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