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 LETTERS 
 
 CONCERNING THE 
 
 PRESENT STATE 
 
 O F 
 
 POLAND. 
 
 WITH AN 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 CONT AI NIN G 
 
 The MANIFESTOES of the Courts of 
 Vienna, Petersburgh, and Berlin. 
 
 And other AUTHENTIC PAPERS. 
 THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed for T. Payne, near the Mews-Gate, 1773.
 
 
 -'■■ - » If " . 

 
 DK 
 
 h'3¥ 
 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 HE Letters here offered afecond time 
 to the public are written on afubjeSi, 
 which defervedly engages the attention of 
 Europe. 
 
 The author waited long — perhaps too 
 long — under the hope, that an abler pen 
 would have taken up this important caufe ; 
 but as no champion feemed willing to Jlep 
 forth in defence of the injured and oppreffed, 
 he ventured on the tajk : a love of jufiice, 
 and refpe5ffor an amiable character, pity for 
 a fuffering people, indignation at the mojl 
 atrocious ac~ls of cruelty and perfidy urged 
 him to it, and will, he hopes, jufiify afeveri- 
 ty and warmth of exprefjion, in few cafes 
 allowable. 
 
 Infuch a caufe the writer p erf uaded him- 
 
 felf, that he Jhould find an advocate in the 
 
 bojom of every Britifh reader, who would 
 
 fojten the rigor of criticifm : nor have his 
 
 expectations been deceived : the indulgence 
 
 with 
 
 WK»G841
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 with which the public has read the Letters ; 
 the favourable manner in which they have 
 been recommended to its notice; and the terms 
 of approbation expreffed by thofe, whofe opi- 
 nion would Ji amp a value on any work, but 
 which cannot be repeated without running 
 the rijk of having the language of gratitude 
 mifiakenfor that of vanity : — all have ferved 
 to convince the writer, that the humanity 
 and generofty of the Britijh nation feel them- 
 felves interejled in the caufe he pleads. 
 
 Some few additions are made to this fecond 
 edition. And the editor hopes the errors of 
 the prefs will be fewer : the impofpbility he is 
 under of correcting the proofs mufi plead his 
 excufefor thofe that may jiill be found \ 
 
 London, 
 April 19, 1773.
 
 LETTERS 
 
 CONCERNING THE 
 
 PRESENT STATE 
 
 O F 
 
 P O L A N D 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 B
 
 LETTERS 
 
 CONCERNING THE 
 
 PEESENT STATE 
 
 O F 
 
 POLAND. 
 
 Dantzig, Sept. 22, 1772. 
 MY DEAR SIR ! 
 
 I SEND you inclofed the Manifefto, 
 which has juft been delivered at the 
 court of Warfaw, by the minifters 
 from Peterfburgh and Berlin *. In a few 
 days the minifter from Vienna is to give 
 the fame ; and a very curious piece it is. 
 I cannot eafily guefs, whether it will ex- 
 cite in you more indignation, or contempt. 
 
 * See Appendix A. 
 
 B 2 Sure
 
 4 Letters concerning the 
 
 Sure I am, that fo grofs an infult was 
 never offered to common fenfe. You 
 mud impute it to the badnefs of the 
 caufe. What can men fay, who are to 
 defend fuch a daring breach of the laws of 
 nations ? The minifters of Peterfburg are 
 accuftomed to appear without blufhing, 
 at the tribunal of the public, in defence 
 of any caufe : the death of Peter, the 
 affaffination of prince John, inured them 
 to it. The new allies of Ruflia, with all 
 their religion and philofophy, are not a 
 whit more fcrupulous or bafhful. 
 
 In this piece, however, there is an art- 
 ful mixture of truth and falfehood; which, 
 as you defire it, I will endeavour to fe- 
 parate for you. In order to do this, it 
 will be neceffary to reduce the Manifefto 
 to the following points ; of which, I think, 
 it confifts That 
 
 " The emprefs of Ruffia, as foon as 
 lt the throne of Poland became vacant, 
 " gave many very flrong, and unequivo- 
 Vk cul proofs of her friendly difpofitions 
 
 " to-
 
 Present State of Poland. £ 
 
 * towards the republic ; particularly en-* 
 4 deavouring to unite the fuffrages of the 
 4 Poles in favour of the candidate who 
 c appeared to be mofl worthy of the 
 
 * crown, moft agreeable to his fellow-^ 
 4 citizens and neighbours. 
 
 " That the immediate confequences" 
 4 were, the free and legal election of 
 c Staniflaus, reigning king of Poland £ 
 4 the correction of many abufes ; and the 
 
 * eftablimment of many ufeful and falu* 
 4 tary regulations. 
 
 " That the courts of Vienna and Ber* 
 4 I'm feconded, either tacitly or openly, 
 4 the good intentions of her majcfty. 
 
 " But that the fpirit of fa&ion, and dif- 
 4 cord, had nOt only defeated the happy 
 ' effects, which fhould have followed, 
 4 but do actually threaten the ruin and 
 4 total di Ablution of the ftate. 
 
 44 That, therefore, her majefty and her 
 
 4 great allies are indifpeiifibly obliged to 
 
 4 take effectual, and well-combined mea- 
 
 4 fures, for preventing this cataflrophe ; 
 
 • B 3 reftor-
 
 6 Letters concerning the 
 
 " reftoring order, and tranquility ; and 
 " re-eftablifhing the ancient form of go- 
 " vernment in Poland, 
 
 " And, laftly, that it is a duty, which 
 " her majefty, and her great allies owe 
 " to themfelves, to fecure, at this critical 
 * c conjuncture, a reafonable indemnifica- 
 " tion for feveral claims, and pretenfions, 
 " which they have on Poland." 
 
 The two firft of thefe propofitions ap- 
 pear to be true ; the reft are a continued 
 tifiue of artifice and falfehood. 
 
 To prove this, fir, it will be neceiTary 
 to examine the manner, in which the em- 
 prefs conducted herfelf from the beginning 
 of the interregnum. 
 
 Her firft care was to quiet the fears, 
 which the republic might entertain, of 
 her forming any claims or pretenfions 
 upon Poland. 
 
 Peter the Great, having put a glorious 
 end to the war with Sweden, aiTumed the 
 title of emperor of all the RulTias ; and 
 endeavoured to obtain a general and pub- 
 lic
 
 Present State of Poland. 7 
 
 lie avowal of it from the different courts 
 of Europe. The propofal was received 
 with great repugnance : Poland, in parti-* 
 cular, thought herfelf interefted in refus- 
 ing to acknowledge the title, becaufe fome 
 of her provinces went under the name of 
 Ruffia. 
 
 But, during the interregnum, in the 
 year 1764, the reigning emprefs obtained 
 what her predeceffors had fo long endea* 
 voured at in vain ; fhe declaring by her 
 plenipotentiaries, and contenting to have 
 
 it inferted in the adts of the diet, ■ 
 
 That 
 
 '.' Her faid imperial majefty, in aflum- 
 " ing the title of Emprefs of all the Ruf- 
 " fias, did by no means arrogate either 
 " to herfelf, heirs, fucceiTors, or empire, 
 " any right, or claim, to the diftridts or 
 " territories, which, going under the name 
 " of Ruffia, were actually in poiTeflion, 
 " or fubject to the authority of the king- 
 " dom of Poland, or great duchy of Li- 
 " thuania : but that, on the contrary, her 
 B 4 faid
 
 8 LET TEfcS CONCERNING THE 
 
 " faid majefty would guaranty to the faid 
 " kingdom of Poland and duchy of Li- 
 " thuania, all the immunities, lands, ter- 
 " ritories, and diftricts, which the faid 
 " kingdom and duchy ought by right to 
 " poflefs, or did now a&ually poflefs : — ■ 
 " Quse vel jure poflidendae funt, vel at~tu 
 " poflidentur : and would, at all times, 
 '* and for ever, maintain them in the full 
 " and free enjoyment thereof, againft the 
 ** attempts of all, and every, who fhould* 
 " at any time, or on any pretext, endea- 
 " vour to difpoffefs them of the fame." 
 
 And, for the Hill greater fecurity of the 
 republic, the Ruffian miniflers engaged, 
 that, within the fpace of feven weeks, 
 this declaration, made by them, in the 
 name, and by order of their fovercigri, 
 fhould be delivered to the court of War- 
 faw, figned with the emprefs's own 
 hand, and fealed with the feal of the em- 
 pire. 
 
 In confequence of thefe aflurances, the 
 diet acknowledged the title in difpute ; 
 provided always,
 
 Present State of Poland. 9 
 
 " That the faid acknowledgment mould 
 t{ never be coniidered as affecting the 
 u rights of the republic, or the titles ufed 
 " by the kings of Poland ; or as fubjecting 
 " any part of the lands, territories, or pof- 
 " feflions of the kingdom of Poland, or 
 " duchy of Lithuania, to the authority of 
 " the faid emprefs, heirs, fucceflbrs, or 
 " empire, in any manner whatever*" 
 
 Upon thefe terms her majefty received 
 the avowal of her title, of Emprefs of all 
 the Rufhas ; and fhe on her part fent to 
 the court of Warfaw the act of renuncia- 
 tion of all claims on the republic, authen- 
 ticated in the manner, and within the 
 time limited by her miniflers ** The 
 growing power of Rnffia, the influence 
 me had exerted in Poland ever fince the 
 time of Peter the Great* had naturallv 
 made the Poles fearful of the deligns fhe 
 might have on the republic* Nothing 
 could fo thoroughly quiet thefe fears, no- 
 
 * See A£ls of the Confederation, anno 1764. See 
 Lengnichii Juf. Pub. Pol. I. i. c. v. 
 
 thing
 
 io Letters concerning the 
 
 thing could fo effectually excite and main- 
 tain a fpirit of mutual harmony and con- 
 fidence, as a renunciation of all claims 
 and pretenfions ; and a treaty of guaran- 
 ty, freely made, in fo full and folemn a 
 manner. 
 
 The propofal of raifing a native of Po- 
 land to the throne was, by this ftep, 
 diverted of all fufpicion ; and might now 
 juflly be looked upon as another ftrong 
 proof, that the emprefs of Rufha enter- 
 tained the moft friendly difpofitions to- 
 wards the republic. 
 
 Look into the hiftory of the Poles, fir, 
 and you will fee, that the fource of all 
 their misfortunes, was, their kingdom be- 
 coming elective, and their unwifely de- 
 termining to elect a foreign prince. From 
 that moment the ambition and rapacity 
 of their neighbours were awakened : 
 every one became a candidate, or took 
 an active part in favour of one of the can- 
 didates, and to the exclufion of the reft. 
 Hence almoft every vacancy of the throne 
 
 excited
 
 Present State of Poland. 11 
 
 excited troubles : hence the powers bor- 
 dering on Poland were fo often involved 
 in them : hence, under pretext of fecuring 
 their own frontiers, their troops entered 
 into Poland, and dictated to the republic 
 whom fhe fhould chufe. A thoufand little 
 paffions prevented the Polifh nation in 
 general from attending to, and remedying 
 thefe evils in time. Their pride was flat- 
 tered at feeing themfelves courted by the 
 neighbouring powers ; their avarice was 
 fed by the prefents and promifes of the 
 different candidates, and their adherents : 
 a fpirit of felrifhnefs and venality feized 
 upon the whole nation ; and falfe notions 
 of liberty were imbibed. 
 
 Fearing that the forces of the foreigner 
 they elected might be employed to en- 
 flave them, every new election was mark- 
 ed by new laws, which, under the fpe- 
 cious pretence of retraining the power of 
 the future king, and fecuring the inde- 
 pendency of each individual, ferved only 
 to weaken the ftate, and en Have the whole* 
 
 You
 
 12 Letters concerning the 
 
 You remember what Montefquieu has 
 faid on this occafion : " L'independance, 
 " de chaque particulier eft l'objet des 
 " Loix de la Pologne ; et ce, qui en re- 
 w fulte, Poppreffion de tous." — Thefe few 
 words, fir, contain the beft picture of the 
 Polifh conftitution that ever was drawm 
 
 The candidate, who fucceeded, glad to 
 obtain a crown at any rate, promifed 
 whatever was demanded ; the friends of 
 thofe who were difappointed, were not 
 forry to fee leffened the confequence of 
 a crown, which they had not had intereft 
 enough to obtain. And when by thefe 
 laws the legiflative and executive powers 
 in Poland were weakened, and rendered 
 inactive, their neighbours went farther i 
 and, under pretence of fecuring the free- 
 dom of elections, the liberties of the peo- 
 ple, and the rights of the different orders 
 and clafles of citizens, they took upon 
 themfelves the title and office of guaran- 
 tees of the government of Poland. For, 
 that this is no new idea, you may fee, by 
 
 the
 
 Present State of Poland. 13 
 
 the letters and declarations of the houfe 
 of Auftria, during the interregnum occa- 
 fioned by the death of Auguftus II *, 
 
 Hence the Poles were no longer ma- 
 ilers of fixing, or changing, as circum- 
 fiances might require, their own inter- 
 nal form of government : the power of 
 the crown was annihilated : and foreign 
 princes grew omnipotent. This heed- 
 lefs people had kicked againfl the legal 
 authority of a limited prince ; and now 
 crouched beneath the infolent and humi- 
 liating tyranny of flrangers. 
 
 The natural, and indeed only method 
 of diminifhing, by little and little; and, 
 in time, of putting a final Hop to this 
 evil, would have been, to have made it a 
 fundamental law, that none but a native 
 could ever be promoted to the throne. 
 The patriotic part of the kingdom were 
 fo fenfible of this, that at the death of 
 Auguftus II. the whole nation bound it- 
 
 * See Rouftet recueil hiftorique, Tome ix. 
 paflim. 
 
 felf
 
 14 Letters concerning the 
 
 felf by an oath, not to elect, not even to 
 propofe a foreign candidate. 
 
 You fee therefore, fir, that the em- 
 prefs of Ruflia has reafon to alledge, as, 
 a proof of her good intentions, that fhe 
 recommended a native to the throne. 
 
 And moft certainly the particular can- 
 didate, whofe interefts fhe efpoufed, was 
 the man the moil: worthy of the throne ; 
 and who, to all appearances, would render 
 himfelf the moft agreeable to his fellow- 
 citizens, and his neighbours. 
 
 He was fon of the firft fecular fenator 
 of the kingdom ; allied to the moft 
 powerful and ancient families in it : his 
 education had been directed on a plan the 
 moft liberal and manly: he had travelled 
 to all the courts of Europe ; and in all 
 had left the moft favourable impreflions 
 behind him : he had diftinguifhed himfelf 
 by a nervous eloquence ; by a thorough 
 knowledge of the laws and conftitutions 
 of his own country, and of the interefts 
 and characters of the other courts of 
 
 Europe,
 
 Present State of Poland. 15 
 
 Europe, and above all, he had enlarged 
 and juft ideas of the rights of mankind, 
 and the ends for which fuperior power is 
 lodged in the hands of the few. In a 
 word, if he had never reigned, his ene- 
 mies themfelves would have allowed, that 
 no man was ever more worthy of a crown. 
 
 Thus far then, fir, the emprefs of 
 RufTia fpeaks with equal truth and dig- 
 nity. 
 
 With the fame truth fhe fays, that the 
 immediate confequences of thefe friendly 
 difpofitions were the free and legal elec- 
 tion of Staniflaus, reigning king of Poland ; 
 the correction of many abufes, and the 
 eftablifhment of many ufeful and falutary 
 regulations. 
 
 The legality of the reigning king's 
 election has been called in queftion by the 
 confederates. Their objections are pub- 
 lifhed in a large volume, in quarto, under 
 the title of " Manifefte de la Republique 
 " Confederee de la Pologne." 
 
 Their
 
 16 Letters concerning the 
 
 Their great, and indeed leading objec- 
 tion, is the prefence of fome Ruffian 
 troops, and the vifible and open influence 
 exerted by Ruffia. 
 
 To judge of the force of this objection, 
 we have only to examine the manner in 
 which the elections to the throne of Po- 
 land have been conducted ; from that of 
 Henry of Valois, to that of the reigning 
 king. And if, from this review, it fhall 
 appear, that there has fcarce ever been an 
 election, where fo little was feen of the 
 bribery or force of foreign ftates, or 
 where the forms of the law were fo well 
 obferved, the conduct of the emprefs will 
 in this inftance ftand acquitted. 
 
 At the nrft interregnum, after the death 
 of Sigifmund Auguftus, the nation pafl 
 feme regulations relative to the mode of 
 taction : the capitulations between the 
 king and the nation, called the " pacta 
 " conventa," were drawn up ; the inter- 
 position of foreigners was but ill provided 
 againft ; becaufe the danger of it was but 
 
 feebly
 
 Present State of Poland. ty 
 
 Feebly felt. No fettled plan of govern- 
 ment was formed ; the hands of the arifto- 
 cratical part, already too powerful, wa3 
 ftrengthened : and the reft left in a ftate 
 of inconiiftent, incoherent confufion ; the 
 feeds of future diforder were fown : and 
 fome even went fo far as to fay, that the 
 mode of election could not be fettled by 
 precife laws, left the liberty of election 
 mould be endangered. They did not 
 know, that liberty could not exift but un- 
 der the protection of law. 
 
 At this firft election, in 1573* the in* 
 trigues and bribery of France, Auftria* 
 and Rufna threatened the utmoft confu- 
 fion and diforder ; the partizans of France 
 were fuccefsful : Henry of Valois was 
 chofen ; but the Poles might then have 
 forfeen what was hereafter to be expected 
 from their neighbours, and how little they 
 could promife themfelves the free and un- 
 difturbed difpofal of their crown, 
 
 Henry remained only five months in 
 
 Poland, and his retreat occafioned a fecond 
 
 C inter-
 
 i8 Letters Concerning the 
 
 interregnum. It was foon feen how chi- 
 merical the idea of a free election was 
 grown ; the number of candidates aug- 
 mented ; the intrigues of their refpective 
 agents were more open and public. The 
 arch-duke Erneft, the king of Sweden, 
 and his fon ; the dukes of Modena, Ferra- 
 ra, and Mantua; and Stephen Bathory, 
 prince of Tranfylvania, were the principal, 
 though not the only candidates. Another 
 party propofed the emperor Maximilian 
 II. and another, a native of Poland. This 
 laft party proclaimed the princefs Anne, 
 and gained over the friends of Stephen, 
 by declaring that he was to efpoufe her, 
 and reign with her. 
 
 The death of Stephen, in 1586, occa- 
 fioned the third interregnum. The candi- 
 dates, now grown bolder, added force to 
 intrigue. Sigifmund, prince of Sweden, 
 nephew to Anne, and bred up with the 
 hope of fucceeding to the throne, obtained 
 it. But the party of Maximilian, brother 
 to Rodolphus II. determined to fupport 
 
 him
 
 Present State of Poland. 19 
 
 him by force of arms ; he was twice van- 
 quifhed in two pitched battles, and in the 
 laft taken prifoner. 
 
 In the fucceeding interregnums, we fee 
 all the powers of Europe taking part 
 openly and avowedly in favour of one or 
 other of the candidates. 
 
 After the death of John Sobiefki, they 
 went farther • and by a natural progrefTion, 
 foreign troops fucceeded to foreign intrigues* 
 A prince of Gonti, a prince of Neubourg, 
 and Leopold, duke of Lorrain, were the 
 firft candidates on the lift. The addrefs 
 of the abbe de Polignac fecured, as he 
 thought, the throne to the prince of Gonti. 
 When, all at once a new candidate appear- 
 ed, Frederick Auguftus, elector of Saxony. 
 One fingle man had gone to Drefden ; 
 perfuaded the elector to change his religi- 
 on, and enter on the lifts. Conti, and the 
 elector, were each chofcn and proclaimed 
 by their refpective parties : a Saxon army 
 decided the difpute ; and a^er a civil war 
 of near a year, the election of Auguftus 
 was acknowledged. 
 
 Qz He
 
 20 Letters concerning the 
 
 He was hardly well feated on his throne, 
 when Charles XII. of Sweden, forced him 
 not only to quit it, but folemnly to re- 
 nounce it. After the defeat of Charles 
 at Pultawa, he difavowed this renunciation, 
 and reafliimed the crown. Auguftus foon 
 formed the defign of rendering the throne 
 hereditary in his family ; and had he been 
 capable of conducting himlelf upon en- 
 larged ideas, he might perhaps have fuc- 
 ceeded. As it was, he not only failed, 
 but owed his death to the attempt. In- 
 ftead of receiving what he wanted, as the 
 recompence of real fervices rendered to a 
 grateful people, he employed his whole 
 reign, in corrupting their manners, and 
 ftirling all public virtue ; and then deter- 
 mined to engage his neighbours, to render 
 the throne hereditary in his family : and 
 was ready to purchafe their confent and 
 affiiiance, by difmembring Poland*. His 
 nrft attempt was to gain over Frederick 
 
 * See Memoires dc la maifon de Brandenburgb* 
 
 William,
 
 Present State of Poland. 21 
 
 William, then king of Pruffia ; he defired 
 that prince, to fend the marfhal Grum- 
 kow to Warfaw ; Grumkow went, the 
 king wanted to found the marfhal ; and 
 the marfhal the king : to carry on their 
 defign, they both got fo very drunk, that 
 the king died of it, and the mariha'l con- 
 tracted a diforder, of which he never re- 
 covered. 
 
 At the death of Auguftus the fecond, 
 the courts of Vienna, and Peterfburg, 
 thought it no longer neceflary to keep up 
 the appearances of decorum hitherto ob- 
 ferved ; and without confulting the nation 
 determined to exclude the houfe of Saxo- 
 ny from the throne ; and place upon it 
 Emanuel, prince of Portugal. This prince 
 died, and the project with him. The 
 new elector of Saxony became more tract- 
 able ; and the two courts changed their 
 plan, and determined to fupport Auguftus 
 
 HI. * 
 
 * And a worfe prefent was never made to a 
 
 nation ; be was beyond all companion the weaken 1 , 
 
 C 3 and
 
 22 Letters concerning the 
 
 In the mean time the Poles had electee} 
 Staniflaus Lefzczynfki ; a few discontent-* 
 
 and moft contemptible man, that ever fat upon a. 
 throne. In the laft war, he had an opportunity, 
 which may perhaps never be found again, of ren- 
 dering Poland a refpcctable nation ; he loft it, and 
 will, for ever deferve the curfes of the nation for 
 having loft it. One may judge of the man, by his 
 amufernents ; a favourite and daily diverfion, was to 
 order a number of dogs to be got together ; and 
 whilft the poor animals were feeding in his court, 
 this doughty monarch was (hooting at them from 
 his windows. Such was the prince, whom the 
 courts of Vienna and Peteifburgh forced on the 
 throne of Poland : fuch was the prince, whom in 
 thefe days, the blind fpirit of party has erected into 
 a hero and patriot. He too had refumed the idea 
 of his father, to render the throne hereditary in his 
 family : and like him too, chofe rather to owe it to 
 the intrigues or force of foreigners, than to merit 
 it at the hands of the nation. Had the late em- 
 prefs of Ruftla lived, it is probable his defigns 
 would have been forwarded by her. And in the 
 prefent diftrefsful moment of Poland, it is confi- 
 dently faid, that the prefent elector of Saxony has 
 formed an alliance with the king of Pruffia, by 
 which he guaranties to the king, his ufurpations 
 in Poland, and offers to affift him with 20,000 
 men, in cafe of his being attacked on that fcore j 
 
 and
 
 Present State of Poland. 23 
 
 <ed citizens retired to the other fide of thfc 
 Viftula : there they protefted againft the 
 election ; and, fupported by fome Ruflian 
 troops, in defiance of a folemn oath, vo- 
 luntarily taken, proclaimed Auguftus king. 
 
 The Poles, too often rafh in their en- 
 terprizes, feem here to have wanted com- 
 mon fpirit, inftead of falling on this hand- 
 ful of men, retired, and fhut up them- 
 felves with Lefzczynfki in Dantzig. There 
 they were bedeged by the Ruffians and 
 Saxons ; and the right of Auguftus to 
 the throne was not determined, till the 
 •richeft and beft town in the dominions of 
 Poland was well nigh ruined. 
 
 The confederates do not object to the 
 legality of thefe ; elecl:ions. Yet what a 
 difference between thefe, confirmed at the 
 expence of fo much Polifh blood ; and 
 that of the reigning king, to whom no op- 
 ponent was named ; and which did not coft 
 
 and the king promifes his intereft in Poland to the 
 .elector, in cafe of a vacancy to the throne. 
 
 ,C 4 the
 
 24 Letters concerning the 
 
 the life, nor a drop of blood of a fmgle 
 citizen ? 
 
 It is objecled, that the province of 
 Pruffia, not having been able to elecl: its 
 nuntios, protefted againft the diet of con- 
 vocation. 
 
 I am as much interefted in the privi- 
 leges of this province as any man ; yet I 
 know very well, that it has often neg- 
 lected to fend nuntios to the diets of con- 
 vocation *. More than one example occur, 
 of kings being elected without the con- 
 currence either of Pruffia, or even of 
 Lithuania')*. 
 
 It is objected, that a nuntio, proteft- 
 ing againft the diet of convocation, was 
 attacked fword in hand. But is this any 
 thing ftrange ? How often have the diets 
 been fcenes of contradiclion, and tumult, 
 and carnage ? And what were the effects 
 of this attack ? not a hair of the man's 
 
 * See Lengnichii Juf. Puh. Pol. I. ii. c. iii. k£k. 
 
 xxlv. 
 
 f See lb. 1. ii. c. iv. feet. xii. 
 
 head
 
 Present State of Poland. 25 
 
 head was hurt. They would not fure 
 pretend that this proteft fhould have bro- 
 ken up the diet ! Once, and but once, in 
 the year 1696, a nuntio attempted to 
 break up a diet of convocation : he pro- 
 tefted ; the diet difregarded him, and con- 
 tinued their deliberations ; the man after- 
 wards got his price, and was quiet *. 
 
 They object, that the marfhal, or 
 fpeaker of the diet of election, quitted the 
 chamber, and thereby diffolved the diet. 
 They mould have remembered, that the 
 fame thing, or rather worfe, happened 
 at the election of Auguftus III. The 
 marfhal was not only not prefent at the 
 pretended diet which elected Auguftus, 
 but had openly joined the adverfe party. 
 The fame thing happened at the election 
 of Stephen of Bathory. There were two 
 marfhals at the election of Sigifmund 
 III f. 
 
 * SeeLengnichii Juf. Pub. Pol. 1. ii. c. iii. feet. 
 xxvi. 
 
 f See lb. 1. ii. c. iv. feci, xvi. 
 
 It
 
 26 Letters concerning the 
 
 It is objected, that the diet of election 
 was opened amidft the tumult of arms ; 
 and the place of election unrounded by 
 Ruffian troops, and the foldiery of Po- 
 niatowfki and his adherents. 
 
 To hear the reafonings of thefe men* 
 would you not think, fir, that the ar- 
 mies of Ruffia were numberlefs I and 
 that all had entered into Poland ? In the 
 whole kingdom there were not five thou- 
 fand men : I fpeak this on my own cer- 
 tain knowledge. Would you not think, 
 fir, that the elections of the kings of Po- 
 land had always been conducted with the 
 greater!: order, tranquility, and peace ? 
 
 You mail hear what their own writers 
 fay on the fubject. " It hardly ever 
 " happens (fays the beft informed of 
 M them) that an election paffes without 
 *' tumult, and wounds, and bloodihed. 
 " At the election of Sigifmund III. much 
 <c blood was fpilt ; armies were drawn 
 ** up, and the booths erected for the 
 -" fenators burnt to the ground. At the 
 
 " election
 
 Present State of Poland. 27 
 
 " election of Michael many vollies of 
 44 fire-arms were difcharged ; the balls 
 " flew about the tents ; the fenators and 
 " nuntios endeavouring to fave them- 
 " felves by flight, were met by the fol- 
 " diery, who, levelling their pieces, forced 
 " them to return. Two were killed with- 
 " in the very ditch which furrounds the 
 " tents, one wounded, and a great num- 
 44 ber killed in the field. At the election 
 " of Auguftus II. fwords were drawn in 
 44 the aflembly of the nuntios ; fome were 
 44 killed at the very feet of the marfhal ; 
 f 1 and the marfhal himfelf hardly efcaped 
 44 with life *. 
 
 I have already told you what paft at 
 %he election of Auguftus III. 
 
 Now it is allowed, that not a life was 
 loft, not a drop of blood was fpilt at the 
 election of the reigning king. What 
 then are we to think of thefe objec- 
 tions ? and yet thefe are all which the 
 
 * Sec Lcngnichii Juf. Pub. Pol. 1. ii. c. iv. feci. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 con-
 
 k3 Letters concerning the 
 
 confederates, exafperated at repeated loffes, 
 during the fpace of feven years have been 
 able to rake together. If this election 
 was not free and legal, we may boldly 
 fay, upon the teftimony of their own 
 writers, that no one ever was. 
 
 Should you have been milled by the 
 fwollen ftyle and emphatic phrafes of the 
 manifeflos of the Confederates, I would 
 have- you read thofe publifhed on botn 
 fides at the double election of Lefzczynfki 
 and Auguftus III*. And when you have 
 read them, be pleafed farther to remem- 
 ber, that the very men, who three years 
 after the election of the reigning king, 
 firft called its legality in queftion, had not 
 only acknowledged his title, but had even 
 accepted charges, and received fiefs from 
 him. 
 
 The . next good confequence of the 
 friendly offices of Ruffia, was the refor- 
 mation of many abufes, and the efta- 
 
 * See RoufFet Recueil hiflorique, tome ix. 
 paflim. 
 
 blifhment
 
 Present State of Poland. 29 
 
 blifhment of many ufeful and falutary re- 
 gulations. 
 
 Without carrying you, fir, through a 
 long enumeration of the particular laws 
 parTed at the diets of convocation, elec- 
 tion, and coronation, I fhall confine my- 
 felf to the great and important changes 
 made, by one or other of thefe diets, in 
 the adminiftration of the police, the army, 
 and the treafury; content with hinting 
 at one or two other regulations of great 
 and public utility. 
 
 From thence you will be enabled to 
 judge of the then apparent difpofition of 
 the emprefs towards the republic ; and 
 will know what to think of that torrent 
 of obloquy, which the confederates have 
 poured upon the reigning king. 
 
 In the diftricts within a certain dis- 
 tance of the royal refidence, the police 
 had formerly been adminiftered, by the 
 fole authority of an officer, called Great 
 Marfhal. The nomination of this officer 
 was veiled in the king : but in a govern- 
 ment
 
 $6 LETTERS CONCERNING THE 
 
 merit where the power of the king is {o 
 limited, where almoft every citizen muft 
 be bribed (as Sir Robert Walpole falfely 
 faid of the Englifh) even to do his duty ; 
 the king was often obliged to conform 
 himfelf to the will of a prevailing faction. 
 Hence, men were called to this office, who, 
 uninftructed in the great principles o£ 
 juftice, ignorant not only of the fpirit, 
 but even of the letter of their laws, de- 
 cided on the properties and liveSj the ho- 
 nours and liberties of their fellow-citizens* 
 as caprice, or paflion, or intereft guided 
 them. And, to complete the misfortune, 
 if the king had been forced to confer fo 
 important a charge on a young and un- 
 tutored, an ignorant or capricious man* 
 there remained no hope of relief ; though 
 the king named him, he could not dif- 
 place him : that could be done onlv by 
 the act of a free, and unanimous diet ; 
 and therefore never could be done at all. 
 
 To correct the frequent abuies of (o 
 arbitrary and ill-formed a tribunal, was 
 
 one
 
 Present State of Poland. 31 
 
 one of the firft attempts of the prefent 
 reign. Inftead of leaving the marfhal fole 
 arbiter of the lives and properties of his 
 fellow-citizens, a bench of judges was 
 formed ; of which the marfhal to be pre- 
 fident, with a right of giving the carting 
 vote, in cafe of an equality ; the afliftant 
 judges to be named by the diet; to be 
 taken out of men who had gone through 
 a courfe of law ; and to continue in office 
 for two years, that is, from one diet to 
 another. 
 
 This, though far from being a perfect 
 inftitution, was perhaps the molt perfect, 
 the temper of the times would bear. Many 
 ufeful regulations were made in the other 
 courts of juftice. 
 
 The adminiftration of the public re* 
 venues was likewife put upon another 
 footing. 
 
 The Poles had long eftablifhed an oli- 
 garchical tyranny, on the ruins of the re- 
 gal authority. Hence, under pretence of 
 
 forming
 
 32 Letters concerning the 
 
 forming intermediate powers between the 
 majefly of the throne, and the liberty of 
 the people, the different branches of the 
 executive power had been thrown into the 
 hands of a few great officers, who, having 
 no legal check, made fuch ufe of the au- 
 thority delegated to them, as beft ferved 
 their own private advantage; and had fel- 
 dom any thing in view, but to humble the 
 king, and aggrandize themfelves. 
 
 Thus the public treafure had been at 
 the fole difpofal of the lord-high-trea- 
 furer. He indeed was named by the 
 king, but not liable to be difplaced by 
 him, even in cafe of mal-adminiftration. 
 His accompts were to be given to the 
 diet ; but it was eafy for a treafurer, 
 who had embezzled the public money, 
 to evade giving them : either they were 
 brought in too late to be examined ; for 
 the feffions of each diet are limited to 
 fix weeks ; or, during the courfe of the 
 examination, fome venal nuntio was hired 
 
 —•(and
 
 Present State of Poland. 33 
 
 — (and enough were to be found — ) who 
 pronounced the fatal Veto ; and the diet 
 was diflblved. 
 
 You will eafily guefs the confequences : 
 fo far from having any refource, in cafe of 
 unexpected events, the common, and or- 
 dinary expences of government were 
 fcarce ever provided for : the treafurers, 
 their families, and friends, hoarded or dif- 
 fipated immenfe fums ; — but the ftate wa? 
 ever poor, and in debt. 
 
 To remedy this evil, in the year 1764, 
 a commiffion of treafury was formed, to 
 confift of the lord-high-treafurer and his 
 deputy, four fenators, and twelve of the 
 equeflrian order; the two fir ft to be al- 
 ways ex officio prefident, and vice-pre- 
 fident; the others to be chofen by the 
 diet ; to remain only two years in office, 
 unlefs re-elected, or unlefs the holding 
 of the diet were prevented ; thofe of the 
 equeftrian order not to be members of the 
 diet, fo long as in office. The examina- 
 tion of their accompts to be always the 
 D firft
 
 34 Letters concerning the 
 
 firft object: of the fucceeding diet ; and 
 that diet not liable to be broken up, by 
 the exercife of the liberum veto, till the 
 accompts were fettled. 
 
 You will be furprifed, perhaps, when 
 I tell you, that the enemies of the king 
 object to this inftitution, as increafing the 
 power of the crown. I profefs, I fee not 
 - how. I fee thofe who adminifter the pub- 
 lic monies obliged to apply them to the 
 purpofcs for which they are raifed, and to 
 give proofs that they do fo ; not to the 
 king, but to all the orders of the ftate : I 
 fee force and activity given to the laws, 
 but nothing added to the power of the 
 crown. The king has indeed the right of 
 filling up the vacancies, which may hap- 
 pen by death, or otherwife, during the 
 interval of the two diets : but is it not 
 full as natural ; is it not full as confonant 
 to the fpirit of their conftitution, that the 
 king mould name a commiflioner for a 
 ycar v cr half a year; as it was before, that 
 he mould name, for life, a lord-high-trea- 
 
 furer,
 
 Present State of Poland. 35 
 
 furer, who had the uncontrolled difpofi- 
 tion of the whole revenue ? This commif- 
 fion was eftablifhed only two years before 
 the troubles broke out ; and yet, at that 
 early period, not only the debts of the 
 ftate were paid, but fomething was before- 
 hand in the public coffers, to anfwer un- 
 forefeen exigencies. 
 
 The army had hitherto been governed 
 in the fame abfurd manner as the treafure 
 had been adminiflered ; and the confe- 
 quences had been the fame. The regi- 
 ments (few as they were) were deficient 
 in their compliment of men ; and the few 
 foldiers they had were ill paid, ill cloathed, 
 and worfe difciplined. 
 
 The fame reform was made here : a 
 commiffion of war was eftablifhed on the 
 fame footing as the commiffion of trea- 
 fury. The power of the great generals 
 was curtailed : the commiffioners were 
 forced to apply the money, iflued for the 
 levy and fupport of the troops, to that ob- 
 ject alone ; and to fee that the colonels did 
 D 2 really
 
 36 Letters concerning the 
 
 really clothe, pay, and difcipline their full 
 complement of men. 
 
 The command of the army, if called 
 out into the field, to be ftill appropriated 
 to the great general, unlefs the king took 
 the field in perfon. 
 
 The four regiments of guards only, to 
 be at all times under the immediate com- 
 mand of the king. 
 
 And in this furely there is nothing con- 
 trary to the fpirit of a free government. 
 
 The number of troops to be raifed : the 
 pay to be afligned them : the power of 
 difbanding them, are, and ought to be, at 
 the difpofition of the legiilative power. 
 But the command of thefe troops, when 
 raifed, is the natural function of the chief 
 
 executive power *. 
 
 
 
 * The kings of the houfe of Saxony had a real 
 permanent force in their electoral troops : it might 
 therefore be thought a matter of prudence to with- 
 hold from them the command of the troops : but 
 this reafon ccafed on a native's election to the 
 throne. 
 
 der
 
 Present State of Poland. 37 
 
 Another law paft under the prefent king 
 does honour to his government; that, I mean, 
 fir, which fecures the life of the peafant ; and 
 which, if it does not advance him to the rank 
 of a citizen, reftores to him, at leaft, the 
 rights of a man. Hitherto the life of a 
 peafant had been thought of fo little con- 
 fequence, that, according to the old feu- 
 dal fyftem, it was compounded for by a 
 fum ; and that a trifling fum of money. 
 
 Under the prefent king this mocking 
 law has been abolifhed ; and this ufeful 
 body of men are reinftated in the rights 
 of nature : their lives are declared as fa- 
 cred as the lives of the nobles. As they 
 are ftill, however, vafTals attached to the 
 glebe, they are ftill fubjedr, in all but ca- 
 pital cafes, to the domeftic jurifdiction of 
 their chief. It was not eafy, perhaps not 
 poffible, to abolilh this power of the chief 
 at once ; but the methods of proceeding 
 are regulated ; and, in many cafes, the 
 right of appeal to the courts of public 
 juftice is granted to the vaflal. Thefe 
 D 3 were
 
 38 Letters concerning the 
 
 were proper fteps, and calculated to pre- 
 pare the way for the entire enfranchife- 
 ment of them. It was all, perhaps, that 
 ought to have been done at once. 
 
 Before men can afpire to the rank of 
 citizens, they mufti earn to feel that they 
 are men. 
 
 The education of the gentry was an- 
 other object, which engaged the attention 
 of the reigning king. Ever fince the elec- 
 tion of Henry of Valois, the eftablifhment 
 of a corps of cadets had been one article 
 of the Pacta Conventa. Not one, how- 
 ever, of ail the preceding kings, had car- 
 ried this promife into execution. The 
 priefts had affumcd the exclufive right of 
 education. And yet, in Catholic coun- 
 tries, they are, of all men, the moft unfit 
 for it. Is it likely that men, who by their 
 vows and profeflions are neither hufbands, 
 nor fathers, nor citizens ; who acknow- 
 ledge a connection more intimate with, 
 and a fubordination more abfolute to a fo- 
 reign power, than to their natural fjve- 
 
 reigns ;
 
 Present State of Poland. 39 
 
 reigns ; is it likely, I fay, that fuch men 
 mould infpire thofe principles, which are 
 to form a dutiful fubject, an affectionate 
 hufband, a tender father, or an honed ci- 
 tizen ? ^fhe reigning king was fcarcely 
 feated on the throne, when he fulfilled 
 this article of his Pacta Conventa : he 
 eftablifhcd a corps of cadets ; he main- 
 tained it a whole year at his own private 
 expence, till provifion could be made for 
 it by the ftate : and fo active was the zeal ; 
 and {o well directed the endeavours he 
 ufed to put this corps on a good footing ; 
 and fuch was the fucceis of thofe endea- 
 vours, that notwithstanding the many 
 changes occalioned by the fucceeding trou- 
 bles, and the confequent diminution of 
 the funis appropriated to its fupport, yet 
 the corps of cadets at Warfaw is, in many 
 refpects, fupcrior to thofe which had been 
 eftablifhed at Berlin and in Auftria, years 
 before this was thought of. 
 
 The dietines, or affemblies, where the 
 
 nuntios were elected, had hitherto been 
 
 D 4 fee nes
 
 40 Letters concerning the 
 
 fcenes of confufion and tumult. And asf 
 every nuntio was to be elected by the una- 
 nimous voice of all his conftituents, it 
 often happened, that many provinces had 
 no reprefentatives at the diet : you will 
 rather wonder, that any province could 
 ever chufe one. Here too the paternal 
 care of the king was vifible. It was no 
 longer left to the caprice of a fingle ci- 
 tizen to deprive his province of a repre- 
 fentative ; but a law was pafi, that the 
 nuntios mould, for the future, be elected 
 by the plurality of fuffrages. 
 
 The laft. operation I fhall mention, is 
 the reform made in the money. The king 
 of Pruffia had, during the laft war, over- 
 run all Germany and Poland with falfe 
 and adulterate coin : inftead of calling it 
 in, at the end of the war, he cried it 
 down, and declared it no longer current 
 in his own dominions. As he had bought 
 up, during the war, many cattle and much 
 corn in Poland, that kingdom fuffered fe- 
 verely by this unufual proceeding. All 
 
 the
 
 Present State of Poland. 41 
 
 the good filver had infenfibly difappeared. 
 The proportion between the mafs of fil- 
 ver and gold was deftroyed. 
 
 The king of Poland called in the old 
 filver, at an expence of near 1 00,000 1. 
 fterling from his own private purfe. A 
 new coinage was ordered ; and meafures 
 were judicioufly taken, that this opera- 
 tion mould favour the creditor rather than 
 the debtor. — I fay, judicioufly ; for tho' 
 it is a common, yet it is a falfe opinion, 
 that in all operations which government 
 makes on the refpe&ive value of money, 
 the debtor mould be favoured in prefe- 
 rence to the creditor. If you mould not 
 chufe to take my word for this afTertion, 
 I can call in greater authority to my aid. 
 " Whoever lends his money (fays a fa- 
 " vourite author of yours *) produces acir- 
 ** culation of money : by communicating 
 " his wealth, he not only furnifhes the 
 " means of living to the borrower, but 
 " puts him in a way of communicating 
 " the fame means to others, by manufac- 
 * See Principes de tout gouvernement. 
 
 6 " tures,
 
 42 Letters concerning the 
 
 " tures, commerce, &c. In every light, 
 *' therefore, he is ufeful to the ftatc. 
 " There is no occafion to invite men to 
 " borrow, but you cannot give too great 
 " encouragement to lend. Whenever the 
 " operations of government have been in 
 " favor of the debtor, and to the preju- 
 " dice of the creditor, the confequence 
 " has been a total ftagnation of the fpecie : 
 " all refources have been fhut up againft. 
 " the poor." 
 
 What excited, perhaps, fome complaint 
 againft. this operation at Warfaw, was a 
 flavifh admiration of ancient cuftoms. 
 Rome had more than once abolifhed all 
 debts. But at Rome, when thefe opera- 
 tions took place, the terms of rich and 
 creditor, of poor and debtor, were almoft 
 fynonimous. It was quite otherwife at War- 
 faw, as it is in moft countries in Europe. 
 
 Thefe, my dear fir, are only the out- 
 lines of a fmall part of the plan, which 
 the prefent king of Poland feemed to have 
 formed. And I will venture to appeal to 
 the moft zealous partizan of the houfe of 
 
 Saxony,
 
 Present State of Poland. 43 
 
 Saxony, whether he did not do more for 
 the good of Poland, during thefe two firft 
 years of his reign, than that houfe had 
 ever done, during two ignominious reigns 
 of fixty years ? 
 
 The emprefs of Ruflia takes to herfelf 
 fome part of the merit due to thefe ufeful 
 and falutary eftablifhments. Far from dis- 
 puting her claim, let it be owned, that 
 the republic of Poland had arrived at fuch 
 a pitch of political corruption, that it 
 would have been difficult to have carried 
 thefe falutary defigns into execution, un- 
 lefs the firft magiftrate of the republic, he 
 in whofe hands the chief executive power 
 was, or ought to have been lodged, had 
 been fupported in an extraordinary man- 
 ner. This is allowing a great deal ; more 
 perhaps than is true : but ftill let it be al- 
 lowed ; let her majefty boaft that it was 
 owing in great meafure to her, that fo 
 many abufes were corrected, fo many good 
 eftablifhments made, fuch promifing ap- 
 pearances of tranquility and good order 
 produced.
 
 44 Letters concerning the 
 
 But to what then, you will afk, is it ow- 
 ing, that thefe promifing appearances have 
 vaniihed ? that a king who deferved fo 
 well of his people, has been fo ill treated 
 by them ? that the powers, who boaft fo 
 much of their gOod-will towards Poland, 
 do now confpire its ruin ? that the em- 
 prefs of Ruffia joins in this unjuft confpi- 
 racy againft the very king and nation, for 
 whom fhe appeared to intereft herfelf fo 
 warmly at firft ? 
 
 In my next Letter, my dear fir, I will 
 anfwer thefe queftions ; and if our new 
 tyrant does not lay an embargo on our 
 pofts, as he has done on our mips, you 
 will not wait long for my Letter. You 
 will there fee, fir, to what exceffcs fuperfti- 
 tion and fanaticifm may be hurried, when 
 worked upon by art and knavery : of what 
 outrages the fpirit of party is capable, 
 when mafked beneath the cloak of patri- 
 otifm : to what low and mean artifices the 
 pride of kings can fomctimes defcend ; of 
 what villanies a royal philofopher ; of 
 
 what
 
 Present State of Poland. 45 
 
 what hypocrify an apoftolic queen can be 
 guilty. 
 
 In the mean time, thank heaven, that 
 you are born an Englifhman, and far re- 
 moved from the neighbourhood of the 
 philofopher fans fouci. He has often been 
 heard to exclaim, when the petitions and 
 remonftrances prefented to the throne by 
 your towns and counties have been talked 
 of at his table : — " Ah, why am not I 
 " their king ? with an hundred thoufand 
 " of my troops round the throne, and a 
 " fcore or two of executioners in my train, 
 *' I fhould foon make them as dutiful as 
 " they are brave ; and myfelf the firft 
 " monarch of the univerfe." — I fancy, 
 fir, you hardly wifh that he fhould try 
 the experiment : and yet, perhaps, it 
 might be for the good of mankind ; for 
 you would teach him, what he has mod 
 thoroughly forgot, that kings were made 
 for the people, not the people for kings. 
 
 I am, <$cc.
 
 LETTERS 
 
 CONCERNING THE 
 
 PRESENT STATE 
 
 O F 
 
 POLAND. 
 
 LETTER II.
 
 E T T E R S 
 
 CONCERNING THE 
 
 PRESENT STATE 
 
 O F 
 
 POLAND. 
 
 Dantzig, 061. ift, 1772. 
 MY DEAR SIR ! 
 
 WHAT I hinted at the end of 
 my laft Letter is really come to 
 pafs : the king of Pruffia has, 
 in effect, laid an embargo on our pofts. 
 He has erected a new office at Stoltzem- 
 berg, by which he has not only ruined 
 that eftablifhed at Dantzig by the king of 
 Poland, and fo once more increafed his 
 E own
 
 50 Letters concerning the 
 
 own revenues, at the expence of that un- 
 fortunate prince, but has all the corre- 
 fpondence of Dantzig at his mercy. You, 
 who know the chara&er of the king of 
 PrufTia, will hardly fuppofe he will be very 
 fcrupulous on this occafion : his clerks 
 will certainly have orders to open all the 
 letters coming to, or from Dantzig ; the 
 fecrets of every compting-houfe and fa- 
 mily will be in his power ; nor mould I 
 have ventured to have written to you 
 again, had I not found an opportunity of 
 fending this as far as BrufTels by a private 
 hand. How long even this refource will 
 be left us is uncertain : it is rumoured, 
 that an order is foon to be iflued, forbid- 
 ding every inhabitant to quit the town 
 without an exprefs permimon from this 
 worthy prince ; who infults us at the fame 
 time, by declaring, in the face of all Eu- 
 rope, that we ftill are free. 
 
 In the mean time, Sir, his emiffaries 
 are difperfed about the town, with orders 
 to infinuate to the magiftrates, that it is 
 
 in
 
 Present State of Poland. ri 
 
 in vain they flatter themfelves with hopes 
 of fuccour and protection from other 
 courts, who have neither the power, nor 
 inclination to afford it : that it is high 
 time to confult the real interefts of the 
 town : — that, if they immediately and vo- 
 luntarily furrender, his Prulfian majelty is 
 ready to grant them an honourable and 
 advantageous capitulation: — that, if they 
 hold out under the deluiive hope of fo- 
 reign affiftance, time will convince them, 
 how little they have to rely on the inter- 
 pofition of impotent, or indolent guaran- 
 tees : — that they will then leek his pro- 
 tection ; but, as it will be through necef- 
 lity, not choice, they can hope to be re- 
 ceived only at difcretion : — they add — you 
 (carce will think it ; but they add — that 
 his Pruman majefty is too religious an ob- 
 ferver of his engagements to make ufe of 
 open violence : — that the furrender muft 
 be the free act of the town : — and then, to 
 complete the infult, own, with an air of 
 contemptuous pity, that, it is true, his 
 li z new
 
 52 Letters concerning the* 
 
 new acquifitions give him fo many means 
 of vexing and oppreffing the town, that 
 it will, in the event, be jufl the fame as if 
 he took it by ftorm. 
 
 The town of Thorn is, if pofTible, in 
 a worfe fituation than that of Dantzig : 
 that town too is free, if the king of Pruf- 
 fia is to be credited ; and, as luxury is the 
 bane of freedom, his majefty is gracioufly 
 pleafed to take a moft effectual method of 
 putting a flop to this vice : he does not 
 oblige the town to enact fumptuary laws, 
 or take any means devifed by ancient le- 
 giflators : he does every thing in a fum- 
 mary way : he flops all the provifions : 
 not a peck of corn, not a handful of ap- 
 ples, not a bunch of greens can find its 
 way into the town, till it has paid a new 
 gabelle. 
 
 In the courfe of this Letter, Sir, I fhall 
 have a long catalogue of injuries to make; 
 let me not anticipate my fubject, but re- 
 
 turn to the narrative I began. 
 
