GEORGE III. [CLOSING OF PARLIAMENT, JULY 2, 1801.] We have it in command from his Majesty to acquaint you that, on account of the advanced period of the season, and the state of public business, he is induced to relieve you from a longer attendance in Parliament. His Majesty highly commends the wisdom, temper, and diligence which have marked all your proceedings; and particularly acknowledges the assiduity and zeal with which you have pursued the investigation of the important subjects brought under your consideration, in consequence of the severe pressure occasioned by the high price of corn. The beneficial effects of the measures you have suggested for the alleviation of this calamity have afforded his Majesy great consolation, and he has the utmost satisfaction in indulging the hope that, under the favour of Providence, the blessings of plenty will be restored by the produce of the ensuing harvest. GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, His Majesty has directed us to return you his particular thanks for the liberal provision which you have made for the various branches of the public service. While he regrets the necessity of supplies so large, it is a relief to his Majesty to observe that the resources and continued prosperity of the country have enabled you to distribute the public burdens in such a manner as to press with as little severity as possible on his faithful subjects. MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, The brilliant and repeated successes of his Majesty's arms by sea and land, important as they are in their immediate consequences, are not less satisfactory to his Majesty's mind, as affording fresh and decisive proofs of that vigorous exertion, undaunted valour, and steady perseverance which distinguish the national character, and on which the chief reliance must be placed for respect abroad, and for confidence and security at home. Events so honourable to the British name derive, at the present moment, peculiar value in his Majesty's estimation, from their tendency to facilitate the attainment of the great object of his unceasing solicitude, the restoration of peace on fair and adequate terms. They furnish at the same time an additional pledge that if the sentiments of moderation and justice, which will ever govern his Majesty's conduct, should be rendered unavailing, in this instance, by unreasonable pretensions on the part of his enemies, the spirit and firmness of his people will continue to be manifested by such efforts and sacrifices as may be necessary for asserting the honour of his Majesty's Crown, and for maintaining the permanent interests of the empire. GEORGE III. [OPENING OF PARLIAMENT, OCT. 29, 1801.] I have the satisfaction to acquaint you that the important negotiations in which I was engaged at the close of the last Session of Parliament are brought to a favourable conclusion. The differences with the Northern Powers have been adjusted by a Convention with the Emperor of Russia, to which the Kings of Denmark and Sweden have expressed their readiness to accede. The essential rights for which we contended are thereby secured; and provision is made that the exercise of them shall be attended with as little molestation as possible to the subjects of the contracting parties. Preliminaries of peace have also been ratified between me and the French Republic; and I trust that this important arrangement, whilst it manifests the justice and moderation of my views, will also be found -conducive to the substantial interests of this country, and honourable to the British character. Copies of these papers shall forthwith be laid before you; and I earnestly hope that the transactions to which they refer will meet with the approbation of my Parliament. GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, I have directed such estimates to be prepared of the various demands for the public service as appear to me to be best adapted to the situa tion in which we are now placed. It is painful to me to reflect that provision cannot be made for defraying the expenses which must unavoidably be continued, for a time, in different parts of the world, and for maintaining an adequate peace establishment, without large additional supplies. You may, however, be assured, that all possible attention shall be paid to such economical arrangements as may not be inconsistent with the great object of effectually providing for the security of all my dominions. MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, I cannot sufficiently describe the gratification and comfort I derive from the relief which the bounty of Divine Providence has afforded to my people by the abundant produce of the late harvest. In contemplating the situation of the country at this important conjuncture, it is impossible for me to refrain from expressing the deep sense I entertain of the temper and fortitions of my faithful subjects, under the various tude which have been manifested by all descripand complicated difficulties with which they have had to contend. The distinguished valour and eminent services of my forces by sea and land, which, at no period, have been surpassed; the unprecedented exertions of the Militia and Fencibles, and the zeal and perseverance of the Yeomanry and Volunteer Corps of Cavalry and Infantry, are entitled to my warmest acknowledgments; and I am persuaded that you will join with me in reflecting, with peculiar satisfaction, on the naval and military operations of the last campaign; and on the successful and glorious issue of the expedition to Egypt, which has been marked throughout by achievements, tending in their consequences and by their example to produce lasting advantage and honour to this country. It is my first wish, and most fervent prayer, that my people may experience the reward they have so well merited, in a full enjoyment of the blessings of peace, in a progressive increase of the national commerce, credit, and resources; and, above all, in the undisturbed possession of their religion, laws, and liberties, under the safeguard and protection of that Constitution which it has been the great object of all our efforts to preserve, and which it is our most sacred duty to transmit, unimpaired, to our descendants. GEORGE III. [CLOSING OF PARLIAMENT, JUNE 28, 1802.] MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, it proper to close this Session of