48	FEDERAL  POLITY
Holland and Zealand met together at Delft in the month of
April 1576 and under the leadership of their Stadholclor,
William of Orange, they resolved to resign a part of their
sovereignty into the hands of their Stadholder and also
determined to perpetuate their League.* Soon after this
the news of Spanish excesses in Antwerp rallied the
seventeen provinces round a common standard but this
unity could not last for long, for "Differences of religion, and
political and economic interests proved too deep-seated to
admit of effective common action, and at length on 5th
January, 1579, the deputies of the Southorn Provinces oE
Hainault, Douai, and Artois bound themselves in a defen-
sive league at Arras as a preliminary to effecting a
reconciliation with the King of Spain/^;f This action on the
part of their Southern allies goaded the Northern Provinces
into augmenting the confederation already affected between
Holland and Zealand. This was done by the Union of
Utrecht which they signed on January, 29, 1579.
In the constitution which is called * The Act of Union
of the United Provinces of the Netherlands' we find almost
all the principles of federalism given effect to in a very
comprehensive manner. The preamble to this piece of
legislation makes it abundantly clear that the dread of the
Spanish arms had dictated the necessity for so close an
alliance which was effected for ever. By the first article of
the Act the Provinces^: ^l confederated and united together
* "This Act of Federation not only united the Province, but also
went far in the direction of unification of the Municipal Republics of which
each Province was composed. It was not in the least dictated by theoretical
considerations, but was a practical measure of defence devised to cope with
imminent military danger. It went so much further than any prcviwin
federal agreement in modern times that it marked a very real stop forward."
A« P. Newton.   * Federal and Unified Constitutions, ' p, 14.
t Ibid. p. U and 15.
JThese provinces which entered into this union wore the Duchy of 0 uoldres
and County of Zutphen, the Countries of Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, and the
Frisian Ommelands between the rivers Ems and Lauwcrs, Ibid, p, 44,