enna. By this treaty Prussia
received a considerable part of the old province of Luxemburg as
well as slices of territory taken from the bishopric of Liege. A
separate boundary treaty a year later (June 26, 1816) between the
Netherlands and Prussia filled in the details of that of 1815; and
that Prussia herself acquiesced in the fusion of the kingdom and
the Grand-Duchy is shown by the fact that the boundary between
Prussia and Luxemburg is three times referred to in the later treaty
as the boundary between Prussia and the kingdom of the Netherlands.

* * * * *

CHAPTER XXX

THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS--UNION OF HOLLAND AND BELGIUM, 1815-1830

The autocratic powers that were conferred upon King William by the
Fundamental Law rendered his personality a factor of the utmost
importance in the difficult task which lay before him. William's
character was strong and self-confident, and he did not shrink from
responsibility. His intentions were of the best; he was capable,
industrious, a good financier, sparing himself no trouble in mastering
the details of State business. But he had the defects of his qualities,
being self-opinionated, stubborn and inclined, as in the matter of the
vote of the Belgian notables, to override opposition with a high hand.
He had at the beginning of his reign the good fortune of being on the
best of terms with Castlereagh, the British Foreign Minister. To
Castlereagh more than to any other statesman the kingdom of the
Netherlands owed its existence. The Peace of Paris saw Great Britain in
possession by conquest of all the Dutch colonies. By the Convention of
London (August 13, 1814), which was Castlereagh's work, it was arranged
that all the captured colonies, including Java, the richest and most
valuable of all, should be restored, with the exception of the Cape of
Good Hope and the Guiana colonies--Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo. In
the latter the plantations had almost all passed into British hands
during the eighteen years since their conquest; and Cape Colony was
retained as essential for the security of the sea-route to India. But
these surrenders were not made without ample compensation. Great Britain
contributed L2,000,000 towards erecting fortresses along the French
frontier; L1,000,000 to satisfy a claim of Sweden with regard to the
island of Guadeloupe; and L3,000,000 or one-half of a debt from Holland
to Russia, _i.e._ a sum of L6,000,000