Parliament. The public business being concluded, I think During a long and laborious attendance, you have invariably manifested the just sense you entertain of the great trust committed to your charge. The objects of your deliberations have been unusually numerous and important; and I derive the utmost satisfaction from the conviction that the wisdom of your proceeding will be fully proved by their effects in promoting the best interests of my people throughout every part of my dominions. GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, The ample provision you have made for the various branches of the public service demands my warmest acknowledgments; and my particular thanks are due for the liberality which you have shown in exonerating my Civil Government and Household from the debts with which they were unavoidably burthenedant of the supplies which circumstances have rendered necessary, it is a relief to me to contemplate the state of our manufactures, commerce, and revenue, which affords the most decisive and gratifying proofs of the abundance of our internal resources, and of the growing prosperity of the country. MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, As I think it expedient that the election of a new Parliament should take place without delay, it is my intention forthwith to give directions for dissolving the present, and for calling a new Parliament. In communicating to you this intention, I cannot suppress those sentiments of entire approbation with which I reflect upon every part of your conduct since I first met you in this place. The unexampled difficulties of our situation required the utmost efforts of that wisdom and fortitude which you so eminently displayed in contending with them, and by which they have been so happily surmounted. From your judicious and salutary measures during the last year, my people derived all the relief which could be afforded under one of the severest dispensations of Providence; and it was by the spirit and determination which uniformly animated your Councils, aided by the unprecedented exertions of my fleets and armies, and the zealous and cordial co-operations of my people, that I was with honour, the long and arduous contest in enabled to prosecute with success, and terminate which we have been engaged. The same sense of public duty, the same solicitude for the welfare of your country, will now, in your individual characters, induce you to encourage, by all the means in your power, the cultivation and improvement of the advantages of peace. the blessings by which we are so eminently disMy endeavours will never be wanting to preserve tinguished, and to prove that the prosperity and happiness of all classes of my faithful subjects are the objects which are always the nearest to my heart. GEORGE III. [OPENING OF PARLIAMENT, NOV. 23, 1802.] MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, It is highly gratifying to me to resort to your advice and assistance, after the opportunity which has been recently afforded of collecting the sense of my people. The internal prosperity of the country has realized my most sanguine hopes; we have experienced the bounty of Divine Providence in the produce of an abundant harvest. The state of the manufactures, commerce, and revenues of my United Kingdom is flourishing beyond example; and the loyalty and attachment which are manifested to my person and Government afford the strongest indication of the just sense that is entertained of the numerous blessings enjoyed under the protection of our happy_Constitution. In my intercourse with foreign Powers, I have been actuated by a sincere disposition for the maintenance of peace. It is nevertheless impossible for me to lose sight of that established and wise system of policy, by which the interests of other States are connected with our own; and I cannot therefore be indifferent to any material change in their relative condition and strength. My conduct will be invariably regulated by a due consideration of the actual situation of Europe, and by a watchful solicitude for the permanent welfare of my people. You will, I am persuaded, agree with me in thinking that it is incumbent upon us to adopt those means of security which are best calculated to afford the prospect of preserving to my subjects the blessings of peace. GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, I have ordered the estimates for the ensuing year to be laid before you; and I rely on your zeal and liberality in providing for the various branches of the public service; which it is a great satisfaction to me to think may be fully accomplished without any considerable addition to the burdens of my people. MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, I contemplate with the utmost satisfaction the great and increasing benefits produced by that important measure which has united the interests and consolidated the resources of Great Britain and Ireland. The improvement and extension of these advantages will be objects of your unremitting care and attention. The trade and commerce of my subjects, so essential to the support of public credit and of our maritime strength, will, I am persuaded, receive from you every possible encouragement; and you will readily lend your assistance in affording to mercantile transactions in every part of my United Kingdom all the facility and accommodation that may be consistent with the public revenue. To uphold the honour of the country, to encourage its industry, to improve its resources, and to maintain the true principles of the Constitution in Church and State, are the great [CLOSING OF PARLIAMENT, AUG. 12, 1803.] I am at length enabled, by the state of public business, to release you from your long and laborious attendance in Parliament. In closing the Session, I have the utmost satisfaction in expressing the strong sense which I entertain of that zealous and unwearied regard for the welfare and honour of your country which has distinguished all your pro ceedings. During the continuance of peace, your conduct manifested the just view which you had taken of our actual situation, and of the dangers against which you were peculiarly called upon to provide; and since the recurrence of hostilities, you have displayed an energy and promptitude which have never been surpassed, in the means which you have applied for the defence of the country, and for