Welsh Journals

The treaty which constitutes her political status denied her the possession of those rights to which her free existence should have entitled her. She was neutralised, which does not mean that she had herself resolved upon neutrality, but the great nations which had granted her the right to live, had placed her in tutelage. Belgium had not the the power of contracting any alliance, or of exer- cising any of the rights of sovereignty, and she was bound in this way from the hour of her birth. Now the very fact that she could have no foreign politics prevented her from having a high opinion of herself. The protection she enjoyed had the appearance of being very beneficial, but in reality it was a great drawback. The aim of all the Belgian Governments (with the exception of the last, that of M. de Broqueville, who took effective but tardy measures to ensure the defence of the realm), was to accord the least possible sum for the maintenance of the army. We were a neuter nation, so we hardly needed an army at all. National feeling was at a low ebb. That which most clearly constituted the attachment of the Belgians to their country seemed to be summed up in that miserable adage-ubi bene, ibi patria, while a real nation is built up of aspira- tion in suffering, of conflict and of sorrow. The songs of our country were scarcely more than cele- brations of her gross prosperity. A poor kind of Brabanconne was ours, while the French drank deep from the cup of Sedan the strong wine of patriotism, and the Serbians went to drain their hearts' blood at Kossovo The Belgians attribute to the treaty of 1839 the majority of the troubles of 1914, and perhaps they are right. But for the trammels of this forced neutrality, Belgian patriotism would have been strengthened, and the Germans would not have crossed the Meuse if it had been defended by the army which this patriotism would have called forth. Furthermore, the Belgians no longer want the neutrality which was forced upon them in 1839. They no longer want it, because it could not be restored without the signed guarantee of the neigh- bouring countries, and they had good reason not to trust to the German signature, this war having shown such a guarantee to be quite illusory, and because they believe that in the course of the war, they have given ample proof that they are a major nation worthy of the rights appertaining to majority. They demand freedom to carry on foreign politics, to declare themselves neutral if they so wish it, to contract alliances if they think them expedient. They demand, in short, international liberty. Frontier If it is decided to make Belgium Problems a power of the first importance, her material power must at the same time be restored to her, in order that she may be able to fulfil her ancient role of barrier-state. A whole series of territorial problems present them- selves, and in solving these, two principles must be borne in mind, namely, the principle of nationality and the necessity of strategic security. M. Jean Baptiste Nothomb, one of the founders of Belgian natoinal independence, laid bare the problem with admirable lucidity in a speech delivered before the Belgian Parliament on March 4th, 1839. The kingdom of the Netherlands, which was formed in 1815 by the reunion of the actual territories of Holland and Belgium, had as its mission the intro- duction of the element of balance into Western Europe, and its territorial formation was based on the following principle: The kingdom was bounded by three rivers the Escant, the Moselle, and the Meuse. At the mouth of the Escant, this state faced England, and on the Moselle and the Meuse, Germany." When, in 1830, the artificial settlement of Vienna was broken by the will of the people, and the constitution re-established upon a national basis, the mission of keeping the balance of power between the nations was reserved for the new kingdom. The expedient of a forced neutrality is only the application of this political mission. It seemed as though, in charging her with such a heavy responsibility, the Powers would have left to Belgium the frontiers which would facilitate its fulfilment but the ambitious vindictiveness of King William 1, Prussian craft and diplomacy, the lack of foresight shown by the Council of Paris, and the universal indifference of Europe caused Belgium to suffer losses of territory which subsequent history was to prove fatal. Luxembourg The grand-ducal principality of Luxembourg of to-day, which from 1451 to 1830 was continuously attached to the Belgian province of Luxembourg, and in conse- quence, participated in the national life of Belgium under the various foreign dominations, proved in 1914 what a danger to the peace of Europe the dis- armed neutrality constituted. If in 1830 Europe had been willing to listen to the voice of nationality which was trying to make itself heard, the bitter experiences of to-day would not have fallen to our lot. The inhabitants of Luxembourg represent one of the many aspects of Belgian national life. They refuse to become German, and even in those districts where German is spoken, hate the Prussian spirit.