 You
 
 Present State of Poland. 53 
 
 You have feen by my firft letter the 
 emprefs of Ruffia's conduct during the laft 
 Interregnum in Poland ; and you will al- 
 low, that, if any reliance were to be had 
 on the faith of princes, the Republic 
 could not but look on her majefty as a 
 friendly, and diiinterefted ally. You have 
 feen, that the election of the reigning 
 king was the freeft, and moft legal that 
 the annals of Poland have recorded : — - 
 that the firft operations of his govern- 
 ment vifibly tended to the good and 
 happinefs of his people : — and you will, 
 no doubt, have been forcibly {truck with 
 a circumftance to which his enemies are, 
 or pretend to be blind ; I mean, that of 
 all the changes effected in the adminiftra- 
 tion of government, no one had the leaft ten- 
 dency to increafe the power of the crown; 
 but that all were confined to giving a 
 real force and activity to the laws, by 
 reftraining the exceffive power of an over- 
 grown oligarchical tyranny, unknown to 
 
 the constitution, and fatal to the people. 
 F 3 I dwelt
 
 54 Letters concerning the 
 
 I dwelt the longer, and with more 
 pleafure on this laft article, not only as 
 it gave me an opportunity of vindica- 
 ting a great and amiable character, from 
 the afperflons thrown upon it by igno- 
 rance and party rage ; but as I fhall have 
 more than one occafion of referring to 
 thefe circumflances, in explaining to you 
 the rife of the fucceeding troubles. For 
 you will eafily conceive, that, in a go- 
 vernment fo perverted as that of Poland, 
 every attempt to eftablifh order and re- 
 gularity mud occafion murmurs and dif- 
 content : that the greater the abufes had 
 been, the greater mufl be the power, and 
 the more numerous the dependents of 
 thofe, who would confider themfelves as 
 fufferers : that an artful, and ill-difpoied 
 neighbour would find it no difficult talk 
 to inflame, and turn thefe difpofitions 
 to his own advantage. And this is pre- 
 cifely what fome of the neighbours have 
 done. 
 
 The emprefs of RufTia indeed aiTerfs, 
 that the courts of Vienna and Berlin did 
 
 cither
 
 Present State of Poland. 55 
 
 either tacitly or openly fecond her good 
 intentions towards Poland. 
 
 But, with all the deference due to a 
 crowned head, I will affirm with bold- 
 neis, becaufe I affirm with truth, that in 
 this affertion, either the emprefs is her- 
 felf deceived, or fhe wifhes to deceive 
 others. 
 
 Let us begin, if you pleafe, fir, by ex- 
 amining the conduct of the houfe of Au- 
 ftria, from the vacancy of the throne of 
 Poland, till the publication of the Ma- 
 nifefto I fent you in my laft; in which 
 the pride of Auftria is reduced fo low, as 
 to affume the character of a fecond-rate 
 actor, fubfervient only to the defigns of 
 Peterfburgh and Berlin. 
 
 You know very well, fir, that the elec- 
 torate of Saxony was facrificed, during 
 the lafl war, to the views of Auftria : that 
 the union between the two houfes has 
 been ftrengthened, and cemented by dif- 
 ferent alliances. It was not therefore 
 probable, nor would it have been thought 
 E 4 natural,
 
 56 Letters concerning the 
 
 natural, that Auftria fhould join cordially 
 in meafures, which tended to exclude 
 the houfe of Saxony from the throne of 
 Poland : and it is probable, that greater 
 efforts would have been made in its fa- 
 vour, both by Auftria and France, had 
 not the death of Frederic, fon and fuc- 
 ceffor to Auguftus III. which happened a 
 few weeks after that of his father, dis- 
 concerted their fcheme of again uniting 
 the kingdom and electorate in the fame 
 perfon. 
 
 The fon of this fhort-lived elector was 
 a minor ; and, therefore, by the laws of 
 Poland, not eligible to the throne. A 
 fcheme was rather thought of, than 
 formed, of electing Branicki, great gene- 
 ral of the kingdom ; but his advanced 
 age was, by the laws, as pofitive a dis- 
 qualification as the minority of the elec- 
 tor, in whofe favour this fcheme had been 
 invented. 
 
 The court of Vienna, though, by this 
 event, defeated in her wifh of placing a 
 
 prince
 
 Present State of Poland. 57 
 
 prince of Saxony on the throne, deter- 
 mined not to give precipitately the fanc- 
 tion of her confent to the exclufion of 
 this houfe. Her minifter was ordered to 
 withdraw before the election. 
 
 Thus far, at leaft, the boafted neutra- 
 lity of the court of Vienna did not feem 
 to fpeak any concurrence with the em- 
 prefs of Ruffia, or any defign of contri- 
 buting to the fuccefs of her views, how- 
 ever praifeworthy they might be. 
 
 In fact, fir, the emprefs of Ruffia had 
 fhewn no complaifance to the allies of 
 Auftria. Juft before the death of Au- 
 guftus III. fhe had given the houfe of 
 Saxony another very fenfible blow. Pe- 
 ter III. during his fhort reign, had recalled 
 Biron from exile* Catherine went farther; 
 lhe determined to reinltate him in the 
 duchies of Courland and Semigallia ; of 
 which, on a fuppolition that the banifh- 
 ment of Biron and his ' family was per- 
 petual, and they, by confequence, civilly 
 dead, Charles, fon of Auguftus, had been 
 
 declared
 
 58 Letters concerning the 
 
 declared duke. The emprefs had every 
 appearance of juftice on her fide : Biron 
 had done nothing to forfeit his duchy. 
 Her conduct befides in this was uniform. 
 The depofition of Charles was the un- 
 avoidable confequence of the refolution 
 taken to exclude the boufe of Saxony 
 from the throne of Poland. Nothing 
 could have been expected, but continual 
 cabals in favour of that houfe, had Charles 
 remained in poffeffion of a duchy fo inti- 
 mately connected with Poland. But 
 however neceflary this might be to the 
 plan of Ruffia, it was certainly an addi- 
 tional reafon, why the court of Vienna 
 mould not heartily concur in that plan. 
 
 Other reafons co-operated in prevent- 
 ing the court of Vienna from entering 
 heartily into any defign formed by that of 
 Peterfburgh. 
 
 All Europe knows what an ungenerous 
 advantage the king of Pruflia took of the 
 weaknefs and troubles, into which the 
 houfe of Auftria had been thrown at the 
 
 death
 
 Present State of Poland. 59 
 
 death of Charles VI. how deeply the em- 
 prefs was affected by the lofs of Silefia 
 and Glatz : with what unwillingnefs fhe 
 confented to give up thefe provinces, fo 
 unjuftly and ungeneroufly torn from her: 
 with what unabated zeal fhe endeavoured 
 to put herfelf in a fituation of regaining 
 them, and revenging the infolence of the 
 ungenerous conqueror : that fhe had fa- 
 crificed every other confideration to this 
 darling wifh : that to accomplifh it fhe 
 had, even at the rifk of lofing her own 
 independence, called theRuflian troops in- 
 to Germany. Her wifhes were on the 
 point of being accomplifhed ; the domi- 
 nions of Pruffia were at the mercy of his 
 enemy ; his forces were worn away ; his 
 refources dried up ; the only hope, which 
 feemed to remain, was to die in the field 
 of battle. At this critical moment, when 
 the vengeance of the emprefs was on the 
 point of glutting itfelf with a view of a 
 detefted enemy fallen at her feet ; and not 
 only refloring what he had unjuftly robbed 
 
 her
 
 60 Letters concerning the 
 
 her of, but paying the price of his in- 
 juftice by his own utter annihilation, Ruf- 
 fia forfook her ally; dafhed the hopes of 
 Auftria ; and once more put the king of 
 Pruflia in a fituation of maintaining what 
 he had formerly ufurped. 
 
 The wound was too deep and frefh to 
 have been healed fo foon ; and the em- 
 prefs queen muft have been fuperior to 
 every feeling of human nature, could me 
 fo foon have entered into an open and 
 cordial friendfhip with RufTia. 
 
 The fact was far otherwife : female 
 jealoufy heightened the averfion between 
 the two empreffes ; Therefa felt all the 
 rage of defpair, at feeing her own reputa- 
 tion eclipfed by the fuperior fplendor of 
 Catherine. 
 
 Whatever therefore the emprefs of 
 Ruflia may think proper to tell us now, 
 me, as well as the reft of Europe, did 
 then think the neutrality of Auftria pro- 
 ceeded from an impotence of oppofing, 
 not from a defire of fecuring luccefs to 
 
 the
 
 Present State of Poland. 6t 
 
 the views of Ruflia. No mortal could 
 then have forefeen, that, a few years af- 
 terwards, the emprefs would folemnly, 
 and in the face of all Europe, declare her- 
 felf the humble tool of Ruflia, and the 
 dupe of P ruflia. 
 
 Had the emprefs queen, fir, been re- 
 ally great enough to have facrificed her 
 perfonal animofities and refentments to 
 the good of Europe ; or had fhe really un- 
 derflood her own interefts, fhe would cer- 
 tainly have joined with Ruflia in the mea- 
 fures that court feemed willing to adopt, 
 after the election of the king of Poland ; 
 fhe would not have contented herfelf with 
 coldly acknowledging the legality of the 
 king's election : fhe would have main- 
 tained an open and friendly correfpon- 
 dence with the court of Warfaw : fhe 
 would have fent a minifter to refide there ; 
 and demanded one from thence. If the 
 court of Ruflia had been fincere in its pro- 
 feflions of correcting the abufes of the 
 Polifh government, and eflablifhing the 
 
 liberty
 
 62 Letters concerning the 
 
 liberty of that people on a firm and folid 
 foundation, fhe would have had the glory 
 of co-operating in a good and great deiign : 
 If that court had made ufe of thefe pre- 
 tences, only to embroil, in order after- 
 wards to enflave the Poles, fhe would have 
 forced it to abandon fuch" iniquitous 
 views ; and really and truly to fulfil its 
 engagements : And in either cafe fhe 
 would have acquired a barrier againft the 
 enterprizes to be feared from the in- 
 creafing power of RufTia, checked the reft- 
 lefs ambition of PrufTia, and prevented him 
 from embroiling the affairs of Poland, in 
 order to increafe afterwards his own power, 
 at the expence of that unhappy kingdom, 
 and to the immediate detriment, and evi- 
 dent danger of all his neighbours ; advan- 
 tages of infinitely more confequence to 
 her, than the territories fhe has now fo 
 meanly ufurped ; which, however exten- 
 five or fertile, are ftill of trifling impor- 
 tance, if compared with the ufurpations 
 of the king of Pruflia ; and have therefore 
 
 kftened,
 
 Present State of Poland. 63 
 
 lefTened, inftead of increafing, her relative 
 force. And the force of all ftates is rela- 
 tive. 
 
 The conduct of Auftria was not direct- 
 ed by views fo great. 
 
 The election of the king was indeed ac- 
 knowledged ; but every thing fhewed a 
 coldnefs and difaffedtion to the courts of 
 Peterfburgh and Warfaw. And no fooner 
 had the malcontents taken up arms, than 
 their chiefs were permitted to fix their 
 head-quarters in Hungary : there all their 
 councils were held, and the plans of dif- 
 trefhng the king and his government 
 formed. The monies furnifhed to them 
 by the court of Saxony were remitted by 
 bankers of Vienna : they were received 
 with apparent marks of good-will at the 
 court. The infamous manifefto of Pac, 
 which declared the throne vacant, the 
 king an ufurper and intruder; which ex- 
 cited all his fubjects to take away his life 
 by any means, was printed in the em- 
 prefs's dominions, in the beginning of 
 8 A urn ft,
 
 64 Letters concerning the 
 
 Auguft, 1770 ; and from thence was 
 diftributed all over Europe; the author, 
 mean while, appearing publicly at Vienna. 
 Nor did the emprefs change her conduct 
 towards the malcontents, till that hor- 
 rid attempt on the life of the king of 
 Poland, which did not happen till the 
 month of November, 1771. Then in- 
 deed fhe felt that it was the intereft of 
 every fovereign to exprefs an abhorrence 
 and deteftation of an attempt, which might 
 otherwife expofe the lives of them all to 
 the fury of mifguided fanaticifm. 
 
 Now, fir, if this is to be called a neu- 
 trality, yet I will venture to appeal to you, 
 or to any man of common fenfe, whether 
 the courts of Peterfburgh and Warfaw ; 
 or whether the malcontents in Poland 
 could poffibly conceive, that fuch a neu- 
 trality proceeded from any other motive, 
 than a tacit difapprobation of the meafures 
 taken by RufTia ? 
 
 In the mean time the war broke out be- 
 tween RufTia and the Porte ; one unhappy 
 
 confe-
 
 Present State of Poland. 65 
 
 confequence of which was the plague 
 appearing in Poland. This furnifhed 
 Auftria and Pruffia with a pretext of ad- 
 vancing their troops, in the year 1769, 
 into Poland, in order to fecure their own 
 dominions from the contagion of that 
 dreadful diftemper. But even then, fo 
 far was the world from fuppofing any 
 hearty concurrence between the three 
 courts, that the motion of the Auftrian 
 troops being vifibly regulated on that of 
 the Pruffian, ferved only to confirm men 
 in the belief, that the chief view of the 
 former was to obferve and check the lat- 
 ter. And at firft I believe this to have 
 been the cafe. 
 
 The foundation of the prefent agree- 
 ment of the three courts was probably 
 laid at the interview between the em- 
 peror and the king of Fruflia at Neifs, 
 in that fame year 1760. Their frequent 
 conferences, the exceilive admiration, 
 which the emperor exprefTed for the 
 king, gave reafonable grounds of alarm. 
 F But
 
 66 Letters concerning the 
 
 But ft ill the fcheme, fince adopted, and 
 avowed, appeared fo iniquitous, fo con- 
 trary, at the fame time r to the real in- 
 terefts of Auftria, that all fufpicions about 
 it were, in general, rejected with indig- 
 nation. 
 
 Thefe fufpicions, however, were re- 
 vived, and feemed juftifiable the follow- 
 ing year. The emperor and the king of 
 Pruffia had a fecond interview at Neu- 
 ftadt : Kaunitz was there too. Henry 
 prince of Pruffia made, at the fame time, 
 a vifit to Peterfburgh ; then it was the 
 houfe of Auftria began to hint fome- 
 thing about pretenfions, which the States 
 of Hungary formed upon Poland. Thefe 
 pretenfions, however, were trifling ; and 
 the court of Vienna declared, that fhe 
 would wait patiently for the pacification 
 of Poland, when flic would produce the 
 reafons, on which the States of Hungary 
 founded their claims ; which fhould be 
 examined and fettled in an amicable man- 
 ner ; and that, in the mean time, fhe 
 6 would
 
 Present State of Poland. 6j 
 
 would protect the territories in queftion 
 from all infults, on the part either of the 
 Ruffians or Confederates. 
 
 The court of Warfaw, however, had 
 taken the alarm : and, whether that; o£ 
 Vienna had not yet determined on her" 
 future conduct ; of whether fhe meant 
 only to mafk her real deilgns a little 
 while longer ; the emprefs queen wrote 
 a letter with her own hand to the king 
 of Poland, in the month of January, 1 77 1, 
 in which fhe gave him the ftrongefl af- 
 furances, that her friendship for him and 
 the Republic was firm and unalterable ; 
 that the motion of her troops ought not 
 to alarm him : that fhe had never enter- 
 tained a thought of feizing any part of 
 his dominions : nor would ever fufFer any 
 other power to do it *. 
 
 * Kaunitz pretends, that the emperor returned 
 from thefe interviews difgufted with the king of 
 Pruflia. Yet after the firft interview, he adopted 
 his method of recruiting h.is troops ; and after the 
 fceond, his manner of numbering the houfes and in- 
 habitants. He farther pretends, that the court of 
 F 2 Vienna
 
 68 Letters concerning the 
 
 To what are we to attribute this fhuf- 
 fling, evafive condudt of Auftria ? this 
 
 Vienna knew nothing of the defign of difmembring 
 Poland, till the return of prince Henry from Pe- 
 terfburgh, when a copy of the treaty was fent to 
 Vienna, with an invitation to that court to fign it, 
 accompanied by a declaration, that her figning, or 
 refufing to fign, would make no alteration in the 
 plan of the two other courts : that the court of 
 Vienna then applied to France for the auxiliary 
 troops which fhe was engaged to furnifh in cafe of 
 Auftria's being engaged in a war ; but that France 
 anfwered, thofe fuccours were to be given only in 
 cafe of the hereditary dominions of Auftria being 
 attacked ; and that in fuch cafe, France would either 
 furnifh the ftipulated number of troops, or their equi- 
 valent in money: that Auftria finding hcrfelf thus 
 feebly fupported by France, and unable to oppofe 
 alone two fuch powers, reluctantly acceded to the 
 treaty. 
 
 Prince Kaunitz feems to have forgotten that 
 immediately after the review at Neuftadt, the Auf- 
 trian troops not only took poffeiTion of the territories 
 of Poland, but planted the imperial eagles there: 
 ■—that the chanceries of Hungary, and Bohemia, 
 were at the fame time ranfacked to find out fome an- 
 cient documents, in order to juftify the claims of 
 Auftria : and that prince Henry did not return 
 from Peterfburgh till fome months after that. And 
 it would be very extraordinary, indeed, if an aver- 
 
 fion
 
 Present State of Poland. 69 
 
 blindnefs to her own interefts ? this breach 
 of the molt folemn engagements ? this 
 forgetfulnefs of dignity, policy, and ho- 
 nour ? — Perhaps there is in every female 
 breaft fome latent weaknefs, fome invin- 
 cible tendency to deceit, which makes a 
 woman incapable of fuftaining uniformly 
 a great and noble part : perhaps the in- 
 fatuation of the emperor, co-regent with 
 his mother, in favour of the king of 
 PrufTia, has not only blinded him, but 
 influenced the councils of Vienna : per- 
 haps the confined views, and narrow ca- 
 pacity of the favourite minifter have con- 
 tracted the foul of a princefs, who once 
 fupported a nobler character f . 
 
 fion to the mcafurcs of Peterfburgh and Berlin 
 fhould have en^a^ed the houfe of Auftria to aft 
 precifely in the fame manner as if fhe had heartily 
 concurred in them. 
 
 f Prince Kaunitz has the reputation of a man of 
 great talents : I own I cannot form a great idea of 
 a minifter, who can fpend whole mornings at re- 
 hearfals ; be gravely employed in fettling difpu.es 
 between actors and a£treffes, dancers and fingers ; 
 can defcant whole hours on the cut of a coat, or 
 F 3 the
 
 jo Letters concerning the 
 
 The conduct of the houfe of Auftria, 
 with refpecl: to the war between Ruffia 
 and the Porte was flill equivocal and fufpi- 
 cious ; ftill feemed to mark a difaffe&ion 
 to Ruffia. Every little check received by 
 the Ruffians was liftened to at Vienna, 
 and efpecially by the court, and thofe at- 
 tached to it, with pleafure and triumph : 
 every victory obtained by them feemed to 
 give alarm and difcontent. Bufinefs called 
 me to Vienna foon after the taking of 
 Choczym ; and I fpeak from my own ob- 
 fervations. 
 
 Thefe, you will fay, fir, were at moft 
 but uncertain marks of difaffection : — 
 be it fo : — but what will you fay to the 
 anecdote I am going to relate ? I do not 
 vouch it on my own authority ; but I 
 have it from a perfon of undoubted vera- 
 city. — He allures me, that he faw a 
 treaty entered into by^ the houfe of Auf- 
 
 thc fafhion of embroidery ; can be brufhing his dia- 
 monds, and cleaning his jewels, when men ere talk- 
 ing to him on the great concerns of a nation. 
 
 tria
 
 Present State of Poland. 71 
 
 tria and the Porte, m the year 1771 ; by* 
 which Auftria bound herfelf to declare 
 war againft Rufiia, and not to make 
 peace till fhe had given upon all her con- 
 quefts made upon the Porte, and de- 
 fifted from her enterprize in Poland : 
 in confideration whereof Auftria was to 
 receive during the firft year 10,000 
 purfes, about 720,000 pounds fterling ; 
 and the like fum every year during the 
 war, in cafe it was not finifhed in the 
 courfe of the firft year. This annual fub- 
 fidy to be paid by four equal inftalments ; 
 the firft whereof to be paid as foon as the 
 Auftrian troops were put in motion : they 
 were accordingly put in motion, and the 
 firft inftalment paid. — In the month of 
 February following Auftria changed her 
 plan; and made the treaty of partition 
 with the courts of Peterfburgh and Ber- 
 lin. — If this be true — (and I have it on 
 authority, which to me is conclufive) — 
 it muft be owned, that the emperor has 
 made a good progrefs in the fchool of 
 F 4 PrufTia ;
 
 72 Letters concerning the 
 
 Pruflia ; and the Turks muft have a high 
 opinion of the good faith of Chriftians. 
 i — For the honour of the Chriftian name 
 let us hope, that it is not true ! — 
 
 From this account, fir, it is plain that 
 the emprefs of Ruffia does not adhere to 
 truth, when fhe fays that the court of 
 Vienna was defirous of contributing to the 
 fuccefs of her views in Poland : fmce it is 
 plain, that, fo long as Ruffia purfued her 
 iirft apparent plan, the houfe of Auftria 
 gave vifible marks of difapprobation : that 
 the neutrality obferved at the beginning 
 had not the friendly air of an ally, but 
 the dark, fufpicious look of a jealous ri- 
 val : that not the fhadow of a concurrence 
 was to be feen, till Ruffia had confented 
 to, — and ftepped forth to take on herfelf 
 the odium of — meafures, contradictory to 
 her firft profeffions, and repeated declara- 
 tions ; inconliftent with her own interefts, 
 and thofe of Auftria, and derogatory to 
 the honour of one and the other : — mea- 
 fures, which ought to have united every 
 
 power
 
 Present State of Poland. 73 
 
 power in Chriftendom againft her, and her 
 allies. 
 
 You will perhaps tell me, fir, that if 
 the meafures at firft purfued by Ruflla 
 were good, and advantageous to Poland, 
 the concurrence of Auftria ought to have 
 been a matter of indifference to the Poles, 
 they ought to have joined heartily with 
 Ruffia. — Moft certainly they ought. But 
 you muft not forget the fituation of the 
 Poles ; they were accuftomed to a lawlefs 
 anarchy ; their government and education 
 tended to infpire only a fpirit of unfocial 
 felfifhnefs : every one was (to ufe the 
 words in the fame fenfe, your doctor 
 Brown has done) " in fe ipfo teres atque 
 " rotundas :" it was not an eafy matter to 
 make them coalefce ; to make them unite 
 in any public plan ; efpecially fo long as 
 they could flatter themfelves, that the 
 jeaioufy of the houfe of Auftria would 
 lead her to oppofe, or counteract the 
 defigns of Ruffia. One honefl declara- 
 tion from the court of Vienna would 
 
 have
 
 74 Letters concerning the 
 
 have changed the face of things ; would 
 have produced that union, which was 
 neceffary to procure order and happinefs 
 to Poland. 
 
 But no fuch declaration was ever made. 
 
 Had the emprefs of Ruflia fairly ftated 
 things, as they are, in her Manifeflo, fhe 
 would have faid : — " I had the beft and 
 " moft friendly views towards Poland : 
 " but the love of anarchy had taken fuch 
 " deep root in the minds of the Poles, that 
 " too many of them joined but coldly in 
 " the execution of thefe defigns : the jea- 
 " loufy of the court of Vienna, and the 
 " infatiable ambition of the court of Ber- 
 " lin, eftranged ftill more from me the 
 " minds of the Poles ; excited a fpirit of 
 " fa&ion and difcontent ; and deftroyed 
 " the confidence I had laboured to acquire, 
 " and had a right to expecl:. By the rafh 
 " credulity of the Poles, and by the vile 
 " artifices of the others, I am now re- 
 " duced to adopt meafures, which my 
 " heart difapproves, and my honour cm- 
 
 " demsis^;
 
 Present State of Poland. 75 
 
 u demns ; and I fhudder with horror, 
 " when I forefee that the hiftorian will 
 *' deliver down my name to pofterity, 
 " with the difgrace of having betrayed 
 " and ruined a nation, whom I wifhed, 
 M and had folemnly engaged to protect, 
 " and eflablifh in the full pofTeflion of 
 " their rights, and liberties, and laws." — 
 That this would have been a fair ftate 
 of the emprefs of Ruflia's fentiments I 
 am thoroughly convinced. 
 
 The conduct of the Imperial court you 
 have already feen. Let us now examine 
 that of the court of Berlin. 
 
 The king of Pruffia did indeed feem 
 to concur with the emprefs of Ruffia, 
 whilft he' was really counteracting and 
 controuling her. And he has fucceeded 
 in making her, as well as Auftria, the 
 blind inftruments of his own greatnefs. 
 
 He had many and ftrong reafons for ex- 
 cluding any prince of Germany, and ef- 
 pecially the houfe of Saxony, from the 
 throne of Poland ; though the laft two 
 
 things )
 
 y6 Letters concerning the 
 
 things^ which had fate upon that throne, 
 had not had parts enough to derive any 
 advantage, or confequenee to themfelves 
 from the acceffion of fuch a kingdom ; yet, 
 in former times, that houfe had been bleft 
 with great princes; and it was pofiible 
 that it might be fo again. A prince of 
 genius might yet arife in it, or a minifter 
 might be found, who would not, like 
 Bruhl, place his fupreme happinefs and 
 grandeur in the elegance of his entertain- 
 ments, the richnefs of his fide-board, or 
 the childilh pride of having a fuit of 
 cloaths for every day in the year, and a 
 fnuff-box for every fuit. And mould fuch 
 a prince or minifter arife, the king of 
 Pruflia knew what he had to fear. He 
 had felt too ftrongly what Auguftus III. 
 might have done in the laft war, (had he 
 or his minifter known how to govern) 
 not to prevent being expoled to the like 
 danger again. 
 
 So far then as regards the exclufion of 
 the houfe of Saxony, and the recommen- 
 dation
 
 Present State of Poland. 77 
 
 dation of a native to the throne of Poland, 
 the court of Berlin concurred moft hear- 
 tily and fincerely with the emprefs of 
 RufTia. But as there the idea of mutual 
 intereft ftopt, there too his cordiality and 
 fincerity expired. 
 
 He faw with uneafinefs every ftep, 
 which Poland made towards order and 
 good government ; but he was too good a 
 politician to let that uneafinefs appear too 
 foon. He knew the emprefs of Ruflia 
 was fincere and eanieft in her projects : 
 he dared not openly oppofe her at firlt: 
 he had no other ally in the world ; Au- 
 ftria hated him, France was jealous of 
 him, he had ruined Saxony, his ingrati- 
 tude had alienated England, a rupture 
 with Ruffia would leave him a folitary 
 fricndlefs power; and would probably 
 accelerate the very event he wifhed to de- 
 feat. He determined therefore with one 
 hand, fecretly to undermine the fabric 
 which, with the other, he feemed open- 
 ly to co-opcratc in rearing. Many cir- 
 
 cumftances
 
 ^8 LETTERS CONCERNING THE 
 
 cumftances concurred to favour his fecret 
 machinations ; and not one efcaped him.- 
 The patriotic zeal of the king of Poland 
 might be worked up to a fpirit of enthu- 
 fiafm. The reformation of abufes would 
 give difcontent to all, whofe over-growri 
 power had fet them above the laws ; they 
 would draw in their dependents, and ad- 
 herents, who, together, made no inconfi- 
 derable part of the citizens. The partizans 
 of the houfe of Saxony would increafe the 
 number of the difcontented : the aver- 
 fion between the empfeiTes of Germany 
 and Ruffia would give them hopes of be- 
 ing abetted and fupported by the former : 
 the confidence between the king and his 
 people might thus be lefTened, or deftroy- 
 ecl : the pretentions of the Dilhdents 
 had already alarmed the fears of the fu- 
 perflitious and fanatic : the manner in 
 which the diet of eleclion had treated 
 thcfe pretentions, had offended the em- 
 prefs ofRufiia: by perfuading her, that it 
 was not only inconfiftent with her dig- 
 nity
 
 Present State of Poland. Jg 
 
 nity to relax any thing of what fhe had 
 once demanded in their favour, but that 
 even greater advantages fhould now be in-* 
 filled on, the nation might be irritated, 
 and again refufe them even what was rea- 
 fonable : this refufal might then be attri- 
 buted to the ingratitude of the king of 
 Poland and his family: the mutual har- 
 mony between the emprefs and him might 
 thus be broken : all mull: then fall into 
 confufion : Ruffia might endeavour, as in 
 the late reigns, to fupport her influence by 
 arms : the Poles might refill : France, 
 from the moment of the interregnum had 
 been endeavouring to animate the Turks 
 againli Ruffia : Auftria was fufpe&ed of 
 concurring in the fame intrigues : lhould 
 that war break out, he fhould become ne- 
 celfary to RuiTia ; and whatever might be 
 the event, the emprefs would confider the 
 Poles as the immediate caufe of it ; and, 
 her refentment once kindled, he might 
 make propofals which would now mock 
 her integrity. 
 
 As
 
 So Letters concerning the 
 
 As far, fir, as one can judge of caufes 
 from effects, thefe were the ideas the king 
 of Pruflia formed to himfelf at firft ; at 
 leaft his conduct, and that of his minuter 
 at Warfaw, appeared to have been regu- 
 lated by them. 
 
 I do not pretend, fir, that every thing 
 which has happened in Poland, has been 
 the effect of a regular pre-concerted 
 fcheme. Much is to be attributed to 
 chance; all I contend for, is, that this 
 was the plan the king of Pruflia feems to 
 have formed. Many circumftances con- 
 curred to the fuccefs of it, which he could 
 not forefec, but which he watched with 
 unabated attention ; flicking at nothing 
 that could infure fuccefs. 
 
 As the grievances of the Diffidents were, 
 though not the real, yet the oftenfible 
 caufe of the fucceeding troubles, it will be 
 necefTary to begin by explaining what 
 were their original rights ; and how far 
 thefe rights had been infringed. 
 
 The
 
 Present State of Poland. 8i 
 
 The doctrines of Calvin and Luther met 
 with an early and willing reception in Po- 
 land. Under the reigns of Sigifmund I. 
 and Sigifmund Auguftus, their profeffors 
 were particularly diftinguifhed and favour- 
 ed at court : thofe, who adhered to th* 
 Greek church, were many and confider-* 
 able.* At the death of Sigifmund Au- 
 guftus, the number of Greeks, Luther- 
 ans, and Calvinifts, taken together, was, 
 to the number of Catholics, as fix to 
 one. 
 
 The death of this king, fir, is the sera 
 of the republic. He was the laft " Do- 
 *: minus & Heres." All the laws pro- 
 mulgated before, were by the fole autho- 
 rity of the king, " cum coniilio folum 
 " baronum." His grandfather w r as the 
 firft who alTembled the reprefentatives of 
 the equeftrian order ; and they were then 
 alTembled, not fo much to enact laws, as 
 to declare their confent to the levying of 
 new taxes. They were the councilors, 
 not the co-legiflators, of the king. Things 
 G were
 
 82 Letters concerning the 
 
 were on the fame footing under the reigns 
 of Sigifmund L and Sigifmund Auguftus. 
 At the death of the latter, the legislative 
 power devolved to the nobles. 
 
 The firfl diet was called in the year 
 J 573> by Firley, a Proteftant, and great 
 marfhal of the kingdom. 
 
 Germany was yet bleeding from the 
 wounds of a long and cruel war, which 
 Charles V. had excited under pretence of 
 defending the Catholic faith : France ftill 
 trembled beneath the bloody fword of Ca- 
 therine of Medicis : thefe were dread- 
 ful warnings. The Poles, inftructed by 
 their neighbours' example, determined on 
 a mutual toleration, in the fullefl extent 
 of the word : to avoid a hateful diftinction 
 of feels, a phrafe was adopted, which 
 
 mould comprehend them all -: " Nos 
 
 " DilTidentes in Religione." Eternal love 
 and friendfhip were mutually fworn : the 
 difference of religious fentiments was to 
 create no difference in their civil capacity : 
 the idea of a dominant reliirion, was to be 
 
 for
 
 Present State of Poland. 83 
 
 for ever baniihed ; all were to be equally 
 eligible to any poft and employment in 
 the ftate : whoever excited any quarrel on 
 the fubjecl: of religion, was declared an 
 enemy of his country; and, as fuch, to 
 be put to death : this was acknowledged 
 by all, as a fundamental law of the new 
 conftitution, and for ever unchangeable; 
 and to be inferted as one of the firft arti- 
 cles of the " Pacta conventa." To the 
 obfervance of which, every king was fo- 
 lemnly, and by oath, to bind himfelf. 
 
 If you confider, fir, the occalion and 
 circumftances of this law, you will at 
 once fee, that it differs widely from any 
 common emanation of the legiflative 
 power. The fupreme legiflative power 
 can, mofl certainly, by any fubfequent act, 
 revoke and annul whatever has been in- 
 ftituted, or done by any former act of its 
 own ; but place this power where you 
 will, whether in the hands of one, or 
 many; there are ac~ls, which it cannot 
 do ; rights, which it cannot annul ; pri- 
 G z vileges,
 
 84 Letters concerning the 
 
 vileges, which it cannot abrogate : and, 
 furely, this was one. The different fects 
 were, at the time of pairing this law, 
 in the ftate of independent contracting 
 parties. This law was the mutual corn- 
 pad, which was to bind and unite them 
 in one ftate or fociety : it could not there- 
 fore be broken, de jure, without the free 
 and unanimous confent of them all. 
 
 Unhappily for Poland, fir, though the 
 Proteftants and Greeks were far fuperior 
 in number and confequence, to thofe of 
 the Romifh church, when this law was 
 part, they defeated its efte&s by two im- 
 prudent concelfions : they confented, that 
 the king mould always be elected from 
 the latter communion j and that the 
 lands and polieffions affected to the PvO- 
 miih church mould remain unalienable. 
 Had they confidered fufHciently the ge- 
 nius of the Romifh clergy, and their in- 
 defatigable zeal of making converts, they 
 would net have made thefe conceflions : 
 they would have left the throne open to 
 
 can-
 
 Present State of Poland. 8$ 
 
 candidates of either feci ; diminifhed the 
 exceflive revenues of the Romifh clergy ; 
 fubjected them to the fame courts of juf- 
 tice as the laity ; lefTened the number of 
 convents ; and fecured to the clergy of 
 their £>\vn fects fuch eftablifhments, as 
 would enable them to counter-balance the 
 power of the Romifh clergy. Had they 
 done this, they would have afforded to 
 Europe the firft example of a perfect to- 
 leration; avoided the fubfequent difputes 
 on religion, and been now a great and 
 flourifhing people. 
 
 And in fact one, and that no inconfi- 
 derable party, propofed to place Szafra- 
 niec, a Proteftant, on the throne. But 
 refpect for the princefs Anne prevailed : 
 £he was confidered as having pretenfions 
 to the crown : and it was determined to 
 elect a king, who fhould efpoufe her. 
 Henry of Valois was chofen, but foon 
 abandoned Poland. Stephen of Eathory 
 was then elected ; and to obtain a wife and 
 kingdom changed his religion; for Anne 
 G 3 was
 
 86 Letters concerning the 
 
 was ftrongly attached to the Romifh faith; 
 and, without the jun&ion of her party, 
 that of Stephen was too weak to make 
 head againft Maximilian. 
 
 Anne, not fatisfied with favouring the 
 Catholics during her own life, deter- 
 mined to fecure them a protector after 
 her death ; me fent for her nephew Si- 
 gifmund from Sweden; confided the care 
 of his education to the Jefuits, who in- 
 fpired him with their own zeal of con- 
 verfion ; and, which is the infeparable 
 companion of that zeal — the fpirit of 
 perfecution. Elected afterwards to the 
 throne, he proved a worthy and grate- 
 ful difciple of his mafters ; their coun- 
 fels directed him in every thing ; their 
 authority was full and exclufive : a long 
 reign of near half a century was dedicated 
 to the fole purpofe of extending the power 
 of the church of Rome. The dogmas of 
 the Greeks differ little from thofe of 
 the Romifh church ; many of them were 
 perfuaded to form a fort of motley reli- 
 gion
 
 Present State of Poland. 87 
 
 gion under the name of United Greeks ; 
 the Proteftants could obtain no employr 
 ments ; it was therefore no wonder, that 
 with pofts in one hand, and every fpecies 
 of chicane in the other, the king converted 
 many of them. Colleges were built for 
 the Jefuits in every part of the kingdom j 
 and to them was given the excluiive right 
 of public education. 
 
 Sigifmund, intent on fulfilling the du- 
 ties of a monk, forgot thofe of a king; 
 he gained many converts ; deftroyed many 
 Proteftant churches ; erected many con- 
 vents ; founded many feminaries : but he 
 was deprived of the kingdom of Swe- 
 den ; loft to Poland the provinces of Li- 
 vonia, Moldavia, and Walachia ; and laid 
 the foundation of that dreadful rebellion 
 of the CofTacks, which broke out in the 
 reign of his fucceftbr ; and defolated Po- 
 land for near half a century. 
 
 The name of " Diffidents" had hither- 
 to comprehended the Romifh, as well as 
 the other feels : but the former being now 
 G 4 grown
 
 88 Letters concerning the 
 
 grown ftronger, affected it only to the 
 non-united Greeks and Proteftants ; hence, 
 the idea of the dominant religion was at- 
 tributed to the church of Rome. Still, 
 however, the Greeks and Proteftants main- 
 tained their right of eligibility to the le- 
 gislative and executive powers, almoft 
 undifputed. In all the diets, ordinary, 
 and extraordinary, free and confederated, 
 this perfect coequality of all the different 
 feels is repeated and recognized as a fun-r 
 damental law of the kingdom. The 
 Catholicks indeed called in to their aid 
 the Jefuits' doctrine of mental refer va- 
 tion, by adding to their fignature of the 
 laws and conftitutions " Salvis juribiu> 
 * c ecclefiae Romance." 
 
 Ladiflaus did not follow the nlan of his 
 predeceflbr ; he endeavoured to reconcile 
 the different feels ; but the fpirit of party 
 and fanaticifm was now gone forth, and 
 his attempts to quiet it were vain. 
 
 ]ohn Calimir did not love the Prote- 
 ftants ; but policy, and a regard for the 
 
 intereils
 
 Present State of Poland. 89 
 
 intercfts of his people got the better of 
 his private refentments : he protected 
 them. Under his reign the peace of Oliva 
 was concluded, which exprefly ftipulated, 
 that " all the fubje&s of Polanc), of 
 " whatever condition, or Chriftian feci: 
 " they might be, mould be reinftated in 
 " all their rights and privileges, whether 
 " civil or ecclefiaftical, which they had 
 " heretofore enjoyed, according to the 
 " laws of the kingdom." — Now no law 
 had hitherto been paft againft the Greeks 
 or Proteftants, derogating from that co- 
 equality declared at the inftitution of the 
 Republic. 
 
 The reign of Michael was fhort ; and 
 an unhappy war againft the Turks left no 
 time to think of private dilTenfions. 
 
 John Sobiefki protected the Proteftants ; 
 but they had loft much of their confe- 
 quence, by infenfibly lofmg their place in 
 the fenate : for though no law had yet de- 
 clared them inadmiflible, yet as the nomi- 
 nation depended on the king, and the 
 
 :ings
 
 9© Letters concerning the 
 
 kings had always been Catholics, they had 
 named none but thofe of their own com- 
 munion. 
 
 Auguftus II. was a new profelyte ; and 
 {hewed all the zeal new profelytes are 
 wont to mew in proof of the fincerity of 
 their converfion. A diet aflembled in the 
 year 17 17, paft the firft law againft the 
 public exercife of the Proteftant religion : 
 the law was drawn up by a bifhop, with 
 an affe&ed obfcurity ; it was read but 
 once ; tumultuoufly paft : and the diet 
 diflblved at the end of feven hours, from 
 its firft aiTembling. The time, however, 
 was not yet come, when this violation of 
 that original contract between indepen- 
 dent parties could be carried without op- 
 pofition. Another diet was fummoned 
 the year following, when this article was 
 explained, and declared to refpect only the 
 abufes, which had crept in during the war 
 with Sweden. The words of this expla- 
 natory law are : — " Diflidentes circa anti- 
 " qua jura & privilegia confervamus : 
 
 " abufus
 
 Present State of Poland. 91 
 
 W abufus vero, prxvio proceflu folito, in 
 tf foro ufitato lege veteri tollantur." But 
 Auguftus kept firm to his purpofe ; during 
 his reign he called no Proteftants to the 
 fenate ; conferred no charges on them : 
 he added four bifhops to the motley feci: of 
 united Geeks : he committed the maflacre 
 at Thorn. 
 
 The decifive blow was ftruck under the 
 reign of Auguftus III. in the year 1736. 
 The Catholics began by forcing from the 
 houfe all the Proteftant nuntios ; and then 
 pafled a law, which declared them incapable 
 of all civil pofts and employments what- 
 ever. During the whole of this reign 
 things continued on the fame footing : 
 few diets were held ; and the Greeks and 
 Proteftants could never obtain the repeal 
 of this law; and found themfelves daily 
 expofed to new chicanes. 
 
 But, fir, whilft I endeavour to ftate the 
 rights of the Greeks and Proteftants in the 
 ftrongeft point of view; though I am 
 thoroughly convinced thefe rights were 
 
 founded
 
 92 Letters concerning the 
 
 founded on a conftitution, which no fub- 
 fequent act of the legiflature could de jure 
 annul : yet I will candidly own, that the 
 reduction of fo many of them to the 
 church of Rome, and the confequent di- 
 minution of their numbers and confe- 
 quence, had made fo important a change 
 in their fituation, and relative proportion 
 to the whole body of the nation, that I 
 think a part of their rights ought to have 
 been facrificed to that firfl fupreme law, 
 antecedent to all others, — the good of the 
 people. I think, the decifion of the ca- 
 non law, was applicable to a part of their 
 rights : — " Quod fieri non debuit, factum 
 " valebat." Though they were origi- 
 nally co-equal in every refpect with their 
 fellow-citizens, yet as now their number 
 was fo fmall, and their confequence fo lit- 
 tle, perhaps all they mould haveafked for, 
 was the free exercife of their religion, and 
 to be put on the fame footing in their ci- 
 vil capacity, as the DifTenters from theefla- 
 blifhed church in England, without reviv- 
 
 V-1Z
 
 Present State of Poland. 93 
 
 ing their ancient claim of entering into 
 the legiflative or executive parts of govern- 
 ment. 
 
 But whether the emprefs of Ruflia was 
 really ftruck with the juftice of their ori- 
 ginal rights : whether Ihe was feized with 
 the fingular idea of being the firft Chriftian 
 fovereign to employ the civil power in 
 defence of a general toleration ; or whe- 
 ther fhe meant, by fecuring and protect- 
 ing the rights of the Greeks and Prote- 
 ctants, to form a ftrong party in the re- 
 public, her minifters had orders to prefent 
 a memorial to the king of Poland, foon 
 after his election, reclaiming in favour of 
 the Greeks and Proteftants all their an- 
 cient rights, liberties, and prerogatives.- 
 The memorial was in courfe referred to 
 the ftates ; and though the king recom- 
 mended it to their moil ferious attention, 
 they were fo far from paying any regard 
 to it, that they confirmed, in their full 
 extent, the conftitutions againft the Dim- 
 dents of the year 1717, and 1736. 
 
 The
 
 94 Letters concerning t#e 
 
 The emprefs did not defift from her 
 purpofe. Her ambaiTador prefented a fe- 
 cond memorial in favour of the DhTidents* 
 to the confederated diet of 1766. It was 
 drawn up in the ftrongeft terms ; and de- 
 manded* 
 
 i °. That the churches, which belong- 
 ed to them of right, and had been illegal- 
 ly taken from them, be reftored ; with full 
 liberty to repair, or rebuild thofe which 
 had fallen into decay ; where they might 
 exercife undifturbed all the rites and 
 ceremonies of their refpective commu- 
 nions ; in the fame manner, and with the 
 fame freedom, as in Greek or Proteftant 
 countries. 
 
 2 . That in all cities, towns, or vil-* 
 lages, where there is no Greek or Prote- 
 ftant church, leave be given to the faid 
 communions to build one, if they fee fit ; 
 and the priefts or pallors be in no wife 
 molefted by the ecclefiaflical courts. 
 
 3 . That the payments made by the 
 Greeks and Proteftants to the Catholic cu- 
 rate, on account of baptifms, marriages, 
 6 burials,
 
 Present State of Poland. q$ 
 
 burials, &c. which are now uncertain and 
 arbitrary, be either abolifhed, or fixed, 
 once for all, to a moderate fum ; to be 
 confrdered as an acknowledgement of the 
 dominant religion. 
 
 4°. That the Greek feminary at Mohi- 
 low be not in any manner molefted ; but 
 allowed all liberty in the education of the 
 Greek youth. 
 
 5 . That the bifhop and biflioprick of 
 White Ruffia be for ever maintained in 
 the Greek church ; and all the other Dif- 
 fidents in their refpective communions. 
 
 6°. That no Greek or Proteftant prieft, 
 or paftor, be obliged to appear, on any 
 account whatever, in the ecclefiaftical 
 courts ; but that they do depend entirely 
 on the civil courts. 
 
 7°. That no hindrance be made to the 
 marriage of perfons of different fects ; and 
 that the daughters of fuch marriages do 
 follow the religion of the mother; and the 
 fons that of the father. 
 
 Having thus precifely determined, what 
 was the redrefs expected in ecclefiaftical 
 
 matters
 
 96 Letters concerning thp 
 
 matters, the memorial goes on to afTert 
 the co-equallity of all the different fects 
 in their civil capacity ; but the emprefs 
 does not take upon herfelf to fix, but 
 leaves it to the Catholics to determine, by 
 way of treaty and negociation with the 
 Greeks and Proteftants, what part they 
 fhould be entitled to in the adminiftration 
 of government. Serious and earneft in 
 her propofal, the emprefs engaged the 
 courts of London, Copenhagen, Stock- 
 holm, and Berlin in the fame caufe. 
 
 As her demands were hitherto mode- 
 rate ; as every principle of juftice and 
 equity required, that the Diffidents fhould 
 be allowed the free exercife of their reli- 
 gion ; and as a door was left open to com- 
 promife their demands in their civil capa- 
 city, it may feem aftonifhing, that the 
 Poles did not at once come into the pro- 
 pofal made by the emprefs, and fupported 
 
 by powers every way fo refpeclable. 
 
 That they did not, fir, was the effect of 
 the honeft politics of the king of Pruffia. 
 
 Nothing
 
 Present State of Poland. 97 
 
 Nothing could be farther from his 
 wifhes than to fee the Diffidents re-efta- 
 blifhed in their rights. The hardfhips 
 exercifed upon them in Poland had driven 
 many of them to take refuge in his 
 dominions. Should their rights be re-efta- 
 blifhed, many would naturally return to a 
 country where their civil liberty was 
 greater ; where they could not be forced 
 to enlift; where taxes were lefs burthen- 
 fome ; and where honeft induftry met a 
 furer recompence. He was therefore never 
 fuppofed to be fincere in his wifhes of 
 fuccefs to their caufe ; and he took fuffi- 
 cient care to let their warmefl opponents 
 underftand, that he was not fo. 
 
 His minifter at the court of Warfaw 
 had a great advantage over the Ruffian am- 
 baffador; the latter was a young man, 
 warm, impetuous, and accuftomed to 
 think that in Poland, as in Ruffia, every 
 thing fhould yield to the will of his fo- 
 vereign. The PrufTian was a French re- 
 fugee, cunning, artful, without friends, 
 H fortune,
 
 98 Letters concerning the 
 
 fortune, or connexions ; under the mafk 
 of that fpecies of opennefs, which the 
 French call naivete, he infinuated himfelf 
 into the confidence of the Ruffian, and 
 worked upon the warmth of his temper, 
 fo as to make him endeavour to carry by 
 force, what he might certainly have ob- 
 tained by manners more gently and infi- 
 nuating. By thefe means the whole odium 
 was thrown upon RuiTia. 
 
 The public memorials prefented by the 
 
 Pruffian minifler in fupport of the Diffi- 
 
 dents loft all their weight, by the fecret 
 
 aflurances given at the fame time to the 
 
 bifhops, and moil: bigotted of the laity, 
 
 that his mafter would not be offended, 
 
 mould little or no regard be paid to them. 
 
 As a proof of this I can poiitively allure 
 
 you, that a member of the diet, who had 
 
 reluctantly figned the conftitution which 
 
 rejected the demands of the Diffidents, and 
 
 which had been framed and fupported by 
 
 the bifhop of Cracow, told this prelate : — 
 
 " your excellency has perfuaded us to pafs 
 
 8 a reib-
 
 Present State of Poland. 99 
 
 " a refolution which cannot fail of bring- 
 " ing on us the refcntment of our neigh- 
 " hours :" the bifhop, laying his hand 
 gently on the nuntio's moulders, anfvvered : 
 " Be perfuaded, fir, I mould never have 
 rt counfelled you to this ftep, if I had not 
 " the moll pofitive affurances from the 
 " king of Pruma, that he would bear us 
 " harmlefs in it." I aver this on my own 
 certain knowledge : bufmefs had called me 
 at that very time from Dantzig to Warfaw ; 
 and I was, by accident, near enough to 
 hear the converfation. The event has 
 proved what reliance is to be had on the 
 promifes of this prince : the ambitious 
 prelate has been a martyr to them. 
 
 The king of Poland, with the mofc fen- 
 fible part of the nation endeavoured all 
 they could to avert the impending ftorm. 
 They endeavoured to prevail on the em- 
 prefs to defift from her enterprize : but 
 not fucceeding there, they represented to 
 the nation, that, either they muft begin 
 by granting the points, which regarded 
 H 2 the
 
 ioo Letters concerning the 
 
 the free exercife of religion ; and then 
 endeavour to perfuade the Diflidents in 
 friendly conferences, to reftrain their de- 
 mands, in their civil capacity, to a full 
 and perfect fecurity for their perfons and 
 pofleffions ; and to give up their preten- 
 tions of eligibility to pofts and employ- 
 ments : — or, if they were determined not 
 to treat with the DifTidents, as their co- 
 equals, but to regard them merely as a feet 
 tolerated by government, and therefore to 
 grant them nothing in their civil capacity, 
 but what they would receive as an act of 
 grace ; if they wifhed to afTert the inde- 
 pendence of their government ; and to ex- 
 clude the interference of foreign powers in 
 the internal adminiftration : — they muft 
 weigh well their own fituation, and the 
 power cf their neighbours ; and at all 
 events do nothing by halves : they mould 
 convince their neighbours that it was not 
 the ram dcclfion of a tumultuous council, 
 but the refolution of a brave people, de- 
 termined to fupport it at the hazard of 
 their lives and fortunes : that they fhould 
 
 there-
 
 Present State of Poland, ioi 
 
 therefore put themfelves in a fituation of 
 augmenting the troops, and employing 
 them in defence of their country, by pair- 
 ing a law, that any motion for the aug- 
 mentation of the army mould not be fub- 
 ject to be fet afide by the exercife of the 
 " liberum veto;" but pafled or rejected by 
 a plurality of voices. 
 
 Milled by the infidious promifes of the 
 king of Pruffia, relying for protection on 
 the emprefs queen's known attachment to 
 the Romifh church, and fuppofed difap- 
 probation of the meafures of RufTia, the 
 nation determined to reject the demands 
 of the Diflidents ; but promifed at the 
 lame time, by every thing folemn, and 
 facred, to enable government to fupport 
 and maintain that refufal, by voting, that 
 the augmentation of the army ihould de- 
 pend on a plurality of voices. 
 
