Editing Constitution of the Netherlands (section)

===Establishment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands===
After the French troops were driven out by Russian [[Cossack]]s, the new [[Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands]] was established by the constitution of 29 March 1814, the ''Grondwet van den Staat der Verëenigde Nederlanden''. William VI of Orange was instated on 2 December 1813 as "Sovereign Prince" by [[acclamation]], but and only accepted "under the safeguard of a free constitution, assuring your freedom against possible future abuses." He first appointed 600 men of good standing as electors ([[Assembly of Notables (Netherlands)|Assembly of Notables]]) and these approved the constitution, written by a commission headed by [[Gijsbert Karel van Hogendorp]]. On 24 August 1815 William — since 16 March King [[William I of the Netherlands]] — having proclaimed himself King of the larger United Netherlands six days earlier, issued the first version of the current constitution, the ''{{lang|nl|Grondwet voor het Koningrijk der Nederlanden}}'' or ''{{lang|fr|Loi fondamentale du Royaume des Pays-Bas}}'', establishing the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]], now expanding his realm with the territory of the present state of [[Belgium]], which would again secede from it in 1830. It included a limited unentrenched [[bill of rights]], with [[freedom of religion]], the principle of [[habeas corpus]], the [[right of petition]] and [[freedom of the press]] as its main points. In the [[Eight Articles of London|Treaty of London]] of 1814 the Allies ordered that the original Dutch state would devise a new constitution. It was approved by the new [[States General of the Netherlands|States General]] (consisting of 55 members) of the Northern Netherlands, but rejected by the majority of appointed electors (796 against 527) of the [[Southern Netherlands]]. However, 126 appointed members indicated that they objected to the new constitution because they believed in stronger provisions for freedom of religion. Since freedom of religion was guaranteed under the [[Congress of Vienna|Treaty of Vienna]], their votes and abstaining votes were counted in support of the new constitution instead. This infamous "Hollandic Arithmetic" left William feeling justified in his proclamation of the new kingdom.

Regarding the government's political structure, the 1815 constitution did not diverge much from the situation during the Republic: the 110 members of [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|House of Representatives]] ([[lower house]]) of the States General, the "Second Chamber" as it is still called, were still appointed by the States-Provincial (for three years; each year a third was replaced), who themselves were filled with nobility members or appointed by the city councils, just like under the [[ancien régime]]. However, the new constitution provided for some rural delegates, elected through [[electoral college]]s and appointed to all States-Provincial (first only true for [[Friesland]]) and the city councils. The electoral colleges, in turn, were elected by a select group of male citizens of good standing and paying a certain amount of taxes. Thus, a modicum of democracy was indirectly introduced into the system. Generally, however, the administration was monarchical: the King had control over appointments to the [[Senate (Netherlands)|Senate]], also known as the "First Chamber" and mockingly referred to as the ''{{lang|fr|Ménagerie du Roi}}''. In 1840, when a new revision was made necessary by the independence of Belgium, a first step to a more parliamentary system was taken by the introduction of penal ministerial responsibility.