sponsibilities that
devolved upon her, but her good qualities were marred by a self-willed
and autocratic temperament, which made her resent any interference with
her authority. William Bentinck, who was wont to be insistent with his
advice, presuming on the many services he had rendered, the Duke of
Brunswick, and the council-pensionary Steyn were all alike distrusted
and disliked by her. Her professed policy was not to lean on any party,
but to try and hold the balance between them. Unfortunately William IV,
after the revolution of 1747, had allowed his old Frisian counsellors
(with Otto Zwier van Haren at their head) to have his ear and to
exercise an undue influence upon his decisions. This Frisian court-cabal
continued to exercise the same influence with Princess Anne; and the
Hollanders not unnaturally resented it. For Holland, as usual, in the
late war had borne the brunt of the cost and had a debt of 70,000,000
fl. and an annual deficit of 28,000,000 fl. The council-pensionary Steyn
was a most competent financier, and he with Jan Hop, the
treasurer-general of the Union, and with William Bentinck, head and
spokesman of the nobles in the Estates of Holland, were urgent in
impressing upon the Regent the crying need of retrenchment. Anne
accepted their advice as to the means by which economies might be
effected and a reduction of expenses be brought about. Among these was
the disbanding of some of the military forces, including a part of the
body-guard. To this the regent consented, though characteristically
without consulting Brunswick. The captain-general felt aggrieved, but
allowed the reduction to be made without any formal opposition. No
measure, however, of a bold and comprehensive financial reform, like
that of John de Witt a century earlier, was attempted.

The navy had at the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle been in an even worse
condition than the army; and the stadholder, as admiral-general, had
been urging the Admiralties to bestir themselves and to make the fleet
more worthy of a maritime power. But William's premature death brought
progress to a standstill; and it is noteworthy that such was the
supineness of the States-General in 1752 that, while Brunswick was given
the powers of captain-general, no admiral-general was appointed. The
losses sustained by the merchants and ship-owners through the audacity
of the Algerian pirates roused public opinion, however; and in
successive years squadrons were despatched t