 The demands of the Diflidents were ac- 
 cordingly rejected ; the bifhops, their na- 
 tural antagonifts, were conftituted their 
 judges, and drew up a fet of articles, 
 H 3 which
 
 102 Letters concerning the 
 
 which were far from contenting them ; and 
 which — to fpeak of them in the gentlefl 
 terms — were certainly captious. 
 
 But when the other point came to be 
 debated, it was vifible what an afcendant 
 the artifices of the king of Pruffia, and the 
 menaces of Ruffia, had gained. 
 
 The king had endeavoured in vain to 
 modify the refolutions taken againft the 
 Diflidcnts : finding the prejudices too 
 ftrong to be conquered, he had yielded to 
 the defires of his people, on the exprefs 
 condition, that the other point fhould be 
 carried at the fame time ; but here he was 
 mamefully abandoned ; the confederation 
 was diffolved, and the augmentation of the 
 troops ftill left to the decifion of an una- 
 nimous diet*. 
 
 * It has been thought, and perhaps with fome 
 degree of reafon, that the king of Poland, aban- 
 doned by the Catholic party, ought to have joined 
 with the Diflidents. It fhould, however, be con- 
 fidered, that neither the number nor confequence 
 of the Diffidents were now fufficient to have fup- 
 
 The
 
 Present State of Poland. 103 
 
 The king of Prufiia took every advan- 
 tage of this unfuccefsful attempt. On the 
 one hand his minifter reprefented it to the 
 nation, as a defign to change the conftitu- 
 tion, and deftroy the liberty of the fubject: 
 on the other, the jealoufy of the court of 
 Peterfburgh was alarmed, and the emprefs 
 perfuaded, that the king of Poland had 
 forgotten his obligations to her ; that her 
 influence was at an end, unlefs other mea- 
 fures were purfued; that new alliances 
 would be formed, and new protections 
 fought. He fucceeded but too well on 
 both fides; the confequence of the king 
 of Poland's having feen, and honeftly pur- 
 fued the interefts of his country, was to 
 find his beft ally difgufted, his people dif- 
 afFected, and his hands tied up from ferving 
 or faving them. 
 
 ported him againft the Catholics : and that they 
 had thrown themfelves fo entirely into the hands 
 Ruflia, that the king mud have feemed to have 
 joined her too in oppofition to his own people. 
 
 H4 In
 
 104 Letters concerning the 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1767, a 
 declaration was publifhed in the name of 
 the emprefs of Ruffia, accompanied by 
 a letter from her prime minifter Panin, 
 to her ambaffador at Warfaw, in which 
 the emprefs is declared proteftrefs of the 
 confederation formed by the Diffidents, 
 in fupport of their rights ; the attempt 
 to fubmit the augmentation of the army 
 to the decifion of a plurality of voices is 
 reprefented in the moft odious colours, as 
 an attack on the liberties and conftitution 
 of Poland ; the king and his family are 
 plainly pointed out as having formed the 
 defign of acquiring an abfolute authority ; 
 the very meafures £he had before promot- 
 ed, and which conftitutc the greateft part 
 of her merit, with refpect to Poland, and 
 which in the Manifefto I lately fent you 
 are again qualified with ihe title of " Ufe- 
 " ful and Salutary," are condemned ; and 
 the nation in general is invited to join 
 the DiiTidcnts, and unite in one general 
 confederation for the redrefs of all their 
 
 grievances.
 
 Present State of Poland. 105 
 
 grievances.— There is a difingenuity and 
 low artifice in thefe papers, that, for the 
 honour of the court of Peterfburgh, would 
 make me hope they did not originate there, 
 but were the work of the only prince in 
 Europe who feems capable of defcending 
 fo low. They produced, however, their 
 effect ; and fo much the fooner as emiffa- 
 ries were employed by the minifters of 
 Ruffia and Pruffia, to enforce and explain 
 the arguments made ufe of in the declara- 
 tion and letter ; and to fan the latent fires 
 of difcontent. 
 
 I told you in my firft letter, fir, the 
 fteps the king of Poland had taken to re- 
 duce the overgrown and dangerous power 
 of many of the great officers of ftate. 
 This had offended not only thofe in pof- 
 feffion, but all who afpired to them in 
 future ; and though at firft fight it fhould 
 feem, that the dividing of their power 
 would multiply offices, and fo make pro- 
 vifion for greater numbers, yet you muff 
 remember, the number of the commif- 
 
 fioners
 
 106 Letters concerning the 
 
 fioners was limited, and their fallaries 
 fixed; whereas before hundreds had ihares 
 in the public depredations, which were 
 unlimited: the poll; of a commiffioner 
 required attendance, labour, and order; 
 things little known, and lefs relifhed in 
 Poland; in fhort, fir, the Poles feem to 
 have regarded the polls in their govern- 
 ment, as you in England regard the prizes 
 in your lotteries ; were the 2c,oool. di- 
 vided into twenty fhares, every adventurer 
 would have a better chance of winning 
 fomething ; and yet molt certainly there 
 would be fewer adventurers. 
 
 The eleclrefs dowager of Saxony could 
 not fee, with patience, her family ex- 
 cluded from the throne of Poland ; unable 
 to reinftate it by honourable means, fhe 
 formed cabals ; fed the hopes of her par- 
 tizans by promifes and bribes ; allured 
 them of fupport from the court of Vienna; 
 appealed to the coldnefs and difapproba- 
 tion of the prefent meafures, which that 
 court vifibly ihevved. 
 
 If
 
 Present State of Poland. 107 
 
 If you confider farther, how many more 
 the love of anarchy and licence would dif- 
 pofe againft a government, which had 
 tried to reduce every thing to fubjection 
 to the laws, you will not be furprifed, 
 that the emiflaries of Ruflia and Pruflia, 
 fupported by the declaration and letter, I 
 mentioned, were able to draw in a great 
 number of difcontented citizens. 
 
 They formed a fecond confederation ; 
 and though this clafs of Confederates con- 
 fifted of the very bifhops, and others, who 
 had fpoken and acted fo warmly againft 
 the Diflidents; yet, fuch is the force of 
 party rage, that they acknowledged the 
 confederation of the Diflidents to be law- 
 ful ; joined with them in one general con- 
 federation at Radom, under the protection 
 of the emprefs. Prince Charles Radzivil 
 a man of extenfive fortune, and great fa- 
 mily, but of mean parts, and imbruted 
 by a long habit of debauchery, was chofen 
 marfhal : unequal to the taflc, he was put 
 under the guidance and tuition of a Rufli- 
 
 an
 
 108 Letters concerning the 
 
 an officer. The confederation, as foon as 
 formed, deputed ambafladors to the em- 
 prefs of Rufiia, demanding her protection 
 and guaranty. 
 
 By this ftroke the power of the king 
 was annihilated : he could only fit Hill, a 
 fimple fpectator of the misfortunes his 
 people were bringing on themfelves ; and 
 which they never would have felt, had 
 they liftened to his counfel in the laft diet, 
 or flood by him when he offered to rifk 
 his life and crown in fupport of their in- 
 dependence. 
 
 In the month of October, 1767, an 
 extraordinary diet was affembled : this 
 diet not only appointed a committee to ex- 
 amine the pretenfions of the Diffidents, 
 and the fuppofed grievances of the nation ; 
 but vefted it with full power to fatisfy the 
 one, and redrefs the other, by fixt and per- 
 manent laws. The committee granted 
 more to the Diffidents, than had ever been 
 afked ; and, under pretence of redreffing 
 grievances, formed a code of laws, which, 
 
 had
 
 Present State of Poland. 109 
 
 had it been lefs exceptionable in other re- 
 fpe&s, was yet inadmiffible, as it was de- 
 clared perpetual and unchangeable ; and 
 as fuch guarantied by the emprefs of 
 Ruflia : — as if the idea of liberty, and the 
 immutability of the laws were infeparable : 
 
 as if every nation had not a right of 
 
 changing its conftitution, as change of cir- 
 cumftances may require : — as if any other 
 power had a right of interfering in the 
 internal adminiftration of a free and inde- 
 pendent flate? 
 
 I will not carry you, fir, through a long 
 detail of the refolutions of this committee ; 
 I will not fhock you by a repetition of the 
 acts of violence made ufe of againft thofe 
 who oppofed it : I would only defire you to 
 remark, that though the Prufhan minifter 
 had contributed by his artifices to draw the 
 Poles into this fnare ; though he had ani- 
 mated the Ruffian ambaflador, and inflam- 
 ed a temper too ready of itfelf to fly out 
 into unpardonable excefles ; yet he de- 
 meaned himfelf fo, that the whole odium 
 of the proceeding fell upon Ruffia.
 
 no Letters concerning the 
 
 No fooner was the diet diffolved, than 
 the difcontent of the nation broke forth 
 with tenfold fury. The emiifaries of 
 Saxony and Pruflia heightened it ; and 
 artfully reprefented the king as having 
 fecretly joined with Ruflia in enfnaring 
 them. Though the king had acquired no 
 one perfonal advantage ; though almoft 
 every law enacted was directly contradic- 
 tory to all his ideas, and that fyftem of 
 order and regularity he fo plainly wifhed 
 to introduce ; though the labours of his 
 whc 1 e reign were fruftratcd by this ab- 
 furd incoherent code ; though the radical 
 vice of the government, the " liberum 
 " veto," was extended to objects, it had 
 hitherto refpected ; and was even guaran- 
 tied by Ruffia, in direct contradiction to 
 the known and avowed ideas of the king, 
 exprefsly imputed to him in the declara- 
 tion of RufTia. 
 
 Too many of the nation unhappily im- 
 bibed thefe prejudices : afhamed of hav- 
 ing been the dupes of Ruffia ; afhamed of 
 
 that
 
 Present State of Poland, hi 
 
 that fpirit of party rage, which had drawn 
 them into the fnare ; without virtue 
 enough to return to their duty ; without 
 greatnefs enough to forgive the man they 
 had injured, they attempted to juflify 
 their paft errors by frefh outrages. In- 
 ftead of confidering the king as the party 
 who had fufFered the moft eiTentially ; in- 
 ftead of confulting with him on the beft 
 means of undeceiving the emprefs of 
 RufTia; inftead of waiting for a favour- 
 able moment to re-affert their common 
 rights, and defend their common caufe ; 
 they broke out into ads of precipitate 
 violence : without digefting any plan, they 
 formed feparate confederations ; which, 
 for want of concert and unanimity, ex- 
 pofed them every where to be beaten by 
 the Ruffians. 
 
 The emprefs of Ruflia flill took upon 
 herfelf the odium of all : the king of Pruf- 
 fia hung back ; his declarations were cold, 
 or partial, or tended only to confirm that 
 fatal error, that the maintaining of the 
 
 kinjr
 
 ii2 Letters concerning the 
 king on the throne was the caufe of all the 
 troubles. Inftead of vigoroufly oppofing 
 the confederates, which, had he feconded 
 the defigns of Ruffia (as the emprefs 
 aflerts) he would have done, he fufFered 
 different detachments of his troops to be 
 beaten by them with impunity. 
 
 It was not, fir, till the year 1770, that 
 he took an a&ive part. And let us fee, 
 whether the part he then took, was fuch 
 as became the ally of a princefs, who de- 
 clares her conftant endeavours to have 
 been directed to the good of Poland. 
 
 A private difpute had arifen between 
 the magiftrates of Dantzig and the Pruf- 
 fian conful. To revenge himfelf on the 
 magiftrates, he pretended they oppofed 
 the levy of recruits for the Pruflian army. 
 The king of Pruflia, accuftomed to be 
 judge in his own caufe, did not remon- 
 flrate with the magiftrates, came to no 
 explanation with them ; a party of troops 
 were fent ; the out-pofts of the town 
 furprifedj the city amerced in the fum of 
 6 one
 
 Present State of Poland. 113 
 
 one hundred thoufand ducats j and then, 
 under pretence of reclaiming fome fub- 
 jects, who had fled from the tyranny of 
 his government, he carried off more than 
 a thoufand young men to recruit his 
 armv. 
 
 His troops entered into Great Poland, 
 in the year 1 77 1 ; and during the fpace of 
 that year, he carried off from that pro- 
 vince and its neighbourhood, at a mode- 
 rate computation, twelve thoufand families. 
 
 On the 29th of October, in the fame 
 year, an edict was publifhed by his Pruf- 
 fian majefty, commanding every perfon, 
 under the fevereft penalties, and even cor- 
 poral punifnment, to take in payment for 
 forage, provifions, corn, horfes, &c. the 
 money offered by his troops and com- 
 miiTaries. This money, fir, was either 
 filver, bearing the impreflion of Poland, 
 and exactly worth one third of its nomi- 
 nal value, or ducats ftruck in imitation of 
 Dutch ducats, feventeen per cent, inferior 
 to the real ducats of Holland. With this 
 I bafe
 
 ii4 Letters concerning the 
 
 bafe money he bought up corn and forage 
 enough, not only to fupply his army for 
 two whole years, but to flock magazines 
 in the country itfelf, where the inhabi- 
 tants were forced to come and repurchafe 
 corn for their daily fubfiftence, at an ad- 
 vanced price, and with good money, his 
 commirTaries refufing to take the fame 
 coin they had paid. At the loweft cal- 
 culation, fir, he gained, by this mafterly 
 and honefl manoeuvre, feven millions of 
 dollars. He fays fomewhere in his Me- 
 moirs, " Les politiques ont relegue la 
 " candeur dans la vie civile ; et ils fe 
 " voyent li audeflus des loix 7 qu'ils font 
 " obferver aux autres, qu'ils fe livrent 
 " fans retenue a la depravation de leur 
 " cceur." By this account, fir, he is a 
 great politician, for his heart is vilely de- 
 praved. Having ftripped the country of 
 money and proviiions, he thought it, I 
 fuppofe, an act of humanity to thin it ftill 
 more of inhabitants. He hit upon a new 
 contribution; every town and village was 
 6 ob.iged
 
 Present State of Poland. ii$ 
 
 obliged to furnifh a certain number of 
 marriageable girls ; the parents to give, 
 as a portion, a feather-bed, four pillows, 
 a cow, two hogs, and three ducats in 
 gold. A letter I received from Pofnania, 
 in the month of March laft, informed me, 
 that a little town, called Korztrzym, with 
 its dependencies, was forced to furnifh 
 general Belling fifty marriageable girls, 
 with each this portion ; and a correfpon- 
 dent I have at Stargard, a town belonging 
 to the king of Pruffia, informed me about 
 the fame time, that feveral waggons filled 
 with this new kind of contribution had 
 paffed through that town. 
 
 His exa&ions from the abbeys, con- 
 vents, cathedrals, and nobles were fo 
 heavy, and exceeded at laft their abilities 
 fo much, that the priefts abandoned the 
 churches, and the nobles their lands. 
 Thofe whom age or infirmities prevented 
 from flying, were bound hand and foot, 
 and carried off as criminals. May I not 
 once more, fir, be permitted tq apply the 
 I 2 words
 
 1 1 6 Letters concerning the 
 
 words of this philofophic prince to him- 
 felf ? " II etoit bien fingulier, qu'il trai- 
 " tat avec cette durete exceffive un pays 
 " ami y dont le prince n'avoit donne au- 
 " cun fujet de plainte!" Thefe exactions 
 continued with unabated rigour, from the 
 year 1770 to the time the treaty of parti- 
 tion was declared, and poffemon taken of 
 the provinces ufurped. The lofs of inha- 
 bitants is not eafily to be calculated ; that 
 of money has been, I believe, moderately 
 computed at three millions of ducats. 
 
 And yet this is the man, fir, whom 
 the emprefs of Ruffia dignifies with the 
 title of her faithful ally ; and whom fhe 
 declares to have co-operated with her in 
 the great defign of rendering Poland a 
 free and happy people. He a faithful 
 ally, who hurried her miniftry into acts of 
 violence, into breaches of the law of na- 
 tions, which no neceffity can juftify, and 
 which defeated the very defigns fhe had 
 in view ; who alienated the affections of 
 the nation ihe laboured to conciliate ; 
 
 whofe
 
 Present State of Poland. 117 
 
 whofe intrigues contributed to bring on 
 her the arms of the Porte, and rendered 
 ineffectual the congrefs for a peace ? He 
 co-operate in rendering Poland free and 
 happy, who has laid it wafte for three 
 whole years, by at once the loweft and 
 mod cruel acts of tyranny and rapacity ? 
 His alliance to be boafted of, with whom, 
 if he were a private character, no honeft 
 man would aflbciate ? 
 
 Excufe this warmth, fir, I am writing 
 to an Englifhman. You have taught the 
 world this noble leflbn, that a prince, 
 who to acts of arbitrary violence joins 
 the bafeft artifices, in order to deprive 
 his own people of their rights and li- 
 berties, forfeits defervedly the allegiance 
 of his fubjects. Allow us at leaft to think, 
 that the prince who ufes the fame vile 
 means to enllave a free and independent 
 flatc, deferves no refpect from the public. 
 Conquerors have often forced from us in- 
 voluntary regard; but an incendiary is 
 always viewed with horror. The de- 
 I 3 vafta-
 
 n8 Letters concerning, &c. 
 
 variations of war may fometimes be jus- 
 tified by the plea of neceflity ; but the 
 prince who, in the midft of peace, and 
 with his coffers full, can meanly enrich 
 himfelf by the coinage of falfe and bafe 
 money, may furely be treated with con- 
 tempt. 
 
 After all, fir, I may juftify this warmth 
 by his own authority, and in his own 
 words : " J'ai blame le vice en lui, avec 
 " hardiefTe parceque le vice ne doit pas 
 " trouver d'azyle fur le trone." 
 
 I am, &c.
 
 LETTERS 
 
 CONCERNING THE 
 
 PRESENT STATE 
 
 O F 
 
 POLAND. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 14
 
 LETTERS 
 
 CONCERNING THE 
 
 PRESENT STATE 
 
 O F 
 
 POLAND. 
 
 Brufiels, Dec. 24. 1772. 
 MY DEAR SIR ! 
 
 WERE a ftranger to read the 
 Manifefto of the three courts, 
 which I fent you in my firft, 
 would he not naturally conclude, that, 
 from the beginning of the interregnum, 
 they had formed an honeft and friendly 
 plan of eftablifhing the liberties of Po- 
 land on a firm and folid foundation ? that 
 
 this 
 7
 
 122 Letters concerning the 
 
 this plan had been openly propofed, and 
 invariably purfued ? that the Poles had 
 adopted it ; and afterwards, through a 
 fpirit of levity and faction receded from 
 it ; flown to arms, and attacked, with- 
 out provocation, the allies, they had 
 called in to their afliftance ? 
 
 You have feen, however, that the cafe 
 is far different ; though the plan pro- 
 pofed by Ruffia at the beginning, ap- 
 peared honeft and friendly ; though the 
 foundeft part of the nation concurred in 
 it as fuch, yet the court of Vienna ap- 
 peared averfe to it, that of Berlin coun- 
 teracted it, excited groundlefs fears and 
 jealoufies, and raifed that very fpirit of 
 faction and difcord, with which they now 
 reproach the Poiifh nation. The plan af- 
 terwards adopted was direclly contrary to 
 that which had been firft announced ; 
 the method of carrying it into execution 
 tended to revolt every one, who felt as a 
 man, or citizen : in a word, every fpecies 
 of infult and oppreifion was exerted with 
 
 an
 
 Present State of Poland. 123 
 
 an unrelenting wantonnefs, in order to 
 force Poland to give up its own exiftence 
 as a ftate. 
 
 From this proof of difingenuity and 
 artifice in the relation of their pad con- 
 duel:, you will fcarcely be induced to pay 
 great regard to the profeflions of their 
 future defigns. I will examine them with 
 all the coolnefs and candour fuch a fubjecT: 
 will permit ; but at the fame time with 
 that honeft freedom I have hitherto ufed. 
 To think freely is the only right they 
 have left untouched ; and of this at leaft 
 no tyrant fhall deprive me while I live. 
 
 Thefe humane protectors of nations 
 declare thefe to be their prefent purpofes : 
 —to prevent the arbitrary diifolution of 
 Poland ; — reftore order and tranquillity ; 
 — re-eftablifh the ancient form of govern- 
 ment ; — and that, by the way and merely 
 as a collateral circumfbmce, they mean to 
 indemnify themfelves for certain ancient 
 claims and pretenfions : — and they do not 
 fcruple to affirm, that the meafures they 
 
 are
 
 124 Letters concerning the 
 
 are purfuing are the moft effectual, and 
 beft adapted to thefe ends. 
 
 What would they have us underftand 
 by this threatened diffolution of Poland? 
 or, to ufe their own fantaftic term, this 
 arbitrary decompofition of it ? A king- 
 dom may be diffolved two ways, by ex- 
 ternal violence, or internal commotions. 
 If Poland tends either way to diffolution, 
 who are to be thanked for it ? are the 
 meafures of thefe ufurpers calculated to 
 haften, or prevent it ? Its internal go- 
 vernment has indeed received fuch rude 
 and continued fhocks, that it trembles 
 from its foundation ; but their hand gave 
 them : ftill they are afraid it will not fall 
 to pieces foon enough, and therefore tear 
 it afunder, ftrip it of its beft and moft 
 fertile provinces, preclude it from all 
 commerce and communication, fhut up 
 every avenue to amelioration, and im- 
 provement. — And this is to prevent its 
 diffolution. 
 
 Here,
 
 Present State of Poland. 125 
 
 Here, Sir, no reafoning is poffible ; the 
 fact fpeaks for itfelf in terms too ftrong 
 to be enforced. To believe , this the way 
 of preventing the dhTolution of a king- 
 dom is a proportion too glaringly abfurd 
 to be fwallowed by the faith of an apo- 
 ftolic queen ; defended by the fophiflry 
 of a royal infidel ; or palliated by the 
 arts of a court, which has undertaken to 
 vindicate every breach of focial, conjugal, 
 and maternal duty. 
 
 Still they fay, in taking from Poland 
 fo large a part of its demefnes, they are 
 determined to confult the happinefs of the 
 reft, by reftoring order and tranquillity; 
 by re-cftablifhing the ancient form of go- 
 vernment ; and, to give a keener edge 
 to their infults, invite the Poles, in terms 
 of affected moderation, " to lay alide all 
 41 fpirit of difcord and delulion, that, a 
 " diet being legally aflembled, they may 
 " co-operate in this important work ?" 
 
 Though to cut off a man's legs and 
 arms be a difagrceable way of making 
 
 him
 
 126 Letters concerning the 
 
 him ftill and quiet, let us for a moment 
 fuppofe, that the kingdom of Poland 
 was fo large and unweildy, that thefe 
 violent operations were become necef- 
 fary to its repofe; what reliance is yet 
 to be had on the fincerity of their fub- 
 fequent profeflions ? what pledge have 
 they given of the honefty of their ulte- 
 rior views ? 
 
 Had their profeflions been fincere, their 
 views honeft, they would have with- 
 drawn their troops from every part of Po- 
 land ; faciliated the meeting of the diet ; 
 waited patiently till all the lenators could 
 have aflembled ; till the members of the 
 lower houfe could have been freely elect- 
 ed, with all the formalities of the law ; 
 they would clearly have explained what 
 they meant by the ancient form of go- 
 vernment. Inflead of this, the capital of 
 Poland is yet filled with Ruffian troops ; 
 the Auftrians and Pruffians have advanced 
 far beyond the bounds they at firft marked 
 out ; and they give an affected obfeurity 
 
 to
 
 Present State of Poland. 127 
 
 to their defigns, by fpeaking only in ge- 
 neral terms. 
 
 Experience having taught the king of 
 Poland and his people, that thefe terms 
 may be applied to fignify meafures, which, 
 inftead of re-eftablifhing the real confti- 
 tution of the kingdom, may ferve only 
 to confirm its ruin, they exprefs a natural 
 reluctance to affemble a diet under cir- 
 cumflances, which muft leave it only the 
 blind inftrument of the oppreflbrs, and 
 tyrants of their country. The court of 
 Vienna here takes the lead, publifhes a 
 fecond * manifefto in the name of herfelf 
 and allies, in which they dare to infinuatc, 
 that the cries of his country can no longer 
 find their wav to the heart of the kinp-; 
 treat as a culpable indecifion the repug- 
 nance he feels, and ought to feel, again!! 
 any act which may tend to give the 
 fan&ion of his content to their ufurpa- 
 tions and cruelty, to the lofs of the pro- 
 vinces, commerce, and independence of 
 * See Appendix, F. 
 
 his
 
 128 Letters concerning the 
 
 his people ; add, with unparalleled info- 
 lence, that the dignity and juftice of the 
 three courts prefcribe certain bounds to 
 their moderation ; and threaten Poland 
 with flill greater evils, if their wills be 
 not immediately complied with. Thefe 
 threats had already been put in execu- 
 tion, even before they were announced ; 
 already the Auftrians and PrufTians had 
 advanced into the wretched remains of 
 Poland ; already the latter had extended 
 their depredations and ravages into the 
 little fpot which had hitherto been fpared. 
 To add to the abfurdity and cruelty of 
 their conduct, whilft they prefs the king 
 to fummon a diet, in a manner fo unwor- 
 thy of the regard due to a crowned head, 
 they take every poflible method of ren- 
 dering its decifions null and ineffectual, 
 They forbid the fenators of the ufurped 
 provinces to attend : they hinder the elec- 
 tion of the nuntios ; though they know, 
 by the laws of Poland, no act can be va- 
 lid without their concurrence. The king 
 
 of
 
 Present State of Poland. 129 
 
 of Prufiia goes farther : flattery and 
 promifes, threatnings and violence, have 
 been alternately made ufe of to perfuade a 
 prince Sulkowfky to afTemble a fort of 
 council at Lifla, which has feparated 
 itfelf from the republic, and declared itfelf 
 independent of the ftate. As foon as it 
 was affembled, the Pruflian general Lef- 
 fow commanded the provinces of Great 
 Poland, under pain of military execution, 
 to fend deputies to this council, where he 
 had propofals to make them from his 
 mafter. As if, when a general national 
 council is demanded, it were permitted to 
 treat with a part of the nation, illegally 
 aflembled, forced to afTemble by every act 
 of artifice and violence ! 
 
 But let us fuppofe the authority of the 
 whole legiflative power to be vefted in 
 the mutilated remains, which are to meet 
 
 at Warfaw. Can they hope to enjoy 
 
 freedom of debate, whilft. the Auftrians 
 and PrufTians are hovering round the gates 
 of the city ? whilft it is even occupied by 
 Ruffian troops ? Is another ambaflfador to 
 K burft
 
 130 Letters concerning the 
 
 burft with an armed force into every 
 houfe ; drag the bifhops and fenators from 
 the arms of their families and friends ; 
 hurry them to cold and inhofpitable 
 climes ; invade the fan&uary of the laws ; 
 transfer the fenate to his own houfe ; and, 
 with unfeeling haughtinefs, tell the afto- 
 ftifhed members, that inftead of complain- 
 ing that fo much is taken from them, 
 they fhould be thankful that any thing 
 is left them ? is another ambaflador to 
 dictate to the chiefs of the nation, the 
 orders of a foreign tyrant ; tell them, the 
 leaft backwardnefs to comply with thefe 
 orders, degrades them from the rank of 
 reafonable beings, and leaves them un- 
 worthy of being applied to by argument ; 
 that the leaft difference in opinion with 
 him, renders them unfit for fociety ? This, 
 fir, has been literally the language, thefe 
 the proceedings of two Ruffian minifters 
 at Warfaw. 
 
 If at this moment the three powers 
 meant really to re-eftablifh the ancient 
 
 con-
 
 Present State of Poland. 131 
 
 conftitution, why continue this threaten-* 
 ing language, thefe a£ts of outrage ancV 
 violence? The nation would be ready 
 enough to co-operate with them. But 
 it is plain, fir, they do not talk of the 
 real conftitution, but of what they have' 
 determined to call fo. 
 
 Now we have a right, I think, to con* 
 fider that as their determination, which 
 they have themfelves lately and formally 
 given as fuch. In the year 1767 the em* 
 prefs of Ruffia feized the whole legiflative 
 power of Poland ; a code of laws was 
 imperioufly dictated, by her own impe- 
 rious minifter. If, therefore, we examine 
 the outlines of this code* we mail come 
 at the idea, which the three courts have 
 formed of the ancient conftitution of Po«* 
 land : for you have the emprefs of Ruf- 
 fiVs own word, that the courts of Vienna 
 and Berlin approved, and concurred in her 
 meafures. 
 
 I fhall confine myfelf merely to the ca- 
 pital parts of this code ; the whole is fuch 
 
 K 2 an
 
 132 Letters concerning the 
 
 'an indigefted, incoherent compofition, that 
 no patience can go through it. The young 
 lawgiver did not come prepared to the 
 great Work of legiflation, with that deep 
 penetration, that acute difcernment, that 
 comprehenfive view, which chara&erifed 
 a Solon, a Lycurgus, a Numa, or the 
 man bred up in all the learning of the 
 Egyptians. In a code dcflined to fettle 
 the political rights of a nation, you fee 
 "examined and decided private difputes 
 about property, cognifable by the com- 
 mon and inferior courts of juftice. The 
 minifter was determined his work fhould 
 carry it own condemnation with it. The 
 affembling of the committee at his own 
 houfe was a proof of violence : partial 
 decifions, about private difputes in favour 
 of his adherents, are proofs of undue in- 
 fluence. 
 
 A part of this code contains what are 
 called Cardinal haws ; and thefe are de- 
 clared perpetual, for ever unchangeable, 
 not to be abrogated, or altered, even by 
 
 the
 
 Present State of Poland. 133 
 
 the unanimous confent of every individual 
 in the nation. 
 
 This alone, fir, is a badge of flavery, 
 and degrades the republic from the rank 
 of a ftate. There is not, cannot be a 
 ftate without a full and uncontrolled 
 power of legillation. The fundamental 
 laws of other nations are compacts be- . 
 tween the governor and governed ; mould 
 they both agree to alter, or modify, or 
 entirely annul and abrogate them, they 
 are lurely mafters. Were a king of Eng- 
 land to break in upon the privileges of 
 the Great Charter, or the Bill of Rights, 
 the fubject might petition, remonftrate ; 
 nay, where thefe mild and refpectful mea- 
 fures have not fucceedcd, they have gone 
 farther; they have afferted their privi- 
 leges by force of arms. But mould the 
 whole nation, to a man, confent to alter, 
 diminifh, or even relinquifh them, would 
 the kings of France or Spain have a right 
 to oppofe it? I repeat it, fir, indepen- 
 dence in the exercife of the legiflative 
 K -i ' power
 
 134 Letters concerning the 
 
 power is the firft, great, unalienable pre- 
 rogative of every ftate. — What then would 
 you fay to a foreign power, who, behold- 
 ing with complacency the ancient form of 
 government in England, mould endeavour 
 to force you to re-eftablifh it, fuch as it 
 was under the houfes Lancaster, York, 
 Tudor, or Stuart ?-»-Yet the emprefs of 
 Ruflia, under pretence of re-eftablifhing 
 the ancient conftitution of Poland, endear 
 voured to perpetuate abufes infinitely worfe 
 and more fatal than ever obtained at any, 
 the moft tumultuous period of the Englifh 
 government. 
 
 The fifth fection of thefe Cardinal 
 Laws declares, " The kings fhall for ever 
 *} be elected by a full and abfolute unani- 
 " mity of all the fuffrages; and the crown 
 'J mail never, on any account, be rendered 
 " hereditary." 
 
 The objection of the Confederates to 
 this article is unanfwerable. 
 
 44 Though by our laws, fay they, the 
 •f declion of our kings fhould be unanim- 
 ous :
 
 u 
 tt 
 
 Present State of Poland. 135 
 
 *« ous ; yet we had it in our power to 
 
 • change, or modify thefe laws. In the 
 place of unanimity, we could fubfti- 
 tute the plurality, or any certain pro- 
 
 a portion of votes ; or inftead of the una- 
 
 * nimjty of every citizen, taken man by 
 ** man, we could fubftitute the unani- 
 if mous confent of the counties, or di£- 
 " trices, taking the plurality of voices in 
 " each county or diftridt for the voice of 
 ** the whole. The laws forbid the king 
 u to name a fucceflbr ; or eftablifh an or- 
 w der of fucceffion to the throne : but thefe 
 " laws did not bind the people : they 
 " might exercife the right of election ; or 
 " they might fufpend it in favour of any 
 u family; or they might entirely relinquifh 
 w it. The Stadtholders of Holland were 
 u formerly elective ; they are now heredi- 
 " tary ; the ftates have found means of 
 '* conciliating the liberties of the nation 
 ** with the hereditary rights of a ftadt- 
 ** holder. Had any other power attempted 
 " to reflrain them from this change. 
 
 K 4 " would
 
 136 Letters concerning the 
 
 " would they not have refented it, as an 
 " attack on their independent rights of 
 " fovereignty ?" 
 
 Thefe are the very words of the con- 
 federates in their Manifefto : nor can the 
 neighbouring powers make any reply to 
 them, unlefs they acknowledge the plain 
 matter of fact, — that they wifh to eftablifh 
 and guaranty this abfurd form of election, 
 merely to perpetuate the troubles, which, 
 according to their own words, almofr. 
 every vacancy of the throne has excited ; 
 — to preferve an odious influence, and 
 leave the door ever open to new acts of 
 violence and oppreilion. 
 
 The throne of Poland was not anci- 
 ently elective ; it was for many centuries 
 hereditary. But had it been elective from 
 the beginning, is there any thing fo 
 facred in antiquity, that a nation muft, 
 for the fake of it, be precluded all im- 
 provement, and fubmit to the rnofl fatal 
 inconveniencies ? 
 
 The
 
 Present State of Poland. 137 
 
 The ninth fe&ion declares, " the union 
 ." of Lithuania, and all the other pro- 
 u vinces and diftri&s with Poland, for 
 " ever indiffoluble ; that no change fhall 
 M be made in it; nor any part thereof ever 
 M difmembered." — Will the three courts 
 adhere to this part of their code ? or how 
 can they reconcile their prefent proceed- 
 ings with it ? The fame powers who de- 
 clare in 1767, that the nation cannot, 
 fhall not fufFer any part of the kingdom 
 to be difmembered, declare in the year 
 1772, that it mufl and fhall confent to 
 difmember the heft, moft fertile, and im- 
 portant provinces. 
 
 The feventeenth fection declares " the 
 " Hberum veto fhall be maintained in full 
 " force and vigour, in every thing which 
 " relates to matters of State, which are 
 " always to be decided by the unanimity 
 " of all the fuffrages : and every nuntio 
 " fhall for ever enjoy the right of annul- 
 " ling the activity of the diet by his fimple 
 
 " veto ;
 
 33S Letters concerning the 
 
 " veto ; whether pronounced verbally, or 
 K exprefled in writing." 
 
 I have already told you, fir, that the 
 exercife of the liberum veto is by no 
 means a part of the ancient conftitution 
 of Poland; and that the firft attempt to 
 exert it was regarded wjth horror. It 
 was, I think, at the diet holden at Grodno 
 in the year 171 8, that it firft obtained 
 the fanction of a law; even then however 
 its extent was not fixed: befides, time 
 was given for reflection ; to make it va- 
 lid it muft be entered in a court of re- 
 cord. But now, to ufe once more the 
 words of the Confederates, — "a hand 
 " too much interefted in preferving this 
 * £ fatal privilege, has extended it beyond 
 <£ its former bounds ; and what is more 
 " alarming, declares it immutable. So 
 u that, fhould the republic chufe to abro- 
 " gate, or only limit and confine it to the 
 " one particular object under debate, in- 
 " ftead of extending it to the whole pro- 
 ** ceedings of the diet ; to oblige the pro- 
 
 tefting
 
 Present State of Poland. 139 
 
 t* tefting nuntio to aflign the reafons of 
 w his proteft, and allow the one to be va-» 
 w lid or not, as the others appear to be 
 ** well or ill founded ; this power is 
 ** taken from her for ever ; the fatal veto 
 " pronounced by an ilUdifpofed or cor- 
 ** rupted, even by a hafty or unthinking 
 " nuntio, overturns the moft falutary pro? 
 " jects without a poflibility of ever find- 
 " ing a remedy." 
 
 Thefe, fir, are the capital claufes of that 
 part of the code, which contains the car- 
 dinal laws. And it is pronounced at the 
 end, as at the beginning, that whoever 
 mail attempt to abrogate them, or any of 
 them, fhall be proceeded againft, as an 
 enemy of his country. In remarking on 
 thefe claufes, I have exprefly made ufe of 
 the very words of the Confederates. Bi- 
 goted as they are to their ancient cuftoms 
 and abufes, even they could fee, that 
 Ruffia meant only to confirm the nation 
 in a date of abject fervility. 
 
 The
 
 140 Letters concerning the 
 
 The next branch of this code contains 
 what are called matters of jiate, and com- 
 prehend almoft every thing that falls with- 
 in the fphere of the fovereign power ; all 
 which are to be decided by a full and ab- 
 solute unanimity. 
 
 This is the more aftonifhing, as in an 
 anfwer of count Panin to a memorial of 
 the Polifh refident, he attributes all the 
 misfortunes of the republic to the abufes 
 of its government, and thofe abufes to 
 this very unanimity. Here his own 
 words, fir ; " Dans les tumultes des fac- 
 " tions, l'efprit le plus fage plie fouvent 
 " fous l'efprit du plus altier : le grand 
 <c nombre, celui de la juftice, de la fa- 
 " gefle, et de la raifon, eft fouvent inu- 
 " tile la ou l'unanimite eft toujours ne- 
 " ceffaire." This paper was given the 
 27th of November, 1767; and the law 
 of unanimity was extended, confirmed, 
 and rendered immutable in the month of 
 February, 1768. 
 
 With-
 
 Present State of Poland. 141 
 
 Without this unanimity (according to 
 the firft feclion of the fecond branch of 
 this code) " The taxes cannot be height- 
 " ened ; nor their nature changed ; nor 
 " the rates once eftablifhed ' in any wife 
 •« altered." 
 
 " Confidering the facility (as the Con- 
 '*' federates juftly obferve) with which our 
 " neighbours can prevent this unanimity, 
 " the republic is, by this Article, for ever 
 " deprived of chufing the mode of col- 
 " lecting its taxes ; yet what is right and 
 " good at one time, a change of circurri- 
 " fiances may, at another, render hurt- 
 " ful : and how abfurd is it to fix for ever 
 " what in its nature is fo changeable ? 
 " The value of lands may increafe, or, 
 " which is the fame, the value of money 
 " may decreafe; and yet our rates are to 
 " remain for ever the fame !" 
 
 By the fecond fection, " the troops ac- 
 " tually in being cannot be augmented 
 " or reinforced, but by the fame unani- 
 <c mous confent." 
 
 This
 
 142 Letters concerning triE 
 
 This article, fir, was fo far from con- 
 firming an ancient law, that it annulled 
 -and abrogated a law then actually in full 
 force and vigour. The Palatins, efpe- 
 cially thofe on the frontiers, Were not only 
 permitted, but even obliged, in times of 
 actual, or imminent invafions, to raife cer- 
 tain bodies of troops : they held their 
 dignities and lands on this very tenure. 
 By the article here cited this duty is dif- 
 penfed with ; this right annulled, and no 
 other means of defence is to fupply its 
 place. The article needs no comment ; 
 the feizures fince made in Poland are its 
 beft explanation* 
 
 By the following claufes " no war caii 
 " be declared ; no treaty of fnendfhip 
 " or commerce ; no alliance, offenfive or 
 " defenfive, can be entered into without 
 " this fame unanimity. In a word, every 
 " thing, even that laft feeble refource, 
 " which the ftate had referved, of af- 
 " fembling the arrier-ban in cafes of ex- 
 " treme danger, is fubmitted to it." 
 
 What
 
 Present State of Poland. 143 
 
 What did Rome do worfe to Carthage 
 when me had determined on her destruc- 
 tion? What did fhe Worfe to Jugurtha, 
 when fhe had refolved to ftrip him of his 
 kingdom ? She made him give up his 
 horfes, elephants, treafures, and arms ;— 
 and then demanded his perfon. 
 
 And is this re-eftablifhing the ancient 
 constitution ? Is this ftate of helplefs 
 dependence to be the recompence of fo 
 many infults offered; fo many citizens 
 maffacred ? this the price of fo much wealth 
 carried off; fo many provinces ufurped ? 
 
 Yet, that this is what the three courts 
 underftand by restoring the ancient form 
 of government, is clear from what one 
 of them has already done. For it was 
 not a hafty and precipitate, but a very 
 deliberate act: every ftep was taken to 
 give it a refpectable fanction ; not only 
 the courts of Vienna and Berlin are de- 
 clared to have approved and concurred 
 in it, but in the act itfelf tfrofe of Stock- 
 holm and Copenhagen are named as par- 
 ties. Nay, as if proud of the rectitude of
 
 144 Letters concerning the 
 
 her conduct, in the fame act the emprefg 
 declares even the king of Great Britain 
 a party ; proftitutes a name for ever facred 
 to liberty, for the vile purpofe of en- 
 flaving a free and independent people : — 
 " We, fays the preamble, Catherine em- 
 " prefs of Ruffia, and our allies the kings 
 " of Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, 
 " Pruflia, &c." — No wonder, fir, that 
 when the Ruffian minifter refiding at 
 your court, had read the remarks of the 
 Confederates on this ftrange code, he 
 burnt the book : it was not fo much 
 through indignation at the licence with 
 which the emprefs's name is treated, as 
 through fear of the book's failing into 
 the hands of the Englifh miniftry. He 
 did not wifh them to know their fove- 
 reign's name had been ufed to give a 
 fanclion to fuch purpofes. They indeed 
 do not, like the mimfters of Peterfburgh,- 
 make fo florid a difplay of the philan- 
 thropy of their mailer ; they know it to be 
 unqueftionable : they do not parade fo 
 much about his love of juftice, and his 
 6 fenfe
 
 Present State of Poland. 145 
 
 (znk of honour ; they know it to be 
 above fufpicion. The Ruffian knew it, 
 I fuppofe, too ; he was afraid of awaken- 
 ing a fenfibilityj which might create an 
 enemy, where his court had hitherto found 
 a protector. He knew too, that this was 
 not the only occafion, on which the em- 
 prefs had made an unauthorifed ufe of the 
 name of the king of Great Britain. In 
 my next letter I mall have a ftronger in- 
 ftance to cite. 
 
 To render this code Mill more immut- 
 able, Ruffia guaranties all, and every 
 article ; and aflumes the power of pro- 
 ceeding againft every one who {hall, at 
 any time, do any thing contrary to the 
 tenor of it, as enemies to their country, 
 and the empire of Ruffia. The defigns 
 then of Ruffia and her allies are too ap- 
 parent ; the fame code is to be confirmed ; 
 the ancient conftitution of Poland is no 
 more to be heard of. Were it otherwiie, 
 would they not have began by declaring 
 this code, and her guaranty null and 
 void : without this what is the Poliih na- 
 
 L tion
 
 146 Letters concerning the 
 
 tion to do ? every attempt to make any 
 change in it is a declaration of war againfl 
 Ruflia. 
 
 There are few poflible cafes, where the 
 guaranty of a foreign power can be ad- 
 mitted in matters that concern the inter- 
 nal government of a flate ; and in thefe it 
 was never fuppofed to go farther than 
 protecting that government againft acts of 
 external violence. Thus the fucceflion 
 to the throne of Great Britain in the 
 houfe of Hanover is guarantied by almoft. 
 all the great powers of Europe : the rea- 
 fon was, a pretender to the throne was 
 fupported by a neighbouring power ; other 
 and nearer branches of the royal family 
 exifted ; they might pretend hereditary 
 rights. This guaranty was meant as a 
 bar to their claims ; and a fecurity, that 
 no foreign power mould difturb the 
 order of fucceflion cftablifhed by the free 
 and voluntary act of the nation ; but it 
 was never underflood as an act of com- 
 pulsion or reftraint on the nation itfelf. 
 It was referved to the courts of Peterf- 
 
 burgh
 
 Present State of Poland. 147 
 
 burgh and Berlin to aflume the power of 
 dilating to two free and independent 
 people the form of government they 
 mould obferve. You have feen the efFe&s 
 in Poland ; in Sweden the people have 
 been reduced to the neceffity of trufting 
 an almoft unlimited authority in the 
 hands of their own king, to prevent 
 the fame authority being exerted over 
 them, with greater feverity, by two fo~ 
 
 reign powers *• 
 
 1 
 
 * When the author called the power entrufted 
 to the king of Sweden at the late revolution— • 
 *' an almoft unlimited authority," it is probable 
 he had only feen the firft imperfect accounts of 
 that revolution. A pamphlet lately published 
 under the title of " State Papers relative to the 
 " Change of the Conftitution of Sweden, &c." 
 which appears authentic, gives a more favourable 
 idea of this revolution : and proves, I think, 
 beyond a doubt, that the king of Sweden has been 
 far from afTuming an unlimited authority. To give 
 only one inftance : the fortieth article of this con- 
 ftitution fays : " the king may not make a new 
 *' law without the knowledge and confent of the 
 
 •* dates, nor repeal an old one." This furely is 
 
 L 2 not
 
 14.8 Letters concerning the 
 
 When the three courts acknowledge, 
 that almoft every vacancy of the throne 
 is productive of troubles, in which the 
 neighbours are involved as well as the 
 Poles, a plain man would expect, that 
 they, as co-fufferers, mould exhort the 
 nation to relinquifh a right, which has 
 proved fo fatal to them j and eftablifh 
 a regular fucceffion under proper limita- 
 tions : — when they acknowledge that the 
 great difficulty of obtaining that unani- 
 mity, required under the prefent con- 
 flitution, makes it equally difficult to 
 fettle amicably any difference between 
 
 not the language of defpotifm. Let us hear how 
 the king of Pruilia fpeaks on the fame fubjecl:. In 
 the Code called the Frederician, Part. I. Book. I. 
 Title ii. Sect. 9. he gives the following directions : 
 " With refpect to any orders which we may give 
 " from our cabinet, if the courts of juflice fhouid 
 " think them contrary to this code, they are'to re- 
 " prefent it to us, demand our ulterior orders, and 
 " conform themfelves to what /hall in confequence 
 " thereof be commanded them by us." This is 
 the genuine language of defpotifm, and very differ- 
 ent from the other. 
 
 Poland
 
 Present State of Poland. 149 
 
 Poland and her neighbours ; one would 
 expect, that they again, as co-fufFerers, 
 fhould exhort the nation to abolifh an in- 
 ftitution, which deprives the legiflative 
 power of all activity, and robs the exe- 
 cutive power of its proper and natural 
 functions, fuch as the command of the 
 army, and the power of treating with 
 foreign ftates, &c. — When they could no 
 longer difguife to themfelves, or the reft 
 of Europe, that the prefent diffracted 
 ftate of Poland is the effect of their op- 
 prcflions, the prefence of their troops, 
 and their unnatural guaranty of a code, 
 falfly called the real conftitution, one 
 would expect them to forbear thefe op- 
 preiTions, recall their troops, and pub- 
 licly and authentically defift from their 
 guaranty : then indeed we might fuppofe 
 them fincere in their wiflies of refloring 
 peace, tranquility, and good order to 
 Poland : then too their claims might be 
 fairly and difpaffionately examined. 
 
 L 3 Upon
 
 150 Letters concerning the 
 
 Upon what foundation the claims of 
 Auftria and Ruffia ftand, fir, I profefs I 
 know not. Thofe of Pruffia I fhall exa- 
 mine hereafter. I have heard the court 
 of Auftria has publifhed a deduction of 
 her rights j but not having been able to 
 procure it, I can fay nothing to it. 
 
 It will not be difficult in Germany 
 to find out fome learned antiquarian, 
 who, covered with the duft of books and 
 records, long fmce forgotten, can drag 
 from oblivion fome ancient title, re- 
 nounced and cancelled by an hundred fub- 
 fequent acts ; it will not be difficult to 
 find a mercenary gazetteer, who will an- 
 nounce this diicovery to the world as a 
 monument precious to every lover of 
 hiftory*. — But what have the rights of 
 
 * The Gazereer of the Lower Rhine actually did 
 fo, and proceeded to give Tome disjointed extracts 
 from this piece : but Toon grew afhamed of his 
 work j and difcontiimcd it, gravely declaring, that 
 all Europe was fo well convinced of the juftice of 
 the In perial caufe, that it was not neceflary to con- 
 tinue his extracts. 
 
 ftatcs
 
 Present State of Poland. 151 
 
 dates to do with thefe ? " If, fays the 
 " court of * Warfaw, titles dug out of 
 *' the obfcurity of ancient times, of thofe 
 " times of fudden and momentary revo- 
 " lutions, which erected and deftroyed, 
 " ceded and reftored kingdoms in the 
 " fhort fpace of a few years, or even 
 *' months : — if thefe titles be admitted 
 *' againft uninterrupted poffeffion of many 
 " ages, the fecurity of every ftate is un- 
 " dermined ; every throne muft make 
 " from its foundation." 
 
 Hitherto, fir, the claims of Auftria and 
 Ruflia are fupported by no better title 
 than their reciprocal communication and 
 mutual approbation. All I can do, there- 
 fore, is to fee how far thefe claims ex- 
 tend ; and whether any late treaties be- 
 tween the refpective courts feem to allow, 
 or fuppofe them, or any thing equivalent 
 to them. 
 
 Annexed f you have the fpecifications 
 
 * See Appendix E. 
 f Appendix B and C. 
 
 L 4 of
 
 152 Letters concerning the 
 
 of what they at firfl pretended to, and 
 what has fince been taken. You will 
 naturally have reeourfe to a map ; and 
 fo gain a better idea of its extent and 
 importance than from any thing I can 
 fay. I mufl own, that I do not tho- 
 roughly underftand whether the emprefs- 
 queen lays claim to that particular tract 
 of land, or whether me regards it only 
 as a portion equivalent to fuch tracts as 
 do of right belong to her. — Her words 
 are — " Nos ilium tractum terras tanquam 
 *' portionem juribus noflris refpondentem 
 " occupari juffimus." I fuppofe the par- 
 ticular titles were not yet made out ; in 
 the mean time that general one of con- 
 venience and profit was fufiicient to juf- 
 tify the feizurc. So much the rather, 
 as the emprds mufl be naturally impa- 
 tient to fecurc her earthly poffefiions, 
 having already almoft anticipated her 
 rights in heaven. In the maufoleum at 
 Vienna I faw the prefent emprefs already 
 laid in cold marble by her huiband's fide; 
 
 I read
 
 Present State of Poland, in 
 
 I read her epitaph : nothing is wanting 
 but the day of her tranflation to the hea- 
 venly choir. And a lady, whom me ho- 
 noured with the order of Therefa, whilft 
 I was there, was received in a cabinet 
 hung in fables; and rendered ftill more 
 awful by crucifixes, and death's heads, 
 together with the picture of the late em- 
 peror taken after his death, and that of 
 the emprefs, fuch as it is fuppofed fhe will 
 be, when death fhall have robbed of all 
 its graces, what has been the fineft perfon 
 in Europe. — You fee, fir, that even fcrip- 
 ture itfelf is fallible ; it is poffible at once 
 to ferve God and Mammon ; to be very 
 heavenly-minded, and rob out neighbours 
 at the fame time ; for furely the feizures 
 made in Poland are robberies. 
 
