 The majority in the Uitvoerend Bewind ( Gerrit Pijman in particular ) therefore amended the project in a sense that gave re @-@ federalization even more emphasis . They unilaterally convened the primary assemblies by a proclamation on September 14 , 1801 , have a referendum on this new draft constitution . The Assembly defiantly ruled this proclamation illegal on September 18 . Then General Augereau ( he of the Fructidor @-@ coup ) , now commander @-@ in @-@ chief of the French forces in the Netherlands , routinely closed the doors of the Assembly ( by previous arrangement with Pijman ) on September 19 , and arrested the dissident Directors . Despite this military putsch the campaign for the plebiscite took place in an atmosphere of political freedom unthinkable in France . Nevertheless , this did not result in great enthusiasm for the new constitution . When the votes were counted on October 1 , out of 416 @,@ 619 voters only 16 @,@ 771 voted in favor and 52 @,@ 219 against . The Directors then used a sleight of hand that unfortunately would also become familiar in the Dutch constitutional politics of the successor states : they counted the 350 @,@ 000 abstentions as " tacit affirmations " . 
