Between the devil and the deep blue sea - University of Canterbury

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replacement workers. Cabinet ministers justified the decision because the Construction
Works were an essential war industry. To lose even one day of production was considered
detrimental to defence preparations. 63
The government consulted High Command before it decided to impose the "state
of war" or "siege". Since the government faced scrutiny from parliament before passing the
declarations into law, such decisions were never taken lightly. There were certain areas
where the government was extremely reluctant to use the War Law. For example, it refused
to place the larger cities - Amsterdam, Rotterdam or The Hague - in a "state of siege", even
when there was adequate justification for it. 64 Not only would the city councils have
baulked and made the government's task very difficult - Dutch municipalities had a large
amount of autonomy and the larger ones exercised a significant amount of influence _65 the
impracticalities involved in enforcing military rule would be considerable. Nevertheless, in
November 1915, the govermnent declared the waterways of Amsterdam in a "state of
siege", so that troops could supervise the movement of goods out of the port. 66 Earlier, in
January 1915, Snijders had hoped that the ports of Rotterdam would receive similar
restrictions. 67 He argued that many internees and Belgian refugees exploited the lack of
military supervision there to escape the country, travel to Great Britain, and join the Allied
armies. He also stressed that it would make more sense to monitor ships as they loaded their
cargo, rather than stopping and searching them at the Hoek van Holland before they left for
the open seas. While the cabinet was willing to impose the War Law on the port of
Amsterdam (although not on the city itself), because there were no other places nearby
63 Minister President to Queen Wilhelmina, 24 August 1916, in ARA, "Archiefvan de Raad van Ministers 1823 -
1977" entry no. 2.02.05.02, inventory no. 147.
M Bosboom, In Moeilijke Omstandigheden p. 310; Treub, Oorlogstijd p. 16.
65 Richard H. Leach, "The Provinces in the Dutch System of Government" The South Atlantic Quarterly. 69, 1970,
pp. 327 - 345.
66 Staatsblad. no. 473, 16 November 1915; Commandant del' Stelling van Amsterdam "Overzicht van hetgeen door
het Militair Gezag binnen het gebied van de Stelling van Amsterdam is verricht, krachtens de buitengewone
bevoegdheid aan dat Gezag toegekend door de Wet van 23 May 1899 (Stbl. 128)" [Overview of what had been
undertaken in the Fortified Position of Amsterdam by military authority, given the extraordinary powers of the law of
23 May 1899 (Staatsblad. no. 128)] 12 November 1919, in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Star' entry no.
2.l3.70, inventory no. 708.
67 Commander-in-Chiefto Minister President, 22 January 1915, in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Star' entry no.
2.13.70, inventory no. 215.