XXV. 1831. 1 Cap. iv. Ann. Hist. CHAP. was not sufficiently established to permit him to take a step which would probably give umbrage to all the European powers, and would certainly dissolve the good 255, 257; understanding between France and England. He had the good sense, accordingly, to refuse the tempting offer, in terms courteous indeed, but sufficiently firm to show that his mind was made up; and the crown of Belgium continued to be vacant, the object of diplomatic intrigue. and revolutionary ambition. xiv. 394, 396. 22. Jan. 20, limits of Holland and Belgium. By another protocol of the representatives of the five Protocol, powers at London, on 20th January 1831, it was pro1831, fixing vided that the kingdom of Holland should embrace all the territories which formed part of the Seven United Provinces in 1789; and that of Belgium, "the whole remainder of the territories which had received the denomination of the Kingdom of the Low Countries in the treaty of 1815, with the exception of the Grand-duchy of Luxembourg, which the princes of the House of Nassau possessed by a different title, and which formed, and shall continue, part of the German Confederation. All the dispositions of the general act of the Congress of Vienna relative to the free navigation of rivers and navigable streams shall apply to the rivers and streams which traverse the Dutch or Belgian territory." Provision was also made for the mutual exchange of small detached portions of the Belgian and Dutch territory which lay enclavés in each other's territorities, in order that the dominions of each should be rounded, and embrace none lying within the general limits of the other. This protocol was of great consequence, as first fixing the respective limits of the Dutch and Belgian states, which have ever since remained separated in the European family.2 2 Protocol, Jan. 20, 1831; Ann. 125; Doc. Hist. The refusal of Louis Philippe to accept the throne of la liberté des Belges dans l'élection de leur souverain, mais nous usons aussi de notre droit en déclarant de la manière la plus formelle que nous ne reconnaitrons pas le Duc de Leuchtenberg."-Dépêche de Sébastiani, 11th January 1831; Ann. Hist., vol. xiv. pp. 385, 386. XXV. 23. Views in Louis refusal. Belgium for his son gave the highest satisfaction in Lon- CHAP. don, both as adjourning at least, if not avoiding, the dan- 1831. gers of the extension of French power and influence to the mouth of the Scheldt, and as demonstrating that the sway London and of Great Britain in European diplomacy was superior to Paris on that of France. It gave nearly as much satisfaction to Philippe's the Republicans at Paris; for what they desired was, not to see a valuable appanage bestowed upon the Orléans family, already become the object of their irreconcilable hatred, but to effect an incorporation of Belgium and France in one great republic, extending to the Rhine, and recalling the glories, as it embraced the territories, of Napoleon. Meanwhile the Government of Holland, recovered from the shock occasioned by the severance of Belgium, was taking the most active measures to organise the means of resistance. Troops were rapidly levied to increase the strength of the regular army; the patriotic spirit of the people added greatly to their number by voluntary enlistment; the frontier towns were armed, provisioned, and put in a respectable posture of defence. Already the regular army amounted to 60,000 men, which before the summer was increased to 80,000; and the spirit of the people, deeply excited by the treachery and defection of the Bel- 1Ann. Hist. gians, supported the Chambers in all the money grants re- 401; Cap. quisite to sustain an establishment so great for a state not 248. numbering above two millions and a half of inhabitants.1 xiv. 400, iv. 246, distracted In Belgium, on the other hand, the usual weakness 24. which succeeds the first burst of revolutionary strength weak and was daily becoming more conspicuous. The country was state of not only without a government, but no one could foretell Belgium. either what the government was to be, or into whose hands it was to fall. The diplomatic body nearly unanimously supported Prince Otho, second son of the King of Bavaria, as the candidate least likely to excite the jealousy of France or England. The Duke of Leuchtenberg was out of the question, as the French Government had formally declared they would never consent to his appoint XXV. 1831. CHAP. ment. In these circumstances, a considerable party in the Belgian Assembly began to turn their eyes to Prince LEOPOLD OF SAXE-COBOURG, whose German connections might, it was hoped, conciliate the powers of that country; while his connection with Great Britain, through the late Princess Charlotte, would probably render him acceptable to the Cabinet of St James's. Nor did it escape the notice of the Belgian patriots, that he was possessed of a jointure of £50,000 a-year as widower of the daughter of England, which might be of essential service in consolidating their infant monarchy; while by offering his hand to a daughter of France, he might conciliate the suffrages of that country, and overcome the scruples of its cautious sovereign. But these views were problematical only, and wrapped in the darkness of futurity. In the mean time, the state was without a government, and fast falling into the anarchy and helplessness which invariably succeed such an interregnum. The taxes were unpaid, the fortresses unarmed, the exchequer empty; already nearly half of the army, ashamed of their defection, had left their colours; and though the Assembly at Brussels passed repeated decrees ordering the levying of fresh troops, and 1 Ann. Hist. calling out the ban and arrière-ban, yet no progress was 403; Cap. made in embodying them; and while the external dangers of the kingdom were hourly increasing, its internal means of defence were daily wasting away.1 xiv. 401, iv. 247, 259. 