that his visit to Brussels should be expressly authorized by Holland and
Zealand. Notwithstanding his desire once more to behold his dear
country, and to enjoy the good company of his best friends and brothers,
he felt it his duty to communicate beforehand with the states of those
two provinces, between which, and himself there had been such close and
reciprocal obligations, such long-tried and faithful affection. He
therefore begged to refer the question to the assembly of the said
provinces about to be held at Gouda, where, in point of fact, the
permission for his journey was, not without considerable difficulty, a
few days afterwards obtained.

With regard to the more difficult requests addressed to him in the
memorial, he professed generally his intention to execute the treaty of
Ghent. He observed, however, that the point of permitting the exercise
of the Roman Catholic religion in Holland and Zealand regarded
principally the estates of these provinces, which had contracted for
no innovation in this matter, at least till the assembling of the states
-general. He therefore suggested that he neither could, nor ought to,
permit any innovation, without the knowledge and consent of those
estates. As to promising by authentic act, that neither he nor the two
provinces would suffer the exercise of the Catholic religion to be in
any wise impugned in the rest of the Netherlands, the Prince expressed
himself content to promise that, according to the said Ghent
Pacification, they would suffer no attempt to be made against the public
repose or against the Catholic worship. He added that, as he had no
intention of usurping any superiority over the states-general assembled
at Brussels, he was content to leave the settlement of this point to
their free-will and wisdom, engaging himself neither to offer nor permit
any hindrance to their operations.