Tadeusz Kościuszko Supreme Head of the National Armed Forces to the Supreme National Council, and to All Peoples in Poland and Everywhere

Poles would never be defeated by their enemies, if they would be able to use their strength together. It is only through the enemy's evil duplicity, debauchery and lies, cunning and dastardly actions on the battlefield and in diplomacy that they have seen any kind of success anywhere. The entire course of the German's tyranny in Warsaw is proof of the extent to which this violence has inflicted our fate and using bribery, deceitful promises, craving, superstitions, stroking passion, shattering one against the other, blushing with strangers, everything with words, every hellish anger with the most cunning sly combined can come up with. In many occasions in which Poles have had things taken from them, you can count on this one nation of robbers to be behind it all. And yet the end of the Polish boldness was always that the defeated enemy returned to the faces of the winners, the yoke for a moment relieved.

So where did such things of Polish circulation come from? Why did this nation groan without a way of getting out? This is from the fact that the cunning of Berlin and Vienna's intrigues, stronger than weapons, always lost Poles to Poles themselves. They shared, too, unhappy Poles, government opinions and opinions about the rules on which freedom and organization of the nation were to be grounded, and to the innocent opinion of the difference, the vicious spirit of self-love and personal views mixed resistance, weakness and modesty of bonding with strangers and, therefore, wicked to yield. Time has come, the completion of the measure of calamities and suffering accelerated; the time of the final fate of Poland, an age in which one goal, one unmistakable and an argument that can not unite must unite the hearts and minds and leave those who would fight it to the wayside, traitors fearful and uncertain of their citizens' way of thinking. The creation of the nation, the present, wants the Polish people to return to freedom, integrity and independence, and leave the free time and will of the nation to represent under which she wishes to be a government. The reason for the variety of opinions is suspended, and the sacred and obvious purpose is winning bravely over the hearts and gathering together these people who might disagree with these things. This time, or rather its moment, is to be grasped with the greatest zeal. It will wipe the enemy with all its power to the side, it will use freedom itself as a weapon, but we can have its benefits without internal violence. Let us put a mass of free people who can not miss their victory by fighting for their own happiness, and what they have beaten us so far is but that of a snake nipping at the heals which will now be crushed with the foot of the people!

This Machiavellian industry shall be overcome by our vigilance, the zeal of honest citizens a dangerous sword of justice that will reach anywhere, where it betrays or perverse harm to the nation - that is, any nation! The fate of Poland, therefore, hovered from it, that we would crush the double strength of our enemies, that is, the strength of arms and the power of intrigue. Therefore, I must give the national message that the Germans are seeking ways to disrupt the village people against us by exposing him to the arbitrariness of the lords, their former misery and, finally, a more prosperous future with the help of Prussia. That saying, they encourage and suspect the rural people to the common courts of robbery. Simplicity, often a mistaken need, can fall in and fall into the very snare, and in our experience, they do little to protect in their uniforms, and do much to rape in their uniforms. It is with regret that I must confess that often severely dealing with the people gives the Germans' a universal monstrosity. I receive constant complaints from soldiers of recruits that their wives and children not only have no food or respite, but that they are forced to please their oppressors in such base and vulgar ways that I will not mention them here. Such actions in many places are probably without knowledge and against the will of the heirs, but in others they must be the result of bad intentions or foreign inspiration, so that the enthusiasm for defending the Homeland in the spheres of the people may be cooled down. But humanity, justice and the good of the Homeland indicate to us easy and reliable means which we can prevent the cunning of domestic or foreign intrigues. Let us say that the people are not yet under the protection of the national government, that the oppressed man has a ready escape to the Supreme National Council, that the oppressor, the persecutor of the defenders of the country, will be punished as an enemy and traitor to the Homeland, and of humanity everywhere. This way, with the righteousness of a wonderful nation, compatible with tender souls, a light and personal interest only costing their personal sacrifice, will bind the people to the public cause and save them from the enemy snares. I am therefore recommending to the Supreme National Council and lands throughout the country that the following device to all the heirs of God Himself should issue:

1. Announce to the people that they are under the protection of the National Government under the law, and that they are entitled to their lives and liberty.

