep themselves apart with an air of proud reserve from their neighbours. They are men of Scheveningen first and last. What is surprising is that they have remained so without seeking change across so many centuries. The women of Scheveningen are of the same stamp. They remain constant to the Uttle fishing town, and, unUke the men, they rarely venture even so far as The /^part. Hague. They have a costume pecuHar to themselves. They wear httle white caps free from lace ornament, but accompanied by two silver bands across the front of the head which forms some simulacrum of a helmet. Otherwise their dress is something hke the Zeeland costume, and the arms are bare below the elbow. It is said that no woman of Scheveningen ever marries a man of any other place, and it is certainly true that no outsider would venture to take up his residence in the place. It is a close borough. The women are absorbed in their household duties, and have no need to seek employment at the hands of others, for although fortunes are not made out of herrings, there is enough profit for all to five by. They also make the men's clothes, and knit those strong woollen stockings which the men wear on the fishing boats, and which seem un tear able. The little community is deeply religious. While the men are reading their Bibles at sea, the women pass the evenings singing psalms and offering up prayers for their safe return. The fishing community of Marken, in the Zuyder Zee, is somewhat similar in its isolation, but this is less remarkable „ , in its case, for it is cut off from the land, is Iilsrlccn seldom visited by others, and has not the temptation of a capital at its door. Marken was separated from the mainland in the thirteenth century by a great inrush from the sea, and has remained an island ever since. The little community of perhaps a A MAX OF ZEELAXD Costumes and Weddings 173 thousand souls holds no relations with the mainland, and the people on the mainland hold no relations with it because it is regarded as hopelessly behind the times. The men are all engaged in fishing, not in the ocean, but in the inland sea, and this is the sole industry of the place. The women devote all their time to knitting and weaving. Foreign visitors some- times go to Marken because it is one of " the dead cities of the Zuyder Zee," but the islanders give them no encouragement to come again. The island consists of eight mounds, which for a great part of the year are separated from each other by water, and represent so many islets. One contains the church, another the school, and a third the cemetery. It is not surprising then that this isolated community has retained costumes peculiar to itself, but we cannot go so far as to adopt the view that here may be seen the exact dress that was worn by the peasants of the thirteenth century. The men wear dark grey breeches fitting tightly to the leg and fastened just below the knee. A jacket of the same colour and texture — a thick warm cloth woven on the island — is tucked under the waistband of the breeches. The jacket is ornamented with a double row of silver buttons or coins, which gives it a military appearance. This is somewhat nullified by the white wooden shoes, or klompen, worn when working and exchanged for carpet slippers when on shore. In winter they wear fur caps, and in summer felt hats which are large enough to afford shade from the sun. The men fish all the week, only taking Sunday as a day of rest. The distinctive feature of the women's dress is an enormous white cap which stands up in the form of a bishop's mitre. It is tied under the chin to prevent its being blown away, and it is ornamented with a lace frill. But the extraordinary part of the arrangement is that there protrudes under the cap on the forehead a band or coil of rough artificial hair which conceals it. Nor is this all, for on each side depends a braid of hair that comes down well over the bosom. The 174 Holland of the Dutch hair may have been cut from the wearer's own head to form these tresses, but sometimes it is otherwise and even horse hair is used to form them. The origin of this practice has baffled all inquiry. The women all wear a white chemise with red stripes showing clearly above a red bodice and over the arms, which it covers to the elbows. The petticoat or dress is always of two colours, the upper part being grey or blue, and the lower part dark brown. The community is too poor for gold or silver ornaments of any kind ; the curious tresses which are the badge of these islanders seem to take their place. At Zaandam, on the mainland, artificial coils of hair form part of the coquetry of the ladies, but here it is confined to a little bunch on each side of the gilt or silver bands which hold an elaborate lace cap together. Here it is noticeable that the women wear long earrings, but these are not fixed in the ear, but hang from a chain which is looped round the ear. The people of Zaandam also wear necklaces and as many chains and brooches as they possess or can fasten on the bodice of their dress. There remains to notice but the most striking of all, the costume of Friesland. Here is to be met with the ancient golden head-dress of the Frisian woman, badge Friesland. aUke of the independence and prosperity of the province. We may regard it as evidence alike of the wealth of the people and of their confidence in their abiUty to preserve it against the despoiler. It has always been the national boast of the Frisian (whose name finds its first charter as a nation in the pages of Tacitus) that he " will be a free man as long as the winds disperse the clouds in the Heavens or the world shall exist." Here the head-covering is not confined to the small bands of the Zeeland custom, but it really does consist of a metal covering fitting closely to the head hke a cap. The metal is always gold or silver, and there are quite as many gold helmets as silver even among servants and shopgirls. The reason of Costumes and Weddings 175 this is that the gold helmets look down on the silvern, and as these articles are very often a present on betrothal, it follows that a great effort is made to provide the dearer article. The cost of the cheapest of golden helmets is about £25, and it is perhaps not going too far to imagine that the savings of the young women are sometimes added to those of her intended to obtain the more precious article. After all, it is a purchase for Ufe, subject to no arbitrary changes of fashion, and the intrinsic value of the metal remains. These helmets are worn in the house as well as out of doors. As a rule they are divided into two parts, which are joined on the top of the head by a row of pins and Helmets!" chains. There is some variety in these bind- ing Hnks, and in the first place they are gener- ally few in number and simple of character, but the ambition of the wearer is to add to their number as time goes on. Among ladies of position it was not unusual in old days to stud the helmet with precious stones, but this fashion is dying out, and the tendency is to leave the wearing of the helmet more and more out of the fashionable toilette. But this turning the back on old customs finds no support from the masses. Even the very poor who can afford neither gold nor silver wear substitutes of copper or steel, which when pohshed look very Uke the genuine article. The helmet has its symboUcal uses besides being part of what is generally known as full dress. One's servant will not wear it when she is washing the doors or the shutters, but she will certainly put it on to admit visitors or to hand round afternoon tea. It is said that one of the ways in which a Frisian maiden notifies her refusal or acceptance of an offer of marriage is by leaving the room and returning in her helmet. That means full acceptance. If she is helmetless and does not leave the room that signifies an equally emphatic refusal. If at the time of the proposal she is wearing her helmet it may be assumed that she finds some other way of notifying her decision. The spectacle of a group or collection 176 Holland of the Dutch of helmeted women in a pubKc square or procession is impres- sive, but in church the effect is destroyed or minimised by the congregation placing small and rather grotesque bonnets of fruit and flowers over their helmets. When, however, the church ceremony is a wedding the bonnets are dispensed with, and the only addition is the httle lace cap which increases the effect of the sheen of the metal. Otherwise a wedding in Friesland is very much what it is in other parts of the Nether- lands ; only the carriages are gala carriages with painted panels. Among minor costumes, those of Hindeloopen, an old- world town on the eastern shore of the Zuyder Zee, deserve brief mention. The women wear a waist-band Hindeloopen. of thin black velvet or silk cord, which is wound round and roimd them until it forms quite a respectable girth. It has been said that the process requires an hour and a half to bring to completion, but this need not be too imphcitly beheved. The lady of this town wears three caps one over the other, and when she goes out a tall straight bonnet, something like a man's tall hat, over all of them. She also wears a long mantle hanging loosely from the shoulders and almost touching the ground. In Over Ijssel lace caps are worn over black silk ones, and long gold earrings hang from the sides of the cap. The marriage customs of Holland include some curious practices. Great importance is attached to the betrothal or " betrouwed " ceremony. In Friesland it is customary for a man or woman who intend to wed to sit up all night in the kitchen of the woman's house with a Ughted candle between them. It is intended that this conversation and communion in the stiU hours of the night should enable them to judge whether they are hkely to get on with one another. If they have not arrived at a complete agreement before the candle burns out it is concluded that they are not made for one another, and the negotiation is dropped. At Scheveningen the betrothal is celebrated in the church with almost as much Costumes and Weddings 177 ceremony as the wedding itself, and after it is over the whole party are taken for a drive in the best carriages the place provides. The whips are garlanded, sweets are distributed freely, and all the men, including the drivers, are supplied with cigars. The marriage ceremony generally takes place from the house of the bridegroom's parents, which will seem in Enghsh eyes an inversion of the usual order of things. Weddings. and one of the important episodes of the affair is the arrival of the bride and her belongings the day before the wedding. These are brought over in a large wagon, always driven by the bridegroom, and some- times followed by the bride's own special cow. On the wedding day two ceremonies take place, one in the Stadhuis, or town hall, and the other in the church, and afterwards the whole party meet at dinner. One of the peculiarities is that the bride changes her dress four times before the assembled company. During the afternoon the bridegroom drives the bride round the country in a high chaise which contains no one but themselves, but they are followed by as many more members of the party as can find or hire vehicles. During this tour they throw sweets to every one and bags of sweets to the children who are eagerly awaiting them along the roadside, and greet them with shouts of " Bruid, bruid, strooi je suikers uit" (" Bride, bride, strew your sugars about "). Christenings are also made an occasion for festivities, but they need not detain us as they are of a simpler, if similar, character to those at weddings. Sweetmeats Funerals. for the children, and hot spirits and special kinds of bread, which sometimes contain sausage meat, for the grown-ups, are the outstanding dishes upon which the guests are regaled. At funerals also the flowing glass goes round, but the sweets are absent. Perhaps the most distinctive figure in connection with funerals is the Aansprekher, who goes round to all the friends and relatives on the day of the death, announcing the melancholy news in I a — (3390) 178 Holland of the Dutch a form of recitative, and leaving a card or notice relative to the deceased with a broad mourning border. The Aans- prekher wears a three-cornered hat and knee breeches. He is a melancholy looking figure, and he has a melancholy mission for his livelihood. CHAPTER XIX LITERATURE AND JOURNALISM Although Holland has not attained the same glory in the field of letters as she achieved in the realm of Art, she still possesses a brilliant literature of which she may rightly feel proud. De Amicis compares it to "a Uttle tree laden with fruit." As art appeals to everybody by the eye, it enjoys an international currency to which literature cannot aspire, because it must pass through the medium of a language, and Dutch is the mother tongue of a small nation, and enjoys no vogue beyond the boundaries of Holland and possibly Flanders. There was a period of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries when the Netherlands stood first in the world of learning. Erasmus, Spinoza, and Grotius have never been surpassed as the great luminaries of human intelligence, but then they did not write in Dutch but in Latin, the lingua franca of the educated and the intellectual. When it became necessary to reach the multitude Latin had to be abandoned for the common tongue, and national literatures came into being. At that juncture Holland produced Vondel and Catz, the fathers, as it were, of Dutch literature. Both were poets of unequal merit and erratic purpose, but still endowed with the gift of genius. Vondel is the Homer or Milton of Holland, and, like the latter, ^^Catzf" he found his chief inspiration in the Bible. His Lucifer might perhaps be compared to some parts of Paradise Lost set for the stage. Perhaps his most striking work was the Palamede, or the story of Olden-Barneveldt. Others prefer his Gilbert d'Amstel, of which one performance a year is compulsory to the present day in Amsterdam. Vondel could not shake off the mysticism and obscurantism of the age, but his works contain many 179 180 Holland of the Dutch fine passages, and his patriotic ballads inspired the soldiers and sailors of the seventeenth century. It is said that Maurice of Nassau banished him for his Palamede, but that Frederick Henry bestowed his favour on him in recognition of the patriotism that inspired his muse. That patriotism, it may be remarked, was coloured with some discreet flattery to the Prince himself. Jacob Catz was Vondel's contemporary, indeed he was slightly his senior, having been born in 1577 whereas Vondel's year of birth was 1587. Catz was more favourably circum- stanced, too, than Vondel. He was rich and held several of the highest offices in his country. He served as Ambassador to England and as Grand Pensionary. He wrote therefore at his ease, without desire or need to propitiate the powerful by flattery, and without fear of exile if he failed to please them. It was said of him that he laboured all day in his office or the Senate, and that on his return home he employed his time in making verses. Catz was a philosopher as well as a poet. He tuned his muse to fit the vicissitudes of everyday life. He treats of every circumstance, and strives to give the best advice as to how to deal with all the accidents and incidents of human life. Even to this day the general panacea in Holland is to consult Catz in the first place. The French have called him the Dutch La Fontaine. A long interval ensued before Holland produced another writer entitled to be placed alongside Vondel and Catz. The eighteenth century was far advanced when Bilderdijk. William Bilderdijk disclosed his varied genius for the admiration of [his fellow-countrymen. Of the three fathers of Dutch hterature his genius was the most diffuse. He wrote the first national history, his great epic. The Destruction of the Earlier World, was never completed, and his Dutch grammar laid the foundations for the exact study of the national language, for it must be remembered that all these men were fully conscious of the fact that they were striving to secure for the Netherlander < I o S o -^i Literature and Journalism 181 tongue a definite place among the languages of Europe. At his best Bilderdijk was on a par with Vondel, but he wrote a great deal too much, and suffered from a certain vanity which made him beUeve or at least readily accept the suggestion of some of his admirers that he was superior to Shakespeare. If these three writers estabhshed the claims of the Dutch language to be regarded as the effective vehicle for great thoughts and brilliance in style, it was not till the beginning of the nineteenth century that the Dutch literary world became largely productive. Hendrik Tollem, the most patriotic of all the song-writers of Holland, carried on Bilder- dijk's work, and found a stirring theme in the liberation of the country in 1813, and the subsequent foundation of the Nether- lands Kingdom. Another of his most widely read poems describes the death of Barendts in the Arctic, Da Costa shared his work and his fame, but curiously enough since their disappearance Dutch poesy has been more or less silent. The true manifestation of Dutch literary productiveness dates from about 1838, when the works of Henri Conscience and other leaders of the Flemish School stirred up a spirit of emulation. Van Lennep is the great romancist of Holland, and his career almost coincides in point of time with that of the Fleming. Curiously enough, both are styled the Walter Scott of the countries north and south of the Moerdyck. Van Lennep was, however, more than an historical novelist. He had some of the qualities of Dickens, and his pictures of Dutch character and life, notably in his Nicoletta Zevenster, are faithful to the original. Of the same school as Van Lennep was Schimmel, and among ladies Madame Rosboom Toussaint has been compared to George Eliot. It is said, however, that the era of the historical novel has passed away, and certainly there does not seem any serious effort in current Hterature to revive it. One of the most remarkable movements in Dutch literature was that started about seventy years ago for the purpose of promoting not merely purity of style but accuracy of language, 182 Holland of the Dutch as many errors had crept into the Dutch tongue, and been given currency by the most reputed writers. With the view of arresting this tendency, a critical journal The "Gids." entitled the Gids was founded by Potgieter and Bakhuizen van den Brink. The Gids was a kind of Edinburgh Review, and waged war on sloven- liness of style, misplaced or perverted words, and even wrong spelling. The critic Conrad Huet laboured in the same field, and a tendency to rush blindly into literature without proper equipment was thus checked. The original Gids ceased to exist in 1860, but a new Gids works on much the same hues. The new literary school produced in its early phase Nicholas Beets, the close observer of his fellow-countrymen, and the recorder of the passing moods of social life. For two of his most widely read stories he selected typical famiHes, the Stastogs and the Kegges, but perhaps his masterpiece was the Camera Obscura, known to the English readers as well as the Dutch public. Huet, the critic, also produced a remarkable work on Dutch Hfe in his Lidewyde. Genestet, a satirical poet of great promise, died at the early age of thirty, and lyrists of the present day are Miss Lapidotte- Swarth and Louis Couperus. Of novelists still Uving perhaps Mrs. Adele Opzoomer is the most widely read, but Louis Couperus writes fiction as well as poetry. Some younger writers are coming to the front, amiong whom may be named Mr. de Sinclair, a member of one of the Scottish families long established in the Netherlands. History is principally represented by Mr. P. J. Blok, who has produced an enormous work in five volumes on The People of the Netherlands. Some of these volumes have been trans- lated into English. Professor Kuenen, of Leyden, is also a great authority on the Bible, and ranks among the first Hebrew scholars of the age. In military history General de Bas has gained a high reputation by his works on The Campaign of 1815, and Prince Frederick of the Netherlands. Literature and Journalism 183 Mr. de Savomin Lohman, partly politician and partly publicist — ^he owns and edits the Nederlander — writes a great deal on public and economic questions ; but his wife is even better known as a critic of the prevalent views in the upper society of The Hague. Among lady writers who champion woman suffrage may be named Mrs. Goekoop de Jong and Miss Cornelie Huygens, the authoress of the pathetic story called Barthold Maryan. Considering that literature is a very poorly remunerated profession — due mainly to the very limited public to which it is addressed — ^the number of aspirants to literary fame must be pronounced considerable. This is largely due to the fact that many well-to-do persons having little to occupy their time, turn to the profession of letters for recreation. Many Dutch writers in less fortunate circumstances add to their emoluments by writing in French for French periodicals and in German for German magazines. There are some even who write in English, but none have attained the extraordinary fluency of Dr Kuyper, whose work in English on " Symbols " is quite a classic, and whose Stone lectures some years ago attracted so much attention in the United States. There is another explanation of the circumstance that literature in Holland is a poorly paid profession. The Dutch are great readers, but as a rule they do not buy books. The library in a private house is generally limited to a few copies of the older authors, and it is very rare indeed to see a work of the day on the bookshelf. The seeming contradiction is explained by the fact that the circulating Ubrary exists in Holland on a very large and popular scale These societies are known as leesgezelschappen — reading clubs — and they specialise in the books most in demand in the particular town or commune in which they are situated. Thus, there are reading clubs for clergymen, soldiers, merchants, and even servants. They contain a reading-room, and as it is warm and comfortably furnished, work girls make it a regular meeting-place during the long winter evenings. But they 184 Holland of the Dutch do not assemble to talk but to read, and silence is strictly enjoined on all present. In the summer evenings the rooms are generally deserted except when it rains. This side of the reading-room is to be seen only in the larger towns, and the great majority of the leesgezelschappen are circulating libraries and nothing