rebellious attitude dangerous to the state. We have seen how nearly a
mutiny in the important city of Utrecht, set on foot by certain Romanist
conspirators in the years immediately succeeding the Truce, had subverted
the government, had excited much anxiety amongst the firmest allies of
the Republic, and had been suppressed only by the decision of the
Advocate and a show of military force.

He had informed Carleton not long after his arrival that in the United
Provinces, and in Holland in particular, were many sects and religions of
which, according to his expression, "the healthiest and the richest part
were the Papists, while the Protestants did not make up one-third part of
the inhabitants."

Certainly, if these statistics were correct or nearly correct, there
could be nothing more stupid from a purely political point of view than
to exasperate so influential a portion of the community to madness and
rebellion by refusing them all rights of public worship. Yet because
the Advocate had uniformly recommended indulgence, he had incurred more
odium at home than from any other cause. Of course he was a Papist in
disguise, ready to sell his country to Spain, because he was willing that
more than half the population of the country should be allowed to worship
God according to their conscience. Surely it would be wrong to judge the
condition of things at that epoch by the lights of to-day, and perhaps in
the Netherlands there had before been no conspicuous personage, save
William the Silent alone, who had risen to the height of toleration
on which the Advocate essayed to stand. Other leading politicians
considered that the national liberties could be preserved only by
retaining the Catholics in complete subjection.

At any rate the Advocate was profoundly convinced of the necessity of