the vigorous prosecution of the war. Your proceedings, in consequence of the late treasonable and atrocious occurrences in Ireland, will, I trust, have the effect of preventing any further interruption of its internal in that part of the United Kingdom that they tranquillity, and of convincing my loyal subjects may confidently rely on that protection to which they are so justly entitled. In the midst of the deliberations which were occasioned by the immediate exigency of the times, you have not been unmindful of other objects, to which I had directed your attention; and I have great satisfaction in observing that you have completed a system for consolidating the duties and regulating the collection and management of the several branches of the revenue; and that you have adopted measures which are calculated to afford material accommodation to the mercantile part of the community, and to encourage and extend the navigation and commerce of my dominions. GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, I return you my particular thanks for the liberality and readiness with which you have granted the supplies for the public service. It is painful to me to reflect that the means of necessary exertion cannot be provided without a heavy pressure upon my faithful people; but I cannot sufficiently applaud that wisdom and fortitude which have led you to overlook considerations of temporary convenience, for the purpose of preventing a large accumulation of debt during the continuance of the war. You may be assured that there shall be as strict an attention to economy on my part as may be consistent with those preparations and exertions which will be best calculated to frustrate the designs and weaken the power of the enemy, by whose arrogant pretensions and restless ambition alone these sacrifices have been rendered unavoidable. MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, I am fully persuaded that, during the cessation of your Parliamentary duties, you will continue to be actuated by the same spirit which has been uniformly displayed in your councils. It will be your duty to assist in carrying into effect those important measures which your wisdom has matured for the defence and security of the realm; and particularly to give the most beneficial direction to that ardour and enthusiasm in the cause of their country, which animate all classes of my people. Justly sensible of the state of pre-eminence, in which it has pleased the Almighty to support us, for so many ages, amongst the nations of Europe, I rely with confidence that under the continuance of His Divine protection, the exertions of my brave and loyal subjects will prove to the enemy and to the world that an attempt to subvert the independence, or impair the power of this United Kingdom, will terminate in the disgrace and ruin of those by whom it may be made, and that my people will find an ample reward for all their sacrifices in an undisturbed enjoyment of that freedom and security which, by their patriotism and valour, they will have preserved and ensured to themselves and their posterity. GEORGE III. [OPENING OF PARLIAMENT, NOV. 22, 1803.] MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, Since I last met you in Parliament, it has been my chief object to carry into effect those measures which your wisdom had adopted for the defence of the United Kingdom, and for the vigorous prosecution of the war. In these preparations I have been seconded by the voluntary exertions of all ranks of my people, in a manner that has, if possible, strengthened they have proved that the menaces of the entheir claims to my confidence and affection: emy have only served to rouse their native and hereditary spirit; and that all other considerations are lost in a general disposition to make those efforts and sacrifices which the honour and safety of the Kingdom demand at this important and critical conjuncture. Though my attention has principally been directed to the great object of internal security, no opportunity has been lost of making an impression on the foreign possessions of the enemy. The Islands of St. Lucia, of Tobago, of St. Pierre, and Miquelon, and the settlements of Demerara and Essequibo, have surrendered to the British arms. In the conduct of the operahave been made, the utmost promptitude and tions by which those valuable acquisitions zeal tion. have been displayed by the officers employed on those services, and by my forces acting under their command by sea and land. In Ireland, the leaders, and several inferior agents in the late traitorous and atrocious conspiracy, have been brought to justice; and the public tranquillity has experienced no further interrupI indulge the hope that such of my deluded subjects as have swerved from their allegiance are now convinced of their error; and that having compared the advantages they derive from the protection of a free Constitution with the condition of those countries which are under the dominion of the French Government, they will cordially and zealously concur in resisting any attempt that may be made against the security and independence of my United Kingdom. GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, I have a perfect reliance on your public spirit for the service of the year. for making such provision as may be necessary The progressive improvement of the revenue cannot fail to encourage you to persevere in the system which has been adopted of defraying the expenses of the war with as little addition as possible to the public debt, and to the permanent burdens of the State. I lament the heavy pressure which, under the present circumstances, must unavoidably be experienced by my people; but good sense and fortitude which so eminently I am persuaded that they will meet it with the distinguish their character, under a conviction of the indispensable importance of upholding the dignity, and for the providing effectually for the safety of the Empire. MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, I have concluded a convention with the King of Sweden, for the purpose of adjusting all the differences which have arisen on the subject of the eleventh article of the treaty of 1661. I have directed that a copy of this convention should be laid before you, and you will, I trust, be of opinion that the arrangement, whilst it upholds our maritime rights, is founded on those principles