Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/115

Rh Ladilaus the third, the on of the former, purchaed his right to the ucceion, during the life of his father, by a confirmation of all the conceions before granted, which he olemnly ratified at his acceion. Caimir the third, brother of Ladilaus the third, conented to everal further innovations, all unfavourable to regal prerogative.—One was the convention of a national diet, inveted with the ole power of granting upplies. Each palatinate or province was allowed to end to the general diet, beides the Palatines and other principal barons, a certain number of nuncios or repreentatives, choen by the nobles and burghers. Is it not ridiculous, that this reign hould be conidered by the popular party, as the æra, at which the freedom of the contitution was permanently etablihed? This freedom, which conits in a king without authority; a body of nobles in a tate of uncontrouled anarchy; and a peaantry groaning under the yoke of feudal depotim: the greatet inequality of fortune in the world; the extremes of riches and poverty, of luxury and miery, in the neighbourhood of each other; a univeral corruption and venality pervading all ranks; even the firt nobles not bluhing to be penioners of foreign courts; one proeing himelf publicly an Autrian, another a Pruian, a third a Frenchman, and a fourth a Ruian; a country without manufactures, without commerce, and in every view the mot ditreed in the world.—But to proceed, with an enumeration of the meaures by which they have involved themelves in thee pitiable circumtances:

Caimir was involved in everal unuccesful wars, which exhauted his treaures: he applied to the diet for ubidies. Every