Chapter 601 Song of Poland·End
The Patriot Party received 200,000 zlotys from this fund, so they will no longer mention their "religious freedom" doctrine for the time being.
Prince Poniatowski nodded with satisfaction and continued: "As for the estates of the nobility, as long as they have virtue and are defenders of freedom and the constitution, we should recognize their legitimacy and ensure that The security of the land and all other property"
His words were immediately praised by members of the conservative aristocratic group Hetman Party.
A leader of the Hetman Party from Ukraine reminded: "His Royal Highness, there are also noble privileges..."
"Yes, privileges." Prince Poniatowski used his eyes to signal the Patriots not to worry, and then said, "I think those harmless privileges can continue to be retained. And which privileges will harm other citizens, this It will be decided by a vote from Great Seym."
This is exactly what Sieyès taught him. First, we must stabilize the conservative nobles, otherwise the Constitutional Union is likely to collapse - the conservatives occupy more than a quarter of the seats in Great Sejm.
In fact, the commitment to protect the privileges of the nobility in the Constitution is of little use.
As long as the Great Sejm passes a bill in the future and determines that a certain privilege is "harmful", it can be abolished through constitutional provisions.
The top leaders of the Hetman Party looked at each other, and no one raised any objections, which was regarded as approval of this clause.
The prince looked at the next item in the manuscript: "Mr. Koontai proposed that 'all Polish citizens enjoy equal status'. I suggest not to include it in this legislation for the time being..."
The Patriot Party immediately issued an There was a protest, "How can this work?"
"If you can't even achieve equality, then what is the meaning of the existence of the Constitution?!"
"You are depriving the Constitution of the most important protection. People's rights..."
The prince raised his hand and pressed down, saying: "We should avoid having an excessive impact on the country. And this is just a conceptual formulation, and the constitution guarantees citizens. The security of life and property, the freedom of citizens to purchase land, and the right of any citizen to serve as a military officer or government official will be preserved."
The Patriot Party also came this time based on the principle of unity and cooperation as much as possible, and immediately fell silent again.
If ordinary citizens can be guaranteed everything from personal safety to property to holding public office, then they will basically enjoy most of the equality, and the aristocracy will also have some etiquette and "harmless privileges" Advantages.
Joseph knew very well how much hatred the phrase "man is born free and equal" would arouse in Europe today.
Historically, it was because of this article in the May 3rd Constitution that Poland lost the support of almost all countries, except France, which was already very strict at the time.
So he had emphatically told Sieyès not to let the Poles set up this flag.
"Then we will finalize the terms of the Sejm." Prince Poniatowski looked at everyone, "The voting method of the Sejm adopts a majority vote system. No one can veto with one vote."
< br>In fact, under Joseph's suggestion, he had already made a decree with the king to "suspend the free veto power", which stipulated that one-vote veto could not be used within three years.
This also significantly reduced the resistance to the Polish constitution. At this time, this article will be formally added to the constitution.
The only people who can come to the Tin Dome Palace are the progressive factions of Poland, who have long hated the idea of vetoing with one vote. There was a burst of approval from all around.
Then Prince Poniatowski read out the articles on the election of Sejm members, curbing vote bribery, etc., and closed the manuscript in his hand.
Compared with the historical May 3rd Constitution, he did not mention radical provisions such as the abolition of serfdom, the abolition of the election of kings instead of hereditary kings, the establishment of a Polish government with separation of powers, and the payment of tithes by nobles and clergy for military expansion.
These contents are actually just the fantasies of Polish idealists. For example, the last item, the "noble tithe", not only failed to collect much money after its implementation, but also pushed most of the nobles and clergy to oppose the government.
The constitution, which has been streamlined by Joseph and fine-tuned by Sieyès, has abandoned these unrealistic contents, and the impact on Poland will be greatly reduced.
December 6, 1791.
The Constituent Assembly was held in the Great Sejm of Poland, and the whole of Warsaw was shrouded in tension and expectation.
The outside of the parliament hall was full of citizens. No one shouted slogans. Everyone just watched silently as the members walked into the Big Sejm from between the two teams of guards.
It is completely different from the sneaky manner used during the May 3rd Constitutional Vote in history, for fear of being discovered by the conservative nobles.
The police in Warsaw are as busy as ever, not to maintain order, but to deal with difficult cases that have occurred frequently recently.
Police officers were cleaning up the body of Baron Osiskovic outside a villa on the west side of the Narew River.
Several female family members cried loudly with the support of the servants, but soon a police officer came to the baroness, coughed lightly and said: "It's a pity, but according to our confirmation, your Excellency the Baron should have done it himself." He slipped and fell from the balcony..."
After hearing what the police said, an agent of the Committee of Freedom and Security who was hiding not far away pulled up his hood and turned around to leave.
He is a member of the Barr Alliance and a fanatical patriot. He personally assassinated four Russian nobles more than ten years ago.
After receiving a pardon from the king, he joined the Polish intelligence service.
Baron Osiskovitch was the one he killed last night, but he was very experienced and disguised the deceased as falling from a building.
And Baron Osiskovitch is a die-hard pro-Russian parliamentarian. He will certainly cast his anti-Constitutional vote in Great Sejm today.
So he must die!
More than a dozen pro-Russian factions similar to Osiskovitch have been "purged" in recent months. Those who were in the former Baal Alliance were not afraid of death at all. More than ten years ago, they even dared to kidnap the king and assassinate several congressmen without blinking an eye. Several pro-Russian congressmen were replaced by them with their lives.
Of course, they will try their best to make the death look like an accident to prevent the Russians from noticing.
While the police were disposing of Osiskovic's body, Count Blanicki's carriage was stopped by a group of heavily armed soldiers on the south side of Holy Cross Street in Warsaw.
The top executive of the Tagovica Alliance jumped out of the car and roared angrily: "You idiots, do you know who I am?"
However, he soon noticed the tattoo on the soldier's collar. Badge, his face suddenly darkened: "Are you Prince Poniatowski's bodyguard?"
"Yes, Lord Count." An officer raised his hat and saluted him, "There are thugs making trouble ahead. , for your safety, please stay here temporarily.”
“Damn it, I’m going to the Big Seum to vote!” Seeing that the officer was unmoved, Branitski had to wave to the coachman. Turn around and let's go around."
Two soldiers suddenly stepped forward and knocked the axle of his carriage off.
(End of this chapter)