25. Perilous state of Italy. The dangers of a general war, great as they were in the north of Europe from the difficulties which beset the Belgian question, were, in a considerable degree, removed by the temper and judgment displayed by the diplomatists at London, especially Prince Talleyrand and Lord Palmerston, and the sincere desire which they all felt to avoid anything which might induce hostilities. But it was otherwise in Italy, where the ardent spirit of revolution, nourished by French propagandism, and excited by French convulsions, was brought in contact with the cautious spirit of Austrian conservatism, directed by the XXV. 1831. prudent sagacity of Prince Metternich. In Milan the CHAP. seeds of revolt were ripe, and no slight fermentation was evinced on occasion of the revolutions of July and October; but the presence of a large Austrian force, the vigilance of the police, and the energetic measures of Marshal Radetsky, the governor, prevented any actual outbreak. It was otherwise, however, in the Papal States, where the government was weaker, the seditious spirit stronger, and the prospect of success to the revolutionists greater. A formidable insurrection accordingly was soon organised in the Pope's dominions, which had its principle ramifications in the Papal Legation, or provinces to the north of the Apennines, and its centre in Bologna, a city where an independent free spirit had long been in an especial manner conspicuous. The wealth of this city was great, its inhabitants amounted to sixty thousand, and its citizens were animated with that desire for a share in the government which naturally arose from a consciousness of their own strength, and a perception of the imbecility of the conclave of Cardinals by whom they were oppressed. In Modena also, and Parma, the same discontent pre- xiv. 532, vailed, and the people only waited for an opportunity iv. 263, 264. to shake off their oppressive petty tyrants.1 1Ann. Hist. 535; Cap. tions in Modena, Reggio, and Parma. The insurrection broke out first in Modena, on the 3d 26. of February, and was in the outset suppressed, and its Insurrecleader Menotti made prisoner. But next day appear- Bologna, ances of disturbance of a much more serious kind showed themselves in Bologna. Its garrison, which consisted of Feb. 3-10. only seven hundred men, was ordered by the Prolegat, governor of the town, not to act, for fear of irritating the people. The consequences of this timidity were soon apparent. Assured of impunity whatever they did, the conspirators sallied forth from their respective places of rendezvous, and were soon strengthened by the whole students of its far-famed university. Thus supported, they advanced to the palace of the Prolegat, whom they forced to abdicate, and retire with the garrison over the XXV. 1831. Feb. 5. Feb. 7. Feb. 8. CHAP. Apennines to Florence. A provisional government was immediately established, comprising, among others, some dignitaries of the old Kingdom of Italy; the authority of the Pope as a temporal sovereign was overturned; the Italian tricolor, green, white, and blue, everywhere mounted, and the people invited to form a national guard for the defence of the public liberties. The example of this successful revolution, which was effected without shedding a drop of blood, or disorders of any kind, speedily spread to the adjoining towns. The whole cities in the Papal dominions to the north of the Alps broke out into open insurrection. Modena again rose the day after the success at Bologna, and the authority of its Grand-duke was speedily overturned. Ancona and Reggio followed the example, as well as Ferrara, which had an Austrian garrison. The troops having no orders, and not knowing how to act, shut themselves up in the citadel, letting the citizens do what they pleased; and the feeble government of the Duchess of Parma, the widow of Napoleon, yielded to the request of a deputation of the inhabitants that she would abdicate and leave the country. In less than a week the authority of the Pope had ceased in all the provinces to the north of the Apennines; and the insurgents, encouraged by their easy success over the pontifical soldiers, took steps to extend their movements in every direction. Efforts were made to spread the conflagration to Tuscany, Piedmont, and Naples. A detachment from Bologna crossed the mountains, and advanced as far as Otricoli, in order to lend a hand to an insurrection which was expected in Rome; and an animated pro1 Ann. Hist. clamation was addressed to the inhabitants of Lombardy, calling on them to shake off the hated yoke of the stranger, and concur in the general establishment of Italian freedom.1* xiv. 534, 536; Cap. iv. 262, 264. * "Concitoyens de Lombardie! Suivez l'exemple de la France, imitez les patriotes de l'Italie centrale; brisez les chaînes honteuses dont la Sainte Alliance vous a chargés. Nous étions esclaves et misérables sous le despotisme |