A Tour Through the Batavian Republic/Letter IV
LETTER IV.
ROTTERDAM is the second commercial city in the republic, and has suffered least in the general calamities of the country. It is well situated for commercial purposes, being placed on the bank of the Maese, a river competent to all the uses of navigation, and of a magnificent breadth. The principal streets are intersected with canals, of a sufficient depth to receive vessels of from two to three hundred tons burthen, which greatly facilitates the trade of the place, as ships are enabled immediately to deliver their cargoes into the warehouses appointed to receive them, and at an inconsiderable expence of time and labour, compared with the obstructions of trade in the port of London and elsewhere. The merchant also enjoys the advantage of having the ships, which either belong to or are consigned to him, delivered under his direct eye; so that he can at the same time attend to the concerns of his office, and vigilantly observe that he does not suffer through the indolence or embezzlement of his servants.
According to the report of a very intelligent and judicious merchant, whose acquaintance I have had the good fortune to obtain, Rotterdam does not at present enjoy a tenth part of the commerce which she possessed before the French invasion, and the interruption of her intercourse with Great Britain. Before the war, it sometimes happened, that three hundred English vessels were seen at one time within the port of Rotterdam; and this number was certainly exceeded by the ships belonging to the place and those of other nations. At present the number of neutral vessels in the harbour do not exceed fifty, and trade is at this time more than usually active, if the retrospect be taken from their late circumstances. If I were to judge from the bustle and confusion occasioned in streets by the transport of merchandise from one part of the town to another, I should say the place enjoyed a thriving commerce; for in the morning it is scarcely possible to walk in the streets, where no paths are exclusively appropriated to foot-passengers, as in England, without having your safety endangered, or your clothes dirtied, by the numerous sledges laden with hogsheads and bales which are continually passing. I have been prevented for ten minutes from passing over a draw-bridge by a train of these vehicles, all of them perhaps carrying as great a quantity of valuable commodities as one, two, or three horses could draw.
But the canals of Rotterdam are covered with dismantled vessels, and whole streets of warehouses are unoccupied. This decay of the trade of Rotterdam is not to be attributed solely to the war with Great Britain, but to a variety of causes. The most striking, perhaps, are the emigration of their opulent capitalists, and the oppression and ridiculous ordinances of the Batavian government. By the emigration of the rich and respectable merchants of the British nation, the trade which Rotterdam at present carries on with England has fallen into the hands of men with whom the independent and honest trader of most nations would be averse to deal; and the government, according to the temper and prejudices of the times, has imposed those vexatious restrictions on the export and import trade, which are always peculiarly injurious to commerce. It is a curious fact, deserving to be known, that at the time when the government rigorously prohibited the importation of English manufactures into the ports of the republic, a contract was agreed upon between some members of the executive body and a mercantile house in Rotterdam to furnish the requisition of clothing for the French army by an importation of cloth from England; and accordingly eight thousand French soldiers were clothed from the looms of Yorkshire; when, if a single yard had been discovered on board a private trader's vessel, he would have been liable to the severest penalties and confiscations.
Shortly after the commencement of hostilities with England, a singular system of depredation was successfully practised against the underwriters of London and Amsterdam, by merchants of wealth and reputation in this place. They were the real, though of course not the nominal, owners of privateers which sailed under the flag of the French republic, and having insured vessels in Amsterdam and London, the ships so secured and the privateers sailed from the Maese together, and an amicable capture ensued. The condemnation of property so taken was readily obtained, and the underwriters were obliged to make good the ideal loss. A more innocent species of warfare, I believe, was never practised! Some discoveries of their frauds gave the first check to this curious system of peculation; and its ruin has since been achieved by the excellent regulations which the chief consul has introduced into the maritime code of France.
About the time to which I have alluded, privateers under the French flag, but actually the property of British subjects resident in Holland, and some of them in England, sailed from the ports of the Batavian republic, and made captures of British vessels to a considerable amount. This was attacking the lives and liberties, as well as the property, of their countrymen; and I should hesitate to record so disgraceful a fact, could I doubt the authority from whence I derive it. To the lasting infamy of these men, it must be considered, that they had none of those excuses for parricidally preying on their country, with which the French and Dutch refugees are furnished, by the unhappy spirit of the times, and the violence of revolutionary governments. They could not allege in palliation that their country had proscribed their persons, and confiscated their property. Some of them enjoyed the protection of the British government; and those whom the victorious arms of the enemy separated from their country, might reasonably expect, and possibly desire, to pass the evening of their lives in the bosom of their native land. It is worthy of observation, that the privateers belonging to these persons committed more depredations than any other, on the vessels and property of neutral nations, and the crews with which they were manned treated with less humanity the persons who unfortunately fell into their hands. These abuses, however, have been carefully attended to by the consular government, and I am not competent to state that they have any longer an existence.
