called the States General, which is invefted with the fupreme legislative power of the confederation. Each province may fend as many members as it pleafes, but it has only one voice in the affembly of the states. According to the lateft regulations, that affembly is compofed of 58 deputies. At the head of this republican government, is the Prince Stadtholder or Governor, who exercifes a very confiderable part of the executive, power of the state. Religion.] The Calvinist or Reformed Religion is eftablished in Holland; but others are tolerated. None but Calvinifts can hold any employment of truft or profit. The church is governed by prefbyteries and fynods. Of the latter there are nine for fingle provinces, and one national fynod, fubject, however, to the controul of the States General. The French and Walloon Calvinists have fynods of their own. In the feven provinces are 1579 ministers of the established church, 90 of the Walloon church, 800 Roman Catholic. 53 Lutheran, 43 Arminian, and 312 Baptift minifters. In the East Indies there are 46, and in the West Indies 9 minifters of the established church, Hiftory.] Thefe provinces were originally an affemblage of feveral lordfhips, dependant upon the kings of Spain; from whose yoke they with drew themfelves during the reign of Philip II. in the year 1579, under the conduct of the Prince of Orange, and formed the republic now called the Seven United provinces, or Holland, that being the most remarkable vince. The office of fladtholder, or captain-general of the United Provinces, was made hereditary in the Prince of Orange's family, not excepting females, 1747. pro POLAND AND LITHUANIA. Miles. Length 700 Breadth 680 Between Boundaries.] B 16° and 34° Eaft Longitude. EFORE the extraordinary partition of this country by the king of Pruffia, aided by the emperor and empreis queen, and the emprefs of Ruffia, which event happened fince the year 1771, the kingdom of Poland, with the dutchy of Lithuania annexed, was bounded north, by Livonia, Mufcovy, and the Baltic; eaft, by Muscovy, fouth, by Hungary, Turkey, and Little Tartary; weft, by Germany. Containing 230 towns. In Poland, are villages 2,377, convents of nuns 86, noblemen's eftates 22,032, abbeys 37, convents of monks 579, houfes in general 1,674,328, peafants, 1,243,000, Jews 500,000. Divifions.] The kingdom of Poland contains 155 towns, and is divided into, 1. Great Poland, which is fubdivided into 12 diftricts, called Woidwodships. 2. Little Poland, three woidwodfhips. 3. Polachia, 9 three three counties, 4. Chelm, remaining part of Red Ruffia. 5. Podolia and Bratzaw. 6. Kow. 7. Volhynia. 8. The great dutchy of Lithuania, which includes White Ruffia, Black Ruffia, Polefia, and the dutchy of Szamaite. Wealth and Commerce.] Poland is one of the weakest ftates in Europe, owing to the oppreffion of the trades people in the towns, and the flavery of the peafantry. If the fkill of the natives in agriculture, bore any proportion to the fertility of the foil, Poland might be one of the richest countries in the world; for though a large part of it lies uncultivated, it exports no inconfiderable quantity of corn. Want of industry and of freedom, are the chief reafons that the balance of trade is fo much against Poland. The exports are corn, hemp, flax, horses, cattle, (about 100,000 oxen every year) peltry, timber, metals, manna, wax, honey, &c. the value of them in the year 1777, amounted to nearly 30 millions of dollars. The imports, confifting chiefly in wine, cloth, filk, hardware, gold, filver, Eaft and Weft India goods, were fuppofed to amount to no lefs than 47 millions of dollars. Government.] Since the late revolution, the government of Poland is aristocratical. Its nominal head is an elective king, fo limited, that in public acts he is often called only the first order of the republic. On being elected he is obliged immediately to fign the Pacta Conventa of Poland. The fovereign power is vefted in the hands of the three orders of the state, the king, the fenate and the nobility. Religion.] The established religion is the Roman Catholic. Proteftants, to whom the name of diffidents is now confined, are tolerated. The power of the pope and of the priests is very great. Capital.] WARSAW, fituated on the river Vistula, in the center of Poland, containing 50,000 inhabitants. Hiftory.] Poland was anciently the country of the Vandals, who emigrated from it to invade the Roman empire. It was erected into a dutchy, of which Lechus was the first duke, A. D. 694. In his time the use of gold and filver was unknown to his fubjects, their commerce being carried on only by exchange of goods. It became a kingdom in the year 1000; Otho III. emperor of