 The laft treaty, fir, in which I find 
 any mention of claims from the fbtes of 
 Hungary and Bohemia en Poland, was 
 made on the i cth of March, 1412*, be- 
 
 * See Damoat Corps diplomatique, tome ii. p, 
 346. 
 
 tween
 
 J54 Letters concerning the 
 
 tween Sigifmund, emperor of the Romans 
 and king of Hungary, on the one part ; 
 and Ladiflaus Jagiello, king of Poland, 
 and his brother Alexander, otherwife 
 called Withawdus, duke of Lithuania, on 
 the other. In this treaty it is faid, that 
 certain difputes having arifen between 
 Sigifmund and Ladiflaus touching the 
 provinces of Ruffia, Podolia, and Molda- 
 via, it is agreed, that peace and amity 
 fhall be maintained between the two 
 princes during their natural lives, and for 
 five years after the death of him, who 
 fhall firft. demife ; that, in the mean time, 
 Ladiflaus fhall remain in full and peace- 
 able pofTeflion of Ruffia and Podolia ; and 
 that certain plans, or letters of the barons 
 and the refpedHve ftates, there referred to, 
 but not cited, fhall be examined ; and the 
 refpective claims amicably fettled before 
 the expiration of the aforefaid term. 
 
 On the 8th of November, in the fame 
 year of 1 41 2, another treaty was made be- 
 tween the two princes, by which the pro- 
 vince
 
 Present State of Poland. 155 
 
 vince of Zipfk, with all its towns, lands, 
 caftles, and appurtenances, was put into 
 the hands of Ladiflaus, as a fecurity for 
 the payment of a certain fum of money ; 
 which fum never having been paid, the 
 the kings of Poland remained in pofTeflion 
 of the faid province, till the prefent year, 
 when the emprefs invented a new way of 
 paying debts. Now, fir, if the rights of 
 Sigifmund to the provinces of RufTia and 
 Podolia were juftly founded, it feems very 
 extraordinary, that he fhould not rather 
 have ceded thefe rights, as an indemnifica- 
 tion for the fums due to Ladiflaus, than 
 have put one of his own indifputed pro- 
 vinces into the hands of Poland : yet no 
 fuch proportion was made, nor in this 
 fecond treaty is any notice taken of claims 
 on Poland. 
 
 From that time to the year 1589, the 
 emperors, in their quality of heads of the 
 empire, formed different pretenfions on 
 Poland; all which were foiemnly renounc- 
 ed by a treaty in the year 1589; and, in 
 
 confe-
 
 156 Letters concerning the 
 
 confequence of that renunciation, Maxi- 
 milian, fon of Rodolph II. who had been 
 taken prifoner by the Poles, obtained his 
 liberty. 
 
 From this laft period to the prefent 
 times, we meet with feveral treaties be- 
 tween the emperors, kings of Hungary 
 and Bohemia, on the one part ; and the 
 kings of Poland on the other ; in no one 
 of which, as far as I remember, is men- 
 tion made of thefe claims on Poland ; 
 unlefs it be, of which I am not certain, 
 in one of the temporary treaties made 
 during the war with Sweden, terminated 
 by the peace of Oliva. Should fuch men- 
 tion be found there, the houfe of Auftria 
 cannot avail itfelf of it ; for you will fee 
 prefently, that all claims in confequence 
 of thefe treaties have been formally re- 
 nounced. Treaties of mutual defence and 
 fuccour were flgned in the years 1614, 
 1627. In the year 1647, the duchies of 
 Ratiber and Oppelen were mortgaged by 
 the emperor Ferdinand III. to Ladiflaus IV. 
 
 king
 
 Present State of Poland. 157 
 
 king of Poland, for one million one 
 hundred thoufand florins. The mort- 
 gage of Zipfk was confirmed, I think, by 
 the fame emperor, who received a fecond 
 fum of money upon it ; and added this 
 claufe to the original obligation, that in 
 cafe of non-redemption at a ftipulated 
 time, the original debt fhould be doubled 
 every year, or the province remain for 
 ever in pofTeffion of Poland. 
 
 Another treaty of alliance, offenfive and 
 defenfive, was figned in the year 1657. 
 In the year 1660, was concluded the 
 the peace of Oliva ; where, if ever, the 
 emperor fhould have produced his claims; 
 fmce this was a general treaty, meant to 
 re-eftablifh the peace of the North, and 
 fettle for ever the claims of all the con- 
 tracting parties. 
 
 In the year 1677 anotner treaty was 
 concluded between the emperor Leopold, 
 and John Sobiefki king of Poland ; where, 
 inftead of any claim on the republic, we 
 find the following llrong claufe: — " Prce- 
 
 terea
 
 1^8 Letters concerning The 
 
 " terea nullus noftrum ad alterius regna> 
 " principatus, vel dominia afpirare, vel 
 " anhilare deber*." 
 
 In the year 1683, a fecond treaty of 
 alliance offenfive and defenfive was en- 
 tered into by the fame princes ; one ar- 
 ticle of which is *f : 
 
 " Itidem fua majeftas Ca?farea prseten-^ 
 " fiones extractatu tempore belli Sue- 
 " cici occafione fubfidiorum facto re- 
 " fultantes annihilat : de hifque S. R. 
 " majeftatem, & rempublicam totaliter 
 " quietat ; diploma ex fenatus confilio 
 u emanatum de electione nullum decla- 
 • c rat,'* — (by which the Poles had en- 
 gaged to elect a prince of the houfe of 
 Auftria : — ) " eidem rcnuntiat, regnoque 
 " Poloniae ejufque liberis fufFragiis, refti- 
 " tuit : et hypothecam, fi quse eft, in- 
 " fcriptiones & prsetenfiones ad falis fo- 
 
 * See this treaty in Dupont Corps dipi. torn, 
 vii. p. 332. 
 
 t See this treaty, ib. torn. vii. part. ii. p. 62. 
 
 " dinas
 
 Present State of Poland. 159 
 
 " dinas Vielicenfes integre remittit, in 
 " perpetuum & annihilat." Thefe very 
 fait mines are a part of the late feizure in 
 Poland. — The treaty adds — " Ab utrin- 
 " que fublatis in perpetuum prsetenfioni- 
 " bus, omnes prsefens conjunctio exclu- 
 " dat fcrupulos, & confidentiae obices." 
 — In cafe of the Turks befieging Vienna, 
 or Cracow, then the imperial and royal 
 armies were to join, in order to raife the 
 liege : otherwife, each ftate to defend its 
 own frontiers ; that is to fay, the em- 
 peror, Hungary; and the king, Podolia 
 and Kaminiec. — It appears then, that the 
 claims of the emperor on Podolia were 
 relinquished. 
 
 A remarkable claufe in this treaty is, 
 that neither party fhdl obtain or accept 
 a difpenfation from the pope for break- 
 ing their oath.— In thefe days princes are 
 not fuperflitious enough to allow this dif- 
 pcniing power of the pope : it may be- 
 come a qucftion, however, whether fo- 
 ci ety
 
 160 Letters concerning the 
 
 ciety are gainers, now it feems every 
 prince can be a pope to himfelf. 
 
 Gratitude has rarely been the virtue of 
 princes ; moft rarely of princes of the 
 houfe of Auilria. If it were, that houlc 
 would be particularly delicate in fulfill- 
 ing in the ampleft manner, not only the 
 letter, but the fpirit of this lafl treaty. 
 To this treaty they owe their existence ; 
 to this treaty was it owing, that while 
 the proud and cowardly Leopold fled 
 with his trembling family to Lintz, So- 
 biefki flew to their afliftance, engaged 
 the Turks, forced their camp, drove 
 them to flight, and reftored his capital 
 to the fucceiTor of the Caefars ; who, re- 
 covering his pride with his fortunes, fpent 
 two whole days in confidcring how he 
 mould meet his gallant deliverer, with- 
 out defcending from his dignity j and at 
 laft, fixed the grateful and hofpitable in- 
 terview in the open fields. 
 
 From this deduction, fir, it appears, 
 that the ftates of Hungary and Bohemia 
 
 have
 
 Present State of Poland. i6r 
 
 have formed no pretenfions on Poland 
 fince the year 141 2 ; that in none of the 
 treaties made fince, on fo many different 
 occafions, thefe pretenfions are repeated ; 
 that one treaty contains a formal and ge- 
 neral renunciation of all pretenfions what- 
 ever. Poland then has to plead an unin- 
 terrupted and undifputed poffeffion of 
 near four hundred years. What better 
 title other ftates can produce, I profefs I 
 know not. If to this you add the letter 
 written by the reigning emprefs, to the 
 reigning king of Poland, in the month 
 of January, 1771, mentioned in my laft, 
 and referred to in the annexed anfwer * , 
 you will know what to think of the juf- 
 tice of her imperial majefty's claims and 
 pretenfions. And as neither you, nor I, 
 fir, are to fhare in the fpoils, it is proba- 
 ble our verdict would be different from 
 that of the intercommunicating and co- 
 approving parties. 
 
 In refuting the claims of the emprefs 
 of Ruffia, it would not perhaps be necef- 
 Ste Appendix, E. 
 
 M fray
 
 162 Letters concerning the 
 
 fary to cite any other ad: than the decla- 
 rations made by her prefent majefty ; the 
 rather, as I am told, fhe founds her 
 claims on the expences incurred in the 
 prefent war. And this would be perfect- 
 ly confonant to the general fpirit of her 
 proceedings, fince her unexpected accef- 
 fion to the throne of Ruffia. 
 
 However, fir, let us go back as far as 
 the firfl of January, 1667*. A truce 
 was then concluded between Jean Cafi- 
 mir, king of Poland, and the czar Alexis 
 Michaelowitz ; the bounds between Ruf- 
 fia and Poland fixed ; the very portion 
 now occupied by the emprefs affigned to 
 Poland ; the town and citadel of Kiovia 
 promife4 to be reftored to Poland within 
 two years ; and a time fixed for changing 
 this truce into a perpetual peace. Three 
 years afterwards a congrefs was held for 
 this purpofe ; but difficulties arifing, this 
 falutary work was not effected: the mi- 
 nifters contented themfelves with con- 
 firming the articles of the truce. In the 
 * See Appendix, D. 
 
 year
 
 Present State of Poland. i6j 
 
 year 1672, it was again renewed and con-* 
 firmed. In the year 1678, it was again 
 renewed and prolonged. The czar gave 
 up a part of his former acquiiltions, and 
 reftored to Poland the diftri&s of Seibiz, 
 Nevel, and Wielicz ; and engaged be- 
 (ides to pay to the republic one million of 
 Polifh florins. 
 
 In the year 1686, a treaty of perpe- 
 tual peace was concluded ; in which the 
 fame limits are fixed, the reftitution only 
 of the town and citadel of Kiovia except-* 
 ed : commiflaries were to be named to fix 
 the limits on that fide ; and Rufiia to pay 
 one million five hundred thoufand florins 
 to Poland * * 
 
 The Poles infifled on a farther com- 
 penfation for the town and citadel of 
 Kiovia ; and the fifth article of the treaty 
 concluded at Narva, in the year 1704, 
 flipulated, that the czar mould cede to 
 Poland all that part of Livonia, which 
 
 * See extra&s from his treaty in Dumont Corps 
 diplom. tome vii. part. ii. p, 125* 
 
 M 2 he
 
 164 Letters concerning the 
 
 he fhould conquer from Sweden, belong- 
 ing of right to Poland. — An article never 
 fulfilled. 
 
 It is therefore clear, fir, that the em- 
 prefs of Ruffia has no foundation for her 
 claims in ancient treaties. Thofe I have 
 cited annul and make void any preceding 
 claims, if any fuch there were. She her- 
 felf understood it fo, when, as I have al- 
 ready, obferved in my firft letter, me fo 
 folemnly guarantied to Poland all its terri- 
 tories :« — cc Quae vel jure poffidenda?, vel 
 " aetu poflidentur." 
 
 Should her majefty, as it is now pre- 
 tended, lay any claim of indemnification 
 for the expences incurred in the prefertt 
 war, the anfwer is plain ; — Who defired 
 her to make it ? Becaufe fhe has thrown 
 a kingdom into confufion, muft that very 
 kingdom indemnify her ? Could this 
 queftion be anfvvered in the affirmative, 
 which furcly it cannot, — fhe has formally 
 folemnly, and repeatedly renounced this 
 refource as unworthy of her honour, dif- 
 
 i nter-
 
 Present State of Poland. . 165 
 
 intereftednefs, and magnanimity. —— In 
 the declarations publifhed in her name, 
 and by her order, on the 26th of March, 
 176^, the Ruffian ambaflador exprefles 
 himfelf in the following ftrong terms : 
 
 " Envy would exert itfelf in vain in 
 " attributing to the emprefs any private 
 " view contrary to the independence and 
 " interefts of the republic. Her majefty 
 ** believes herfelf far above all fufpicion ; 
 " and it is only from an excefs of at- 
 " tention, and in condefcenlion to the 
 u delicacy of a republican government — 
 " delicacy, which fhe will always be found 
 " to refpecl:, — that fhe declares, fhe forms 
 " no pretentions* on the republic ; that, far 
 " from feeking her own aggrandifement 
 " in the troubles which agitate Poland, 
 " her only view is to flop them, at the 
 " very moment they feem ready to burft 
 " forth with redoubled violence. If, not- 
 " withftanding her care, and the invitation 
 " fhe makes to the Polifh nation, to co- 
 " operate with her in eftablifhing a peace 
 M 3 at
 
 166 Letters concerning the 
 
 * 4 at once neceffary and advantageous, the" 
 44 fpirit of party and difcord fhould in- 
 44 volve Poland in the horrors of a civil 
 & war ; if this civil war fhould give rife 
 44 to a foreign one, by which the pof- 
 44 feflions of the republic may be endan- 
 44 gered, — the emprefs guaranties to Po- 
 44 land all her poffeffions ; and will never 
 44 confent to a peace with any foreign 
 " power, but upon thofe terms ; nor will 
 " fhe ever defift from her purpofe of efta- 
 " blifhing the government on fuch a 
 " footing as may fecure the great point 
 " Ihe has in view; — the happinefs of 
 44 every citizen in a free and independent 
 
 44 ftate." 
 
 From this declaration, fir, you fee that 
 the emprefs forefaw her defigns on Po- 
 land would be revolting to the nation ; 
 — that a civil war might be the firfl con- 
 fequence ; — and a foreign one the next. 
 - — « She forefaw then every thing which 
 has happened : and with all this before 
 her eyes, ftill fhe declares fhe has no 
 
 pre-
 
 Paesent State of Poland. 167 
 
 pretenfions on Poland ; and, under all 
 thefe poffible circumftanccs, guaranties to 
 the republic all its poiTeffions. If you, 
 fir, can invent ftronger terms of renun- 
 ciation to every thing fince pretended to, 
 you have found out a language hitherto 
 unknown. 
 
 A part of what the emprefs had fore- 
 feen came very foon to pafs. The na- 
 tion, when it was too late, began to 
 fufpect her defigns. Many fenators fpoke 
 againft them in the fenate with great 
 warmth. The ambaffador from Ruflia, 
 in defiance of every law of nations, or- 
 dered his troops to feize and carry off 
 four of them to Ruflia ; where, if alive, 
 they Hill are prifoners. On the next day 
 he thought proper to avow the act by a 
 declaration to the diet ; he did not at- 
 tempt to juftify it ; he fimply announced 
 it. But he concludes his declaration, by 
 alluring the diet, in the name, and by or- 
 der of the emprefs, that " fhe has no- 
 " thing in view but the good of the re- 
 M 4 public;
 
 168 Letters concerning the 
 
 " public ; and will continue her fuccour 
 " towards obtaining this end, without 
 " any view to her own intereft or emolu- 
 " ment; defiring nothing more than the 
 " fafety, happinefs, and liberty of -the 
 " Polifh nation ; all whofe poiTefEons me 
 " guaranties, as well as its laws and go- 
 " vernment." 
 
 The fieur Ffarfki, refident from Po- 
 land at Peterfburgh, had orders to de- 
 mand the liberty and return of the fena-? 
 tors, ieized in fo unprecedented a manner. 
 The prime minifter of Ruffia, more com- 
 plaifant than the ambafTador, enters in- 
 to a long detail of the reafons, which 
 had forced the emprefs to take fo unufual 
 a ftep ; and ftill forced her to refufe the 
 demand in favour of the prifoners. The 
 clemency, generofity, magnanimity, and 
 difintereftednefs of the emprefs are paint- 
 ed in the flrongcft and livelieft colours ; 
 the whole concludes by a folemn declara- 
 tion, that — " The more formidable are 
 ** the difficulties, which oppofe the exe- 
 
 *' cution
 
 a 
 
 Present State of Poland. 169 
 
 cution of the great plan, undertaken by 
 <c the emprefs and republic, the greater 
 " will be her prudence, firmnefs, and 
 " circumfpection in the application of her 
 " fuccours ; that, feconded by, and en- 
 " tirely confiding in the hearty concur- 
 *' rence of the republic, fhe hopes foon 
 " to fee Poland perfectly free, happy, and 
 " quiet; this is the object of all her 
 " wifhes, this her only recompence, this 
 " the fummit of her ambition ; which 
 " is unadulterated by any view of private 
 " intereft," 
 
 The other event, forefeen by the em- 
 prefs, happened about a year afterwards. 
 The Porte declared war againft her*. Her 
 
 * It has been faid, that when the Porte declared 
 war againft Ruflia, the emprefs offered the command 
 of her army to the king of Poland , and his majefty 
 has been blamed for declining it. But the fituation 
 of the king was lingular. Ruflia had :>t that time 
 exerted a&s of violence, and ecu tyranny ag.iinft 
 Poland ; by the code mentioned above, fhe had cn- 
 ccavoured to perpetuate the ferviliry of the Poles : it 
 was profeil'edly to fnatch them from this ftate of ab- 
 
 jeel
 
 \yo Letters concerning the 
 
 intereft ftill required a certain degree of 
 diflimulation. She thought it right to 
 
 je£t dependence upon Ruflia, that the Porte declared 
 war againft her ; and though me declared war at the 
 fame time againft the king of Poland, it was againft 
 him perfonally, and not againft the nation : and the 
 act itfelf proceeded from wrong information : to 
 have joined with Ruffia at that moment might have 
 been cenfured as facrificing the good of his country 
 to his own perfonal fecurity. Add, that the propo- 
 rtions made by Repnin in the name of the emprefs 
 were by no means clear, or precife ; and that the 
 emprefs would not plainly defift from her guaranty 
 of the ftrange code referred to in this Letter.— 
 The event feems to have proved, that, politically 
 fpeaking, the proportion ought perhaps to have been 
 accepted ; though it is by no means clear : but let 
 the patriot determine what he would have done un- 
 der the fame circumftances. And let me be per- 
 mitted to obferve how inconfiftently thofe men rea- 
 fon, who can, in the fame breath, condemn the king 
 of Poland for not having headed the armies of a fo- 
 reign prince univerfally regarded by his fubjecls as 
 their greateft and bittereft enemy ; without a cer- 
 tain profpect of freeing them for the weight of a 
 foreign yoke :— — ?.nd at the fame time blame the 
 king of Sweden for employing the national ftrength, 
 and with the free confent of his people, directing it 
 in fuch a channel, as appeared moft proper to refcue 
 
 his
 
 Present State of Poland. 171 
 
 confirm a-new the fame declarations of 
 generofity and difintereftednefs. Accord- 
 ingly, on the 14th of May, 1769, Gal- 
 litzin, commander in chief of her forces, 
 publifhed a manifefto, artfully drawn up, 
 in terms calculated to widen the breach 
 between the two parties of the nation ; 
 an inconfiderate and hafty propofition, 
 made without authority, by two of the 
 principal Confederates, to cede a part of 
 Poland to the Turk, is repeatedly men- 
 tioned as the act of the whole confedera- 
 ls people from the fame yoke, held over them by 
 the fame ambitious powers. 
 
 There is no art unemployed by the Prufllanemif- 
 faries to throw accumulated blame on the king of 
 Poland. They have given out that he very early 
 made fecret propofals to the court of Berlin, offer- 
 ing to facrifice his connections with Ruffia, pro- 
 vided the king of Pruflia would join him againfl: 
 her : nothing can be falfer, and more totally void 
 of foundation. In Poland he holds another lan- 
 guage; and fays it is to the averfion which the king 
 of Poland has to all the meafures and interefts of 
 Berlin, that the Poles owe the weight of their pre- 
 fent misfortunes. 
 
 tion.
 
 172 Letters concerning the 
 
 tion. The difinterefted pains of her 
 czarian majefty to eftabliffi order and good 
 government are difplayed in all the pomp 
 of declamation. It is declared, " The 
 " Ruffian army is about to fight, not fo 
 " much for the intereft and glory of her 
 u imperial majefty, as for the liberties 
 " and poffeffions of Poland ; the inte- 
 " grity of which is the perpetual objecl: 
 " of her majefty's attention." 
 
 Read thefe declarations, fir, with at- 
 tention, weigh the force of the terms, 
 confider the circumftances under which 
 they were publifhed ; and then tell me 
 with what face the emprefs of Ruffia can 
 now lay any claim to the poffeffions of 
 Poland. 
 
 In all the public ac~b of the miniftry of 
 Peterfburgh, every occafion is feized to 
 difplay, in the moft pompous manner, 
 the eouity, clemency, difintereftednefs, 
 generouiy, and marnanimity of the em- 
 prefs. Th . in the paper, given by Pa- 
 nin to Pfanki, mentioned above, Poland 
 
 in
 
 Present State of Poland. 173 
 
 in particular, and all Europe in general 
 
 are appealed to, as witnefTes of her ma- 
 
 jefty's moderation and clemency in the 
 
 government of her own people; Panin 
 
 adds, — " If, therefore, in the govern- 
 
 " ment of her own fbtes, for which her 
 
 " majefty is accountable to God alone, fhe 
 
 " has never deviated from thofe princi- 
 
 " pies of equity and moderation, how is 
 
 " it poflible to fuppofe fhe fhould allow 
 
 " herfelf to difpenfe with them, in her 
 
 " intercourfe with a fr,ee and independent 
 
 " nation, in whofe affairs fhe can inter- 
 
 " pofe only as a friend and ally ? Here 
 
 " fhe has for witnefTes of her conduct, 
 
 " not only the people whom fhe fuccours, 
 
 " but all the nations of the earth, whofe 
 
 " eyes are fixed upon her : here fhe can- 
 
 " not avail herfelf of perfonal authority, 
 
 " without forfeiting that confidence her 
 
 " virtues alone can inipire." 
 
 Had I, fir, the ear of the Ruffian mi- 
 
 niftry, I fhould advife them to be more 
 
 fparing of this kind of declamation for 
 
 the 
 6
 
 174 Letters concerning the 
 
 the future. An impartial public may be 
 apt to draw conclufions not quite fo fa- 
 vourable to her imperial majefty: when, 
 notwithstanding this parade of virtue, 
 and public faith, they fee her, without 
 hefitation, and without fcruple, break 
 through every law of nations and of natu- 
 ral equity ; they may begin to think that 
 patriotifm fhe fo often affects, and which 
 alone had flopped the hand of cenfure, 
 lifted high at her manner of mounting 
 the throne of Ruflia, to be as ideal and 
 chimerical as her pretenfions to public 
 faith. Nor will directions, however well 
 compiled, for drawing up a code not yet 
 perfected, be fufficient to refcue her from 
 that cenfure. 
 
 I am apt to think too, her political 
 knowledge will foon, very foon, be held 
 in as questionable a light as her huma- 
 nity, generofity, and difmtereftnefs. The 
 king of Pruffia reigns with the fame def- 
 potifm at Peterfburgh as at Berlin. 
 Hence all her efforts to make peace with 
 
 the
 
 Present State of Poland. 175 
 
 the Porte are vain : hence her friendfhip 
 with your court is every day weakened; 
 hence fhe is on the eve of war with 
 Sweden, and perhaps with Denmark : 
 when fhe ftands thus friendlefs, and alone, 
 againft a hoft of foes, the king of Pruf- 
 fia may perhaps follow the example of 
 the great elector; change his alliances 
 as his interefts change; conned: himfelf 
 with her enemies ; and make himfelf 
 mafter of Samogitia, Courland, Semigal- 
 lia, and Livonia. The emprefs may then 
 find, when it is too late, how fatal her 
 miftake has been, in giving into the very 
 meafure fhe made the chief pretext of 
 dethroning her hufband — that of joining 
 with the natural enemy of her country. 
 
 In the mean time, fir, it is ridiculous 
 to fee by what little arts he has worked 
 himfelf into her confidence : her pic- 
 ture is hung up in his audience-cham- 
 ber ; he looks up to it, encircled by his 
 officers, with that fort of awe, with 
 which a zealous Catholic regards his pa- 
 8 tron-
 
 176 Letters concerning the 
 
 tron-faint ; he talks of her as of a being 
 fuperior to mortality. — And lately, fir, 
 a letter, written to his fitter of Sweden, 
 has affe&edly been made public ; in 
 which he declares his attachment to the 
 emprefs of Ruffia to be fo ftrong, that 
 he is ready to facrifiee to it the ties of 
 friendship, and of blood. — Thefe are the 
 very artifices by which many a prudent 
 wife governs, whilft fhe feems to obey a 
 lordly hufband. 
 
 The manner in which the three courts 
 announce their claims, is perfectly of a 
 piece with the reft of this ftate-per- 
 formance. They allow the confequences 
 of their having interfered in the affairs 
 of Poland to have been, that " laws, 
 " and order, and public fafety, and juf- 
 " tice, and police, and commerce, are 
 " all gone to ruin ; and therefore not be- 
 " ing able to promife themfelves in fu- 
 " ture periods the fame happy concur- 
 " rence," — of honeM inclinations on their 
 part, and confufion and debility on the 
 
 part
 
 Present State of Poland. , ijj 
 
 part of the Poles, — " they are deter- 
 u mined now to aflert their ancient 
 " rights and claims, which they mall be 
 " ready to juftify in time and place by 
 " folid reafons :" — that is, if on fo grave 
 a fubjed:, we may be allowed to pun with 
 your Milton, 
 
 " Reafons of weight, 
 
 " Of hard contents, and full of force 
 " urged home.'* 
 And, in the mean time, that no doubt 
 may remain of the lawfulnefs and juftice 
 of thefe claims, — " they have reciprocally 
 " communicated them,** and — what is 
 truly wonderful, and almoft incredible, 
 " — are mutually convinced of the juftice 
 " of them." After fo fair a difquifition 
 of their rights, nothing {o natural, as to 
 " take immediate and effectual porTeffion 
 
 " of proper indemnifications." The 
 
 whole Would have been complete, could 
 they immediately have fixed each its 
 quota : — but there, it feems, either their 
 antiquarians were at a lofs; — or their ad- 
 N vocate*
 
 178 Letters concerning the 
 
 vocates were undetermined ; — or they 
 had not examined, with fufficient atten- 
 tion, the effect their proceedings might 
 have on the reft of Europe : — they chofe 
 to leave it to the chapter of chances : — 
 the quotas are to be given hereafter. — 
 Tell me, fir, is this the language of three 
 great princes ; or is it the ilyle of a 
 Rolland, and a Cartouche, of the lawlefs 
 chiefs of lawlefs banditti ? 
 
 States, it is true, have no earthly 
 judge to appeal to ; where jullice there- 
 fore is demanded and refilled, they muff 
 do juftice to themfelves. But it was re- 
 ferved to thefe equitable powers to do 
 juftice to themfelves in this luminary way, 
 without having demanded it. The laws 
 of all civilized nations ordain, that, pre- 
 vious to any act of violence, a demand of 
 juftice fhall be made, and that demand 
 refufed. Natural equity dictated this 
 claufe of the law of nations. Suppoiing 
 therefore their claims juft ; fiill the man- 
 ner of aflerting them is unjuft, odious, 
 
 contrary
 
 Present State of Poland. 179 
 
 contrary to the rights of nature and na- 
 tions, and founded on a principle deftruc- 
 tive of all fociety. 
 
 The fecond principle, they iuppofe, is 
 equally indefenfible : — that there is no 
 prefcription between fovereigns ; and that 
 poiTeffion, however long, gives no title 
 of right*. — Some of the greateft. writers 
 have faid, that prefcription is the patron 
 of mankind ; and lurely with good rea- 
 fon. In private life its right is allowed, 
 and univerfally acknowledged : in public 
 concerns it cannot be of lefs importance, 
 unlefs the fafety of ftates be lefs impor- 
 tant than that of individuals ; unlefs the 
 lives and properties of millions be of lefs 
 concern than the fortunes of a few. But 
 thefe new interpreters of the laws of na- 
 tions affert, that inftead of being a bar 
 to future claims, prefcription is a juft 
 
 * " Were the dsmon of difcord to arife (faid 
 one of the greateft men in Europe, fpeaking of this 
 very a&) " he could not have broached a doitrine 
 " more fathl to the peace of mankind." 
 
 N 2 pretence
 
 i8o Letters concerning the 
 
 pretence for extending them : they claim 
 not only what they fay did once be- 
 long to them of right, but ten times as 
 much, as an indemnification for non-en- 
 joyment during fo many centuries. They 
 had, Heaven knows when, a right to a 
 village, and they take a province -, to a 
 town, and they feize a kingdom. 
 
 Another principle, eftablifhed by thefe 
 righteous powers is, that recent, folemn> 
 and explicit treaties cannot annul obfcure, 
 ancient, and difputable claims. A prin- 
 ciple, which, if admitted, would at once 
 deftroy all commerce between man and 
 man, between nation and nation ; and 
 which gives an air of ridicule, as well as 
 tyranny to their prefent demands of the 
 ratification of their pretended rights. 
 
 You have read, fir, the declarations of 
 Ruflia during the prefent troubles in Po- 
 land ; the Anti-Machiavel, attributed to 
 the king of Prufiia ; the refcript addreiled 
 to the king of Great Britain, and the me- 
 morials diitributed by the emprefs-queen 
 
 through
 
 Present State of Poland. 181 
 
 through all the courts of Europe, when 
 the king of Pruffia iirft developed his 
 future plan of conduct by the feizure of 
 Silefia. Would you think it poffible, fir, 
 that thefe had been written by the fame 
 hand as wrote the preient Manifefto ? 
 
 The court of Warfaw has not been able 
 to refute the claims of the three courts, 
 becaufe the foundations of thofe claims 
 are not yet made known. 
 
 A * counter-declaration has been pub- 
 lifhed, in which all is faid that can be 
 faid, till the ufurpers explain themfelves 
 more fully. But unlefs other nations 
 efpoufe the caufe, whatever may be faid, 
 or proved, by the court of Warfaw, will 
 avail but little. The three ufurping po- 
 tentates are, (to ufe the words of one of 
 diem) " des grands Diale&iciens : ce font 
 ** des Hercules, qui perfuadent a coup de 
 " maffue." 
 
 Though the ufurping powers are thus 
 evidently convicted of the mod flagrant 
 * See Appendix, E. 
 
 N 3 breach
 
 182 Letters concerning the 
 
 breach of public faith, you would at leaft 
 expect them to be particularly careful in 
 obferving that general law of all civilized 
 nations, to lighten as much as poffible to 
 individuals the burthen of public calami- 
 ties. — No, fir, they feem determined not 
 to redeem the good opinion of mankind 
 by any one act of juftice, or equity. Do 
 not take my word for this harfh affertion; 
 judge from facts. In every town, place, 
 or country taken in open and honourable 
 war, a certain time is allowed the inha- 
 bitants and landholders to difpofe of their 
 lands and eftates, and retire where they 
 fee fit, unlefs, of their own free motion, 
 thev fubmit themfelves to the new mafler. 
 But thefe juft and equitable powers have 
 not left this refource to the proprietors of 
 lands and eftates in the ufurped provinces. 
 In thofe ufurped by Anuria, they are 
 commanded to come and live upon their 
 lands ; and demean themfelves as dutiful 
 fubjects, till the day fixed for taking the 
 oath of allegiance, which all are then to 
 
 take
 
 Present State of Poland. 183 
 
 take under pain of confifcation. The 
 emprefs of Ruflia, ever affecting an equi- 
 ty and moderation to which her heart is 
 a ftrangcr, allows the term of three 
 months : — me knew no poffible advan- 
 tage could accrue from this affected con- 
 defcenflon : many of the landholders are 
 in foreign parts ; and could not, if they 
 would, return within the time prefcribed : 
 no purchafer could be found in fo fhort a 
 fpace ; under fuch unfettled circumftances, 
 and till their claims have been finally fet- 
 tled with the court of Warfaw, the right 
 of fovereignty is uncertain ; common juf- 
 tice required therefore, that no act of al- 
 legiance mould be demanded till then ; 
 and from that time, not from the moment 
 of the feizure, a term, not of three months, 
 but of two years, ought to have been 
 allowed the poffeffors to difpofe of their 
 effects. On the contrary, the emprefs of 
 Ruffia has already confifcated more than 
 twenty thoufand pounds fterling a-year, 
 belonging to the family of the Czarto^ 
 N 4 rylkis
 
 i$4 Letters concerning the 
 
 rffkis alone. And what rendered this ad 
 of injuftice ftill more remarkable, ?$, that 
 the two princes, who pofTeffed thefe lands, 
 are uncles to the king, of an advanced 
 age, enjoying the firft polls in the ftate, 
 and were not apprized of the emprefs's 
 order for a perfonal appearance, time 
 enough to have tranfported themfelves 
 to the place fixed upon for taking the 
 oath, even had they been difpofed to it. 
 The emprefs-queen has already confifcat- 
 ed all the eftates of the count Kicki for 
 the fame reafon. 
 
 Let me cite you another fact, fir, in 
 fupport of my aflertion. There are in 
 Poland many fiefs, known under the 
 name of Starofties, Advocaties, &c. They 
 are in the gift of the crown : the king 
 can neither retain, nor fell them. They 
 were confidered and intended as indem- 
 nifications for expences incurred, or fer- 
 ' vices rendered to the flate. Some pro- 
 " vifion of this fort was the more neceffary 
 \n Poland, as the officers of the flate 
 
 and
 
 Present State of Poland. 185 
 
 and the houfhold have no falaries, nor 
 fees. The Starofts, &c. were tenants for 
 life ; or they might, with the previous con- 
 fent of the king, difpofe of them for a 
 valuable confideration to another, who 
 then became tenant for life in the place 
 of the original nominee. Many of the 
 actual poiTeiibrs had thus bought in at 
 eight, ten, or even twelve years purchafe. 
 Did not equity and humanity demand, 
 fir, that either they mould be left in the 
 undifturbed poffefhon of eftates thus ac- 
 quired, during their natural lives, or 
 fome compenfation be made them ? No, 
 fir, thefe humane and equitable princes 
 have thought it right and juft, to feize 
 upon thefe lands, and re-unite them to 
 their refpective crowns, as part of their 
 ancient demefnes * . 
 
 * Since the firft publication of this letter, it is 
 faiil, that the emprefs-queen has published a more fa- 
 vourable edict on this head. But at the fame time, 
 not to have any merit of fupererogation, has con- 
 fiscated the lands, &c. of count Branicki, pro- 
 8 fcfi'edly
 
 i£6 Letters concerning the 
 
 I mall not, at prefent, fir, enter into 
 the particulars of the king of Pruilia's 
 conduct. I deftine my next letter entirely 
 to him. His feizures are of immediate 
 and great importance to every maritime 
 and commercial ftate. In the mean time, 
 I muft only hint to you, that the em- 
 preffes have taken him for their model : 
 not content with feizing what they at 
 lirfl: laid claim to, they are appropriating 
 other very confiderable traces. We mould 
 be apt to regard this, fir, as a verification 
 of the old proverb ; " Que l'appetit vient 
 " en mangeant." — Her antiquarians and 
 hiftorians will, on the contrary, be fur- 
 prifed at the chain of evidence, which has 
 led them to difcover fuch extenfive and 
 well-founded claims. 
 
 That the king of Pruflia mould adopt 
 the fyfiem of robbers and free-booters 
 
 jfefledly and avowedly for no other reafon than 
 having, in ccnfequence of an order from the king 
 and fenar.?, adled 2S minifter at the court of Ver- 
 failles j where he was fent in order to endeavour 
 to engage the affiftance and good offices of France. 
 
 can-
 
 Present State of Poland. 187 
 
 cannot furprife us ; his circumftances and 
 theirs are precifely the fame ; he has no 
 other way of acquiring confequence; he 
 has openly and fteadily purfued it, from 
 the moment the crown devolved to him 
 to this hour ; but that two fuch powers 
 as Auftria and Ruflia mould Hoop to be 
 his tools in fuch a work is indeed amaz- 
 ing. The beginning of the emperor's 
 reign feemed to promife a great and equit- 
 able prince ; his prefent conduct muft 
 therefore render him ten-fold more odious. 
 The vice of hypocrify, equally hurtful to 
 the honour, and intereft of a fovereign, 
 will for ever deftroy the confidence of 
 his allies, his neighbours, the members 
 of the empire, and even of his own 
 fubje&s. 
 
 The Manifefto of the three courts fpeaks 
 of the meafures adopted, as equally ne- 
 ceflary, not only to prevent the diflblu- 
 tion of Poland, but alfo to preferve the 
 mutual harmony and friendfhip between 
 them ; and this laft object is aflerted to 
 
 be
 
 1 88 Letters concerning the 
 
 be of the higheft importance to all Eu- 
 rope; and in good truth fo it is, though 
 in a different fenfe from theirs : what 
 was faid of the triumvirs at Rome, is 
 ftri&ly applicable to them : — not their 
 difTenfion, but their union is fatal to Eu- 
 rope. The fecret treaty made about four 
 years fmce, between the courts Peterf- 
 burgh and Berlin, by which the then 
 form of government in Sweden was gua- 
 rantied and declared immutable ; preten- 
 tions talked of on other ftates of Ger- 
 many ; a demand, never relinquished, of 
 near a million flerling which Prufha forms 
 on England, and which he may, ere 
 long, be bold enough to pay himfelf 
 from the electoral dominions : — thefe, and 
 many more circumftances concur as proofs, 
 that the defign of thefe powers is to fub- 
 mit all the reft of Germany to their yoke; 
 all tend to reprefent the prefent unnatural 
 alliances as a league of the northern againft 
 the fouthcrn powers of Europe. 
 
 If
 
 Present State of Poland. 189 
 
 If they be permitted not only to keep 
 pofTeflion of what they claim, but to 
 extend, as they are extending their ufur- 
 pations in Poland ; and to tie up the 
 hands of the republic fo as to prevent 
 her ever emerging from her prefent flate 
 of weaknefs and diforder — what can be 
 expected, but that occafion will foon be 
 created, and eagerly embraced, to feize 
 upon the reft ; and that the final lofs 
 of Poland will be the fignal for the ruin 
 of the whole Germanic body ? What fe- 
 curity have Denmark and Sweden, the 
 ftates of Germany and Holland, the can- 
 tons of Switzerland, and princes of Italy, 
 that this alliance will not be as fatal to 
 them as to Poland ? 
 
 The caufe of Poland is now become 
 the caufe of all Europe ; and efpecially 
 of the ftates of the fecond order ; they 
 ought to feel, that nothing but an im- 
 mediate and firm league can fecure them 
 againft the tyranny and ambition of three 
 fuch powers, who are evidently preparing 
 yokes for them all. The commercial 
 
 and
 
 190 Letters concerning, &c 
 
 and maritime ftates are almoft equally 
 interefted in the fate of Poland; and in 
 the probable confequences of this ftrange 
 alliance. In a word, we may apply to 
 all the fouthern powers of Europe the 
 words of the Manifefto : it is high time 
 they " mould lay afide the fpirit of dif- 
 " cord and delufion," and ere it be too 
 late, unite in flopping a torrent, which 
 threatens to overwhelm them all. 
 
 I am, &c.
 
 LETTERS 
 
 CONCERNING THE 
 
 PRESENT STATE 
 
 O F 
 
 P O L A N D. 
 
 LETT E R. TV.
 
 LETTERS 
 
 CONCERNING THE 
 
 PRESENT STATE 
 
 O F 
 
 POLAND. 
 
 Bru(Te!s, Feb. 47, 177$. 
 MY DEAR SIR ! 
 
 BEFORE I enter on the examina- 
 tion of his Pruflian majefty's claims, 
 let me recommend to your perufal 
 a declaration given by his minifter at War- 
 faw, on the fecond of February *. 
 
 You fee, fir, how prettily thefe powers 
 throw the ball from one to another : 
 
 * See Appendix B. 
 
 O having
 
 194 Letters concerning the 
 
 having determined on the partition of 
 Poland, the emprefs of RufTia, who had 
 hitherto borne the whole odium alone, 
 ftept forth once more to fignify this new 
 act of friendihip and good-will : in a 
 hurry to confummate the great work, 
 and finding no oppohtion on the part of 
 other courts, thefe mighty powers grew 
 angry, becaufe the Poles did not chear- 
 fully and thankfully ftretch forth their - 
 hands to receive the chains they were 
 preparing for them ; a fecond declaration, 
 lefs civil, lefs decent than the firft, was 
 publifhed ; and here the emprefs queen 
 took the lead : but when the finifhing 
 ftroke is to be given, greater talents are 
 required, a mafter-hand is neceffary ; and 
 here the king of Pruffia knows his place, 
 and leads the van. 
 
 His majefty declares, fir, — " He has 
 rt waited patiently to fee the effect, of his 
 "firft declaration." — Do not mifunder- 
 ftand him, he talks of Pruflian patience; 
 it is an active virtue with him. His 
 
 patience
 
 Present State of Poland. 195 
 
 patience is manifefted by pillages, vio- 
 lences, and outrages of every kind. The 
 provinces of Pofnania, Halife, and Gnefne, 
 can anfwer for his patience : — in the 
 month of September laft, the very time 
 of the firft declaration's being made, thefe 
 provinces were obliged to enter into a 
 contract, by which they bound them- 
 felves to furnifh gratis exorbitant provi- 
 fions of corn, cattle, and forage for the 
 fubfiftence of the Pruffian troops ; and to 
 pay befides unlimited fums of money, to 
 fatisfy other unlimited wants, which the 
 troops were ready enough at creating ; 
 douceurs were to be added to the officers, 
 from the general to the loweft ferjeant. 
 This contract was rigorouily executed : a 
 dawn of hope however appeared ; the con- 
 tract expired with the laft year. But the 
 king of Pruflia's patience is indefatigable ; 
 LofTow has forced the provinces to re- 
 new the fame contract for five months 
 longer. 
 
 O 2 The
 
 196 Letters concerning the 
 
 The town of Dantzig too, will bear 
 witnefs to his patience : he has eftablim- 
 ed an excife office at the very gates ; no 
 body can go out of the town without be- 
 ing fearched in a rude and indecent man- 
 ner ; even the fair fex has no privilege 
 againft the brutal infolence of his excife 
 officers : — and to comfort them, Mr. 
 Reichard allures them, that thefe are 
 only little adts of gentility, preludes to 
 greater and better things. — The feizure 
 of a great part of the territories of the 
 town, of its fuburbs, harbour, and port- 
 duties, are all marks of patience : nay, fir, 
 take a walk on the London Exchange, and 
 I fancy, even the Britiih merchants will 
 tell you, they have had notable proofs of 
 his patience. The feizure of all the ter- 
 ritories of the town of Thorn, the town 
 itfelf all but berieged, and repeatedly fum- 
 moned to do homage to him, in direct, 
 contradiction to his fir ft declaration, are 
 farther proofs of the patience, with which 
 
 he
 
 Present State of Poland. 197 
 
 he waits for the effect of that declara- 
 tion. 
 
 His majefty's delicate fenfibility is 
 fhocked, fir, that the king of Poland 
 fhould " publifh a proteft tending to in- 
 " validate the rights of the king of Pruf- 
 " fia, and declaring the occupation of 
 " his own territories unjuft and violent:" 
 and what hurts him ftill more, this pro- 
 teft was an act of the king of Poland's 
 private authority, the effect of a fuddcn 
 impulfe. 
 
 Now, fir, the declaration was given 
 the eighteenth of September, and the pro- 
 teft in anfwer to it, the feventeenth of 
 October following ; the impulfe was not 
 then fo fudden. — You have read the pro- 
 teft : it is there declared, his majefty 
 makes it by the advice of his fenate ; that 
 is, of that very body, to whom the con- 
 ftitution fends him in all cafes of emer- 
 gency. It was not then, as the king of 
 Pruflia afferts, an act of private authori- 
 ty j but the act of a public body, ac- 
 O 3 know-
 
 198 Letters concerning the 
 
 knowledged and authorifed by the confti- 
 tution : — nor was this council, as the 
 king of Pruffia afferts, difunited ; it was 
 unanimous in advifing the publication of 
 this very proteft, and the convocation of 
 another fuller council. It did not there- 
 fore feparate, as the king of Pruffia af- 
 ferts, without coming to any refolution, 
 fince thefe were two important refolu^ 
 tions. 
 
 In four fhort lines the king of Pruffia 
 falls into four palpable miftakes. His 
 majefty's obftinate penchant to miftaking 
 is full as inconceivable as that of the Poles ; 
 who miftake the king of Pruffia for their 
 enemy. It is true, the council was not 
 numerous : but would his Pruffian ma- 
 jefty infinuate that to have been the fault 
 , of the king of Poland ? Does he not know, 
 that he, and his equitable allies, are the 
 caufe of it ? Should the council now fum- 
 moned, mould even the diet be as little 
 numerous, are not they to be thanked for 
 it ? Is it furprifing, that many fenators 
 
 mould
 
 Present State of Poland. 199 
 
 mould have excufed themfelves from go- 
 ing there ? Has not his Pruffian majelly 
 laid Wafte the countries from whence the 
 town of Warfaw is fupplied with provi- 
 fions ? Has he not forbid the people to 
 fend provifions there ? Does he think men 
 are very fond of expofing themfelves to 
 all the horrors of a famine ? or is ftarving 
 the town, the king, the fenate, and the 
 diet, another proof of Pruffian patience ? 
 
 If he and his allies intended the council 
 or diet mould be more numerous, why 
 hinder the fenators, whole titles derive 
 from the ufurped provinces, from affift- 
 ing at it ? They are fenators of the king- 
 dom at large, not of any particular part 
 of it : yet fo far is this prohibition carried, 
 that the Auflrian minifter has lately for- 
 bid the prince Czartoryfki, uncle to the 
 king, palatin of Ruffia, to affift at it; 
 though Chelm, a part of this palatinate, 
 is not comprehended in the Auflrian ufur- 
 pations ; and the Ruffian miniflcr has fig- 
 , nified the fame prohibition to the bifliop 
 
 O 4 of
 
 200 Letters concerning the 
 
 of Livonia, though he is at the fame time 
 bifhop of Piltin, and though a great part 
 of his diocefe is exempted from the Ruf- r 
 fian ufurpation. 
 
 " This fecond council, fays the faith- 
 " ful monarch, was deferred on the moil 
 " frivolous pretences." Thefe frivolous 
 pretences were no other than the phyfical 
 impoffibility of affembling all the fenators 
 fooner. — The prifoners whom the em- 
 prefs of Ruffia has, they fay, releafed 
 from their unjuft confinement, cannot 
 arrive probably even at this period. — The 
 meafure of his PrufTian majefty's grief is 
 filled up by the ingratitude of the nation, 
 which fhows no zeal nor affection for his 
 PrufTian majefty's meafures ; and will not 
 confider itfelf as legally reprefented by a 
 diet fitting in a town that is to be ftarved, 
 and blockaded ; deliberating in a houfe 
 againft which the enemy's cannon is to be 
 pointed. 
 
 His PrufTian majefty's fenfibility and 
 grief being exhaufted, by the above fur- 
 
 prifing
 
 Present State of Poland. 201 
 
 prifing ads of ingratitude, he falls into 
 aftonifhment and indignation when lie 
 fees " that the Polifh government has 
 " formed a regular plan of expofing the 
 " legality of his rights to all the vicifli- 
 " tudes of events." This may appear, 
 fir, a very odd idea to you : you may not 
 readily conceive how the legality of rights 
 can depend upon future events. A right 
 which is legal to-day, will he a legal right 
 to-morrow, happen what will in the 
 mean time : fo it is with us, fir, but not 
 fo at Berlin. The conduct of the king 
 of PrufTia, from the moment of his ac- 
 ceffion to the throne, has clearly proved, 
 though this is perhaps the firft time he 
 has told the world fo in plain words, that 
 all is right in his eyes, which is ufeful 
 to his interefts ; confequently the degrees 
 of legality are nothing more than the de- 
 grees of poffibility of carrying his defigns 
 into execution : now in this fenfe the le- 
 gality of his rights may be affected by the 
 
 viciiTi-
 
 202 Letters concerning the 
 
 viciflitude of events, though in no other 
 fenfe could it poffibly be fo. 
 
 In the fame fpirit, and by the fame 
 kind of logic, his Pruflian majefty fays, 
 that becaufe the matters to come under 
 the deliberation of the council are of the 
 utmoft importance, therefore its meeting 
 mould be haftened, and its decifion preci- 
 pitated. 
 
 In general men would have drawn a 
 contrary conclufion ; becaufe, in general, 
 the more important an affair is, the more 
 circumfped men are in deciding upon it, 
 the more time they take to confider it. 
 In the cafe before us, however, this wife 
 monarch is perfectly in the right : deli- 
 beration here could only ferve to prove 
 the injuftice of his demands, and devife 
 means for fruftrating the execution of his 
 defigns. 
 
 The integrity of his PrufTian majefty 
 is next alarmed ; the Poles are accufed of 
 forming cabals, and intrigues. I know 
 
 of
 
 Present State of Poland. 203 
 
 of no action, no meafure, that can de- 
 ferve the title of cabal, or intrigue, which 
 is intended to preferve the rights, liber- 
 ties, and exiftence of an opprefled people. 
 I mould have called thofe fecret practices 
 " cabals and intrigues" by which this up- 
 right prince brought the Poles into the 
 wretched ftate they now are in. He, 
 whilft he prefTed the convocation of a diet, 
 caballed, intrigued, and threatened, in 
 order to form and fupport an illegal af- 
 fembly under Sulkowfki ; his agent, Rei- 
 chard, is now caballing, intriguing, threat- 
 ening, in order to feduce the towns of 
 Dantzig and Thorn from their allegiance: 
 thefe are cabals and intrigues : but I 
 again repeat it, no fteps, no meafures 
 whatever, calculated to fruftrate the de- 
 figns of ufurpers, to fecure a nation's 
 rights, liberties, and pofleffions, can be 
 called by this opprobrious name. 
 
 The king of Pruflia, fir, having led 
 us from fenfibility to grief, from grief 
 to aftonifhment, from aftonifhment to 
 
 indig-
 
 204 Letters concerning the 
 
 indignation, leaves us at laft impreffed 
 with proper ideas of his humanity and 
 juftice. He, good man, will not be re- 
 fponfible for the ulterior evils Poland 
 may yet fuffer ; and therefore makes one 
 more effort to conquer the inconceivable 
 obftinacy of the Poles : — that is, he will 
 once more endeavour to fave himfelf the 
 trouble of putting an end to their exift- 
 ence as a ftate, by forcing them to do 
 the work themfelves ; which they are fo 
 inconceivably obftinate as to refufe : but 
 mould they not liften to this humane 
 counfel, then he muft do himfelf jtift ice. 
 
