330 
they would find it in the two wars 
by which Russia was attacked at 
once. About this time the diet 
assembled at Warsaw. ‘The in- 
structions which the legates had 
received from their Woywodships, 
fixed the same as a free and ordi- 
nary diet. All at once it was 
transformed into a _ confederate 
diet, without any known good rea- 
sons. The act of confederation, 
which was made public, announced 
the transactions of the same. Its 
chief objects were to be “ the 
maintenance of the free republican 
government,—the maintenance of 
the magistrates in their functions 
and actual limits,;—and the preser- 
vation of the property of citizens. 
It belongs to the people of the 
Polish nation themselves’ to judge 
from the consequences and result 
of the transactions of this diet, how 
far it has abused public confidence, 
by departing from the original ob- 
jects of its meeting, and adopting 
others which were entirely oppo- 
site to them. Without entering 
upon an enumeration of all the 
illegalities and violations of the laws 
and immunities of the republic, 
which this confederate diet, or ra- 
ther the faction prevailing in it, 
presumes to execute, it will suffice 
to say, that after having usurped, 
mingled, and concentrated in itself 
all branches of power, whose union 
in the hand of one individual is 
utterly inconsistent with republican 
principles, has moreover usurped 
in a most tyrannical manner each 
branch of this power; it has pro- 
longed its duration for above three 
years and an half (a duration of 
which the Polish annals do not 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 
1792. 
May 1791, the edifice of goyern- 
ment, under which the republic was 
happy for so many years. 
On this day this edifice vanished, 
and on its ruins arosé a monarchy, 
which in its new laws, by which 
it was thought to limit it, offers no- 
thing but contradictions, incohe- 
rency with the old Jaws, an entire 
insufficiency in every respect, which 
leaves not even to the Polanders 
the shade of that liberty and those 
prerogatives of which they were 
always so jealous. 
The elective throne is rendered 
an hereditary one; and that law, 
which the wisdom of their ances- 
tors had dictated, and which for- 
bids to meddle during the life-time 
of the King with the election of 
his successor, was transgressed in 
as rash a manner as were all those 
that did guarantee the perpetual 
consistency of the republic. 
The means made use of for exe- 
cuting these violent actions, were 
well enough calculated to charac- 
terize them. On the day of the 
revolution, the palace and the 
diet-hall were crowded with the 
Warsaw mob. Armed persons 
were introduced—cannons were 
brought from the arsenal, in order 
to fire on such as might endeavour 
to prevent the success of the plot. 
The regiment of artillery and the 
Lithuanian guards were assembled 
for supporting the mob. Their 
fury was excited against those 
whose resistance was dreaded. Se- 
veral legates who persevered in 
their patriotic sentiments were 
threatened with death. When the 
legate of Kalitsch humbly approach- 
ed the throne to remind the King of 
offer a single instance) and finally _ his sacred oath, concerning the pacta 
crowned all its ruinous enterprizes 
by totally subverting, on the 3d of 
conventa, that sacred and indissolu- 
ble tie which connects him with the 
nation, 
—S— le ee 