It is the policy of Bonaparte to conciliate the esteem of the neutral powers; and since this great man has held the reins of government, the complaints of neutral owners, of the detention of their vessels by French privateers, have been speedily and exemplarily redressed. No privateer can now sail under the French flag, the owners of which are not actually resident in France or her dependencies, and have given sufficient bail to indemnify the damage that may be done to neutral property. It is not now, as was formerly the case, permitted to every insignificant commercial consul of the republic to condemn the vessels which are brought under his jurisdiction; from whence, as these agents were generally venal and rapacious, a thousand abuses originated: but the papers and documents necessary to prove the capture to be a legal prize, must be transmitted to the office of the minister of the marine, from whose decision there is an appeal to a court of admiralty. This last tribunal is in high repute with neutral merchants; and I have heard many invidious comparisons between its decisions and those of Doctors Commons, but with what justice I will not pretend to determine. By wise and salutary measures like these, Bonaparte will consolidate his authority, and acquire more real glory than is to be purchased with an hundred victories.
Rotterdam is not a place to be distinguished for the elegance of its buildings, or the taste of its inhabitants. The bomb quay, which is situated along the Maese, is the principal street, and extends almost a mile in length. The houses in general are five or six stories high, strong and capacious, but inelegant, buildings. On account of the inundations to which the place is subject, none of the houses have what can be called a ground-floor; and the basement is generally disfigured by ponderous gates, like those of barrier towns, which open to the warehouses that are attached to the back part of each house. It is curious to see the ornaments of the Corinthian order stuck against the upper story, without the column to support them. Such attempts at architectural decoration are inconceivably ridiculous: and in the interior arrangement of the houses, mistakes are made, which a very moderate portion of taste would have avoided. It frequently happens, that apartments which would grace the mansion of a prince, have no other, views from their windows than the dead walls of a warehouse, used for the vilest purposes of trade, as a magazine for stock-fish, skins, tobacco, and the like. I met with a striking instance of this at the house of Mr. ———, a gentleman whose collection of paintings does equal honour to his liberality and taste. An apartment of almost regal magnificence looks immediately into his warehouse, and the eye turns with horror from the works of Titian, and Rubens, to cranes, bales, casks, &c. the appendages of commerce. In the collection of this gentleman, a Holy Family by Rubens, a Venus couchant by Titian, and a St. John by Rembrant, are pieces of exquisite merit. That they should be placed in a room so unfortunately situated is the more to be censured, as the front of his house, commands a noble view of the Maese, and an uninterrupted prospect of the country on the opposite side of the river.The principal streets of Rotterdam are thickly planted with trees, which, together with the canals which flow in the middle of them, and the draw-bridges in excellent repair and neatly painted that every-where meet the eye, give them an agreeable appearance. The windows and doors of the houses are in general painted green, which has a lively effect, and this is much increased by the scrupulous cleanliness which is universally practised. Not only the windows, but the whole front of the house, is generally washed two or three times a week by engines for that purpose, which are abundantly supplied with water from the canals, and the same care is extended to the pavement of the streets in which the more opulent inhabitants reside.
Rotterdam has nothing to boast of the splendour of its public buildings. The cathedral of St. Laurence is a dull, heavy pile, in which it would be easier to discover much to find fault with, than any thing to commend. An organ is erecting in this church of astonishing magnitude, which it is supposed posed will surpass the famous instrument of Haarlem; but, as the times are unfavourable for such undertakings, many years will probably elapse before it is completed. The Exchange is a neat building, and perfectly adapted to the purposes for which it was erected.
An assemblage of ill-featured people, tainted with the love of gain, meet here six times a week between the hours of one and three, and on Sundays it is the rendezvous of the militia of the town.
In the market-place is the statue of Erasmus[1], a name still cherished in the place of his birth; and not far from the venerable figure of this great man, the hat of liberty is erected on a pole of enormous height. The death of three or more trees, successively consecrated to liberty, made it necessary to substitute a pole to display the emblem of Batavian freedom; but its slightness promises a duration scarcely longer than that of its predecessors, and it is probable that the municipality, when the love of the fantasies of freedom shall have departed from them, will not trouble themselves to erect another. In the fish-market and elsewhere are similar erections, but these are scarcely superior to barbers' poles, or the flag-staffs which we see in the tea-gardens near London.