of reciprocal advantage which are best calculated to maintain and improve the good understanding which happily subsists between the two countries. In the prosecution of the contest in which we are engaged, it shall be, as it has ever been, my first object to execute, as becomes me, the great trust committed to my charge. Embarked with my brave and loyal people in one common cause, it is my fixed determination, if the occasion should arise, to share their exertions and their dangers in the defence of our constitution, our religion, our laws, and independence. To the activity and valour of my fleets and armies, to the zeal and unconquerable spirit of my faithful subjects, I confide the honour of my Crown, and all those valuable interests which are involved in the issue of this momentous contest. Actuated by these sentiments, and humbly imploring the blessing of Divine Providence, I look forward with a firm conviction that if, contrary to all just expectation, the enemy should elude the vigilance of my numerous fleets and cruisers, and attempt to execute their presumptuous threats of invading our coasts, the consequence will be to them discomfiture, confusion, and disgrace; and tha ours will not only be the glory of surmounting present difficulties and repelling immediate danger, but the solid and permanent advantage of fixing the safety and independence of the kingresult of its own tried energy and resources. dom on the basis of acknowledged strength, the GEORGE III. [CLOSING OF PARLIAMENT, AUG, 1, 1804.] MY LORDS AND Gentlemen, Before I put an end to the present Session of Parliament, I am desirous of expressing my entire approbation of the zeal and assiduity with which you have applied yourselves to the great objects of public concern which have come under your consideration. You have wisely continued to direct your attention to the encouragement and improvement of that respectable and powerful Volunteer Force which the ardour and spirit of my subjects have enabled me to establish, to an extent hitherto unexampled. You have at the same time endeavoured to combine an additional establishment for our domestic defence with the means of augmenting our regular army, and of maintaining it on such a scale as may be proportioned to the circumstances of the times, and to the rank which the country ought ever to hold among the Powers of Europe. GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, You are entitled to my warmest acknowledgments for the fresh proof which you have given me of your affectionate attachment to my person and family, and your regard to the provision which you have made for the payment honour and dignity of my Crown, by the liberal of the debt on my Civil List Revenue, and for furnishing me with the additional means of defraying the increase which has unavoidably taken place in the different branches of my expenditure. I must also return you my warmest thanks for the extensive provision which you have made for the exigencies of the public service, and especially for the just and prudent attention which you have shown to true economy, and to the permanent credit and welfare of the country, by the great exertions you have made for preventing, as far as possible, the accumulation of debt, and for raising so large the year. a proportion of the expenses of the war within MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, to I have now only to recommend to you carry into your respective counties the same zeal for the public interest which has guided all your proceedings. It will be your particular duty to inculcate on the minds of all classes of my subjects that the preservation of all that is most dear to them requires the continuance of their unremitted exertions for the national defence. The preparations which the enemy has long been forming for the declared purpose of invading this kingdom are daily augmented, and the attempt appears to have been delayed only with the view of procuring additional means for carrying it into execution. Relying on the skill, valour, and discipline of my naval and military force, aided by the voluntary zeal and native courage of my people, I look with confidence to the issue of this great conflict; and I doubt not that it will terminate, under the blessing of Providence, not only in repelling the danger of the moment, but in establishing, in the eyes of foreign nations, the security of this country on a basis never to be shaken. In addition to the first and great object, I entertain the animating hope that the benefit to be derived from our successful exertions will not be confined within ourselves; but that by their example and their consequences, they may lead to the re-establishment of such a system in Europe as may rescue it from the pre fied sentiments by which he is animated, and GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, His Majesty most deeply regrets that the day of that memorable triumph should have been unhappily clouded with the fall of the heroic commander under whom it was achieved, and he is persuaded that you will feel that this lamented but glorious termination of a series expression of the lasting gratitude of his country; of transcendent exploits claims a distinguished and that you will therefore cheerfully concur in carious state to which it is reduced; and may pend on the vigour of our exertions, and that enabling his Majesty to annex to those honours finally raise an effectual barrier against the unbounded schemes of aggrandisement and ambition which threaten every independent nation that yet remains on the Continent. GEORGE III. [OPENING OF PARLIAMENT, JAN. 15, 1805.] Since the end of the last Session, the preparations of the enemy for the invasion of this kingdom have been continued with incessant activity, but no attempt has been made to carry their repeated menaces into effect. The skill and intrepidity of my navy, the respectable and formidable state of my army and militia, the unabated zeal and improved discipline of a numerous volunteer force, and the general ardour manifested by all classes of my subjects, have indeed been sufficient to deter them from so presumptuous and desperate an .enterprise. While this spirit continues to animate the country, and its voluntary exertions for its own defence subsist in their full vigour, we need not fear the consequences of the most powerful efforts on the part of the enemy. But