more. For Ro^om?' ^ ^^^ pence per volume the member can borrow any of the leading works of the day, and included amongst them are French, English, and German publications, as well as those of home production. The principal periodicals, such as the Revue des Deux Mondes, the Fortnightly, and the Nineteenth Century, are also taken in regularly, but as a rule these are not allowed out of the reading- room until a certain time after receipt. The worst that can be said against the system is that as very few copies are taken of even the most popular works, and rarely indeed more than one copy of any, it is a long time passing round even the limited circle of a small gemeente, but then the Dutch are very patient. For a long time the Dutch refused to adhere to the Berne Convention, and Dutch authors had no more protection in foreign countries than foreign authors enjoyed in Holland. Dutch opinion came round to the view that they were losing more than they gained, and accordingly Holland joined the Berne League last year. This gave protection among others to Dutch photographers, which they very much appreciated, as they had long seen their work reproduced with impunity and without any benefit to themselves. The change will undoubtedly benefit the foreign author in Holland, but it is not at all clear that the improved position of the alien author will greatly raise the chances of the man of letters among the Dutch themselves. The Dutch press is highly developed, and absorbs a large part of the mental activity of the country. Indeed, there are some very able men who prefer to remain journahsts instead of seeking more permanent THE HON. DR. KUYPER {Late Prime Minister) Literature and Journalism 185 fame as authors. The leading article still forms the main feature of the daily paper, but the terse paragraph under " News of the Day " has also come into favour, and figures in every important journal. The papers of Amsterdam and Rotterdam take the lead in importance, and there is a certain rivalry between the cities, but the palm of merit rests with the former. This is not surprising seeing that Rotterdam is a purely commercial city, and has never been connected with any literary movement. On the other hand, it must be admitted that in respect of information and regularity of its foreign intelligence, the Rotterdam News is not surpassed in Holland. A large pro- portion of the provincial press borrow all their foreign intelli- gence from its columns, and in some places the publication of the local paper is purposely delayed until after the arrival of the Rotterdam News. As trains in Holland are very often late, the hours of publishing the evening editions in the East and North are always a little uncertain. But whatever the merits of this paper may be, the leading organ of Dutch opinion is unquestionably the Amsterdam Algemeen Handelsblad, of which Mr. Charles Boissevain is the guiding spirit. The Handelsblad has its own correspondent in the principal capitals, but its reputation rests on the editorials and the commentaries in briefer form on Dutch politics. Both the papers named are Liberal ; in fact, in a party sense the Conservative press is non-existent. At The Hague the principal paper entitled Vaderland is also Liberal, and of a somewhat advanced type. It has largely influenced political thought at the seat of government, but it does not possess the circulation or the financial resources of the two others. The Socialists, too, have their organ, Het Volk, but its circulation is still more restricted, despite the efforts of their leader, Mr. Troelstra, to gain the public ear. The nearest approach to a Conservative paper is the Standard of Amsterdam, founded under the auspices of and long edited by the veteran Dr. Abraham Kuyper. This is 186 Holland of the Dutch the organ of the Anti- Revolutionary Party, and proclaims as its doctrine God and the King, or rather the Bible and the sovereign. It is remarkable in this age of disbeHef to find a man making the Bible the foundation of all his opinions. This is less surprising when the individual is a Calvinist, but it disturbs all preconceived notions to find him at the same time a champion of the Divine right of kings. The spectre of Revolution and SociaHsm must be regarded as the cause of this seeming anomaly. The orthodox Liberals, who may be compared to our Whigs or Liberal-Unionists, regard themselves as the true champions of the Constitution, and have certainly no sympathy with subversive doctrines. The Roman CathoHc body have many provincial organs, and at least one paper of national importance. This is the Tijd {" Times "). Dr. Herman Schaepman, who is a poet as well as a priest, largely contributes to it, as well as to the more democratic Centrum. The great names in Dutch j oumal- ism are still Kuyper, Boissevain, and Schaepman, and all have largely contributed to the formation of pubUc opinion in their respective communities. The Dutch press is beginning to show the influence of modem needs, and an increasing tendency to supply news instead of articles is noticeable. But very few of the papers can afford to maintain foreign correspond- ents, and therefore the majority of the papers borrow from the few under the terms of a subscription. It also follows that the information on foreign politics is the same throughout the whole of the press — a mere reproduction of the news pubhshed by either the Amsterdam or Rotterdam leading organ. Illustrated journalism is well represented by the weeklies called De Prins and De Buiten The former, hke the London illustrated papers, deals with topical and current events, but its illustrations are on a more modest scale than those of the Graphic and Illustrated, and it would not dream of sending its own artist-correspondent to *' the scene of war." On the other hand, De Buiten, which deals with country Hfe and archaeological subjects, aims at a higher standard of artistic Literature and Journalism 187 excellence, and will rank with any of its contemporaries in the same class. Annual publications of a more or less propa- gandist order are Moot Holland and Zeelandia, which are largely distributed in hotels and other places of pubHc resort. The former contains letterpress as well as pictures, and is especially interesting. Altogether it is reckoned that the Dutch press now numbers nearly 2,000 separate publications. CHAPTER XX ART, OLD AND NEW If Holland were not high up on the roll of fame for her history she would be for her art ; and it will always be regarded as a singular instance of national vigour that the centuries during which she took the lead in policy and arms were also her golden age in art. But perhaps the conjunction is less remarkable when we remember that the stirring scenes amid which the first Stadtholders were making and consolidat- ing the independence of the country supphed the battle passages and seascapes transferred from life to the canvases of Wouvermans and Vandenvelde. It was to other and more typically national subjects however that the great artists devoted their attention, pastoral scenes, civic ceremonies, Dutch interiors, Dutch animals, all unmistakably identified with their country and no other. The great qualities of the Dutch character, patience and persistency, were revealed in the absolute accuracy of detail, the close attention to the minute, the sense of proportion, and the harmonious colouring which distinguish the Dutch school from any other. It is unnecessary to dwell on the well-known fact that whereas Italian art dealt with the ideal which implies the sacrifice of truth to the beautiful, Dutch art The Golden concentrated its attention on the material Dutch Art. ^^d the visible. Leaving Madonnas and Saints for the southern imagination, Dutch painters showed us men and women as they existed, and often in their most unattractive and repellent forms. If we wish to know how the people lived and amused themselves in the seventeenth century we have only to turn to the paintings of Frans Hals and Jan Steen, Van Ostade and Mieris. 188 Art, Old and New 189 But great as were the painters of life, the painters of nature were still greater, and it must be remarked that they had no adventitious help from the only natural objects within their reach. They knew not nature in her romantic guise of forest, flood, and mountain, but in the humdrum aspect of the canal bank, the sparsely wooded landscape and the tree-lined road. Yet these masters included Ruysdael and Hobbema. One form of nature that could not be surpassed as a model existed at their door, the Sea ; and among Dutch marine painters, in addition to the elder Vandenvelde who went into battle to study the realism of naval strife, were Backhuysen, Stork, Dabbels and the younger Vandenvelde. And then we have the painters of animals culminating in the great Paul Potter and his famous Bull, the glory of The Hague Mauritshuis. But the glory of Dutch art concentrates in the person of Rembrandt, whose genius seems more comprehensive and commanding the more closely it is studied. Rembrandt. Holland has known how to keep in due honour and security his two masterpieces the " Arquebusiers " at Amsterdam, and the " Anatomy Lesson " at The Hague. The former is perhaps the most impressive and gorgeous grouping of human figures, and the latter the most significant and awe inspiring study of the human form that were ever placed on canvas. Rem- brandt was nearly as great in his landscapes, witness his Mill ; and his portraits are famous above all. Nor should mention of his great contemporary and rival in a sense. Van der Heist, or of Gerard Douw, be omitted, although all we wish to recall before dealing with the more recent period is something of the greatness of the past. De Amicis has some very just remarks about the distinctive merit of the early Dutch painters, and the special circum- stances that created it. First, he says the peculiar light of Holland could not fail to give rise to a special manner of 190 Holland of the Dutch painting. " A pale light," he writes, *' waving with marvellous mobility through an atmosphere impregnated with vapour, a nebulous veil continually and abruptly torn, a perpetual struggle between Ught and shadow ; such was the spectacle which attracted the eye of the artist. He began to observe and to reproduce all this agitation of the heavens, this struggle which animates with varied and fantastic Ufe the sohtude of nature in Holland He accumulated darkness that he might spUt and seam it with all manner of luminous effects and sudden gleams of light ; sunbeams darted through the rifts, sunset reflections and the yellow rays of lamp Ught were blended with dehcate manipulation into mysterious shadows and their dim depths were peopled with half seen forms ; and thus he created all sorts of contrasts, enigmas, play and effect of strange and unexpected chiaroscuro. . . . And thus the Dutch painters were potent colourists and Rembrandt was their chief." After the middle of the eighteenth century Dutch art seemed to dechne. Peace and prosperity had dulled the artistic senses, but it must be allowed that the condition of society was no longer wholly favourable to the unfettered display of genius. A feeUng of uncertainty pervaded the country, the national spirit had declined, and finally the overthrow of the House of Orange and the acceptance of French views and rule cast a blight over the land. Art was dereUct and the productive power of the Dutch school exhausted ; men spoke of it as of something that had passed away. But as soon as Holland came by her own again as the sequel of the formation of the kingdom of the Netherlands there was, among other evidences of national vigour, a remarkable revival in the artistic interest and productiveness of the country. A new school of art came into being, not unworthy to be considered as following in the footsteps of the old, and in the last half century it has grown more vigorous, more comprehensive and more world known. A great art critic Art, Old and New 191 has written, " Dutch art is now as fresh and varied as in the old days of its glory." Among these regenerators of the Dutch school the brothers Maris are entitled to a very foremost place. Each had a distinct style although all favoured landscapes. The Maris It has always been a characteristic of Dutch Brothers. painters that they did not confine themselves to one subject as strictly as their fellow- artists in other countries, and thus all the Maris brothers painted portraits, although their best work was done in landscapes. Jacob Maris, the eldest and probably the best of them, painted nature on a large scale, but he often varied the subject by selecting an animated scene Uke the beach at Scheveningen, or Sunday afternoon in The Hague Wood. His second brother, Willem, was a landscapist, pure and simple, but he generally introduced into the scene cattle or horses. Both these artists painted very brightly, and they pleased the spectator by leaving httle or nothing to his own imagination or intuition. Their popularity was great in their Hfetime and is not likely to diminish. The third brother, Thys Maris, was entirely different, and he was as obscure and individuahstic as his brothers were the reverse. His colouring imitated Turner's, and some of his critics went so far as to declare that the subjects treated were quite undiscernable. This characteristic was bad enough in landscapes, but when it came to portraits the result was sometimes fatal to all resemblance with the original, and the patron refused to accept it. But none the less Thys Maris had his own coterie of admirers who proclaimed him the greatest artist in the nineteenth century. In several respects he might be compared to Whistler. The sea continues to appeal largely to the Dutch imagination and marine painters are many. Israels was more especially the painter of fishing scenes, the boats of Scheveningen pro- viding him with a model close to his door. But the greatest of all Dutch painters of the sea in the nineteenth century was 192 Holland of the Dutch unquestionably Hendrik Willem Mesdag, and he probably has not had a superior since the elder Vandenvelde over two centuries ago. Although of a totally different style, Voerman is probably the painter whose reputation in the opinion of the Dutch comes next to Mesdag's. He began by painting flowers, but he soon turned to landscape, and in this branch he gained a position second to none. His colouring is very vivid and he aims at producing sharp contrasts by showing storms in the skies over peaceful scenes on earth. Clouds are his chief study, and with them he produces some of his most striking effects. As a painter of flowers Verster has carried on his work, and unUke his predecessor, has remained faithful to his first love. In brilliance of colour, and in minuteness of detail, Verster is unsurpassable. Interiors of churches, and still more particularly of houses, have always had a great attraction for the Dutch painter. Here we find men like Blommers, Bosboom and Bles, whose merit is recognised far outside their own country. The best portrait painters are Bisschop, de Jong, and Miss Therese Schwartze. All the artists named work or worked on the traditional lines and may be called for convenience sake " the old school." But art is changing in Holland, and a new impressionist school has been most in evidence during the last twenty years. Prominent among these is Toorop, who was the first to introduce an Asiatic influence into Dutch art. He is accom- plished in every branch of art, and paints Sh^6l ^^ water colour as well as oil. Toorop is not merely a great artist but a great influence in the art world of his country. Onnes and Bauer are perhaps the two most notable of his followers and successors. Bauer also selects oriental subjects, chiefly the interiors of Turkish mosques. But of all forms of painting, portraiture has been the most in vogue, perhaps for the material reason that it is the Art, Old and New 193 surest means of earning an income. Bisschop was the favourite of the last generation, just as Veth, Haverman and Antoon Van Welie are the favourites to-day. There are a remarkable number of lady artists. The late Madame Roozeboom, Madame van Bosse, Miss Bakhuizen, are three of the best known, but new-comers are spoken of every day. In Holland the artist enjoys special faciUties for bringing his work under the notice of the pubUc and for disposing of his paintings. In the first place it is not in any way derogatory for an artist to hold an exhibition himself of his own work, and one of the most celebrated of modern painters used to regularly open his studio at The Hague on Sundays for the purpose. But apart from this, there are frequent local exhibitions in most of the provincial towns, and those of greater importance are held in The Hague and Rotterdam. The society known as the Pulchri Studio at The Hague exercises some of the functions of the Royal Academy in England, but only members are allowed to exhibit in its hall. Ad- mission to this society can only be obtained by those who can show that they are serious workers, and whose merit is endorsed by the committee of inspection. To be elected a member of the " Pulchri Studio " is therefore not only a great honour, but a great advantage to the young artist, for it testifies that he has merit and is an earnest worker. Painting is far from being the sole form in which art finds expression among the Dutch. Etching and engraving find many able followers, and some of the most successful painters employ their leisure in silver and other metal work. Wood carving is also in great vogue, and as there is a ready market for such productions, many young artists with more ambitious leanings, commence their career in that branch of artistic activity. As was explained in the chapter on Education, much of the educational system in the secondary and upper schools is devoted to the object of developing latent artistic talent. The capacity to draw is more widely disseminated among the 13— (3390) 194 Holland of the Dutch Dutch than in any other country in Europe, and the study of anatomy and instruction in painting in colours form part of the course in all technical schools, the one condition of admission being that the entrant must have proved, by passing the statutory examination, that he is a competent drawer in black and white. It seems probable that Holland will suffer from over- production before long, and that as the prizes in the home market are not very great, the most successful artists will migrate from Holland to Paris or London. A well-known instance was that of the late Sir L. Alma Tadema, and in his day the competition was less keen than now, although it must also be allowed that the prizes were fewer. Already a con- siderable number of Dutch artists look to their work for foreign patrons as providing a great part of their incomes. In concluding this chapter it may be mentioned that photography, and especially the higher form of it, known as art photography, is highly developed in Holland. A large quantity of commission work is done for abroad, and owing to the light it is considered that the reproduction comes out with greater distinctness and some finer effects than else- where. At any rate, there is quite a legion of photographers, amateur and professional, plj^ng their cameras both for amusement and as a means of HveHhood. But the market is over-supphed and in this profession also, the Dutch are beginning to feel the need of more elbow-room. Enough has been said to show that Holland has no intention of relaxing its efforts to be considered one of the chief centres of art culture in Europe. CHAPTER XXI MUSIC AND THE DRAMA Opinions differ greatly as to whether the Dutch are a musical people or not, and certainly it is not here that such a delicate matter could be decided. At one period of the Middle Ages they were certainly in the van, but the rehgious fanatics of the early seventeenth century condemned music, and for nearly a hundred years the voice of song was silent in the land. That lost ground may be said to have been never recov- ered, but certainly the Dutch are still very appreciative of fine music, and very critical of the opposite, but their critical sense is so acute that it very often stops musical efEort or originahty among themselves, and it is rare to hear music or singing in private houses except in the bosom of the family. This is not true of the people of Limburg or Nord Brabant, who sing with or without reason, on, as someone has said, the smallest provocation. No doubt the difference of reHgion partly explains this, for the Roman CathoUc Church may be regarded as a patron of music. In old days national songs were much more in evidence than they are now. They included legendary ballads, drink- ing songs, and rehgious pieces chiefly from ^Ballads!"^ the Psalms. These formed the stock reper- toire of every one who pretended to be able to sing, and the evenings of middle class society were generally passed in alternate visits to friends for the express purpose of lieder singing. But this has all been changed. The national songs, even the jovial ones of the Kermis time, have been laid on one side, and if singing or music is given after dinner it will generally be found that the performer belongs to the profession, and that the pieces played are either classical or operatic. The consequences of this new taste are that 195 196 Holland of the Dutch the old music is d5dng out, and that there is very little encouragement to Dutch composers to provide new. While making this statement as a sort of general conclusion, we do not ignore the fact that a small band led by Mr. Van der Linden, founder and director of the Netherlands Opera House at Amsterdam, has done its utmost to stem the tide of this decay. At this House national opera is encouraged, and from time to time the works of hving composers like M. R. Hoi, Verhulst, and Nicolai are given, but it must be admitted that they never enjoy a very long nm, or attain the quahfying result of being accepted as a popular success. There are also one or two lady composers hke CorneUe van Oosterzee and Catherine van Rennes ; but the rewards for musical composition are too few and too small to attract many beginners. Through Mr. Van der Linden's efforts a society was formed for the encouragement of Dutch music. This is known as " The Society of Netherlands Musicians," and in addition to holding concerts, where national music alone figures on the programme, it holds annual competitions and awards prizes. The one exception to this gradual disappearance of a popu- lar song-literature is the national ballad or anthem in honour of WiUiam the Silent, known as the " WilhelmusUed." The Venetian envoy Guicciardini noticed in the sixteenth century that the people of Holland were very skilful in singing in chorus, and the trait is still very marked. All their diffidence and self-criticism disappears when it is a song in which all join in, and that is another reason why the " WilhelmusUed " has lost none of his vogue. If an individual began to sing it in a public place the whole audience would feel irresistibly induced to join in. But with this exception, it is rare indeed to hear any music or singing in the streets. Such popular music as there may be is generally supplied by the itinerant Itahan organ grinder. On the other hand, the Dutch musicians are excellent, and the orchestras in the theatres and concert rooms are Music and the Drama 197 almost entirely composed of native talent. The chorus at the opera is also national, although it is said that the Jewish element largely preponderates, but this Musicians. remark applies more especially to Amsterdam. There are concert rooms and theatres in all towns of any size, and foreign singers and performers of repute are sure of a good reception and a handsome douceur, even in remote places like Groningen and Leeuwarden. Gro- ningen rather affects to be a musical centre, and perhaps the existence of the University may have something to do with the matter. At all events, the presence of the students ensures a demonstrative audience. But perhaps Arnhem is the town where the best music is heard, after Amsterdam and The Hague. There is a very pleasant restaurant with a fine concert room attached with the name inscribed on its portico '* Musis Sacrum," and all the year round a string band plays inside the restaurant. Another proof that the Dutch are not indifferent to music may be found in the crowds that flock to hear miUtary or municipal bands whenever they play in pubUc. Musk.