the province of Holland, a body of men, diflinct from, and lefs regular in their inftitution than the volunteers, or armed burghers of the different towns. But this question was held in referve, and the queftion of the restoration of the garrifon was finally debated on the twenty-feventh of July. Upon the divifion there appeared ten voices for continuing the command in the council committee, to nine that voted in favour of the ftadtholder. The majority confifted of the deputies of Dort, Haerlem, Leyden, Gouda, Gorcum, Schie dam, Schoonhoven, Alkmaar, Monnikedam, and Purmerent. the abolition of the free corps of to the democracy, the bufinefs which remained was eafily difpatch. ed, and the magiftrates were enabled to fubmit the draught of what they called a provifional regulation on the eighteenth of September, It bore the name of provifional, becaufe, though it was ardently defired, that all the towns of the province fhould concur at once in the intended reform, yet it was provided, if that idea failed, that the internal reform of the city of Utrecht itself fhould not on that account be poftponed. In the true fpirit of a popular government, this regulation was ordered to be read for fourteen days fucceffively in the Guildhal of the city, and the inhabitants were invited to deliver in their objections in writing, either fingly, or in affociated bodies, as they might themselves judge fittest. The outlines of the regulation appear to have been, to abolish the interference of the ftadtholder in the election of the regencies, and to inftitute a new power or college of fixteen persons, denominated tribunes, who were to be elected by the people at large, and who, together with the depu ties of the wards, were to have a negative in the first inftance in the election of magistrates, and were afterwards empowered to accufe, cenfure, or depofe any member of the council at their pleasure. But, if the tranfactions, which thus took place at the Hague, were confiderable, thofe, which paffed in the city of Utrecht during the fame period, were not lefs important. We have feen the moderation, or as by most it would be styled, the Spirit of delay and procrastination, with which the burghers of that city proceeded from the autumn of the year 1783 to the autumn of the year 1785. Their plans were now ripened; their defigns were become firm and determined; and, by continual reflection on their ob ject, they had come to weigh in a just balance the obstacles they had to encounter, and the force with which they should be able to refift them. In our last volume it appeared, that the council of Utrecht had, after fome difficulties, appointed a committee of their body, for the purpose of digefting, in concert with the delegates of the burghers, a new regulation of regency, to be fubftituted in the room of the regulation of 1674. As the fubftance of this regulation feems to have been already drawn, though not in a form altogether fatisfactory But it was in this fituation of affairs, that the ftates of the province, who had at first been fuffi ciently favourable to the projected reform, now declared themselves peremptorily against it, and voted, that the regulation of 1674 was a just and beneficial regulation, and ought by no means to be fubject to any variation. The council, encouraged by the example of the ftates, were not es defirous of cB 4 vading F vading the intended change. Of other for open war, and declared the fourteen members of which the council confifted, twentyfive had indeed taken an cath on the twelfth of October, the period of the election of the annual magiftrates, in conform ity to the defire of the burghers, declaring that the regulation of 1674 was violent and unconftitutional, and promifing to exert themselves to abolish it. But, notwithstanding this promife, they did not appear ready to take any feps, to give vigour and effect to the provifional regulation. The burghers waited during, what they esteemed, a reafonable time for that purpose, and at length, on the twentieth of December, prefented themfelves in a body under arms to the council, and infified upon a compliance with their wifhes. The council accord ingly agreed, that the provifional regulation fhould from that day be confidered as having the force of a law, and upon that day three months fhould begin to be carried into final execution. The twentieth of March 1786 thus became a period of apprehenfion to the oligarchy, and of expectation and defire to the demoratical party. But previously to its arrival the council came to a precipitate refolution, retracting their promife of the twentieth of December; forbidding all proceeding and affociation on the part of the burghers; and demanding from the ftadtholder a body of troops for the fupport of their authority. Matters were not yet come to fuch an extremity, as to countenance and apologife for this proceeding. 