to quarter and treat the Ruffian troops, thodox and patriotic inftractions, that then augmented to about 30,000 men, they might not allow to the Diffidents as the defenders of the Polith liberty; any new advantages beyond those which acquainting them, that proper perfons the constitutions of the country, and had been every where appointed to rate the value of provifions furnished to thofe troops. Prince Radzivil, who had been married to the King's fister, who vigorously strove to difconcert measures taken for his Majefty's elevation to the throne, and had been in foreign countries from the time of that event forward, returned home in fummer. Along with the news of that came information, that he had engaged to accede to the confederation made by the Diffidents of Lithuania. Count Bra nicki, who had obflinately oppofed his Majesty's election, but was afterwards received into favour, and restored to his office, was reckoned to favour the confederacy of Diffidents entered into at Thorn. All this was reckoned to be fomewhat extraordinary at the time, as both thofe noblemen publicly profeffed the Roman Gatholic religion. In June, the confederacy of Lithuania re-established Pr. Radzivil in his liberty, estates, and honour, of all which the states of that Great Duchy had deprived him in 1764; and confequent to that, he was chofen Marfhal of the General Confederacy of all Poland, compofed of the particular ones before mentioned, which then began to be called the National Confederacy, though still distinct from that of the Diffidents. Pr. Radzivil fent a deputation to the commiffaries of war and treasury, requiring them to take an oath, that they would be faithful to the King and the Confederates; also that they would fupport and protect the Roman-Catholic religion, and the liberty and privileges of other religions. He likewife published univerfalia, in which he recommended to the nobility and gentry of the feveral provinces, to fornith their nuncios with ample inftructions, that at the diet they might deli. berate, not only on the affairs of the Diffidents, but also those which effentialty concerned all the orders of the ftate and the public good, particularly the maintenance of the fundamental confti-tution. The Bishop of Cracow fent a very pathetic and zealous letter to the dietines affembled at Warsaw the 15th of Auguft, in which he exhorted them to arm their nuncios with courage, by giving them or treaties with foreign powers, expressly granted them. He obferved, that the King's univerfals for convoking the diet mentioned only the confederacies of Thorn and Sluck, and entirely omitted the patriotic matters intended by their auguft neighbours, in regard to the fup porting of their principal laws, the perpetuating of their liberty, and the remoying of those innovations which threatened to impair their happiness; and advised them to inftruct their nuncios in fuch manner, that they would not permit any thing to be, treated of in the diet, but infiit on another being convoked, whose univerfals might be analagous to the declarations of the powers concerned, and to the wishes of the nation. Such an appearance had the affairs of Poland affumed by this time, as greatly alarmed the court of Rome. The Pope therefore fent briefe, to the King, to the Great Chancellor, to the Noblesse, to the Bifhops, and to the Prince Primate, with fuch arguments and exhortations as were thought most proper to ward off trom Popery, the danger feared. Mean-while councils were frequently held at the Bihop of Cracow's palace, where all the Prelates at Warfaw affembled. The King of Sweden not having hitherto done any thing in favour of the Diffidents upon their former applications, they addreffed a letter to him afresh, intreating him to employ his good offices for them, conformably to the treaty of Oliva, in which Charles XI. one of his predeceffors, was a contracting party. His Majesty on this appointed a refident to the King and republic for that purpofe, who arrived at Warfaw the 23d of September, and afterwards prefented a declaration on the behalf of those people, An union of the Confederacy of the Diffidents with the General Confederacy of the Nation, was effected Sept. 26. in the palace of Pr. Radzivil, who on that occafion expreffed great friendship for the Diffidents. Within a few days after, the Ruffian troops in the capital were reinforced, and a confiderable body of them was posted at about five miles diftance. The extraordinary diet being a&tually opened the 5th of October, during the two first days it fat, the affair of the Diffidents, Diffidents, which was first brought on the carpet, met with fuch opposition, as induced Pr. Radzivil, in quality of Marfhal, to adjourn the next meeting to the 12th. That interval was employed in ufing every expedient for drawing over thofe who had spoken against a plan proposed by Pr. Radzivil; which was, to appoint a commiffion, furnished with full powers, to enter into conference with Pr. Repnin, the Ruffian ambaffador, concerning the affairs of the Diffidents. Not withstanding fuch pains, the meeting on the 12th proved extremely tumultuous, the Bishops of Cracow and Kiow, fome other Prelates, and feveral Magnats, declaring, that they would never confent to the establishing of fuch a commiffion. This bred fuch animofity, as occafioned another adjournment to the 16th. On the 13th, the Bishops of Cracow and Kiow, the Palatine of Cracow, and the Staroute Dolmfki, were arrested and carried off by detachments of Ruffian troops. The crime alledged against them, in a declaration publifhed next day by Pr. Repnin, was, That they had been wanting, in their