Citizen's propositions towards the future form of government in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1789-1790

The Sejm, which had been meeting in Warsaw since the autumn of 1788, 7 September 1789 appointed a deputation whose task was to draw up a new state constitution. The resolution called on the nobility to submit their own proposals in this area. The aim of article is to specify and subsequently examine the texts containing these proposals for the reform of the Polish-Lithuanian political system. The texts are very diverse in content and scope. The proposals were divided into those relating to axiology, the sejm, the king, the king’s council and the ruling commission, the administration and the social order. Generally speaking, they represented a republican vision of a state in which the nobility occupies a privileged position. The legislative body of the nobility is the sejm, which consists of the deputies elected in the nobility assemblies. Executive power is exercised by the king, the king’s council, and ruling commissions. The king’s council and commissions are subordinate to the parliament. The King is, as they said at the time, “the father of the fatherland”. There were no reports on the judiciary, as they were not dealt with by the Deputation. The social order relates essentially to two texts, which call for limited reforms in this area. Ideas contained in the texts are specific for mercantilism and physiocratism and for free market economy. The summary indicates which of these proposals were taken into account in the draft form of government prepared and submitted to the Sejm in 1790.