s was drawn up, and was (October 14) again declared to be final
and irrevocable. By this treaty the northwestern (Walloon) portion of
Luxemburg was assigned to Belgium, but at the cost of ceding to Holland
a considerable piece of Belgian Limburg giving the Dutch the command of
both banks of the river Meuse from Maestricht to the Gelderland
frontier. The proportion of the debt was likewise altered in favour of
Holland. King William was informed that he must obtain the assent of the
Germanic Confederation and of the Nassau agnates to the territorial
adjustments.

These conditions created profound dissatisfaction both in Belgium and
Holland. It was again the unhappy Luxemburg question which caused so
much heart-burning. The Conference however felt itself bound by the
territorial arrangements of the Congress of Vienna; and Palmerston and
Talleyrand, acting in concert throughout, could not on this matter
overrule the opposition of Prussia and Austria supported by Russia. All
they could do was to secure the compromise by which Walloon Luxemburg
was given to Belgium in exchange for territorial compensation in
Limburg. Belgian feeling was strong against surrendering any part either
of Luxemburg or Limburg; but King Leopold saw that surrender was
inevitable and by a threat of abdication he managed to secure, though
against vehement opposition, the acceptance of the Treaty of the XXIV
Articles by the Belgian Chambers (November 1). The treaty was signed at
London by the plenipotentiaries of the Five Great Powers and by the
Belgian envoy, Van de Weyer, on November 15, 1831; and Belgium was
solemnly recognised as an independent State, whose perpetual neutrality
and inviolability was guaranteed by each of the signatories
severally[13].

Once more the obstinacy of King William proved an insuperable obstacle
to a settlement. He had expected better results from the Ten Days'
Campaign, and he emphatically denied the right of the Conference to
interfere with the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, as this was not a Belgian
question, but concerned only the House of Nassau and the Germanic
Confederation. He also objected to the proposed regulations regarding
the navigation of the river Scheldt, and refused to evacuate Antwerp or
other places occupied by Dutch troops. He was aware that Great Britain
and France had taken the leading part in drawing up the treaty, but he
relied for support upon his close family relations with Prussia and
Russia[14], w