of the conful and merchants; and even the requeft of the conful, to accept of a depofit of the money, until he could receive inftructions from his court how to act; though it is ftipulated by the treaty we have fo often mentioned, that the British merchants fhall be allowed to give fecurity for the payment of the duty. It is even faid, and we do not find that it has been contradicted, that this prince defcended to the meannefs of feizing on the revenues of a national and charitable fund, which had been established by the English merchants and factory, for the fupport of worn-out failors, and the relief of their indigent countrymen. Though we cannot make the leaft doubt, but that all those grievances, fo far as they relate to this country, have been already fully redrefied, the recital of them, fhews the dangers to which commerce will be expofed, by the transferring of fo confiderable a fhare of maritime power and property, into fuch grafping, oppreffive, and arbitrary hands. The King of Poland had a revenue still left, arifing from the poftoffice at Dantzick; this miferable fragment, and fupport of royalty, could not escape the watchful attention of the King of Prufha; he accordinglyerected a newpoft-office at Stoltzemberg, and the merchants of this great commercial city, afforded the new and ridiculous appearance, of being obliged to travel out of town to receive or forward their letters; by this means he not only feized the revenues of the old poft-office, but what was of infinitely greater importance, became mafter of the whole public and private correfpondence of Dantzick; a circumftance, in their prefent fituation, the moft irkfome and dangerous that could be conceived. To compleat the fytem of oppref fion, cuftom-houfes were erected at their very gates, fo that no perfon could go in or out of the town, not excepting the ladies, without being fearched in the firicteft manner. In the mean time, his agents and emiffaries were bufily employed among the magiftrates and people, in endeavouring to perfuade them, to make a furrender of the citywith all its rights and immunities, into the hands of their mafter. They reprefented to them, the danger of obftinacy, and of irritating fo powerful a prince, in their prefent fitu ation; the futility of the hopes they placed, in impotent, or in indolent guarantees, who either would not, or could not, give them any effectual fupport; that although the king was too religious an observer of his engagements, to make use of open violence, and that therefore, their fubmiffion to his govern ment must be a voluntary act, they could not but be fenfible, that no perfon knew how to diftinguish better, between his friends and thofe that were not fo; that in fact, his new acquifitions put the town fo much in his power, and fupplied him with fuch various means of vexing and oppreffing them, that the confequences would at length be as fatal as if it had been taken by ftorm; and that if they made an immediate and voluntary furrender, he would grant them an honourable and advantageous capitulation, which they could not afterwards expect, if by their delaye, they fhewed an indifpofition to his fervice, and a vain reliance upon foreign support, Though Though the magiftrates and citizens fhewed at firft a confiderable degree of firmnefs, and totally rejected thofe, as well as feveral other proposals that were made to them; yet finding at length, that they were entirely abandoned or neglected, by all thofe powers, who were bound by intereft, as well as by treaties to protect them; that their new and dangerous neighbour, had already cut off the corn trade from Poland, and feized on the whole navigation of the Viftula; that they were hampered with custom-houses and tolls, and the remains of their foreign trade ruined by infupportable duties; in these circumstances it is no wonder, that fuch continued fuggeftions as these we have mentioned, fhould by degrees have their full effect. The spirit which they at firft affumed, accordingly funk away; perfonal fecurity for the prefent, and the hopes of preferving fome part of their property, took place of all diftant confiderations; and the town appears now, except in its not having yet received a garrifon, to be in every other refpect in the hands of the King of Pruffia. Such is the fate of the great mart of the North; the proteftant, and once noble and free city of Dantzick; and fuch the treatment which it has met with from a proteftant prince and neighbour, who instead of oppreffing it himself, was bound by the strongest ties to protect it from the oppreffion of others. There is not perhaps in history a more ftriking inftance of the futility, if not of the absurdity of treaties, fo far as they are confidered as guarantees or acts of fecurity, than the fate of Dantzick. Few cities ever exifted, and it is proba ble that none do at present, that have been comprehended in fo many general and particular treaties, whofe rights and liberties have been fo frequently fecured, and guarantied by fo many great powers, and by fuch a long and regular fucceffion of public acts, as that of Dantzick has been. Nor have the commercial powers of Europe so often armed in the defence or support of any other. Of fuch importance was it confidered, that the English and Dutch in Queen Anne's wars, hazarded the dangerous enmity of Charles the Twelfth of Sweden in the height