"In 1581, the same thing was repeated by Holland, and soon after by Zealand; and in 1584, already elected Earl of Holland upon certain conditions, —— he would have been invested with the sovereignty in all its forms, if he had not been assassinated by a villain hired and set to work by the Court of Spain. During the troubles, the States declared more than once, that they acknowledged the Prince of Orange in quality of their Governor-General, and Lieutenant of the King, in the Provinces of Holland, Zealand, West Friesland, and Utrecht, upon the same footing as these offices had been conferred upon him by his Majesty, there having been since no change or alteration of anything, which was conformable to the laws and customs of the country. Holland was the first, which in 1575, gave him a greater authority, but we do not find anywhere that the States ever declared him Stadtholder in their name; and Maurice, his son, ought to be considered as the first Governor and Stadtholder of their creation. His first instructions are extant; they were very confined; but they gave him more authority in 1587, after the departure of the Earl of Leicester. His successors in the Stadtholdership have had no instructions, but only commissions, and since that time their authority is very much augmented.
"The commission given the 12th of May, 1747, to his Serene Highness, William the Fourth, father of the present Stadtholder, by the States of Holland, who conferred upon him, 'The power, the authority, and the command, to exercise the office of Governor, Captain-General, and Admiral; to protect, to advance, and to maintain the rights, the privileges, and the well being of the Province and of its members, cities and inhabitants, as well as the worship of the true reformed Christian religion, such as it is taught in the public churches, and to preserve and defend it against all molestation, oppression, disorder, disunion, detriment and damage. Moreover, to administer justice in the said Province of Holland and West Friesland, to obtain and duly to grant the provisions of justice to all those who shall require it, and to put them in execution, the whole, as far as regards the affairs of justice, by the advice of the President and Counsellors of the Court of Holland and West Friesland. To him, moreover, is given the power of granting, after having taken the advice of the Court of Justice, letters of grace, remission, pardon, and abolition, provided the said letters be duly —— it being well understood, nevertheless, that they shall not be granted for murders, unpardonable in their nature, or for enormous crimes committed, —— or by premeditated design; and for what concerns the military and the police, to act in this respect with the approbation of the States and the advice of their Counsellors and Deputies, conformably to their instructions; to change the Burgomasters and the Sheriffs of the cities and places of the Province, as may be convenient, conformably to the privileges of each city and of each place; moreover, both by land and sea, to watch over the safety and the good order of places and fortresses of the Province where there shall be occasion.'
"The conditions upon which William the First was elected Earl of Holland, are related in the seventh volume of the history of the country, according to the resolutions of the States of Holland of that time. The Prince had agreed to them. All the cities of Holland, excepting Amsterdam and Gonda, had consented to them; and the Provinces of Zealand and Utrecht would without doubt have followed this example. These conditions contained among others,
First, That if the Prince contravened in any points, and did not redress the grievances at the requisitions of the States, these should be free from all engagements to him, and should have a right to provide of themselves for the government. Secondly, That after the death of the Prince, such of his sons as the States should judge the most capable, should be made Earl on the same footing. Thirdly, That the Prince should engage himself by oath to the observation of these conditions stipulated, and that the States on their part should do the same towards him.
"In the preamble of the acts, by which the States confer the sovereign authority upon Prince William the First, is found these remarkable words, which are there laid down for a fundamental rule. 'That all Republics and communities ought to preserve and maintain themselves, and fortify themselves by unanimity, which cannot take place among so many members often different in will and in sentiments; it was by consequence necessary that the government should be conferred upon one single chief.' From the establishment of the Republic, the good politicians and the greatest part of the inhabitants of these Provinces have regarded the Stadtholderian government as an essential part of the constitution. Accordingly, it has not been but twice without a Stadtholder, that is to say, from the year of 1650 to 1672, and again from the month of March, 1702, to April, 1747.
"The Stadtholdership has not been interrupted in Friesland, nor in the Provinces of Groningen and Ommelanden; but heretofore, the power of the Stadtholders of these two Provinces whose ancient instructions are to be found in Aitzema and elsewhere, although they have no place at present, was confined in more narrow bounds, and until William the Fourth, there never was a Stadtholder of all the seven Provinces together.