^ National pecuUarity is noticeable on these occasions. In most countries people prefer to sit down when listening to a band, but in Holland the audience without exception walk round and round the band-stand, and as a rule at a fairly fast pace. As there are two opposite currents, and as the hne of each is not very well kept, it is not a very agreeable experience for the stranger, but the people themselves seem to enjoy it intensely. The Sunday afternoon music in the Bosch at The Hague is heard under more agreeable conditions. There are seats and tea kiosks, and for the favoured visitors there is the reserved enclosure of the Witte Societeit. The Hague has one great advantage in respect of music, which is not possessed by the other cities. Owing to its proximity to Scheveningen, it shares all the special attrac tions of that fashionable watering-place during the season. 198 Holland of the Dutch The Kursaal welcomes every year the pick of the operatic and concert stars of Paris and London, and its band is selected _ „ , with great care and placed under a leading The Kursaal at ■,^. -r, r . • Scheveningen. conductor. Performances are given twice a day, concerts once or twice a week, and there is a dancing room set apart. If the Dutch dance anywhere it is here, but probably the majority of the couples are Germans. Formerly Itahan and French music were the special favour- ites of the Dutch public, but of late years Wagner has become the vogue, and the Wagner Society of Amster- **WaSier. ° ^^"^ ^^M^ ii?>Q\i out at great expense twice a year to give a Wagner festival on a scale not to be met with out of Bayreuth. As the festival costs these enthusiasts a good deal of money, they belong to that large corps of worshippers who accept Wagner's sound as music. The Wagner Society is not the only institution devoted to music. There is the Musical Union of the Netherlands, which has afiihated branches in most of the Union!*^* provincial towns. It organises most of the Dihgentia concerts, and provides for due rotation in the visit of distinguished singers and instrumental- ists to the provinces. As the subscription is small, it has a very large list of members. The most popular and best known organiser and conductor of concerts in Holland is Mr. WiUiam Mengelberg, who fre- quently moves to Paris to fulfil engagements there. Mr. Andr6 Beijersbergen van Henegoruwen and Mr. Max Reger are also men in the same rank, and arrange concerts which are distinguished by their own names. Among national singers are Helena Horneman and Annie van de Vijzel for the ladies, and among men may be named L. Morrisson (tenor) and Frans Daum (baritone). Max Blokzijl has also been heard in foreign capitals, chiefly BerUn. Among pianists the sisters Louise and Herminia Den Hollander rank high, and Mr. H. A. Wegerif is also well known as an accompanist. Music and the Drama 199 There is one form of music in which the Dutch have always excelled and may be still regarded as exceUing most other people. This is as organists, and of course every visitor to Holland has heard the famous organ of Haarlem. Let us try to sum up a few general impressions. The Dutch Uke good music, and can appreciate what is meritorious. They are wiUing to pay heavily to hear the best performers, and as they never throw their money away on trifles it is evident that they do so to gratify their pleasure. To love good music for its own sake, is to be half-way on the road to be a musician oneself. But something more is necessary before a nation can be styled musical. We do not find any Dutchmen among great musical composers, nor has the country produced any singers of the first flight. But this may be due to the absence of home encouragement. It is undoubtedly true that Dutch audiences prefer to hear the stars of foreign opera houses to their own. In instrumental music it is probable that Dutch performers take a higher place, and here the national self-diffidence furnishes less of an obstruc- tive to the free display of talent. But it is an undeniable fact that both in private life and in the streets Dutchmen are never heard singing. The one exception to this rule is perhaps when some one starts in pubhc on some moving occasion the national ballad in honour of WiUiam the Silent, called the " Wilhelmushed." Then indeed men and women aUke seem led irresistibly to swell the chorus. The " WilhelmusUed " was the composition of Marnix de Ste. Aldegonde, the most gifted of the supporters of WiUiam the Silent and his greatest admirer. As the " Wilhelmuslied." text is little known, it may be quoted here. It is a mixture of ballad and psalm, and WiUiam is supposed to be speaking — 1 " Wilhelmris von Nassau bin ich von Deutschem blut. Den Vaterland getrewe bleib ich biss in den Tod Ein Prinxe von Oranjen bleib ich ganz unversehrt Den Konig aus Spannien hab ich abieit geehrt. 200 Holland of the Dutch 2 " In Gottes forcht ru leben hab ich allzeit berracht, Darumb ich bm vertrieben umb lande und leuf gebracht Aber Gott sol mich regieren als ein gut instrumeiit Dass ich mog wider kehren zu meinem regiment. 3 " Leit auch mein Untersassen die auff recht seint von art Gott wurt euch nicht verlassen allzeit ihr nun beschwert Werfromb begehrt zu leben der bitt Gott nacht und Tag Dass er xair Kra^t woll geben dass ich euch heliiea mag. 4 " Leib und Gut als zusammen habe ich nit gespart Mein bruder hoch von Nahmen haben euch auch verwart, Graii Adolph ist geblieben zu Friesland in der Schlacht Sein Seel in ewigen leben erwart des jungsten tags. " Edel und hoch geboren von Kaj'^erlichem Stamm Ein Ffirst des Reichs erkohren als ein fromm Christen rn^n". Fur Gottes wort gestritten hab ich fren unverzagt Als ein held ohne peine mein soel bhit gew-agt. 6 " Mein Schildt und mein vertrawen bistu O Soel mein herz, Aus dich so will ich bauen verlass mich nimmermehr Das ich doch fromb mag bleiben dir dienen alle stunde Die Tyrannen vertreiben die mir mein herx vervs^undt. 7 " Von alien die mich beschwerten und mein verfolger seindt Mein Gott wolst dtx:h bewahren dem trewer diener dein Das sie mich nicht erhaschen m ihrem bosen muht Ihr hande mit thun waschen in meine unschuldigen blut. 8 " Wie David muste sliehen vor Saulo dem Tyrann So hab ich mussen weichen mit manchem Edelman Aber Gott thet ihn erheben erlosen ausaller noht Ein Konigreich gegeben in Israel sehr gross. 9 " Noch sawT werdt ich empsangen von Gott mein Herm Das fuss darnach so thut verlangen mem Furstliches gemuth Das ich doch m6ge sterben mit Ehren in dem Feldt Ein ewigs Reich ervverben als ein getreiter heldt. i Music and the Drama 201 " Nichts thut mich mehr erbarmen in meinem widersport Dann das man sicht verarmen des Konigs Landter gut Das euch die Spannier krancken O edel Niederland Gut wan ich daran gedencke mein edel herz das blut. 11 " Als ein Prinz aus gesessen mit meiner heeres krafft Wo von den Feindt vermessen hab ich der schlacht verwagt Bey Mastrich lag begraben beforchtet mein gewalt Meine renter sahe man traben sehr mutig ober das Feldt. 12 " So es der Will des Herrn auf die zeit wer gewest Hett ich gem wollen kehren von euch diss schwer Tempest Aber der Herz dort oben der alle ding regirt Den man allzeit muss loben der hattes nicht begert. 13v " Sehr Christlich wahr getrieben mein Furstenlich gemiith Standhasstig ist geblieben mein herz in widersport Den herz hab ich gebetten aus meines herzen grundt Das er mein sach woll richten mein unschuldt machen kundt. 14 " Vriaub mein arme Schassen die seint in grosser noth Ewer hirt der soil nicht schlassen und seidt ihr nun verstreit Zu soel Gott begeben sein heylsam wort Nembt an alsfrommen Christen leben soil hie bald sein gethan. 15 " Vor Gott will ich bekennen und seiner grossen macht Das ich zu keinen zeiten den Konig hab veracht Dan das ich Gott den herzen der hochsten Majestet Hat mussen obediren in der Gerechtigkeit." As to the drama or theatre generally, there is very little to be said. As it did not exist in the days of Holland's prime, it is not at all sm-prising to find it a very slow Theatre. growth in recent times. In the large cities the theatre generally means the appearance of a French or German company on tour, and in the provincial towns what is called the theatre usually consists of a miscel- laneous performance. There is, however, some evidence of the commencement of a movement towards a national theatre 202 Holland of the Dutch somewhat on the lines of the Flemish Theatres in Belgium, but as there is no State subsidy in Holland, it is necessarily on a much more modest scale. Indeed, it would scarcely have attracted much attention but for the considerable talent of Mr. Louis Bouwmeester, who is regarded as the Dutch Irving. It may, however, be observed as a general rule that both on the stage and in the concert room sentiment does not appeal to the audience. The comedian to be successful must turn sentiment into ridicule. The Dutch Uke a sohd repast. They appreciate appeals to the deeper sentiments, but they turn away from the frivolous. The most popular Dutch plays are those dealing with national incidents, but the public do not object to the heroic being set off by a foil of broad, and it may even be boisterous, humour. CHAPTER XXII THE PROVINCE OF LIMBURG The Province of Limburg is so totally unlike the rest of the country and has indeed had such a separate history that it seems appropriate to give a special description of its origin, and to show how it passed under the sway of HoUand. The Netherlanders generally speak of the people of Limburg as a race apart, adding comprehensively, " They are not Dutch at all," and the Limburgers themselves, when in a chastened mood, have a current phrase to the effect " We live in obscur- ity/' They mean by this that favours do not fall their way, and that in fact they are somewhat neglected. Whatever truth there may have been in this behef in the past, it is right to say at the very beginning of a chapter which is more or less retrospective, that The Hague authorities are now ahve to the situation and striving to make up for past omissions. In the first century of feudahsm following the break up of the dominion of Charlemagne, a Count of Limburg was one of the vassals of the Duke of Lower Lorraine o?'LimbS?g. or Brabant. At the end of the eleventh century the countdom was raised to a Duchy by the Emperor of Germany, and it remained more or less independent of Brabant for two hundred years. The capital of this Duchy was the city of Limburg occupying a picturesque position some distance east of Liege near the German frontier, and this decayed capital with some of the walls half demolished by Marlborough still in situ may be visited to-day by any enterprising tourist who takes the train to Dolhain. The Duchy lay entirely on the right bank of the Meuse, and extended as far north as Venlo. About the middle of the thirteenth century, the original Limburg family, known as the Walerans, died out in the male 203 204 Holland of the Dutch line, and the province was claimed by two heirs in the female line, Henry of Gueldres and Adolph de Berg. The latter sold his rights to John, Duke of Brabant, and the former followed suit by transferring his to Henry of Luxemburg, who at once obtained the sanction and support of the Arch- bishop of Cologne in making good his pretensions. In the war that followed victory remained with John of Brabant, who won the decisive battle of Woeringen on the banks of the Rhine. Limburg then passed into the possession of Bra- bant, and it is rather curious to note that the Emperor of Germany who first ratified this union was Adolphus of Nassau, an ancestor of the reigning Dutch family. From that time Limburg shared the fate of Brabant, until both became merged in the realm of Burgundy in the year 1430, and from that date the province passed with the rest of the Belgian Netherlands to the Empire, Spain, and Austria in turn. It was not until the Belgian Revolution led to territorial changes that a distinct question relating to Limbm"g came into being. The Belgians claimed the whole of Limburg. *^^ province as part of the Spanish or Austrian Netherlands. The Dutch resisted the pre- tension more particularly because it implied the loss of Maes- tricht, then one of the strongest fortresses on the Meuse, and linked with them by old associations. The Powers, seeking for a workable solution of a serious problem, were not very tender in their treatment of claims based on feudal ties, and had no scruples at all in splitting Limburg into two parts. The treaties based on the Twenty-four Articles gave Holland Maestricht, with a limited area round it on the left bank, and the whole of Limburg on the right bank north of Vis6. Besides Maestricht the Dutch portion contains the important towns of Venlo and Roermond, at both which places there are bridges over the Meuse. The portion of Limburg left to Belgium found a new capital in the town of Hasselt, and the old city of Limburg passed into the province of Liege. '•^-^ zz o The Province of Limburg 205 Having secured possession of the territory, the Dutch Government did very little to show that it greatly appreciated its value. There were several reasons for Province^ this apathy. In the first place, the population was entirely Catholic, and essentially Belgian in its views and sympathies. As the Dutch held that they had lost Belgium chiefly on account of the difference in rehgion, all Catholics were out of favour at The Hague, and it was not surprising that no special effort was made to benefit the Limburgers. But the second motive for doing as little as possible in this direction was even more potent. Having secured this narrow strip of territory beyond the Meuse from the Belgians, Holland began to fear that she might only have succeeded to lose it to Prussia. During the long negotiations that followed the opening of the London Conference, Prussia had advanced a menacing claim to compensation in Limburg. Although the claim had been turned aside, there was no saying when it might be revived in another form. It seemed good at The Hague then to make no special effort to render it more tempting as a prize. These views only began to bear fruit when the introduction of railways led to the development of the remoter parts of the kingdom, and Limburg in its turn asked for improved means of communication. After much delay, its expectations were answered to the extent of constructing a single-railed Hne from Maestricht to Venlo, with a southern link connecting with the Belgian system at Vis6. This had to serve the purposes of the inhabitants of the province for nearly fifty years, and the Hne remained a deca57ing memorial of how railways were built in the early years of their existence. It is only within the last two years that in deference to the increasing popular discontent this Hne of railway has been doubled, or rather, to be strictly accurate, the work of doubHng it has been begun for it is not yet finished. Owing to the absence of proper means of communication, it 206 Holland of the Dutch was impossible to develop the resources of the province which, although originally thought to be exceedingly poor, has turned out to possess some sources of wealth not to Region. ^^ found in any other part of the country. Among these are the only coal mines in the country. In consequence of that discovery a branch line was constructed from Sittard to the centre of the coal district at Heerlen, and eventually this was continued across the German frontier to Aix-la-Chapelle. But there was one remarkable feature about this branch Une. Thanks to German initiative, it was double-railed, while the main line with which it was linked remained single. Another object lesson for the reflecting Limburger was provided at Roermond, where the hne from Gladbach to Antwerp crosses Dutch territory. This hne is built in the substantial style required to carry heavy and express trains. At Maestricht itself a similar railway passes affording direct communication between Aix-la-Chapelle and Brussels. At Venlo there is a further object lesson in the fine double-railed German hne to Kaldenkirchen and Essen. These outside enterprises showed up the defects and shortcomings of the Dutch single-railed line between Vise and Venlo, on the right bank of the Meuse. From north to south the Limburgers had but a primitive hne of railway while from east to west their province was traversed at three points, Maestricht, Roermond, and Venlo, by up-to-date and well-equipped main hne railways. In addition to these there is the double-railed hne terminating at Sittard. These facts prove that one grievance of the Limburgers was not without justification, and although it is now in the way of being removed the feehng remains that the develop- ment of their province would have been greater if it had been attended to earher. Railways are not the only means of communication. The fine river Meuse passes through the province and only a certain outlay is needed to make it a magnificent waterway for The Province of Limburg 207 large ships and steamers to as high up as Liege. But that part of its channel which separates Belgian and Dutch Limburg is precisely the part of the whole river which Question!^ is least useful because neglected. Most of the barge traf&c leaves or enters the river at Maestricht, one of the termini of the canals of the interior, while at the other end steamers never proceed above Venlo. Roermond in particular suffers from being left in a position of isolation. At the present time the Meuse in what may be called, for convenience sake, its middle course, is of very Uttle use as a means of communication. Yet it always presents a broad channel, and for six months in the year its waters run riot over the adjoining region. Even its comparatively modest tributary, the Roer, causes considerable damage by floods which could easily be averted or controlled, and until the bridge was built a few years ago at St. Odihensberg communi- cation with the south was often cut off or at least maintained only by an ancient and precarious ferry. What is required is very simple, and as the cost would be shared between Belgium and Holland, it would not be very . . great for either. The canaUsation of the of^the River, ^^^^e between Venlo and Liege has long been the subject of special study by engineers of the two countries, and it is well known that there is nothing extraordinarily difficult in the way of success. Were it carried out two objects would be attained at the same time. A practicable waterway for steamers and those large barges of 2,000 tons burden, which are so common a sight on the Rhine, would be created, and at the same time the floods would be diminished and controlled. To the unprejudiced onlooker it seems extraordinary that this matter has been so long neglected, and that no active steps have been taken to provide a remedy. A joint Belgian-Dutch Commission has been considering the matter for some years, and it was recently stated that they 208 Holland of the Dutch had arrived at a common accord. But up to the present no final decision has been come to about commencing work, and the Limburgers remain sceptical for the present. It does not seem hazardous to predict that the question has reached a stage when action cannot be far off. The apprehensions of the Belgian authorities lest their railways and their great port of Antwerp should suffer by the diversion of some of the Liege trade to the river route have been allayed, because results everywhere have shown that the provision of increased faciUties for transport has only added to the volume and bulk of the existing trade. In other words, fresh arteries for the disposal of the produce of commerce and industry create such an increased volume of trade that there is enough transit traffic for all. The difference of religion was also a stumbling-block in the early relations of the Dutch Government with its step-daughter in Limburg. But the new religious tolerance, ToleSnce. which was firmly established fifty years ago, has dispelled all those clouds and ambiguities. The Catholic part of the country is as closely identified with the national existence of HoUand as the Protestant, and Limburg is as vital to the integrity of the State as Zeeland. The Cathohc diocese of Limburg is represented by the Bishop of Roermond and Deans of Maestricht and Venlo. The whole of the population, except a few immigrants from other provinces, is attached to the Church of Rome, and there are fine cathedrals and churches in the cities named. The Cathedral at Roermond is the old Church of the Cistercian order, with a lofty and beautiful steeple seen far ofi up and down stream, and serving as a useful beacon to mariners. At Maestricht there are two beautiful ancient churches, St. Servatius and Notre Dame. Both date from the tenth century, and the former claims an older age. ^Thurlhel^"* Here is shown a room, half-way up in the tower, known as the Kaiser's Zaal, and Charlemagne is stated to have held many of his councils there. To many persons it has seemed to be a crypt above ground. u I— ( H < < < in The Province of Limburg 209 and from this point of view it is curious to note that there is a second crypt at the base of the same tower. Notre Dame, the Church of onze liewe Vrouw, is scarcely less interesting, with a crypt dating from the year 1010 {circa), which must have served as the model for the builders of the crypt at Battle Abbey. The present Dean of Maestricht is a most amiable gentleman and a learned archaeologist. The clergy in this region are most energetic, and take a very active interest in the hfe of the province, especially in the mining districts. It is owing to this good organisation that the Church of Rome, far from losing, has gained ground in this part of Holland. The people of Limburg speak a mixed dialect of Flemish, rather than Dutch, and German, and although understood colloquially by their neighbours on both sides, Language. it has many pecuUarities beyond their under- standing. The vehicle of instruction in the schools of the province is this dialect and not the Dutch language, and this is a grievance with the champions of sound national education ; but as private schools, those under Church direction, far exceed the State in number there is no ground for intervention. The standard of education in Limburg may not be as high as in Holland proper, but it seems to meet all the requirements of the people who, when they are not miners, are engrossed in agricultural pursuits. No part of Holland has made so much progress in developing its natural resources as Limburg. Originally the least developed and most backward part of the country — a region of marsh and moor which even Prussia did not covet at the time she drew her frontier along the crest of the dividing hills — ^it is now one of the chief grain-producing districts in the State, and where the land is not under cultivation orchards abound. There is another distinctive feature about Limburg. It possesses a petite noblesse, or squire class, which somehow or other, despite the changes of ruler, has managed to hold on to its patrimony. With the revival of prosperity through 14— (2390) 210 Holland of the Dutch the natural resources of the soil, this class has come more into evidence. To the ancient family tower has been added a handsome chateau or villa, and the grounds Class!