'The ftates, as they had not been expofed to degradation by the threats of the burghers on the one h nd, were not prepared on the themselves against the prefent interference of the military. The provincial ftates of Holland forbad the troops, upon any pretence, or in obedience to the orders of any commander, to march against the city of Utrecht. The council were accordingly reduced to compliance; fome of its members took an oath to obferve the provisional regula. tion, and it was agreed, that, on the twelfth of October following, the annual magiftrates fhould be chofen in conformity to its directions. The inhabitants of Wyk, a town of the province of Utrecht, incon fiderable in itself, did not yield to their capital in the fpirit and zeal, with which they pursued the demo. cratical reform. In October 1785 they changed the regulation of regency, and, as well as the burghers of Utrecht, fixed on the twentieth of March 1786, as the period of a dopting the new regulation. On that day they were little difpofed to adopt any temporifing measures. They called on the council instantly to fwear to obferve it, and they declared fix members of that body, who refused to comply, to have by fo doing abdicated their magiftracy. Immediately on the fame day, they elected fix new counsellors, whofe fentiments were more favourable to the democratical measures. The ftates of the provinces were highly offended with the prefumption of the fubordinate town, and conceiv ed, that they fhould be better able to make an example of thefe infe rior oppofers, than of the burghers of Utrecht. They depofed by fummary procefs the counsellors, who had been elected by the peo ple, and they appointed a com. miffion, accurately to inveftigate into the fpirit and nature of these extraordinary proceedings. Appre Apprehenfive for the fafety of their town, the inhabitants of Wyk did not on that account difplay any marks of pufillanimity and terror. They drew out the cannon of their fortifications, and prepared for a regular defence. The council, in perfect concert with the democracy, declared themselves ready to facrifice their lives and fortunes in defence of the new regulation. The burghers of Utrecht entered into a folemn affociation to aflift the inhabitants of Wyk to the utmost of their power, in cafe they were attacked. The free corps, through the whole province of Holland, of fered to march to their affiance at an hour's notice. In this fituation the ftates of Utrecht conceived they could not do better than temporile with the storm, and fuffer, it poffible, the popular spirit to evaporate, They remained inactive during the month of April, and it was not till the clofe of the enfuing May, that they ventured farther to fummon the new counsellors of Wyk, perfonally to appear before the commiffioners appointed to enquire into their affair. A meffenger was dispatched to serve this notice upon the magiftrates, and he was driven from the town with ignominy. A fecond meffenger was forwarded, and he was thrown into prifon. The states of Utrecht deliberated upon the affair on the tenth of June, but adjourned their proceed ings, first to the fifth of July, and then to the fifth of Auguft. The flow and moderate proceedings, that were adopted by the oligarchy, would in many cafes have produced the happiest effect, but in the prefent were the occation of as much misfortune, as could have enfued upon violence and precipitation. The armed burghers of the sapital conceived themfelves ob. liged to meet under arms on the days, upon which the council deliberated on the affairs of Wyk; and, being affembled, it was natural that they fhould confer on the fubject of their domeftic reform. There was little probability, that the citizens would obtain any thing from the voluntary conceffion of their council, and they had nothing to expect but from their own virtue and exertion. The period of the annual election was fait approaching, and, with a view to that solemnity, the burghers drew up on the fifth of July a declaration, by which they immediately affumed to themfelves the benefits, included in the articles of the provifional regulation. At the fame time they made a regular election of the college of the fixteen tribunes, and conveyed a notification to the coun cil, requiring them to admit this new body to take the prescribed oaths. Their declaration they inclofed in a circular letter to the ftates of the other fix provinces and addreffed another copy of it to the king of France. The coun The fecond of Auguft was the next day of general meeting of the burghers of Utrecht. cil had in the interval formally refufed to recognize the college of tribunes, and they were now fummoned each one by name, to appear in the affembly, and to receive the oaths of the new elected body. The number of the actual counsellors was at this time thirty-feven; and of thefe only five answered to the prefent fummons. The tribunes were folemnly installed, and their first meafure was to declare, that thirty of the counsellors, in confequence of their having refused to fulfil the duties of their office, had abdicated their magiftracy. Two of the counsellors, though they they had not ventured to come for ward upon this occafion, were known not to be difinclined to the caufe of the democracy, and were therefore fpared in the general profcription. In the conclufion of the day, the burghers unanimoufly nominated one of their body governor of the city, and ordered that the keys of Utrecht fhould be committed to his care, instead of being delivered, according to the established cuftom, to the prefident burgomaster. The old council made one attempt to affemble after this period, and they called upon a fmall body of cavalry, ftationed in the city of Utrecht for their affiftance. This however was refused them, and nothing remained for them, but to enter their protest before the affembly of the provincial