of his victories, and all the ferious confequences that might have attended his throwing himfelf, at that time, into the fcale with France, to protect this city from his refentment. Even fo late as the year 1767, the Emprefs of Ruffia concluded a treaty with the Dantzickers, by which the engaged them to join in the confederation of the Diffidents, and in which, befides renewing and confirming the former guarantees, the engages in the strongest terms, for the maintaining of that city, in all its rights, liberties, privileges, cuftoms, religious or civil; and fpecially in the poffeffion of its territoriesand lands; alfo in its right of navigation, commerce, port, coinage, and garrifon, without any diminution thereof; fhe alfo engages, that if a war fhould be the confequence of the prefent diffenfions, and that it should fuftain any injury, either as to its goods, revenues, or rights, thereby, it fhould not only receive full reparation for its lofles at the conclufion of a peace, but that befides, all its rights and privileges fhould be again moft ftrongly guarantied, not only by herself, but alfo by by all the other high powers who were engaged with her in the caufe of the Diffidents. Such is the faith and fecurity of treaties. The proteftant city of Thorn, found as little fecurity in the King of Pruffia's declaration, as that of Dantzick. The fame folemn mockery of reafon and juftice, was however preserved upon this occafion, which had been difplayed upon the other; and the delicacy was ftill to be observed of not taking the city by force, at the fame time that their territories and revenues were feized upon, custom and excife offices erected at their gates, and heavy gabelles (which would have amounted to prohibitions, if they had been laid upon any thing but the neceffaries of life) levied upon every article that entered them. Thus blockaded and plundered they were declared free; but at the fame time, with that peculiar felicity which this prince has of making nice diftinctions, they were fummoned to do homage for all the lands they poffelled without the walls. In thefe circumstances, with force and famine to encounter, the magiftrates and citizens behaved with wonderful refolution and firm nefs. They returned for anfwer, that they had already paid homage and fworn allegiance to their legal fovereign, and that they could neither renounce their allegiance nor break their oaths, upon any account or confideration whatfoever, They have ftill perfevered in this laudable refolution. In other respects, this prince feemed as little bound by the terms of his own declaration, as in what related to the cities of Dantzick and Thorn. His troops extended themselves on every fide in Great Poland, where they exerted thefame rapine, and fpread the fame defolation, which they had done before the feizure of the equivalents. The fertile and extenfive province of Cujavia, has however received fuch. particular mark of attention, that it is not doubted, but that, at leaft, will be annexed to his dominions, as an equivalent for fome other claims, which were not at first recollected. Of all the extraordinary acts of the three partitioning powers, none feem more fo, or are perhaps more incomprehenfible, than their conduct with refpect to the convocation of a diet. They urge, in the manifefto, with the moft preifing earneftnefs, the whole Polish nation to lay afide their animofities, in order that a diet might be legally affembled, one of the principal avowed objets of which, was to ratify those arrangements they had already decreed, and to acknowledge their right in the equivalents which they had feized. Upon finding that the king and the fenate did not enter into this measure with the alacrity which they wished, they lose all appearance of temper, and forgetful. of the refpect, due either to a king or a republic, renew the demand in terms, and enforce it with me. naces, which were equally unworthy of both. The terrified king and fenate, immediately comply with their arbitrary mandates, and the great council of the nation is accordingly fummoned upon the shortest notice, to go through thofe forms, which muft indifpenfably precede the affembling of the diet. Every thing now taing place according to their own defires, they at once change their conduct, and of their own motion motion cut off the poffibility of that legal meeting of the grand council and reprefentatives of the nation, which they feemed fo eager to procure. They firft forbid the fenators of thofe provinces which they had feized to attend the fenatus confilium, and afterwards prevent the dietines from electing nuncios to reprefent them at the diet. Thus every fecurity or benefit they intended to derive from the obtaining of a legal fanction to their ufurpations, by the confent or confirmation of a diet, is totally fruftrated by themselves, as no act of that affembly can be valid, unlefs the whole body of the nobility are reprefented in it. The fame contempt of even the forms of legality is obferved in the difpofition of the troops. The city of Warsaw and its environs, is occupied by little lefs than an army; and is furrounded with ftill greater bodies of the troops of different nations; though by the laws of Poland, their own national army is fo far from being admitted to approach the place where the diet is affembled, that it must withdraw from the interior provinces, even