CHAPTER XXV.
GEORGE III. 1801-1806
Commencement of the Union with Ireland..... Meeting of Parliament..... Resignation of Mr. Pitt, &c...... The New Ministry..... Motion for an Inquiry into the State of the Nation..... Parliamentary Measures..... War with the Northern Powers..... Dissolution of the Northern Confederacy..... Expedition to Egypt..... Affairs on the Continent..... Naval Operations..... Treaty of Amiens..... Meeting of Parliament..... Parliamentary Measures..... Preparations for Hostility..... Meeting of the New Parliament..... Trial of Colonel Despard..... Parliamentary Proceedings..... Act to Relieve Catholics, &c...... War Proclaimed with France..... The Causes for the renewal of War with France..... War with Holland..... Militia Bill, &c...... Financial Measures..... Prorogation of Parliament..... Insurrection in Ireland..... Letter of the Prince of Wales..... Movements of the French..... Naval Conquests..... East India Affairs..... Meeting of Parliament.
COMMENCEMENT OF THE UNION WITH IRELAND.
A.D. 1801
On the 1st of January a royal proclamation was issued, concerning the style and titles appertaining to the imperial crown of Great Britain and Ireland; and also to the ensigns, armorial flags, and banners thereof. The regal title was thus expressed:—“George the Third, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith.” The great seal was made in conformity with the alterations made in the titles and arms. In the new heraldic arrangement the fleur de lis was omitted, and the title of the King of France wisely expunged. The arms or ensigns armorial were ordered to be quarterly:—first and fourth England, second Scotland, third Ireland. In honour of the union, many new titles were conferred on the Irish nobility, and several of them were created peers of the United Kingdom.
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.
The first imperial parliament was opened by commission on the 22nd of January. The king did not meet his parliament till the 2nd of February, when, in his speech from the throne, after adverting to the happy accomplishment of the union, and to the adverse course of events on the continent, he announced a fresh storm in the north. The court of Petersburgh, he said, had proceeded to commit outrages against the ships, property, and persons of his subjects; and a convention had been concluded by that court with those of Copenhagen and Stockholm, by which they were engaged to re-establish a new code of maritime law, inconsistent with the rights and hostile to the best interests of the country. His majesty stated that he had taken the earliest measures to repel the aggressions of this confederacy, and he called upon both houses of parliament to afford him the aid required in the emergency. The debates which ensued were of an interesting character. In both houses opposition recommended conciliatory measures; and some even proposed the suspension of the right of search we claimed at sea, or a tacit assent to the principles of the armed neutrality, on the ground that terrible consequences would attend the closing of the corn-ports on the Baltic in this season of scarcity. In the upper house an amendment to the address was moved by Earl Fitzwilliam; but on a division the address was carried. Mr. Grey was the chief opposer of the address in the commons; he likewise moved an amendment; but the address was there carried by a majority of one hundred and eighty-two. Preparations were, therefore, now made for sending the British fleet into the Baltic; and this, it will be seen, together with the death of the Czar Paul, soon put an end to this coalition.