Germany, conferring the title of king on Boleflaus I. Red Ruffia was added to this kingdom by Boleflaus II. who married the heiress of that country, A. D. 1059. Difmembered by the emperor ef Germany, the emprefs of Ruffia, and the king of Pruffia, who, by a partition treaty, feized the most valuable territories, 1772. PRUS S I A. THE countries belonging to this monarchy, are fcattered, and with out any natural connection. The kingdom of Pruffia is boundedTM north, by part of Samogitia; fouth, by Poland Proper and Mafovia; caft, by part of Lithuania; west, by Polish Pruffia and the Baltic; 160 miles in length, and 112 in breadth. Its capital is KONINGSBERG, Containing 54,000 inhabitants. Pruffia extends to 55° north latitude, and is divided into Population. The countries which are independ- 6,000,000 Wealth and Commerce.] The different provinces of the Pruffian monarchy are by no means equal to one another, with refpect to fertility and the articles of their produce. The kingdom of Pruffia, being the moft northern part of the monarchy, is rich in corn, timber, manna grafs, flax, and peltry of all forts, and exports these articles. Amber is exported annually, to the value of 20,000 dollars. Pruffia wants falt, and has no metals but iron. The profits of its fifheries are confiderable. Other parts of the monarchy produce various metalic ores, minerals, and precious ftones. The fum accruing to the king from the mines, amounts to 800,000 dollars, and the profits of private proprietors, to 500,000 dollars. Five thousand hands are employed in the filk manufactures. Pruffia annually exports linen to the value of 6 millions of dollars. Their manufactures of iron, cloth, filk, linen, leather, cotton, porcelaine, hard ware, glafs, paper, and their other principal manufactures, employ upwards of 165,000 hands, and the produce of their induftry is eftimated at upwards of 30 millions of dollars. Government and religion.] The Pruffian monarchy refembles a very complicated machine, which, by its ingenious and admirable conftruction, produces the greateft effects with the greatest cafe, but in which the yielding of a wheel, or the relaxation of a spring, will ftop the motion of the whole. The united effects of flourishing finances, of prudent œconomy, of accuracy and dispatch in every branch of adminiftration, and of a formidable military strength, have given fuch confequence to the Pruffian monarchy, that the tranquility and fecurity, not only of Germany, but of all Europe, depend in a great measure on the politics of its cabinet. The administration of juftice is likewife admirably fimplified, and executed with unparalleled quickness. Under the reign of the late king, Frederick the great, all profeffions of faith lived peaceably together, because the eftablished religion, which is the reformed, had no power to opprefs thofe of a different perfuafion. Roman Catholics and Jews are very numerous in the Pruffian dominions; they enjoy the moft perfect freedom in the exercife of their religion. Hiftory.] Pruffia was anciently inhabited by an idolatrous and cruel people. The barbarity and ravages they were continually making upon their neighbours, obliged Conrad, duke of Mafovia, about the middle of the thirteenth century, to call to his affiftance the knights of the Teutonic order, who were just returned from the holy land. Thefe knights chofe a grand mafter, attacked thofe people with fuccefs, and after a bloody war of fifty years, reduced them to obedience, and obliged them to embrace christianity. They maintained their conqueft till 1525, when Albert, Margrave of Brandenburgh, their last grand mafter, having made 3 himself himself master of all Pruffia, ceded the western part to the king of Poland, and was acknowledged duke of the eastern part, but to be held as a fief of that kingdom. The elector Frederick-William, furnamed the Great, by a treaty with Poland in 1656, obtained a confirmation of this part of Pruffia to him and his heirs, free from vaffalage, and in 1663 he was declared independent and fovereign duke. With thefe titles, and as grand mafter of the Teutonics, they continued till 1701, when Frederick, fon of Frederick-William the Great, and grandfather of the late king, raised the duchy of Pruffia to a kingdom, and on January 18, 1701, in a folemn affembly of the ftates of the empire, placed the crown with his own hands upon his head; foon after which he was acknowledged as king of Pruffia by all the other European powers. Frederick III. died August 17, 1786, and was fucceeded by his nephew, Frederick-William, who was born 1744• Miles. Length Breadth TH HIS is the largest empire in the world, extending from the Baltic and Sweden on the