b o o k . All tliefe feveral impofts amount to 11 ,628 ,46 1 Poliih
u—v—j ’fl-Orins, or ¿ 3 2 3,012 fterling.
The king received before the partition a neat revenue of
7,000,000 Polilh florins, or £ 194,500, which arofe from
the royal demefires and the profit of the falt-works. In order
to indemnify him for the lofs of the falt-works, and the
royal eftates lituated in the difmembered provinces, he draws
from the public treafury 2,666,666 Poliih florins, or
^"74,074 ilerling ; which, in addition to the remaining royal
demefnes, and fome ftarofties granted for his ufe, make his
prefent income the fame as before the difmemberment.;
Out of this income he only pays his houfhold expenc.es and
menial fervants ; the falary of the great officers of ilate,
and the other general expences, being fupplied from the
public fund. The whole revenue of government, including-
the royal demefnes and ftarofties lately granted to the king,
amount to 15 ,9 6 1 ,79 5 Poliih florins, or ,£443,9,38 ; and
by extracting the 7,000,000 florins appropriated to the
king’s privy purfe, there remains for the fupport of the
army, the falaries of the great officers of ftate, and other
general charges, only 8,961,795 florins, or £248,938, it .
a fum fo fmall, that it hardly feems in any wife equal to
the purpofes for vyhich it is defigned. And yet ,it is nearly
adequate to the ordinary current expences : for the regular
army is fmall, the great officers of ftate receive little or nothing
from the public treafury, being amply rewarded with
the royal fiefs which are fo numerous and profitable; each
palatinate pays its own officers from its private treafury ;
while the feveral judges, juftices of ¡the peace, and other civil
officers who enjoy territorial jurifdiCtion, may enrich them-
felves fufficiently by extortions and oppreffions without any
falary.
5 II. Com-
II. C o m m e r c e o f P o l a n d .
Poland contains feveral navigable rivers, which flow <
through its dominions in all directions, and convey its exports
to the havens of the Baltic. By means of the Viftula
and the rivers falling into it, the productions of the palatinates
of Cracow, Lublin, and Mafovia are fent to Thorn,
and from thence to Dantzic and Konigiburg. By the Niemen
the commodities of Lithuania are tranfported to Memmel;
and by the Duna thofe o f Eaftern Lithuania and White
Ruffia to Riga. The chief exports of Poland are all fpecies
of grain, hemp, flax, cattle, mails, planks, timber for ffiip-
building, pitch and tar, honey, wax, tallow, pot-aih, and
leather : its imports are foreign, wines, cloths, fluffs, manufactured
filks and cotton, fine linen, hardware, tin, copper,
filver and gold, glafs ware, furs, 8tc.
From the various productions and great fertility of Poland,,
its trade might be carried to a confiderable height
but the following caufes tend to fupprefs the fpirit of commerce.
1. The nobles are degraded i f they engage in any kind
of traffic.
2. The burghers of the large towns are not rich enough
to eftabliffi any manufactures ; and either through want of
mduftrv, or through dread of exceffive extortions from the
principal nobility, leave almoft all the retail-trade in the
hands of foreigners and Jews. The inhabitants of the fmall
towns, who are expoled to greater oppreffions, are ftill more
difqualified from purfuing any branch of commerce.
3- The peafants being xlaves, and the property o f their
mailer, cannot retire from the place of their nativity without
his confent. John Albert, obferving that commerce could
Vol. I. q never