The majority for
committing the bill was 118 to 73. It was then passed by the English
parliament and received the royal assent on August 1. A new great seal
and a new royal standard were made for the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, and on January 1, 1801, the king's new title was
proclaimed, from which the words "King of France," retained since the
time of Edward III., were omitted.

By the act of union Ireland was to be represented in the united
parliament, in the upper house by four spiritual lords sitting in
rotation and twenty-eight temporal lords elected for life by the Irish
peerage, and in the lower by 100 members.[313] The right of the crown to
create fresh Irish peerages was restricted. The established Church of
Ireland was declared one with the Church of England, and the
preservation of the united Church of England and Ireland was to be "an
essential and fundamental part of the union". Commercial interests were
mainly settled in accordance with the proposals of 1785, and some Irish
manufactures were temporarily protected from suffering by British
competition. The debts of the two countries were to be kept separate for
twenty years, or until they should be to each other in the same
proportion as the respective contributions of the two countries; and
until their amalgamation the annual contribution of Great Britain
towards the expenditure of the United Kingdom was fixed at fifteen parts
and of Ireland at two parts. The first session of the united parliament
was opened on January 22, 1801, the members for Great Britain being the
same as those of the previous parliament.

[Sidenote: _THE CATHOLIC QUESTION._]

The Irish catholics could have prevented the union. They made it
possible, some by giving active help, others by maintaining neutrality;
and though no definite promise had been made to them, they were led to
expect that union would be followed by emancipation, a provision for
their clergy, and the commutation of tithe. Pitt recognised this, and
further held that his work would be incomplete without these healing
measures, which would give "full effect to the great object of the
union--that of tranquillising Ireland and attaching it to this country".
Accordingly, in September, 1800, as soon as the union was effected, he
called a meeting of the cabinet to consider these questions. He said
nothing to the king on the subject, thinking, doubtless, that it would
be less difficult to gain his consent