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

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powers to the armed forces. They were also highly critical of the govemment for using the
armed forces to take charge of trade and smuggling offences in the first place. 124 Few could
accept that military intervention for neutrality reasons was entirely necessary. After
Bosboom's directive in March 1915, commanders' names appeared at the bottom of each
municipal ordinance and as a result, military power seemed much greater than it actually
was. From a rudimentary analysis of published municipal council records in Dordrecht
(placed in a "state of war" in August 1914) and Zwolle (placed in a "state of siege" in
December 1916),125 for example, the impact of military rule on the running of the towns
seemed next to negligible. 126 By late 1918, the only official power left to the military in the
"state of war" or "siege" pertained to emergencies; all other powers had retumed to the
municipalities. While the country remained out of war, and the "state of siege" only applied
to particular localities, commanders could not impose any regulations that dealt with
national issues, including smuggling or export prohibitions. In fact, by 1918, the High Court
had rejected many of the objectives for the "state of siege" identified by Snijders in 1915,
namely to: control smuggling; support the govemment and its neutrality measures; ensure
the civilian population was well-fed and healthy; protect public order and safety; and
regulate export prohibitions in harbours and portS. 127
Nevertheless, that the govemment felt compelled to use the extraordinary powers
of the War Law is indicative of the unique circumstances facing the Netherlands between
1914 and 1918. The country had to deal with the consequences of its neutrality at a time of
high uncertainty. Breaches of neutrality quickly moved away from matters of defence,
124 For example, see: HandeJingen del' Staten-Generaal. Bijlagen 1915 - 1916. Tweede Kamer no. 99, 1 - 2;
Handelingen del' Staten-Generaal. Eerste en Tweede Kamel'S 1915 - 1916 pp. 1133 - 1136.
125 General Headquarters, "Lijst van alle gemeenten del' provincien, met aanduiding, welke gemeenten, of
onderdeelen dam'van, in staat van oOl'log of in staat van beleg zijn verklaard en met vermelding van de
gezagsgebieden, waartoe zij behooren, alsmede van de Koninklijke besluiten, waarbij het in staat van oOl'log of in
staat van beleg verklaren plaats vond." 1 September 1917, in SMG/DC, "Handschrift 111': 39" 9311.
126 See: Verslag vall den Toestand del' Gemeente Zwolle over het jaar 1914 - 1918, Door Blirgemeester en
Wethouders aan den Raad del' Gemeente Uitgebracht. [Report of the situation in the municipality of Zwolle for the
year 1914 - 1918, declared by mayor and electors of the council of the municipality] Zwolle: De Erven J. J. Tij 1, 1915
-1919; HandeJingen van den Raad del' Gemeente Zwolle met Alphabetisch Register, 1915 -1918. [Dealings of the
council of the municipality of Zwolle with alphabetical register, 1915 - 1918] Zwolle: M. Tijl en Zoon H. Tijl, 1915 -
1918; Verslag van den Toestand del' Gemeente Dordrecht over het jaar 1914 - 1918; SAD, "Stadsarchief 1851 -
1980" [City archive 1851 - 1980] archive number 6. It is highly unlikely that lack of source material on the Great
War in municipalities, as R. van Hasselt theorised, was caused by the military taking over the administration of the
municipality ("Belgische vluchtelingen in Roosendaal" pp. 101-102).
127 Commander-in-Chiefto Director of the Central Bureau of Statistics (Centraal Bureau Statistiek), 22 February
1915, in ARA, "Archieven van de Generale Staf' entry no. 2.13.70, inventory no. 202.