^^ have been developed into the semblance of a park. It is not surprising to find that there is a certain amount of sport in this province more generally spread than in any other. There are plenty of partridge, hares, and wild duck, and the game is carefully pre- served. Since the opening of the mines at Heerlen poaching has been pretty rife, but it has been nothing hke so common as in Belgian Limburg, where game preservation has been practically abandoned in consequence of the prevalence of poaching. Thanks to the influence of the Church and the existence of the residential landlord, life in Limburg is somewhat different to the rest of Holland. The division into classes is more clearly marked. The country gentry keep to themselves, and do not concern themselves in trade or business. They lead a very simple hfe on their estates, which are never very large, and concern themselves with their farms and their shooting. Some of them go into the First Chamber, a larger number serve on the Provincial Councils, and others take an interest in the archaeological and heraldic questions which are the theme of the Limburg Antiquarian Society. Having cited these facts, which are so different from those upon which Dutch independence and character have been laised, it will not be surprising to any thinker The Character ^q ^g ^qI^ ^hat the Limburger is not at all Uke Limburger. the ordinary Netherlander. In the first place, he is generally short and dark in appearance and in disposition he is rather light-hearted and unreflective. Here, if nowhere else in Holland, the people sing spontaneously, and in the caf6s and beerhalls the silent drinker who sits in the dark behind a curtain in the other provinces is unknown. In the time of carnival the people thoroughly enjoy themselves, but after another fashion from the boisterous roysterer of the Kermesse. As Limburg has always enjoyed a peaceful The Province of Limburg 211 existence it is not surprising that the people take a less serious view of life than men who gained their freedom through a series of national calamities, and who are never absolutely free from anxiety on the score of peril from the sea or the inland waters. Such cares have never beset the life of the Limburger, who has hved for many generations a life of ease, and who would not be called by any other Netherlander a great patriot. It may be doing him a great injustice, but he is looked at with a dubious eye by his fellow-countrymen ; and this is perhaps not so very astonishing to those who have heard grumblers declare we should be better off if we were attached to Belgium or Germany. Perhaps the grumbling will cease now that the Government has taken up the redress of the grievances on which it was chiefly based. Exceptional interest attaches to Limburg on account of its unlucky position in a mihtary or strategical sense. It lies between Prussia or Germany and the Meuse, ^^1 ^i?***^^ s-J^d the undefended passages of that river of Limburg. 2Lt Venlo, Roermond, and Maestricht are all within its limits. Whenever the Germans go to war with France and their western neighbours, they must make for this part of the river to get across into Belgium with the idea of reaching northern France. At each of the places named there are two bridges — one for foot and carriage traffic and the other for the railway. At Maestricht and Roermond the bridges he at some distance apart ; at Venlo they are side by side. In addition there is a seventh bridge at Maeseyck, half-way between Maestricht and Venlo. This is, however, a much smaller one than the others, and has only a single carriage way. It is, moreover, a Belgian bridge, and not a Dutch, Hke the others. The bridge at Maestricht is a specially fine one, and was built by order of Louis XIV to replace one he had destroyed. He sent for the architect of the Pont Neuf, and ordered him to construct a rephca across the Meuse, which was done, as the visitor to-day may see for himself. 212 HoUand of the Dutch Formerly it was supposed that the isolation of this province would never be disturbed by an invader because the roads to it from the East were few and badly kept. But the construction of the several German Hues debouching on this province with their full equipment of sidings for a large army has changed the situation, and it is now well known that Germany has the means of throwing by four different railway routes an overwhelming force upon each of the four points where the Meuse is bridged between the Belgian frontier and Venlo. The Dutch preparations for the defence of these bridges are inadequate — indeed, looking at the facts as they stand, they could not be otherwise, and at Maeseyck there are none whatever. The existing garrisons in these places are two squadrons of Hussars at Venlo, two squadrons of the same regiment at Roermond, and a mitrailleuse battery at Bridges.^^ Maestricht. In each place a few engineers are quartered for the express purpose of direct- ing the operations of blowing up the bridges, and it is well known that the explosive chambers are kept fully charged. It may be assumed, therefore, that all the bridges would be blown up, and in sufficiently good time, but whether they would be so seriously damaged as to require more than a few hours' work to make them available for the passage of troops is a different matter, which only the event can prove. At the most the Dutch can only hope to cause the invader some delay in getting across the Meuse. There is no serious reason to beheve that they could defend it for even a Httle time. Some changes are, however, in progress that show the Dutch to be more aUve to the situation than they were a few years ago. As stated in the Army chapter, the cavalry are to be withdrawn from Venlo and Roermond. Their places will be taken by infantry. New barracks are being erected at Venlo on the left bank, and a battahon of infantry is to be quartered there forthwith. A battery of quickfirers is also to be stationed there. Similar steps are to be taken at LIEWE VROUWENKERK (CHURCH), MAESTRICHT The Province of Limburg 213 Roermond, only the barracks remain on the right bank — still it is hoped that the troops could get across before the enemy arrived. There is a more serious doubt as to whether the mobilisation of the landwehr of the province could be effected in time. Part of it has to rally on Sittard, and other battaUons are attached to Venlo and Roermond. It is to be feared that in face of a sudden irruption this part of the landwehr would be broken up and scattered before it took form as a fighting force. In Limburg the Dutch defensive position is necessarily very exposed, and radically weak. It is one that could not be much improved. The utmost that may be looked for is the timely and effective destruction of the bridges and the safe withdrawal of the troops, including the landwehr. CHAPTER XXIII THE CITY OF AMSTERDAM When one happens to have seen a good deal of Holland without having had occasion to visit Amsterdam, the reproach of Dutch friends takes the form, " But until you have seen Amsterdam you have seen nothing of our country." It may at once be admitted that the statement is true. Amsterdam is the unique embodiment of the country's greatness, the one Dutch city that leaves an ineffaceable impression ; when other scenes have faded away that presented by the Venice of the North recurs to the mind without an effort. The vision is not the less clear because the original is so often shrouded in mist, and indeed it may be doubted whether the weather is ever so absolutely clear as to allow of a comprehensive view of the city, but in Amsterdam the impression arises from detached bits which may be multipHed a hundredfold. The origin of this city was humble and not very ancient. It got its name as a dam on the Amstel stream early in the thir- teenth century, but it was only a fishing village if^Namf. ^^^^ WiUiam IV, Count of Holland, granted it civic rights in 1340. The discovery of a City seal with the date 1350 is strong confirmatory evidence of the grant of a charter. It was only converted into a walled city at the close of the Burgundian epoch, and it was one of the last cities of the Netherlands to join the League against Spain. From that time it acquired importance very rapidly, and be- came the chief centre of national power. It was the seat of the Dutch India Company, and its celebrated Bank was one of the most important financial institutions in Europe during the two hundred years of its existence. But the event which assured the prosperity of Amsterdam was the closing of the Scheldt in the year 1648 by the Treaty of Munster, which 214 The City of Amsterdam 215 prevented all competition on the part of its great rival of Antwerp. For over two hundred years Amsterdam enjoyed this favoured position, and that period represents its prime. Whether the stream gave its name to the family or the family its name to the stream, the Amstel, a small stream flowing into the Y, a bay of the Zuyder Zee, The Amstel. witnessed the first growth of the city under Baron Gisbert of Amstel, a friend of the Bishop of Utrecht. This was in the year 1204, and the dam constructed to protect it from floods is supposed to have stood on the open square which to-day bears this name. As the city grew a protecting canal was thrown round it, the base always resting as now upon the Y. The first of these canals was the Amstel itself. Then in their order come the Heeren gracht, the Kaiser's gracht, and the Prinsen gracht — gracht meaning canal. The outermost of all the grachts is called the Singel, or " the girdle." The water in the canals is supposed to be changed once in every twenty-four hours by the action of centrifugal pumps carrying off the stale water into the North Sea Canal, and replacing it with fresh from the Zuyder Zee. Dredgers are also constantly at work, and it is contended that all risk of emanations is thus avoided. A new system of fiUing in some of the minor canals which are practically useless has been tried, and finds increasing favour, for in many of the side canals, some forming cut de sacs, the water stagnates, and the picturesqueness of the Achterburg- wal, for instance, is often unable to detain the visitor who has a powerful sense of smell. These are the water walls of the city. Then across them run diagonally other minor canals, and it is thus reckoned that Amsterdam stands on ninety isles, connected with each other by a great number of bridges which are generally fixed at 300, but which probably are more numerous. In fact one French authority, who includes all the little passerelles, which he took the trouble to count, places them as high as a thousand. As the larger canals are filled with ships, and the smaller ones 216 Holland of the Dutch with barges and boats, the city gives the impression of being half sea and half land. Nor is this diminished by the fact that some of the canals have on one side a fashionable street, and on the other the hmnble and redolent homes of fishers and sailors. Amsterdam, therefore, rose out of the waters, and the extraordinary manner in which its creators toiled to give it an artificial stabiUty deserves our admiration, on Piles!* At the best the spot selected was marshland, and even after the deposit of peat, sand and stone the soil remained spongy and without solid bottom. There was no foundation whatever for permanent buildings in stone and brick. How did the first citizens of Amsterdam solve the problem ? They sank piles into the mud, and some of them were not less than 80 feet in length, and thus they obtained a foundation for their buildings. As an example it may be mentioned that the Palace of the Dam stands on 14,000 piles. The question has often been asked whether Amsterdam or at least some part of it may not collapse into the waters from which it emerged, and certainly the appear- ance of many of the houses in the older streets which lean greatly out of the perpendicular suggests that the thing is possible. But as the city has existed in its present form for three centuries — and it may be observed parenthetically that the outer suburbs stand on firmer ground — there does not seem much reason for apprehension. Occasionally the road- way breaks through under a heavily charged wagon, but it is promptly repaired and strengthened. There is apparently no serious menace to the existence of the city as long as the great dam at Halfweg remains firm, and it is the special charge of a picked detachment of the Waterstaat Department. In olden days Amsterdam was fortified just hke other places. It had walls, ramparts, and strong gates, the canals serving as fosses. But all these fortifications have been removed and in their places have arisen fine boulevards flanked by avenues of trees and handsome houses. Only one gateway. H < The City of Amsterdam 217 the Muiderpoort, has been preserved as a monument of the past. But notwithstanding the removal of its apparent means of defence Amsterdam is one of the strongest of the^ C?ty ^ ^^^ "^°^* skilfully fortified places in Europe. The water which was baffled and harnessed for its use in the time of its building has been cunningly converted into the most important agent and contributory towards its effective defence against a human enemy. Only the rear seems weak, or rather its security depends on the Helder fortress and the co-operation of the fleet. The following sketch of the more animated part of the city is from the pen of a French writer (F. Bernard) : " The Square called the Dam is the true centre of Amsterdam. *^^ ^^^5^' ^^^ ^^^^ ^* radiate the principal and most crowded streets. Here is the Church of St. Catherine, called also the New Church, although it was built in the fifteenth century. Not far off is the Old Church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, and dating from the year 1300 or thereabouts. Amsterdam contains altogether some fifty churches, most of which belong to the different divisions of Protestantism. There are also a good many synagogues. Among buildings devoted to civil purposes are first the Royal Palace of the Dam (formerly the Hotel de Ville) , built in the years 1648-55, surmounted by a cupola and a tower nearly 70 feet high ; the Exchange, a modern building ornamented with an Ionic porch ; the old Admiralty building now the Town Hall ; the Bank ; the University ; the Hotel of the Royal Academy, the Law Courts, the Fish Market, the Central Railway Station, the weighing house of St. Anthony, and finally the great National Museum situated on an islet in the Y itself." A few words on some of these centres of interest, taken separately, will not be out of place. The Dam Palace, first converted into a royal abode from a Town Hall in the year 1767, I think, and restored to the City of Amsterdam by Louis Napoleon, is a fine building with a magnificent reception 218 Holland of the Dutch room or salon d'honneur, constructed in white Carrara marble. Its fa9ade contains more than one hundred windows, but the entrance is so insignificant that it has been ^pLi^!" ^^^^d "*^^ ^^^^^ without a door." On the opposite side of the square is the Exchange, with a portico supported by seventeen columns, and some Dutch wags have called it by contrast with the Palace, " a door without a house/' It is in the Dam Palace that the Sovereign passes a week, as the City's guest, in the month of June, and the reUgious ceremony accompanying the coronation or inauguration takes place in the New Church close to it. In front of the Palace is the monument known as the Iron Cross, erected to the memory of the Dutch soldiers who fell during the Belgian Revolution. The Exchange or Bourse is said to be still the centre of the largest transactions in grain and colonial produce on the Contiaent. As a rule it is closed after business hours, but during the week of Kermesse it is opened after 3 o'clock each day to serve as a playground for the city children. This privilege is said to be due to the discovery by some youths of Amsterdam of a plot by the Spaniards to blow up the Old Bourse. This happened in the year 1622. If the Dam is one centre of interest, the Port is that of another not less attractive or appeahng. It was formed by the construction of a granite quay along The Port. the face of three mud-banks, sometimes mag- nified with the title of islands, and two enormous dykes and locks protect it against incursions on the part of the Zuyder Zee. The port is divided into three docks or basins, the whole being capable of providing for a thousand steamers at a time. At the eastern extremity of the port is the Government Arsenal and dockyard. There are also bmlding yards for merchantmen and for all sizes of barges. In close proximity to the Docks, in fact between those of the West and the East, is the Central Railway Sta- tion, a fine building, now standing alone and approached The City of Amsterdam 219 from the city by a broad bridge. Opposite to it is the quay, from which sails the Httle steamer for Marken. At another part of the Port is the Weeping Tower, or Schregers-toren, where the women used to assemble to say good-bye to the departing sailors. On the wall is an iron bas-relief showing a ship and the figure of a woman weeping with the date 1569. In sharp contrast with the grey and grimy waters of the harbour and the canals, and the dark exterior, half damp, half smoke, of the houses, are the green Amsterdam ° verdure and bright parterres of flowers in the twin islets called the Plantaadije. They are joined together by several bridges, and contain between them a park, the Zoological and the Botanical Gardens, and a picturesque and well-shaded promenade, where the society of the city takes the air when it is fine. This oasis forms a most welcome contrast to the rest of the city. The Botanical Garden contains many rare plants and flowers from the Dutch Indies, and the Zoological Gardens are considered one of the three best in Eiu"ope. They are managed under the auspices of a private society or club numbering twenty thousand members. While the Plantaadije has long existed in what may be called the heart of the town every expansion outwards has been attended by the reservation of some open spaces, and the Vondel Park, near the Singel Canal, is a fine instance in point. Unfortunately the new suburbs are especially designed for the well-to-do, and bring no reHef to the overcrowding in some of the older parts of the city. A large part of the poorer population hve in the cellars and under conditions that would not satisfy a sanitary inspector. Some of the side streets which have only a narrow pavement between the houses and the canal are exceedingly repellent in appear- ance, and to the casual visitor the marvel is that so few children are drowned, as the sides of the canals are quite unprotected. 