§ His Majesty, accompanied by the usual Officers of State, proceeded to the House of Peers to Prorogue the Parliament.
§ The House of Commons having been summoned to wait upon his Majesty, the Speaker, accompanied by Lord Althorp, and several other Members of the House appeared at the Bar.
The Speaker, holding the Appropriation Bill in his hand, then addressed his Majesty as follows:—"May it please your Majesty—We, your Majesty's most faithful Commons, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled, attend your Majesty at the close of a Session unusually protracted; and, Sire, among difficulties and anxiety, both within und without the walls of Parliament, and labours unprecedented in any former Session, we presume to hope that, we have discharged our duties as faithful Representatives of the people of these realms, and as loyal and devotedly attached subjects of your Majesty. Sire, the last bill which I have now to present is entitled, 'An Act to apply the sum of 1,800,000l. out of the Consolidated Fund, 927 to the service of the year 1831, and to appropriate the supplies granted in this Session of Parliament,' to which, with all humility, we pray your Majesty's royal assent."
The Royal Assent was then given to the bill brought up by the Speaker, and to the following Bills:—Duties on Hops, Distillation of Spirits (Ireland), Valuation of Lands (Ireland), Military Accounts (Ireland), Embankment (Ireland), Bankruptcy Court Bill. Adverse Claims in Courts of Law, Select Vestries, and Enclosure of Crown Lands.
§
His Majesty then delivered the following Speech:—
"My Lords and Gentlemen;
I am at length enabled to put an end to a Session of unexampled duration and labour, in which matters of the deepest interest have been brought under your consideration.
I have felt sincere satisfaction in confirming, by my Royal assent, Bills for the amendment of the Game Laws, and for the reduction of Taxes, which pressed heavily on the industry of my people; and I have observed with no less pleasure the commencement of important improvements in the Law of Bankruptcy, from which the most beneficial effects may be expected.
I continue to receive the most gratifying proofs of the friendly disposition of Foreign Powers.
The Conference assembled in London has at length terminated its difficult and laborious discussions, by an arrangement unanimously agreed upon by the Plenipotentiaries of the Five Powers, for the separation of the States of Holland and Belgium, on terms by which the interests of both, together with the future security of other countries, have been carefully provided for.
A treaty, founded on this arrangement, has been presented to the Dutch and Belgian Plenipotentiaries, and I trust that its acceptance by their respective Courts, which I anxiously expect, will avert the dangers by which the peace of
928
Europe was threatened whilst this question remained unsettled.
"Gentlemen of the House of Commons;
I thank you for the provision made for the future dignity and comfort of my Royal Consort, in the event of her surviving me, and for the supplies which you have granted for the service of the present year. You may be assured of my anxious care to have them administered with the strictest attention to a well considered economy.
The state of Europe has made it necessary to incur, in the various establishments of the public service, an increased expenditure, which it will be my earnest desire to reduce whenever it can be done with safety to the interests of the country. In the meantime I have the satisfaction of reflecting that these demands have been provided for without any material addition to the public burthens.
"My Lords and Gentlemen;
In the interval of repose which may now be afforded you, I am sure it is unnecessary for me to recommend to you the most careful attention to the preservation of tranquillity in your respective counties.
The anxiety which has been so generally manifested by my people for the accomplishment of a Constitutional Reform in the Commons House of Parliament will, I trust, be regulated by a due sense of the necessity of order and moderation in their proceedings.
To the consideration of this important question the attention of Parliament must necessarily again be called at the opening of the ensuing Session; and you may be assured of my unaltered desire to promote its settlement, by such improvements in the Representation as may be found necessary for securing to my people the full enjoyment of their rights, which, in combination with those of the other orders of the State, are essential to the support of our free Constitution.
929
The Lord Chancellor, by his Majesty's command, said—
"My Lords, and Gentlemen;
It is his Majesty's royal will and pleasure, that this Parliament be prorogued to Tuesday the twenty-second day of November next, to be then here holden, and this Parliament is accordingly prorogued to Tuesday, the twenty-second day of November next.
§ His Majesty retired, attended by Earl Grey, the Lord Chancellor, and the other officers of State; the Commons also retired from the Bar, and the Parliament separated.