In the Postscript to the second edition of our last
number, we mentioned, on the authority of expresses from Antwerp, that in lame/pence of a conflict between the Dutch and Belgic troops, an which the former were worsted and compelled to take refuge in the citadel, a furious bombardment had commenced, and that several parts of the city were in flames. The details of this la- mentable event have now reached us. It appears that on the 24th, the Brussels volunteers, under the command of General MELINET, who had occupied the village of Berchem, in the neigh- bourhood, advanced against Antwerp ; but being deceived by the costume of the Dutch troops, who wore the same dresses as Bel- gian peasants, and were in consequence permitted to approach without suspicion, they were driven back to their positions, a number of them being killed by the grape-shot of their opponents. The proclamation of the King had in the interim been followed up. The Prince had laid down the command ; which was assumed by General CHASSE, a Frenchman, formerly of NAPOLEON'S army ; and the city of Antwerp was declared in a state of siege. On the 27th, the Belgians, who had received assurances of the friendly disposition of the inhabitants, again advanced ; and after a number of skirmishes in the suburbs, the gates were thrown open by the inhabitants, and the assailants admitted. The Belgic accounts say that barricadoes were formed ; that the citizens fired on the Dutch soldiers from the houses ; that, in a word, the tra- gedy of Brussels was re-enacted in the streets and places of Ant- werp. The means are but obscurely made out, and were probably neither so formidable nor so bold as they are represented ; the end is certain—the Dutch troops were compelled to retreat to the citadel, whose walls afforded them shelter from the fury of their irregular assailants. Two days before the Belgians entered Antwerp, the Crown Prince, who, had it not been for the vacillating policy of his en- lightened father, bade fair to ascend the throne of Belgium,—and perhaps in time to reunite the countries now irrevocably separated, by a compact to which each was an equal and consenting party,— bid adieu to that city. The following proclamation announced his Serene Highness's departure and the cause that led to it. It is dated the 25th. " Belgians—I have endeavoured to do you all the good that it was ifs my power to effect, without having been able to attain the noble object to which all my efforts tended—namely, the pacification of your fine provinces. " You are now going to deliberate on the interests of the country fa the National Congress which is preparing. I think, then, that I have ful- filled, as far as depended on ma in this moment, my duties towards you; and I intend to fulfil a very painful one, by withdrawing from your coins- try to go and await elsewhere the issue of the political events in Belgium; but at a distance, as well as when among you, my good wishes are with • you, and I shall always endeavour to contribute to your real welfare.
"Inhabitants of Antwerp—You have given me during my stay in yout city many marks of your attachment. I shall return, I hope, in more tranquil times, to contribute with you to increase the prosperity of this very fine town."
As soon as the troops had been driven into the citadel, a propo- sition was made to General CHASSE to evacuate the citadel ;enduch was peremptorily refused. As these communications will here- after be appealed to in adjusting the portion of blame attachable to the Dutch and Belgians for the destruction of a large and valu.- able portion of one of the finest cities in Europe, we shall quote them.
Proposals niale to General Chasse on the part of the Provisional Govern- ment,
by its delegate, II. Felix Chanel.
"1. The Government requires General Chasse to evacuate the citadel in three days. 2. The General and his army may retire with arms and baggage. 3. The Provisional Government engages to provide the General with all the transports necessary for the departure of himself and his army. 4. Till the execution of the above articles, hostilities shall be suspended on both sides.
Proposal of General Baron Chasse.
" 1. Lieutenant-General Baron Chasse will not give up the citadel without an order from the Kim-, his august master. 2. For the sake of the city he accepts a suspension of arms on the follow: ng terms— (a). That all works for the defence of the place be suspended. (b). That no man in arms shows himself on the esplanade, or in the environs of the citadel. (c). That no act of hostility be committed against his Ma- jesty's squadron stationed in the Scheldt. (c1). That the magazine of pro- visions be restored, which was plundered yesterday at Rivoli, in spite of the armistice, which hindered General Baron Chasse from ordering a sally to drive away the plunderers." Such appear to have been the conditions on which a suspension of arms was agreed on ; who first broke them is not so easily de- termined. It is said that CHASSE declared, that while the Belgian troops. limited their efforts to an attack with musketry, lie would not disturb them, although, if any of the people showed themselves on the esplanade, he would fire on them. It is added, that the soldiers did not limit their attack to musketry, but used cannon also. It must be recollected, in judging of the French officer's conduct, that though part of the people of Antwerp—the canaille, as he called them—held with the Belgians, neither they nor the better sort had any means of enforcing on the Belgians, and much less on the various bands of volunteers which, as soon as the cap- ture of the city was known, began to pour into it, a strict observ- ance of the conditions agreed on ; and therefore an attack on the houses of the peaceful merchants of Antwerp, who were not in a capacity to resist either party, was cruelly unjust. But CHASSE belongs to an order of men who consider that the destruction of an enemy is an end which hallows any means, however atrocious; and no sooner had the Belgians, as it is alleged, broken the truce, than he opened a fire of shells and red-hot shot on the surrounding buildings, for the purpose of burning out the enemy, if no other method should be practicable. In this social war the citadel was seconded by the ships in the harbour. The number of red-hot balls discharged from the fort is said to have been three hundred I and, lest they should be insufficient, Congreve rockets were added; In a short time the city was on fire in four or five places; the conflagration of the entrepot belonging to the merchants at large —which, with its contents, has been estimated at three millions— Is described as terribly grand. The naval and military arsenals Shared the same fate as the entrepot ; and fifty other buildings, public and private, were either burnt down, or exceedingly injured. The number of citizens killed and wounded must have been very great. A private letter from a respectable Englishman, dated Thursday last week, says- " I went to see the fires in different parts of the town immediately; a 'more shocking and terrible scene was never witnessed. People lying dead, and half-dead, in the streets—women and children screaming; and I assure you I could not keep from shedding tears. Three hundred and ,six shells were thrown into the town, besides continual showers of grape- shot from the citadel and frigates ; two bomb-vessels and two ships of war Were incessantly firing into the town from two o'clock yesterday afternoon until one o'clock this morning ; several Congreve rockets were also 'thrown in ; you cannot imagine the devastation and destruction.