weft; to Kamtschatka, and the eastern ocean; and on the north, from the frozen ocean to the 44th degree of latitude. Divifions.] Ruffia is at prefent divided into 42 governments, which are comprehended again under 19 general governments, viz. The fuperiority of the European part over the vaft but uncultivated provinces of Afia, is ftriking. The provinces acquired by the divifion of Poland, are highly valuable to Ruffia, to which the acquifition of Crimea is by no means comparable in value. This immenfe empire comprehends upwards of 50 different nations, and the number of languages is fuppofed not to be lefs than the number of nations. Wealth and commerce.] In fo vaft a tract of country as the empire of Ruffia, fpreading under many degrees of latitude, watered by more than eight rivers, which run through the fpace of 2000 miles, and croffed by an extenfive chain of mountains, we may expect to find an infinite number of natural productions, though we must make fome allowances for the great deferts of Siberia, and the many parts not yet thoroughly invettigated by natural hiftorians. The fpecies of plants peculiar to this part of the globe, which have already been discovered, amount to many thoufands. The foil contains almof all minerals, tin, platina and fome femi metals metals excepted. Ruffia abounds with animals of almoft all the various kinds, and has many that have never been described. It has the greatest variety of the fineft furs. In 1781, there were exported from Petersburg alone, 428,877 fkins of hares, 36,904 of grey fquirrels, 1,354 of bears, 2,018 of ermine, 5,639 of foxes, 300 of wild cats, befides thofe of wolves and of the fulic (a beautiful animal of the rat kind) exclufive of the exportation of the fame articles from Archangel, Riga and the Caf pian Sea. In one year there were exported from Archangel, 783,000 pud of tallow (a pud is equal to 40 lb.) 8,602 pud of candles, and 102 pud of butter. In 1781 from Petersburg, 148,099 pud of red leather, 10,885 pud of leather for foles, 530,646 pud of candles, 50,000 pud of foap, 27,416 pud of ox bones, 990 calve skins. The fisheries belonging to Ruffia are very productive. The forefts of fir-trees are immenfely valu able. Oaks and beeches do not grow to a useful fize beyond the 60th degree of north latitude. They export timber, pitch, tar and pot-afh to a vaft amount. Rye, wheat, tobacco, hemp, flax, fail-cloth, linfeedoil, flax-feed, iron, filver, copper, jafper, falt, marble, granite, &c. are among the productions of Ruffia. The whole of the exports of Ruffia amounted in 1783 to near 13 millions of rubles; the imports did not much exceed the fum of 12 millions. The imports confift chiefly of wine, fpices, fruits, fine cloth, and other manufactured commodities and articles of luxury. There are at prefent no more than 484 manufacturers in the whole empire. Government.] The emperor or autocrator of Ruffia (the prefent emprefs ftyles herself autocratrix) is abfolute. He must be of the Greek church by the ancient cuftom of the empire. The only written fundamental law exifting is that of Peter the Firft, by which the right of fucceffion to the throne depends entirely on the choice of the reigning monarch, who has unlimited authority over the lives and property of all his fubjects. The management of public affairs is 'entrufted to feveral departments. At the head of all thofe concerned in the regulation of internal affairs (the ecclefiaftical fynod excepted) is the fenate, under the prefidency of a chancellor and vice-chancellor. The fovereign nominates the members of this fupreme court, which is divided into fix chambers, four at Petersburg and two at Mofcow. The provinces are ruled by governors appointed by the fovereign. Religion. The religion eftablifhed in the Ruffian empire is the Greek. The most effential point in which their profeffion of faith differs from that of the Latin church, is the doctrine, that the Holy Ghoft proceeds from the Father only. Their worthip is as much overloaded with ceremonies as the Roman Catholic. Saints are held in veneration, and painted images of them, but no ftatues, are fuffered in the churches. The church has been governed, fince the time of Peter the Great, by a national council called the Holy Synod. Marriage is forbid to the archbishops and bifhops, but is allowed to the inferior clergy. There are 479 convents for men, 74 for women, in which are about 70,000 perfons. Above 900,000 peasants belong to the eftates in poffeffion of the clergy. Hiftory. The earliest authentic account we have of Ruffia is A. D. 862, when Rurick was grand duke of Novogorod in this country. In the year 981, Wolidimer was the first Christian king. The Poles conquered |