Ulster then shows that the quartering of the royal arms, which were capriciously varied at different periods, proves nothing in favour of Edinburgh; and that, by her Act of Union, Scotland was amalgamated with England as Great Britain; while Ireland, though united, preserved in her union a quasi separate position, being still a viceroyalty, with a vice-king and court, having their capital in Dublin.
He concludes by urging that, from the Lord Mayor and Corporation of Dublin being privileged to present their addresses to the Sovereign on the throne at St. James’s, Edinburgh not having that privilege,—and from the immense antiquity of the city of Dublin, Dublin is clearly entitled to precedence.
Sir George Grey transmitted this report of Ulster to Garter-King-of-Arms, Sir Charles Young, D.C.L., F.S.A.; Garter gave an opinion, which was also ordered by the House of Commons to be printed. Garter, in his opinion, inclines in favour of Edinburgh, on the grounds—1st, That Scotland occupies the second quarter in the royal shield; 2nd, that England itself became on the accession of James I. an “appanage of the Scottish crown;” 3rd, that as the peers of Scotland were given special precedence by the Irish Act of Union, all other precedence followed “by analogy;” and 4th, that the Mayor of Dublin was not “Lord” Mayor till 1665, while Maitland avers that the style of “Lord” Provost was enjoyed by the chief magistrate of Edinburgh in 1609.
A remark of Sir George Grey’s in the House of Commons, wrongly reported, led to the belief that this opinion of Garter was to decide the question. But, on the contrary, the discussion was continued.
Ulster gave, in reply to Garter, a second opinion, which was ordered by the House of Commons to be printed. In his further observations Ulster commences by saying: “The point at issue is not a question of nationalities, or of the relative superiority of Ireland over Scotland, or Scotland over Ireland. That question, a very invidious one, is not now raised, and will, I trust, never be: the only result which could arise from such a discussion would be to wound the feelings and love of country of one or other of two very sensitive peoples.... The only question to be determined is simply which of the two corporations has the higher precedence?—a right to be determined by municipal charters, royal grants, and other legal evidence.” Ulster then still insists on the far longer existence of Dublin. He repudiates the idea altogether that England was an “appanage” of Scotland, any more than France was an appanage of Navarre, when Henry IV., King of the latter country, inherited the crown of France. Appanage has not that meaning. Garter is wrong as to the date of the Mayor of Dublin being “Lord” Mayor in 1665: he was made so by Charles I. 29th July, 1642, while the Provost was not “Lord” Provost till 1667. Ulster concludes for Dublin, on the greater antiquity of Dublin’s charters over those of Edinburgh, on it being contrary to all law to construe acts of Parliament “by analogy,” and on the undoubted fact, that George IV. conferred in 1821 on Dublin, which Sir Robert Peel emphatically styled “the second city of the Empire,” the exclusive (except as to the city of London) honour of presenting addresses to the Sovereign on the throne at Windsor or St. James’s.
With these observations of Ulster the question rests in abeyance.