 It is a pity, fir, that fo near the men- 
 tion of juftice fhould come the threat of 
 difengaging himfelf from the renuncia-^ 
 tions contained in his firft declaration ; 
 becaufe it leads one naturally to afk, whe- 
 ther he has kept literally to the terms of 
 that declaration ; and when we recoiled: 
 that his vexations and pillages have been 
 extended all over Great Poland ; that he 
 is taking meafures to feize upon Cujavia ; 
 
 that
 
 Present State of Poland. 205 
 
 that his troops are within a few miles of 
 Warfaw ; that he has feized the territo- 
 ries and revenues of Thorn and Dantzig ; 
 that he has endeavoured to ruin the trade 
 of the latter, by infulting the firft mari- 
 time power of the world, Hopping its 
 fhips, and forcing them to pay new and 
 exorbitant duties ; when we learn, that 
 his religious and apoftolic ally has feized 
 the city of Cracow, and added it to her 
 new erected kingdom of Gallicia and Lo- 
 domeria ; that me has likewife feized the 
 royal demefnes on the Polifh fide of the 
 Viftula ; that the revenues thereof, be- 
 longing either to the king or republic, 
 are appropriated to the imperial treafury, 
 and every act of fovereignty exercifed in 
 thefe diftricts by the imperial magistrates; 
 and this at the time that the court of War- 
 faw has fo far condefcended to the defircs 
 of the three powers as to fix a day for the 
 meeting of the diet ; — the very day de- 
 manded by them ; when we learn, that 
 at the fame time the king of Pruflia has 
 
 dif-
 
 206 Letters concerning the 
 
 difpatched a Jew under the title of his 
 director of commerce to Warfaw itfelf, 
 and charged him with the diftribution of 
 fifteen barrels of bafe and adulterated 
 coin; we too find it difficult to' exprefs 
 our aftonifhment and indignation. 
 
 Let us now, fir, if you pleafe, turn 
 from this piece to the letters patent of 
 this worthy prince, in which he fixes the 
 portion, which belongs to him, and al- 
 ledges in general terms the foundation of 
 his claims*. 
 
 The deduction given here is only an 
 abridgement of, or rather reference to 
 an ample declaration or deduction, which, 
 he fays, was then, that is five months ago, 
 in the prefs. This mult furely be very 
 full, fince it is fo long in printing. In 
 the mean time, his Pruffian majefty exacts 
 more than papiftical faith of us : if a 
 man in the Romifh church will but learn 
 Latin, he may know what, and why 
 he is to believe : but here we are forced 
 
 * See Appendix, I. 
 
 to
 
 Present State of Poland. 207 
 
 to believe the validity of rights founded 
 on arguments not produced, and on re- 
 cords not known. I wifh the court of 
 Berlin would be kind enough to tell us, 
 for whofe ufe and information this de- 
 duction is afterwards to be publifhed :— 
 for the Poles ? Surely it was high time 
 they had it; a diet, that is to fit but 
 feven weeks, will hardly have time even 
 to read what it has taken five months to 
 print. — Is it for the other (rates of Eu- 
 rope? They ought to have had it ftill 
 earlier ; they cannot be competent judges 
 without hearing the arguments on the 
 other fide * . 
 
 But he knows what he is about, fir ; he 
 knows, his ufurpations muft at lafl fland 
 or fall by the ultima ratio regum. 
 
 His majefty begins, by afTuring his new 
 fubjecls of his royal favour and good- 
 
 * Some detached pieces of this deduction have 
 appeared, within thefe few days in the foreign 
 papers. From this fpecimen the editor can ven- 
 ture to allure, that there is not a fingle argument 
 in it, which is unanfvvered in the following meets. 
 
 8 will
 
 2o8 Letters concerning the 
 
 will ; and indeed it is high time : our 
 purfes drained, our granaries emptied, 
 our houfes burnt, our lands defolated, 
 our young men imprefTed, our wives dis- 
 honoured, and our daughters carried off, 
 gave us but a bad idea of our new matter : 
 but we are now to be eafy ; we are aflured 
 of his royal good-will, of protection in 
 our rights and pofTeflions, and of being 
 governed fo well, that we fhall all rejoice 
 at the change. He rauft not then go- 
 vern us as he does his other fubjects : I 
 cannot give you a better idea of the go- 
 vernment of PrufTia, than by defcribing 
 the city of Berlin : look at the fhell of the 
 houfes, all is fhew and elegance ; go in, 
 and all is wretchednefs and mifery : the 
 ftreets are large and airy, and well laid 
 out, but fo thinly peopled, that you 
 would think the plague had (talked along 
 the town and fwept away two-thirds of 
 its inhabitants : it is fo with his govern- 
 ment. Read the code of Frederic, and all 
 appears order and regularity; go into the 
 courts of juftice, examine the people, and 
 
 you-
 
 Present State of Poland. 209 
 
 you will hear of nothing but exactions, 
 vexations, and oppreffions. And fuch, 
 fir, is to be our fate. Among the firft 
 rights of a people are its laws ; and the 
 laws of Folifh Pruflia were far from con- 
 temptible; our civil and political liber- 
 ties were better fecured than in any other 
 part of Poland : by way of preferving our 
 rights, one of the firft acts of our new 
 moft gracious mafter was to abolifh all 
 our laws ; we are at once fubmittcd to a 
 code we know nothing of; — our houfes 
 are numbered, our artifans and our chil- 
 dren fubject to be impreffcd : among the 
 perfons, to whom thefe letters are ad- 
 dreffed, and who are to be maintained in 
 their pofTeffions, the ftarofts are exprefsly 
 named : — as a proof of our fovereign's ve- 
 racity, the next acl: of government, was 
 to re-unite the ftarofties to the crown : 
 the mildnefs of his future government is 
 difplayed in the reft of the letters patents : 
 they were dated the thirteenth of Sep- 
 tember, and the twenty-feventh of the 
 
 P fame
 
 210 Letters concerning the 
 
 fame month was appointed for taking the 
 oath of allegiance ; that it feems was 
 thought time enough to quiet all our 
 fcruples about the validity of the oath 
 taken to our natural fovereign ; the mere 
 ipfe dixit of our new matter was to con- 
 vince us, that a pofleftion of five hundred 
 years was illegal : — and fhould we not be- 
 lieve him, 'fhould any foolifh fcruples yet 
 remain, fhould we hefitate, all is loft ; no 
 overt-act is required, fhould we even ren- 
 der ourfelves fufpected of infidelity and 
 difobedience, — (and whom does not ty- 
 ranny fufpect ?) — we are to be proceeded 
 againft with the utmoft rigour. — Heaven 
 keep us from being objects of fuch royal 
 patience and good will ! 
 
 In examining this abridged deduction 
 of rights we rauft diftinguifh carefully be- 
 tween the portions demanded, as being 
 part of the king of PrufhVs ancient pa- 
 trimony; and the portions demanded as 
 indemnifications for non-enjoyment of the 
 other during fo many centuries : if the 
 8 rights
 
 Present State of Poland. 211 
 
 rights to the former are groundlefs, there 
 is nothing to be faid for the latter. 
 
 On the fide of Polifh Pruffia the por- 
 tion demanded, as a part of his ancient 
 patrimony, is the Little Pomerania, other- 
 wife called Pomerellia : " This Pome- 
 " rellia, fay the letters patent, was, at 
 " the extinction of the dukes of Dantzig, 
 " unjuftly wrefted, rirlt by the knights of 
 " the Teutonic order, and then by the 
 " kings of Poland, from the dukes of 
 <c Stettin, to whom it ought to have 
 " gone as neareft agnats and heirs, fpring- 
 *' ing from the fame itock ; nor did the 
 M dukes of Pomerania ever renounce their 
 *' rights to this their ancient patrimony, but 
 " tranfmitted them entire to their fuccef- 
 " fors and univerfal heirs, the electors of 
 " Brandenburgh." — In this flate of his 
 Pruffian majefty's rights, three fuppcfi- 
 tions are made, and taken for granted ; 
 and fhould any one of the three prove to 
 be falfe, the whole foundation of the pre- 
 tended rights is taken away and falls to 
 the ground. 
 
 P 2 In
 
 212 Letters concerning the 
 
 In the firft place it is fuppofed and 
 taken for granted, that Pomerellia did 
 always, and ab origine, make a part of 
 the ancient patrimony of the dukes of 
 Pomerania : for if it did not, if it was 
 acquired afterwards, then not being holden 
 by the fame tenure, it was not fubject to 
 the fame reftri&ions, might again be fe- 
 parated from the duchy, and be difpofed 
 of as the pofleflbr faw fit. 
 
 In the next place, it is fuppofed and 
 taken for granted, that the dukes of 
 Dantzig held their duchy, as a fief in tail, 
 with right of remainder over to the dukes 
 of Stettin ; for if it was allodial, or hol- 
 den in fee limple, then the dukes of 
 Dantzig might appoint their own heirs, 
 without prejudice to the dukes of Stet- 
 tin : or if there were no remainder-men, 
 then, at the extinction of the houfe of 
 Dantzig, it reverted to the lord para- 
 mount. 
 
 Laftly, it is fuppofed and taken for 
 granted, that the electors of Brandenburg 
 
 did
 
 Present State of Poland. 213 
 
 did fucceed to the dukes of Stettin in 
 quality of natural heirs in tail, or remain- 
 der-men named in the original grant ; or 
 by virtue of fome grant or donation from 
 the lord paramount ; or of fome compact 
 made with the lords feudal, and confirm- 
 ed by the lords paramount, at the time 
 that Pomerellia did actually make a part 
 of the duchy of Pomerania: for other- 
 wife, whatever claim they may have to 
 the other parts of the fuccefnon of the 
 dukes of Pomerania, they can have none 
 to Pomerellia. 
 
 Now of thefe three fuppofitions, all of 
 them neceffary to eftabliih the rights of 
 the king of Pruflia, the firfb only is doubt- 
 ful ; the two laft are demonftrably falfe. 
 
 In the nrft place, it is doubtful whe- 
 ther Pomerellia did anciently, and ab 
 origine, belong to the duchy of Pomera- 
 nia. Nicolas Leuthinger, as refpeclable 
 authority as any in this matter, alTerts 
 pofitively, and in direct terms, that it did 
 not ; but that it belonged to the king of 
 P 3 Poland,
 
 214 Letters concerning the 
 
 Poland, Lefcus ; whom having treach- 
 eroufly murdered, Sventopol, made him- 
 felf mafter of Pomerellia*. 
 
 Pomerellia theiefore, according to this 
 author, being afterwards added to Pome- 
 rania, made no part of the original heri- 
 tage, and might be feparated from it. 
 
 In the next place it is demonftrably 
 falfe, that the duchy of Pomerania was 
 holden as a fee entail, with right of re- 
 mainder over to the dukes of Stettin. 
 
 Short as the deduction before us is, it 
 was not for brevity's fake alone, that the 
 king of Pruilia omitted circumftances, 
 which would have thrown light upon 
 this part of the fubjecl:. Permit me to 
 fupply them. 
 
 The laft duke of Dantzig was named 
 Meftvin II. alias Meftogin, alias Mefcin- 
 gus, alias Mefiojus. This duke of many 
 names, lord of Pomerellia, did, four 
 years before his death, appoint Premi- 
 ilaus duke, afterwards king of Poland, 
 
 * Sec Topographia prior Marchix*, p. 4. 
 
 his
 
 Present State of Poland. 215 
 
 his nephew, fon of his filler, to be his 
 heir and fucceffor : he communicated 
 this defign to his fubjects, who agreed 
 to it, and in the duke's life-time fwore 
 to the obiervance of it : this difpofition 
 was farther confirmed by his will*. At 
 the death of his uncle, which happened 
 in 1295, Premiflaus entered on the fuc- 
 ceffion: but in the year 1308, Waldemar, 
 margrave of Brandenburgh, drove him 
 out; upon what pretence is unknown; 
 the rights of the houfe of Brandenburgh 
 are feldom clear : he did not long keep 
 poffeffion ; but in his turn was attacked 
 by the knights of the Teutonic order ; 
 and finding himfelf unable to refift them, 
 he fold his rights upon Pomcrellia to the 
 faid order for ten thoufand marks f. To 
 give a greater degree of legality and au- 
 thenticity to this purchafe, the knights 
 had obtained a decree from the emperor, 
 
 * See Cromer de Rebus Poloniae, 1. x. p. 1 76. 
 f See the Act of Sale, Dumont, Corps diplomatique, 
 vol. I. p. 364. 
 
 P 4 confirming
 
 216 Letters concerning the 
 
 confirming all the acquifitions they had 
 made, or mould make in Pomerania, 
 whether by purchafe or otherwife *. 
 The kings of Poland thought themfelves 
 injured by this fale, and applied to the 
 pope, John XXII. who, by a folemn de- 
 cifion, declared the right to this duchy 
 to be in the king of Poland : the thun- 
 der of the Vatican however was difregard- 
 ed, the knights kept poflemon ; and in 
 the year 1335, the matter was referred 
 to the arbitration of Charles and John, 
 kings of Hungary and Bohemia, who de- 
 cided, that upon the knights giving up 
 the diftricts of Cujavia, Dobrzyn, and 
 ethers, which they had ufurped, the 
 king of Poland mould, for the good of 
 his foul, confent to cede, not reftore, but 
 cede to them the duchy of Little Pome- 
 rania f : but they not reftoring their 
 
 * See Supplement au Corps diplomatique, vol. II. 
 partie ii. p. So. 
 
 f See Acl of Arbitration, Dumont, Corps diplo- 
 matique, vol. I. partie ii. p. 151. 
 
 other
 
 Present State of Poland. 217 
 
 other ufurpations, the kings of Poland 
 appealed again to the pope, then Bene- 
 dict XII. who again folemnly decided in 
 favour of the king of Poland * : this fe- 
 cond decifion had as little effect as the 
 former ; the knights ftill kept pofleffion 
 till the year 1454, when the fubje&s, no 
 longer able to fubmit to their tyranny, 
 chofe a new mailer, or rather returned 
 to their ancient fovereign the king of 
 Poland : which act of theirs was, as you 
 will fee hereafter, confirmed and allow- 
 ed by the knights in the year 1466. 
 
 Hence then it is clear, that the dukes 
 of Dantzig did not hold their duchy as. a 
 fee in tail, with right of remainder over 
 to the dukes of Stettin : if they had, the 
 emperor, who was lord paramount, would 
 not probably have confented to its aliena- 
 tion, could not have done it, but at the 
 requifition, and with the free confent of 
 the heirs in tail : neither would the pope, 
 
 * Sec Dumont, Corps diplomatique, vol. I. partie 
 ii. p. 175. 
 
 and
 
 218 Letters concerning the 
 
 and much lefs the kings of Hungary and 
 Bohemia, (who, as feudatories of the em- 
 pire, were interefted to maintain that 
 maxim of the feudal law, " Alienatio- 
 " nem feudi paterni non valere etiam do- 
 " mini voluntate, niii agnatis confentien- 
 tibus") have pronounced that alienation 
 legal. 
 
 The obfervation therefore of the let- 
 ters patent, that the dukes of Pomerania 
 did never make any renunciation to their 
 rights upon Pomerellia, is futile, and vain. 
 Why mould they renounce rights, which 
 it plainly appears they never had ? It 
 fhould have been proved, that they had 
 protefted againft the will of Meftvin, a- 
 gainft the emperor's confirmation of the 
 acquifitions made in Pomerania by the 
 knights of the Teutonic order ; againft 
 the fentence of arbitration pronounced by 
 the kings of Hungary and Bohemia ; 
 againft the decree of the popes John 
 XXII. and Benedict XII. in favour of the 
 kings of Poland. Can it be fuppofed, 
 
 that
 
 Present State of Poland. 219 
 
 that the rightful heirs would have luffer- 
 ed two pretenders to their eftates, to have 
 pleaded their caufe fo long, and before 
 fo many different tribunals, without put- 
 ting in their claim ? There filence is not 
 indeed a renunciation of real rights ; but 
 it is fomething much ftronger : it is an ab- 
 folute denial of the exiftence of thofe rights. 
 
 But the obfervation that the rights of 
 the houfe of Brandenburgh to this coun- 
 try, remain in their full force and inte- 
 grity, if it be ferious is not perhaps per- 
 fectly modeft : — if that houfe had any 
 rights, it fold them, as you have feen, to 
 the knights of the Teutonic order : and 
 furely it is not modeft in the houfe of 
 Brandenburgh, to fell in one century a 
 pretended right to an eftate for a valuable 
 confideration, and in another century to 
 fet up another claim to the fame eftate, 
 directly contradictory to, and deftructive 
 of the firft. 
 
 Laftly, it is demonftrably falfe, that 
 the electors of Brandenburgh did fucceed 
 
 to
 
 220 Letters concerning the 
 
 to the dukes of Pomerania, either in qua- 
 lity of natural heirs in tail, or remainder- 
 men, named in the original grant : or by 
 virtue of any grant or donation from the 
 lord paramount, or of any compact made 
 with the lords feudal, at the time that 
 Pomerellia did actually make a part of the 
 duchy of Pomerania. 
 
 The rights of the electors of Branden- 
 burgh to the Citerior Pomerania, are not 
 founded on any agnation, or confangui- 
 nity whatever ; they did not therefore 
 fucceed in quality of natural heirs in 
 tail : nor did they fucceed in quality of re- 
 mainder-men named in the original grant : 
 for the proof of this, I can cite you what, 
 in this cafe, muft be confidered as the moft 
 unexceptionable authority, that of the king 
 of Pruma himfelf. 
 
 In his Memoirs of the Houfe of Bran- 
 denburgh you meet with the following 
 words * : 
 
 * Sec edition of 1767, vol. I. p. 14. 
 
 " In
 
 Present State of Poland. 221 
 
 « In the year J 464, Othon III. laft 
 " duke of Stettin, died : and the elector 
 " Frederick II. entered into a war with 
 " the duke of Wolgaft : the reafon was 
 " this, Lewis of Bavaria, elector of Bran- 
 " denburgh, had made a treaty in the 
 " year 1338, with the dukes of Pomera- 
 " nia, which ftipulated, that if their 
 " line came to be extinguifhed, Pomera- 
 u nia fhould fall to the electorate ; this 
 " treaty had been confirmed by the em- 
 " peror : the difpute however was termi- 
 " nated by an agreement in the year 1464, 
 " according to which the duke of Wol- 
 " gaft remained in poiTeftion of the duchy 
 " of Stettin, but became feudatory to the 
 " elector, to whom Pomerania did even- 
 " tual homage." 
 
 This account proves, fir, yet again, 
 that the dukes of Dantzig did not hold 
 their duchy as a fief in tail, with right of 
 remainder over to the dukes of Stettin : 
 and that the confequent right, which it 
 is pretended the dukes of Stettin had to 
 
 the
 
 222 Letters concerning the 
 
 the fucceflion of the dukes of Dantzig, 
 is a mere invention of the king of Pruf- 
 fia. For had that right exifted, neither 
 could the electors of the houfe of Bava- 
 ria have made the compact of confrater- 
 nity, in the year 1338, with the dukes 
 of Stettin, nor could the emperor have 
 confirmed it : nor would fo juft and dif- 
 interefted a prince, as the elector Fre- 
 derick II. have aflerted it by force of arms, 
 in prejudice to the dukes of Wolgaft, who, 
 fuppofing the duchy of Pomerania to have 
 been a fief in tail, would have flood pre- 
 cifely in the fame predicament of agnats 
 and heirs in tail, to the dukes of Stettin, 
 as the dukes of Stettin did to the dukes 
 of Dantzig : or, to fpeak more properly, 
 would have been in the fame degree des- 
 cendants of the original vaffal, as were 
 the dukes of Stettin, and by confequence 
 mull: have been the remainder-men of 
 the dukes of Stettin, and as well as they 
 eventual nominees in the original grant. 
 It follows, that by the fame right as the 
 
 dukes
 
 Present State of Poland. 223 
 
 dukes of Stettin could put their whole 
 heritage, not only extra agnationem, but 
 extra cognationem, and convey it away 
 to the electors of Brandenburgh, of the 
 houfe of Bavaria, who were mere Gran- 
 gers to them, and flood in no degree of 
 agnation, or confanguinity whatever, in 
 preference to their neareft agnats the dukes 
 of "Wolgaft, Meftvin, duke of Dantzig, 
 could convey a part of his inheritance to 
 his nephew, fon of his fifter, in preference 
 to a more diftant relation of the male line. 
 In the next place, fir, it is equally 
 clear from this account, not only that the 
 original rights of the houfe of Branden- 
 burgh to the duchy of Citerior Pomera- 
 nia are not founded on any agnation, con- 
 fanguinity, title of heirs in tail, or re- 
 mainder-men, but merely on a compact 
 of confraternity : but it is farther proved, 
 that the compact, under which the]/ claim, 
 was not made at the time that Pomerellia 
 formed a part of the duchy of Pomerania. 
 
 It
 
 224 Letters concerning the 
 
 It follows therefore, that the electors of 
 Brandenburgh, as fucceflbrs, and univer- 
 fal heirs to the dukes of Pomerania, have 
 no right to Pomerellia : becaufe fuppofing, 
 what I doubt, that they could claim any- 
 thing more than what belonged to the 
 fucceffion when it became open ; yet mod 
 certainly they could not claim any thing 
 which had been feparated from the eftate 
 before the compact was made, under 
 which alone they claim. Now, fir, Po- 
 merellia had been detached from the duchy 
 of Pomerania forty-three years before the 
 firft compact was made : one hundred and 
 twenty -two years before the houfe of 
 Hohenzollern arrived at the electoral dig- 
 nity ; one hundred and fixty-nine years 
 before any claim was laid to the fucceffion, 
 and before the fecond compact was made, 
 under which the houfe of Brandenburgh 
 claimed at the treaty of Weftphalia ; 
 three hundred and forty-two years before 
 the fucceffion became open j four hundred 
 
 and
 
 Present State of Poland. 225 
 
 and fevcnty-feven years before the publi- 
 cation of the letters patent *. And there- 
 fore in the long difcuflions concerning 
 the right of fucceffion to the duchy of 
 Pomerania, during the negociations of 
 Munfter and Ofnabrug, no mention v is 
 made of Pomerellia's belonging to, or 
 making a part of that fucceffion : the 
 claims both of Sweden and Brandenburgh 
 being founded on compacts made long 
 after Pomerellia was feparated from it. 
 
 The claim therefore to Pomerellia is, 
 to all intents and purpofes, null and void. 
 As well might the kings of France lay 
 claim to all Germany, Italy, and Catalo- 
 nia, as being defcended from the royal 
 
 * Pomerellia was, according to the letters patent, 
 detached from the duchy of Pomerania in 1295 j the 
 firft compact of confraternity was made in the year 
 1338 ; the houfe of Hohenzollern was promoted to 
 the electoral dignity in the year 1417 ; the elector 
 Frederick II. claimed the duchy of Stettin, without 
 claiming Pomerellia, in the year i\6^\ the fucceffion 
 became open in the year 1637 ; the letters patent 
 were publifhcd in the year 1772. 
 
 Q^ Carolin-
 
 226 Letters concerning the 
 
 Carolingian {lock. On the fame founda~ 
 tion, it is probable, the king of Fruffia 
 will, during the courfe of this fummer, 
 lay claim to the reft of Swedifh Pomera^ 
 nia. 
 
 The other portion, which the king of 
 Pruffia claims as a part of his ancient pa- 
 trimony, is that part of Great Poland 
 which lies between the Draga and the 
 Notec ; which he fays, " did, from the 
 u earlieft times, belong to the New March 
 " of Brandenburgh, and was peaceably 
 " pOiTefied by the margraves of Branden- 
 " burgh till the beginning of the fifteenth 
 " century : but in the year 1402 the elcc- 
 " tcr Sigiimund mortgaged the New 
 " March to the knights of the Teutonic 
 " order, from whom the kings of Poland 
 " took it, being at war with the order." 
 
 Now here again, fir, three things are 
 fuppofed, and taken for granted ; all of 
 which are abfolutely and dernonitrably 
 falfe. 
 
 Firft,
 
 Present State of Poland. 22^ 
 
 Firft, it is fuppofed, and taken for 
 granted, that the elector Sigifmund did 
 only mortgage, and not fell and alienate 
 the New March to the Teutonic order. 
 
 It is next fuppofed, and taken for grant- 
 ed, that at the time this elector of the 
 houfe of Lutzelburgh did thus mortgage 
 or fell the New March, the portion in 
 queftion did belong to it ; and that the 
 Notec did then form the boundaries be- 
 tween Poland and the New March. 
 
 And laftly, that the Kings of Poland 
 did feparate and detach this portion from 
 the New March. 
 
 With regard to the firft fuppofition, it 
 is beyond a doubt, that the elector did 
 not barely mortgage, but fell and alienate 
 the New March to the knights of the Teu- 
 tonic order. This is evident from a treaty 
 made between the king of Poland and 
 the knights of the Teutonic order in the 
 year 1436; in which the knights fpcak 
 of the New March as belonging to them 
 in full and entire propriety, in the fame 
 0,^2 man-
 
 228 Letters concerning the - 
 
 manner as Almania and Livonia*. Should 
 the king of Pruffia appeal from this au- 
 thority, we can cite him another, which 
 to him at leaft muft he unqueftionable ; 
 even his own. He exprefsly declares in 
 his Memoirs of the Houfe of Branden- 
 burgh, that it was fold : now the letters 
 patent were written to colour over, and 
 jufcify an acl of oppreffion and violence; 
 the Memoirs were written without any 
 view of immediate intereft, drawn from 
 the beft fources, fays the royal author, and 
 carefully revifed and corrected. His words 
 are : " La Nouvelle Marche, que l'ordre 
 " Teutonique avoit conquife fur l'elccleur 
 " Jean, & qu'Otton le long avoit rachetee, 
 " fut de nouveau alienee a cet ordre : Sigif- 
 u mond ayant befoin d'argent vendit cette 
 " province aux chevaliers en 1402*)"/' 
 
 This difference is material. If the elec- 
 tor had only mortgaged it, then the 
 knights, having only the ufe and profits, 
 
 * Duraont, Corps diplomatique, vol. III. p. 13. 
 -j- See Memoires, p. 9. 
 
 could
 
 Present State of Poland. 229 
 
 could not difpofe of the property ; but 
 if it was not barely mortgaged, but alie- 
 nated, and fold, then they had a full pro- 
 perty in it, and might lofe it, or difpofe 
 of it : and if it was conquered from them 
 in fair and honourable war, the electors of 
 Brandenburgh had no remedy ; but when 
 they re-purchafed it, could only re-pur- 
 chafe what then, at the time of this fecond 
 purchafe, did actually belong to it. The 
 king of Pruflia therefore would gain no- 
 thing by proving that this diftrict did be- 
 long to the New March at the time the 
 elector Sigifmund, of the houfe of Lutzle- 
 burg, fold it. 
 
 But in fact it is not true that this diftrict 
 did then belong to the New March. It 
 is clear from the treaty above cited, that 
 it was to have been added afterwards, but 
 did not yet belong to the March ; for it is 
 there exprefsly faid, that to cut off ail fub- 
 ject of difpute for the future, the Notec 
 ihall be hereafter taken for the boundaries 
 between Poland and the March. — " In 
 Qj " pofterum
 
 230 Letters concerning the 
 
 " pofterum erit medius terminus Notes.iive 
 " Byrzwennig." 
 
 Confequently the kings of Poland can- 
 not be faid to have detached or torn away 
 this diftrict from the New March, fince 
 it never had been effectually a part of it, 
 never had been poffeffed by the margraves 
 of Brandenburgh ; though it was to have 
 been added to the New March by virtue of 
 a treaty with the Teutonic order. 
 
 You will perhaps tell me, that whilft I 
 am destroying one claim I am fetting up 
 another, and a better : for if, according 
 to my own argument, the abfolute fale 
 and alienation of the New March to the 
 Teutonic order precluded the electors of 
 Brandenburgh from all right of recovery 
 to what might have been loft during its 
 being in poffeffion of the order ; by the 
 fame argument it will follow, that when 
 the elector repurchafed it, he acquired a 
 right to every thing which the order had 
 added to it during the fame period. 
 
 I allow
 
 Present State of Poland. 231 
 
 I allow the confequence, fir ; it is juft 
 and true : and if no good reafon can be 
 afligned why this part of the treaty of 
 1436 was not fulfilled, the king of Pruffia 
 has, on the footing of my argument, 
 though not on that of his own, as full a 
 right to that part of Great Poland as is 
 conliftent with a prefcription againft him 
 of more than three hundred years ; and 
 repeated and general renunciations of all 
 claims on the republic made fince on 
 many folemn occafions. 
 
 But I am apt to think very good rea- 
 sons may be affigned why this part of the 
 treaty was not fulfilled. The character 
 of the elector Frederick II. is a ftrong pre- 
 emptive proof of this. I feize with pe- 
 culiar pleafure thi^ occafion of doing jus- 
 tice to Frederick II. in the very words of 
 the royal memorialiH:. Speaking of this 
 very tranfa&ion of re-purchafing the 
 New March, he fays of the elector, — 
 " Though he never made an unjuft ac- 
 M quifition, yet he knew how to make 
 0^4 " g ooc !
 
 232 Letters concerning the 
 
 "good his legal rights*." — From this 
 character, of the elector, it fhould feem 
 that he did not think he had any right to 
 the diftrict in queftion, or he would have 
 made it good. In fact the very circum- 
 ftances, under which the order re-fold 
 the March to the elector, explain the 
 matter. The knights had refufcd to ful- 
 fill their part of the treaty of 1436, a new 
 war enfued ; the ceffions to be made by 
 Poland, in confequence of that treaty, 
 were thereby rendered null ; the order 
 was actually at war with Poland, at the 
 time they refold the New March to the 
 elector : it was to fupport that war they 
 fold it ; and the war continued almoft 
 without interruption till the year 1466, 
 This circumftance would have facilitated 
 the elector's making good his rights to 
 this portion, if indeed it had belonged 
 to the New March ; but it was to the e- 
 lector a proof that his rights to the dif- 
 
 * See Memoires, p. 1^. 
 
 trict
 
 Present State of Poland. 233 
 
 tri<ft in queftion were not legal, and that 
 it did not belong to the March ; and he 
 therefore did not make any claim to it, 
 direct or indirect, actual or eventual. 
 
 Is it not furprifing, that what then 
 appeared unlawful and unjuft to the elec- 
 tor, mould now appear very lawful and 
 very juft to the king ? — " The elector, 
 " (fays the royal memorial ift) was a 
 " prince of probity and honour, not to 
 " be feduced by any views of private in- 
 " tereft." — Upon the whole, fir, it ap- 
 pears, that the March was not merely 
 mortgaged, but fold, and alienated to 
 the Teutonic order, by Sigifmund of the 
 houfe of Lutzleburgh ; it is therefore no- 
 thing to the purpofe to enquire what were 
 its bounds at that time : the queition is, 
 what were the bounds at the time that 
 Frederick II. of the hcufe of Hohenzol- 
 lern re-purchafed it : and it appears that 
 its bounds had not been extended, though 
 they ought to have been fo, in confcqucncc 
 of a treaty made with the order ; but the 
 
 order
 
 234- Letters concerning the 
 order having infringed their part of the 
 treaty, Poland refufed to make good her 
 part, and give up territories, of which 
 ihe had been for time immemorial in 
 rightful poflemon*. 
 
 The reflection therefore of the letters 
 patent, that neither the electors of Bran- 
 denburgh, nor the knights of the Teuto- 
 nic order, nor. the emperors of Germany, 
 had ever ceded the diftrict in queftion, is 
 
 * In the extra&s from the deduction referred to 
 by the king of Pruflia, one argument made ufe of 
 to prove that this portion did anciently belong to 
 the New March is, that in fome ancient docu- 
 ments, three towns are to be found belonging to 
 the New March, bearing the fame names as three 
 towns comprifed within the diftrict ufurped: in 
 pafling through the New March, I remember flop- 
 ping at two towns, called one Vienna, and the other 
 Warfaw. Suppofe thefe towns to be deflroyed by 
 war or otherwife ; would it follow that Vienna 
 and Warfaw, capitals of Auftria and Poland, were 
 parts of the New March ? or fhould a town called 
 Scotland, lately ufurped by the king of Pruflia, be 
 deftroyed, would that juflify his claim to the king- 
 dom of Scotland ? 
 
 juft
 
 Present State of Poland. 235 
 
 juft as futile and vain as that which clofed 
 the deduction of the pretended rights to 
 Pomerellia: neither the houfe of Bran- 
 denburgh, nor the Teutonic order, nor 
 the emperors, had any right, direct or 
 indirect, to this diftrict, except what 
 was founded on a contract, which not 
 having been fulfilled on the one part, 
 could not be binding on the other. Ac- 
 cordingly, neither the elector, who re- 
 purchafed it, a good and juft, but at the 
 fame time a firm and intelligent prince, 
 nor any of his fucceflors, his prefent ma- 
 jefty excepted, laid any claim to the dif- 
 trict in queftion, though it w T as re-pur- 
 chafed three hundred and twenty-feven 
 years ago. 
 
 I fhall not tire you, fir, with any ar- 
 guments in defence of the right of pre- 
 fcription; I fhall leave it to your own 
 heart to contradict the allertion of the 
 king of Pruffia, that this right cannot be 
 pleaded among civilized nations : as pa- 
 tience in his majefty's vocabulary fignifies 
 
 an
 
 236 Letters concerning the 
 
 an unremitting perfeverance in doing in- 
 juries, fo, I fuppofe, his civilized nations 
 are thofe who have not the power of re^ 
 fitting or refenting injuries ; and to fuch 
 a people few rights indeed are allowed. 
 I mail not trouble you with any refutation 
 of his claims of indemnification for non- 
 enjoyment of provinces he never had a 
 right to : here he does not put on the fem- 
 blance of reafon or honefty. But it may 
 be no incurious object to take a curfory 
 furvey of the treaties and tranfactions be- 
 tween Poland and the houfe of Hohen- 
 zollern, or, as he pampouily flyles it, the 
 royal and electoral houfe of Brandenburgh, 
 fince the treaty of Thorn. 
 
 This treaty was concluded in the year 
 1466; and put an end to the long and 
 bloody wars between Poland and the 
 knights of the Teutonic order. Words 
 cannot be invented clearer or flronger 
 than are there ufed : the refpective limits 
 of the contracting parties are marked with 
 a precifion that cuts off all diipute : 
 8 that
 
 Present State of Poland. 237 
 
 that part of Pomerania now claimed by 
 the king of Pruffia is exprefsly named, 
 and defcribed by its principal towns*. 
 Now, fir, what think you of the modefty 
 of the king of Pruffia ? His original claim 
 to Pomerellia goes back to 1295 : m tne 
 year 1308, a margrave of Brandenburgh, 
 to whom the claimant is heir, feizes 
 Pomerellia, and three years afterwards 
 fells it to the knights of the Teutonic 
 order; in the year 1454, the fubje&s, 
 driven to extremity by the tyranny of the 
 order, avail themfelves of their natural 
 rights, as you have done in , England, 
 and as, no doubt, you would do again, 
 mould you ever, which Heaven forbid, 
 find yourfelves in the fame fituation, as 
 every people may and ought to do, re- 
 nounce their allegiance to fovereigns who 
 had invaded their laws, rights, and liber- 
 ties, and put themfelves under another 
 fovereign. In the year 1466, this choice 
 
 * See extra&s of this treaty, Appendix, M : 
 and fee a copy of the treaty at length, Diimont, 
 Corps diplom. torn. III. p. 348. 
 
 is
 
 238 Letters concerning the 
 
 is allowed and confirmed, with every pof- 
 fible folemnity, by the rejected fovereign, 
 to whom too the prefent claimant is heir, 
 and in virtue of that heredity alone, holds 
 his kingdom : and yet, under pretext of 
 ancient titles, he does not blufh to tell us, 
 he has convinced all Europe of his right 
 not only to reclaim this territory, but 
 four times as much, the palatinates of 
 Culm and Marienburg, with the bifhop- 
 rick of Warmia, (likewife for ever af- 
 fured to Poland by this treaty,) as indem- 
 nifications for non-enjoyment of that 
 which two of his anceftors, to both of 
 whom he is heir, had for ever given up. 
 
 That it is in virtue of being heir to the 
 knights of the Teutonic order that he holds 
 his kingdom is clear, unlefs he will rather 
 chufe to fay, that it is in virtue of a trea- 
 cherous robbery of the order ; for in the 
 beginning of the fixteenth century, Albert 
 of Brandenburgh, great-grandfon of the 
 elector Albert Achilles, became matter 
 of the Teutonic order. He declared war 
 againft Poland : the war ended happily 
 
 for
 
 Present State of Poland. 239 
 
 for him; for, in the year 1525, a part of 
 Pruffia was eredted into a feudal duchy in 
 favour of him and his defendants. The 
 limits of this duchy are marked out by 
 the principal towns, caftles, rivers, lakes, 
 &c. in the fame manner as that part of 
 Pruffia, which was for ever appropriated 
 to Poland, had been defcribed in the 
 treaty of Thorn*. Albert immediately 
 quitted the habit, crofs, and arms of the 
 order, and embraced the Proteftant reli- 
 gion ; the fubjecls of his new duchy fol- 
 lowed his example. Albert Frederick fuc- 
 ceeded to this duchy in the year 1568, 
 whofe daughter was given in marriage to 
 the elector John Sigifmund. Albert Fre- 
 derick falling into a ftate of imbecility, the 
 elector was appointed his tutor, and at the 
 death of Albert Frederick, the duchy of 
 Pruffia was united to the electorate. Now, 
 fir, this fame Albert of Brandenburgh,who 
 came to the pofTeflion of the duchy, now 
 the kingdom of Pruffia, as grand mailer 
 of the Teutonic order, who in that quality 
 
 * See Appendix, N. 
 
 made
 
 24° Letters concerning the 
 
 made war upon Poland, and afterwards, 
 by an act of policy worthy of his pre- 
 fent fucceffor, appropriated to himfelf and 
 family what had been gained by and for 
 the order, obtained the duchy with the 
 fame limits, and under the fame reftric- 
 tions, as it had before been granted to the 
 order. John Sigifmund, who united the 
 duchy to the electorate, had it with the 
 fame limits, and under the fame reflric- 
 tions ; the very words of the oath taken 
 at his inveftiture by John Sigifmund prove 
 this : — " Denique etiam pacta priora an- 
 *' tiqua omnia et fmgula, quocunque tem- 
 " pore a deceflbribus meis Pruflise do- 
 " minis aut ducibus fervabo & implebo*." 
 The disjunctive copulative between the 
 domini and duces plainly refer to thofe 
 
 * See Letters of Sigifmund III. king of Poland ; 
 Letters of John Sigifmund, elector of Branden- 
 burgh ; diploma of inveftiture ; provifion for the 
 prefervation ot the rights and liberties of Prufiia ; 
 oath prefcribed to the fubjecls of the new duchy. 
 Dumont, Corps diplcin. vol. v. partie ii. p. 1 79 
 —I95. 
 
 who
 
 - Present State of Poland. 241 
 
 who were in poffeflion of Pruflia before it 
 was erected into a duchy, that is the 
 knights of the Teutonic order. Here 
 then are two other formal renunciations 
 to Pomerellia, and to every place com- 
 prifed under the name of Polifh Pruflia. 
 
 In the year 1655, a treaty of alliance 
 and mutual defence was made between 
 Frederick William, elector of Branden- 
 burg, and the ftates of Polifh Pruflia, in 
 the 20th and 38th article of which the 
 elector is allowed to put garrifons into 
 fome of the towns of Pomerellia ; and in 
 the 26th article it is flipulated, that the 
 war finifhed, thefe towns fhall be reftored 
 to Poland " abfque ulla praetenfione*." 
 Here then is another acknowledgment 
 that Pomerellia did of right belong to the 
 king of Poland. 
 
 This treaty was made by Frederick Wil- 
 liam, whom the royal memorialift calls, 
 " The great elector, the honour and 
 
 * See this a&, Dumont, Corp9 dlplom. vol. 
 VI. partie ii. p. 124. 
 
 R " glory
 
 242 Letters concerning the 
 
 " glory of his houfe." Nor is it to be 
 wondered at, that the king is fo lavifh 
 in his praifes ;. he was mafter of his ma- 
 jefty's favourite maxim, " qu'il faut s'al- 
 " lier pour fon avantage:" and confe- 
 quently not be dupe enough to. keep a 
 treaty, that begins to be hurtful to one's 
 intereft. Accordingly, the very year after 
 he had made this treaty againft the king 
 of Sweden, the elector changed fides : and 
 to ufe the words of the royal memorialing 
 " as the Swedes had made him advan- 
 " tageous proportions, he attached him- 
 " felf to their fortunes, and concluded at 
 " Konigfberg a treaty with that crown, 
 " by which he recognized himfelf vaflal 
 " of Sweden, and did homage for the 
 " duchy of Pruffia, on condition that the 
 " bifhoprick of Warmia mould be fecula- 
 " rized in his favour*." Had this elector 
 confidered Pomerellia as a part of his an- 
 cient patrimony, he had a fair opportunity 
 
 * See Memoires, p. 113. 
 
 of
 
 Present State of Poland. 243 
 
 of making good his claim : for his alliance 
 was of infinite importance to Sweden. 
 
 At the latter end of this fame year 
 1656, a fecond treaty was made between 
 the fame princes, by which the king of 
 Sweden releafes the duchy of Pruffia from 
 the feudal bond, and erects it into an in- 
 dependent fovereignty ; and fo far was the 
 elector from imagining that Pomerellia 
 belonged of right to him, or that it did 
 not belong to the king of Poland, that he 
 engages to aflift the king of Sweden in 
 forcing the king of Poland to give it up 
 to his Swedifh majefly, as an indemnifi- 
 cation for the expences of the war. The 
 words of the treaty are : " Serenitas fua 
 " ele&oralis ejufque fucceflbres legitimi 
 " vicifhm virtute fxpius dicti articuli VII. 
 " tenebuntur una cum S. R. M. et ejus 
 '* fuccefibribus, & regibus, & regno Suecise 
 " agere & cooperari, ut Borufiia regia, Po- 
 " merellia, et eo fpectans Caflubice pars, 
 " item Samogitia, Semigallia, Courlandia, 
 " et Livonia cum fuis pertinentiis & juri- 
 R 2 bus
 
 244 Letters concerning the 
 
 " bus S. R. M. et ejus fucceflbribus, regi- 
 " bus, & regno Suecise, in fatisfa&:k>nem 
 " a rege & republica Polonise magnoque 
 " ducatu Lithuania in perpetuum cedan- 
 " tur *." Had the eleftor had the leafl 
 idea of having any right to Pomerellia, 
 would he not have afferted it here, made 
 a merit, and acquired greater confequence 
 with his new ally, by yielding his intereft 
 therein, and not have ranked it with other 
 undifputed pofTeffions of Poland ? 
 
 The royal memorialift, fpeaking of the 
 elector, fays : " the effects of his good 
 faith were, that he affifted his allies :" 
 his good faith was the well known fides 
 Punica : he affifted his allies, if you will, 
 but he changed his allies as often as a 
 coquette changes her lovers. This laft 
 treaty was made with Sweden on the ioth 
 of November 1656 : and on the 12th of 
 December in the fame year, he made a 
 fecret treaty with John Cafimir king of 
 
 * See this treaty, Dumontj Corps diplom. tome 
 VI. partie ii. p. 152. 
 
 Poland.
 
 Present State of Poland. 245 
 
 Poland. For, as the royal memorialift 
 obferves, it was a maxim with the great 
 elector, " to prevent the laws of neceffity, 
 " and to yield with a good grace*." 
 
 In the year 1657, was figned the treaty 
 of Velaw : in which the elector renounces 
 all rights acquired by his treaties with 
 Sweden, and particularly on the bifhop- 
 rick of Warmia : the king of Poland, on 
 his part, releafes the duchy of Pruflia from 
 the feudal tie, and erects it into an inde- 
 pendent fovereignty, " iis finibus circum- 
 " fcriptum quibus olim jure feudi pof- 
 " fidebatur :" in lieu of vaffalage the 
 elector and his fuccefTors to be allied with 
 the republic " perpetuo & inviolabili 
 *' fcedere:" never to make alliances with 
 the enemies of the republic, and renoun- 
 cing " plenarie, et abfque ulla referva- 
 
 * The fentence is incomplete in the original, I 
 fuppofe the royal memorialift imagined every one 
 would readily fupply " to the dictates of his own 
 intercft,'' and he left it to his own hiftorian to fay, 
 that this maxim was afterwards generally adopted 
 in his houfe. 
 
 R 3 tione,"
 
 24.6 Letters concerning the 
 
 -~7 
 
 tione," to all that belonged to Poland *. 
 The kings of Hungary, Bohemia, and 
 Denmark, together with the States Gene- 
 ral, are guarantees of this treaty. 
 
 During the courfe of this fame year 
 the treaty of Velaw was confirmed at 
 Bydgcfc. In the ad. of ratification the 
 king confers upon the elector the diftricts 
 of Bytow and Lavenburgh as fiefs to be 
 holden of the crown of Poland : they 
 were parts of little Pomerania, or Pome- 
 rellia. How came the elector to receive 
 this part of Pomerania as a fief revertible 
 to the crown of Poland, if indeed he were 
 rightful heir to the whole ? 
 
 Stop here a moment, Sir ; confider the 
 order, tenor, and force of thefe acts of 
 renunciation ; examine the articles re- 
 ferred to, and contained in the Appen- 
 dix f. By the fir/I is exprefsly defined 
 
 * Sec extracts from this treaty, Appendix O ; and 
 fee a copy of the treaty entire in Dumont, Corps 
 tliplom. vol. VI. partie ii. p. 191. 
 
 t Undcv the letters M. N. O. 
 
 what
 
 Present State of Poland. 247 
 
 what is to be underftood by Folifh Pruflia, 
 of which Pomerellia is declared to be a 
 part ; and all right or pretenfion to it is 
 renounced by the order, who had bought 
 it of a margrave of Brandenburgh, who 
 had violently diffeifed a king of Poland of 
 it : by the fecond is particularly marked 
 out what part of Pruflia fhould belong to 
 the houfe of Brandenburgh : by the third, 
 an elector of Brandenburgh, then duke of 
 Pomerania, renounces fully, and without 
 any referve, every thing that belongs to 
 Poland ; and this fame elector, duke of 
 Pomerania, had, a year before, in a treaty 
 with Sweden, declared, that Pomerellia 
 did belong to Poland ; declared the fame 
 thing in this treaty, and in confequence 
 thereof, evacuated Dirfchau, a town of 
 Pomerellia : and, to crown all, makes 
 the obiervance of this treaty an engage- 
 ment taken in lieu of vaflalage; and 
 therefore the eflential condition, the fine 
 qua non, upon which he and his heirs 
 were to hold the then duchy, now king- 
 R 4 dom
 
 248 Letters concerning the 
 
 dom of Pruflla. — Judge after this of the 
 rhodefty of the man, who can fet up a 
 claim to Pomerellia four hundred years 
 earlier than thefe acts, and even add, that 
 the dukes of Pomerania had never re- 
 nounced that claim. Were juftice alone 
 to be confulted, inftead of allowing his 
 claims, fhe would pronounce the kingdom 
 of Pruffia, ipfo facto, forfeited ; and, de 
 jure, reverted to the crown of Poland. 
 
 In the year 1660 the war between Po- 
 land and Sweden was terminated by the 
 peace of Oliva. As almoft all the princes 
 of the North had been involved in this 
 war, either as principals or allies, . provi- 
 sion was made for the claims of them all. 
 Here then was another fair opportunity 
 for the houfe of Brandenburgh to pro- 
 duce and make good its claims upon Po- 
 land, if any fuch it had : on the contra- 
 ry, the fecond, feventh, eighth, and fif- 
 teenth articles contain a formal acknow- 
 ledgement, that all the contracting par- 
 ties confidered all the Royal, or Polifh 
 
 Pruffia,
 
 Present State of Poland. 249 
 
 Pruflia, fuch as it then was, and fuch as 
 it continued to be till the late usurpations, 
 as belonging of right to the king and re- 
 public of Poland. This right is more 
 particularly recognifed by a feparate act 
 of the elector of Brandenburgh, in which 
 he ftipulates for the independence of the 
 ducal Pruflia according to the treaties of 
 Velaw and Bydgofc. Had the houfe of 
 Brandenburgh had any right to the pro- 
 vinces now claimed, the elector would 
 not have been filent on them then : filence 
 at fuch a moment is a renunciation. All 
 the contracting parties, " tarn principales 
 " quam federate," guaranty all the 
 ceflions and reftitutions contained in this 
 treaty. It was made by the mediation 
 of the crown of France ; guarantied by 
 that crown, the houfe of Auftria, the 
 crowns of Great Britain and Spain*. In 
 the feparate act, guarantied by the fame 
 powers, the elector refers the guarantees 
 
 * See Johannis Georgii Boehmii A&a Pads Oliv- 
 ejifis, Vratiflaviae edita J763. 
 
 to
 
 250 Letters concerning the 
 
 to the treaties of Velaw and Bydgofc, as 
 containing a full decifion of all his rights 
 on the fide of Pruffia : by this reference 
 he puts thefe treaties under their guaranty 
 and tuition ; and they, by including this 
 feparate acT:, and giving it the fame force 
 as if inferted in the body of the act, do as 
 effectually guaranty the treaties there re- 
 ferred to, as they do that of Oliva. It is 
 thus the king of Pruffia himfelf under- 
 ftood it. Speaking of the treaty of Oliva, 
 he fays : " On garantit a. l'ele&eur le 
 " traite de Braunfberg." Braunfberg is 
 the German name for Bydgofc * : the 
 treaty of Bydgofc was a confirmation of 
 the treaty of Velaw. 
 
 In the year 1699, the elector Frederick 
 III. " took advantage (fays the royal bio- 
 " grapher) of the troubles of Poland, and 
 " fcized upon Elbing to reimburfe him- 
 " felf for a fum due from Poland f." 
 The time of payment was fixed by a treaty ; 
 
 * See Mcmoires, p. J29. 
 f Sec Mcmoires, p. 22c. 
 
 a crown
 
 Present State op Poland. 251 
 
 a crown and certain jewels were pledged 
 as a fecurity to the elector, and it was 
 agreed, that in default of payment he 
 fhould enter on the territories of Elbing. 
 The laft article of this treaty fays : " Re- 
 " liqua omnia, omnibus fublatis ab utrin- 
 " que prsetenfionibus, in -vigor e veterum, 
 " et recentiorum pactorum Velavienfium 
 " manebunt *." 
 
