The hereditary successor of a long line of princes is like the owner of an ancient mansion devolved to him by hereditary right; he must take the edifice as it is, with its commodious and inconvenient chambers, its fantastic turrets and heavy chimney-pieces, its dark and its cheerful passages; or if he alters, it must be with a cautious and gentle hand, otherwise the whole fabric will fall about his ears; whilst he who is elevated by revolutions to command, may choose his ground, build wholly with new, or partly with the old materials of the prostrate constitution. In order to appreciate the present constitution, it may be necessary to take a slight review of the old one. Anterior to 1747 the United Provinces subsisted in one common confederacy, yet each province had an internal government or constitution, wholly independent of the others, called the States of such a Province, and its delegates the _States General_, in whom the supreme sovereignty of the whole confederacy was lodged; and notwithstanding the number of delegates which a province might send, yet in every constitutional measure each province had only one voice, and the sanction of _every province_, and of _every city within it_, was necessary before such a measure could pass into a law, and every resolution of the states of a particular province required unanimous adoption. The _Council of State_ consisted also of deputies from the several provinces, but differed in its constitution from the States General; it was composed of twelve persons, of whom Holland sent three; Guelderland, two; Zealand, two; Utrecht, two; Friesland, one; Overyssel, one; and Groningen, one. Such deputies could only vote personally: it was their department to prepare estimates, and ways and means, &c. to be submitted to the States General. The states of the provinces, were styled “Noble and Mighty Lords;” those of Holland, “Noble and most Mighty Lords;” and the States General, “High and Mighty Lords,” or “the Lords of the States General of the United Netherlands,” or “their High Mightinesses.” Queen Elizabeth called them in her time _Messieurs the States_. The Chamber of Accounts, in which all the public accounts were audited, and composed of provincial deputies, was placed under these two bodies. The executive part of the Admiralty was committed to five colleges, in the three maritime provinces of Holland, Zealand and Friesland. In Holland the people were excluded from choosing their representatives or magistrates. In Amsterdam, which had precedence in all public deliberations, the magistracy was lodged in thirty-six senators chosen for life, and every vacancy filled up by the survivors, and the representatives for the cities in the province of Holland, were elected by the same senate.