let us never forget that our security has arisen from the resolution with which we have met and provided against the danger, and that it can be preserved only by steady perseverance and unremitting activity. The conduct of the Court of Spain, evidently under the predominant influence and control of France, compelled me to take prompt and decisive measures to guard against the effects of hostility. I have, at the same time, endeavoured, as long as it was possible, to prevent the necessity of a rupture; but, in consequence of the refusal of a satisfactory explanation, my Minister quitted Madrid, and war has since been declared by Spain against this country. MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, I have directed a copy of the Manifesto, which I have caused to be prepared on the occasion, to be laid before you, together with such papers have taken place between me and the Court of as are necessary to explain the discussions which Madrid. You will, I trust, be convinced by them that my forbearance has been carried to the utmost extent which the interests of my dominions would admit, and while I lament the situation of Spain, involved in hostilities contrary to its true inerests, I rely with confidence on your vigorous support in a contest which can be attributed only to the unfortunate prevalence of French counsels. and at the same time to take all such measures vigour may afford the best prospect of bringing it to a safe and honourable termination. GEORGE III. [CLOSING OF PARLIAMENT, JULY 12, 1805.] The general conduct of the French Government on the Continent of Europe has been marked by the utmost violence and outrage, and has shown a wanton defiance of the rights of neutral territories, of the acknowledged privileges of accredited Ministers, and of the established principles of the law of nations. Notwithstanding these transactions, so repugnant to every sentiment of moderation and justice, I have recently received a communication from the French Government, containing professions of a pacific disposition. GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, His Majesty has directed us particularly to thank you, in his Majesty's name, for the zeal and liberality with which you have granted the large supplies which the necessity of the public service has required. MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, which he has conferred on the family of the late Lord Viscount Nelson, such a mark of national munificence as may preserve to the latest posterity the memory of his name and services, and the benefit of his great example. His Majesty has commanded us further to inform you that while the superiority of his arms at sea has been thus uniformly asserted and maintained, he has not been wanting in his endeavours to apply the means which were so liberally placed at his disposal, in aid of such of the Powers of the Continent as had evinced determination to resist the formidable and ted the several treaties to be laid before you; growing encroachments of France. He has direcand though he cannot but deeply lament that the events of the war in Germany have disappointed his hopes, and led to an unfavourable issue, yet his Majesty feels confident that, upon a review of the steps which he has taken, you will be of opinion that he has left nothing undone on his part to sustain the efforts of his allies, and that he has acted in strict conformity to the principles declared by him and recognized by Parliament as essential to the interests and security of his own dominions, as well as to the general safety of the Continent. It is a great consolation to his Majesty, and one in which he is persuaded you will participate, that although the Emperor of Germany has felt himself compelled to withdraw from the contest, his Majesty continues to receive from his august ally, the Emperor of Russia, the strongest assurances of unshaken adherence to that generous and enlightened policy by which he has hitherto been actuated; and his sensible of the important advantage to be derived Majesty has no doubt that you will be fully from preserving, at all times, the closest and most intimate connection with that Sovereign. GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, His Majesty has not yet been enabled to communicate to you the result of the negotiations in which he is engaged with Powers on the ConHis Majesty has directed the estimates for the tinent; but you may rest assured that no step will be omitted on his Majesty's part for promot- year to be laid before you, and he has commanded us to inform you that they are formed upon that ing such a concert as may afford the best proslity; or may, if necessary, furnish the means of pect of restoring general and permanent tranquil-scale of exertion which the present situation of the country renders indispensable. His Majesty fully relies upon your granting him such supplies repelling with vigour the continued encroachments on the part of the French Government, as, upon due deliberation, the public exigencies which threaten, every day more and more, the may appear to require. liberty and independence of all the nations of Europe. I have in consequence expressed my earnest desire to embrace the first opportunity of restoring the blessings of peace, on such grounds as may be consistent with the permanent safety and interests of my dominions; but I am confident you will agree with me that those objects are closely connected with the general security of Europe. I have, therefore, not thought it right to enter into any more particular explanation, without previous communication with those Powers on the Continent with whom I am engaged in confidential intercourse and connection, with a view to that important object, and especially with the Emperor of Russia, who has given the strongest proofs of the wise and digni GEORGE III. [OPENING OF Parliament, Jan. 21, 1806.] MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, In pursuance of the authority given to us by his Majesty's commission, under the great seal, amongst other things to declare the cause of his holding this Parliament, his Majesty has directed us particularly to call your attention to the most decisive success with which Providence has vouchsafed to bless his Majesty's arms at sea since you were last assembled in Parliament. The activity and perseverance of his Majesty's fleets have been conspicuously