 In the next year this fame elector ob- 
 tained from the emperor the title of king, 
 and was thenceforth called Frederick I. : 
 as elector of Saxony, Auguftus II. ac- 
 knowledged the title : but though Frede- 
 rick gave the ftrongeft alTurances to the 
 republic, that by this increafe of dignity 
 he did not mean to lay any claim or form 
 any pretenfions on her, ftill fhe refufed 
 to acknowledge the title : nor was it ac- 
 knowledged till the year 1764; nor 
 then till the plenipotentiaries from Berlin 
 had declared in the moil folemn manner, 
 
 * See this treaty in Dumont, Corps Diplom. vol. 
 VII. partie ii. p. 474. 
 
 that
 
 u 
 
 252 Letters concerning the 
 
 that their mafter laid no claim, formed 
 no pretenfions on Poland : the words 
 are : " S. R. M. Borufliae nee animus nee 
 " mens eft, ufu regii tituli, tra&atibus & 
 " conventionibus inter illam & ferenifli- 
 w mam Remp. feliciter exiitentibus quic- 
 " quid praejudicii afFerre : quin potius 
 omnium Reip. jurium aeque ac liberta- 
 " turn garantiam feu tuitionem prseftabit, 
 " & manu tenebit." — The word " poffef- 
 fiones" was here omitted, either by acci- 
 dent, or defign ; but, in a fecond act 
 drawn up by the republic, and confirmed 
 and figned by the king of Prufha's own 
 hand, it was ftipulated, that this acknow- 
 ledgment mould be " fine finium regni 
 *' Poloni imminutione, et quum caetero- 
 " rum regionum, turn Prufliae cum prae-* 
 " di&o regno junclise damno : nee non 
 " juribus, tituli s, prserogativifque regum 
 M Polonix falvis *. M — This furely was a 
 full renunciation of all claims upon Po- 
 
 * See Lejignich Juf. pub. Pol. lib. I. cap. v. fe£k. 
 vii. 
 
 land,
 
 Present State of Poland. 253 
 
 land, either as king of Pruffia, elector of 
 Brandenburgh, or duke of Pomerania. 
 Yet now he can tell us he has never re- 
 nounced his claims, and that all Europe 
 is convinced of the juftice of them. 
 
 This is the more revolting, as this 
 fame king of Pruffia tells us, that when 
 France endeavoured to perfuade his fa- 
 ther to fend a body of troops into Polifh 
 Pruffia, and fequefter it, as he had done 
 Swedifh Pomerania, the king refufed it, 
 " becaufe," fays the memorialing " he 
 " thought it unjuft.*" Should you again 
 afk me, Sir, what could make that ap- 
 pear juft to the fon, which appeared fo 
 palpably unjuft to the father, the anfwer 
 muft again be fought in the difference of 
 their characters. The late king of Pruffia 
 was an honeft man, though of the houfe 
 of Hohenzollern : I love to do homage 
 to rare merit; fo take his character in the 
 words of the royal memorialift : " He 
 
 * See Memoires, 356. 
 
 " knew
 
 254 Letters concerning the 
 
 " knew no other policy than probity; 
 " and was fo religious an obferver of his 
 " engagements, that neither private in- 
 " tereft nor ambition were liftened to, 
 " when he was called on to fulfil them*." 
 The notions of the fon are more enlarged. 
 Would you have his picture, fir? He 
 fhall give it you : it is like him, though 
 he drew it for the emperor Leopold. " He 
 " knows no rights but his own ; no pre- 
 " tenfions but thofe of the houfe of Bran- 
 " denburg ; no other rule of juftice but 
 44 his own pride and ambition." 
 
 In the letters patent the towns of Thorn 
 and Dantzig were excepted from the u- 
 furpations of his Pruffian majefty. This 
 exception appeared neceflary to prevent 
 the commercial and maritime powers from 
 taking the alarm. You may judge of the 
 importance of the trade to Dantzig by the 
 annexed ftate of its imports, and exports 
 during the year 177 1 *f . With regard to 
 
 * See ib. 362. 
 
 f See Appendix P. 
 
 the
 
 Present State of Poland. 255 
 
 the trade which Great Britain carries on 
 there, you will juft permit me to add, 
 that the Britifh goods confumed in Po- 
 land and Lithuania are almofl all fent by- 
 way of Dantzig ; that the goods exported 
 from Great Britain to Poland greatly ex- 
 ceed thofe fent from Poland to Great Bri- 
 tain; that all Britifh goods, of whatever 
 denomination, are permitted ; that the 
 duties upon them are very low ; that 
 many articles are fent there, for which 
 there is no longer a demand in other coun- 
 tries : Poland is, I believe, almoft the on- 
 ly country that imports your fugars tho- 
 roughly refined to the laft ftage of that 
 manufacture, which it does in large quan- 
 tities. The exports from England of to- 
 bacco, manufactured in all its fpecies, is 
 greater to Poland than to any other coun- 
 try; Poland confumes large quantities of 
 your woollen goods ; it takes from you 
 large quantities of hardware, malt li- 
 quors, pimento, ginger, pepper, rice, 
 coffee, leather, lead, tin, fait, fea coals, 
 8 &c.
 
 256 Letter* concerning the 
 
 &c. it would take large quantities of tea, 
 if that trade were free ; and large quanti- 
 ties of cod and herring from Scotland, if 
 that flfhery flourifhed. 
 
 As all thefe goods, as well as thofe 
 from other countries, are imported at 
 Dantzig, though confumed in Poland and 
 Lithuania, the king of Pruflia faw that 
 the feizure of Dantzig would naturally 
 alarm the commercial and maritime 
 powers, and he therefore declared it free 
 in his letters patent ; referving to himfelf 
 to reduce that freedom to nothing, by after- 
 manceuvres * . 
 
 He knew befides, fir, that the rights 
 and liberties of Dantzig were guarrantied 
 
 * I have now before me a lift of (hips entered at 
 Dantzig, in the year 1 769, viz. Dantzigers 155 ; 
 Englifh 90; Swedifh 300 ; Danifh 62 j French 
 2; Dutch 320 j Lubeck and Pomerania 103; in 
 all 1037. ■! know this account is not perfect, 
 becaufe the tonnage is not fpecified : but putting 
 that at the loweft rate, would not the feizure of 
 fuch a town be a good foundation for a maritime 
 power. 
 
 by
 
 Present State of Poland. 257 
 
 by all the powers of Europe ; and that 
 not in a flight and tranfient manner, but 
 by fuch a regular fucceffion of acts, as is 
 almoft unexampled in hiftory. And he 
 did not feem to rely fo much as perhaps 
 he might have done, on the fupinenefs 
 and inattention of thefe mighty guaran- 
 tees. 
 
 He knew, that heretofore, when the 
 rights and liberties of Dantzig had been only 
 obliquely, or at moft but partially attacked, 
 many of the powers in Europe had ex- 
 erted themfelves in its defence. 
 
 The States General have on many occa- 
 fions afTerted and defended the rights and 
 liberties of Dantzig. It was by their me- 
 diation that the 42d article was inferted 
 in the treaty concluded between Den- 
 mark and Sweden, in the year j 645, by 
 which the rights, liberties, and commerce 
 of Dantzig are cxpreily fecured. In the 
 wars between Poland and Sweden, they 
 fhewed the fame attention to thefe objects; 
 they concluded a treaty with Denmark for 
 S the
 
 258 Letters concerning the 
 
 the fame purpofe, in 1646; they afli fled 
 the town with a fleet and a reinforcement 
 to its garrifon. 
 
 France had fhewn equal attention to the 
 interefts and welfare of the town, and that 
 fo lately as 17 16 and 176c, 
 
 Ruflia had Iikewife guarantied all its 
 rights, liberties, and privileges repeatedly 
 and folemnly, in the year 1736 ; again at 
 the acceffion of the prefent emprefs, and 
 more lately in the year 1767. 
 
 I only hint, fir, at a few of the diffe- 
 rent acts of guaranty of the other powers, 
 permit me to be a little more explicit as 
 to thofe of Great Britain, the rather as 
 you feem to imagine that the town of 
 Dantzig has no other right to reclaim the 
 affiftance of your court than what it de- 
 rives from the guaranty of the treaty of 
 Oliva. 
 
 I fliall not, like his Prufhan majedy, lay 
 much ftrefs upon treaties and tranlaclions 
 palt. three or four centuries ago, fuch as 
 the treaty concluded in 1436, between 
 
 Henry
 
 Present State of Poland. 259 
 
 Henry VI. and the Hanfe towns, among 
 which was Dantzig, or that concluded 
 in 1474, between Edward IV. and the 
 fame towns, or even that concluded in 
 1 63 1 between Charles I. and the town of 
 Dantzig in particular. I mention thefe 
 only to prove that the prefervation of the 
 rights and liberties of Dantzig has always 
 been confidered as an important object, 
 from the firft moment that commerce 
 reared its head in England. But I would 
 wifh to direct your attention to treaties 
 more full, explicit, and recent. 
 
 In the year 1655, a treaty was con- 
 cluded at Elbing, between Charles Guf- 
 tavus, king of Sweden, and the States Ge- 
 neral, to which England, France, Den- 
 mark, and the houfe of Brandenburgh ac- 
 ceded ; the town of Dantzig is particu- 
 larly and by name included. — " Civitas 
 " quoque Gcdanenfis comprehendatur & 
 " includatur, quemadmodum hifce com- 
 " prehenditur & includitur, cum omnibus 
 S 2 fuis
 
 260 Letters concerning the 
 
 " fuis juribus, privilegiis, immunitatibus, 
 " libertatibus, & legitime receptis confue- 
 " tudinibus, falva atque integra fide, quam 
 " proedicta civitas regi Polonise debet, ita 
 " ut cefTet inter S. R. M. Suecias et civi- 
 " tatem Gedanenfem, omnis hoftilitas." 
 And that you may not imagine, the in- 
 tention of this treaty was only to fecure 
 the town of Dantzig from acts of hoftili- 
 ty on the part of the king of Sweden, the 
 treaty adds, " Proinde neque altimme 
 " prxmemorati reges Gallias et Dania?, 
 " Protector Anglia?, Scotia?, et Hibcrnia?, 
 * c electorque Brandeburgenfis, neque prrc- 
 " fata civitas Gedanenfis ullo modo ab al- 
 " terutro faxleratorum impedientur in na- 
 " vigationc, atque libero commerciorum 
 " ufu, in prrcdiclis maribus atque flumi- 
 tc nibus ; ut nee in regnis, ditionibus, 
 " urbibus, dominiis, juribus, atque liber- 
 " tatibus fuis, directe vel indirecte ullum 
 a iis incommodum vel injuria nunc, vel 
 " in poflerum ab alterutro faederatorum 
 
 " crea-
 
 Present State of Poland. 261 
 
 ** creabitur*." The word " fasderati'* 
 comprehends not only Sweden and Hol- 
 land, but all the princes and ftates ad- 
 mitted as contracting parties. That this 
 interpretation is not arbitrary, nor in- 
 vented to fcrve a particular purpofe, ap- 
 pears from a treaty concluded at the 
 Hague, on the twenty-firft. of May, 1 659, 
 between England, France, and Holland, 
 for the purpofe of forcing the northern 
 powers to make peace : by the fixth ar- 
 ticle of which they engage " de faire leur 
 " pofnble pour mettre en fa perfection 
 " le traite d'Elbing & les elucidations 
 <i d'ice-lui; & que l'eleclcur de Erancle- 
 *' burg & la ville de Dantzig puiffent 
 " jouir des effets de l'inclufion dans le 
 ** dit traite "f." It appears ftill farther 
 from another treaty made likewife at 
 the Hague, in the lame year, between 
 
 * Sec this treaty in Dumont, Corps diplom. 
 vol. VI. partic ii. p. 147. 
 
 | Sec this treaty, Dumont, Corps diplom. vol. 
 VI, partic ii. p. 252. 
 
 S 3 Jing-
 
 262 Letters concerning the 
 
 England and Holland, for the fame pur- 
 pofe of reftoring peace in the North, and 
 enforcing the treaty of Elbing ; in which 
 it is likewife flipulated, " que tous les 
 (t etats compris dans la dite alliance joui- 
 " ront defcommodites et benefices ftipu- 
 " lees dans le dit traite*." Here the 
 ftates included in the treaty of Elbing are 
 ftyled " les etats compris dans l'alliance ;" 
 that is " fcederati." The fenfe of the term 
 is precifely fixed by the very parties in 
 the treaty : the elector of Brandenburgh 
 was one of the parties, and as fuch en- 
 gaged never to infringe the rights and li- 
 berties of the town of Danzig : — " nee 
 " tunc nee in poiterum :" England was one 
 of the parties, and as fuch obliged to fee to 
 the execution of it ; and engaged herfelf 
 fo to do by two other treaties made after- 
 wards, 
 
 I have already mentioned the treaties 
 of Velaw, Bydgofc, and Oliva ; to en- 
 
 * See ib. p. 260. 
 
 force
 
 Present State of Poland. 263 
 
 force the execution of which the king of 
 Great Britain did, as guarantee, and at 
 the defire of the king of Pruflia, again 
 engage himfelf by the firft feparate article 
 of the treaty concluded at Hanover, in 
 the year 1725, between Great Britain, 
 France, and Pruflia*". 
 
 In the year 1707, Queen Anne con- 
 cluded a treaty with the town of Dant- 
 ■zig, by which, among other privileges, 
 the Englifh are allowed to have maga- 
 zines of their own, and there to keep 
 their goods as long as they pleafe, and 
 and fell them when the price is mod ad- 
 vantageous to them ; a privilege, I be- 
 lieve, not common in many ports; at 
 leaft at Riga, I know, the factors, mull 
 cither fell, or re-export their merchan- 
 difes in fourteen days ; they are allowed 
 by the fame treaty, at certain feafons, to 
 
 * See collection of treaties, dedicated to Sir 
 Robert Walpole, in four vols. 8vo. Lond. ^732. 
 vol. IV. p. 150. See alio Rouflit, Recueil hii- 
 torique, vol. II. p. 189. 
 
 S 4 fell
 
 264 Letters concerning the 
 
 fell their goods to ftrangers, as well as 
 citizens ; fo that every poflible method is 
 taken to enable the Britifh merchant to 
 difpofe of his goods to the beft advantage. 
 By the fame treaty it is ftipulated, that 
 no advantages mall hereafter be granted 
 to any other nation, without being at the 
 fame time, and ipfo facto, communicated 
 to the Englifh* . 
 
 All the privileges granted to the town 
 of Dantzig, and reciprocally thofe granted 
 by the town to England, are again con- 
 firmed by the 1 3 th article of the treaty of 
 Utrecht. And though this article, as well 
 as the treaty of Queen Anne, may be 
 thought to contain only arTurances of mu- 
 tual privileges in matters of commerce, 
 yet moft certainly they imply alio afTu- 
 rances of protection on the part of Eng- 
 land, fo far forth, as is neceffary to fe- 
 cure the town from being deprived of the 
 enjoyment of thefe privileges by any acts 
 
 * See other extracts from this treaty, Appendix, I, 
 
 of
 
 Present State of Poland. 265 
 
 of external violence. This is the inter- 
 pretation always put on all the treaties of 
 commerce made with the Hanfe towns. 
 But farther : fo late as the year 1767, the 
 emprcfs of Ruffia made a treaty with the 
 town of Dantzig; of which I fend you 
 an authentic tranflation *. You will there 
 find the following words. — " Moreover, 
 " as it is our intereft that the faid city of 
 44 Dantzig mould remain in its prefent 
 ** ftate, without any change, we do re- 
 " new to the laid city our moft gracious 
 44 guaranty ; promifing effectually to pro- 
 44 tect the fame againft all and fingular 
 44 pretentions and demands whatever, now 
 " made, or hereafter to he made upon it : 
 44 and ever willingly to grant our ftrongeft 
 44 interpofition towards fully and entirely 
 44 maintaining it in all its rights, libcr- 
 44 ties, privileges, cuftoms, religious or 
 44 civil ; and fpecially in the pofTefhon of 
 4( its territories and lands ; in its right of 
 
 * See Appendix^ K. 
 
 na-
 
 266 Letters concerning the 
 
 " navigation, commerce, port, coinage, 
 " and garrifon, without any diminution 
 " thereof." — There is a pleafure in read- 
 ing the public acts of her Czarian ma- 
 jelly, they are fo clear, fo full, fo ex- 
 preffive; truth itfelf feems to guide her 
 pen. Her majefty goes on : " Should it 
 " fo happen, which God in his mercy 
 " avert, that the prefent difienfions about 
 M the rights of the Diffidents mould 
 ct bring on a war, the faid town being a 
 " part of the Diffidents, fhall, provided it 
 " join the good caufe, be protected by us. 
 *' And moreover, fhould the city, in con- 
 " fequence of thefe troubles, fuftain any 
 " injury either in its goods, chattels, or 
 " revenues, mould any infraction be made 
 " of its rights, at the pacification, not 
 " only reparation mall be made for the 
 " injuries fuftained, but all its rights and 
 " privileges mail be again moft ftrongly 
 " guarantied, not only by us, but alfo by 
 " all the other high powers engaged with 
 * fc us in the caufe of the Diffidents." 
 
 8 Now,
 
 Present State of Poland. 267 
 
 Now, fir, the king of Pruflia knew 
 that he was one of the powers engaged 
 with the emprefs in this fame caufe of the 
 Diflidents. He knew too, that in the act 
 cited in my laft, not only Denmark and 
 Sweden, but Great Britain too was de- 
 clared a party in this caufe : and he hard- 
 ly prefumed enough upon the tamenefs 
 of your court, to imagine, that you would 
 fee this treaty violated, and, in contempt 
 of it, Dantzig feized with impunity. It 
 was natural to reafon thus. Either Ruffia 
 made this plain and ftrong ufe of the 
 name of Great Britain, w T ith the confent 
 and authority of the court of Great Bri- 
 tain ; and in fuch cafe that court will 
 think itfelf bound to fulfil a guaranty fo 
 full and expreffive, made fo lately and 
 folemnly ; or Ruffia took this ftep without 
 the knowledge and authority of the court 
 of Great Britain ; and in fuch cafe the 
 honour of that court will require, that 
 Ruffia do fulfil engagements, to which 
 {he has made Great Britain a party, who 
 
 certainly
 
 268 Letters concerning the 
 
 certainly will not fubmit to fo grofs an 
 affront, as being made, without her 
 knowledge, the tool of oppremon. 
 
 But though thefe confiderations were 
 ftrong enough to prevent the king of Pruf- 
 fia from coming immediately to overt acts 
 of violence, they were not of weight fuf- 
 ficient to prevent his refolution of under- 
 mining and annihilating thofe liberties he 
 pretended to refpedt. 
 
 He began by feizing on the territories 
 of the town, under pretence of their hav- 
 ing been formerly parts of Polifh Pruflia; 
 and though alienated and ceded to the 
 town by the kings of Poland, yet he de- 
 clared thefe alienations A^oid, becaufe 
 having been made at a time, that the 
 province and town were under the fame 
 prince, the reafons of making them ceaf- 
 ed, now they were fallen under the do- 
 minion of different matters. Upon this 
 pretext he feized upon the little ifland of 
 Holm, the peninfulas of Hela and Legan, 
 a fuburb called Scheidlitz; another called 
 
 Scharpau ;
 
 Present State of Poland. 269 
 
 Scharpau ; the diflrid of Nehring, and 
 the canal called the Fahrwaifer. He had 
 already feized, as parts acknowledged to 
 belong to Polifh Pruffia, an angle of the 
 port called Puziger-Winkel, the fuburbs 
 of Dantzig, called Scotland, Hoppenbruch, 
 Holland ; a little town called Stoltzem- 
 berg, a village called Langfauhr ; the 
 abbey of Oliva, with all its dependencies. 
 By thefe feizures he commands the town, 
 being matter of all the heights around it, 
 of its gates, works, and harbour : upon 
 the fame principle he claimed and feized 
 all the port-duties. 
 
 And here he behaved with unparallel- 
 ed iniblence to Great Britain, and all the 
 powers trading to Dantzig; for he height- 
 ened the duties upon all goods exported 
 and imported, which is a direct breach of 
 the iirft and fecond articles of the treaty 
 with queen Anne, in which it is exprcily 
 ftipulatcd, that the duties mould remain 
 as they were then fixed, and Britifh goods 
 be fubiect to no other payment what- 
 ever.
 
 270 Letters concerning the 
 
 ever*. I know his minifters deny this, 
 and even pledge their matter's honour in 
 fupport of it : the merchants' books will 
 prove the truth of my aflertion ; and I am 
 apt to think, moft people will look upon 
 them as better vouchers than his Pruffian 
 majefty's word of honour. To mention 
 only two inftances ; the duties upon to- 
 bacco are augmented fo highly, that they 
 amount to a total prohibition ; under the 
 name of port-duties, he infilled on the 
 Britifh nation's paying certain monies, 
 which had never been paid either to the 
 kings of Poland or the town, but folely to 
 truflees appointed by the factory for parti- 
 cular national purpofes j\ He publifhed an 
 
 * See Appendix, Q. 
 
 f Should the Britiih miniftry have occafion to 
 fpeak on this fubjedr. again, I will venture to fore- 
 tell the anfwer : it will be allowed that the duties 
 are heightened for the moment ; but afTurances at 
 the fame time will be given, that as foon as the town 
 has fubmitted itfelf to the king of Pruflia, every 
 thing (hall be put on the ancient footing. They 
 will know what reliance is to be had on future 
 promifes, from the truth of prefent reprefentations. 
 
 I wifh
 
 Present State of Poland. 271 
 
 edict, attributing the exclufive right of the 
 importation and exportation of fait to the 
 veffels of a new maritime company; in 
 direcl: contradiction to the fame treaty, 
 which allows the Britifh merchants to ex- 
 port and import it in Britifh bottoms. 
 He ere&ed another company, to which he 
 attributed the exclufive commerce of wax. 
 He forced the Britifh merchants to pay 
 all the duties immediately, and before the 
 mips entered into the harbour, refufing 
 not only the joint fecurity of the conful 
 and nation, but even the requeft of the 
 conful to accept a depofit of the money, 
 till he could receive orders from his 
 court, though, by the fame treaty, it is 
 exprefly ftipulated, that the Britifh mer- 
 chants be allowed to give fecurity for the 
 payments. 
 
 The town of Dantzig, attacked in pri- 
 vileges efTential to its exiftence, publifhed 
 a deduction of its rights, drawn from au- 
 
 I wifh they may be able, by any negociation, to fe- 
 cure the rights and liberties of the town. 
 
 thentic
 
 272 Letters concerning thb 
 
 thentic records. The king of PrufTia 
 feized with eagernefs this opportunity of 
 drawing off the attention of the other 
 courts of Europe from the main point of 
 view; and taking it for granted, that his 
 feizures in Polifh Pruffia were recognized 
 to be jufl and lawful, fets off from thence, 
 and attempts to refute the deduction of 
 Dantzig. The magiftrates are actually 
 employed in drawing up a reply to this 
 pretended refutation. But furely the con- 
 teft is no longer equal ; his rights are 
 founded on a falfe fuppofition that the 
 feizure of Poliih PrufTia is legal ; and, that 
 fuppofed, they are to be proved by the 
 records of the abbey of Oliva; but that 
 abbey and thofe records are in his pofTef- 
 fion; and how eafy will it be for him to 
 make them fpeak any language he pleafes ? 
 to make them vouch whatever his interefts 
 require ? He, who has been fo often, and 
 fo lately, convicted of coining falfe money, 
 may, without difrefpect, be fuppofed cap- 
 able of producing forged records. 
 
 Befides,
 
 Present State of Poland. 273 
 
 Befidcs, fir, how contemptuoufly foever 
 his Pruflian majefty may fpeak of the 
 Britifti councils and miniftry, we are per- 
 fuaded, they will treat with the fcorn it 
 deferves an attempt to reftrain the extent 
 of the guaranty of their court by mufty 
 records or falfirled documents. Great Bri- 
 tain did not guaranty the walls of a town, 
 but a place which was to be a general 
 mart for her goods, from whence a great 
 and extenfive kingdom was to be fuppiied 
 with her manufactures and merchandizes ; 
 the fpirit of fnch a guaranty requires that 
 me Ihould fecure to the town all that is 
 necefTary to this end. Were the claims of 
 the king of Pruma upon thefe diuricts of 
 Poland authenticated, itill flie would have 
 a right to infill on his ceding every thing 
 necefTary to this end ; with how much 
 Itronger reafon, fince thoie claims are feen 
 to be falfe and fuppofed ? 
 
 Not only the profperity, but the very 
 exiftence of Dantzig, as a free commer- 
 cial town, is at an end, unlefs it be in- 
 dependent, abfolutely and altogether in- 
 T depen-
 
 274 Letters concerning the 
 
 dependent of the king of Pruffia ; its com- 
 merce cannot fubfift unlefs it has the full* 
 artd exclufive fovercignty over the har- 
 bour ; unlefs he relinquishes not only the 
 territories belonging to the town, but 
 many of his other fcizures in Polifh Pruf- 
 •fia, and efpecially the places, which, I 
 have told you, command the town ; un- 
 lefs the navigation on the Viltula be free ;. 
 unlefs provifion be made againh; the im- 
 position of new duties, cuftoms, or ex- 
 cifes on the goods coming to, or going 
 from Dantzig, by land or water ; unlefs 
 it be put out of his power to turn the 
 courfe of the Viftula into the Nogat : nor 
 perhaps would all thefe precautions put 
 your commerce on the fame advantage- 
 ous footing it was before : mot certainly 
 they will not, unlefs at the fame time 
 you reftrain the ufurpatrons of the three 
 powers. It is not enough to fecure the 
 repofitory of your goods, the channels of 
 consumption muft be preferved : with- 
 out confumers there can be no purchai- 
 ers : if thofe who fliould purchafe are 
 
 irrc-
 
 Present State of Poland. 275 
 
 irretrievably impoverifhed, or fall under 
 new matters, what demands can you ex- 
 pect ? You will find a wide difference be- 
 tween the quantity of goods and mer- 
 chandifes conmmed in the countries oc- 
 cupied by Auftria, Ruffia, and Pruffia, 
 and thole confumed in the fame countries, 
 while they were under the Polifh govern- 
 ment : your goods will no longer reach 
 the countries occupied by the two for- 
 mer ; and many will be prohibited in the 
 latter. Under the Pruflian government 
 it is not poffible there mould be many 
 wealthy fubjecls : in Poland there were 
 many : their riches arofe from agricul- 
 ture : there was fcarce a manufactory in 
 the kingdom : and neither the genius of 
 the people, nor the fituation of the coun- 
 try, made it eafy to eftablifh them for a 
 century at leaft. 
 
 But the mere lofs of one lucrative 
 branch of commerce is not the only evil 
 Great Britain has to fear from the feizure 
 of Dantzig. A new commercial and ma- 
 ritime power will be formed. Nor can 
 T 2 you,
 
 ij6 Letters concerning the 
 
 you, I think, be the dupe of that com- 
 mon opinion, that Pruffia being a- mili- 
 tary government, commerce cannot ftou- 
 rifh there : this is arguing from the pre- 
 fent flate of the kingdom to another very 
 different one : with his views of ambi- 
 tion it was necefTary to eftablifh a mili- 
 tary government ; it wa3 necefTary that 
 his military eftablifhment fhould be out of 
 all proportion with his civil force : in a 
 word, it was neceflary that he fhould con- 
 tinually make unnatural efforts ; how 
 elfe could he hope to make fuch acquifi- 
 tions ? But allow him to acquire a little 
 more, and his military eftablifhment will 
 be no longer difproportionate, his iitua- 
 tion will at once be eafy and natural : 
 and what mould hinder him then from 
 applying himfelf to commerce and navi- 
 gation ? He will be foon able to furmount 
 difficulties-, which were infurmountable 
 even to Lewis XIV, The materials of 
 building are at hand and cheap ; he has 
 not the watchful eye of a jealous neigh- 
 bour to fear ; workmen may be eafily de- 
 bauched ;
 
 Present State of Poland. 277 
 
 Lauched ; he is rich ; wood, that, if I am 
 well informed, has been preparing theie 
 two years in Sileiia, for your navy, and 
 under the direction of your artificers, may 
 be appropriated, and the artificers compel- 
 led to ferve him. He has a thoufand ad- 
 vantages, which people do not, or will 
 Jiot attend to. So apt are we to conh- 
 der that as impomble, which is only dif- 
 ficult ; as impracticable, what has never 
 been properly attempted. 
 
 The failure of two attemnts, the cfhi- 
 .bliihing of an India and Levant com- 
 pany, prove nothing againft my argu- 
 ments : he was not then what he will be 
 now. In the mean time men are blind 
 to what he has done for the interior com- 
 merce and manufactures of home con- 
 fumption, with all his diiadvantages ot 
 a. confined country and a too numerous 
 .army, efpccially in the manufactures or 
 woollen goods, and hats, with which 
 he fupplies not only his own army and 
 fubjects, but even many of the neigh- 
 bouring parts of Germany. 
 
 T 3 You
 
 2j$ Letters concerning the 
 
 You have now, I think, fir, a pretty 
 good idea of his Pruffian majefty's con- 
 duct with refpe£t to us : he goes back 
 five hundred years to find out the fhadow 
 of a claim to two diflridts ; this claim, tho' 
 evidently groundlefs, he fuppofes well- 
 founded ; he then concludes, that, by 
 way of indemnification for non-enjoyment 
 of what never belonged to him, he may 
 add to his feizures another trad: of land 
 three times as extenfive : though before 
 his claims were avowed, his robberies 
 and pillages were fo enormous, that they 
 would have purchafed his marquifate, 
 and electorate : but there he fays, his 
 claims ceafe : he renounces all farther 
 pretenfions. Scarce is the renunciation 
 pronounced, when he repents of it : and 
 adds the extenfive and fertile province of 
 Cujavia; feizes on the territories of Thorn, 
 fummons the town to do him homage, 
 though exprefsly excepted from his ufur- 
 pations in his own manifefto ; feizes the 
 territories, revenues, and harbour of the 
 
 only
 
 Present State of Poland. 279 
 
 only maritime town in the kingdom, 
 though likewife exprefsly excepted from 
 his usurpations in his own manifdfto.; 
 
 augments the duties, creels new excifes, 
 cftablifhes monopolies, affronts our friends 
 and allies, by Hopping their mips, and 
 annulling their privileges, and then fends 
 his minifters to afliire your court and 
 ■others, that thefe allegations are not true; 
 employs agents at Piilaw and Konigfberg 
 to perfuade your manufacturing towns 
 that their trade will not fuffer ; and 
 .allures all Europe in a public declaration, 
 that he has nothing in view in all he does, 
 but to put the trade of the town on a more 
 flouriming footing. For fo lie clofes his 
 pretended refutation of the rights of 
 Dantzig. 
 
 I think I have now, fir, acquitted 
 myfeif of my original promife : I think 
 I have proved what I ailerted in my firft 
 Letter, that of the fix propofitions, into 
 which the firft joint-manifefto of the three 
 courts was reducible, the two firft only 
 T 4 appear
 
 280 Letters concerning the 
 
 appear to be true, and the reft a continued 
 tifTiie of artifice and falfhood. 
 
 Permit me, however, to intrude a little 
 longer, on your patience, while I venture, 
 though with diffidence, to hint my ideas 
 of the extent of his Pruflian majefty's pre- 
 fent plan. 
 
 If you confider with attention the con- 
 duct of the houfe of Brandenburgh from 
 the time of the margrave Albert to this 
 hour, by what various pretences it has 
 augmented its domains; firft a feudal du- 
 chy torn from Poland ; then that duchy 
 erected into an independent fovereignty ; 
 then new territories added to it ; on an- 
 other iide, the duchy of Cleves, the coun- 
 ties of Marck and Ravenfberg, the bifhop- 
 ricks of Minden and Camin, together with 
 the eaftern part of Pomerania acquired by 
 the treaty of Weftphalia ; the better half 
 of Swedifh Pomerania acquired afterwards; 
 the feizure of Silefia by the prefent king ; 
 the duchy of PruiTia erected into a king- 
 dom ; that kingdom now more than dou- 
 bled ;
 
 Present State of Poland. 281 
 
 bled ; almoft all the rivers which empty 
 themfelves into the Baltic fecured to him ; 
 a treaty carrying on by which he is to ac- 
 quire the duchy of Mecklenburgh : and fo 
 become mailer of the ports of Pvoftock and 
 Wifmar : — you muft allow that this houfe 
 has purfued a plan of aggrandifement with 
 a perfeverance and fuccefs that ought to 
 engage the attention of every flate in 
 Europe. 
 
 If you confider farther the fucceflive in- 
 creafe of his military eftablifhments, and 
 the phyfical impoffibility of long main- 
 taining fuch a vaft army without extend- 
 ing his domains : if you obferve how 
 many new levies he is raifing in his new 
 ufurpations, though his army was already 
 much fupcrior to any refiftance he could 
 fear from that quarter * ; — you will not 
 
 * At the death of the great elector, in 1688, his 
 army confided of 28,000 effective mm ; at the death 
 of Frederick I. in 1713, of 30,000 ; at the death of 
 Frederick II. in the year 1 740, of 72,000 ; in the year 
 liyi t of fomething more than 2CO, oco ; and fince the 
 publication of the infamous treaty of partition, he lias 
 added about 40,000. 
 
 find
 
 282 Letters concerning the 
 
 •find it difficult to believe, that he means 
 now to put the finishing ftroke to the fa- 
 bric he and his anceftors have been rear- 
 ing fo long ; that he means now to ac- 
 complim the advice his grandfather feem- 
 ed, lie fays *, to give his pofterity in 
 acquiring the regal dignity : " I have 
 " acquired you a title, render yourfelves 
 *' worthy of it ; I have laid the founda- 
 " tion of your grandeur, it is yours to 
 " bring the work to perfection." The 
 fagacity of prince Eugene will then, 
 though too late, be admired, who looking 
 forward to the probable confequences of 
 that act, faid, " the Emperor ought to 
 4< have hanged the mlnifter who gave the 
 <c pernicious advice of confenting to the 
 " erection of this upftart royalty f." 
 
 But may we not venture to go a little 
 farther ? Will it be too much to lay, that 
 a little attention to the manner in which 
 he fets forth his claims upon Poland, to 
 
 * See Mcmoires, p. 216. 
 f See Memoires, p. 228. 
 
 his
 
 Present State of Poland. 283 
 
 his conduct fince, 'to that of his allies, to 
 the fituation and motions of the Auftrian 
 and Ruffian troops, will give us almoft a 
 clear infight into his future plans ? 
 
 Upon reading over the abridged de- 
 duction of his rights, you muft have re* 
 marked, that of two, both indefen- 
 lible, grounds of claim, he has chofen 
 the worfe, the more inconfiftent, and 
 lefs tenable. Had he claimed Pomerellia, 
 and what he calls a portion of the New 
 March, as ancient parts of the poffeffions 
 of the Teutonic order, his claim would 
 have been indefenfible, becaufe refutable 
 by many recent treaties : but in that he 
 would have flood upon no worfe ground 
 than his allies ; he would not have had 
 the additional abfurdity of claiming in 
 right of anteceilbrs, to whom what he 
 claimed had never belonged. Thefe dis- 
 tricts did once belong to the order ; 
 but neither did Pomerellia ever belong to 
 the dukes of Stettin, nor the part of 
 Great Poland fituate between the Draga 
 
 and
 
 284 Letters concerning the 
 
 and the Notec, to the margraves of 
 Brandenburgh, in virtue of being heir 
 to whom, he claims them : he would 
 not have been reduced to the necefftty 
 of demanding indemnifications. That his 
 original defign was to claim them as parts 
 of the pofleftions of the Teutonic order 
 appears more than probable : for before 
 the feizures were formally made, medals 
 were {truck to commemorate the approach- 
 ing event; edicts were drawn up to regu- 
 late the courts of juftice ; the legend of 
 the medals is, " Regno redintegrate ; " in 
 the edicts Poli(h Pruffia is ftyled, " la par- 
 *< tie reincorporee, et reunie au Royaume 
 * 4 de Prufie :" both which phrafes plainly 
 feem to found his rights on the quality of 
 fucceffor to the Teutonic order. 
 
 What then could tempt him to change 
 his plan, and adopt a claim ftill more un- 
 tenable ? Two realbns have been ailigned : 
 the one, that it was eafier for him to en- 
 velop the mbjeel: in the obfeurity of anti- 
 quity ; and this perhaps may have had its 
 
 weight.
 
 Present State of Poland. 285 
 
 weigh r. Hiftory can give but little in- 
 iight into the genealogy of petty princes of 
 Pomerania, their refpective portions, rights, 
 and family agreements ; or into the trans- 
 actions of obfcure infignihcant counts 
 of Hohenzollern, whofe names had hard- 
 ly made their way beyond the limits of 
 their own farms, five hundred years ago. 
 The other reafon affigned is, that by 
 putting his claims upon this footing he 
 was lefs likely to alarm his neighbours 
 and allies : had he pretended to claim as 
 fucceflbr to the order, he mu!l> to have 
 been confident, have carried his preten- 
 fions farther, and demanded Courland, 
 and Semigallia, Efthonia and Livonia, 
 for they too were anciently poffefled by 
 the order; the eyes of Ruflia and Auftria. 
 would then have been opened too foon, 
 and before he was in a iituation of main- 
 taining his pretenfions againft them. 
 
 Every one mull judge for himfelf, Sir, 
 of the degree of weight due to this rea- 
 fon ; and whether the king of Pruflia re- 
 nounced
 
 286 Letters concerning the 
 
 nounced his firft plan of defence with the 
 real hope of deceiving Auitria and Ruffia, 
 or only with a view of furnifhing them 
 with a pretext for faying, they were de- 
 ceived, and had no apprehenfions beyond 
 the letter of his declarations. To me it 
 appears impomble to believe that they 
 are really deceived by this mallow arti- 
 fice. I mould think rather, that what- 
 ever they may pretend, they are convinc- 
 ed his defigns go much farther : and that, 
 to reconcile them to this idea, he has held 
 out to them a great, and extenfive plan, 
 in which each may have a diftinct objecft, 
 all perfectly confident, and where confe- 
 quently the ambition of each may be fa- 
 tisfied without clafhing or interfering. 
 
 I know this is contrary to common 
 opinion ; I know it is generally faid, that 
 the three powers cannot long agree, that 
 they muft foon quarrel, and the alliance 
 diffolve of itfelf. 
 
 Once a thing is advanced, which car- 
 ries with it an air of probability, it is 
 
 repeated
 
 Present State of Poland. 287 
 
 repeated fo often, that at laft it feems to 
 have the reflected approbation of all the 
 world ; though perhaps of the thoufands 
 who affert it, no two have examined the 
 meaning of what they fay. This very 
 war affords us more than one example of 
 this. When it was firft faid that Ruffia 
 would fend a fleet into the Morea, the 
 defign was pronounced by fome one 
 romantic and impoffible ; the affertion 
 was caught, and flew from one country 
 to another as as incontrovertible decifion : 
 the fleet was ordered, and, thanks to- 
 Great Britain, arrived, and did wonders. 
 It was next alferted, that Ruflia would 
 be ruined by her very fucceffes ; that her 
 finances were narrow, and her refources 
 few ; every campaign it was repeated, 
 that fhe "could not poflibly find either 
 men or money for another ; I have heard 
 this confidently aflertcd in Poland, at 
 Vienna, at Berlin, at Drefdcn, at Bruf- 
 fels, at Paris, and lately in letters from 
 'London ; yet have her efforts been greater 
 8 every
 
 Letters concerning th 
 
 E 
 
 every frefTi campaign than the preceding ; 
 yet during this whole war has fhe been 
 at more expence in the purchafe of li- 
 braries, ftatues, pictures, jewels, antiques, 
 and in the encouragement of every art, 
 than any other prince in Europe, of 
 whom modern hiftory fpeaks, except 
 only Lewis XIV. Now I am apt to think, 
 Sir, this aflertion, that the three powers 
 muft foon and inevitably quarrel, is juft as 
 fubject to reftrictions and doubts as the 
 other two : fo long as their defigns feem- 
 ed directed to the llngle object of the 
 partition of Poland, that aflertion was 
 probable : but mould they, as I imagine, 
 have propofed to themfelves three diftinct 
 and not inconfiftent objects, mould the 
 feizures in Poland be only preludes to 
 the great plan, and made, among other 
 ends, to bring them near enough to co- 
 operate with greater eafe ; then, I appre- 
 hend, their quarrels and rupture are nei- 
 ther fo near, nor fo certain. 
 
 Allow
 
 Present State of Poland. 289 
 
 Allow me to go for a moment on this 
 iuppofition, that they have propofed each 
 a great and feparate object ; that the ob>- 
 ject of Ruffia is the free navigation on 
 the Black Sea, and the Bofphorus, the 
 ncquifition of one or more iilands in the 
 Archipelago, and by confequence a fhort 
 and fure navigation to the Mediteranean ; 
 thefe were known to be the favourite ob- 
 jects of Peter the Great, and of the war 
 of 1 737» and have always been fuppofed 
 the objects of the prefent war. Let us 
 iuppofe the objects of Auftria to be the 
 conqueft of Belgrade, Servia, Bulgaria, 
 Moldavia, and Wallachia : the houfe of 
 Auftria has long wifhed to be in poftefnon 
 of the Lower Danube ; and therefore in 
 this light, as well as on other accounts, 
 theie acquifitions would be important. 
 The poficmon of the coafts, ports, and 
 towns on the Baltic is clearly and avow- 
 edly the object aimed at by Pruflia. 
 
 The iuppofition, therefore, that this 
 
 plan has been traced out by PrufTia, and 
 
 U adopted
 
 2qo Letters concerning the 
 
 adopted by the other two powers, carries 
 nothing abfurd, or romantic in the idea.. 
 And this fuppofition, and to my under- 
 ftanding this alone, can explain the ob- 
 liquities, and otherwife fceming contra- 
 dictions, in the declarations and conduct 
 of the three powers. 
 
 The feizures made by Pruflia in Po- 
 land are, in point of importance, fo much 
 fupeiior to thofe made by either of the 
 other two, that it is not poffible to fup- 
 pofe them blind to it, or ignorant that 
 by fuch a divifion their relative force is 
 diminifhec! : they cannot therefore be fe- 
 rious in the excufe they make your court 
 and others, that their feizures in Poland 
 are made only to counterbalance thofe 
 of PrUifia. Had this been their detign, 
 they fheiild have accelerated the peace 
 with the Porte, and united againft him ; 
 inftead of that they fuffer him to go on 
 increafmg his iifurpations ; Auftria iri- 
 creafes her's, fo as to facilitate the march 
 of her troops towards Choczym, and fe- 
 
 cure
 
 Present State of Poland. 291 
 
 cure them places of retreat ; the Ruffian 
 troops retire, fell their magazines to 
 Auftria, whofe troops advance to Kami- 
 niec, on the one fide, and are reinforc- 
 ed at Semlin on the other : fo far from 
 accelerating the peace with the Porte, 
 every new conccffion is followed by a 
 new demand : the troops of Auftria, from 
 their prefent pofition, can immediately 
 march by three different routes into Tur- 
 ky : Ruflia may then collect, and em- 
 ploy her whole force in fecuring Azow, 
 and Oczakow, feizing upon Taman and 
 Gegnicale, and making hcrfelf miftrefs 
 of the ftreights of Zabache ; whilft her 
 fleet at the Dardanelles cuts off the 
 communication between Conftantinople 
 and the provinces of Egypt, &c. The 
 king of Pruifui may force Dantzig to fur- 
 render, feize upon Swedifh Pomcrania; 
 and if the dcfigns of Ruflia fucceed in their 
 full extent, obtain perhaps by treaty Li- 
 vonia ; or mould the fail in her under-, 
 takings, he may turn about, feck other 
 U z alliances,
 
 292 Letters concerning t«e 
 
 alliances, and take it by force, feizing 
 as he goes along, Samogitia, Cotfrland, 
 and Semigallia*. 
 
 .. 
 
 * Since the above letter was written, a book 
 containing fome great, and many very whimfical 
 ideas is fallen into the hands of the editor. The 
 book is entitled, " Letters concerning the prefent 
 ** State of England." The fixteenth letter treat's 
 of the war between the Ruffians and Turks ; in 
 which the author fays, he has feen a manufcript 
 plan for improving the valt dominions of Ruflia, 
 "which he was told had been debated and .adopted 
 In the council at Peterfburgh. A part of that 
 plan approaches very near to what is here fup- 
 pofed ; and many cogent arguments are alledged 
 to prove not only the poflibility, but the practi- 
 cability of it. This writer apprehends, however, 
 that even the deftruclion of the Turki/h empire 
 in Europe, will not be hurtful to the commer- 
 cial interefts of England. Yet a little reflection 
 would have taught him, that fhould the European 
 Turky fall into the hands of an active and induf- 
 trious people, inftead of continuing in the hands 
 of a people, who from their form of government, 
 the prejudices of education, habit, znd religion, 
 can never be a trading or manufacturing people, 
 all the advantages of the prefent commerce will 
 ceafe ; and that the fudden ftoppagc of any confi- 
 cerable channel of consumption mult be very fen- 
 
 ftblv
 
 Present State of Poland. 293 
 
 This fuppofition feems farther juftined 
 by the anfwer, which, I am told, an4 
 I believe upon credible authority the 
 court of Peterfburgh made lately to ap 
 application from your court, concerning 
 the guaranty of 1767: " That me was 
 " ready to join in Securing the rights of 
 *' Dantzig, fo far forth as they were con- 
 w fiftent with the pretentions of a third 
 " power." An anfwer, to fpeak of it in 
 die gentled terms, at any rate difoblig- 
 ing, but totally unmeaning, unlefs to 
 make PruiTia matter of the Baltic be one 
 object of the triple alliance. It is far?- 
 .ther juftified by a declaration made, as 
 
 fibly felt in England ; where d.iily observation 
 confirms what was lately after ted in an auguil af- 
 fembly, that our manufactures arc already over- 
 looked. 
 
 That the views of Ruflia extend very far, i.; 
 farther evident, from a plan of this nature being 
 often and familiarly talked of by thofe who arc 
 moft certainly not unacquainted with the defigns ci 
 that court; and of which the editor of thefe Lette/s 
 had not many days fiuce a very Unking proof. 
 
 U 3 I am,
 
 294 Letters concerning the 
 
 I am, and I believe credibly, informed, 
 by Auflria: " That fhe was ready to 
 " join in any plan to circumfcribe the 
 " ufurpations of Fruffia, provided Ruffia 
 '* would do the fame." It is farther juf- 
 tiiied by that air of triumph, with which 
 I am told a Ruffian minifler lately fpoke 
 of the little influence your court has at 
 the Porte, and the contempt into which, 
 he fays, your ambaflador there is fallen. 
 It is farther juftificd by the pains taken 
 to draw Sweden into a war. 
 
 You will perhaps fay, that the plan is 
 fo vaft and comprehenfive, that an attempt 
 to carry it into execution muft overfet 
 them. It may be fo; but remember, fir, 
 and all the events of the prefent war are 
 fo many ftrong proofs of it, that great 
 deiigns cannot be defined or regulated 
 by the little rules of vulgar calculation. 
 
 But what is to overfet them, if the very 
 powers moll intereiled in preventing the 
 fuccefs of fuch a plan, and who alone can 
 prevent it, iiiftcad of uniting againft it, do 
 
 all
 
 Present State of Poland. 295 
 
 all in their power to infure it fucceis ? 
 That they hitherto have feemed at lcaft to 
 <lo fo appears to me beyond a doubt. 
 
 It is, I think, allowed on all hands, 
 that the folicitations of France contribut- 
 ed not a little to engage the Porte to de- 
 clare war againil Ruffia. In this, me did 
 not fo much bring on, as accelerate a war. 
 If the Porte had not declared war that 
 year againft Ruffia, Ruffia would have de- 
 clared it the next year againft the Porte. 
 But having thus perfuaded the Porte to 
 begin the war, has France taken one firm 
 or manly ftep in her favour. The fear of 
 ^involving herfelf in a maritime war with 
 England might be a good reafon for not 
 attempting to flop the Ruffian fleet ; but 
 fhe had two other means of affifting the 
 Porte : of one me appears to have made 
 no \ifc at all, of the other a very pernici- 
 ous one. 
 
 Her alliance with Auftria was then 
 
 -ftrong and intimate ; the emprefs was 
 
 warmly attached to France; the emperor, 
 
 U 4 it
 
 296 Letters concerning the 
 
 it is true, detefted that alliance, but his 
 influence in the government was then but 
 fmall ; a change of fyftem may have in- 
 creafed it. At that time, to all appear- 
 ances, it would have been eafy to have 
 engaged Auftria to have aflifted the Porte 
 upon terms equally advantageous to both. 
 On this fide nothing was done ; the mo- 
 ment was loft ; the king of Pruffia feduced 
 the emperor, and Auftria has fince contrir- 
 buted to betray the Porte. 
 
 On the other fide, France might have 
 made a powerful diverfion in Poland ; but 
 here her politics were little, narrow, and 
 in every light indefenfible ; inftead of re- 
 conciling diffenfions, (he heightened them ; 
 inftead of endeavouring to bring back the 
 confederates to their allegiance, fhe widen- 
 ed the breach between the king and them ; 
 inftead of periuading the Porte to regard 
 the king and nation as one indivifible body, 
 fhe engaged her to declare war againft the 
 king, and unite with the confederates 
 
 alone..
 
 Present State of Poland. 297 
 
 alone*. By thefe means, fhe forwarded the 
 defigns of Pruffia, contributed to the ruin 
 of Poland, without ferving, in any degree, 
 the views of the Porte, or counteracting 
 thcfe of Ruflia. 
 
 Forgive me, if I venture to add, fir, 
 that the conducl of Great Britain has been 
 equally incomprehenfible, at leaft to com- 
 mon underftandings, and to thofe who are 
 not initiated into the myfteries of the ca- 
 binet. 
 
 It was to Great Britain that men looked 
 up for the prefervation of Conftantinople, 
 and for the preventing of Ruflia's obtain- 
 ing eftablifhments on the Black Sea. Your 
 trade to the Levant is particularly advan- 
 
 * I have been told, that the French court de- 
 nies this ; and fays, they did all they could to 
 diffuade the vizir from this abfurd ftep ; but that he 
 was not to be difiuaded. If thh be true, how 
 came France to give a fanclion to the vizir's 
 ill conduct, by acting herfelf precifely in the 
 fame manner, with refpedr. to the king and con- 
 federates i 
 
 ta<reoiis:
 
 298 Letters concerning the 
 
 tageous ; no produce of Turky is bought 
 by bullion or bills of exchange, but folely 
 by the barter of the products or manufac- 
 tures of Great Britain; and though many 
 concurring caufes had contributed to di- 
 miniih this trade in fome articles, in others 
 It had increafed ; the introduction of 
 Englifh fhalloons had been a great ftroke, 
 and had diminifhed the importation of 
 French cloth, at Conftantinople alone, by 
 2,coo bales, value 1 80,000 1. flerling a- 
 year. This was a great addition to your 
 national induftry, and a greater detriment 
 to France. It was therefore natural to 
 fuppofe, that Great Britain would prevent 
 Ruflia from having eftabliihments on the 
 Black Sea ; which would leave Conftanti- 
 nople at her mercy, deftroy at once fo con- 
 siderable a branch of your commerce, and 
 bring another preponderant power into 
 Furope. This appeared more probable, 
 as men remembered, that, in the war of 
 j 7 37, all the commercial powers regarded 
 8 it
 
 Present State of Poland. 299 
 
 it as a matter of general concern, that the 
 mediation mould be thrown into the hands 
 of England. 
 