220 Holland of the Dutch The Jewish quarter of the town, or Ghetto, is supposed to be the dirtiest part of it, but if it is any satisfaction to the social reformer, it is not nearly so dirty as it The Ghetto, was, for, as some one has expressed it, it is now putting on a new skin. In this quarter there are few canals, and the houses, six or seven stories high, are closely packed together, while inside each house is as closely packed with human beings. It is beHeved that there are 60,000 Jews in the Ghetto, and that the accommodation is only adequate for 10,000 people. The mass of this people — a race apart — live in the greatest poverty amid filth and squalor that appals the imagination ; but, on the other hand, the diamond workers, who receive high wages, and who possess a monopoly shared with their brethren of Antwerp alone, are all Jews, and dwell in the Ghetto. They are among the most prosperous members of the whole community, and earn about four miUions sterHng a year. Prosperity and poverty, there- fore, rub elbows in the Ghetto, but the really wealthy Jewish families are to be found in the new suburbs. As has already been observed, the Jews furnish the majority of the singers of Holland. In the Ghetto also are several synagogues. That of the Portuguese Jews, who have always been more prosperous than the others, is especially magnificent, claiming to represent the Temple of Solomon. The people of Amsterdam have always been noted for their benevolence, and several interesting charitable institutions have long been maintained by the city itself. InltiStioil Wh^n Louis XIV was preparing to invade Holland he wrote to his ally Charles II, who, as an exile, had experienced Dutch hospitality, " Have no fear for Amsterdam ; I have the firm hope that Providence will save her if it were only in consideration of her charity towards the poor." Amsterdam was saved on that occasion, but only by the resolution of her citizens in cutting the dykes and flooding the country. The most important of these institutions is the Orphanage The City of Amsterdam 221 for the Children of Amsterdam Citizens, which has been in existence for several centuries. It is an entirely honourable institution, and inflicts no slur on its inmates, who receive a careful education, and are then provided with a start in life conformable to their station and capacity. Whilst at the Orphanage they enjoy the special protection and even the affection of the citizens, who easily recognise them by their quaint costume, one half red and the other black, but this parti-colour was adopted simply because they were the colours of the city, and not at all to make them more easily recognisable. Still it is a law of the city that innkeepers and pubhcans must not serve them with drink, and that the railway clerks must not supply them with tickets lest they should be attempting to quit the city to which they are held bound. The Orphanage possesses an excellent choir, which takes part in all civic functions, and when the first stone of a monument is laid it is placed in position by chosen representa- tives of the city's orphans. Among the pupils of this institu- tion was Van Speyk, whose act of heroism was described in the chapter on the Navy. The benevolent institutions cover a wide range and include a home for unemployed sailors. The Institute for the Bhnd, one of the first of its kind in Europe, was estabhshed over a century ago. It has served as a model for other similar institutions, and the pubHc are invited once a week to be present while instruction is being given. Candidates are admitted from the age of five ; and on attaining the age of eighteen, if employment has not been found for them, they are passed on to a Home for Bhnd Adults, which is of more recent origin. Among a hundred other institutions may be named the Catholic Hospital of St. James, and the Hospital for the Aged. Great as Amsterdam has been as a seat of commerce, it may be questioned whether the possession of its unique art treasures does not give it a still higher place among the cities 222 Holland of the Dutch of the world. The Rijks or State Museum occupies a fine new building in the southern quarter of the town, specially erected to provide a suitable home for the The Art Galleries. great treasures which have become a national heirloom. It covers one side of a little island, or insel, as it is called, which is to be specially reserved for pubUc buildings, and which is situated in the Singel gracht. Every precaution has been taken to secure the building against fire, and after closing hours it still remains the object of the closest vigilance. There may be finer and more representative, in a cosmo- poUtan sense, collections in the world, but as a national gallery in the sense that it contains only the works of the painters of the Netherlands, it is unsurpassed. Here may be seen the masterpieces of Rembrandt and Van der Heist, Gerard Douw, and Van Steen, Frans Hals, and Brouwer, Cuyp and Ruisdael, Potter and Metzu, Hobbema and Karel du Jardin — in short, not a name seems to be absent from the galaxy of genius which made the Dutch school the most famous in Europe after the ItaUan. Nor does the State Museum stand alone. There are many other galleries, of which perhaps the Van der Hoop collection is the largest and best known, and there are few pubhc build- ings, including the old hospitals, that do not contain one or several masterpieces. But the same characteristic distin- guishes them all. They are the works of national painters, although here and there the Flemish school of Van Eyck, Rubens, and Vandyke is borrowed from or absorbed as quasi-national, and equally typical of the Netherlands. Amsterdam has its University, which ranks high as a scien- tific centre, and boasts an excellent library which is not hmited to works of science. Among its most L^nlng.° treasured possessions, for instance, is a copy of Caesar's De Bello Gallico, of the tenth century, a beautiful specimen of ecclesiastical caligraphy. Q H H > o o Q I— t The City of Amsterdam 223 It is also the centre of the pubhshing trade of Holland, and the system of book dehvery throughout the country which is excellent, both as regards simpHcity and celerity of despatch, radiates from it. Thanks to this arrangement, the cheapest books and even pamphlets can be sent to the outlying towns without any additional cost. There is another society which seeks to guide public taste into the right channels by indicating the best works for the less educated classes of society, and by holding periodical examinations of a popular and attractive character, and by giving prizes and other rewards to those who show that they have most profited by their reading. Amsterdam is also the place of pubhcation of the chief journals and periodical pubhcations. The growth of Amsterdam from a position of comparative unimportance to that of an European centre of commerce and influence was largely due to the considera- Amsterdam.^ tion it showed to ahen races who were the victims of persecution in their own country. First among these were Belgian immigrants, who fled to Holland at the beginning of the Spanish Inquisition, and whose distinct community is visible to-day in the existence of what is known as the Walloon Church. Then came the Jews from Portugal about 1580, and they also preserve their separate identity. Nimierically these additions were not great, and a far larger contingent came with the French Protestants after the Revo- cation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. These Huguenots, unhke the other races, became absorbed in the Dutch nation, but their advent explains the prevalence of family names in Holland which are obviously of French origin. Finally, the Jewish community was mainly built up by fugitives from different outbreaks of Juden-Hetze, in Germany, during the eighteenth century. Amsterdam has benefited in many respects from this hereditary poHcy of " the open door." There are many clubs in Amsterdam, but all seem to rely on some more binding association than mere social foregathering. 224 HoUand of the Dutch Art, or Letters, or Theology, are the prominent features in such institutions as Arti et Amicitioe, Fehx Meritis, and Doctrina et Amicitia — the Dutch fancy for Clubs. Latin titles is proverbial — but they are none the less clubs with a well-deserved reputation for hospitahty. Their serious purpose is to promote the special art or science that figures in their programmes, and they do so by a generous support of concerts, pubUc read- ings, and the benevolent institutions connected with the particular professions concerned. But the greatest of all these societies is that known as The Society of PubUc UtiUty, which was founded as long ago as the year 1784. The membership is very large — perhaps 20,000 members divided into 300 groups, and the annual subscription of five florins brings in a revenue that is largely supplemented by the interest derived from the accumulated savings passed into the reserve fund. Its affairs, which are of many categories, are administered by a Board composed of ten Directors and a General Secretary. In all the essentials of a great city and capital, Amsterdam stands first beyond question in Holland. Its hotels and A Great C'tv restaurants are far superior to those at The Hague, the shops are also finer, and the streets more animated than in the legislative capital. Early in the evening a great part of The Hague seems deserted ; this is never the case at Amsterdam. There are not many theatres in Holland, taken as a whole, and a good proportion of them must be in this city. Concerts are frequently given, even music-halls with variety entertainments can be discov- ered, and bands play in the pubUc gardens and in the Plan- taadije during the summer. Although the city covers a much larger area than formerly, the facihties for getting about have so greatly increased by the extension of the tram system which now serves all parts of the city, that residents in the remote suburbs beyond the Singel can get there in ten minutes or The City of Amsterdam 225 so from the Dam, which is regarded as the central or starting- point for the whole of the tram service. Amsterdam has grown a great deal of recent years, but it has not done growing yet, and a great impetus to its prosperity may be expected when the deepening of the North Sea Canal now in progress has been brought to completion. 13— (2390) CHAPTER XXIV THE ZUYDER ZEE From every point of view the inland sea or gulf of the Zuyder Zee is one of the most striking features in the conformation of Holland. It represents the greatest triumph of the ocean at the expense of the mainland of Europe since historical records began ; yet it cannot be doubted by any one acquain- ted with the patient persistency of Dutch character and their skill in hydraulic science that it is destined to disappear as a sea, and to resume its ancient form of a lake of modest dimen- sions. When this has been accomphshed the Dutch will have achieved their greatest triumph over their ancient foe, the relentless ocean. The Dutch poet Da Costa appealed to the deepest feelings of his feUow-countrymen when he wrote the Hues — " Oh ! Nederland ! What vast waters have often crossed thy bosom. Those of Southern rivers, and of the Northern Ocean." It can scarcely be doubted that he was thinking of those two great inrushes of the sea which first in 11 77 and then finally Lake Flevo ^^ 1*2^2 severed the connection by land between North Holland and Frisia, thus sweeping away all earth barriers until it mingled its waters with those of Lake Flevo. How many cities were destroyed, how many lives were lost, there are no trustworthy records to tell, but the fishermen of the Zuyder Zee have often reported that at the bottom of the water they could see the tops of buildings and church steeples. Tacitus mentions Lake Flevo, and by all accounts the isthmus between Holland and Frisia was productive and weU peopled at the time of the inundation. When the sea had broken through and forced its way to the southern shore, creating among other fresh inlets, the Gulf 226 The Zuyder Zee 227 of Y, on which the port of Amsterdam now stands, the ravages it committed were far from being exhausted. It brought with it sand and other debris, which gradually choked up many of the ports that had sprung into being, while the dreaded pampus, the scum as it were of the rotting verdure and vegetation below, threatened to put an end to all navigation across its surface. Thus the effects of the inundation proved permanent and even recurrent, for the flourishing port of one century became dereUct in the next. Perhaps the most striking case was that of Stavoren, and the legend attached to its decay is worth recaUing. Stavoren, pronounced " Staroom " — a name derived from the god Stavo, the Thor of the Frisians — was in old days the capital of the Frisian kings, and after the Stavoren. inundation it still remained the most flourish- ing port of the inland sea, for from it was exported the abundant produce of the fertile province behind it to the then poorer and less favoured region of the Countdom of Holland. It is said that at the height of their prosperity the inhabitants used to gild their doors and even their kitchen utensils, but perhaps the story is only meant to show the greatness of their prosperity and their love of ostentation. The women of Frisia were ever known for their independence and self-rehance — so it is not surprising to find that in the fourteenth century, when the incident happened, some figured among the richest merchants of Stavoren. One of them fitted out a vessel with a rich cargo, and sent it to Danzig, instructing the captain to bring back the best return cargo he could obtain. The unlucky captain filled his ship with com, which was hke taking coals to Newcastle, for Frisia grew it in abundance. When he arrived at Stavoren the lady asked what he had brought back, and on hearing the reply " Grain," she became furious — perhaps she expected sables from Russia — and without reflecting exclaimed at once ** Throw it into the sea." The order was obeyed, but soon the entrance to the port was blocked with a sand-bank and 228 Holland of the Dutch submarine growths, and from that time Stavoren decUned in prosperity until it sank to a humble village with a few hundred inhabitants. As the obstructing barrier is called the Vrouwen- sand — the Woman's Sand-bank — who can doubt the truth of the legend ? Having lost the land, the Dutch, with their thoroughly practical views, turned their attention to making the most of the outlet to the open sea with which they as it^i^.^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ suddenly provided. The same water that demohshed the isthmus made Amsterdam a seaport for the first time. The Zuyder Zee itself bore the fleets of war and the argosies of commerce from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, and the upper- most care of the authorities was to keep a fairway open among the shifting sands and the encroaching pampus. The former were prevented from closing the channel by constant dredging, and the latter was regularly harvested during the summer months of each year. One of the sights of the Zuyder Zee used to be to watch the harvesters in their flat-bottom boats raking up the new crop that had sprung up under the water. Pampus. ^^^ process was slow, but the yield was im- mense, and this wadden, or rotten grain, made an excellent land fertiliser. But notwithstanding the ceaseless efforts of a large band of gatherers, more especially men from the poor province of Drenthe, the pampus sometimes formed itself into a solid mass, and bore down towards the Y, threatening to close the entrance to Amsterdam. On such occasions quite a fleet of boats, punts and fishing smacks, saUied forth from all the ports of the surrounding provinces to attack, break up, and carry off the encroaching vegetation, lest it should put an end to navigation as the sudd has done on the Upper Nile. Nor has this contest been relaxed since the construction of the two sea canals, north and west of the city, gave Amsterdam new avenues to the sea, for the Zuyder 2^e continued to be the scene of much commercial activity, The Zuyder Zee 229 although large steamers and ships ceased to pass over its surface. Besides it is one of the great fishing grounds at the exclusive command of the Dutch people, and a large part of the population inhabiting the shores of the gulf draw the sources of their hving from its depths. For their sake the pampus has to be kept at arm's length, and occasionally dispersed by violent measures. Considering its origin, it is not surprising that many legends have passed into currency about places which have been called not inaptly " the dead cities of the Zuyder Legends Zee." The legend of Stavoren has been told ; that of Edam on the opposite shore of North Holland, will interest the reader. Edam, now famous for the best of Dutch cheeses, was in old days a fishing or trading port like the rest. Many years ago, but still after the irruption of the sea, some young women of the place walking on the shore encountered a strange being. She seemed Hke a woman, young and beautiful, yet covered with sea-weed, and she was swimming in the water. They spoke to her, and although their tongues were quite different, they induced her to land and to accompany them home. There they scraped off the sea-weed, put her into clothes, and in time taught her to spin Uke any other Dutch woman. She remained with them some time — in legend dates are never very precise — but whenever she saw the sea she always tried to enter it, and at last she made her escape, dived into the water, and was seen or heard of no more. The water nymph of Edam is one of the fairy m5rths of Holland, but at the place itself it is perilous to be incredulous ; for is not the whole story set out in bas-relief on the little town hall ? Those critics who love to destroy the supernatural aver that it was only a seal, and certainly the sea brought many seal colonies into the gulf where they long made their homes. There are at least four islands in this sea that have been or are still inhabited. They are Marken, Wieringen, Urk, and Schokland. Of these Wieringen is the largest. It lies at the 230 Holland of the Dutch entrance to the Zuyder Zee, some distance east of the Helder, and is called upon to play an important part in its proposed reclamation. Urk lies in the centre of the Islands. ^^^ about half-way between Enkhuisen and Kampen. It still is occupied by a few famiUes of fishermen, who share it with a colony of seals. So was Schokland, but about seventy years ago the sea encroached so steadily that the inhabitants became afraid and beat a retreat to the mainland. Schokland is now much favoured by the seals who remain in undisputed possession. Of course, Marken is another island in this sea, but it has been described in an earHer chapter. Here it need only be mentioned that when the reclamation scheme is carried out it will cease to be an island, and that it will rejoin once more the mainland from which it was severed so long ago. The idea of reclaiming the Zuyder Zee is about 100 years old, and in that period many distinct projects have been put The Earlier forward for its realisation. Some of these Schemes of were extremely ambitious ; others were Reclamation, proportionally modest. The former were not feasible ; the latter did not ensure an adequate result. Some Dutch enthusiasts imagined that draining the Zuyder Zee could be carried out in something like the way that the Haarlem lake had been, and they proposed the rejoining of North Holland and Friesland as if it were a mere trifle. These views, to which he attached too high an infallibility, were still in favour when Signor de Amicis wrote the following paragraph — "... Stavoren, the most advanced point on this coast of Friesland and Medembhjk, another decayed city of North Holland, which was the capital of the province before the foundation of Hoorn and Enk- huizen. At that point the gulf is about half as wide as the straits of Calais. When the gigantic undertaking for the draining of the Zuyder Zee shall be carried into effect, it is at this point that the enormous dyke will be placed which is to keep out the North Sea. The dyke will extend from Stavoren to Medembhjk, leaving in the middle a wide canal for the movement of the tides, and the flowing off of the waters of the Yssel and the Vecht ; and behind it the great gulf will be The Zuyder Zee 231 gradually transformed into a fertile plain. North Holland will be joined to Friesland, all the dead cities of the coast will be revived and animated with new life, islands destroyed, manners and customs changed, dialects commingled, a province, a people, and world created." This was the old scheme, or rather the latest of them. It was put forward in 1848 by Mr. Froger, a well-known engineer . . of the day, although his claim to originating ^of °i8m.^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^ contested by Messrs. Kloppenburg & Fadechon ; but as it has been abandoned, the old rivalry possesses no importance. In 1882 a Society of the Zuyder Zee was formed at Amsterdam, and by its efforts a technical commission was appointed by the Govern- ment in 1890 to examine it and several other proposals. They reported against them all and the particular one referred to in the passage just quoted was condemned as absolutely impracticable. Before separating, however, the Commission considered an entirely new project, and after examining it from every point of view pronounced it to be feasible, and well worth taking in hand on the ground of national advantage. The author of this plan was Major van der Veur, of the Dutch Artillery, and it is known as " the official plan of 1892." Before giving the details of the plan some peculiarities of the sea may be mentioned. Although the navigable channel attains in some places, more especially at the p ^r"^%' entrance between North Holland and Wie- of the Sea. ringen, a depth of 25 feet, the average depth of the sea over the greater part of its surface is no more than 5 feet. Therefore the tj^ical boat of the Zuyder Zee is the one-masted " hotter," the draught of which does not exceed 3 feet, although it possesses a capacity of 25 tons. It is also worthy of note that the effect of the tide is hardly felt, but although the sea is sluggish it is so absolutely unprotected by hills or mountains that it receives all the winds that blow, and is consequently seldom calm. Sometimes a gale on the Zuyder Zee is no trifling affair. There is another pecuUarity. The water is almost fresh, due to the fact that six rivers contribute much more towards feeding it than the 232 Holland of the Dutch open sea. The rivers are the Kuinder, Linde, Zwarte Cooter, Yssel, Eem, and Vecht. Finally, it may be remarked that the whole of its coast is dyked, at some places so formidably, e.g., Stavoren and Harlingen, that the towns themselves cannot be seen from a ship on the sea. These precautions, it may be mentioned, are part of the Dutch system, for since the great overflow in the thirteenth century the ocean has not made any fresh encroachment, and the Zuyder Zee remains very much as it was then. Its sand-banks have blocked the ports, but at the same time have arrested the inroads of the sea. The Zuyder Zee has an area of 5,000 square kilometres ; its greatest length from north to south is 138 kilometres, and its greatest breadth from west to east 87 o/^r^Sea! kilometres. In Enghsh measures these figures read in their order : 1,932 square miles for area, 86 miles for greatest length, and 54 miles for greatest breadth. The Zuyder Zee represents, therefore, about 1,236,480 acres, and the official plan contemplates the reclama- tion of about 800,000 acres, leaving the remainder to form a central lake oblong in form. The new plan differs from all its predecessors in fixing the outer barrier against the sea at a point far more to the north than was ever conceived to be possible. In t^New^Plan. ^^ery previous project the western starting- point has always been Enkhuizen, wherever the eastern might be fixed, and it varied from points as far south as Kampen, and as far north as Stavoren. But the plan as it may now be called, makes Envyck, on the mainland near the Anna Paulovna polder, and at the southern entrance of the Amsteldiep channel, the