seem
reasonable that two countries in which the prevailing languages are low
German should be subject to the same government. But it was not yet
customary to turn the principles of comparative philology into arguments
for the rearrangement of political boundaries. The French language and
culture had moreover made considerable progress among the upper and
middle classes of Belgium, while religious differences alienated the
clergy from the house of Orange. In the states-general of the
Netherlands the Dutch had half the votes, and, as the Orange party was
strong in Antwerp and Ghent, commanded a majority. The fiscal system
adopted by the government favoured the Dutch rather than the Belgian
population. Dutchmen were generally preferred for state offices, and an
attempt to control the education of the clergy was deeply resented as an
attack on the Roman catholic religion. Belgium in consequence presented
the curious spectacle of the liberal and clerical parties working on the
same side, united against the Dutch government.

[Pageheading: _BELGIAN REVOLUTION._]

The example afforded by France turned a discontent which might have led
to local riots into a national conflagration. On August 25 there was a
rising of the populace at Brussels, which the troops proved unable to
quell. On the 27th it was suppressed by a body of burgher guards, a
volunteer force drawn from the _bourgeoisie_ of the town. The
_bourgeoisie_ finding themselves in possession of the Belgian capital,
at first presented a series of minor demands to the king, but on
September 3 they went the length of demanding a separate administration
for Belgium. The king undertook to lay this proposal before the states,
which assembled on the 13th. But before the states could come to any
conclusion the question had assumed a new aspect. All the leading towns
of Belgium had followed the example of Brussels by forming burgher
guards and had thus joined in the revolution; and on the 20th a fresh
rising of the populace of Brussels had overthrown the burgher guard and
instituted a provisional government. This was followed by an attempt on
the part of Prince Frederick of Orange, a younger son of the King of the
Netherlands, to occupy Brussels with a military force. After five days'
fighting he was compelled to retire, and when on the 30th the
states-general gave their consent to the proposal for a separate
administration, their decision fell upon deaf ears. All the Belgian
pr