 To men who reafoned thus, it was an 
 unexpected phenomenon to fee the fleets 
 of Ruffia refitted in England ; men, of- 
 ficers, and ammunition fupplied ; her 
 troops tranfported in veffels protected by 
 Britifh paffports ; in a word, Ruffia affifl- 
 ed in fo open a manner as Great Britain 
 would in a parallel cafe have conflrued 
 into a breach of neutrality in any other 
 power. 
 
 The then defencelefs ftate of the Dar- 
 danelles made men tremble for the fate of 
 Conftantinople. But here the fuccefs of 
 Ruffia was not fo great as was expected, 
 though very great for fo young a maritime 
 power; the Turkifh fleet was deflroyed; 
 the landing on the Morea effected, though 
 without fuccefs ; and a little ifland has, I 
 believe, fince been taken. Men began 
 then to conjecture, that the affiftance 
 given to Ruffia was conditional ; and that 
 
 her
 
 300 Letters concerning THte 
 
 her fleets were forbidden to attempt the 
 paiTage of the Dardanelles ; that Great 
 Britain would offer her mediation for a 
 peace, and as an acknowledgement for 
 her good offices, obtain either a total ex- 
 clufion of the French cloth trade or 
 confiderable advantages for her own ; 
 which appeared the more obtainable as 
 the Porte loudly accufed France of having 
 betrayed her. 
 
 Thefe men then looked back again to 
 the war of 17375 and remembering that 
 a ridiculous quarrel between Fawkener 
 and Calcoen, Englifh and Dutch ambaiTa- 
 dors, had thrown the mediation into the 
 hands of France, they expreffed their 
 fears that your prefent ambalTador would 
 be found unequal to the tafk of mediator. 
 I do not mean, fir, to repeat private 
 Icandal ; I tell you what is fo public, that 
 I have heard it in different parts of Europe, 
 aud fo true, that it was very lately con- 
 firmed to me by a letter from a member of 
 your Levant company : the whole attention 
 
 of
 
 Present State of Poland. 301 
 
 of your prefent ambaffador is taken up in 
 fupporting acts of violence, and perfonal 
 quarrels with the factory, his fecretaries, 
 and interpreters. In other countries thefe 
 quarrels might be confined within the li- 
 mits of his own walls, but there they are 
 unavoidably divulged at the Porte, and as 
 unavoidably deftroy all perfonal efteem; 
 and in Turky perfonal efteem is of great 
 weight. Little therefore could be hoped 
 from a mediation under fuch a minifter. 
 
 The hopes of the efficacy of fuch a 
 mediation were quite over, when it was 
 learned, and it has been confidently faid, 
 and I believe on very good authority, that 
 the mediation of Great Britain had been 
 demanded very early in the war by the 
 Porte, and feemingly accepted, but after- 
 wards, at the inftigation of the court of 
 Berlin, not very handfomely rejected by 
 Ruffia. 
 
 This feemed the more extraordinarv, 
 as befides the general and conftant intereft 
 of a commerce, the balance of which is 
 greatly in favour of Ruffia, and againft 
 
 Great
 
 302 Letters concerning the 
 
 Great Britain, Ruffia had during this war 
 received great obligations from the lat- 
 ter : nor can any poffible reafon occur to 
 me, why me mould rejed: the mediation 
 of your court, or why PrufTia mould in- 
 cite her to do it, unlefs indeed their de- 
 figns be fuch as I fuppofe. And hitherto 
 no one vigorous ftep feems to have been 
 taken to defeat thofe defigns. 
 
 I again therefore afk you, what is to 
 overfet them ? Their plan feems too well 
 concerted, and too far advanced to be 
 overfet by private, partial negociations ; 
 or perhaps by any negociations at all. 
 
 Suppofe, however, the three allies have 
 not yet carried their views fo far; fuppofe 
 a feparate peace to be made with Turky ; 
 fuppofe a peace patched up in Poland, how 
 long will it laft ? The fame reafons which 
 the houfe of Aufiria alledges for concur- 
 ring with Pruffia in his prefent robberies 
 and depredations, will hold good in twen- 
 ty other cafes ; and he has a fertile fource 
 of claims behind ; by the fame right he 
 
 claims
 
 Present State of Poland. 303 
 
 claims pofieflions which never "belonged 
 to one anteceflbr, he may claim thofe re- 
 nounced by another ; and the poffeflions 
 of the Teutonic order were extenfive : he 
 has certainly as good a right to Swedifh 
 Pomerania, and Dutch Gueldria, as to 
 Silefia, . or Folifh Pruflia. In his Me- 
 moirs he pretends to Troppau, Jagen- 
 dorff, and all the pofleflions of the houfe 
 of Lichtenftein; he has pretenfions 011 
 the houfe of Deux Ponts. Suppofe he 
 ihould chufe to feize on the Palatinate, 
 Aufiria, in purfuance of its prefent max- 
 ims, mufl; not oppofe him, but, to keep 
 the balance even, feize upon Bavaria. 
 And fo all the fiates of Germany may be 
 fwallowed up one after another. 
 
 The balance of power has fometimes 
 armed Europe when it was really in no 
 danger ; but now the northern powers 
 feein leagued againft the fouthern, no one 
 feems alarmed. 
 
 You in England are very apt to fay, 
 " We are an ifland, and what have we 
 
 " to
 
 304 Letters concerning the 
 
 u to do with the affairs of the conti-» 
 c * nent ?" True, fir, if you have enough 
 of primitive Simplicity, and felf-denial 
 to give up your wealth, the convenien* 
 cies and luxuries of life, and live con- 
 tented on the produce of your own farms, 
 then you have nothing to do with them j 
 but if you cannot do this, then you muft 
 maintain your commerce to which you 
 owe the value of your lands, your wealth, 
 and your importance in Europe ; and 
 therefore whenever the t ran fact ions on 
 the continent affect your commerce fo 
 materially, as the prefent defigns do, ycu 
 are as much concerned in them, as the 
 powers on the continent themfelves. 
 
 Befides, in the prefent moment, mould 
 fair propofals be refufed, fo great are the 
 efforts to be made, and fo extenfive the 
 operations, that your naval force alone 
 will be exerted : the efforts by land 
 might, and would be made by France. 
 For however uncouth it may found, 
 your uniting with France alone will pro- 
 bably
 
 Present State of Poland. 305 
 
 bably ftem the torrent. And however 
 unnatural that alliance may feem, it is not 
 more fo than the northern alliance, nor 
 than your late alliance with Pruffia. 
 
 The idea, true in general, but furely 
 fubjecl: to reftrictions, that the interefts 
 of England and France are incompatible, 
 militates ftrongly againft fuch an union : 
 that union may however, on fome occa- 
 sions, be neceflary : it was neceffary, 
 when the infatiable ambition, and for- 
 midable power of Charles V. Philip II. 
 and Ferdinand II. engaged the attention 
 and folicitude of all Europe; yet nei- 
 ther of thefe princes feem to have had the 
 bold adventurous ambition, which dif- 
 tinguifhes her Ruffian majefly; or the 
 deep fpirit of intrigue, which character* 
 izes the king of Pruffia. If under thcfe 
 circumftances, an union with France was 
 thought not only allowable, but necef- 
 fary, why not allowable, why not ne- 
 ceflary now, when the fame circum- 
 ftances recur ? 
 
 X Ire-
 
 306 Letters concerning the 
 
 • I remember a pafTage of your lord 
 Bolingbroke, with which I fhall clofe 
 this long letter, leaving you to apply it, 
 ." The precife point, fays he, at which 
 * c the fcales of power turn, like that of 
 " the folftice in either tropic, is imper-r 
 " ceptible to common obfervation ; and 
 " in one cafe, as in the other, fome pro- 
 " grefs muft be made in the new direc^ 
 " tion, before the change is perceived. — 
 " They who are moft concerned to watch 
 " the variations of this balance, mif* 
 " judge often : — they continue to dread 
 " a power no longer able to hurt them ; 
 " or they continue to have no appre- 
 " henfions of a power, that daily grows 
 M more formidable. — Thefe apprehenfions 
 ** cannot be taken, or given too foon, 
 " when fuch powers as thefe arife ; be-? 
 tc caufe when fuch powers as thefe are 
 " befieged, as it were, early, by the com-? 
 " mon policy and watchfulnefs of their 
 " neighbours, each of them may in his 
 
 turn
 
 Present State of Poland. 307 
 
 u turn of ftrength fally forth, and gain 
 " a little ground, but none of them will 
 <c be able to puih their conquefts far ; 
 *' and much lefs to confummate the en- 
 <* tire proje&s of their ambition**. 
 
 lam, &c. 
 
 X2
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 Several Papers referred to in the fore- 
 going Letters. 
 
 X %

 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 Several Papers referred to in the fore- 
 going Letters* 
 
 A. 
 
 Manifejlo delivered at the Court of War- 
 faw, by the Minifters from the Courts of 
 Peterfburgh, &c. &c. 
 
 TH E powers which border on Po- 
 land have fo often been involved 
 in the troubles, which almoft 
 every vacancy of the throne has excited, 
 that the remembrance of what had here- 
 tofore happened, made it neceflary for 
 them to give the moft ferious attention to 
 the affairs of that kingdom, as foon as, 
 
 X 4 by
 
 3 i2 APPENDIX. 
 
 by the death of the late king, Auguftus 
 III. the throne was become vacant. 
 
 Urged by thefe confiderations, and de- 
 firous of preventing the dreadful effects 
 of thofe diflenfions, which, as in former 
 inftances, might have arifen at this laft 
 vacancy of the throne, the court of Pe- 
 terfburgh haftened to take ail poflible mea- 
 fures to unite the citizens of Poland in 
 favour of the candidate, who mould ap- 
 pear moft worthy of the throne, moft 
 agreeable to his fellow-citizens, and neigh- 
 bouring powers. 
 
 This court applied herfelf at the fame 
 time, and with equal zeal to rectifying 
 many abufes and defects in the conftitu- 
 tion, which had been equally prejudicial to 
 Poland, and her neighbours. 
 
 The court of Berlin feconded the at- 
 tempts of her ally. 
 
 And the court of Vienna, defirous of 
 contributing to the fuccefs of fo laudable 
 views ; but willing to avoid the danger 
 of augmenting the difficulties and intri- 
 cacies,
 
 APPENDIX. 313 
 
 cacies, which might arife from multiply- 
 ing the number of thofe, who undertook 
 openly, and directly to fettle the affairs 
 of Poland, thought proper to obferve the 
 raoft exact neutrality, with regard both to 
 the arrangement of the affairs of Poland ; 
 and the war afterwards kindled on this 
 fubject, between Ruffia and the Porte. 
 
 The immediate confequences of thefe 
 meafures were the free and legal election 
 of Staniflaus, reigning king of Poland, 
 and the forming of many ufeful and fa- 
 lutary eftablifhments. In a word, every 
 thing feemed to promife to Poland and her 
 neighbours a firm and Lifting tranquillity. 
 
 But unhappily, in the midft of thefe 
 promifing appearances, the fpirit of dif- 
 cord feized upon one part of the nation : 
 citizen armed again ft citizen ; the fons of 
 faction feized the reins of authority; and 
 laws, and order, and public fafety, and 
 juftice, and police, and commerce, and 
 agriculture, — all are either gone to ruin, 
 or ftand on the brink of deftrucVion. And 
 
 ex-
 
 3 i4 APPEND! X. 
 
 excefles of every kind, natural confequences 
 of fuch an anarchy, will bring on the to-» 
 tal diflblution of the ftate, if not timely 
 prevented. 
 
 The connections between nations, which 
 border on each other, are fo intimate, that 
 the neighbouring powers have already felt 
 the moll difagreeable effects from thefe 
 diforders. They are put to heavy ex- 
 pences, and obliged to ufe conftant and 
 watchful precaution, in order to fecure 
 the tranquillity of their own frontiers : 
 they are expofed to the uncertain, but 
 poffible confequences of the entire diflblu- 
 tion of Poland ; the danger of feeing 
 their mutual harmony and good friend- 
 ftiip deftroyed ; the maintenance of which, 
 at the fame time that it fecures their own 
 peace and tranquillity, is a matter of the 
 higheft importance to all Europe. 
 
 From this view of things it will appear, 
 that nothing can be of a more urgent ne- 
 ceflity, than to apply an immediate re- 
 medy to evils, from which the neigh- 
 bouring
 
 APPENDIX. 315 
 
 bouring nations have already experienced 
 the mod difagreeable effects ; and the 
 confequences of which, if not timely pre- 
 vented, muft bring on fuch changes in the 
 political fyftem of this part of Europe, as 
 may be fatal to the general tranquillity. 
 
 Her majefty the emprefs of all the Ruf- 
 fias, her majefty the emprefs-dowager, 
 queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and his 
 majefty the king of Pruflia, finding them- 
 felves compelled by fo many and impor- 
 tant reafons to take a decifive part in this 
 very critical conjuncture, therefore have 
 determined, without lofs of time, and with 
 one accord, to take the moft effectual and 
 beft combined meafures, for re-eftablifh- 
 ing tranquillity and good order in Poland ; 
 flopping the prefent troubles, and putting 
 the ancient conftitution of that kingdom, 
 and the liberties of the people, on a furc 
 and folid foundation. 
 
 But whilft they take advantage of that 
 mutual friendfhip, and good harmony, 
 which happily fubiifts between them at 
 
 pre Tent,
 
 5 i6 APPENDIX. 
 
 prefent, in order to prevent the abfolute 
 ruin, and arbitrary diffolution of Poland ; 
 they cannot but be fenfible how little it 
 is in their power to promife themfelves 
 in future periods the fame happy concur- 
 rence. And as they have refpectively very 
 confiderable claims on the pofleflions of 
 the Republic, which they cannot permit 
 themfelves to expofe to the hazard of pof* 
 fible contingencies ; they have therefore 
 determined among themfelves to afiert thefe 
 their ancient rights, and lawful claims, 
 which each of them will be ready to juftify 
 in time and place by authentic records, 
 and folid reafons ; but for which the fitua- 
 tion of the Republic will never leave them 
 hopes of obtaining juftice in the ordinary 
 courfe of proceeding. 
 
 In confequence hereof, her majefty the 
 emprefs of all the Rufhas, her majefty 
 the emprefs dowager queen of Hungary 
 and Bohemia, and his majefty the king 
 of Pruflia ; having communicated reci- 
 procally their refpe&ive rights and claims j 
 
 and
 
 APPENDIX. 317 
 
 and being mutually convinced of the 
 juftice thereof; are determined to fe- 
 cure to themfelves a proportionable equi- 
 valent, by taking immediate and effec- 
 tual pofTeffion of fuch parts of the ter- 
 ritories of the republic, as may ferve to 
 fix more natural, and fure bounds be- 
 tween her and the three powers. The 
 laid three powers engaging to give here- 
 after an exact fpecification of their re- 
 fpective quotas : and renouncing from 
 the prefent moment all revival of right, 
 demand, or claim, on account of damages 
 fuflained, debt, intereft, or any other pre- 
 tence whatever, which they might other- 
 wife have, or form on the poflemons, or 
 fubjects of the Republic. 
 
 Their faid majefties have thought it 
 right to notify thefe their intentions to 
 the whole Polifh nation in general ; in- 
 viting, at the fame time, all orders and 
 ranks thereof to banifh, or at leaft fui- 
 pend, all fpirit of difcord and delufion ; 
 fo that, a diet being legally aflembled, 
 8 they
 
 318 APPENDIX. 
 
 they may co-operate with their faid ma- 
 jefties, in eftablifhing, on a firm, and fo- 
 lid foundation, the good order, and tran- 
 quillity of the nation ; and at the fame 
 time ratify, by public and folemn a&s, 
 the exchange of the titles, pretenfions, 
 and claims of each of their faid majefties, 
 againft the equivalents, of which they 
 have refpectively taken pofTeffion. 
 
 Given at Warfaw, &c. &c. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 This Manifefto was delivered on the 
 1 8th of September, by the baron de Stac- 
 kleberg, minifter from the court of Pe- 
 terfburgh ; and by the fieur de Benoit, 
 minifter from the court of Berlin ; and 
 on the 26th of September, by the baron 
 Rzewicki, minifter from the court of 
 Vienna. 
 
 Speci*
 
 APPE N D I X, 319 
 
 B. 
 
 Specification of the Equivalent taken by the 
 Emprefs Queen of Hungary and Bo- 
 hemia. 
 
 Maria Theresa, &c. &c. &c. 
 l_f AVING maturely confidered the pre- 
 fent ftate of Poland, and determined, 
 in concert with the emprefs of Ruffia 
 and the king of Pruffia, that we, and 
 our faid allies, fhall refpeclively reaflume 
 certain provinces and diftrievts of the faid 
 kingdom of Poland, to us of old belong- 
 ing, and put ourfelves in actual and im- 
 mediate poffeffion of the fame : in confe- 
 quence hereof we have commanded our 
 troops to occupy, as a portion equivalent 
 to our rights, all that tract of land, 
 which is contained within the bounds 
 hereunder marked : that is to fay, all that 
 lies on the right fide of the Viftula, from 
 the duchy of Silefia above Sandomir, to 
 the mouth of the river San : and from 
 
 thence
 
 3 2o APPENDIX. 
 
 thence going along Tarnopol (Fronopol) 
 to Zamoifc and Rubiefzow, up to the ri- 
 ver Bog: and fo crofling the Bog, and 
 going along the proper frontiers of Red 
 Ruflia, to where the frontiers of Vol- 
 hynia and Podolia do meet at Zabraz ; and 
 from thence in a flrait line to the river 
 Niefter, taking in thatfmall part of Podolia 
 which is cut by the courfe of the little river 
 Podhorze (Seret) to its influx into the 
 Niefter : and fo on to the bounds which 
 feparate Pocutia from Moldavia. 
 
 Since therefore we are now going to 
 take pofTemon of the above-named tracl 
 of land, we have named the count de 
 Pergen, &x. our commifTary, to admi- 
 nifier the faid provinces in our name, 
 and to carry into execution all fuch rules 
 and orders, as he lhall think right and 
 fit, for the good government of the 
 
 fame. 
 
 And we do hereby command all the 
 
 inhabitants, of whatever rank and condi- 
 tion, within the faid provinces, to ac- 
 knowledge
 
 APPENDIX. 321 
 
 knowledge, and obey the faid count de 
 Pergen as our commiffary, plenipoten- 
 tiary, and governor : and upon all oc- 
 ean" ons, to pay a chearful and ready obe- 
 dience to every thing, which fhall be or- 
 dained by the faid count de Pergen in 
 our name. 
 
 And, though we have not as yet fixed 
 the day for the folemnity of taking the 
 oath of allegiance to us, yet we fhall 
 very foon fix and determine it. And, in 
 the mean time, all the inhabitants of the 
 faid provinces are hereby required to de- 
 mean themfelves as quiet and obedient 
 fubjects, in the fame manner as if the 
 faid oath of allegiance had been taken : 
 we, on our part, promifing to all, who 
 fhall fo demean themfelves, our imperial 
 and royal favour and protection. But 
 fhould any one, which we do not allow 
 ourfelves to fuipect, be difobedient to 
 this our royal will and pleafure, know 
 ye, that we fhall, though reluctantly, 
 yet through necemty, lay afide our in- 
 Y nate
 
 322 APPENDIX. 
 
 nate clemency, and proceed againft all 
 fuch with the utmoft feverity. 
 
 In witnefs whereof, &c. &c. 
 Given at Vienna, Sept. nth, 1772,: 
 and in the thirty- fecond year of our 
 reign. 
 
 Signed, &c 
 
 NOT E. 
 
 It appears probable that the emprefs did 
 not at once fix the day for adminiftring 
 the oath of allegiance, becaufe me was 
 not yet determined how far fhe fhould 
 pufh her ufupations. 
 
 What is called Tarnopol here, in the 
 map drawn by captain Folino is named 
 Fronopol. 
 
 The little river Podhorze, mentioned 
 here, is not to be found on any map, at 
 leaft near the place fuppofed ; it ieems 
 probable fhe meant to name the little 
 river Seret. It is however of little con- 
 fequence; her majefty, not content with 
 the portion at firft occupied, having ex- 
 tended
 
 APPENDIX. 323 
 
 tended her ufurpations very confiderably; 
 on the one fide fhe has paft the Seret, 
 and gone along the Zbrycz, to within a 
 few miles of Kaminiec ; on the other 
 fhe has paft the Viftula, and taken in the 
 reft of the palatinate of Sandomir. 
 
 The Pruffian eagles flie with equal 
 fwiftnefs. 
 
 Specification of the equivalejit taken by the 
 emprefs of Ruffia. 
 
 We Zacharias, count de Czernicheff, 
 &c. &x. 
 TIER imperial majefty, our foverelgn, 
 having determined, by way of indem- 
 nification and exchange for divers ancient 
 rights, and juft and indifputable preten- 
 iions on the republic of Poland, to in- 
 corporate for ever to her empire the pro- 
 vinces and people hereunder named ; that 
 Y 2 is
 
 324 Appendix'. 
 
 is to fay, all that lies on the right fide of 
 the river Dzwina, or Duna, containing 
 the Polifh Livonia, that part of the pa- 
 latinate of Poloczk, fituated on the right 
 of the raid river, as well as the palatinate 
 of Witepfk, fo that the Dzwina fhall 
 from henceforth form the natural fron- 
 tiers between the two ftates of Ruffia and 
 Poland ; which frontiers fhall extend 
 from thence to the extremity of the fron- 
 tiers of the palatinates cf Witepfk and 
 Poloczk ; and from thence to the extre- 
 mity of the frontier common to the three 
 palatinates of Witepfk, Poloczk, and 
 Minfk ; and from thence in a flrait line 
 to the fource* of the Druetz, near the 
 village Ordva (or Orowa) : and fo coaft- 
 irig the Druetz to its difcharge into the 
 Nieper; and from thence to the extremity 
 of the ancient frontiers between Rufha 
 and Poland, following the courfe of the 
 Nieper in its defcent ; fo that all Polifh 
 Livonia, that part of the palatinate of Po- 
 loczk fituated on the right of the Dzwi- 
 na,
 
 APPENDIX. 325 
 
 ..ma, all the palatinate of Witepfk, on 
 the two banks of the faid river ; all the 
 •palatinate of Mfciflaw ; the upper part of 
 -Minfk which lies along the new line 
 drawn from the point where the frontiers 
 of the three palatinates of .Poloczk, \Vi- 
 .tepfk, and Minfk do meet, to the fource 
 of the Dructz ; and alfo that lower part 
 of the palatinate of Minfk which extends 
 itfelf on the other fide of the Djuetz and 
 -the Niepex ; ail thefe diftricls, together 
 with the inhabitants and land-holders 
 thereof, of whatever rank or condition, 
 ihall for the future and for ever be flibjeCvt 
 to the imperial crown of Ruffia. 
 
 For thefe caufes, in quality of her faid 
 -imperial majefty's lieutenant-governor-ge- 
 neral, we are commanded, before all things, 
 iblemnly to declare in Jier facred name 
 ..(as we do declare by thefe prefents, for 
 general inflruction and notification) to 
 all her new fubje&s, actually our moft 
 jiear fellow-citizens, not only that her 
 /aid majefty will preferve to all and every 
 V 3 of
 
 326 APPENDIX, 
 
 of them the free and public exercife of 
 their religion, as well as all their goods 
 and poflefTions ; but alfo, that look- 
 ing upon them from this moment as 
 her dear children, me renders them all 
 In general, and without exception, equal 
 fharers in all the rights, liberties, and 
 prerogatives which her ancient fubjects 
 do enjoy. On the part of her new fub- 
 jects thus incorporated, her majefty ex- 
 pects the return of gratitude ; and, fee- 
 ing they are treated as gracioufly as her 
 ancient fubjects, fhe expects they will 
 emulate them in doing all in their power 
 to render themfelves worthy of this treat- 
 ment, by a fincere love of their country, 
 and an inviolable attachment to fo mag- 
 nanimous a fovereign. 
 
 In confequence hereof, all the inha- 
 bitants in general, all from the higheft 
 down to the loweft of the nobility, clergy, 
 and perfons in place, are to take, during 
 the courfe of this month, a folemn oath 
 of allegiance and fidelity to her faid im- 
 perial
 
 APPENDIX. 327 
 
 perial majefty, before fuch perfon as we 
 fhall appoint. But if any of the nobi- 
 lity or land-holders fhould not chufe to 
 conform thereto, they are allowed three 
 months from the date hereof to fell their 
 lands and retire freely ; after which 
 time all their lands or goods remaining 
 ^unfold, mall be confifcated, &c. &c. 
 
 Given at Peterfburgh the 5th ( 1 6th) 
 of September, 1772. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 The declaration contains farther an 
 order to pray for the emprefs and grand 
 xluke in all the churches; extends the 
 free exercife of religion to the Jews ; 
 and allures that the troops fhall obferve 
 the ftritfteft difcipline. The reader will 
 obferve the fame arTe&ation of huma- 
 nity, magnanimity, &c. which charac- 
 terife all the ftate-papers of Peterfburgh. 
 The ridicule of allowing three months 
 for felling the lands has been remarked 
 Y 4 in
 
 328 APPENDIX. 
 
 in the Letter : let us juft add, that 
 to a Polifh gentleman, bred up with 
 a fpirit of liberty and independence, 
 the privileges of a Ruffian fubjedr. muft 
 needs be an inviting and tempting 
 prefent. 
 
 This difinterefted princefs, if we are 
 well informed, is imitating her juft and 
 magnanimous allies ; lne has found out 
 that the diftridt lying between the Nieper 
 and the Bereczyna is very convenient to 
 her : and therefore, you know, of right 
 belongs to her ; and therefore too w r ill 
 ierve to " fix more fure and natural 
 " bounds between her and Poland." — 
 In God's name where are thefe difcoveries 
 to end ! 
 
 D. 
 
 Extracts from a treaty inikled " Inductee 
 " ad xiii. amies inter foannem Cajimi- 
 t€ rum regemPolonice> & Alexhun Michay- 
 u lowitz czarwn & magnum ducem RuJJicz. 
 ei Actum Denewna Andrufovitf, 30 Ja- 
 
 nuariit
 
 APPENDIX. 329 
 
 nuarii, 1667." Which treaty has been 
 refumed at the bafis of all the fuceeeding 
 treaties between Ruffia and Poland. 
 
 ARTICLE. Ill, 
 
 /~\UJE porro arces, terras hoc proximo 
 bello a regno Polonias, & magno du- 
 catu Lithuanian funt avulfa? & remanent 
 in poffeflione, & fub jurifdi&ione czarea: 
 majeftatis, hoc eft Smolenfcum, cum 
 univerfo Severienfi ducatu, cum arcibus 
 & particularibus locorum attinentiis, quse 
 funt ex hac parte a. Vitepcenfibus, Polo- 
 cenfibus, ex parte vero Livonia? a Luci- 
 nenfi localibus attinentiis, Smolenfcum 
 ufque, uti Dohorobuzium, Biala, Ne- 
 velium, Sebezia, Krafno, etiam Wiel- 
 ifzca (quamvis antiquitus ad palatinatum 
 Vitepcenfem pertinuerit) cum fuis item 
 particularibus locis ac attinentiis : ex alia 
 vero parte, in qua funt arces Severiences, 
 circa Czernichovium omnes arces & 
 terra?, quihufcunque nominibus nuncu- 
 pate omnes relinqui debent in forte 
 
 czarea?
 
 33 o APPENDIX. 
 
 czareae majeftatis. Ad fortem vero S. R. 
 majeftatis a Boryfthene fub Kiovia, & 
 per omnem regionem ad limetes Putiu- 
 lenfes, nulla arx nee civitas, nee lati- 
 fundium pertinebet ; non prxtergrediendo 
 tamen limites palatinatuum Vitepcenfis, 
 Polocenfis, & Mfciflavienfis. Similiter 
 diftri&uum Orfenfis, Mozyrenfis, Rzec- 
 zycenfis, Braclavienfis, uti et limites Li- 
 vonise, cum ea, qua ab antiquo conti- 
 nebantur, circumferentia, cum omnibus 
 particularibus attinentiis, pagis, fundis 
 ab utraque ripa. Boryfthenis, & Dunae 
 et aliorum fitis, ad palatinatus & dif- 
 triclus in pofleflione S. regia: majeftatis 
 remanentes pertinebunt; excepta Witiz- 
 ca, quse pacis fanctse caufa, a palati- 
 natu Vitepcenfi avulfa, in forte czarece 
 majeftatis prsefenti tractatu ad annos in- 
 duciarum collocata eft. In fuperiori ve- 
 rb parte Boryfthenis qua? comprehen- 
 ditur titulo Zaporohorum, feu liminum 
 Boryfthenis, & ejus loci Cofaci, in qui- 
 bufcunque eo loco prsefidiis, munitionibus, 
 
 fepi-
 
 APPENDIX. 331 
 
 fepimentis, & fedibus degant, pertinere 
 debent ad obedientiam 8c proteclionem 
 utriufque magni prlncipis noftri ad com- 
 mune illorum obfequium contra immi- 
 nentem (quam Deus avertat) Brifurmani- 
 cam Potentiam. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 Ex occupatis vero bello arcibus & 
 terris reftituenda? funt in fortem facrx 
 regime majeftatis, arces & civitates Polocia, 
 Vitepfcum, Duneburgum, Lucinum, Rzec- 
 zyca, Margenhaufum, cum tota Livonia 
 meridionali, cum omnibus omnium ar- 
 cium pramominatarum attinentiis, anti- 
 quitus ad eafdem fpectantibus ; cum aliis 
 locis & attinentiis Uiviata, Surazia, Je- 
 ziercia — 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 
 Ipfa Kiovise arx, cum iifdem monafte- 
 riis, Piezarii dictis, & cum aliis penes 
 Kioviam relictis adjacentiis, fimiliter cum 
 omni veteri armatura, cum qua olim Ki- 
 pvia in partem czarese majeftatis accepta, 
 
 cum
 
 33* APPENDIX. 
 
 cum provifione turn temporis ibidem in- 
 venta, in fortem S. R. majeftatis et rei- 
 publicse reftitui, et evacuari, mundari- 
 tque debet, ante primam de perpetua pace 
 commiffionern ; hoc eft poft duos annos 
 a prsefenti traclatu computandos. — Et pro 
 hoc reftituendo et cedendo Kioviam czarea 
 majeftas nullum compenfationem a S. R, 
 majeftate & a rep. requirat. 
 
 E. 
 
 Counter-Declaration of the Court o/War- 
 faw. 
 
 ' I * H E underwritten, ininiflers of the 
 king and republic of Poland, having 
 laird before his majefty the Declarations 
 given on the 2' th and 1 8th of September, 
 by the minifters from the courts of Vienna, 
 Peterfburgh, and Berlin ; and his majefty 
 having taken the advice of his fenate 
 thereupon, the underwritten are com- 
 manded to make the following anfwer 
 thereto. — 
 
 The
 
 APPENDIX. 333 
 
 The difinterefted and fuccefsful pains' 
 of her majefty, the emprefs of all the 
 Ruffias, to preferve tranquility in Po- 
 land during the laft interregnum, and 
 promote the free ele&ion of the reigning 
 king, univerfally recognized; the con- 
 currence of the king of Pruilia in the 
 fame defigns ; and the fyftem of neutra- 
 lity at that time adopted by the emprefs 
 queen, are circumftances, which appre- 
 ciated as they ought by the king, wilt 
 never be effaced from his memory or 
 heart. 
 
 The king is happy in feeing the re- 
 gulations and internal eflablifhments of 
 the diets, immediately fucceeding the 
 death of Auguftus III. declared " ufeful 
 a and falutary" by the three powers : 
 he would ever wim the emanations of 
 the iovcreign power of the republic to 
 oe regarded with a favourable eye by all. 
 his neighbours. 
 
 All F.urope is long fince informed of 
 the original and fucccfTive caufes of the 
 
 pre-
 
 334 APPENDIX. 
 
 prefent troubles in Poland: all Europe 
 knows, that the king, and the foundeft 
 part of the nation, exerted their utmoft 
 efforts to prevent the rife, and flop ' the 
 progrefs of them ; unfortunately thefe 
 efforts have been unfuccefsful ; and cer- 
 tainly the confequences have been dread- 
 ful. The fupreme and legal authority of 
 the ftate has been denied by fome : an- 
 archy has fpread itfelf over the provinces: 
 all Poland has been impoverifhed, ra- 
 vaged, trodden under foot, as well by her 
 own citizens, as by foreign troops ; fhe has 
 felt, and all Europe has feen, thofe fuffer- 
 ings proportioned to the length of time 
 thefe troops have been in the country, 
 the orders of their refpeclive courts, and 
 the manner in which thefe orders have 
 been put in execution. 
 
 In a word, five years of fcourge and 
 defolation have ruined this country, and 
 make the return of peace a matter of ur- 
 gent and indifpenfible neceflity. 
 
 The engagements entered into by the 
 three powers, to co-operate in effectuating 
 
 this
 
 APPENDIX. 235 
 
 this great work, appeared therefore full 
 of humanity, and would have been re- 
 garded by the king with the livelieft gra- 
 titude, if the latter part of their Decla- 
 ration had left room for any fentiment, 
 but thofe of the utmoft furprize, and the 
 moil profound grief. 
 
 Thefe courts pretend confiderable claims 
 on the unhappy Poland : a plan of in- 
 demnification, the actual and effectual 
 feizure of equivalents are avowed. 
 
 The ftrict attention of the king and 
 republic to fulfil all their engagements 
 with thefe powers ; the . laws of good 
 neighbourhood, fo religioufly obferved 
 by Poland, the manner fo friendly and 
 full of regard, in which the king has re- 
 prefented, on fo many occafions, the dif- 
 ferent fubjects of complaint he has un- 
 fortunately had againit his neighbours ; 
 the prefent fituation of Poland, fo wor- 
 thy in all refpe&s of the compaffion of 
 generous and fenfible minds ; — all mould 
 have fecured to him the return of mu- 
 tual 
 7
 
 336 APPENDI X. 
 
 tual good-will, and protected him for ever 
 from enterprizes, fo injurious to his 
 rights, and the legality of his poffemons. 
 
 The rights of the republic to all her 
 provinces, have every poflible mark of 
 folidity and authenticity. An uninter- 
 rupted pofTeffion of many ages, avowed 
 and maintained by the moft folemn trea- 
 ties, and particularly by thofe of Velaw 
 and Oliva, guarrantied by the houfe of 
 Auftria, by the crowns of France, Eng- 
 land, Spain, and Sweden ; — by the treaty 
 of 1686, with Ruflia; — by the exprefs 
 and recent declarations of this laft power ; 
 —by thofe of Pruffia in 1764; and, laftly, 
 by treaties with the houfe of Auftria, 
 flill in full force and vigour : — on thefe 
 foundations the rights of the republic are 
 grounded. 
 
 The court of Warfaw contents itfelf 
 with barely pointing them out at prefent, 
 referving the right of fupporting them 
 by proofs more ample and particular in 
 time and place. 
 
 What
 
 APPENDIX. 337 
 
 What titles can the three powers op- 
 pofe to thefe ? If they are titles dug out 
 of the obfcurity of ancient times, of thofe 
 times of fudden and momentary revolu- 
 tions, which erected and deftroyed, ceded 
 and reftored ftates in the fhort fpace of 
 a few months or years ; thefe titles, if 
 admitted, would re-unite to the king- 
 dom of Poland many provinces, which 
 formerly belonged to it, but have for 
 many years been occupied by the very 
 powers who now form pretenfions on 
 her. 
 
 But as it is undeniable, that not only 
 tranfactions buried in the oblivion of dis- 
 tant ages, but all tranfa&ions whatever, 
 are annihilated by fubfequent ftipulations ; 
 as all the later ftipulations between Po- 
 land and her neighbours oppofe directly 
 the partition they now would make, it 
 follows, that the titles, on which that 
 partition is founded, cannot be admitted, 
 without undermining the rights of every 
 Z Hate,
 
 338 APPENDIX. 
 
 ftate, without fhaking every throne from 
 its foundation. 
 
 The very powers, who declare, that 
 the fituation of Poland will not permit 
 them to obtain juftice in the ordinary 
 ways of proceedings, cannot be ignorant, 
 that its prefent fituation is accidental 
 and momentary; that it is in their own 
 power to change it. Their confent alone 
 is wanting to reftore the republic to the 
 free and lawful exercife of its independent 
 fovereignty. That would be the time to 
 produce and examine their claims. This 
 is the method of proceeding, which the 
 king had a right to demand from the 
 equity of the three courts ; which he 
 could not but expec~l to be adopted, rely- 
 ing on the letter written to him by the 
 emprefs queen of Hungary and Bohemia,, 
 on the 28th of January 1 77 1 . 
 
 But the prefent proceedings of the three 
 courts, giving the moft ferious fubject of 
 complaint to the king ; and the duties of 
 
 his
 
 APPENDIX* 339 
 
 Iiis crown not permitting him to be fi lent 
 on this occafion, he declares in the moil 
 folemn manner, that he looks upon the 
 actual feizure of the provinces of Poland 
 by the courts of Vienna, Peterfburgh, and 
 Berlin, as unjuit, violent, and contrary 
 to his lawful rights : he appeals to the 
 treaties, and powers guarantees of his 
 kingdom and its appurtenances. And 
 laftly, full of confidence in the juftice 
 of the Almighty, he lays his rights at 
 the feet of the eternal throne ; and puts 
 his caufe into the hands of the King of 
 Kings, the fupreme Judge of nations : 
 and in the full affurance of his fuccour, 
 he protefts folemnly, and before the 
 whole univerfe, againft every flep taken, 
 or to be taken, towards the difmembering 
 of Poland. 
 
 Given at Warfaw, 03. 17th, 1772. 
 Signed by the great chancellors of 
 Poland and Lithuania. 
 
 Z 2 Decla-
 
 34o A P P E N D I X. 
 
 F. 
 
 Declaration of the Imperial minijier at thf 
 court ofWarfaw, 
 
 t_JER majefty, the emprefs queen of 
 Hungary and Bohemia, has feen, with 
 unfpeakable aftonifhment, the little im- 
 preflion made by the declaration prefent- 
 ed to his Polifh majefty by the under- 
 written, and the minifters from Peterfburgh 
 and Berlin, in order to accelerate a de- 
 finite arrangement between the republic 
 and the three neighbouring powers, touch- 
 ing the pretenfions formed by the faid 
 powers on Poland ; pretenfions, which 
 the effential interefts of their crowns will 
 not permit them to expofe to the hazard 
 of future contingencies, and of thofc 
 troubles, with which Poland has at all 
 times been agitated. 
 
 The juftice and dignity of the three 
 courts prefcribe certain bounds to their 
 moderation : this truth can neither cfcape 
 
 the
 
 APPENDIX. 341 
 
 the difcernment of his Polifh majefty, 
 nor be indifferent to his heart, if the 
 cries of his country have preferved their 
 influence there. 
 
 Her majefty, the emprefs queen of 
 Hungary and Bohemia, hopes therefore, 
 that the king will not expofe his king- 
 dom to events, which mult be the con- 
 fequences of his delay to aflemble a diet, 
 and enter on a negotiation, which alone 
 can fave his country, reftore vigour to 
 the conftitution of the republic, which has 
 received fo many, and fo dangerous fhocks ; 
 and terminate the evils, to which private 
 intereft, ambition, hatred, and diflenfions 
 have given rife. 
 
 Done at Warfaw, Dec. 4th, 1772. 
 Signed, 
 
 RZEWICKI. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 The minifter from Peterfburgh and Ber- 
 lin delivered the next day each a declara- 
 tion in the fame words. 
 
 Z 3 There
 
 342 APPENDIX. 
 
 There is an ihfolence in this pieced 
 which is without example, — Whofe pri-? 
 yate intereft, whofe ambition but their's 
 have ruined Poland ? They talk of 
 bounds to their moderation. In the mean 
 time, they feem thoroughly perfuaded, 
 that there are no bounds to the patience o£ 
 the Polifh nation ; or the indifference 
 and inattention of the other, courts of 
 Europe. They may however be mif- 
 taken. 
 
 G. 
 
 Anfwer of the court of Warfaw tp the pre- 
 ceding piece. 
 
 |"N anfwer to the Declarations of the 
 courts of Vienna, Peterfburgh, and Ber- 
 lin, the underwritten have orders to in- 
 form the minifters of the faid courts, that 
 the king being informed of their delires, 
 refpecting the convocation of a diet, and 
 of the inconveniencies which may arife 
 from delays, is determined to comply, as 
 
 far
 
 APPENDIX. 343 
 
 far as it is in his power ; wifhing not only 
 to take away all pretext of aggravating 
 the evils, which afflict Poland, but hop- 
 ing that this mark of regard will operate 
 on the generofity of the three powers, 
 and induce them to put a fpeedy end to 
 thefe troubles, in a manner the moft 
 equitable and advantageous to the re- 
 public. 
 
 In confequence hereof, his majefly 
 has iffued circular letters for the convo- 
 cation of a full council of the fenate, 
 which mufl indifpenfably precede the 
 fummoning of a diet ; and has fixed the 
 fame to the 8th of February following ; 
 a term, which leaves no more than the 
 time abfolutely neceflary for the arrival of 
 the diftant fenators. 
 
 Done at Warfaw, this 14th of De- 
 cember, 1772. 
 
 Signed by the Chancellors of 
 Poland and Lithuania. 
 
 Z 4. NO T E.
 
 344 APPENDIX. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 The world, ever ready to condemn 
 the unfortunate, have blamed the king 
 for having in fome degree yielded, by 
 this Declaration, to the imperious will of 
 the ufurping powers. But let it be ob- 
 ferved, that the different powers, guaran- 
 tees of the liberties of Poland, have not 
 afforded any part of that fuccour they are 
 engaged to by repeated treaties : that, 
 {truck with their fupinenefs and inatten- 
 tion, the nation feems to fmk under the 
 weight of its misfortunes : without re- 
 fources from abroad, without activity and 
 unanimity at home, — what is the king to 
 do ? — Let any one power offer him effec- 
 tual fuccour ; nay, let only five hundred 
 of his fubjects declare, that, if he will 
 put himfelf at their head, they will perifh 
 with him, rather than fubmit to the op- 
 preffions of his neighbours ; and if he 
 then refufe, let him be given up as un- 
 worthy of the crown. But till then, it is 
 
 hard,
 
 APPENDIX. 345 
 
 hard, that thofe very courts, who have 
 not fulfilled their engagements, mould 
 endeavour to juftify their own fupine- 
 nefs, by throwing the blame on him. 
 Add, that, in accelerating the convoca- 
 tion of the fenate, he has really granted 
 nothing ; the fenate has not the power of 
 concluding a treaty, that can be done by 
 the diet alone. He has Hill then left time 
 to his allies to come to his affiftance; he 
 has flill left it in the power of his peo- 
 ple to chufe the party they have to take ; 
 either to make the beft bargain they can, 
 or perifli glorioufly in defence of their 
 rights. 
 
 H. 
 
 Letters for the Convocation of the Great 
 Council of the Senate. 
 
 Stanislaus Augustus, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 "D ORN with the love of public good, 
 
 and having devoted ourielves with the 
 
 mod
 
 346 APPENDIX. 
 
 moft difinterefted application to promote 
 the happinefs of a people, whofe free and 
 unanimous choice intrufted the fceptre to 
 our hands, we had flattered ourfelves with 
 the pleafing hope of reigning happy over 
 a cherifhed people. 
 
 Perfnaded that nothing could contribute 
 more effectually to their well-being, than 
 the uninterrupted attention of a council, 
 which united the maturity of advice to 
 legal authority ; and finding both thefe 
 advantages in the fenate of the republic; 
 we determined, after the example of the 
 moft illuftrious of our predeceflbrs, born, 
 as we, in the bofom of our country, to 
 hold every week a council of the fenate. 
 
 During the greater!: part of the two 
 firft years of our reign, this rule carried 
 into practice, ferved at once as a proof of 
 our attention to the public good, and a 
 mean of promoting it. But foon after- 
 wards envy, and intereft, enemies of the 
 happinefs of the republic, lowed the 
 feeds of difcord : and they fhot up with 
 
 fo
 
 APPENDIX. 347 
 
 fp much vigour, that it became impofii- 
 ble for us to continue this frequent com- 
 munication of our views and labours with 
 the fenate. 
 
 A detail of the degrees, by which the 
 misfortunes of the ftate have arrived at 
 that dreadful crifis, which engages our 
 prefent attention, would be fuperfluous. 
 Suffice it to inform you, that, in confe- 
 quence of the uniform declarations made 
 to us by the three neighbouring powers, 
 and notifying the occupation of feveral 
 provinces of the republic, which they pre- 
 tend refpeclively to appropriate, we did, 
 on the 6th of October, affemble a coun- 
 cil of fuch fenators, as were then refi- 
 dent in our capital ; and, by their ad- 
 vice, we did folemnly proteft againft all 
 the fteps taken, or to be taken, contrary 
 to the rights and interefls of the re- 
 public. 
 
 And as the fenators then prefent did 
 require of us, that all the members, 
 compofing the whole body of tjie fenate, 
 
 mould
 
 348 APPENDIX. 
 
 fhould be fummoned to confider and de- 
 cide what farther is to be done for the 
 fafety of our country ; we willingly com- 
 plying with an advice fo conformable to 
 our prefent fituation, do hereby fix the 
 firft day of March next for holding the 
 great council of the fenate ; requiring, 
 that as foon as thefe our circular letters 
 are received, you do forthwith repair to 
 our capital, and prefent yourfelf before 
 our perfon. 
 
 You will come to provide for the in- 
 terefts of the ftate, under the aufpices 
 of a king, whom it has pleafed the Al- 
 mighty to re-eftablifh on the throne, to 
 which he had raifed him, by faving his 
 life miraculoufly, when there appeared no 
 human means of prefervation. 
 
 You will fee with your own eyes, that 
 no pains have been fpared, no means 
 neglected by us, for preventing the mis- 
 fortunes, under the weight of which the 
 nation has fo long groaned ; and efpe- 
 cially fince the voice of calumny has 
 
 dared
 
 APPENDIX. 349 
 
 dared to attribute its own defigns to him, 
 whofe rank alone excited the fury of jea- 
 loufy ; fince by a monflrous chain of er- 
 rors an interregnum has been proclaimed, 
 and regicide commanded. 
 
 Every honeft heart fhuddered, every 
 virtuous citizen wept, to fee the honour 
 of the nation fullied and ftained with the 
 innocent blood of its own king. 
 
 Would to God, that in the bitternefs 
 of our grief, we had yet this comfort, 
 that no fenator, by entering into unlaw- 
 ful confpiracies againft our dignity and 
 perfon, had voluntarily excluded himferf 
 from our prefence and councils. 
 
 But our defign is to cure, not exul- 
 cerate the wounds of the ftate. We 
 declare therefore, that every fenator, par- 
 ticipating in the councils of the pre- 
 tended confederation, who will forfake 
 the fame, in a formal and authentic 
 manner, properly notified to us, and will 
 give clear and pofitive proofs of his fide- 
 lity, and attachment to us, may reft af- 
 
 fured 
 6
 
 2$o APPENDI X. 
 
 lured not only that we forgive him hisi 
 offence, but alfo, that he fhall enjoy full 
 and perfect fecurity in his country, and 
 especially at the council* 
 
 Let thofe then, whom the unfortunate 
 effects of paft errors have driven from 
 their country, and their fovereign, re- 
 turn at the voice of their king, and their 
 father, who will not fee an offender, 
 where repentance is acknowledged; who 
 ftretches out his arms to every one, who 
 comes convinced that domeftic diffen- 
 fions have been the caufe of all our mis- 
 fortunes ; and that the only poffible 
 means of faving our religion, our coun- 
 try, and our liberty, is to unite with a 
 king, to whom thefe objects have been 
 ever facred, 
 
 Thefe have been our conftant views; 
 this is the end for which you are fum- 
 moned to meet us at the grand council 
 of the fenate; by affifling at which you 
 will fulfil the duties of your ftation, and 
 merit our royal favour. 
 
 And
 
 . APPENDIX. 351 
 
 And fo we pray God to take you into 
 his raoft holy keeping. 
 
 Given at Warfaw, this 1 2th of De- 
 cember, 1772. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 A poflfcript is added to thefe letters, 
 fignifying that, at the requifition of the 
 three courts, the king had advanced the 
 meeting of the fenate to the eighth of 
 February. 
 
 This manly appeal to the rectitude of 
 his own conduct and the purity of his 
 views, — this plain though paternal de- 
 claration, that the nation itfelf was in 
 a great meafure refponfible for the mis- 
 fortunes, under which it labours, has 
 been the conftant language of the king. In 
 the diet fummoned by the confederation 
 of Radom, when every artifice had been 
 employed to exafperate the nation againil 
 him, I heard him make the fame appeal, 
 in ftill ftronger terms ; not a man rofe to 
 refute it: — conviction alone could tie 
 
 their
 
 352 APPENDIX, 
 
 their tongues :•— for a king's fpeech in 
 Poland is not always echoed back with 
 applaufe to the throne ; he is as fubjecT: 
 to contradiction as another member. — 
 Abroad, indeed, men who know nothing 
 of the temper and genius of his people ; of 
 the fhackles by which the exertion of his 
 power is impeded ; who have not been near 
 enough to examine the different fteps, by 
 which things have infenfibly been brought 
 to the prefent crifls, are liberal in their 
 cenfures. — It muft however be allowed, 
 that there was a moment when he ought 
 perhaps to have acted otherwife. To a mind 
 like his, the tafk was not eafy ; to have faved 
 his nation, he muft have been content to 
 have feemed to invade its rights ; and to 
 join what was thought no friendly power. 
 Too delicate a fenfe of honour, the ti- 
 midity of virtue, over-ruled him. Few 
 princes have fo refpeclable an excufe to 
 plead. But had he been able to brave 
 public opinion, his prefent cenfurers 
 would not have been lefs fevere. — What 
 
 has
 
 APPENDIX. 353 
 
 has not been faid againft the king of 
 Sweden ? — Yet appearances are not half 
 fo ftrong againft him, as they mult have 
 been againft the king of Poland, had he 
 feized perhaps the only occafion that was 
 offered him, of faving his country from 
 their prefent troubles. 
 
 I. 
 
 Letters Patent of the King of Pruffia. 
 
 Frederick by the Grace of God, &c* 
 &c. &c. 
 
 HP O all the eftates, bifhops, abbots, 
 prelates, palatines, caftellans, ftarofts, 
 &c.&c. and in general to all the inhabitants, 
 whether ecclefiaftical or fecular, of the 
 territories of Pruflia and Pomerania, hi- 
 therto poiTciTed by the kings of Poland ; 
 and of the diltrids on this fide the Notec, 
 hitherto appropriated to Great Poland; 
 health and afTurance of our royal good 
 will. 
 