displayed in the pursuit and attack of the different squadrons of the enemy, and every encounter has terminated to the honour of the British flag and the diminution of the naval force of the Powers with whom his Majesty is at war; but the victory obtained over the combined fleet of France and Spain, off cape Trafalgar, has manifested, beyond any exploit recorded even in the annals of the British navy, the skill and enterprise of his Majesty's officers and seamen, and the destruction of so large a proportion of the naval strength of the enemy has not only confirmed, in the most signal manner, the maritime superiority of this country, but has essentially contributed to the security of his Majesty's dominions. It is his earnest wish to contribute, by every means in his power, to alleviate the additional burdens which must necessarily be imposed upon his people, and with this view he has directed the sum of one million sterling, part of the proceeds arising from the sale of such prizes made on the Powers with which he is at war, as are by law vested in the Crown, to be applied to the public service of the year. MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, His Majesty is fully persuaded that, whatever pride and confidence you may feel in common with him in the success which has distinguished the British arms in the course of the present contest, you will be sensible how much the events of the war on the continent, by which the predominant power and influence of France have been so unhappily extended, require the continuance of all possible vigilance and exertion. Under this impression, his Majesty trusts that your attention will be invariably directed to the improvement of those means which are to be found in the bravery and discipline of his forces, in the zeal and loyalty of every class of his subjects, and in the unexhausted resources of his dominions, for rendering the British Empire invincible at home as well as formidable abroad; satisfied that by such efforts alone the contest can be brought to a conclusion consistent with the safety and independence of the country, and with its rank amongst the nations of the world. [CLOSING OF PARLIAMENT, JULY 23, 1806.] MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, His Majesty has commanded us to acquaint you, that the state of the public business enables his Majesty to close this Session of Parliament. We are, at the same time, directed to express to you the great satisfaction which his Majesty has derived from your unremitting zeal and diligence, and from that attention to the most important interests of his empire which has been so conspicuously manifested in all your proceedings. The measures which have been adopted for the permanent improvement of the various branches of our military system, your attention to combine these arrangements with the great object of public economy, and the regulations which you have established for the speedy and effectual audit of the public accounts, call for his Majesty's particular acknowledgments. GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, We have it in command from his Majesty to thank you for the provision which you have made for the various exigencies of the public service particularly by raising within the year so very large a proportion of the necessary supplies a measure in itself highly advantageous, and which must create, both at home and abroad, the most favourable impression of our national resources, and of the spirit which animates the British people. You may be assured that the utmost attention shall be paid to the frugal administration of those supplies which you have so liberally granted. His Majesty is particularly sensible of the fresh proof he has received of your affectionate attachment to him, in the provision which you have made for enabling the younger branches of his royal family to meet the necessary expenses of their stations. MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, His Majesty being always anxious for the restoration of peace on just and honourable terms, is engaged in discussions with a view to the accomplishment of this most desirable and. Their success must depend on a corresponding disposition on the part of the enemy; and in every event his Majesty looks with the fullest confidence to the continuance of that union and public spirit among all ranks of his people, which can alone give energy to war or security to peace. GEORGE III. [OPENING OF PARLIAMENT, DEC. 19, 1806.] His Majesty has commanded us to assure you that in the difficult and arduous circumstances under which you are now assembled, it is a great satisfaction to him to recur to the firmness and wisdom of his Parliament, after so recent an opportunity of collecting the sense of his people. His Majesty has ordered the papers which have been exchanged in the course of the late negotiations with France to be laid before you. His Majesty has employed every effort for the restoration of general tranquillity, on terms consistent with the interest and honour of his people, and with that inviolable good faith towards his allies by which the conduct of this country has always been distinguished. The ambition and injustice of the enemy disappointed these endeavours, and in the same moment kindled a fresh war in Europe, the progress of which has been attended with the most calamitous events. After witnessing the subversion of the ancient constitution of Germany, and the subjugation of a large proportion of its most considerable States, Prussia found herself still more nearly threatened by that danger which she had vainly hoped to avert by so many sacrifices. She was, therefore, at length compelled to adopt the resolution of openly resisting this unremitted system of aggrandizement and conquest. But neither this determination, nor the succeeding measures were previously concerted with his Majesty, nor had any disposition been shown to offer any adequate satisfaction for those aggressions which had placed the two countries in a state of mutual hostility. Yet, in this situation, his Majesty did not hesitate to adopt, without delay, such measures as were best calculated to unite their councils and interests against the common enemy. The rapid course of the calamities which ensued opposed insurmountable difficulties to the execution of this purpose. In the midst of these disastrous events, and under the most