starting-point on the west of the great dyke which is to shut out the North Sea. This dyke is to be constructed between Envyck and the island of Wie- ringen, and represents the first stage in the great undertaking. It is proposed that it should be taken in hand first as a separate work, which can be brought to completion without committing The Zuyder Zee 233 the Government irrevocably to the second and larger portion of the enterprise. It is estimated that the cost of this dyke alone would be 60 milUon francs (£2,400,000), and that it would require nine years to complete. As one of the consequences of the scheme would be to open a new door by land to an enemy advancing against Amster- dam, for of course the Helder position does Wieringen. not command the Friesland coast, it would be necessary to fortify Wieringen, so that it might protect the whole of the channel lying east of it. Part of the first project is, therefore, the conversion of this island into a thoroughly up-to-date fortress with cupola bomb-proof forts, but although estimates are usually exceeded, it is believed that the sixty miUions would cover the expense of fortifying Wieringen. The second dyke from Wieringen to the coast of Friesland, at Piaan, north of Stavoren, is of course the larger part of ^, „ , the undertaking, and the plan specifies with The Second , • • j • j I i i, * Dyke. great precision and copious details how it would require thirty-three years more, after the Amsteldiep channel had been closed, and a further outlay of 667 million francs to bring it to completion. The first dyke would be not more than 4 miles in length, while the second would be not less than 15 miles. As some set off to this it may be noted that the Amsteldiep channel is deeper and more rapid than the eastern, and broader channel, but of course this view may have to be modified when the dyke from Envyck bars the Amsteldiep channel. The dykes are to be made of unexampled solidity. In the first place, a foundation of loose granite blocks is to be deposited and allowed to solidify. When of Locks. ^ sufiicient interval has elapsed the super- structure will be raised on it. The rampart will be composed chiefly of clay and basalt mixed, supple- mented at many points with blocks of granite. The dyke will have five groups of locks, each group will contain six 234 Holland of the Dutch separate locks arranged longitudinally, and the top of the dyke is to be no more than six feet across, so that it may not be available for carriage traffic. It is said as a reason for this that carriage traffic would tend to wear out the dyke, but it is easy to imagine why the Dutch do not wish to facihtate the crossing from shore to shore. Therefore, it is strictly laid down that the top of the dyke shall not be more than 6 feet broad. The height of the dyke between Envyck and Wieringen is to be 5*20 metres (17 ft. nearly) above the mean height of the water of the Y at Amsterdam. The second the^Dykes. dyke is to be sHghtly higher. The height from Wieringen to Piaan will be 5*60 ms. (over 18 feet). These altitudes are considered to place the dyke in a position of absolute security against the highest tides and the wildest storms that may come from the North Sea. With regard to the land reclaimed, which may be estimated at about 800,000 acres, the plan proposes the formation of four new polders. These will be known as Reclaimed. *^^ polders of the north-west, the south-west, the north-east, and the south-east. The north-west will be between Envyck and Enkhuizen, and the south-west between Oosterleek and the mainland behind Marken, the island being absorbed in it. Both these polders will be additions to the province of North Holland. The north-east polder will extend from Stavoren to Keteldiep, and will be an addition to Friesland and Drenthe, mainly the latter. The south-east polder will extend from Kampen to Huizen, and will be an addition mainly to Gelderland. These polders will be placed in trust and worked on a system analogous to that in the Beemster polder. It seems reasonable to conclude that the reclaimed land will meet the whole of the expense of reclamation. The average value of polder land in Holland is £100 per acre, which would give a total value of 80 milhons sterling The Zuyder Zee 235 for the reclaimed portion of the Zuyder Zee. On the other hand, the total outlay would be under twenty-nine miUions. Some allowance must be made for the loss Land. from the contraction or cessation of the fishing in the Zuyder Zee, but as it has greatly declined and in some years is absolutely unproductive, the fishermen of Marken would soon become reconciled to the disappearance of their miniature archipelago when they found more profitable and assured employment at their doors. Finally, it is understood that as soon as the present work on the deepening of the North Sea Canal has been finished, a commencement will be made with the first DatB of Commencement. P^^* ^^ ^^^ undertaking between Envyck and Wieringen, but it is a big undertaking, and in Holland the beginning is always slow. The Dutch like to look at a thing a very long time before getting to work. All that can be said in this case is that they have been looking at it a long while. Even the new plan is twenty years old. It might, perhaps, be well if the Dutch people were to enlist the assistance of foreign capitalists in this great and promising undertaking, so that the dates of commencement and comple- tion might both be hastened. It can scarcely be doubted that it would be forthcoming. Holland has now become so thickly populated and the population is so steadily increasing that more elbow-room is wanted, and nowhere could it be furnished with greater advantage to the people and the country than in the heart of the kingdom which at present centres in a watery waste, of no value as either sea or land. CHAPTER XXV NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND SOME TYPES Nations, generally speaking, form a summary judgment of their neighbours, and laying hold of one tendency that strikes , their own imagination or appeals to their Slowness and • t ■, v Caution. prejudices more than any other, attribute it as the distinguishing characteristic to one another. Thus, the general opinion among Englishmen of the Dutch people is that they are slow and cautious. They also, in that superb insularity of self-esteem which puts them- selves on a plane apart from the mere foreigner, have decided that the Dutch are rather a dull people, so when they them- selves are a Uttle slow or dense in appreciating facts they exclaim, " Well, I'm a Dutchman." Leaving dulness aside as the distinguishing mark of most people in most countries, it is true that the Dutch are slow and cautious. The condi- tions of their environment have compelled them to be so. Providence put them in a place where deliberation and carefulness were not merely the greatest virtues but the indispensable requirements of private and public safety. The quaUties which are great in a nation and which have mainly contributed to its making, as history shows, are some- times not so necessary or commendable when they guide the simple transactions of private hfe. Slowness in the sense of dehberation is a good thing, but if carried too far it means the loss of opportunities. Caution in the sense of looking well before one leaps is a good thing, but if too long observed it entails nothing being done. Without being unkindly or heedlessly critical, there is reason to say that the extreme exercise of these two excellent quaUties when used in moderation somewhat too largely colours the whole of Dutch hfe. The true character of a people, more especially of one so 236 National Characteristics, etc. 237 completely immersed in commerce as the people of HoUand, comes out in those transactions between man and man which are called generically business. Here Business^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ knows anything on the subject will dispute the statement that the Dutch are terribly slow. I have a Belgian friend who visits the country repeatedly and regularly, but who is often kept waiting a week for an order that in most countries would be decided in an hour. " In Belgium," as he rightly says, " we do as much work in a day as they do here in a week," but as it is always just to give the other side of the picture, it may be mentioned that when the order comes it is a big one, and there is no hagghng about price. Dutch caution also leads to the rejection of many matters that more enterprising and less reflective races would take up with avidity, and many of these affairs concern the develop- ment of Holland herself and the progress of her people. Many national undertakings could be named that the Dutch them- selves will not support financially because their keen sense and intimate knowledge of the drawbacks or dubious points in the enterprise have prevented their reahsing the compensa- ting advantages with the assurance of profit. These things are well known in the country itself. Let me illustrate the statement by one instance. There has long been afoot a scheme for constructing an electric tramway across a large and somewhat neglected province. The Government has promised one-third of the capital, the province will provide another, but an appeal to the pubUc for the remaining third in Holland itself is admitted to be hopeless, and must therefore be directed abroad. It is said, I know not with what truth, that the Dutch investor prefers the high interest of colonial investment with some risk to the low interest with complete security in the home market ; but at any rate this will not explain how there is no money at all for home undertakings, which everybody can easily ascertain for himself to be necessary and properly authenticated. 238 Holland of the Dutch There is another motive behind this reluctance to commit himself definitely and irrevocably in any business and that is the apprehension that he may not get the ^Taken in."^ ^^^ ^^ ^^® bargain — in other words, that he might be done, which would hurt a Dutch- man's feehngs very much. He therefore takes a long time to think it over, and turns the matter many times round in his mind before he commits himself to a decision. George Canning wrote long ago the Hues — " In matters of business the fault of the Dutch Is giving too little and asking too much;" but that is not hterally true, for the Dutchman is not a haggler in large affairs. He ponders over the price, and after due cogitation either accepts or dechnes altogether. But perhaps it is in the small things of hfe that the national trait of not wishing to be taken in, of striving to get the largest quantity possible for the money, comes out most clearly. In a city on the Meuse where fish arrives by boat several times a week, and is sold over the boat side by the fishermen themselves — I know highly respectable professional gentlemen with good incomes who go down themselves to buy the fish at these improvised markets and carry it home with them in order to save a few cents. It is true that this is done very early in the morning before their neighbours are hkely to see them. In the lower grades of society, and especially in the market- place, hagghng and huckstering are the essential features of all the transactions that take place. The Market Scenes, artful countrjrman and countrywoman are supposed to have come into the town to fleece the poor townspeople, who are equally determined not to be imposed upon. A wordy battle accompanies every deal, and when the purchaser has beaten the seller down to the last cent he, or generally she, will do their best to get some trifling addi- tion thrown in. I once witnessed a most amusing scene of this character. The battle was fought over three cauliflowers I National Characteristics, etc. 239 which the purchaser, an old woman, wished to acquire for the price of two. The young man in charge of the stall refused to give way as to price, but he added under pressure one shallot and a httle parsley. The woman handed him the money in small pieces, which required some counting, and then coming to a sudden resolution snatched up the third cauliflower and bolted. However, the young man was not to be beaten. He rushed after her, caught her up and recovered his cauh- flower, both ending the affair with a laugh which was perhaps a little forced. These traits, which at the worst are only a little petty, must not be magnified into bad quahties, and they are compensated for by the possession of most of the good Polnts^^ points which we deem virtues. The Dutch are a singularly truth-teUing, modest, and frank people. They are in every rank of hfe perfectly natural and free from side. They are men of their word and keep their promises. If they say they will do a thing, they will do it, per- haps a little slowly but eventually it will be done. They are also most obUging among themselves and to strangers. They will put themselves to a great deal of trouble to find out what may be asked them, and they will do this without ostentation or giving any indication that it has taken up a good deal of their time. The only time they show much embarrassment is when they are being thanked with, as they think, a Httle too much warmth for what they have done. Then they will very often make a hurried excuse for departing. They also dislike flattery, and anyone who attempts it is promptly dis- liked and set down as a knave. They have no sympathy with weakness of any kind or sentimentaUty, and the person displaying them will find a low place in their esteem. They have a respect for power and strength of all kinds, but they beUeve that the essential qualities in a man as in a nation are coolness and calmness. They Uke and respect the man who can discuss weighty matters gravely and philosophically — not less one who can face danger without excitement or 240 Holland of the Dutch flinching. Although they have to put up with the licence of the kermis, which all true Netherlanders detest in their hearts, they dishke what is boisterous, noisy, and turbulent, and vaunting and swagger are heinous faults in their eyes. They used to be styled in the old formula " grave and very estimable signors," and they have still the same qualities. They choose their friends among the same kind. Instead of pursuing this analysis any further, I think it will be more interesting to the reader if I endeavour to bring a few national types before him, and to Some Types. Hghten the narrative with one or two incidents within my own observation. They may be regarded as in some sense an illustration of what has just been written, and as they relate to men who, in their different stations of life, I regard as friends, I hope I may be pardoned by them if the secret of their personaUty should be betrayed. The first is a Dutch soldier, a general ofi&cer, a worthy representative of the army which fought so well at Malplaquet and Waterloo. He comes of an ancient and Soldier. honourable family. His ancestors were among the elite of Amsterdam, their features are preserved on more than one canvas of Rembrandt's. His service affording no opportunity of distinction in the field, he turned to literature, and told in glowing words the story of much of the prowess of his race on ** th' ensanguined field of Mars." He selected as his special study some of the by-ways of history, and among other matters he described what Prince Frederick of the Netherlands did in 1815 and in 1830. Out of that study grew a great desire to answer and refute the charges recklessly made by some imperfectly equipped and prejudiced English writers, who for some inscrutable reason — as if the battle were not packed with sufficient glory for all, vanquished as well as victors — had attacked the conduct and the courage of the Netherlander troops at Waterloo. Years of patient research among the records at The Hague, MAJOR-GENERAL DE BAS National Characteristics, etc. 241 in Brussels, in Berlin, and in London, were devoted to the collection of the evidence upon which was built up his monu- mental work on " the campaign of 1815." No one has attempted to refute or could refute the unanswerable testi- mony of facts therein set forth in stately and measured terms, but some of those who too lightly repeated the errors and adopted the prejudices of the past have failed to make the amende honorable, and it is t3rpical of the simplicity and uprightness of the Dutch character that this omission to admit where they went astray in their authorities, and repeated charges that cannot for a moment be sustained, has greatly surprised General de Bas, and somewhat shaken his faith in the impartiality of EngHsh writers of history. It would be futile in this case to attempt to conceal the name of the officer whom I have selected as typical of the army to which he belongs. He is one of a class of gentlemen who, without any of the braggadocio of professional soldiers in some military countries, and notably in Prussia, know how to do their duty faithfully and well. We may say of the Dutch military man that he is a gentleman first of all, and an officer afterwards. He is not given to clanking his sabre, or looking fiercely at prospective opponents. He is quite happy in mufti, and even happier than when he is in uniform. He does not look down upon a man because he may not have " served," and he is fully aware that civic courage may be as great, although it has not a barrack-yard for its back- ground, as that of the untested warriors who listen to the German Emperor's annual allocutions on the mysteries of tactics. In short, the officers of the Dutch army are gentlemen with whom Enghsh officers would get on as with brothers, whenever an occasion for close association should arise. There is no need to reveal the identity of the original of this type, and as it would probably hurt the sensitiveness of his nature care must be taken to disguise it so that he might not suspect who was referred to. Salaries in the Dutch Civil l6 — (2390) 242 Holland of the Dutch Service are not very high, and a man may serve his country very well for thirty years in a responsible position, and yet draw a salary of less than £300 a year. A Civil Servant. Such is the status and reward of my friend. For that reward he labours for the State ten hours a day for six days in each week, undertakes long journeys, tramps remote and bleak downs and marsh- lands, discusses and regulates delicate matters with the officials of neighbouring countries, and shows himself equally skilful as official, engineer, and minor diplomatist. He is brought into contact with the uniformed and much-medalled bureaucrats of another State, and he himself puts on a rather nondescript civilian's costume, which is generally a little the worse for wear. Yet he manages to hold his own with the best of them, for he is, what neither official uniform nor titles can alone make a man, a gentleman. Nor is he helped by his Government when he has occasion, as sometimes happens, to meet the representatives of another country on business. In official rank he is their equal, but he is provided with no escort. He arrives at the spot agreed on for the interview with one attendant who, hke his superior, displays no insignia of official status. On the other side, when the frontier is that of Germany, there will be the land- rath, the district commissioner, the nearest burgomaster, the head of the customs' commandos, all will have clerks in attendance on them, and, finally, there will be at least ten men of the frontier guard. At least thirty German officials in full uniform will be assembled to do a piece of work which the Dutch Government considers can be done by one official and his man. That it is done well under such conditions reflects the highest credit on the tact and patience of the man who knows how to hold his own with his epauletted adversaries. But my friend is much more than an official. He is a man of great erudition, an authority on heraldry and archaeology, and has the genealogical history of the great famihes of his National Characteristics, etc. 243 country at his fingers' ends. Like the majority of his fellow- countrymen, he places his knowledge at the disposition of his friends. No trouble is too great for him to take in his desire to obUge them, and he never rests satisfied until he has not merely answered all their questions but exhausted all the available information on the subject to which they refer within his reach. Such men are rare in any country, but in Holland they are more frequently encountered than elsewhere. It is to be hoped that their kindly efforts meet generally with the appreciation they deserve. It is a popular delusion in England that the Dutch are stand-off and inaccessible. I venture to assert on the con- trary that there is no country in the world Schoolmaster, where men are more willing to meet their brother man on a footing of friendly equahty, or quicker in forming friendships. But it is not less true that if a basis of confidence is not quickly found the relations, however frequent, may never emerge from the stage of aloofness and latent aversion. Once indifference lays hold of a Dutchman's mind, it would need an earthquake to make him lay it on one side, and resume interest in a man or a subject that he had decided to ignore. I have in my mind a gentleman with whom I was thrown into contact by a purely fortuitous circumstance, and whose friendship I have the privilege of retaining. As the incident reveals what may be called the forthcomingness of the Dutch as opposed to the common behef in their reserve and coldness towards strangers, I describe it in support of my view. I had occasion to visit a small place about ten miles out from the city in which I was staying, traveUing there by motor-bus, and counting on returning by the same means. Having much time to spare before the hour arrived for its departure, I decided to walk back a couple of miles to the first halt. When I arrived at the cafe, my knowledge of Dutch being too sUght to carry on a conversation with the proprietress, she said, " I will send out a gentleman who happens to be here and 244 Holland of the Dutch who speaks French," A middle-aged gentleman appeared, whose somewhat grave aspect was reUeved by a pleasant smile. He told me that on that particular day of the week there was no return bus, and that I had been misinformed. There was no alternative but to walk. In the course of conversation he showed himself a man of great amiability and intelligence. He read English, but he would not commit himself to speaking it ; and I soon learnt that he was the headmaster of a school lying a few miles off the road I was travelling. It was getting late, darkness was setting in, and after ten minutes' talk I started on my return