conduct, to the dignity of her Imperial Majefty of Ruffia, by attacking the purity of her intentions toward the republic; though fhe was refolved to continue her protection and affistance to the general confederacy, united for preferving the Polith liberties, and correcting all the abuses which had been introduced into government, contrary to the fundamental laws of the country. From this it would seem thofe Prelates and Magnats had urged, in the course of debate, that nothing was like to be taken care of but the concerns of the Diffidents, ·though a declaration of the Empress, already taken notice of, mentioned other matters which they reckoned to be of chief importance. Pr. Repnin afterwards declared, that thofe members were not detained in prifon, but only guarded feparately by a Ruffian officer each, being treated in other respects with all the regard due to their rank. Mean while thofe Prelates and Magnats were not permitted to return any more to the diet: nor have we reafon to fuppofe, that at the end of last year they had been reftored to their liberty. The meeting of the diet we are confidering was alfo tumultuous on the 16th; but the day after, Pr. Radzivil's plan was approved, and commiffaries were appointed for carrying it into execution, After they met, all the minifters of the other foreign powers interefting themfelves in the affairs of the Diffidents, as well as Pr. Repnin, were prefent at the conferences on those affairs, in consequence of an invitation. By the beginning of November 1767, feveral articles relating to that fubject were concluded on and figned. Not having yet got an authentic account of thofe articles, we must content ourselves with a sketch of what appeared in the public papers about that time. It was there faid to have been agreed, that the Greeks and Proteftants fhould be on a perfect equality with the Roman Catholics; that they fhould be left in a free and undisturbed ufe of their churches and schools; that if they inclined to build any in the towns, they should be obliged to obtain leave for that purpose from the King, the nobles having power to grant them the same favour in their respective territories; that they fhould be intitled to adminifter baptifm, to marry and bury, without foliciting permiffion from the bishop of the diocefe, or paying him any fee; that they fhould be capable of being elected nuncios, and enjoying all employments, as well thofe of magiftracy, as of being minifters of ftate, officers of the crown, and even fenators; and that all proceedings in regard to the Diffidents fhould for the future be before a fuperior tribunal, intitled, Judicium Mixtum, the members of which to be of different religions, and the prefident to be alternately a Catholic, Greek, and Proteftant. To fhew that the Roman-Catholic was still to be confidered as the dominant religion, it was provided, that the King fhould always be a Roman Catholic; that if he married a Diffident, fhe fhould not be crowned; and, as one account added, that if for the future any Roman Catholic fhould forfake his religion, he fhould not enjoy the benefit of these refolutions, but be fubject to the former laws against the Diffidents. agreed upon a number of important matLers; among which were, the raifing of the King's yearly penfion from 1,000,000 Polith florins to 1,500,000 [about 1 50,000l. Sterling], and granting him 1,000,000 florins for the fupport of his minifters at foreign courts; augmenting the Treasurer of the Crown's falary from 120,000 to 200,000 florins; adding 40,000 annually to the appointments of the Great Treafurer of Lithuania; allotting 600,000 yearly to Pr. Radzivil, befide ordering payment of 3,000,000 which his family had lent to the state; appointing confiderable fums for Count Fleming and the Bilhop of Wilna; 400,000 annually for establishing a college of Phyficians; and 12,000 Polish ducats as a yearly provision for the two Princes of Saxony, the fons of their late king. It was allo affured, that the Liberum veto, by which any single member of an ordinary diet might put a stop or an end to its proceedings, in virtue of only protefting against them, and which had been abolithed by the electiondiet in the inter-reign, was renewed, and established as one of the fundamental laws. This may be the more eafily believed, as it was a thing, however odd-like to Britons, which more foreign courts than one, as well as many Poles, had expreffed a good deal of concern to have done. On the ist of February last year, the extraordinary diet met again, according to adjournment. That day feveral things tending to inflame people's minds were laid before the affembly; among others, a manifefto by the Marshal of the Confederacy of Grodno, one of those of which the General Confederacy confifted, full of harsh terms against Pr. Repnin; a brief from the Pope, which had been delivered by bis nuncio to the Prince Primate; another of his briefs to the King, in which it was faid, that his Majesty ought rather to abdicate the crown, than fign any thing which might be of preju dice to the Roman Catholic religion; and a fimilar brief to the Bishops. The nuncio had also delivered a manifefto to the Great Chancellor, in which the Roman Pontiff declared, that all who figned any articles prejudicial to Popery, would be excommunicated. All this occasioned a new adjournment of the diet; and it would appear that the Pope's nuncio had better been employed elsewhere, than in delivering fuch briefs and manifeftoes at Warfaw. In fact, we were foon after, told, that a refolution had been entered into, not to fuffer any nuncios from Rome to come for the future into Poland; that