ftates, which was followed by fimilar protests by the nobility and the clergy. The burghers in the mean time were quietly employed, in filling up the places of the abdicated counfellors by the mode of popular election. The number of candidates, that offered themselves in fo critical a fituation, were few, and of confequence the filling up of the new council must be a gradual measure. Toward the clofe of the month, fifteen new counsellors having been elected, they were inftalled with the ufual formalities, and took the oaths in the fame manner as the tribunes had done. The states of the pro. vince were by these measures reduced to a more critical fituation, than any in which they had hither to been placed. They might have recourfe to the obvious expedient of calling in the military, but there was at prefent little profpect of fuccefs from fuch a proceeding. They therefore adopted the more prudent, but not lefs peremptory meafure of withdrawing their af sembly from Utrecht, and they met on the thirtieth of Auguft in the town of Amersfort. This proceed, ing was followed by a protest from the new council, declaring, that there was no fufficient reafon for fo extraordinary a conduct; that the burghers had acted in the late revolution with tranquillity and decency; and that the meeting of Amersfort was unlawfully convoked, illegal in its nature, and incapable of its functions. The democratical fpirit, though its efforts were more memorable in the eity and province of Utrecht, was by no means confined to fo narrow a theatre. We have already feen the progrefs it made in the province of Overyffel. In Friefland the burghers of Lewarden, the capital town, petitioned the provincial ftates for a new regulation of regency; and the states in conformity with their demand di rected the town council, in concert with the delegates of the burghers, to examine into the defects of the old government, and to report the refult. The ftates of Friesland foon after became lefs favourable to the popular meafures. In the town of Groningen a ftill farther progrefs was made. A college of tribunes was actually elected, and eight new counsellors nominated by the tribunes. Nor was the molt confiderable province, that of Holland, without its fhare of the fame fpirit. In Hoorn, in Rotterdam, in Dort and fome other towns, efforts were made to fet afide the regulation of 1674 with various fuccefs; no where with fo complete a fuccefs, as in the ancient township of Dort. The ftates, whofe object was in reality very different, endeavoured in an indirect manner to discountenance the pro progrefs of the democracy, but they were determined to retain the friendship of the new party, and dared not declare openly against them. quired to account for fo extraordi- We have found, that the provincial affembly of Guelderland was, of all the public bodies in the republic, the most devoted to the prince of Orange. But the feelings of the rest of the inhabitants did not altogether coincide with the principles of the ftates. So early as the month of June 1784, the burghers of Arnheim prefented a remonstrance, claiming a right of appointing to the office of counfellor by the mode of popular election. M. de Capellen of Marfch, one of the nobles of the province, who had formerly been chamberlain of the houthold to the prince of Orange, but was now deeply engaged in the democratical meafures, endeavoured to effect in the district of Zutphen the abolition of the regulation of 1674. In a word, the fpirit of reform daily advanced in its progrefs, and the states of Guelderland thought proper in May 1786 to publish a refolution, which they required the magiftrates to poft up in the market places of all the principal towns of Guelderland, confirming the regulation of 1674, condemning the drawing up any petitions for the redrefs of that regulation, and prohibiting the affociation of any bodies of armed burghers within their jurisdiction. The inhabitants of the towns of Elburg and Hattem had been particularly active in the promotion of the intended reform; and they appear to have received the countenance of their magiftrates. Upon the prefent occafion two of the counsellors of Elburg exprefly for. bad the pofting up of the refolution of the states; and, having been re One of the motives which was faid to have influenced the court of the ftadtholder, to whofe views the provincial affembly of Guelderland was blindly devoted, to adopt fo untemporifing a conduct, was the death on the feventeenth of August of Frederick the Second, king of Pruffia, whofe fucceffor, equally at the head of an army of two or three hundred thousand men, was in the vigour of his age, and was more nearly related to the stadtholder, as being brother to his confort, the princefs of Orange. Be that as it will, the burghers of Elburg and Hattem, encouraged by the proceedings of Utrecht and Wyk, cleared their fortifications, erected batteries, and prepared to refift the forces that fhould be fent against them. They were affifted by the free corps of the province of Holland, fome of whom marched to their immediate relief, and the rest proffered their fuccour in case of neceffity. A general alarm was fpread through the whole extent of the union by a measure so formidable as that which was now adopted. It is true that in the preceding year a garrifon had been marched into the town of Amersfort. But that measure |