A New Geographical, Historical, and Commercial Grammar

the hereditary government of each province, in the House of Orange, with all the rights and prerogatives settled in the years 1747 and 1748; by which all attempts to disturb the domestic tranquillity of the republic, by means of any foreign interference, appeared to be effectually guarded against by the close union that subsisted between those two important powers.

The late revolution in Holland, in consequence of the irruption of the French, and the expulsion of the stadthokier from that country, has already been briefly narrated in our history of France, to which we must refer the reader.

AFTER the independency of the Seven United Provinces was acknowledged, the Spaniards remained possessed of the other ten provinces, or, as they are termed, the Low COUNTRIES, until the duke of Marlborough, a general of the allies, gained the memorable victory of Ramillies, in the year 1706; after which, Brussels, the capital, and great part of these provinces, acknowledged Charles VI. afterwards emperor of Germany, for their sovereign; and his daughter, the late empress-queen, remained possessed of them until the war of 1741, when the French reduced them, except part of the province of Luxemburg; and would have possessed them from that time, but for the exertions of the Dutch, and chiefly of the English, in favour of the House of Austria. The placesTM retained by the French, by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in the year 1748, may be seen in the preceding general table of divisions.

It was not long after the settlement of the disturbances in Holland, that the provinces of the Netherlands belonging to the emperor determined to assert their liberty. The quarrel originated, like those in other countries, about the prerogatives assumed by the emperor, and which were more extensive than his subjects wished to allow; and the emperor making use of force to assert his claims, the territories of the United States became a refuge for the discontented Braixanters.

On the part of his Imperial majesty, the insurgents were not treated with lenity. A proclamation was issued by count Trautmansdorff, governor of Brussels, intimating, that no quarter should be given them, and that the villages in which they concealed themselves should be set on fire. General Dalton marched with 7000 men to retake the forts. proclaiming that he meant to become master of them by assault, and would put every soul he found in them to the sword.

In opposition to this sanguinary proclamation, the patriots issued a manifesto, in which they declared the emperor to have forfeited his authority, by his various oppressions and crueltics, his annulling his oath, and infringing the constitution. Banishment was teatened to such as took part with him; and ail were exhorted to take up arms in defence of their country, though strict orders were given that no crowds or mobs should be allowed to pillage; and whoever was found doing so should be treated as an enemy to his country.

This was dated at Hoogstraten, in Brabant, Cctober the 21th, 1789. Almost every town in Austrian Flanders showed its determination to oppose the emperor, and the most enthusiastic attachment to military affairs displayed itself in all ranks of men. Even the ecclesia,tics manifested their valour on this occasion; which perhaps was naturally to be expected, as the emperor had been very active in depriving them of their revenues. A formidable army was soon raised, which, after some succesful skirmishes, made themselves masters of Ghent, Bruges, Tourhay, Malines, and Ostend; 50 that general Dalten was obliged to reti

the patriots were victorious, though with the loss of 1000 men, besides women and children. It reflects indelible disgrace on the Imperial character, as well as on the commanders of the troops, that they committed the most dreadful acts of cruelty on the unhappy objects who fell into their hands. Orders were given to plunder and destroy where ever they could obtain any booty: while the merciless savages not only destroyed the men, but killed women and sucking infants. Some of them plunged their bayonets into the bodies of children in the cradle, or pinned them against the walls of the houses. By these monstrous cruelties, they insured success to their adversaries; for the whole comtries of Brabant, Flanders, and Maes, almost instantly declared in ther favour. They published a memorial for their justification, in which they gave as reasons for their conduct the many oppressive edicts with which they had been harassed since the death of the empress-queen: the unwarrantable extension of the Imperial prerogatives, contrary to his coronation oath, and which could not be done without perjury on his part; the violence committed on his subjects, by forcibly entering their houses at midnight, and sending them prisoners to Vienna, to perish in a dungeon, or on the banks of the Danube. Not content with this, he had openly massacred his subjects; he had consigned towns and villages to the flames, and entered into a design of exterminating people who contended only for their rights. These things, they owned, might be terrible at the time, and easily impose upon weak minds; but "the natural courage of a nation, roused by repeated injuries, and animated by despair, would rise superior to those last efforts of vindictive tyranny, and render them as impotent and abortive as they were wicked and unexampled." For all which reasons they declared themselves INDEPENDENT, and for ever relcased from the House of AUSTRIA.

The emperor, now perceiving the bad effects of his cruelty, published proclamations of indemnity, &c. but they were treated with the utmost contempt. The patriots made the most rapid conquests; insomuch that before the end of the year they were masters of every place in the Netherlands, except Antwerp and Luxemburg.

Notwithstanding they thus appeared for ever separated from the House of Austria, yet the death of Joseph, happening soon after, produced such a change in the conduct of government as gave a very unexpected turn to the situation of affairs; and the mild and pacific disposition of Leopold, who succeeded his brother, the conciliatory measures he adopted, together with the mediation of Great-Britain, Prussia, and Holland, made a material alteration in the affairs of these provinces; and a convention, which was signed at Reichenbach, on the 27th of July, 1790, by the above-mentioned high contracting powers, had for its object the re-establishment of peace and good order in the Belgic provinces of his Imperial majesty.

Their majesties of Great-Britain and Prussia, and the states-general of Holland, became, in the most solemn manner, guarantees to the empe ror and his successors for the sovereignty of the Belgic provinces, now re-united under his dominion.

The ratification of this convention was exchanged between the contracting parties within two months from the date of signing, which was executed at the Hague on the 10th of Dee. 1790.

The incursion of the French into these provinces, their complete conquest, and the final cession of them to France by the treaty of Campo Formio, have already been related in our history of the late transactions of that people, which will supersede the necessity of any repetition of it in this place.

GERMANY and BOHEMIA contain 191,573 square miles, with 135 inhabitants to each.

BOUNDARIES. THE Empire of Germany, properly so called, is bounded by the German Ocean, Denmark, and the Baltic on the North; by Poland and Hungary, including Bohemia, on the East; by Switzerland and the Alps, which divide it from Italy, on the South; and by the dominions of France and the Low Countries, on the West, from which it is separated by the Rhine, Moselle, and the Maese.

GRAND DIVISIONS.] The divisions of Germany, as laid down even by modern writers, are various and uncertain. We shall therefore adhere to those that are most generally received. Germany formerly was divided into the Upper, or Southern, and the Lower, or Northern. The emperor Maximilian, predecessor and grandfather to the emperorCharles V. divided it into ten great circles; and the division was confirmed in the diet of Nuremberg, in 1552; but the circle of Burgundy, or the seventeen provinces of the Low Countries, being now detached from the Empire, we are to confine ourselves to nine of those divisions, as they now subsist.