honefty and refolution enough, neither to be debauched by rewards, nor compelled by threats.

It is faid of this weak prince, that the converfion of a Diffident, the demolition of one of their churches, or the founding of a new college of Jefuits, were more prized by him than the gaining of a victory, or the prefervation of a province.

That the whole courfe of his administration was fo odious, that even the Catholics, and the great Zamoifky, his protector, who had placed him on the throne, were highly incenfed at his conduct, and reproached him bitterly in public for it. That by a conitant perfeverance in this conduct, his whole reign was a continued series of lofs and difgrace; that by it he loft the kingdom of Sweden, as well as the noble provinces of Livonia, Wallachia, and Moldavia. That the misfortunes in curred by it, were not confined to his reign, but are entailed upon the lateft pofterity; for the great revolt of the Coffacks, which gave fo irretrievable a fhock to the republic, was a confequence of it, and concerted during his life. And matters were carried to such a pitch at home, that a great part of the nation were at one time upon the point of dethroning him.

People who take a tranfient and diftant view of the affairs of Poland, and who, from its name and form of a republic, look upon their kings to be nearly nominal, and their power circumfcribed within very narrow limits, will be furprized how fo weak and bigotted a prince could have the power of doing fo much harm. But the Kings of Poland have ftill,

in fome refpects, very great powers. one of the principal of which, befides the dependance that is naturally created by the difpofal of governments, and all offices and places of truft or emolument, is, that these very offices are what conftitute the fenate, none of the members of whith hold by any hereditary right; fo that this body bears a more just resemblance to a king's private council and adminiftration, than to an English house of lords, to which the Polish wri. ters fometimes compare it. It fhould also be remembered, that in the days of Sigifmund the third, the Polish nation were only newly emancipated from the government of a long line of hereditary kings, from whom he was defcended on the mother's fide, and under many of whom, they had arrived at the highest degree of fplendour and glory. The king. dom of Sweden, which he poffeffed for a part of his reign, must have done more than contribute to dazzle the eyes of the people; and if we take all these causes together, we cannot avoid fuppofing that he had very fuperior degrees of power and influence, to what have been poffeffed by later monarchs.

It is no wonder then that fuch a prince, during the course of fo long a reign, with emoluments, honours, and preferments, to beflow in one hand, and perfecution to threaten in the other, fhould have made an infinite number of profelytes. The event was anfwerable to what might have been expected: bishops abandoned their flocks; the priests and people were compelled to follow them. Every gentleman who embraced the

Catholic

Catholic faith, immediately demolished all the churches of the Diffidents that were built upon his eftates; the tradefmen that were settled there difperfed themfelves to other parts, and the peafants were converted without difficulty. If the priest or any of the vaffals were firft converted, they were fupported against the lord, who was compelled at length, by a variety of chicanery and vexation, either to become a convert, or to difpofe of his eftate. In this manner the Diffidents loft, during the reign of Sigifmund, upwards of an hundred churches; and the Catholics increased to that degree, that from five only, who were members of the fenate in the beginning of it; at his death they amounted to three parts of the whole affembly.

Though the Diffidents were not uniformly oppreffed during the fucceeding reigns, yet they met with fuch difcouragements, as difcouragements, as daily decreased their numbers; and means were at length found to keep them entirely Anno 1660. out of the fenate. By the treaty of Oliva, notwithstanding the general intention which then prevailed to deprive the Swedes of every pretence for ever again re-entering Poland; yet it is ftipulated by the fecond article, "That all the fubjects of the kingdom of Poland, of what condition or religion foever, were to enjoy for the future all the rights and privileges, as well temporal as fpiritual, which they had enjoyed before the war.' "This is the celebrated treaty, which we have formerly taken notice of, and which is fo often quoted

upon the prefent difputes; and it is to this treaty, that the great mediating powers became gua

rantees.

A fevere law was paffed in the following year, and in the fame reign of John Cafimir, against the Arians; who were charged with blafphemy, and declared heretics : it was alfo ordained, that all profecutions against them, as being the caufe of God; fhould be decided in the feveral courts, before all other caufes. It was at the fame time declared, that this law had not the leaft reference to the Diffidents, who were affured in the moft folemn manner, in the body of the law itself, that they should for the time to come be continued in the enjoyment of all their rights, employments, and honours, as before. Notwithstanding these exprefs ftipulations, this law has fince proved a fevere fcourge to the Diffidents; to whom the clergy have applied it in all their fuits; especially during the reigns of the two Saxon kings; who as Catholics, affected to be very zealous to that religion, and violently attached to the clergy of it. To this very time, the trials of the Diffidents are determined ex Regiftro Arianifmi; and as a cause of this kind is branded with the epithet of " abominable;" fo no one perfon will venture to espouse the part of a perfon accused under this title.

new

Though the Diffidents met with various and numberless oppreffions and injuries, during the courfe of the last century; yet they were ftill regarded only as acts of fudden violence or outrage, and acknowledged to be contrary [B] 2

to the laws; which were open to applications for redrefs, when the temper of the times was tranquil enough to allow of it. But in the prefent century, an advantage has been taken, during the confufion which attended the troubles in which the republic has been fo deeply involved, to get laws paffed which ftruck directly at all the rights of the Diffidents, and almost at their very exiftence; by which it was intended, in procefs of time, to bring the fecular power to the aid of the ecclefiaftic; and from that means to profecute them, under an appearance of juftice.