2. That every person is free, that he is allowed to move, where he wants, if he wants to declare his commune, where he moves, and if he owes wine debts and domestic taxes.

3. That people are alleviated in labor so that those who do days 5 or 6 a week are to have two days left in the week. Who made days 3 or 4 a week, has to have one day abandoned; whoever did two is to have one day abandoned. Whoever was doing one day a week is now to do one day in two weeks. For those who have done serfdom for two, they have to be abandoned for two days. Who did one by one, he would have days left alone. Such abandonment will last through the time of the conflict, until the legislative power of the permanent device does so.

4. Local authorities will try to keep those who remain in the army of the Republic well provided for, and provided a common wage at the end of this conflict, and to return to them their lands and fields with ample ability to repair at the end of this conflict.

5. From those who will be called to militia, as long as they remain under arms, work quotas will not be pulled out during this time, but will only start when they return home.

6. Ownership of owned land with duties attached to it, according to the aforementioned relief, can not be taken away from the heir by any sovereign, unless he would discuss it in front of the local caretaker and prove that the landlord will not do his duties.

7. Should anyone do anything against this proclamation, they will be taken before the commission and committed to the criminal court.

8. If the heirs, which I do not expect, demand or commit similar afflictions, they will be given the same treatment.

9. Mutually the rural people, feeling the justice and kindness of the Government, ought to zealously carry out the remaining days of serfdom, obey their authority, keep the role, cultivate and sow, and this relief is made for people for reasons of the Fatherland's help, and they will receive from their government or sovereigns what is needed for a decent payment.

10. In order to make it easier to see order and to ensure the effect of these recommendations, they will share the representation in the Supreme National Council, as it is done in their organizations, provinces or lands, or poviats for supervision so that every one thousand, and most thousand, of the hosts of the residents would take part. They will give these caretakers names from the main village or town, and in such a district they will close it, so that communication can be made.

11. In each custody they will appoint a Dozorca, a decent and honest man, who, apart from his duties in organizing the Supreme National Council, will receive complaints from the people in his afflictions and from the court in case of disobedience or unrulyness of the people. It will be his duty to settle disputes, and if the parties are not satisfied, send them to the Supreme National Council.

12. The favors of the Government in relieving the people of burdens should encourage him even more to work, to agriculture, to defend his homeland. If, therefore, the ruffians, using the goodness and justice of the Government, abolished the people from work, rebelled against the heirs, refused from the defense of the Homeland, the National Supreme Council in their provinces and districts, it is urgent to have an eye and immediately catch such orders, and to bring them to court. Nonetheless, the Supreme National Council have to watch over vagabonds who would abandon houses at that time and wander around the country. Obtain all such people, and to the security department, in every commission, which is necessary, and after the exam, when they are wandering and idle, they will be used for public works.

13. The priests, the teachers closest to the people, should translate their duties to the Motherland, which turns out to be a real mother towards him. These priests should enlighten the people: that while working diligently about their and their court's role, it makes the homeland as nice as a homeland, like the one who hides it from the plunder and plunder of the enemy soldiers; that if he is obliged to the courts, especially so acquired by this device, he does nothing else, only owes the debt to the heirs from whom he holds the land.

14. Clerics of both rites will announce this device from the pulpits of churches and churches continuously for four Sundays: besides, the Order Commission from among its own or from the citizens zealous for the good of the Homeland will appoint people who will visit the groups of villages and parishes, and the same device will read aloud encouraging them to be grateful for such great boon, the Republic of Poland sincerely wishing to defend it.

Written and decried in the camp near Zamość, on September 7, 1786, Tadeusz Kosciuszko

TL;DR just made the Proclamation of Zamość, eliminating the last vestiges of serfdom in Poland, providing the outline of a representative government, providing incentive to people to join the military and to provide the Polish forces with equipment and food, decrying the German's actions and making it known to all of Poland how much of a terrible government and army they are, limiting work to a maximum of 5 or 6 days a week, and recognizing that these things should be done to all people everywhere.

In effect - universal declaration of human rights, and the right to justice in governmnent, security of ownership, and right to life. This document is historic in it's writing, as can be seen here; I have modified some portions due to weird translation problems, and because the main antagonists are Germans, not Russians.