a fynod or ecclefiaftical court fhould be formed, the Prince Primate to be prefident, for deciding, as the last refort, all fuch ecclesiastical caufes as had formerly been carried to the court of Rome, or laid before the nuncio refiding in the kingdom; that the tax on the Pope's bulls fhould be abolished, or at least diminished; and that a regulation fhould be made with respect to tithes. The treaty concluded with Ruffia in 1686 was confirmed, according to the form in which it exists in the Ruffian archives, and not as it had been published in Poland; also all former treaties between the republic and the courts of Petertburg and Berlin. On the 5th of March, the last day of the diet's fitting, an entry was made in the journals of it, that the General Confederacy of the States, and that of the Diflidents, were entirely at an end. It was also declared, that the treaty which had been concluded by the Great Commiffion with the Ruffian ambassador, as well in regard to the rights of the Diffidents as to the affairs of the kingdom, had now the force of a law, and was to be confidered as a fundamental and perpetual constitution. We are fenfible, that the accounts we have had it in our power to give of those tranfactions must be very defective, perhaps in fome parts erroneous; but thought it not amits to lay the most material of fuch as we received together, in order that they may be seen at one view. The Empress of Ruffia had engaged to guarantee all that should be concluded on, with respect both to the rights of the Diffidents, and to the Polith liberties; fo the treaty was fent to her for a ratification; which it received. Some days after the diet resumed its fittings in February last year, it was observed in advices from Warsaw, that the number of fenators and nuncios returned" to give their fuffrages, was not near fo great as it had been in October preceding; from whence it was inferred, that among the abfent there were probably some dissatisfied with the arrangements of the grand commiffion, and who might repent of having taken part in the general confederacy. After this we were told, that the marthal of the confederacy of Grodno, in confequence of his manifesto already already taken notice of, had retired to Rome, had taken the habit of a monk, and was publicly exhorting to a croifade in defence of the Catholic religion in Poland; alfo that the marshal of the confederacy of Lithuania, after writing a manifefto against every thing tranfacted under the influence of foreign arms, had fold his eftates, and likewife retired to Rome. It needs not be doubted, but that the strong efforts of the court of Rome had great influence on the generality of thorough Roman Catholics throughout the kingdom. What had been fufpected by people of forefight, was foon verified in fact. Scarce. ly were the members of the diet difperfed from Warsaw, when advice was received there of a new kind of confederacy being formed in Podolia, a province bordering on Turky, which was afterwards called the confederacy of Bar. The intention of it was, to abolish, by force of arms, all the new conftitutions, particularly the treaty relating to the Diffidents. They alfo expreffed great refentment against the step taken by the Ruffians of carrying off the Bifhop of Cracow, and others, on the 13th of October 1767, and still detaining them in cuftody. Podolia was reckoned the most proper place for opening the fcene, as the Confederates fuppofed the Ruffian troops could not attack them there, without giving umbrage to the court of Conftantinople. Within a fhort time fimilar confederacies were entered into in all the waiwodies of the kingdom, except thofe of Lithuania, which were reftrained from fuch meafures by the influence of the Prince Primate, a nobleman of that Great Duchy. The Popish clergy excited all ranks to what they called the defence of their religion, in reality not attacked, by proInifing them the crown of martyrdom in the iffue, and furnishing large fums of money for the prefent. The contagion fpread fo much, that even the King's troops could not be trusted to act against the Confederates. vigour they could have exerted. Meanwhile it was not long till a good many rencounters happened between them and the Confederates, in different parts of the kingdom, with various fuccefs, though by far most frequently to the difadvantage of the latter. The Confederates of Bar being defeated, and hardly preffed, a number of them paffed the river Niefter, and took refuge in Moldavia, anciently a Polifh province, now fubject to the Grand Signior; on which occafion they were purfued fome way over the river by a party of Ruffians. In order to prevent offence being taken at this by the Porte, Pr. Repnin wrote to the Ruffian refident there, to intimate that, the conduct of the colo nel who commanded that party was quite contrary to the orders of his court; that therefore the officer, though other wife of i a worthy character, would be put under arreft, and turned out of his post. In effect, the court of Conftantinople, till towards the end of last year, gave no public evidence of diffatisfaction with what the Ruffians were doing in Poland, but fometimes denominated the Confederates difturbers of the public tranquillity. In June, &c. [To be continued.] was riding a good many years ago in a warm fummer betwixt the town and kirk of Teregles in Galloway, near Dumfries, I was furprifed with feeing a great number of bees lighting upon the upper fide of the dufty road, which was gravel mixed with fand. The novelty of this fight made me stop to obferve diftinctly what they were doing; and I faw each of them light within