previous to the elections, fo that thofe, as well as that affembly, may be entirely free and unawed. Yet all the reprefentations that have been made to the three powers, for the withdrawing of their troops, even from the capital and its neighbourhood, have been ineffectual. The King of Pruffia, as ufual, goes beyond his compeers upon this occafion. After threatening the kingdom with general deftruction, if a diet was not immediately affembled, he takes every poffible meature to prevent its having any effect if it was. To effect this purpofe, every engine of intrigue, artifice, corruption, and power is made ufe of; and at length, through the inftrumentality of a Prince Anthony Sulkowski, a meeting of fome of the nobility of Great Poland was procured at Lifla, where, under the name of a council, they have fet up a kind of a counter diet, and have patted feveral refolutions, in which they allume a kind of an independency, and for the prefent, at least, feem to hold themselves diftin&t from the republic. As foon as this atlembly was convened, the Prusfian General Lellow, commanded the provinces of Great Poland, under pain of military execution, to fend deputies to this council, where he had proposals to make to them from his mafter. Thus, while at his own defire, a general and legal meeting of the states of the kingdom are under orders of affembling, to debate upon matters which concern its exiftence, he ufes artifice and power to procure a spurious and illegal meeting, to counteract the proceedings and decrees of the other, or to found a pretence for rendering them invalid, if not fuited entirely to his views; deputies are then compelled by force to attend this pretended council, with whom a king descends to treat publicly, and refers claims to them, which relate to the nation at large. In this fituation, it can scarcely be expected, that there will be even the fhadow of a diet at Warfaw. The great fenators have already experienced, in the frozen wilds of Siberia, or in the gloom of a dungeou, the danger of holding an opinion, or of giving a vote, when furrounded by Ruthian troops. Some measures were, however, to be kept, and fome forms obferved, in the year year 1767; but none could be expected now. The King of Pruffia has already laid wafte the provinces that fupplied the capital with provifions, and has even forbidden their fupplying it with any pittance, which the temptation of an exorbitant price, might induce them to fpare from their own neceffities. In fuch circumftances can it then be imagined, that any nobleman who is now at large, and has a poffibility ftill of efcaping to any other part of the world, will voluntarily encounter the complicated horrors of famine, Siberia, and a most licentious and barbarous foldiery, who have been long flushed in every fpecies of rapine and cruelty. During thefe transactions, the king and the fenate made unavailing applications to the courts of London, Verfailles, Madrid, and the States-General, to fulfil their ancient treaties, and by their powerful mediation, or interference, to prevent the final deftruction of one of the moft ancient nations in the world. They fhewed the long, unclaimed, and peaceable poffeffion which they had held of their territories; that the prefent feizure of them was a violation of the laws of nature, and of the rights of all nations; they fet forth the inviolable fidelity, with which they had themselves at all times fulfilled their engagements with their neighbours and allies; that it appeared evidently upon the face of the declarations of the partitioning powers, that force on the one fide, and weakness on the other, were the only causes that led to the difmemberment of Poland; that this was a dangerous doctrine, and might hereafter be applied with equal ef fect to other ftates; and that it behoved them to prevent the eftablifhment of fo fatal a fyftem. Thefe arguments, with others, were made ufe of, which would have had great weight in other feafons; but there are times for all things. Such is the prefent deplorable ftate of Poland; and if any thing ludicrous fhould be admitted in fo melancholy a reprefentation, nothing could be more fo than the language held by the partitioning powers, who have invariably declared, that all their views are directed to the good of the Republic. Confifcations have already taken place in a confiderable degree. The eftates of the princes Czartoriski, amounting to more than 20,000l. fterling a year, have been confifcated by the Empress of Ruffia; though these two princes are uncles to the king, are poffeffed of the higheft offices under the ftate, and were not acquainted time enough with the neceffity of their perfonal attendance, to have complied, if they had been even difpofed to forfeit their allegiance. All the eftates of Count Kicki, the Staroft of Lemburg, have been allo forfeited, for nobly refufing to betray his country, by fwearing allegiance to the Emprefs-queen. Prince Radzivil, who enjoyed fuch immenfe poffeffions in Lithuania, that they exceeded those of many fovereign princes, and whofe ancestors had raised and fupported confiderable armies at their private expence, was one of the many, who at the beginning of thefe troubles became a dupe to the defigns of Ruffia; but having been at length too fatally convinced of his error, he retired to Germany. The Ruffians offered to restore him every |