 A a It
 
 354 APPENDIX. 
 
 It is notorious to all, who are conver-- 
 . fant in hiftory, and we have given to all 
 Europe inconteftible proofs thereof, in a 
 'certain declaration or deduction now in 
 the prefs, confirmed by authentic records,, 
 and the ftrongeft arguments drawn from 
 hiftory and law, that the kings of Poland 
 did many ages fmce violently diffeife the 
 dukes of Pomerania of that part of the 
 duchy of Pomerania, which being ftretched 
 along the left bank of the river Viftula, and 
 bordering on the Notec, is vulgarly called 
 Pomerellia : and that the faid kings of 
 Poland have with equal injuftice ufurped 
 and detained from the dukes of Pome- 
 rania, and their fucceflbrs, the electors of 
 Brandenburgh, not only the faid Pomerel- 
 lia, but alfo a large diftricl: of the New 
 March, lying on this fide of the river 
 Notec. 
 
 For the male branch of the dukes of 
 Pomerania of the race of Dantzig being 
 cxtinguifhed in the year 1295, the dukes 
 • of Pomerania of the race -of Stettin, be- 
 ing;
 
 APPENDIX. 355 
 
 ing their neareft agnats and heirs fpring- 
 ing from the fame flock, ought by right 
 to have fucceeded them in thefe poffef- 
 fions; but they were then deprived of 
 . thefe their rights by the preponderant 
 power of the knights of the Teutonic or- 
 der ; and afterwards prevented from re- 
 covering them by the kings of Poland. 
 Yet the dukes of Pomerania did never 
 make any renunciation of their rights to 
 this their ancient patrimony; but at the 
 extinction of the ancient houfe of the 
 dukes of Pomerania, in the year 1637, 
 did tranfmit the fame entire to their heirs 
 and univerfal fucceffors, the electors of the 
 houfe of Brandenburgh. 
 
 As the diftric~t of Great Poland fituat- 
 ed between the Draga and the Notec, it 
 did from the earlieft times belong to the 
 New March of Brandenburgh; and the 
 margraves of Brandenburgh were in peace- 
 able poflemon thereof, till the beginning 
 of the fifteenth, century : but in the year 
 1402 the elector Sigifmund, having 
 A a 2 mort-
 
 35 6 APPENDIX. 
 
 mortgaged the New March to the knights 
 of the Teutonic order, and the kings of 
 Poland being at war with that order, did 
 take occafion to feize upon this tract of 
 land ; and have ever fince kept pofleffion 
 thereof: tho' neither the Teutonic order, 
 nor the electors of Brandenburgh, nor 
 the empire of Germany, did ever by any 
 treaty cede the fame. 
 
 The rights of Poland to thefe provinces, 
 having been thus in its origin unjuft and 
 vicious, cannot, according to the unani- 
 mous opinion of all civilifed nations, be 
 corrected or amended by a long prefcrip- 
 tion ; but rather the rights of the houfe 
 of Brandenburgh not only to thefe pro- 
 vinces, but alfo to other great and im- 
 portant claims, fet forth in the declara- 
 tion above referred to, remain in full 
 force and integrity. 
 
 As therefore neither our inclinations lead 
 us, nor any law compels us to fufFer any 
 longer fuch great and various acts of in- 
 juftice done to. our royal and electoral 
 
 houfe,
 
 APPENDIX, 357 
 
 houfe, we are determined to make ufe of 
 all the means, which the divine Provi- 
 dence has put into our hands, in order not 
 only to recover tlte provinces thus torn 
 by Poland from our duchy of Pomerania, 
 and New March of Brandenburgh ; but 
 aifo to indemnify ourfelves for the fruits 
 and revenues of thefe extenfive provinces 
 during this long detention of them. 
 
 To this end we are refoived to feize in- 
 to our hands, and have commanded our 
 troops to occupy all that part of Great Po- 
 land fituated on this fide of the Notec ; and 
 alfo all the territories of Pruflia and Po- 
 merania on this, and on the ether fide of 
 the Viftula, which the kings of Poland 
 have hitherto poffefTed under the name of 
 Polifh Pruflia : except only Dantzig and 
 Thorn. And we perfuade ourfelves, that 
 the republic of Poland, having well weigh- 
 ed our demands, as well as the circum- 
 ftances attending them, will yield to our 
 rights, fmifh all differences between us 
 by amicable treaties, and be ready and 
 A a 3 dif-
 
 358 APPENDIX. 
 
 difpofed to make equitable conventions 
 therein. 
 
 In confequence hereof, we do hereby 
 notify thefe our firm and deliberate refo- 
 lutions to all the orders and inhabitants of 
 Pruffia and Pomerania hitherto poflefled 
 by the kings of Poland ; and to all the 
 inhabitants of that diftrid of Great Po- 
 land which is fituated on this fide of the 
 Notec, requiring and exhorting them ; 
 gracioufly, but ferioufly commanding and 
 injoining them, make no oppofition to 
 our taking pofTeflion of the faid provinces, 
 nor to the officers, or troops fent for 
 that purpofe; but to fubmit themfelves 
 voluntarily to our dominion, acknowledge 
 us for their lawful king and matter, de- 
 mean themfelves towards us as faithful 
 and obedient fubjects, and abftain from 
 all communication with the kingdom of 
 Poland. And we, on our part, do hereby 
 promife and engage to maintain all and 
 every of our faid fubjc&s in their pofTef- 
 fions and rights, whether civil or eccle- 
 
 fiaftical,
 
 A P P E N D I X. 359 
 
 fiaftical, and fpecially thofe of the church 
 o£ Rome, in the free exercife of their reli- 
 gion ; and, in general, fo to govern thefe 
 our provinces, that every fenfible inha- 
 bitant fhall find reafon to be content and 
 .happy in this change, and never have caufe 
 to repent thereat. 
 
 But, in order to allure ourfelves more 
 •effectually of their fidelity and allegi- 
 ance, we have fixed a day, namely, the 
 27th day of this inftant September, on 
 which' all the fubjects of PrmTia and Po- 
 merania (except only Dantzig and Thorn) 
 and all the inhabitants of the diftricts on 
 this fide of the Notec, hitherto pofTeffed 
 by the kings of Poland, are .to do ho- 
 mage, and take the oaths of allegiance 
 and fidelity,- in the prefence of commif- 
 faries by us for that purpofe appointed, 
 .and in the manner hereafter fpecified. 
 
 We perfuade ourfelves that all the in- 
 habitants of the laid diltricts will con- 
 form themfelves to thefe our orders ; but 
 if, contrary to our expectations, any 
 A a 4 per-
 
 360 APPENDIX. 
 
 perfon mould prefume to difobey the 
 fame, by neglecting to take the oath of 
 allegiance, refufing to fubmit himfelf to 
 our dominion, and to acknowledge us 
 for his mafter, or by refifting our troops, 
 and others commiffioned to carry thefe 
 our orders into execution, or, in fhort, 
 fhould in any wife render himfelf guilty, 
 or even fufpefted of infidelity and difobe- 
 dience, all fuch may be affured, that we 
 fhall proceed againft them, without ex- 
 ception of perfons, with all the rigour 
 ufual in fuch cafes. 
 
 In witnefs whereof, &c. &c. 
 
 Given at Berlin this 13th day of Sep- 
 tember, 1772. 
 
 Signed, &c. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 The manner of doing homage is fpe- 
 cified in this acl:, but not the tenor of 
 the oath of allegiance. When the ducalj 
 now regal Pruflia, was erected into an in- 
 dependent fovereignty, it was on condi- 
 tion
 
 APPENDIX. 361 
 
 tion that in default of" heirs-male defen- 
 dants from the then elector, the duchy 
 fhould become again a fief of Poland, and 
 as fuch be beftowed on the margraves of the 
 race ofFranconia; and in default of heirs 
 male of this race, mould revert abfolutely 
 to Poland; and the fubje£ts took their 
 oath of allegiance in confequence. But 
 the oath adminiftercd in confequence of 
 thefe prefent letters was, to all the heirs 
 male and female, defendants and collate^ 
 rals in infinitum. 
 
 K. 
 
 Declaration delivered at JVarfaw by order 
 of the King of Prujfia. 
 
 TT I S majefty, the king of Pruffia, com- 
 pelled by that anarchy which has for 
 fo many years dcfolated the ftate of Po- 
 land, did, in a declaration delivered- on the 
 18th of September, by his underwritten 
 miniiier, to the king and republic of Po- 
 land
 
 3$z APPENDIX. 
 
 land, folemnly reclaim certain ancient 
 rights and lawful pretenfions which he 
 has on. the republic; as an equivalent for 
 which, he did actually and effectually 
 occupy part of the poffeffions of the faid 
 republic ; and his majefty did at the fame 
 time, invite the whole Polifh nation to 
 banifh, or at lead fufpend all fpirit of dif- 
 cord and delufion ; to affemble a diet, and, 
 in this legal reprefentation of the whole 
 body of the republic, to co-operate with 
 his majefty the king of Pruffia, and the 
 two courts united with him, in eftablifhing 
 on a firm and folid foundation, order and 
 tranquility at home, and to confirm, by 
 formal and amicable acts, the exchange 
 of the titles and pretenfions of the faid 
 courts againft the equivalents, of which 
 they have refpectively taken poffeffion. 
 
 Such was the true fenfe and intention 
 of this declaration; and his Pruflian ma- 
 jefty expected patiently the juft and ne- 
 ceffary effect of it. 
 
 But
 
 APPENDIX. 363 
 
 But he was fenfibly afBi&ed, when he 
 learned that, in anfwer to fuch a declara- 
 tion, the king of Poland had, by a firft 
 impulfe, and of his own private authori- 
 ty, caufed to be delivered to the under- 
 written minifter, and to be made public, 
 a proteft tending to invalidate the rights 
 and pretenfions of his rnajefty the king of 
 Pruffia, and the occupations made in his 
 name ; nor was it with lefs grief, that his 
 rnajefty the king of Pruffia faw that the 
 Polifh nation, inftead of concurring with 
 zeal and affection in the convocation of a 
 diet, (without which Poland can neither 
 folidly pacify her own internal troubles,, 
 nor regulate the very preffing affairs be- 
 tween her and her neighbours) did ftill 
 give itfelf up to every kind of delufion, to 
 intrigues, to views of private intereft, cal- 
 culated only to procraftinate the term of 
 bringing about fo very defirable a peace, 
 and confirming the fecurity of its poffe£- 
 fions. But what is the aftonifhment and 
 indignation of his rnajefty at feeing, that 
 
 all
 
 364 A P P E K D I X. 
 
 all the fteps of the Polifh government 
 demonftrate a formal defign of prolonging, 
 as much as poffible, the internal and ex^ 
 ternal confufion of the ftate, of tiring 
 out the patience of the three neighbour- 
 ing powers, inflead of fpeedily granting 
 them the juilice they demand, of en- 
 deavouring, by inlidious delays, to ex- 
 pofe the legality of their rights to all the 
 viciffitudes of future events. 
 
 A council is affembled, neither nume- 
 rous enough nor enough united, nor fuffi- 
 ciently authorifed ; it feparates without 
 coming to any refolution ; a fecond coun- 
 cil is fummoned, but, as if the bufinefs 
 it is to meet about was of the moft in* 
 different nature, the time of its meeting 
 is, on the moft frivolous pretences, delay- 
 ed to a period unreafonably diftant ; and, 
 in the mean time, the minds of peo- 
 ple are heated, cabals and faclions are 
 formed to throw every poffible obftacle in 
 the way, both of the internal pacification 
 and the negociations demanded by the 
 
 three courts. 
 
 The
 
 APPENDIX. 365 
 
 The refpeftive miniflers of the three 
 courts have already, by a fecond declare 
 tion, reiterated their inftances with the 
 king and republic of Poland for the con- 
 vocation of a diet ; and have fet before 
 the eyes of the court of War fa w the im- 
 minent dangers which refult from fo 
 many delays and evafions. 
 
 But in a crifis fo full of danger to the 
 republic, his majefty the king of Pruflia, 
 defirous that no part of the ulterior evils 
 which Poland may undergo, mould be 
 imputed to him, determines to make this 
 laft effort towards conquering fo incon- 
 ceivable an obftinacy. 
 
 To this end his majefly the king of 
 PruiTia renews, in the flrongefl and moft 
 preffing manner, his inftances with the 
 king and republic of Poland, for the con- 
 vocation of a diet, and the confumma- 
 tion of a final arrangement between the 
 republic and the three neighbouring 
 powers. 
 
 And that no illufion may diminifh in the 
 •eyes of the Polifh nation the importance of 
 
 this
 
 2 66 APPENDIX. 
 
 this new ftep taken by his majefty the king 
 of Pruflia, he fixes a term, to which, but 
 , not beyond it, he will wait for the effe£t ; 
 that is to fay, the 19th of April, 1773, 
 for the aflembly of the diet ; and the 7th 
 of June following for the definitive ar- 
 rangement with the three courts : and 
 thefe terms expired without proper pro- 
 vilion being made by the Polifh nation, 
 his majefty, the king of Pruffia, declaring 
 himfelf from that moment difengaged 
 from all renunciations made in his firft 
 declaration, will immediately employ fuch 
 meafures as to him fhall appear moft 
 prompt and expeditious for doing full 
 juftice to himfelf. 
 
 Given at Warfaw, Feb. 2, 1773. 
 Signed, 
 
 G. de Benoit. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 The fame declaration was delivered by 
 tlieminiftersfrom Vienna and Peterfburgh. 
 
 Anfwer
 
 A P P E N D I X. 367 
 
 L. 
 
 Anfwer of the minijiry at Warfiw to the 
 foregoing declaration. 
 
 pHE under-written having made their 
 report to the king of the declarations 
 delivered to them the 2d of February, by 
 the minifters plenipotentiaries from the- 
 eourts of Vienna* Peterfburgh, and 5 Ber- 
 lin, and his majefty having taken the ad- 
 vice of his fenate thereupon, the under- 
 written are commanded to anfwer there- 
 to as follows : 
 
 The principles of eondefcenfion, by 
 which the king and his fenate find them-* 
 felves obliged to regulate their conduct to- 
 wards the above-mentioned courts, being 
 fufficiently known by the minifterial note 
 of the 14th of December, given in an- 
 fwer to the uniform declarations of the 
 three courts of the 4th of the fame month, 
 and by the analogous facls which have 
 
 followed the declarations of thefe difpo- 
 . 7 fitions.
 
 368 APPEND IX, 
 
 fitions, the underwritten refer thereto, 
 confining themfelves in the prefent : v 
 
 i ft, To obferve to the three courts, 
 that the harfhnefs and rigour of their de- 
 mands, aggravated ftill more by the ftyle 
 in which they are expreffed, and the tone 
 of inculpation and reproach affected in the 
 above-mentioned declarations, have juft- 
 ly afflicted the fenfibility of the king and 
 fenate, being equally remote from the 
 attention due to the dignity of the king 
 and republic, and from the regard which 
 the circumfpect: conduct; of the king me- 
 rited on their part. 
 
 2dly, The under-written are to inform 
 the above-mentioned minifters, that the 
 king, with the advice of the fenate, and 
 after having taken into confideration the 
 ferious menaces, and imminent dangers 
 which have been announced to him in 
 cafe of refufal, has yielded to the defire 
 of the three courts, and has appointed, 
 in confequence thereof, the i(,th of April 
 for the epocha of the diet. 
 
 And,
 
 APPENDIX. 369 
 
 And laftly, the under-written are com- 
 hianded to addrefs to the fame miniflers 
 the folemn requifition which the king, 
 With the advice of the fenate, makes to 
 the three allied courts, to procure the 
 evacuation of their troops out of the do- 
 mains of the republic, before the hold- 
 ing of the dietines anticommitiales, m 
 order that the dietines and the diet may 
 proceed with full liberty, and the fenfe 
 of the nation be explained without re- 
 ftraint, and without danger. 
 Done at Warfaw the 19th of Feb. 1773. 
 
 Signed by the Chancellors of Poland 
 and Lithuania. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 This condefcenfion of the court of 
 Warfaw did not prevent two of the ufurp- 
 ing powers from making considerable ad- 
 ditions t^ their feizures, whilft they pre- 
 tend to wait patiently for the effect of 
 their declarations. 
 
 B b The
 
 3 7 o APPENDIX. 
 
 The king has again been blamed for 
 condefcending a fecond time to the de- 
 iires of his imperious neighbours ; but 
 after all, what would the diet have done 
 more in June than in April, if the other 
 powers of Europe perfift in their lethargy ? 
 The nation is worn down by continued 
 ads of oppreffion : and the king of Pruflia 
 openly tells the Poles that their prefent 
 fufferings, and the future profpecls of 
 greater, are the effects of the king's re- 
 fiftance. 
 
 M. 
 
 Extract of a "Treaty of Peace between Cafi- 
 mirKing of Poland, and Lewis d'Erlich- 
 mfen Grand MaJIer of the Teutonic Order, 
 concluded at Thorn, Ocl. 19, 1466 ; taken 
 from the Conjlitutions of the Republic, 
 publified at JVarfaw, in 6 Vols, in jo Ho, 
 1736. 
 
 •TERRA Culmenfis^ cum fuis caf- 
 
 tris, ch'itatibus, oppidis & fortalitiis, 
 
 S vi-
 
 Appendix. 37 i 
 
 videlicit, Thorn veteri et nova, Birgelau, 
 Starigrod, Culm, Duniflaw, Lipno, Kowal, 
 Roggenhaus, Englcfberg, Reden, Grau- 
 dentz, Colub, Popov/, Strafburg, Ludberg, 
 Newmarckt, LefTen, cum fuis omnibus 
 pertinentiis, et villis ; etiam quse pertine- 
 bant ad judicium Culmenfe, et cum tota 
 terra Michalovienfi, nihil excipiendo ; 
 item tota terra Pomeranke circa antiquos 
 terminos fuos, cum univcrfis caftris, civi- 
 tatibus, oppidis, et munitionibus in ea 
 Confiftentibus : videlicit, Gdanfk live Dant- 
 zig, Puczki, five Putzig, Lavenburg, 
 Hela, Siebe, Grebin, Dirfchau, Mewe, 
 Stargard, Neuburg, Swetz, Ofiek, Jaiiniec, 
 Kifchau, Slochau, Conitz, Hammerftein, 
 Biitow, Tuchol, Sobowidz, Shoneck, 
 Baldenburg, et cum Naria (Nehring) 
 fluviis, aquis, mari, et pifcaturie, quae 
 funt in cauda maris, alias Hap, villis, 
 portibus, infulis, & pertinentiis univcr- 
 fis, et dominio univerfali, direcxo et 
 utili, mero et mixto ad nos & regnum 
 B b 2 nof-
 
 #2 APPEND1 % 
 
 noftrum Polonix in pcrpetuum pertiiie~ 
 bunt & fpe&abunt. 
 
 Item ex bonis certis refpe&ibus nosmo- 
 vetrtibus, et pro prazfentis pacis ftabilimen- 
 to, caftrum et civitas Marienburg, cum 
 duabus infulis,. magna videlicet altera, et 
 altera parva, qUs& dicitur TyfannyfTe, Her- 
 Werder, et cum integritate lacus Drufen, 
 et cum> omnibus fuis pifcaturis, pifca- 
 tionibusy et villis, et cum diftriclu, 
 Scharffau, et omnibus aliis attinentiis fuis 
 et villis, eo tamen excepto, quod villse 
 HallemdorfF, et Alepin quse pertinent ad 
 Hollend, & Kulchebow & Herndorflv 
 quae ultima fola militantium eft, et per- 
 tinet ad Preufcbenk, habeant facultatem 
 in lacu Drufen pifces pifcandi : item caf- 
 trum & oppidum Stuhm, cum omnibus 
 antiquis fuis juribus, cohserentiis & per- 
 tinentiis univerfis, kern civitas Elbing 
 utraque vetus et nova, cum diftriclu vil- 
 larum, limitibus, et jure, et cum oppido 
 Tolkmit, et ejus diftrictu, et fuo officio 
 
 fii-
 
 APT EN D I X. 373 
 
 >filvarum et nemorum, alias Valdapth, 
 ■et cum fex villis, tenuis: et caftri Ho- 
 lanth, et cum quinque villis quae, ad op- 
 pidum et diftrictum Moihnufen pertinent. 
 Item oppidum et diftri&us Krifchburg, 
 .alias Drzgon cum fuis libertatibus mili- 
 taribus, aobilibus, ,et caftro, (curia ta- 
 men Dolefchech apud ordinem remanente,) 
 .ab alio vero latere di&i oppidi afcenden- 
 .do, et tranfeundo ufque at finales gra- 
 nicies dicli oppidi Krifchburg, et villas 
 Halbenftadt mutuo fe .contingentes ; (ea- 
 dem villa a finiftris et in ditione ordinis re- 
 manente :) abinde vero djrectius eundo ad 
 ecclefiae PomefanienEs fines proximiores, 
 ubi omnia & fingula fub diesis finibus ad 
 partem caftri Marienburg confiftentibus 
 (villa Moyferburg iterum in parte ordinis 
 remanente) cum curiis allodiis, & quibuf- 
 cunque aliis pertinentiis ad di&um caf- 
 trum Marienburgh fpectabunt & pertine- 
 bunt. Caetera vero alia omnia & fingula 
 ad cumeratum, et generaliter ad diftric- 
 tum Krifchburg ufque in prasfens perti- 
 B b 3 nentia
 
 374 APPENDIX. 
 
 nentia pari modo cum oppidis et allodiis 
 militaribus, terrigenis, villis, aquis, et 
 aliis fingulis pertinentiis fpeclabunt et ad 
 caftrum noftrum Preufmarck perpetuo, et 
 In sevum pro prsedicto fereniffimo domino 
 rege, et regibus et regno Poloniae rema-^ 
 nebunt. Ita quod caftra, civitates, oppi- 
 da, diftricliufque praedi&i ex nunc, et de 
 cstero, vigore prsefentis unionis et fse-* 
 deris ad jus, proprietatem, fortem, et titu- 
 lum regni Polonise pertinebunt et fpedta-^ 
 bunt, pertinere et fpe&are debent perpetuo 
 ct in sevum. 
 
 Item concordavimus quod Varmienfis 
 ecclefia, et ejus pontifex, cum venerabili 
 capitulo Varmienfi, ex nunc et de csetero 
 cum omnibus fuis caflris, civitatibus, op- 
 pidis, & munitionibus, videlicet Heilfberg, 
 Braunfberg, Wormdith, Serburg, War- 
 tenberg, RefLhel, BifchofTfiein, Aleftein, 
 Gaktefzkath, Melfak, Fraunburg, & Bif- 
 chofffburg, cum omnibus diftrictibus, 
 nobilibus, vaffallis, villis, pertinentiis et 
 attinentiis fuk, in pracfati domini Cafi- 
 
 miri
 
 APPENDIX. 375 
 
 miri regis, et fucceflbrum fuorum regum 
 Polonias & regni Poloniae ditione, fub- 
 je&ione, et protectione confiftent. Et 
 nos Ludovicus magifter, noftrique fuc- 
 ceflbres, commendatores et ordo ejus di- 
 tioni, fubje&ioni, et prote&ioni exprefle 
 renunciamus, et orane jus, quod nobis 
 in haec omnia competebat, in praefatum 
 fereniffimum regem dominum Cafimirum, 
 fucceflbres fuos reges, et regnum Polonise 
 plenarie transfundimus, et transferimus 
 per praefentes. 
 
 N. 
 
 Extract of the Convention between Sigif- 
 mund I. King of Poland, and Albert, 
 Margrave of Brandenburg, great Maf- 
 ter of the 'Teutonic Order, concluded at 
 Cracow, April 8. 1525, taken from 
 the Hi/lory of PruJJia, by Gafper Schiitz, 
 Folio, 496. German Edition. 
 
 T^ENTHLY, His majefty yields to 
 
 the margrave Albert, as a fief, and 
 
 in quality and under the title of duke of 
 
 B b 4 Pruflia,
 
 376 A P P E N J> IX. 
 
 Pruffia, the land, towns, caftlcs, and 
 villages hereunder named : that is to fay, 
 the three towns and caftles of Konigfberg, 
 Lochfbedt, Wargen, Gyrmar, Poubetten, 
 Rondaw, Schacken, Cay men, Cremiten, 
 Waldau, Tapiar, Tablaucken, Narbetten, 
 Infterbourg, Allenbourg, WonfdorfF, Gyr- 
 gawen, Angerbourg, Nordenbourg, La- 
 biau, Lawkifcken, Tilfe ? Ragnett, Rofit- 
 ten, Wyndberg, Memmel, Brandenbourg, 
 Creutzbourg, Friedland, Domenau, Bar- 
 then, Lentzen, Balge, Heiligen, Zinten, 
 Landfberg, Preuffifch, Eulaw, Bartenftein, 
 Snellen, Saynfbourg, Rein, Roftenbourg, 
 Licke, Johanfburg, Holland, Libftadt, 
 Mclhaufen, Moroungen, Paflenheim, Or- 
 theliberg, Ofterodde, Hohenftcin, Nei- 
 denbourg, Soldau, Gilgenbourg, Schip- 
 penbeil, Teutfch, Eurlaw, Preuffich Marck, 
 Liebe, Muhl, Saalfeldt, Reiflenbourg, Ma- 
 rienwerder, Tyrenberg, Laptau, Schoen- 
 berg, Powunden, Georgenburg, Rofcn- 
 berg, Gardenfee, Neuhaus, Freyenftadt, 
 talau, Fifchaufen, and BifchofFswerder, 
 
 O. Ex-
 
 A 
 
 APPENDIX. 377 
 
 O. 
 
 Extracts from the Treaty of Felaw. 
 
 R T. IV. Sereniflimus ele&or omnia 
 qiix per imiverfum Polonias regnum, 
 magnumque ducatum Lithuania, et epif- 
 copatum Varmienfem per hoc bellum, aut 
 per tra&atus Suecicos, quocunque titulo 
 occupavit, ac ipfo facto poflidit, — reftituet 
 plenarie et abfque ulla refervatione. 
 
 Art. V. Quorum intuitu, et aliis juftis 
 de caufis ducatum Pruffia?, iis fmibus 
 circumfcriptum, quibus fereniffimus elec- 
 tor ilium olim jure feudali, ante hoc bellum 
 ortum, pofiidebat, ipfe deinceps, et def- 
 cendentes ejus mafculi, jure fupremi do- 
 minii, cum fumma atque abfoluta poteftate, 
 fibi habeunt, poffidebunt, regentque, abf- 
 que omnibus ante hac praeftitis oneribus. 
 
 Art. X. Loco vaffalagii priftini fereniffi- 
 mus elector, ejufque defcendentes, perpe- 
 tuo, et inviolabili fasdere fereniflimo regi 
 ac regno Polonise conjungentur. 
 
 Art.
 
 IjZ APPENDIX, 
 
 Art. XL Sereniffimus ele&or, ejufque 
 defcendentes, fidam cum fereniffimis re- 
 gibus regnoque Polonise & magno du- 
 catu Lithuaniae colent amicitiam, et uni- 
 onem ; & nunquam cum fereniffimorum 
 regum, vel regni hoftibus aliquod fcedus, 
 dirette vel indirecte inibunt, in praejudi^ 
 cium regis & reipublicae. 
 
 Art. XVII. Commercia inter regni Polo- 
 nias, magni ducatus Lithuanian, et ducatus 
 Pruffias incolas libera erunt et fecura. — In 
 dominiis utriufque partis nulla nova te- 
 loniorum onera, tarn terreftria, quam 
 maritima, quae ante hoc bellum non fue^- 
 runt, in gravamen cujuflibet partium im- 
 ponentur. 
 
 Art. XVIII. Si fuper limitibus inter 
 utramque partem controverfia exoriatur 
 per commiffiarios amice componatur. 
 
 
 
 P. 
 
 
 
 Imp or 
 
 ts at 
 
 Dantzig for 
 
 the year 
 
 1771. 
 
 All urn 
 
 Aliiionds 
 
 Gooc 
 
 Is. 
 
 1,986 
 3*663 
 
 Hone 
 ftene 
 ArgoJ
 
 A P P E 
 
 Goods. 
 Argol 
 Anchors 
 Ale from Burton 
 Anifeed 
 Blue Powder 
 Bayberries 
 Brafs 
 
 Brafs-wire 
 Brimftone 
 Bottles 
 Butter 
 Brandy 
 
 Barley * 
 
 Barley groats 
 Bricks 
 Currants 
 Cinnamon 
 Cummin 
 Cotton 
 Capers 
 Cubebs 
 Copper 
 Copperas 
 Cheefe 
 Cod 
 
 Cardomom 
 Camel hair 
 Chefnuts 
 Cochineal 
 Coffee 
 Coals 
 
 Cloth, Dutch 
 Do. Norder 
 Drogets 
 Figs 
 Flax 
 
 Fernambuck . 
 Fi(h, Iceland 
 Flannel Englifh 
 
 N D I X. 
 
 379 
 
 H5 
 
 cwt. 
 
 60 
 
 pieces 
 
 266 
 
 hhds. 
 
 779 
 
 ftone 
 
 3' 39 1 
 
 ftone 
 
 39 2 
 
 ftone 
 
 24 
 
 cwt. 
 
 105 
 
 ftone 
 
 399 
 
 ftone 
 
 410 
 
 ftone 
 
 66i 
 
 barrels 
 
 130 
 
 aume. 
 
 7'^s 
 
 lafts 
 
 477 
 
 fheffs. 
 
 581,400 
 
 pieces 
 
 3>9*3 
 
 ftone 
 
 228 
 
 ftone 
 
 2,106 
 
 ftone 
 
 603 
 
 ftone 
 
 203 
 
 ftone 
 
 J 4 
 
 ftone 
 
 320 
 
 ftone 
 
 803 
 
 ftone 
 
 83t# 
 
 cwt. 
 
 321 
 
 barrels 
 
 142 
 
 lb. 
 
 232 
 
 lb. 
 
 7>73* 
 
 lb. 
 
 36 
 
 lb. 
 
 1,702,522 
 
 lb. 
 
 128 
 
 lafts 
 
 62,231 
 
 ells 
 
 25>3 2 3 
 
 ells 
 
 66 
 
 pieces 
 
 445 
 
 ftone 
 
 90 
 
 ftone 
 
 3*7 
 
 ftone 
 
 911 
 
 fhll 
 
 291 
 
 pieces 
 
 
 Ginger
 
 3&o 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Goods. 
 Ginger from England 
 Do. preferved 
 <rroat$ 
 Gum 
 Galls 
 .Galingal 
 Glue 
 
 Grindftones 
 Glafs from Lubeck 
 Glafs from France 
 Do. from England 
 Hemp 
 Hops 
 Indigo 
 Iron pots 
 Ditto, pans 
 Ditto, wire 
 Ditto, bar 
 Ditto, old ■» 
 
 Juffs 
 
 Herring, Dutch 
 Ditto, Norway 
 Kerfeys 
 Lime 
 
 Lemons - 
 
 Ditto, pickled 
 Lead, white 
 Lead " 
 
 Liquorice 
 Litharge 
 Mace and cloves 
 Leather 
 Melwel 
 Oil 
 
 Oil of France 
 Ditto, Bergen 
 Ditto, linfeed 
 Grange peel 
 Qyfters 
 
 3> 6 55 
 
 ftone 
 
 46 
 
 ftone 
 
 2,160 
 
 ftone 
 
 77 
 
 ftone 
 
 100 
 
 ftone 
 
 39 
 
 ftone 
 
 8 
 
 cwt. 
 
 173 
 
 chal. 
 
 237 
 
 crates 
 
 276 
 
 crates 
 
 36 
 
 crates 
 
 9i5 
 
 ftone 
 
 2,084 
 
 bags 
 
 1,061 
 
 ftone 
 
 477 
 
 cwt. 
 
 497* 
 
 ftone 
 
 179 
 
 ftone 
 
 8,406 
 
 fhll 
 
 352 
 
 cafks 
 
 33 
 
 cwt. 
 
 380 
 
 barrels 
 
 *7>33° 
 
 barrels 
 
 298 
 
 pieces 
 
 9,114 
 
 barrels 
 
 425,300 
 
 pieces 
 
 J3 1 
 
 hhds. 
 
 988 
 
 CWtk 
 
 450 
 
 ftone 
 
 473 
 
 ftone 
 
 76 
 
 ftone 
 
 74 
 
 ftone 
 
 3>579 
 
 
 455 
 
 fhll. 
 
 11,891 
 
 ftone 
 
 200 
 
 calks 
 
 537 
 
 barrels 
 
 i>340 
 
 afhm. 
 
 2,956 
 
 ftone 
 
 13 
 
 barrels 
 
 Oranges,
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 * 
 
 1$* 
 6 
 
 Goods. 
 
 
 Oranges 
 
 26,000 
 
 pieces 
 
 Ditto, China 
 
 31,200 
 
 pieces 
 
 Otters 
 
 50 
 
 pieces 
 
 Olives 
 
 29I 
 
 hds» 
 
 Oats - 
 
 (>su 
 
 lafts* 
 
 Pepper 
 
 6,756 
 
 ftone' 
 
 Nutmeg 
 
 94 
 
 ftone 
 
 Plums 
 
 3»8 
 
 ftone 
 
 Frunelles 
 
 150 
 
 ftone 
 
 Pimento 
 
 1*989 
 
 ftone 
 
 Blue-pots 
 
 57 
 
 ftone 
 
 Plum 
 
 166 
 
 pieces 
 
 Pitch 
 
 113 
 
 barrels 
 
 Peafe 
 
 32^ 
 
 lafts 
 
 Paper, common^ 
 
 2,110 
 
 reams 
 
 Ditto, poft 
 
 1,289 
 
 ditto 
 
 Bum 
 
 8o| 
 
 aumeo. 
 
 Raifins 
 
 i4>957 
 
 ftone 
 
 Rice 
 
 IO >337 
 
 ftone 
 
 Rofemary 
 
 ^827 
 
 ftone 
 
 Rofm 
 
 48 
 
 ftone 
 
 Rafch 
 
 553 
 
 pieces 
 
 Serges 
 
 89 
 
 ditto 
 
 Stockings 
 
 1,840 
 
 pair 
 
 Skins, fox 
 
 212 
 
 pieces 
 
 Ditto, from Denmark 
 
 5,500 
 
 ditto 
 
 Ditto, Scotch - * 
 
 2,000 
 
 ditto 
 
 Ditto, calf 
 
 Hi 
 
 ftone 
 
 Sugar, loaf 
 
 71,021 
 
 ftone 
 
 Ditto, candied 
 
 19*278 
 
 ftone 
 
 Ditto, clayed 
 
 1,306 
 
 ftone 
 
 Ditto, Mufcovadoes 
 
 19,839 
 
 ftone 
 
 Syrup, black 
 
 33,669 
 
 ftone 
 
 Ditto, white 
 
 *>9 6 3 
 
 ftone 
 
 Succade 
 
 192 
 
 ftone 
 
 Starch 
 
 J 47 
 
 ftone 
 
 Soap, Venice 
 
 55 
 
 ftone 
 
 Steel 
 
 120 
 
 ftone 
 
 Shot - - 
 
 266 
 
 ftone 
 
 
 Shumack,
 
 3 82 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Goods. 
 Shumack 
 Saffron 
 Sail-cloth 
 Salt, Spanifh 
 Ditto, French 
 Ditto, Britifh 
 Tobacco -leaf 
 Tobacco -roll 
 Ditto, cut 
 Ditto, Rappee 
 Tallow 
 Ditto, candles 
 Tow 
 Tin 
 
 Ditto, plates 
 Turpentine 
 Tea 
 
 Tin, white - 
 
 Ditto, black 
 Tar 
 Tiles 
 Vinegar 
 Wine, French 
 Ditto, Rhenifh 
 Wine, fack 
 Do. Naples 
 Whalebone 
 Wood, blue Brafil 
 Do. yellow 
 Do. red 
 Do. brown 
 Do. fine 
 Yarn, Turky 
 Non-enumerated goods, 
 guilders 
 
 360 
 
 Hone 
 
 351 
 
 680 
 
 789 
 
 2,008 
 
 pieces 
 laft 
 
 ditto 
 
 2,007 
 
 ditto 
 
 ■4.770 
 33*815 
 
 22,198 
 
 - 3.583 
 
 5> 6 54 
 2,188 
 
 ftone 
 ftone 
 ftone 
 ftone 
 ftone 
 ftone 
 
 620 
 
 flone 
 
 467 
 682 
 
 ftone 
 fhll. 
 
 6r 
 
 ftone 
 
 i33>755 
 
 lb. 
 
 211 
 
 cafks 
 
 *3 
 
 calks 
 
 1,255 
 
 barrels 
 
 32,000 
 
 387 
 10,691 
 
 pieces 
 
 hhds. 
 
 hhds. 
 
 'i/i 
 
 aumes* 
 
 8 
 
 26 
 62 
 
 pipes 
 pipes 
 ftone 
 
 447 
 2 
 
 ftone 
 ftone 
 
 286 
 
 ftone 
 
 267 
 
 5,360 
 
 ftone 
 fathom 
 
 2,321 
 
 lb. 
 
 chiefly woollen, value 2,008,068 
 
 Exports
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 'Hi 
 
 Exports from Dantxig in the Tear 1771. 
 
 Goods. 
 Afhes, pot 
 Do. weed 
 Antimony 
 Barley 
 Bridles 
 Bacon 
 Butter 
 Beef 
 
 Beer, fpruce 
 Brandy, French 
 Do. corn 
 Cheefe 
 Cloth 
 Cummin 
 Deals, fir 
 Clap-boards 
 Feathers 
 Flax 
 Hemp 
 Hops 
 Honey 
 Hides 
 Herring 
 Iron 
 Linfeed 
 Lead 
 Leather 
 Oil-feed 
 Peafe 
 Plank, oak 
 Gunpowder 
 Rye 
 
 Do. Hour 
 Rolls, brown 
 Pitch 
 Crown rafch 
 
 14.837! 
 
 fhll. 
 
 3>H5 
 
 lafts 
 
 290 
 
 ft one 
 
 2 
 
 lafts 
 
 2,282 
 
 ftone' 
 
 6| 
 
 fhll. 
 
 5 
 
 barrels 
 
 »7i 
 
 do. 
 
 12 
 
 do. 
 
 4 
 
 aumes 
 
 >8 3 
 
 aumes 
 
 IOlf 
 
 fhll. 
 
 I9>735 
 
 ells 
 
 112 
 
 done 
 
 1,306 
 
 fhock 
 
 90 
 
 do. 
 
 2,463 
 
 ftone 
 
 *>°33 
 
 ftone 
 
 2>3 6 9 
 
 do. 
 
 277? 
 
 mil. 
 
 2 5 
 
 barrels 
 
 583 
 
 decker 
 
 656 
 
 barrels 
 
 ^071 
 
 (hi!. 
 
 4 
 
 barrels 
 
 46 
 
 ftone 
 
 83 
 
 decker 
 
 7 
 
 aumes 
 
 loll 
 
 lafts 
 
 243 
 
 mock 
 
 2j 1 
 
 ftone 
 
 8,690 s% 
 
 lafts 
 
 12 
 
 fhefF 
 
 I28 ; 102 
 
 pieces 
 
 2 
 
 barrels 
 
 71 
 
 pieces 
 
 
 flaves,
 
 3*4 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Goods. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Staves, pipe 
 
 » 
 
 - 
 
 11,611 
 
 fhock 
 
 Do. barrel 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 1,215 
 
 (hock 
 
 Do. hoglhead 
 
 - 
 
 
 3,664. 
 
 (hock 
 
 Starch 
 
 * 
 
 - 
 
 717 
 
 ftone 
 
 Tow- 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 286 
 
 ftone 
 
 Shot 
 
 - 
 
 * 
 
 75 
 
 ftone 
 
 Steel 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 ic6 
 
 All. 
 
 Sturgeon 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 5 6 3 
 
 kegs 
 
 Tallow 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 489 
 
 ftone 
 
 Soap 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 77 
 
 barrels 
 
 Succinum 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 4,872 
 
 lb. 
 
 Salt, Spanifh 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 60 
 
 lafts 
 
 Do. French 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 57 
 
 lafts 
 
 Saltpetre 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 242 
 
 All. 
 
 Tar 
 
 -- 
 
 - 
 
 12 
 
 barrels 
 
 Tobacco, cut 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 40 
 
 ftone 
 
 Segathees 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 213 
 
 pieces 
 
 Wax 
 
 - 
 
 •- 
 
 400 
 
 All. 
 
 Wool 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 3 l > l 3% 
 
 ftone 
 
 Trunnels 
 
 -• 
 
 - 
 
 49 
 
 mille 
 
 Wheat 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 i5>3«8^ 
 
 lafts 
 
 Do. flour 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 86 
 
 lafts 
 
 Wine, French 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 12 
 
 hogfheada 
 
 Do. Hungary 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 6 
 
 aumes 
 
 Woollen goods, 
 
 value 
 
 882,728 
 
 guilders 
 
 
 Tarn, Ermland 
 
 - 
 
 _ 
 
 29,152 
 
 fhocks 
 
 Do. Polifh - 
 
 - 
 
 
 609 
 
 fhocks 
 
 Note. The aume is | of a French hogfliead : fhll means a 
 fbip pound, or 320 common pounds, thecwt. is 120 common 
 pounds ; and the Hone is 24 pounds. 
 
 Ex-
 
 APPENDIX. 385 
 
 Extracts from a Treaty of Commerce be- 
 tween Anne, Queen of Great Britain, 
 and the Town of Dantzig, concluded i?i 
 the Tear 1707. From the Archives of 
 Dantzig, 
 
 ANGLII, Scotiae, & Hibernian fub* 
 ditis ut antea ita in pofterum Gedani 
 commorari, mercaturam exercere, adve- 
 here, vel in propriis, vel in alienis navi- 
 bus, merces omnium exterarum nationum, 
 eafque confuetis teloniis folutis, in depo- 
 fitoriis et granariis affervare, civibus eas 
 vendere, eafdem rurfus per mare, prae- 
 ftitis juribus exitus, ad omnes oras pe- 
 regrinas transferre liceat. 
 
 Ratione halecum, aliorumque pifcium 
 advehendorum, Angli pari cum Batavis 
 gaudebunt libertate. Exportatio falis, 
 hue dum Anglis non permifTa, eis indul- 
 gebitur, prsevia jurium exitus prceftatione. 
 Cc Si
 
 3 86 APPENDIX. 
 
 Si vero civitati neceflarium vifum fuerit 
 hanc indulgentiam mutandi, per fex men- 
 fes aeftivos id prxvie mercatoribus Anglis 
 fignificabitur. 
 
 Loco pecuniarum in camera deponi fo- 
 iitarum admittet civitas cautionem perfo- 
 nalem mercatorum Britannicorum. 
 
 Herba nicotiana (tobac) per mare ex 
 Anglia advec~ta non confundi debet cum 
 ejus modi herba terra hue advecta ; nee 
 ejus modi herba fub nomine vel figno 
 Anglicse herbac vendi debet. 
 
 Si in pofterum aliis exteris nationibus 
 quxdam privilegia, feu commoda commer- 
 ciorum concederentur, ea, eodem tempore, 
 Anglis itidem concedi ipib facto debent. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 His Pruffian majeity has broke through 
 every one of the articles above cited. 
 
 R. Au>
 
 APPENDIX. 387 
 
 R. 
 
 Authentic Tranjlation, from the German 
 Original in the Archives of Dantzig, of 
 the Act oj Guaranty given to the Town 
 of Dantzig, by the reigning Emprefs of 
 Ruj/ia, in her own Name and thofe of the 
 Kings of Great Britain, Denmark , Swe- 
 den, and PruJJia, on the z\th Day of 
 March, 1767. 
 
 TV[ O S, Dei gratia, Catharina II. impera- 
 trix & autocratrix totius Ruffise, &c. 
 &c. notum facimus & manifeftamus om- 
 nibus & fingulis, proecipue quorum id 
 nofce intereft, quod pofteaquam impera- 
 trix Anna gloriolifiimse memorise, pro fe 
 & fuis fucceflbribus diplomate, die 29 
 Aprilis, anni 1736 edito, civitati Geda- 
 nenfi id fubmiflime efflagitanti fummara 
 fuam & clementiffimam interpofitionem 
 largita eft, ut Kaec civitas in fuis juribus, 
 Hbertatibus, poiTeffionibus, & confuetudi- 
 nibus, tarn in caufis religionis quam in 
 
 C c 2 aliis
 
 388 APPENDIX, 
 
 aliis quibufcunque, prsecipue vero quoad 
 portum, qui ad ipfam pertinet, et in jure 
 prsefidii ipii competenti, nullo modo neque 
 ullo prcetextu laederetur, fed in lis confer- 
 yaretur ; & id propter fponfio feu garan- 
 tia fieret : nos eandem garantiam, anno* 
 3764, valediffime renovavimus ; & nunc, 
 rpfo noftro proprio diplomate, antea me- 
 moratse civitati Gedanenfi, partim, ex in- 
 nata. nobis dementia & magnanimitate, 
 partim, quia propter affidua commercia 
 cum imperatoriis noftris provinciis & fub- 
 ditis, et propter portum ejus commode 
 fitum, earn civitatem in praefenti ftatu fuo 
 permanere noftra intereft, iterum ei cle- 
 mentiffimam fponfionem facimus, nos earn, 
 contra omnes & fingulas, five jam facias, 
 five in pofterum faciendas pretenfiones & 
 poflulationes, efficacifTnne tuituras ; ei fi- 
 mul fummam noftram interpofitionem li- 
 beraliter concefluras, ut ipfa in fuis, qui- 
 bus hue dum gavifa eft, juribus, liberta- 
 tibus, privilegiis, confuetudinibus, tarn in 
 caufis religionis quam in aliis, prsecipue in 
 
 pofTeflione
 
 APPENDIX, 389 
 
 pofleflione fuorum territoriorum, fundo- 
 rumque, & in jure navigationis commer- 
 cii, portorii, rei monetariae, & prasiidii, fine 
 ulla diminutione pleniflime confervetur. 
 
 Quodfi etiam ex caufa Diflidentium in 
 Polonia, Lithuania, & in incorporatis pro- 
 vinciis commorantium, quos, ad reftauran- 
 da ipforum hue dum lasfa jura & libertates, 
 in noftram protectionem recepimus, ad 
 vim & apertum bellum — (quod tamen 
 Deus clemente avertere velit) — ventum 
 fuerit ; prsememorata -civitas Gedanenfis, 
 quippe pars Diflidentium in Pruflia, dum 
 modo ipfa bonas caufae communi accedit, 
 non folum a parte noftra pari protectione 
 fruetur fed etiam, fi eadem ex tali occafione 
 in fuis bonis, opibus, & reditibus ullum 
 damnum aut in fuis juribus ullum laefio- 
 nem paffa fuerit ; in fecutura conventione 
 aut pacificatione reparatio ejufmodi dam- 
 ni ipfi procurabitur, atque etiam omnium 
 ejus jurium ac privilegiorum validiflima 
 fponfia five garantia a nobis et a casteris, 
 qua? nobifcum in caufa Diflidentium con- 
 
 C c 3 jundi
 
 3 9 o APPENDIX. 
 
 juncli funt, fummis poteftatibus, de novo 
 prseftabitur, ipfaque contra omnes prseten- 
 fiones & vindictas de prseterito metuen-^ 
 das, fufficienter in tuto collocabitur. 
 
 Denique fi prasfata civitas in pofterum 
 propter jura aut libertates fiias a. quopiam 
 impugnata fuerit, eadem ad nos et fuccef-? 
 fores noftros fidentifTimum & humilimum 
 refugium, ficut antea, capiet ; & omnem a 
 nobis protectionem, auxilium, et adjumen- 
 tum fperare poterit. In majorum cujus 
 fidem hocce noftrum diploma manu noftra 
 fubfcripfimus, imperiique noftri figillo mu- 
 niri jufiimus. Datum Mofcovise, d. 24 
 
 menfis Martii anno 1767. 
 
 Catharina, 
 
 N. Pan in. 
 Princeps Alexander Galitzin. 
 . L. S. 
 
 Imperialis in copula 
 argentea dcaurata. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 In confequence of this acl: of guaran- 
 ty, the town of Dantzig acceded to the 
 confederation of the Diflidents. 
 
 The
 
 APPENDIX. 391 
 
 The editor has rather chofen to give 
 this authentic tranflation in Latin, than 
 hazard one of his own in Englifh ; for 
 fear of being fufpected of having added 
 to the force of the original. Indeed the 
 terms of this guaranty are fo very ftrong 
 and full, and yet it has fince been fo 
 fhamelefsly violated, that without the mofl 
 indifputable proofs of the authenticity of 
 the piece, the editor would not have in- 
 'ferted it at all. 
 
 On the one hand it feems increaible, 
 that Great Britain fhould have given Ruf- 
 fia power and authority to put her name 
 to fuch an act as this, without having 
 firft well weighed the confequences, and 
 provided for the effectual obfervation of 
 fo ftrong and folemn an engagement : be- 
 caufe it is incredible that Great Britain 
 fhould lend her name for the purpofe of 
 deceiving and betraying a town, whom 
 fhe has for ages protected, where her fub- 
 jects enjoy great and unufual privileges, 
 and where fhe carries on an extenfive and 
 
 lucrative
 
 392 APPENDIX. 
 
 lucrative commerce : and that with no 
 other view than to gratify the ambition 
 of a prince, who having been faved by 
 her from deftruction, repays the obliga- 
 tion by every acl: of haughtinefs, not to 
 fay contempt. 
 
 On the other hand, it feems almoft as 
 incredible, that Ruflia mould, unautho- 
 rized, thus ufe the name of Great Bri- 
 tain, an ally to whom fhe has fo many 
 and fo recent obligations ; fhould then 
 again infult this ally, and forfeit her own 
 honour by bafely giving up the town, 
 whofe rights and liberties, and particu- 
 larly thofe now attacked, are fo ftrongly 
 guarantied in this acl: ; and that not gra- 
 tuitously, but on certain conditions, which 
 conditions were fulfilled by the town : and 
 all this only to be the tool of a prince, 
 whom at her acceflion to the throne ihe 
 folemnly and truly called the natural ene- 
 my of her country. 
 
 And equally incredible does it feem, 
 
 that, when called upon to fulfil what fhe 
 
 8 owes
 
 APPENDIX. 393 
 
 owes to the honour of Great Britain, her 
 own good faith, and her own intereft 
 rightly underftood, Ruflia mould coolly 
 anfwer (which the editor as well as his 
 correfpondent has good reafon to believe 
 fhe did) " that fhe is ready to protect the 
 " rights of the town fo far forth as no 
 ** third power has pretentions on it." 
 
 The only part of this ftrange tranfac- 
 tion, to which we can readily give credit, 
 is, that the king of Pruffia, though a par- 
 ty in this act of guaranty, mould himfelf 
 violate the privileges, he there engages to 
 maintain. We can eafily believe this; we 
 expect him to tell us with an unblufhing 
 face, " that he has convinced all Europe, 
 " and that every one, who is converlant 
 " in hiftory, knows," that to guaranty 
 the rights, liberties, and revenues of a 
 Hate, means to annihilate thofe liberties, 
 fcize upon thofe rights, and appropriate 
 thofe revenues to his own ufe. 
 
 T H E E N D.
 
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