now reigning, and both lawful heirs and fucceffors of the faid Emperor and King, and the Lords the States General of the United Provinces, acting herein by the fame principles of friendship, and with the fame inten tion to procure and establish the faid mutual fafety, and to corroborate more and more a strict union, have to this end nominated, conftituted, and appointed, for their Ministers Plenipotentiaries, that is to fay, his Imperial and Catholic Majefty, Jofeph Lothaire, Count Kinigsegg, his Chamberlain, Counsellor of War, and Lieutenant General of his armies; his Britannic Majefty, Willian Cadogan, Efq; his Envoy Extraordinary. to their High Mightineffes the Lords the States General of the United Provinces, a Member of the Parliament of Great Britain, Master of the Robes to his Majefty, Lieutenant General of his armies, and Colonel of his fecond regiment of guards; and the States General, M. Bruno vander Duffen, ancient Burgomafter, Senator and Counsellor Penfionary of the city of Gouda, Affeffor in the Council of the Heemrades of Schieland, Dykegrave of the Crimpenerwaard; Adolphus Henry Count Rechteren, Lord of Almelo and Vriefeeven, &c. Prefident of the Lords the States of the Province of Overyffel, Droffard of the diftrict of Zalland; Seato van Gockinga, Senator of the city of Groninghen; and Adrian van Borfelle, Lord of Gueldermalfen, &c. Senator of the town of Flufhing; thé three former, Deputies in the Affembly of the Lords the States General on the part of the provinces of Holland and Weftfrifeland, Överyffel, and Groninghen and the Ommelands, and the fourth, Deputy in the Council of State of the United Provinces, who, having met in the city of Antwerp, which by common confent had been named for the place of congrefs, and having exchanged their full powers, copies of which are inferted at the end of this treaty, after feveral conferences have agreed for, and in the name of his Imperial and Catholic Majefty, his Britannic Majesty, P 2 and and the Lords the States General, in the manner following. I. The States General of the United Provinces fhall deliver up to his Imperial and Catholic Majefty, by virtue of the grand alliance in the year one thoufand feven hundred and one, and of the engagements into which they have fince entered, immediately after the exchange of the ratifications of the prefent treaty, all the provinces and towns of the Netherlands, with their dependencies, as well thofe which were poffeffed by the late King of Spain Charles II. of glorious memory, as thofe which have not long fince been yielded by his late moft Christian Majefty alfo of glorious memory; which provinces and towns together, as well thofe which fhall be delivered up by this prefent treaty, as thofe which have been already delivered, fhall for the future make and compofe, in all or in part, but one fole and indivisible, inalienable, and unexchangeable demefne, which shall be inseparable from the dominions of the Houfe of Auftria in Germany, to be enjoyed by his Imperial and Catholic Majefty, his fucceffors and heirs, in full irrevocable fovereignty and propriety, that is to fay, with refpect to the former provinces, as they were enjoyed or ought to have been enjoyed by the late King Charles II. of glorious memory, conformably to the treaty of Ryfwick, and as to the other provinces, in the manner and on the conditions upon which they were yielded and delivered up to the faid Lords the States General by the late moft Chriftian King of glorious memory, in favour of the moft auguft Houfe of Auftria, and without other incumbrances or mortgages, charged thereon by the States General, and for their benefit. II. His Imperial and Catholic Majefty promifes and engages, that no province, city, place, fortrefs, or territory of the faid Netherlands, fhall be yielded, traníferred, given, or fall to the crown of France, or to any Prince or Princefs of the houfe and lineage of France, France, or to any other who fhall not be the fucceffor, heir, and poffeffor of the dominions of the Houfe of Auftria in Germany, either by gift, fale, exchange, marriage-contract, inheritance, fucceffion by will, or in default of a will, or upon any other title or pretext whatsoever; fo that no province, city, place, fortrefs, or territory of the Netherlands, fhall ever be fubject to any other Prince, than only to the fucceffors to the faid dominions of the Houfe of Auftria, except what has already been yielded to the King of Pruffia,and what fhall be yielded by this prefent treaty to the faid Lords the States General. III. As the fecurity of the Auftrian Netherlands will depend principally on the number of troops which may be kept up in the faid countries, and in the places which are to form the barrier that has been promifed to the Lords the States General by the grand alliance, his Imperial and