trying circumstances, the good faith of his Majesty's allies has remained unshaken. The conduct of the King of Sweden has been distinguished by the most honourable firmness. Between his Majesty and the Emperor of Russia the happiest union subsists; it has been cemented by reciprocal proofs of good faith and confidence, and his Majesty doubts cultivate and confirm an alliance which affords not that you will participate in his anxiety to the only remaining hope of safety for the Continent of Europe. GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, His Majesty looks with confidence to your assistance in those exertions which the honour necessity of adding to the public burthens will and independence of our country demand. The tressing to his Majesty. In considering the be painful to your feelings, and is deeply disestimates for the various branches of the public service, you will best consult his Majesty's wishes by combining all practical economy with those efforts which it is necessary to make against the formidable and increasing power of the enemy. MY LORDS AND Gentlemen, The long series of misfortunes which have afflicted the Continent of Europe could not fail to affect, in some degree, many important interests of the country. But under every successive difficulty, his Majesty has had the satisfaction of witnessing an increasing energy and firmness on the part of his people, whose uniform and determined resistance has been no less advantageous than honourable to themselves, and has exhibited the most striking example to the surrounding nations. The unconquerable armies continue to be displayed with undimivalour and discipline of his Majesty's fleets and nished lustre. The great sources of our prosperity and strength are unimpaired, nor has the British nation been, at any time, more united in sentiment and action, or more determined to maintain inviolate the independence of the Empire and the dignity of the national character. With these advantages, and with an humble reliance on the protection of the Divine Providence, his Majesty is prepared to meet the exigencies of this great crisis, assured of receiving the fullest support from the wisdom of your deliberations, and from the tried affection, loyalty, and public spirit of his brave people. GEORGE III. [CLOSING OF PARLIAMENT, APRIL 27, 1807.] MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, We have it in command from his Majesty to inform you that his Majesty has thought fit to avail himself of the first moment which would admit of an interruption of the sitting of Parliament, without material inconvenience to the public business, to close the present Session; and that his Majesty has therefore been pleased to cause a Commission to be issued, under the Great Seal, for proroguing Parliament. We are further commanded to state to you that his Majesty is anxious to recur to the sense of his people, while the events which have recently taken place are yet fresh in their recollection. His Majesty feels that in resorting to this measure, under the present circumstances, he at once demonstrates, in the most unequivocal manner, his own conscientious persuasion of the rectitude of those motives upon which he has acted, and affords to his people the best opportunity of testifying their determination to support him in every exercise of the prerogatives of his Crown, which is conformable to the sacred obligations under which they are held, and conducive to the welfare of his kingdom, and to the security of the Constitution. His Majesty directs us to express his entire conviction that after so long a reign, marked by a series of indulgences to his Roman Catholic subjects, they, in common with every other class of his people, must feel just and enlightened toleration, and of his assured of his attachment to the principles of a anxious desire to protect equally, and promote impartially, the happiness of all descriptions of his subjects. GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, His Majesty has commanded us to thank you, in his Majesty 's name, for the supplies which you have furnished for the public service. He has able to find the means of defraying, in the present seen with great satisfaction that you have been year, those large but necessary expenses for which you have provided, without imposing upon his people the immediate burthen of additional faction the enquiries which you have instituted taxes. His Majesty has observed with no less satisinto subjects connected with the public economy; and he trusts that the early attention of a new Parliament, which he will forthwith direct to be called, will be applied to the prosecution of these important objects. MY LORDS AND Gentlemen, His Majesty has directed us most earnestly by all means in your power, a spirit of union, to recommend to you that you should cultivate, harmony, and good will amongst all classes and descriptions of his people. His Majesty trusts that the divisions naturally and unavoidably for agitation of a question so interesting to the excited by the late unfortunate and uncalledfeelings and opinions of his people will speedily pass away; and that the prevailing sense and determination of all his subjects to exert their united efforts in the cause of their country, will enable his Majesty to conduct to an honourable and secure termination the great contest in which he is engaged. GEORGE III. [OPENING OF PARLIAMENT, JUNE 22, 1807.] MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, We have it in command from his Majesty to state to you that having deemed it expedient to recur to the sense of his people, his Majesty, in conformity to his declared intention, has lost no time in causing the present Parliament to be assembled. His Majesty has great satisfaction in acquainting you that since the events which led to the dissolution of Parliament, his Majesty has received, in numerous addresses from his subjects, the warmest assurances of their affectionate of their firm resolution to support him in attachment to his person and government, and maintaining the just rights of his Crown and the true principles of the Constitution; and he commands us to express his entire confidence that he shall experience in all your deliberations a determination to afford him an equally loyal, zealous, and affectionate support, under all the arduous circumstances of the present time. We are