By the new constitution he ceased to be the source of governmental life, or to derive his own authority from above by right divine. The sacred oil which had flowed from Charles the Simple's beard was dried up. Orange's sovereignty was from the estates; as legal representatives of the people; and, instead of exercising all the powers not otherwise granted away, he was content with those especially conferred upon him. He could neither declare war nor conclude peace without the co-operation of the representative body. The appointing power was scrupulously limited. Judges, magistrates, governors, sheriffs, provincial and municipal officers, were to be nominated by the local authorities or by the estates, on the triple principle. From these triple nominations he had only the right of selection by advice and consent of his council. He was expressly enjoined to see that the law was carried to every man's door, without any distinction of persons; to submit himself to its behests, to watch against all impedimenta to the even flow of justice, to prevent false imprisonments, and to secure trials for every accused person by the local tribunals. This was certainly little in accordance with the arbitrary practice of the past quarter of a century.
With respect to the great principle of taxation, stricter bonds even were provided than those which already existed. Not only the right of taxation remained with the states, but the Count was to see that, except for war purposes, every impost was levied by a unanimous vote. He was expressly forbidden to tamper with the currency. As executive head, save in his capacity as Commander-in-chief by land or sea, the new sovereign was, in short, strictly limited by self-imposed laws. It had rested with him to dictate or to accept a constitution. He had in his memorable letter of August, 1582, from Bruges, laid down generally the articles prepared at Plessia and Bourdeaux, for Anjou-together with all applicable provisions of the Joyous Entry of Brabant—as the outlines of the constitution for the little commonwealth then forming in the north. To these provisions he was willing to add any others which, after ripe deliberation, might be thought beneficial to the country.
Thus limited were his executive functions. As to his judicial authority it had ceased to exist. The Count of Holland was now the guardian of the laws, but the judges were to administer them. He held the sword of justice to protect and to execute, while the scales were left in the hands which had learned to weigh and to measure.
As to the Count's legislative authority, it had become coordinate with, if not subordinate to, that of the representative body. He was strictly prohibited from interfering with the right of the separate or the general states to assemble as often as they should think proper; and he was also forbidden to summon them outside their own territory. This was one immense step in the progress of representative liberty, and the next was equally important. It was now formally stipulated that the estates were to deliberate upon all measures which "concerned justice and polity," and that no change was to be made—that is to say, no new law was to pass without their consent as well as that of the council. Thus, the principle was established of two legislative chambers, with the right, but not the exclusive right, of initiation on the part of government, and in the sixteenth century one would hardly look for broader views of civil liberty and representative government. The foundation of a free commonwealth was thus securely laid, which had William lived, would have been a representative monarchy, but which his death converted into a federal republic. It was necessary for the sake of unity to give a connected outline of these proceedings with regard to the sovereignty of Orange. The formal inauguration, only remained, and this, as will be seen, was for ever interrupted.
ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:
Character of brave men to act, not to expect
Colonel Ysselstein, "dismissed for a homicide or two"
God has given absolute power to no mortal man
Hope delayed was but a cold and meagre consolation
Natural to judge only by the result
No authority over an army which they did not pay
Unduly dejected in adversity
MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, Project Gutenberg Edition, Vol. 34 THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC By John Lothrop Motley 1855 [ [!-- H2 anchor --] ]
CHAPTER VI.
Parma recalls the foreign troops—Siege of Oudenarde—Coolness of
Alexander—Capture of the city and of Nineve—Inauguration of Anjou
at Ghent—Attempt upon his life and that of Orange—Lamoral Egmont's
implication in the plot—Parma's unsuccessful attack upon Ghent—
Secret plans of Anjou—Dunkirk, Ostend, and other towns surprised by
his adherents—Failure at Bruges—Suspicions at Antwerp—Duplicity
of Anjou—The "French Fury"—Details of that transaction—
Discomfiture and disgrace of the Duke—His subsequent effrontery—
His letters to the magistracy of Antwerp, to, the Estates, and to
Orange—Extensive correspondence between Anjou and the French Court
with Orange and the Estates—Difficult position of the Prince—His
policy—Remarkable letter to the States-general—Provisional
arrangement with Anjou—Marriage of the Archbishop of Cologne—
Marriage of Orange with Louisa de Coligny—Movements in Holland,
Brabant, Flanders, and other provinces, to induce the Prince to
accept sovereignty over the whole country—His steady refusal—
Treason of Van den Berg in Gueldres—Intrigues of Prince Chimay and
Imbize in Flanders—Counter efforts of Orange and the patriot party
—Fate of Imbize—Reconciliation of Bruges—Death of Anjou