Note 414) — VI.

„Should Austria propose the settlement of the Archduke Charles in the Netherlands, the proposition to be favourably received. By connecting a considerable part of the German territory on the left bank of the Rhine with Brabant etc., an intermediary Power of considerable importance might be created, and one which supported by Austria would form a most important barrier both for Holland and Germany. The Prince of Orange to be discouraged from any attempt to extend Holland on the side of the Netherlands beyond its ancient limits, without the express consent of the Allies” (Ged. VII, 17). Er is dus thans nog een geweldig verschil tusschen Castlereagh en den Souvereinen Vorst: de eerste denkt zich een „intermediary Power” tusschen Holland en Frankrijk en bestemt ook den linker Rijnoever voor dezen staat; de Vorst wil èn België èn den linker Rijnoever voor zich.