journey. When we parted it never occurred to me, and I am sure it did not occur to him, that we should ever meet again. Neither of us knew the other's name. I had a certain piece of work to do, the nature of which is of no interest, but only a Dutchman could do it, and I had great difficulty in finding one. I was in great doubt on the subject when the thought suddenly flashed across my mind, " I wonder whether my amiable acquaintance of a few days before would assist me." I knew two things only — the name of his village, and the fact that he was the schoolmaster. I took the next train to the place, ascertained the position of the school, and when all the boys had left entered the build- ing and presented myself before the astonished gaze of the dominie. I had not mistaken my man. The first look of surprise quickly gave place to a pleasant smile of welcome, there was no affectation of a pretence that he did not remember me, he took up the conversation exactly where it had stopped at the roadside inn, and in half an hour we were the best friends in the world, and so I hope we remain. I have often since wondered what would have been my reception from one of my own fellow-countrymen under similar circumstances. I come now to a different class of man, but one equally typical of his country. The Dutch waiter, copying no doubt the example set him by his chief, the excellent Dutch hotel- keeper, is a most obliging fellow, but my observation showed National Characteristics, etc. 245 that he is most of all obHging when he hails from the province of Groningen. It is to the old city of Groningen that I will _ direct the reader's attention. Gronineren must The Waiter s Idyll. ^^ ^^® happiest place in Europe, for the people are always laughing. In the afternoon and later on, almost to nightfall, the laughter of the girls on one side of the street and of the young men on the other sounds like the unceasing twittering of birds ; but the two sexes do not walk together, or rather that is the exception, for if a young man and young woman walk down the street together they are at once declared to be engaged, and the tie is as difficult to break as a Scottish marriage. At a certain hotel in Groningen there is a head waiter, tall, blonde, and blue-eyed. He is still a soldier in the reserve of the Dutch army. He has another year to serve before passing into the landwehr, and it will cost him, as he regretfully says, 25 florins, because he has to provide a substitute at the hotel during his absence. As his position demands, he speaks several languages, and among them English. His voice is low and soft, and he has the most perfect articulation. A natural question arose, " Where did you learn English ? " to which came the unexpected answer, " I learnt it here at school. I have never been in England, but I wish much to go there." It was impossible to withhold the advice, "On no account go there, for if you do you will spoil your English, and return with a very different accent." A Dutchman takes a long time to unravel a compliment, and I do not think he understood my meaning, for he con- tinued : "I should much like to go there, but my parents will not that I should, and one must obey one's parents. Then there is my httle girl." We were alone, and the restau- rant had large bay windows looking on the main street. He walked several times slowly and deliberately to the window in the intervals of his service, looked out right and left, slowly paced back again, glanced at the clock, and resumed his place at the window. The clock struck twelve ; he looked at his 246 Holland of the Dutch watch to see if it was correct, and finding it to be so a slight flicker of anxiety passed over his face. He left the window, re-paced the room more slowly than ever as if to make the most of it, and then resinned his movement towards the win- dow. As he passed my table I hazarded the remark, ** You are expecting some one," but before he could reply an object outside met his eye, and with a low exclamation he moved two steps at a time to the window. He was smiling at some one outside, and then as the person passed the face changed to the critical glance of a prospective owner. " I beg your pardon, sir, for not replying, but it was * my little girl,' who passes every morning at 12 o'clock, so that I may see her. She was late to-day, but I see she had met a friend, and they passed on the other side of the road. She will return on this side in two minutes." And again he took his place at the window. Soon his face was smiUng, and various salutations, not very demonstrative, at least on his side, followed, and then he called to me, " Quick, sir, and you can see her," and I did as I was bidden, and I saw the back of a young giantess with a single coil of hair down her back disappearing at the corner. " But," I said, *' she is young " ; and he replied, " She is sixteen, and we have plenty of time to wait, but she is a very good girl, and every day, wet or fine, she passes here at 12 o'clock so that I may see her." That is the idyll of the Dutch waiter in far-off Groningen. Holland possesses at least one hero, although he is probably not known to the ruling powers at The Hague. None the less he is the man of all men in the eyes of his jj^n compatriots along an extensive and exposed frontier region. Let me tell Jan's story, and as far as possible in his own words. I see him in my mind just as he first appeared to me across the counter of his shop in the old city of . Large of build, but not corpulent, broad-faced, clean-shaven with a fresh complexion that a child or dairy-maid might envy. Frank and pleasant-mannered, with large blue eyes in which National Characteristics, etc. 247 there gleamed deep thought, perhaps too deep ever to reach the surface of expression. But with all his frankness there was observable a certain restraint as if he held himself in leash, and would not Hghtly give himself away. Our conversation began by my stating that I heard he spoke EngHsh, to which he repHed " Yes, I speak Enghsh." I told him I wanted to buy some of his cigars, and he brought forward several boxes. " Not those," I repHed, " but your speciahty, the cigar you call the Schwanenthurm." " Oh, yes," he rejoined, and a smile flickered round his mouth, but in his eyes came the glance of one who has been under fire or in great danger, and who stands on guard at the first menace. I knew the expression, and I said sharply to catch him unawares, " You have been a soldier and under fire." He rephed placidly, " I have not served in the Army," and I apologised for my mistake by saying, " I thought I noticed something that showed you had been in great danger." He looked at me fixedly, and slowly the look of suspicion disap- peared from his eyes, and after a minute he rephed, " I have not been a soldier, but perhaps monsieur is not so wrong after all, for I have passed through a great danger. If monsieur cares to hear it and will come into my private room I will tell him my story. " I was on the railway in those days, guard to the train that goes daily from here into Germany. The Germans hke to smoke a good cigar, and the German Jan's Story. Government hkes to see the smoke ascending in the air for half the cost goes into its coffers. But what it does not hke is when it discovers that no part of the smoke comes its way. I give you a riddle which the sequel wlQ unfold. Now the German hkes his cigar, but he hkes it cheap, sweet, and wholesome. But the German cigar is dear, bitter, and nasty. When he can get our Dutch cigars at a penny a piece he is delighted, and asks no question whence they come ; but the German Government gets very angry for it loses much revenue. 248 Holland of the Dutch 1 " At the time I am speaking of, that Government learnt that all the people in the circle on the other side of this frontier were smoking Dutch cigars, while the registers at the different customs houses showed no receipts at all. There was only one conclusion, they must be smuggled, and after long inves- tigation it was decided that they must come into the country by the train of which I was the guard. So every day at the frontier station my train was examined from end to end, but nothing was found, and weeks and months passed by and still Dutch cigars were smoked duty free from Cleves to Goch, and further inland. " But at last a misfortune happened. One day the search seemed over, and I was waiting the signal for the train to go on, when suddenly there was a shout from the train itself, and an excited customs officer held two boxes of cigars out of the window. He had found them concealed in a first-class carriage. The chief of the customs was sent for, he examined the boxes, and declaring them to be identical with those in the shops at Cleves, he ordered the train to be turned into a siding for closer examination. I did not know how those two boxes got into that compartment, but I was still hopeful that all would be well. From one end of the train to the other search was made under the personal direction of the chief, but not another cigar was found. The chief, who for a Prus- sian official, was quite clever, exclaimed, ' It is ridiculous to imagine that this smugghng can be done at the rate of two boxes at a time,' and so he left the train and passed on to the engine, and here an inspiration unluckily seized him. ' Remove the coal,' and then I knew the game was up, for boxes contain- ing 50,000 Dutch cigars were under it in the tender. * Who put them there ? ' roared the chief to the engineer, who replied * The guard,' and I stepped forward. * Yes, it is true I put them there.' So I was carried off to the Schwanenthurm, in Cleves, to await my trial. " After some time the day for the trial arrived, and I was sentenced to two years in a German prison ; but as there is National Characteristics, etc. 249 no prison at Cleves, for long sentences at least, I was to be removed elsewhere as soon as an escort should arrive. But in the court I had seen the face of a friend, who smiled encouragingly when he heard that I was to be removed to a different place, and then he disappeared. I made no reply to the sentence, and inwardly I felt confident that my friend would save me the trouble of serving it. " The day of my transference to prison arrived. A corporal and two soldiers were to escort me to the station, and as I had been very quiet and complained at nothing, I was regarded as quite harmless and resigned. Besides, how could a prisoner escape from a German city twenty miles from the frontier, and escorted by three -pickelhaubes with loaded rifles ? When we emerged from the Schwanenthurm I saw the streets were crowded with many people who had come to see my removal, for I had their sympathy, or rather they regretted perhaps the loss of their good and cheap cigars. But my eyes were not for them. Far down the street I saw a motor-car, and soon I saw a handkerchief waved, and then I knew where I was. As we approached, too, I heard the sound of the motor ready to start at a moment's notice, and its front was turned towards Holland. Then I knew what I had to do. " The corporal marched in front, on either side of me marched a private. Imperceptibly I slackened my pace, and my guards did likewise, while the corporal continued his rate, gradually widening the gap between us. When we were close to the car he was quite 10 yards ahead, and my moment had come. I thrust my leg between the legs of my left-side guard, and with a slight push with my left hand he went sprawling several yards in the vain effort to keep his feet, and fell headlong a little in advance. Turning to the right, I struck the other guard with all my force on the side of his head, and he fell stunned to the ground. In two bounds I was in the car, and the car was off. I do not think more than ten seconds intervened between my tripping up the soldier and the car starting. I know not what was done after the 250 ' Holland of the Dutch flight began, but probably the corporal did not fire because he was afraid of hitting some one in the crowd. ** No one attempted to stop us, so we raced along, leaving the high road, and seeking by-roads known to few through the Reichswald. We knew we should have to run the gauntlet at at least one customs house, and as they are in telephonic communication with each other, there was risk that we might be stopped, but we slowed down as we drew near, not to excite suspicion. Two douaniers were at the door, and they came a Httle into the road, and one exclaimed with a laugh, * Oh, oh, taking the good German sugar into Holland ! May you get through ' ; and at that moment we heard the telephone bell ringing in the office, one of the guards rushed back to receive the message, and we, knowing what it signified, put on speed and dashed ahead at all risks. Soon we heard shouting, and I glanced back and the men had rushed into the road, and I saw their guns raised to fire, but the bullets passed idly through the trees. We were in Holland. " I shall go no more into Germany, but my cigars go there, although not by train ; and in honour of my escape I decorate the boxes with an illustration of my flight in the motor-car, and I have called the cigar the ' Schwanenthurm.* Yes, the Germans like a good and cheap cigar, and the German Govern- ment hkes to see the smoke rising in the air, for half the cost goes for its fleet, but it gets mad when that cigar is a Dutch one, out of which it does not get a cent's worth for its share." CHAPTER XXVI CONCLUSION We have now come to the end of our narrative, and there remain only a few observations by way of conclusion. The mighty past has been sketched in brief review. The Future, the prosperous present has been brought before the reader, and an effort has been made to present the picture of a laborious, contented, and attractive people. Is it wrong to try to take a peep into the future ? At least we wiU chance it. What does fate reserve for HoUand amid the trials and tribulations of the European upheaval now looming with such menace before the affrighted nations in the near future ? Will she endure, will she pass away Hke Venice, wiU she accept her destiny without a struggle, or will Batavian independence only yield up the ghost behind the last paUsade and dyke of the beloved Fatherland ? Neither for Holland nor for England does a vista of quiet ease and undisturbed peace — both so cherished and valued in the two countries — open to the gaze of any one glancing with clear sight into the future. The portents are threatening. The handwriting on the wall is clear. It says only those who wield the power shall have the right to hve, and Holland is weak and unprepared. Holland is rich in herself, and she possesses colonies of immense value and promise. Even if a despoiler left Holland intact, the abstraction of her possessions in P^rSe. "^ *^^ 'East Indies would represent a most tempting prize for a military Empire which was set on the acquisition of great colonies. A victor in a general European war might well repay himself by claiming Java, and when the God of battles has dehvered his award 251 252 Holland of the Dutch there will be none to dare to say ** No " to the favoured party. One set in Holland preaches the gospel of helplessness. Its text is, " What is the use of resistance when we are sure to be vanquished ? " This is the party opposing real miUtary reform, which insists that a soldier can be made with eight months' training. It is a minority rather noisy in time of peace, but one that will hang its head in abashed silence when the patriotism of the Dutch people is fully aroused, and bursts forth as in the times of Wilham III and Hogendorp. If a tameless surrender cannot avert the loss of Java, then indeed Dutch opinion will decide ; 'twere better to make a fight for it on the side of those who will aid. Holland has no foreign policy. The conditions of party strife in the States-General would not allow of it. For a minister to declare that he had made his " Policy^^^^" country a member of the Triple Entente or the Triple Alliance would be to ensure the immediate fall of the Government to which he belonged. The Dutch ideal is strict neutrality, or in other words, sitting on the fence until the danger arrives. They forget that it may come so suddenly that they will be toppled over before it is realised, and that they may not be able to get up again. But the absence of a foreign policy, that is to say, of well- formed plans and firm decisions, does not preclude the develop- ment of natural tendencies. Even without a great states- man nations are beginning to see where their true interests lie, and who are their surest friends, and who their most for- midable enemies. Without a convention or a protocol, the pubhc opinion of a free country such as Holland soUdifies into approval of a more or less definite plan of action in certain eventuahties. Scientifically it is not a good system, for it neglects the means of giving effect to the decision, but it is better than nothing. At least it implies that the nation is not in favour of a tame surrender, and that it has some fight left in it, or in other words, is worthy to Uve. m W. H. DE BEAUFORT {Ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs) Conclusion 253 Among such tendencies I give the first place to the gravita- tion of Holland and Belgium towards each other. The ill- An feehng that was naturally engendered by the Understanding revolution of 1830 and the dissolution of the wi gium. jQj^g(jQjjj Qf ^jig Netherlands passed away long ago, and during the last ten years the view has spread among the most influential people in both countries that their interests are closely intert\\ined and that a misfortune to one State must be a blow[to the other. They have^been^compelled by the course of evente to recognise that they both would suffer if one or other should lose its independence, and that the fate of either must very quickly prove the other's lot. There is, therefore, a real union of sentiment throughout the whole of the Netherlands such as has never existed before. The old view was that Holland and Belgium could never co-operate because the difference of rehgion made such a union impossible, but it has long been e\ddent Question°^^ that this theory must be revised. The Belgian revolution of 1830 was not a rehgious movement. It was a Liberal uprising for national equahty. And ever since that epoch Cathohc influence has been increas- ing in Holland, and the pohcy of that country has long ceased to be aggressively Protestant. In both countries there is no State Church, and hberty of rehgious opinion figures in their two Constitutions. It would be difficult to contend then that rehgion forms a barrier to an alhance between the two States. There was a time no doubt when the keenness of commercial competition precluded cordiahty. Amsterdam dreaded the rivalr}^ of Antwerp, and held on to the truly Co^m^titi'on. barbaric pri\ilege of shutting the Scheldt until it could be retained no longer. But the rise of Antwerp has not entailed the fall of Amsterdam, and Rotterdam has forged ahead \dth stead}' and increasing impetus. There is enough trade for all, and the prosperity of one has not diminished that of the other. But the question deserves to be weighed and considered : Would this condition 254 Holland of the Dutch remain true if either Rotterdam or Antwerp passed into the hands of Germany ? Would not one of these great ports suffer an ecHpse ? It seems clear that on this ground alone the two countries should oppose together any attack on their independence. The force of circumstances led thoughtful men in both countries to conclude that so far as possible they ought to act The Movement together, and a Belgian-Dutch society was towards formed for the promotion of goodwill and Co-operation. cordiaHty. The success of this association has proved quite remarkable, and shows that although they now form two separate kingdoms and will continue to do so, there is a fundamental resemblance between the two peoples such as does not exist elsewhere on the Continent of Europe. The brother races have come together in a sense that has not apphed to their relations since they chose different paths in the time of PhiHp II. But it may be said that expressions of goodwill and the exchange of toasts at fraternal banquets count for little towards the conclusion of a definite convention for joint action. Yet when they are sincere, and in this case there is every reason to believe they are, what better basis can there be for an aUiance against a conmion peril, or for combined action in the hour of danger ? The man who treats the possi- bility of a Dutch-Belgian alliance as a myth does not under- stand the character of the races of the Netherlands, and fails to realise how deep is the feeling of patriotism that now stirs the hearts of the peoples from Frisia to the Ardennes. It is true that the Governments of both countries are restricted in their freedom to take precautionary measures by their parliaments, but none the less it must be noted that new miUtary laws have recently raised the annual contingent to 23,000 men in Holland and to 35,000 men in Belgium. These measures have been taken late, perhaps too late to be completely successful, but at least they harmonise with each other and seem to reveal a common purpose. Conclusion 255 The greater part of Holland, like the greater part of Belgium, lies open to invasion, and there are no available means to _ r c- 1 defend it. But both countries possess places ^*^^Stand. ^" ^^ ^^^^ stand which would long baffle the most powerful assailant. Belgium has Ant- werp, and Holland has her fortress behind the water-Hne defences. Neither army in its present state may be equal to operations in the field against that of a first-class mihtary power, but both are quite capable of defending efficiently a well-fortified position without any glaringly weak points. So long as Holland and Belgium hold out in the bulwarks of their independence, they will not have lost their separate national existence, and they will have secured by their efforts the time necessary for other countries to come to their aid. The tendency of the two divisions of the Netherlands to coalesce, and to work together, must simpHfy for their friends and well-wishers the intricate and difficult problem of pre- serving the status quo in their part of the Continent, and thus ensuring the dehcate equihbrium known as the balance of power in Europe. The second tendency noticeable in Holland is even more important and gratifying, for it signifies improved and closer relations with England. This is not a new Tendency. feature in Dutch policy, for confidence in her friendship and support dates from long ago, but the Boer War strained those relations by raising misgivings in the minds of the Dutch people. The Boers were regarded as brothers, many Dutch volunteers went out to fight on their side, and for a period Enghshmen were viewed with dislike. I remember well, when I was at The Hague during the height of the war, a great friend saying to me : " We have an informal reception every Sunday evening, and shall be glad to see you if you come, but perhaps you had better not." That state of tension has passed away, and I even think a more just view of the episode now prevails in the country ; but at any rate the hatchet is buried, and other thoughts fill their minds. In 256 Holland of the Dutch Belgium there is reliance on France as well as on England, but in Holland England alone is thought of as the country's champion. Remembering the good work that has been done by the Dutch-Belgian Association, it may be suggested here that Room for an ^^^^^ ^^ room for an Anglo-Dutch Friendship Anglo-Dutch Society, if some of the leading men in the Friendship commercial worlds of London and Amsterdam °*^^^^* would take up the matter. It would promote a feeling of goodwill, remove misunderstandings, and con- tribute eventually to community of action. The idea would probably be welcomed in Amsterdam, The Hague, and Rotterdam, where a very considerable portion of educated people speak English in preference to other foreign languages. It must be noted also that the question of the Dutch colonies in Asia is one in which England is entitled to take a deep interest. In upholding Holland in Question!