Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - XV. Reign of Adolph Frederick, 1751–1771 - D. Administration of the Younger Cap Party
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The Younger Cap Party 275
The System of Bribery. The system of bribery was
the ugliest feature of the government of the Estates.
The means were taken partly from the treasury, part-
ly from the party’s fund of private contributions, but
were principally secured from foreign ambassadors.
The latter distributed money to members in all the
Estates to win supporters. To save the Hats, in 1765,
France spent more than two and one-half million
crowns. England, Russia, and Denmark in like man-
ner supported the Caps with four million crowns. Still
larger sums were spent four years later at the Riksdag
of 1769. Honor and patriotism seemed in a fair way
to be effaced from men’s minds and hearts.
Sweden’s Independence Threatened. Sweden was
threatened during the administration of the Caps with
becoming a subject kingdom of Russia. This was the
more dangerous as Russia had joined with Prussia and
Denmark in a plan to uphold the liberal constitution
of Sweden, as it tended to keep alive the party strife,
rendering the government weak and dependent. The
same policy had been pursued by Russia and Prussia
regarding another neighbor, Poland. The result was
the partition of Poland between these two "friends of
Polish liberty," and a third neighbor, Austria.
In order not to disturb the good relations with this
friend and well-wisher of Sweden, the Caps discon-
tinued Ehrensvard’s works for the defense of Finland.
They were, forsooth, no longer needed.
For all honorable and true patriots it had now be-
come a sacred duty to defeat the Cap party. It was not
a difficult thing to do, for the party defeated itself
through the errors of its domestic policy.
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