commandel by his Majesty to inform you that his Majesty's endeavours have been most anxiously employed for the purpose of drawing closer the ties by which his Majesty is connected with the Powers of the Continent; of assisting the efforts of those powers against the ambition and oppression of France; of forming such engagements as may ensure their continued co-operation; and of establishing that mutual confidence and concert so essential under any course of events to the restoration of a solid and permanent peace in Europe. It would have afforded his Majesty the greatest pleasure to have been enabled to inform you that the mediation undertaken by his Majesty for the purpose of preserving peace between his Majesty's ally, the Emperor of Russia, and the Sublime Porte, had proved effectual for that important object; his Majesty deeply regrets the failure of that mediation, accompanied as it was by the disappointment of the efforts of his Majesty's squadron in the Sea of Marmora, and followed as it has since been by the losses which have been sustained by his gallant troops in Egypt. His Majesty could not but lament the extension of hostilities in any quarter which should create a diversion in the war so favourable to the views of France; but lamenting it especially in the instance of a Power with which his Majesty has been so closely connected, and which has arms. His Majesty has directed us to acquaint you that he has thought it right to adopt such measures as might best enable him, in concert with the Emperor of Russia, to take advantage of any favourable opportunity for bringing the hostilities in which they are engaged against the Sublime Porte to a conclusion, consistent with his Majesty's honour and the interest of his ally. GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, His Majesty has ordered the estimates of the current year to be laid before you, and he relies on the zeal of his faithful Commons to make such provisions for the public service, as well as for the further application of the sums which were granted in the last Parliament, as may appear to be necessary. And his Majesty, bearing constantly in mind the necessity of a careful and economical administration of the pecuniary resources of the country, has directed us to express his hopes that you will proceed without delay in the pursuit of those enquiries connected with the public economy which engaged the attention of the last Parliament. MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, His Majesty commands us to state to you that he is deeply impressed with the peculiar importance, at the present moment, of cherishing a spirit of union and harmony amongst his people; such a spirit will most effectually promote the prosperity of the country at home, give vigour and efficacy to its councils, and its arms abroad, and can alone enable his Majesty, under the blessing of Providence, to carry on successfully the great contest in which he is engaged, or finally to conduct it to that termination which his Majesty's moderation and justice have ever led him to seek, a peace in which the honour and interest of his kingdom can be secure, and in which Europe and the world may hope for independence and repose. GEORGE III. [CLOSING OF PARLIAMENT, AUG. 14, 1807.] We have it in command from his Majesty to But his Majesty trusts that the loyal and brave people over whom he reigns are not to be discouraged or disheartened. From the recollection of those difficulties under which his people have successfully struggled, and of those dangers which they have happily surmounted, his Majesty derives the consolation of believing that the same spirit and perseverance which have hitherto remained unbroken will continue to be exerted with unabated vigour and success. And while his Majesty commands us to repeat the assurances of his constant readiness to entertain any proposals that may lead to a secure and honourable peace, he commands us at the same time to express his confidence that his Parliament and people will feel with him the necessity of persevering in those vigorous efforts which alone can give the character of honour to any negotiation, or the prospect of security or permanence to any peace. His Majesty, therefore, trusts that his people will be always ready to support him in every measure which may be necessary to defeat the designs of his enemies against the independence of his Majesty's dominions, and to maintain against any undue pretensions, and against any hostile confederacy, those just rights which his Majesty is always desirous to exercise with temper and moderation; but which, as essential to the honour of his Crown, and the true interests of his people, he is determined never to surrender. GEORGE III. [OPENING OF PARLIAMENT, JAN. 21, 1808.] Power so long the friend and ally of Great We have received his Majesty's commands His Majesty has been graciously pleased to GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, MY LORDS AND Gentlemen, The immense extension of the power and fleet, his Majesty has commanded us to assure of this duty, so far as related to the Danish you that it was with the deepest reluctance that his Majesty found himself compelled, after his earnest endeavours to open a negotiation with the Danish Government had failed, to authorize his commanders to resort to the extremity of force, but that he has the greatest satisfaction in congratulating you upon the successful execution of this painful, but necessary, service. We are further commanded to acquaint you that the course which his Majesty had to pursue with respect to Portugal was, happily, of a nature more congenial to his Majesty's feelings. The timely and unreserved communication by the Court of Lisbon, of the demands and designs of France, while it confirmed to his Majesty the authenticity of the advices which he had received from other quarters, entitled that Court to his Majesty's confidence, in the sincerity of the assurances by which that communication was accompanied. The fleet of Portugal was destined by France to be employed as an instrument of vengeance against Great Britain. That fleet has been secured from the grasp of France, and is now employed in conveying to its American dominions the hopes and fortunes of the Portuguese monarchy. His Majesty implores the protection of Divine Providence upon that enterprise, rejoicing in the preservation of a 7 1 |