" The cause of all this destruction was merely a few drunken bourgeois =firing at one of the frigates in the river yesterday. The Dutch and the Belgians have agreed to remain quiet for three days ; then, God knows what will follow. Parts of the town are at this moment burning and in 'flames, and there is scarcely a pane of lass in the half of the town near the river. Burnt legs, hands, and heads arc lying in the streets, and the wounded in every direction."
A document of a more public character has appeared on the 'subject of the fires, written by one of the Commissioners of the Central Committee, M. CHARLES ROGER. He says- " If a ball should come, and carry us off, please to take note of it. Our windows rattle every minute. I see all the horrors with my own eyes. We have been forced to quit the Hotel of the Government, because the fire had reached it. We are now in the house of M. Robiano, Place de Meir, where we see the town on fire in three places.
. " Half-past Seven, p.m.—The firing becomes slacker, and the confla- gration also. We believe that the brigands design to retreat. We hope so. " Half-past Eight, p.m.—The inhabitants of Antwerp are come to ask us for permission to cause the fire from the citadel to cease till the negotia- tions could be resumed to-morrow morning. A paper signed by me and M. Robiano authorizes them to do so. We consider the suspension as . sin act of humanity—nothing more."
• We have heard much during the week of the superior worth and intelligence of the King of Holland ; this character is ill borne out in his works. If it be his wish to retain the sovereignty of Belgium, it is a new way to win back its revolted population, to burn their houses over their heads : if he do not wish to retain the sovereignty of the Southern provinces, his conduct is still more open to blame ; he is practising against a whole people—innocent, the greater part of them of any offence, and all of them guiltless of private offences against him—the dark and deadly revenge of an assassin, not the open and honourable warfare of an enemy. In consequence of the permission to that effect granted by the Commissioner ROGER, a suspension of hostilities was agreed to by General CHASSE ; for which the citizens, it is said, were compelled to pay five millions of florins as a compensation for the destruc- tion of the arsenal. It is not unusual to levy a tax on an enemy by a military commission ; but this is, we believe, the first in- stance in which a general has levied a fine on the subjects of his own monarch, and that too for damages which there has been no attempt to trace to their agency. The robbery was, however, sub- mitted to, in order to avert the murder which was threatened. No interruption to the armistice had taken place up to the date of the last arrivals. The armistice would end on Thursday, the 4th instant ; but a proclamation issued on the 1st, and signed by M. ROGER and the Governor of the province, Baron ROBIANO, states that the correspondence entered into by the Commandant CHASSE and the Court at the Hague will, it is hoped, lead to a favourable result—by prolonging the truce, we suppose, or caus- ing the evacuation of the citadel.
The States-General have presented a long address to his Dutch Majesty, principally, of course, on the present troubles of the country. It ends thus- " Full of confidence, we expect from you the issue of events; and since the Powers in alliance with your Majesty, who have founded and
guaranteed the existence of the kingdom of the Netherlands, are occu- pied in deciding upon this important question, we are inclined to hope that they will soon put an end to the lamentable disorders to which the
Southern provinces are a prey; and we, in concert with the nation, whose representatives we are, calling to mind the virtue and the glory of our ancestors, will unite all our efforts, and implore the assistance of Divine Providence, who has hitherto protected our country, and who, in spite of its confined limits, will insure its safety and integrity." A sketch of the form of constitution to be submitted to the approaching assembly of Notables has been published, as well as a declaration of his political faith by DE POTTER. He expresses himself decidedly in favour of a republican form of government. The Prince of ORANGE, after remaining a few days at Williams- lorp, set out for London, where he arrived on Wednesday.
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