The first attempt of this nature was in the diet that fucceeded the troubles in the year 1717; and which met to ratify the treaty of peace then concluded between Peter the Great, Auguftus the Second, and the republic. At this diet, through the cunning of Sieniawfky, Bishop of Culm, an article was inferted in the treaty, as explanatory of an ambiguous article of a conflitution, which had paffed in the year 1632; by which explanation, it was falfely prefuppofed, that the Diffidents were forbidden by the faid article, to build any churches after that period. This was managed fo art. fully, that the very deputies of the princes who figned the treaty, and Auguftus himself, imagined that it only regarded the abufes introduced by the Swedes during the war, who had exercifed public worfhip in fome of the royal cities, where the Diffidents had no churches originally.

For the better understanding of this paffage, it is neceffary to ob

ferve, that frequent tumults hav ing happened, and much blood having been spilt, by the rifing of the populace in the great cities to demolish the Diffident churches; the latter, for the fake of peace, and to prevent bloodshed, confented to a conftitution which was paffed in the year 1632, by which they were bound to build no new churches in any of the royal cities. But by this new explanation, which now had the force of a law, and the effects of which foon began to appear; all churches which had been built in any part of the kingdom fince that period, were ordered to be pulled down; and divine fervice was only allowed in thofe that were anterior to it. The nobles who kept minifters in their houses, and the minifters themselves, were in confequence of this inference punished, by fines, imprisonments, and banishment; and the fenfe of the punishments and indignities was increased from their being inflicted by inferior courts compofed chiefly of clergymen. This method of procedure was more extraordinary and unjust, as it was a direct violation of the exprefs laws of the kingdom, by which it had been always decreed, that ecclefiaftical differences, in which the Diffidents were concerned, could only be brought before the diet; and were neither to be tried or judged by any other tri→ bunal.

Though the true defign of this proceeding was not avowed; yet fuch were the measures taken, and fo violent were the party who supported it, that at the time the treaty was read, no perfon durft

1

give his vote, or fpeak one word against it; even the Prince Primate was not allowed to fpeak, who thereupon, with many other Roman Catholics, quitted the affembly; which has ever fince, from that cause, been ftigmatized by the name of the Mute Diet. The treaty was read to the affembly, and they all ftanding; and though an affair of so much confequence in other refpects to the nation, yet to carry the favourite point, it was, without debate or deliberation, hurried through almoft inftantaneously. Many of the Diffident deputies, however, protefted against it, and immediately quitted the diet. The Primate alfo and many Roman Catholics refused to affent to it; and as by the conftitution of Poland, no conclufion can be valid, that is not unanimoufly agreed to by the whole diet; fo nothing but the most injurious and unjuft force could país this explanatory' article as a law.

Peter the Great wrote a very ferious letter, in which he expreff ed great difpleafure, at the op. preffions that enfued in confequence of this article. Auguftus alfo published an edict, to maintain the Diffidents in poffeffion of their former liberties; and a declaration, that the obnoxious article fhould not be prejudicial to them. Neither the letter nor the edict were of any ufe to the Diffidents. Peter, who was their beft friend, was at the present taken up with other affairs; and when he was going to afford them effectual redrefs, by fending an army into Poland, he unfortunately for them died. Auguftus had not power to ferve them, nor had he inclina

tion to difoblige the prevailing party.

The oppreffions of the Diffidents grew every day greater. To fuch a degree did the Bishop of Wilna inflame the minds of the people against them, that they were by force drove out of the church, in which they were to have taken the oaths to qualify themfelves for counsellors of the tribunals of Li- · thuania, to which they had been legally chofen; and from which they were excluded under pretence of the explanatory article, though offices were not at all mentioned by it. In every other respect matters were carried against them to the moft extravagant pitch, under the fame fpecious pretext; infomuch that endeavours were used, to prevent even their repairing their old churches; which were not in any degree included in it.

a

In this fituation did their affairs continue till the election of Auguftus the IIIa. and the diet which fucceeded to the troubles upon that occafion in 1736. From this diet the Diffidents received deeper wound than they had ever before experienced; for the conftitution of 1717 was not only confirmed in its fullest extent, but they were also excluded from all public offices; and to fhut them out from every hope of relief, it was decreed, that should they implore the interceffion of any fo reign power, they were declared traitors to their country, notwith ftanding thofe were the very pow ers that were the guarantees of the treaty of Oliva. The Protef tant country deputies of Pruffia were prefent at this diet, and protefted against the proceedings; but they were refused to be heard,

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neither