A weak and recently established government is generally more arbitrary in the exercise of its power, than those authorities which have derived stability from the length of their duration; and to this cause I attribute the reluctance which I find in persons to deliver their genuine sentiments respecting the present condition of the republic. Complaints of past abuses are frequent and copious; but no approbation accompanies the measures of the present administration of the country; their edicts, or rather the edicts of the French minister, are obeyed in silence: the clamours of the factious are not heard; — but where are the acclamations of a grateful people?
In no town within the territory of the United Provinces was the progress of the French arms, in ninety-four and ninety-five, viewed with more alarm than in Rotterdam. It was a season of general mourning and dismay. The most respectable inhabitants of the town were connected with England either by descent or intermarriage, and all classes of society experienced the benefits of an extensive commerce with the British empire. To this partiality for the enemies of the French republic, they joined a strong attachment to the stadtholderian government, as it was established by the influence of England and Prussia in 1787, and a loyal respect for the person of the prince of Orange. With these partialities and attachments, the advance of the French into the republic, and the absolute impossibility of resistance, caused an universal sensation of terror and grief. The most respectable English families fled from the town, and their example in some cases was followed by the Dutch. To the honour of a numerous and useful class of persons, I have to relate, that when it became certain that all intercourse with England would be suspended, not a female servant of the British nation was to be found in Rotterdam, who would consent to remain there after the French were in possession of the place. Many of them had lived in the same situation so long, that the character of a servant was melted into that of an individual of the family; but no personal or local attachments could prevail over the strong affection which they retained for their country; and the amplest increase of wages to induce them to remain in their places, in every instance, was offered without effect. Their conduct is the more to be admired, when the quantity of resolution and energy is estimated, which enabled these poor women to gratify their patriotic feelings. The reflection probably did not occur to them, that they were separating themselves, perhaps for ever, from the most valuable friends they could hope to form during their lives; but the season of their departure was rigorous beyond the inclemency of former years, and few were the accommodations which fell to the lot of the most opulent refugees. The navigation of the Maese, as well as the canals, being interruped by the frost, the ordinary modes of conveyance were suspended; and so great was the demand for carriages, that happy were those, even the wealthy and delicate, who could obtain a place in an open waggon. The persons who were not thus accommodated, pursued their melancholy route over frozen rivers and snows, from Rotterdam to Helvoetsluys, where they found shipping for England; and they have carried with them the regret and esteem of the place.
On the 22d of January the division of General Bonneau took possession of Rotterdam. The French troops, infantry, cavalry, and artillery, marched to this conquest on the solid waters of the Maefe, as if nature favoured their enterprise, and presented a spectacle which has not often occurred in the history of war. The solidity which the river had acquired, sufficiently marks the severity of the season. Yet the French soldiers were destitute of the most necessary articles of clothing. Whole battalions were in want of shoes and stockings, nor was the dress of the officers much superior to that of the common men. A sentinal on duty had frequently no other covering to protect him from the cold, instead of a coat, than a tattered blanket fastened round him; and hats or caps were articles that were rarely seen.
Under these disadvantageous circumstances the French troops arrived at Rotterdam, and were immediately quartered on the inhabitants of the town. A moderate requisition of clothing was impartially levied; and after their first alarms had subsided, the behaviour of the French soldiers conciliated the good opinion of all. Not one act of violence or plunder disgraced the discipline of the republican army; and complaints of the slightest nature were instantly attended to by the generals, and redressed. On the overthrow of the ancient authorities, a provisional magistracy was erected, which fortunately was composed of men of moderate principles, and truly patriotic sentiments. By their prudent measures, with the assistance and support of the French commander, the public tranquillity was preserved; and though for some weeks the trade of the place was entirely suspended, no acts of riot or disorder were committed by the numerous and dissatisfied poor who were thereby thrown out of employment. The functions of this provisional government expired with the establishment of the new constitution; and with concern I have to state, that their successors have not imitated the moderation and virtue of these upright and useful magistrates. The municipality is chiefly composed of factious and declamatory citizens, who, proud of their authority, indulge in the tyrannical exercise of it; and the discredit of associating with such men, deters persons of respectability and character from seeking to fill the civil employments of the town.
The mischiefs that might have resulted from power being lodged in the hands of such men, have been greatly prevented by the circumstance, that the majority — a large majority — of the inhabitants of Rotterdam retain a strong partiality for the ancient system of government, and the connection with England. When the marigold, because its colour is the symbol of the house of Orange, was extirpated from the gardens of the patriots, the windows of that quarter of the town where the poor principally reside were filled with pots of that flower; and a plant which a pious age had consecrated to the Virgin, expressed the lively affection of its possessor for an exiled stadtholder of Holland. The red and white roses of the factions of York and Lancaster will perhaps account for the esteem in which the marigold is held by the partisans of the house of Orange, but why would the elegant fruit that bears the name of that family be exiled from the tables of the antistadtholderian party? The moderation and good sense of the times have greatly relaxed the severity of the patriots in this and other respects, and oranges may now be eaten without subjecting the persons so offending to the suspicion of incivism, though some are yet scrupulous of admitting that fruit to their tables.
