Greetings from the historical crossroads of Eastern Europe!

The President was absent today, but that didn't slow down the hustle and bustle of the Union Congress (formerly known as the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Both Nations). Speaker Stanisław Małachowski presided as we continued to chip away at reform, discussing changes to property exchanges that have caused quite a stir. For those new to this saga, these are basically land swap deals that date back years and involve some pretty big names—and some big controversies too.

Representative Stanisław Kublicki from Latvia, voiced concerns about tweaking past deals, especially those involving Prince Ignacy Massalski, a major Lithuanian-Belarussian church leader and politician. Basically, there's worry that touching these old deals could seem ungrateful for Massalski's service, even though he has bagged about 17 sweet deals already—if one is nullified, the Union isn't being ungrateful, just practical.

Secretary Jan Łuszczewski read out some proposed legislative text on how to handle these land swaps to ensure they're fair and, if they’re not, to punish any shadiness and recover Union assets.

Representative Jan Suchorzewski from West Poland pushed for a clause ensuring that only deals sealed before the current Congress session should be immune to alteration, voicing concerns over potential last-minute sales that could hurt the Union.

Representative Tomasz Wawrzecki supported Suchorzewski's amendment and added that while he's not here to protect any singular interest—Massalski’s deal included—he believes all flawed deals should be annulled for the sake of recovering millions in Union assets.

In opposition, Representative Aleksander Zieliński from Nur (a county in the State of East Poland-Ukraine), argued that wiping out all these land swaps could cause international headaches and property rights chaos. He highlighted the complexity of reversing such entrenched agreements and cited the example of Massalski's vast will which could protect his lands from reverting to the Union.

Representative Tadeusz Kościałkowski from Lithuania-Belarus addressed the floor, making clear he has no affinity for defending Massalski, but insisted that going after just one person's deals isn’t fair when many more dubious swaps exist.

Fast-forward through several more passionate speeches and conflicting amendments, and we've got ourselves a proposal on the table: Essentially, all past land swap deals, whether set in stone or still up in the air from the years 1768, 1775, and 1776, are going to be annulled. But calm down, landowners—if you bought fair and square before the current Congress, you're good. This is all about ensuring the Union isn’t left short-changed.

After some debate and fine-tuning of amendments, consensus was finally reached, and Speaker Małachowski has tasked the Cabinets of both the Polish-Ukrainian and Lithuanian-Belarussian states with the immediate enforcement and oversight of these changes.

And, for the record, if you’re out there pulling strings for a sketchy land swap, you’ll be tagged an enemy of the state. So, it looks like the Union is cleaning house, and everyone better play by the rules.

Congress will reconvene tomorrow to tackle the next batch of issues on our historic journey of transformation. Stay tuned!

For those intrigued by the people shaping our political landscape, feel free to dig deeper into their legacies and genealogies on https://www.sejm-wielki.pl/ – like General of Artillery Szczęsny Potocki and many others who played significant roles in 18th-century politics.

Topics: Sejm session; Thursday, 6th May 1790; Marshal of the Sejm Stanisław Małachowski; Legislative proposal; Deputy from Latvia Stanisław Kublicki; Senator-bishop Ignacy Massalski; Exchange of starosties; Sejm Constitution of 1775; Treasury Commission; Deputy from Kalisz Jan Suchorzewski; Exchange of properties; Will; Amendments to the bill; Deputy from Nura Aleksander Zieliński; Deputy from Czersk Jan Szymanowski; Port in Połagowskie Starosty; Deputy from Kraków Jan Jordan; Deputy from Pińsk Mateusz Butrymowicz; Sejm propositions; Parliamentary debate; Exchange of royal estates; Deputy from Brześć nad Bugiem Tadeusz Matuszewicz; Civil tranquility; Sejm Constitutions; Deputy from Wiłkomierz Tadeusz Kościałkowski; Frauds of the Republic's Treasury; Deputy from Troki Michał Zaleski; Secretary of the Sejm Jan Łuszczewski;