and thirdly, that of Buren, the capital of his son's earldom.
He thus exercised a controlling influence over the coming deliberations.
The ten commissioners, who were appointed by the estates for the peace
negotiations, were all his friends. Among them were Saint Aldegonde,
Paul Buis, Charles Boisot, and Doctor Junius. The plenipotentiaries of
the Spanish government were Leoninus, the Seigneur de Rassinghem,
Cornelius Suis, and Arnold Sasbout.

The proceedings were opened at Breda upon the 3rd of March, 1575. The
royal commissioners took the initiative, requesting to be informed what
complaints the estates had to make, and offering to remove, if possible,
all grievances which they might be suffering. The states' commissioners
replied that they desired nothing, in the first place, but an answer to
the petition which they had already presented to the King. This was
the paper placed in the hands of Saint Aldegonde during the informal
negotiations of the preceding year. An answer was accordingly given,
but couched in such vague and general language as to be quite without
meaning. The estates then demanded a categorical reply to the two
principal demands in the petition, namely, the departure of the foreign
troops and the assembling of the states-general. They, were asked what
they understood by foreigners and by the assembly of states-general.
They replied that by foreigners they meant those who were not natives,
and particularly the Spaniards. By the estates-general they meant the
same body before which, in 1555, Charles had resigned his sovereignty to
Philip. The royal commissioners made an extremely unsatisfactory answer,
concluding with a request that all cities, fortresses, and castles, then
in the power of the estates, together with all their artillery and
vessels of war, should be delivered to the King. The Roman Catholic
worship, it was also distinctly stated, was to be re-established at once
exclusively throughout the Netherlands; those of the Reformed religion