two or three inches of a hole, into which it immediately ducked down, and went out of fight; with many hundreds of which holes the road was riddled for a confiderable way. Several of these bees had little lumps of was upon their hind The Empress of Ruffia fent a declara- legs, like garden-bees, and were all a tion, importing, that her troops fhould fize less than the mule or working garden not only remain in Poland till the refto- bee; and though I looked for them aration of the public repose, but march again, never faw nor heard of them before gainst the Confederates, and treat them as difturbers of it. It was a confiderable time before the Ruffian troops were much further reinforced; and the directors of their operations feemed loth that they fhould act with the nor fince, till I faw in your Magazine [xxx. 587.] an account of a mole-bee. I Thould be glad to hear whether it be a non-defcript, or has been known before. I am, &c. To SIR, To the author of the SCOTS MAGAZINE. 1768. Some time ago I happened, on a Sab bath day, to attend public worfhip in an Antiburgher Seceding meeting houfe. -Although I be none of thofe people who fet up for ceniors and critics; yet I could not help taking particular notice of certain petitions, and modes of expreffion, used by the preacher in prayer;-Such as, That the Lord would revive, and bring into repute, a covenanted work of reformation;-That he would haften the time when our civil magistrates fhould become nurfing-fathers and nurfing-mothers to the church; - That he would dispose them to exert their power and influence for promoting the cause and kingdom of Chrift ;-That he would bleis the ordinances both more ordinary and more folemn, &c. which, or the like petitions and modes of expreffion, I understand, are not peculiar to that preacher only, but common to those of that way. Yea, fuch stress is said to be laid upon them, that the omiffion of them has, in fundry instances, given no small offence both to minifters and people.-Not having been fully fatisfied, however, as to the determinate meaning and propriety of fome, or all of these phrases, I was led to think more closely of them afterwards;-when the following queries and thoughts oceurred to my mind:- which I beg leave, through the channel of your Magazine, to communicate to the public; and fo much the rather as, perhaps, thofe whom they more immediately refpect and concern, may be pleased to give candid, pertinent, and fatisfactory answers,-in the fame channel. I. What did the preacher mean by praying, that the covenanted reformation might be revived, and brought into repute? More particularly here: What is meant by the covenanted reformation itfelf? Is it the folemn-league reformation and uniformity, fo warmly efpoufed and contended for by Seceders?an external uniformity in one fyftem of doctrines, one mode of worthip, and one form of church-government, throughout the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland to be brought about by the interpofition of parliamentary power and civil pains, without the least toleration or indulgence to fuch as might fcruple at any part of faid uniformity;-together with, it may be, the fevere laws enacted by both the English and Scotch parlia. VOL. XXXI. ments, especially the latter, in that period, for the promoting thereof; - and for the non-revival of which, the afore faids loudly complain of, and testify against the revolution-parliament? Suppofing this to be the meaning, how hard would the fate of multitudes of our fellow-fubjects at this day be, fhould that covenanted reformation and uniformity at any time come to be revived, at leaft, by the British legislature? And, in all appearance, what a tho king scene of perjury and grofs diffimulation would open? Many would, no doubt, fuffer for conscience fake :— And, to avoid fuffering, or grafp at preferments, many more, it is to be feared, would offer vio. lence to their confciences, and deal deceit fully in the most facred matters;-as was plainly the cafe in the folemn league beriod. Again, what is meant by faid reformations being brought into repute? If it is really believed to be the pure and unmixed cause of Christ, what great ground is there to expect its being brought into repute throughout whole nations and kingdoms of this world, and among the great men and politicians thereof? Is not the uncorrupted cause of Chrift, for the most part, a detpifed caufe in this world? And does not a faithful stedfatt adherence thereto rather expose perfons to reproach and fuffering, than raile them to honour and reputation, in the present state of things? Has not our Lord himle!f exprefsly taught, that whofoever will come after him, must deny himself, take up his crofs, and follow him?-follow him in a way of felf denial, and patient bearing of the crois? And does not his infpired Apoitle aver, that whofoever will live godly in Carift Jeus, fhall fuffer perfecution? Is not the prefent flate of the followers of the Lamb, in fcripture represented as militant and fuffering?-Bat bow will fuch declarations and reprefentations comport with his caufe's being brought into repute amorg whole nations and kingdoms of this world as fuch? -- although indeed, it always was, and ever will be bi. bly in repute among the notions of them who are faved. II. What was meant by praving, That the Lord would haten te time when our chief rulers fhould become nurfing fathers and mothers to the church? Does not this plainly fuppofe, that the powers which prefently be in G. Britain, are not fo?-But fone cannot help thinking otherwife,-lince they, with a pater. nal foit of care, protect and nourish u B their |