ghter.

* * * * *

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE KINGDOM OF HOLLAND AND THE FRENCH ANNEXATION, 1806-1814

Louis Bonaparte was but 28 years old, and of a kindly, gentle character
very unlike his self-willed, domineering brother. He was weakly, and his
ill-health made him at times restless and moody. He had given great
satisfaction by his declaration that "as soon as he set foot on the soil
of his kingdom he became a Hollander," and he was well received. The
constitution of the new kingdom differed little from that it superseded.
The Secretaries of State became Ministers, and the number of members of
the Legislative Body was raised to thirty-nine. The king had power to
conclude treaties with foreign States without consulting the Legislative
Body. The partition of the country was somewhat changed, Holland being
divided into two departments, Amstelland and Maasland. Drente became a
separate department; and in 1807 East Friesland with Jever was made into
an eleventh department, as compensation for Flushing, which was annexed
to France.

Louis came to the Hague with the best intentions of doing his utmost to
promote the welfare of his kingdom, but from the first he was thwarted
by the deplorable condition of the national finances. Out of a total
income of fifty million florins the interest on the national debt
absorbed thirty-five millions. The balance was not nearly sufficient to
defray the costs of administration, much less to meet the heavy demands
of Napoleon for contributions to war expenditure. All the efforts of the
finance minister Gogel to reduce the charges and increase the income
were of small avail. The king was naturally lavish, and he spent
considerable sums in the maintenance of a brilliant court, and in adding
to the number of royal residences. Dissatisfied with the Hague, he moved
first to Utrecht, then to Amsterdam, where the Stadhuis was converted
into a palace; and he bought the Pavilion at Haarlem as a summer abode.
All this meant great expenditure. 'Louis was vain, and was only
prevented from creating marshals of his army and orders of chivalry by
Napoleon's stern refusal to permit it. He had to be reminded that by the
Bonaparte family-law he was but a vassal king, owning allegiance to the
emperor.

Despite these weaknesses Louis did much for the land of his adoption.
The old Rhine at Leyden, which lost itself in the dunes, was connected
by a canal with Katwijk on the