* Europe we are also upholding the system that exists in the Eastern Archipelago. It would be exceedingly unpleasant not merely to the Home Government but to that of the Australian Commonwealth if for Dutch rule in the Sunda Isles, which is essentially pacific and unaggressive, were to be substituted a military regime set upon expansion and aggression. The intrusion of a dis- turbing element there might well set the Asiatic world in a flame, and if it were seen that some other Power were about to displace the Dutch the voice of Australia and of India also would be raised in no uncertain tones. England, then, has as much reason and as strong a desire to uphold Holland in the East Indies as she has in Europe. There is very good reason for my saying that these views are held very strongly by the Dutch in Java. The home- staying Dutch have of late been rather startled by the dis- covery that a very strong colonial opinion exists among their compatriots in that island which is not to be controlled from The Hague. They are beginning to be restive, and to give signs that they think that the home authorities are rather Conclusion 257 blind to the changes occurring in the Far East, to which, in Batavia, Holland holds one of the gates. The advent of Japan, the possible appearance of China as a great Power, are the questions of the day with the Dutch officials and planters among the spice islands, and their wrath has not been concealed when the central government proposed to send them a used-up " Dreadnought " bought from some other Power with their money. " Send us a new one or none at all," was the sharp retort from Batavia. Now what is the practical sequel of these views ? There must be a movement of sym- pathy, a tendency to co-operation, between Batavia and Australia, just as there is between The Hague and London. All I wish to make clear is that circumstances East and West are compeUing the Netherlander and the EngUshman to realise that they have conmion interests at stake, and that union of sympathy, policy, and in the end action, is essential for their salvation. This appeal would be in vain if the ideals of the two nations were not very much the same. The preceding pages have been written to no purpose if they do not make the reader think how close is the resemblance between English and Dutch hfe. On all essential points there is the same way of looking at things ; the love of order, regularity, and comfort, the respect for authority, the regard for precedent, the desire to be at peace with all men, and the high standard of civil and social hberty distinguish the two countries alike from all others. They may not be the only bulwarks left of Freedom, but at least they are the countries in which the recompenses of long-inherited Freedom are most visible. But nations do not survive by their good quahties, but by their power. Prosperity, the Hcence of liberty, which is not . less wanton than the hcence of tyranny, saps ^^^S^^ilr^ the State, and we should never forget that the soldiers of Belisarius and Stilicho, although they could die as nobly as the legionaries of Julius Caesar, could not win their unbroken series of victories. In Holland 17— (2390) 258 Holland of the Dutch there is a perfect riot of liberty. Any man may start a Church of his own to-morrow, any man may rally round him avowed infidels, and nobody will interfere with him. It is nobody else's business, nobody thinks of troubling himself about the matter, the attitude of all is absolute indifference ; but indiffer- ence is not strength. It is the symptom of decay. Man has lost or laid aside the combative spirit which bids him put an end to indifference. That is all. All the motive forces in the world must rest with those who are not indifferent, and they will dictate to the indifferent : " You are with us or against us. We recognise nothing but decisive action. Choose at once and take the consequences." Here again the situation in Holland very closely resembles that of England. We, too, are witnessing the riot of hberty. We never have been invaded — it is not a fact, witness William the Conqueror, Louis VIII, and William III — therefore we never shall be invaded. We have derived enormous benefits from Liberty, therefore everything done in the name of Liberty must be good. We have long given up^the quest of new acquisitions, therefore we must impute the best of motives to every one else, and decline to credit that the State which has laboriously built up a navy almost equal to our own has any other motive than to take part in yacht-racing. We, too, like Holland, are revealing all the symptoms of decay ; but unlike Holland, we have other virgin sources of power that are in the full plenitude of their vigour, and that wiU come to the aid of the Mother Country when she is beaten to her knees. In considering the state of opinion in Holland and in coming to a decision as to what influence it might have on the national Different Views policy we must carefully remember that it in the Different varies in different provinces. In some the V Provinces. yiQ^^ is held that Germany is irresistible ; there it would be unreasonable to expect any vigorous mani- festation of patriotism. In modern warfare an untrained and unarmed population rank as sheep among wolves. In some Conclusion 259 commercial circles in the great trading cities, opinion, clearly moved by the large and active German colony, is sjmipathetic to Germany on the ground that she is our largest customer. These are not national sentiments. They are those of helplessness in one case, and of the self-interest of a limited class in the other. But in the seven true Dutch pro\inces there is a strong national feehng which, despite any appearance to the contrary, beats as firmly as ever. This is the force with which friends and foes alike will have to reckon. It would be greater and more formidable if in all of them the true position of the country were properly appre- ciated, but in some owing to their lying aloof from the points of danger there is absolute ignorance as to the real peril in which the country stands. It may be worth while to explain exactly how Holland stands for the enhghtenment of both the Dutch and the English pubhc. But for one fact, which will Holland's Peril ? ^^ Stated, it is perfectly conceivable that Holland need not be involved in the next general European war. Many Dutchmen ignoring the fact, chng to the pleasant delusion. The fact that annihilates the pleasant theory is the geographical position of Dutch Limburg. It, unfortunately for Dutch tranquilhty and peace of mind, intervenes between Prussian territory and the bridges across the Meuse at Venlo, Roermond, Maeseyck, and ^laestricht, and those bridges He on the direct roads to Antwerp, Brussels, and the French northern frontier. It remains only to ask the question. Is a country not invaded when a part, somewhat detached it is true, is lopped off and secured by a hostile army ? Can Holland pretend to ignore such an outrage ? There is no precedent for a nation remaining supine when one section of it is shedding its hfe-blood at every pore. But there is another contingency. Even if Holland remained supine (which to me is inconceivable) at the overrunning of Limburg, that would not end her troubles. It is perfectly certain that the Powers which would be injured by that step 260 Holland of the Dutch would take counter measures. In some form or other they would seize an equivalent for Maestricht and Venlo. In other words Holland would suffer from a double invasion, and in both cases as a passive victim. To state the case is to reveal that the Dutch people would never tolerate the first affront. The act of crossing their frontier, wherever it may be, must be followed by the declaration that the invader is an enemy, and as such to be opposed by the force of the nation and its alhes. There is no reason to think that because the Dutch are very pacific and would like very much to Uve a life free from disturbance and strife, they have lost all their Dutch Spirit. Spirit. They know very well that the best- intentioned and least aggressive people cannot escape from the designs of those Governments which claim a very large place in the sun, and which can only get it by robbing their neighbours. The Dutch are not such fools as to believe that this peril can be averted by humbleness. They know that they must stand up for their rights themselves, and that in the second place they must obtain the support of those who have a joint interest with themselves in standing up for them. They shut their eyes to the true situation down to the very last moment, and it is only lately that they awoke to its grim significance. They have more than doubled their annual contingent, and they are going to spend some millions on war-ships. No nation could do more. They have only to hasten, and to see that the system is thorough. But behind military preparations there is one thing necessary in a nation that means to live, and that is Courage. I can see no reason why the courage of the Dutch people should be doubted. A nation that has been long at peace, that has ostentatiously laid aside its armour and proclaimed its inten- tion to have no more wars, is necessarily not as prompt in taking up its weapons as one who has never laid them aside. But it does not follow that once it feels the trusted weapon in its hand it will not know how to use it. A new, inspiring Conclusion 261 force comes into action, moral indignation at being driven by the lawlessness of others to fight for one's existence. That is the spirit in which the Dutch will take up arms when their national existence is imperilled, and I for one do not doubt that when the need arises they will fight with the fervour and tenacity of their Bat avian and Frisian ancestors. There exists in Holland a latent spark of independence that will burst into a flame when the country is declared to be in danger. X7A— (3390) HOLLAND OR THE NETHERLANDS INDEX Aansprekher, the, 177-8 Adolphus of Nassau (Emperor), 12, 204 Adolphus, Grand Duke, 38 Agriculture. {See Chapter XV) Agricultural Banks, 125 Aix-la-Chapelle, Treaty of, 31 Albert and Isabella, 23-4 Albertina Agnes, 21 Algiers, 93 Alkmaar, cadets' school, 87 Amboynese, the, 104 Amersfoort, 88 Amicis, Edmondo de, quoted, 17-19; 189, 230 Amstel, the, 214, 215 Amsteldiep. 232, 233 Amsterdam, 8, 27, 46. {See Chapter XXIII) Amsterdam Art Gallery, 222 — — University, 222 Amusements. {See Chapter XVII) Anna Paulovna Polder, 232 Anne of Egmont, 19 of Saxony, 19 Appeal Courts, 62 Area of Holland, 119 Armada, the, 23 Army. {See Chapter IX) Amhem, 9, 50, 197 Asiatic Crews, 98 Atchin, 105 Atheists, 156 Augsburg, League of, 28 Australia and Java, 256-7 Backhuysen, 189 Bakhuizen, 182 , Miss, 193 BaU. 107 Banca, 104 Bankruptcy, 67 Bar, the Dutch. 67 Barendts, 91, 181 Barges and boats, 59 Barrier Treaty, the, 30, 31 Bas, General de, 182, 240-1 Batavia, 100, 104-5 Batavian Republic, the, 149 Bauer, 192 Beemster Polder, the, 140 Beets, Nicholas, 182 Beggars, the Sea, 91 Behring, 91 Beijersbergen, Mr., 198 Beklem-regt, 142 Belgian Revolution, the, 33 Belgium and Holland, 253-4 Bencoolen, 104 Bernard, F., quoted, 217 Berne Convention, the, 184 Bilderdijk, 180, 181 Billiton, 104 Bisschop, 192, 193 Bles, 192 Blok, P. J., 182 Blokzijl, Max, 198 Blommers, 192 Boating, 161 Bodegraven, 140 Boers, the, 10, 143, 144 Bois le Due, 25 Boissevain, Mr. Charles, 185, 186 Borneo, 106 Bosboom, 192 Bouwmeester, Louis, 202 Breda, Bishop of, 153 ; military academy, 87 ; sieges, 23, 24, 25, 26 Bridges over the Meuse, 211-2 Burger Schools, 74 Burgundy, House of, 2 " Buiten," to go abroad, 10 , De, 186 Buitenzorg, 100. 104 Butter, 127 , Artificial, 127 Canals. {See Chapter VI and passim) Canal Population, 58, 60 Cape of Good Hope, 100 263 264 Index Carnival, 166 Catz, Jacob. 179, 180 Cavalry Regiments, 82 Celebes, 106 Ceylon, 100 Changes in Constitution, 43-4 Charles II. 220 Charlotte de Bourbon, 20 Cheese, 140 Chinese, the new, 108 Churches at Maestricht. old, 208-9 Church service, 145-6 Civil List, the, 115 Service, the, 241-3 Cloerlings, the, 102 Clubs in Holland, 49-50, 224 Coal mines, 135, 206 Code Napol6on, the. 61 Coffee, 127 Colombo. 100 Colonial Army, the, 101-2 Institute, a, 109 Colonies. {See Chapter XI) Commerce. {See Chapter XIV) Cond6, 19, 28 Constitution, the. {See Chapter IV) Consultation Bureau, a, 66 Contingent, the annual (Army), 80. 89 Cost of Education, 76 Costumes. {See Chapter XVIII) Couperus, Louis, 182 Cour des Comptes, 42 Court Life. {See Chapter V) , the High, 61. 62, 66 Courts, the, 61 et seq. Cows, 139 Cromwell. Oliver, 26 Curagoa. 100, 108 Cycling, 158 Dabbels, 189 Da Costa, 181, 226 Dam Palace, the, 216, 217, 218 Danzig, 227 Daum Frans. 198 Debt, Dutch. 116-8 Dekker, E. Douwes, 103 Delft, 109 Den Hollander, Herminia, 198 Louise, 198 De Ruyter, 91, 92 Deventer, Bishop of, 155 Diamond workers at Amsterdam, 220 Division of Dutch Army, 84-6 Dordrecht, 8 Douw, Gerard, 189 Drama, the, 201 Drawing classes, 193-4 " Dreadnought " Question, the, 96 Duquesne, 92 Dutch Character, the, 236-40 Guiana, 108-9 PoUcy, 251 Dykes cut, 27 Edam. 140. 229 Education. {See Chapter VIII) Eem, 232 EUzabeth (mother of Turenne), 20 Emanuel of Portugal, 19 Emigration, 121 Emma of Waldeck Pyrmont (Queen). 34. 48 Engineers, the, 83, 87 Enkhuizen. 232, 234 Envyck, 232, 233. 234 Erasmus. 179 Eurasians, 102-4 Examinations, frequency of, 70 Expenditure, Dutch. 114-5 Fadechon. Mr., 231 Farms, 142 Fetes. {See Chapter XVII) Finance, 41-2 Flevo, Lake, 226 Food Prices. 123-4 Forestry, 76 Frederick Henry (Stadtholder), 20. 25-6 French in Holland, 32-3 Friesland. 147-8, 168, 174, 175-6 Index 265 Froger, Mr., 231 Fundamental law, the, 37 Funerals, 177 Genealogy of Dutch reigning family, 35 Genestet, 182 Germany, aggressive policy of, 258-61 Ghetto at Amsterdam, the, 220 Gids, De, 182 Gisbert of Amstel, 215 Golden Helmets, the, 175-6 Gouda, 140, 159 Great Privilege, the, 36 Grol, 25 Grotius, 179 Guicciardini, 196 Gymnasia, the, 74 Groningen, life at, 245 Haarlem, 109, 147 ; organ at, 199 ; Bishop of, 153, 155 , lake, 4 Hague, The, 8, 45 Halfweg, great dyke at, 216 Hals, Frans, 188 Harhngen, 232 Hartighs, 91 Hasselt, 204 Haverman, 193 Health, 120 Heerlen, 135, 206 Heinsius, 30 Helder Forts, the, 89 Henry of Mecklenburg, Prince, 34, 47 Herring fishery, 171, 172 Hertogenbosch, Bishop of, 153 Het Loo, 7, 46 Hindeloopen , 176 Hobbema, 189 Hogendorp, 252 Hohenlohe, Count, 19 Hoi, M. R., 196 Holidays, school, 77 Holland, meaning of name, 2 ; area of, 6 ; population of, 6 ; scenery of, 7 Holland and England, 255-7 , Counts of, 2, 36 Fortress, 88 Homeman, Helena, 198 Horses, 138-9 Hospitality, 51 Hospitals, 124 House in the Wood, the, 48 Huet, Conrad, 182 Huguenots, the, 223 Huygens, Miss Comehe, 183 Ice Clubs, 160-1 Independent Church, the, 151 Industry, 135 Infantry regiments, 82 ; increase of, 86 Israels, 191 James II, 28 Jansenist Church, the, 154 Jan's story, 246-50 Java, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 106 ; as a prize of war, 251-2 Javanese police, 107 Jews, the, 155, 223 John of Brabant, 204 John of Nassau, 15 : Queen Wilhelmina's ancestor. {See table, p. 35) John William of Frisia, 29, 30, 35 Jojocarta. 196 Jong, Mrs. Goekoop de, 183 Juliana of Stolberg, 14 , Princess, 34 ; anecdote of, 47-8 Kampen, soldiers' school at, 87, 234 Keppel, Sir Harry, 94 Kermis, the, 161-5 Kilometre books, 132 Klompen, 143 Kloppenburg, Mr., 231 Kuenen, Professor, 182 Kuinder, the, 232 Kuyper, Dr. Abraham, 151, 183, 185, 186 Labour Colonies, 65 266 Index Landen, 29 Land Systems, 138 Landwehr, the, 81-2 Lapidotte-Swarth, Miss, 182 Laveleye E. de, 139, 147, 152 Leyden, 109 Limburg, Dutch province of. {See Chapter XXII) Duchy, 203-4 Limburg city, 203 Linde, 232 Lohman, Mr. de Savornin, 183 Lombok, war in, 105, 107 Louis XIV. 27, 220 Napoleon, 32-3 Louise de Coligny, 20 Lunatics, 121 Luxemburg (Grand Duchy), 38 Maeseyck, 211 Maestricht, 204, 205, 206, 208, 211 ; the Dean of, 209 Malacca, 100, 105 Marechaussee, the, 83 Maris, Jacob, 191 , Thys, 191 — , Willem, 191 Marie, Grand Duchess, 39 " Max Havelaar," 103 Marken, 168, 172, 173, 174, 229, 230 Market Scenes, 238-9 Mamix de Ste. Aldegonde, 199 Mary (William the Silent's daugh- ter), 19 Mary II of England, 28 Maurice (Stadtholder), 19, 20, 22-5 Mengelberg, Mr. W., 198 Mennonites, the, 151-2 Mercantile Marine, 128 Mesdag. H. W., 192 Meuse. the, 206-8 Milk, 140 Mieris, 188 Moerdijk bridge, 130 " Mooi Hollande," 10, 11, 187 Morrisson, L., 198 Munster, Treaty of, 25, 214 Music. {See Chapter XXI) " Musis Sacrum," the, 197 Nantes, Edict of, 28 Napoleon, Emperor, 32, 33 Nassau Palace (Brussels), 13 , the Family of, 12, 13 National Church, the old, 149-50 Navy, the. {See Chapter X) Nederland, true name of Holland, 1 Netherlands, Kingdom of, 33 New Guinea, 107 Newspapers, 185-6 Nicolai, 196 Nieuport (battle), 24 Nijmegen, 9, 163 , Treaty of, 28 Njai, the, 102 North Canal, 53 Sea Canal, 53, 54, 55 Nuyts, 91 Occupations, 123 Old Catholics, 155 Oldebrook, 88 Onnes, 192 Oosterleek, 234 Oosterzee, C. van, 196 Opzoomer, Mrs. A., 182 Orange (Principality of), 13, 14, 29 Orange, Princes, the, 33 Orphanage, Amsterdam, 221 Ostend (siege), 24 Padvinden, the, 158 Palace at The Hague, 45 Pampus, the. 228 Pannerden, 88 Parma, 22-3 Parties, political, 41 Passenger Lines, Dutch, 129 Pawnshops, 125 Peat, 137-8 Pensions, 116 Petroleum, 136 Index 267 Philip William (WQliam the SHent's son), 19, 20 Piaan, 233 Polders, the, 4 ; proposed new, 234 Population, 119-21 Portuguese Jews, the, 155 Post Office, the, 134 Potgieter, 182 Potter, Paul, 189 Preemption, abolished, 80 Primary education, 68-9 Prins, De, 186 Prisons, 64, 65 Provinces, the original Seven, 5 , the eleven, 5 Provincial States, the, 40 " Pulchri Studio," 193 Purmerend, 140 Raad, the, 144 Railways, 129-32 Reading Clubs, 183-4 Reformed Church, the, 150 Reger, Mr. Max, 198 Rehgion. {See Chapter XVI) Rembrandt, 189 Remonstrants, the, 152 Rene of Orange, 14 Rennes, C. van, 196 Revenue, Dutch, 110 et seq. Richeheu, 25 Rivers. {See Chapter VI and passim) Roermond, 204, 206, 207, 208; Bishop of, 153 Roman Cathohc Church, 153-4 Roozeboom, Madame, 193 Rotterdam, 8 Kermis, the, 163-5 Ruysdael, 189 Ryswyck Peace, 29 St. Bartholomew, 20 St. Nicholas. 166-7 Samarang, 106 Savings Banks, 124 Schaepman, Dr. H., 186 Scheveningen, 168. 170, 171, 172, 176, 177, 198 Schimmel, 181 Schools, 68, 69 Schoolmasters, 72 Schoolmaster, a typical, 243-4 Schokland, 229, 230 Schouten, 91 Schregers-toren, the, 219 Schwartze Th6rese, 192 Sea, inroads of, 4 passim Seneflfe, 28 Sinclair, Mr. de. 182 Sittard, 135, 206 Skating, 158-61 Spinola, 24 Spinoza, 79 Society of Netherlands Musicians, the, 196 Sohns, Emilia, de, 20 Sourabaya, 104 South William Canal, 56 Stadtholder, office of, 36 ; abol- ished, 37 States-General, the, 39, 40 Stavoren, 227, 232 Steen. Jan, 188 Steinkerk, 29 Stork, 189 Storks, 141 Suffrage, the, 41 Sumatra, 100. 104, 105, 106 Sunda Islands, 108 , the lesser, 108 Suracarta, 106 Surinam. 100 Synagogues, 220 Tacitus, 226 Tadema, Sir L. Alma. 194 " Taret " scare, the, 4 Tariff, the. 112 Tasman. 91 Taxes, Dutch, 111. 113. 114 Technical Education. 73 Telegraphs, 134 Telephones. 134 Telok, 104 Terneuzen Canal, 57 Tickets. Railway, 130-1 Tobacco, 144 ToUem. Hendrik, 181 268 Index Toorop, 192 Toussaint, Madame Rosboom, 181 Tramwa}^, 132-3 Troelstra, Mr., 185 Tulips, 146-7 Universities, the, 75 Urk, 229, 230 Utrecht, 8, 87, 88; Archbishop of, 153 , Treaty of, 31 Vaals, 133 Van Bameveldt, 25 Bosse, Madame, 193 Capellen, Admiral, 93 ■ der Capellen, Baron, 104 Linden, Mr., 196 Heist, 189 . Veur. Major, 231 de Vijzel, Annie, 198 " Klaes, story of, 144-5 • Lennep, 181 . Ostade, 188 - Riebeck, 91 — - Speyck, Lt., 93-4, 221 Tromp, C, 92 — , M., 91, 92 — ■ — Welie, Antoon, 93 Vandenvelde (elder), 188, 189 — (younger), 189 Vecht, 232 Venlo, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208 Verhulst, 196 Verster, 192 Veth, 193 Vianden, 13 Vienna, Congress of, 33 Vise, 205 Voerman, 192 Volunteer System in Dutch Army, 86 Vondel, 179, 180 Vrouwensand, 228 Wageningen, Agricultural School, 76 Wagner Society, a, 198 Walcheren. 56 Walloon ^urch, the, 152 Water Line defence, 88 Waterloo, Netherlanders at, 240-1 Waterstaat, thef^8 Weddings, 177 W.gerif, H. A., 198 Westervoort, 88 Wieringen, 229, 231, 232, 233 Wilhelmina, Queen, 34, 35, 46, 47 Wilhelmuslied, text of, 199-201 Willemsvord, 95 William " the old," 14 of Orange (the Silent). See Chapter II and passim) — — II (Orange-Nassau), 26 Ill (Holland and England, 27-9 IV (Holland), 31, 35 - V (Holland). 31. 32, 35 I (King), 33, 35 - II (King), 34, 35 - Ill (King). 34. 35 • , Grand Duke, 38 Winter, Admiral, de, 93 Wisselschebosch, 7 Witt, Cornelius de, 27 , John de, 26-27 Woeringen, 204 Woman Suffrage, 43 Wouvermans, 188 Y, the, 215, 217. 234 Ymuiden, 53, 54, 55 Yssel, 232 Zaandam, 174 Zeeland, 147, 168, 169, 170. Zuyder Zee. {See Chapter XXIV) ; the new plan, 231 et seq. Zwarte Cooter, 232 Zwolle, 83 PrinUd by Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd., Bath (2390) ►HI 34 8 9 0^ .!.•••. PreservationTechnologiej ■^4 CL^ ♦( A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATIOI -1 111 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township. PA 16066 '^o^ S^^ HECKMAN BINDERY INC. ^^ OCT 89 I ^ r ♦ « • «>