"The Stadtholdership, and the offices of Captain-General and Admiral-General of each of the seven Provinces of the country of Drenthe, and of the generality, are at present hereditary, not only in the male line, but also in the female. The Stadtholder cannot declare war, nor make peace, but he has, in quality of Captain-General, the command in chief of all the forces of the State, and the military men are obliged to obey him in all that regards the military service. He is not restrained by instructions, and he disposes of the patents, an article very important in all that concerns the military.
"In this Republic, they call patents the orders in writing, which the Captain-General sends to the troops to march. He orders the marches, provides for the garrisons, and changes them at his pleasure. The ordinances and military regulations proceed from him alone; it is he, who constitutes and authorises the High Council of War of the United Provinces, and who, as Captain-General of each Province, disposes of all military offices as far as that of Colonel, inclusively. The highest posts, as those of Field Marshals, of Generals and Lieutenant-Generals, are given by the States-General, who choose those to fill them whom his Highness recommends. It is he also, who gives the governments, commandants, &c. of cities and places of arms of the Republic, and those of the barrier. The persons named, present their acts to their High Mightinesses, who provide them with commissions. In disposing of civil employments, which are in their departments, the States-General have always a great deal of regard also to the recommendations of his Highness. The power of the Stadtholder, as Grand Admiral, extends itself over everything which regards the naval forces of the State, and the other affairs of the departments of the Admiralties. These councils, called the Admiralties, preside over the perception [?] of the duties of entries, inwards and outwards, and have the direction of the custom-house, as well as that of the Admiralty. He presides here in person or by his representatives; and as chief of all these councils in general and of each one in particular, he is able to cause to be observed and executed their instructions, both by themselves, and what concerns them. He disposes of the employs of Lieutenant-Admirals and others, who command under him, and creates also the captains (de haut bord). The Grand Admiral, who has his part in all the prizes which are made, both by the vessels of the State and by privateers, establishes, when it is necessary, maritime councils of war, who do right in the name of their High Mightinesses, and of his Highness, but whose sentences are not executed until after he has approved and confirmed them. It is the same in those of the High Council of War of the United Provinces.
"Here follows the COMMISSION of the Prince, exactly translated from the Dutch.
"The States-General of the United Provinces of the Low Countries, to all those who shall see or hear these presents, greeting. We make known, that it being necessary to authorise and establish one person capable and qualified as Captain-General and Admiral-General of the people of war, by sea and land, who are in our service, for the maintenance of the State and of the government of this country, and for the direction of the affairs of war; for these causes, considering the good qualities and the capacity of his Highness, the Prince William Charles Henry Friso, by the Grace of God, Prince of Orange and of Nassau, Earl of Catzeneltebogen, Vianden, Dietz, &c. &c. &c. and relying upon his firmness, valor, and inclination, for the prosperity of these countries, we have established and authorised, and we do establish and authorise his Most Serene Highness, the said Prince William Charles Henry Friso, Captain and Admiral-General over the people of war, who are in our service by sea and by land, giving to his Highness full power and authority to command, in that quality, all the said troops, and order them all that is convenient for the conservation and the maintenance of the union, for the safeguard and the defence of the State, for the tranquillity, the rights and the privileges of the country, both in general, and of each Province in particular; and for the protection of the inhabitants, as also for the conservation of the true reformed religion, in the manner that it is at present exercised, and under the public authority in the associated Provinces and cities; in fine, for the maintenance of the present form of government; the whole with the authority, the rights, the honors, and pre-eminence, thereto annexed. We have, moreover, conferred on his Serene Highness, as we hereby confer upon him, by these presents, until we shall have made known that we have disposed otherwise, the free power to dispose of patents and other things which relate to war, as the Lords, Princes of Orange, glorious ancestors of his Serene Highness have done, in quality of Stadtholders with relation to the troops. We command and ordain, most expressly, to all and every one, particularly to the officers of the troops, Colonels, Captains of Cavalry and of Infantry, and of other people of war in our service and pay, to acknowledge, respect, and obey his Serene Highness in that quality, giving him all succor, favor, and assistance, in executing his orders. His Serene Highness, as Captain-General of the State, shall take the ordinary oath to us, or to those whom we shall depute for that end, upon the instructions[9] which we shall judge proper to prepare in this respect. Done, in our Assembly at the Hague, the 4th of May, 1747.