The concert at Rotterdam is the most fashionable amusement of the place, and invariably well attended. The band is numerous, but, consisting rather of amateurs than persons who live by the exercise of their musical talents, its excellence is not great. It would be difficult, however, in a provincial town of England, Bath excepted, to find a band of superior merit; and this I believe is to be attributed to the general estimation, over other entertainments, in which music is held on the continent. The Dutch language is so dissonant and inharmonious, that their vocal performances are seldom pleasing to the ear of a stranger: a female singer possessed a powerful and melodious voice, but the recurrence of harsh, grating words in her song destroyed in a great measure the effect of her sweet notes. Madame Banti had been at Rotterdam in the summer, and all were full of her praise. It proceeds from a want of liberality, not of taste, that first-rate singers and performers are not to be met with here.
My attachment to dramatic representations led me the first opportunity to the theatre; and I was so well satissied with the entertainments of the place, that I have twice repeated my visit. The play-house is a small neat building, and decorated with considerable taste. The boxes, of which there is only one tier, are furnished with elegant chairs and cushions; and what is an admirable convenience, backs are placed to the seats of the pit. It is seldom well attended, though the dramas I have seen were pieces of sterling merit, and the performance of the actors considerably above mediocrity. One evening the "Misanthropy and Repentance" of Kotzebue, which bears the name of "The Stranger" in England, was acted with great judgment and effect; and another time a play borrowed from "L'Enfant trouvé" of the French stage. The Roscius of Rotterdam is an Englishman of the name of Bingley; but I could not discover in his performances any thing to justify the general partiality in his favour: he is, however, an actor of discrimination, and possesses some powers of conception: his delineation of grief is a chaste and accurate performance. The amusements of the theatre generally terminate with a ballet, which is performed by young persons; and these spectacles, with the assistance of good scenery and cheerful music, are lively and agreeable representations. Adjoining to the theatre is a room where refreshments are to be sold, and here the lovers of tobacco resort to smoke their pipes between the acts of the performance. It is highly to the credit of the morals of the place, that the ear or eye of modesty is not offended by the presence of a single prostitute at the theatre: they are not excluded by any orders of the police or the interposition of the managers, but the public sense of decency and chastity prohibits their appearance. The number of unfortunate women of this description, who frequent the theatres of the British metropolis, is an intolerable abuse. In Rotterdam, as in all the great cities of Europe, there are brothel's for the reception of licentious women; but these persons seclude themselves from the public eye, and it requires some acquaintance with vice to discover their retreats.
The state of religion at Rotterdam is nearly the same as before the revolution. On Sundays the churches are well attended; and though the ministers in general are suspected of being attached to the stadtholder's party, I could not learn that they were treated even by the most violent republicans with disrespect, much less with personal indignity, or any severity that bordered the least on persecution. The pastor of one of the churches, a zealous stadtholderian, who, apprehensive for his safety, fled from Holland on the approach of the French, returned to Rotterdam a few days ago (with the permission of the government), on the invitation of his parishioners, and preached his restoration sermon, which was said to contain more politics than religion, and those by no means in favour of the present order of things, to a very numerous congregation.
Holland is distinguished for the munificence of its public charities; but, unhappily for humanity, they have partaken largely of the misfortunes of the republic. The Weese-house, or asylum for orphans and the destitute children of indigent parents, scarcely maintains two thirds of the objects of charity which before the war it benevolently sheltered; and other eleemosynary institutions have suffered in a similar proportion.
- ↑ It is the third statue which the gratitude of his townsmen has erected in honour of their illustrious fellow-citizen. The first in wood was raised to his memory in 1549, thirteen years after his decease, and a few years afterwards this was removed for a more elegant and substantial figure in stone. Instigated by a bigotted monk, to whom the rational piety, the profound genius, and extensive learning, of Erasmus, were offensive, the Spaniards in 1572, being masters of Rotterdam, destroyed this statue. The present one in bronze was erected in 1662, and is of good execution. The figure, which stands on a pedestal ornamented with inscriptions and surrounded with iron rails, is larger than life, and represents Erasmus clad in his ecclesiastical habit, with an open book in his hand. On republican festivals the sage is decorated with tricoloured ribbons; and before the revolution on particular occasions he was made to pay a similar compliment to the house of Orange.