Catholic Majefty, and their High Mightineffes, have agreed to maintain therein always, each at their own charge, a body of between thirty and thirty-five thousand men, of which his Imperial and Catholic Majefty fhall furnish threefifths, and the States General two-fifths, provided that if his Imperial and Catholic Majefty leffen his contingent, it fhall be in the power of the faid States General to leffen theirs, in proportion; and when there fhall be a likelihood of war, or of an attack, the faid body shall be augmented to forty thousand men, according to the fame proportion; and in cafe of actual war, a further agreement fhall be made for fuch forces as fhall be judged neceffary. The repartition of the faid troops in time of peace, fo far as it relates to the places committed to the keeping of their High Mightineffes troops, fhall be made by themselves only, and the repartition of the reft by the governor general of the Netherlands, acquainting each other mutually with the difpofitions they fhall make. IV. His Imperial and Catholic Majefty grants that the States General shall have a garrifon intirely of their own troops in the towns and caftles of Namur and Tournay, and in the towns of Menin, Furnes, Warneton, Ypres, and Fort Knocque; and the States General engage not to employ in the faid places, troops which though in their pay, may belong to a prince or pation that may be at war against, or fufpected to be in engagements contrary to the interefts of his Imperial and Catholic Majesty. V. It is agreed, that in the town of Dendermonde there fhall be a joint garrison, which for the present fhall be compofed of one battalion of Imperial troops, and of one of those of the States General, and if hereafter it may be neceffary to augment the faid garrifon, that augmentation fhall be made equally with troops of both parties, and by common concert. The governor fhall be appointed by the Emperor; who, as well as the fubalterns, fhall take an oath to the States General, never to do, or permit any thing to be done in the faid town, which may be prejudicial to their service, with refpect to the prefervation of the faid town and garrison, and he shall be obliged by the fame oath to give free paffage to their troops, whenever and as often as they fhall defire it, provided it be previously afked, and only for a moderate number at a time. The whole according to the form which has been agreed on, and which shall be inferted at the end of this treaty. VI. His Imperial and Catholic Majesty confents likewife, that in the places above granted to the States General, for keeping garrifons intirely their own, they may put fuch governors, commandants, and other officers who compofe the Etat Major as they fhall think fit, on condition that they fhall not be chargeable to his Imperial and Catholic Majefty, nor to the towns and provinces, otherwise than for convenient lodging, and the emoluments arifing from the fortifications, and and that they be not perfons who may be difagreeable to or fufpected by his faid Majefty, for reafons to be particularly alledged. VII. Which governors, commandants, and officers, fhall be intirely and abfolutely dependent on, and fubject to the fole orders and fole judicature of the States General, in all that relates to the defence, guard, fecurity, and all other military concern of their places; but the faid governors, as well as their fubalterns, fhall be obliged to take an oath to his Imperial and Catholic Majefty, to keep the faid places faithfully under the fovereignty of the House of Auftria, and not to intermeddle in any other affair, according to the form which has been agreed upon, and is inferted at the end of this treaty. VIII. The generals fhall give reciprocally, as well in the towns where there fhall be a garrifon of his Imperial and Catholic Majefty, as in thofe which are intrusted to the keeping of the troops of their High Mightineffes, the ufual honours according to their cha racter, and the custom of each service; and in cafe the governor general of the Netherlands comes into the places committed to the keeping of the troops of the States General, the honours fhall be fhewn him which he is used to receive in the places where are garrifons of his Imperial and Catholic Majefty; he fhall alfo give out the word there; the whole without prejudice to the fixth article. And the governors, and in their abfence the commandants, fhall communicate to the faid governor general the difpofitions made by them, for the fecurity and guard of the places committed to their care, and he fhall have fit regard to the alterations which the faid governor general may judge ought to be made in them. IX. His Imperial and Catholic Majefty grants the exercife of their religion to the troops of the States General, wherever they fhall be in garrifon; but this fhall |