Cremers was a member of the Tweede Kamer who spoke during the debate on Atjeh war origins in April 1874, defending the war by characterising Atjeh as a “barbarian robber-state” and arguing that alongside the international-law perspective there was a colonial-political interest that justified the extension of Dutch authority. Cremers later served on the Commission that decided to publish the secret proceedings without modification in 1881, alongside Van Kerkwijk, Insinger, Schimmelpenninck van der Oije, and Des Amorie van der Hoeven.
The defence of the war
Cremers defended the war with Atjeh by characterising the Atjeh state as barbarian and predatory. He argued that alongside the perspective of international law, there existed a colonial-political interest that justified extending Dutch authority. Cremers pointed out that Van Zuylen himself had previously acknowledged that Atjeh stood “min of meer onder onze suzereiniteit” — more or less under Dutch suzerainty — undermining Van Zuylen’s argument that Atjeh was a fully independent state whose rights had been violated.
The Commission on publication (1881)
The Commission, consisting of Cremers, Van Kerkwijk, Insinger, Schimmelpenninck van der Oije, and Des Amorie van der Hoeven, unanimously decided to publish the speeches without any modification, noting that even minor changes would deprive the publication of all value. The Commission overruled objections to particular expressions, arguing that the force of the language had been weakened both by the passage of time and by the fact that the expressions had been used in comité-général.
See Also
- Van Zuylen van Nyevelt
- Godefroi
- Haffmans
- Kuyper
- Nierstrasz
- Van Lynden van Sandenburg
- Insinger
- Tweede Kamer debate on Atjeh war origins (April 1874)
- Comité-général
- Declaration of war on Atjeh (1873)
- Atjeh-oorlog (1873-1904)
Source
Verslag van het verhandelde in de vergaderingen der Tweede Kamer in comité-général van 16, 17, 18 en 20 April 1874: Oorlog met Atjeh, gedrukt ter Algemene Landsdrukkerij van het Koloniaal Instituut (1881), pp. 5, 30–31.