§ His Majesty went in state to the House of Lords this day, and the Commons having been summoned to the bar of the House of Peers, his Majesty delivered the following Speech:—
§ "My Lords and Gentlemen,
§ " It is with great satisfaction that I meet you in Parliament, and that I am enabled, in the present conjuncture, to recur to your advice.
§ "Since the dissolution of the late Parliament, events of deep interest and importance have occurred on the Continent of Europe.
§ "The Elder Branch of the House of Bourbon no longer reigns in France, and the Duke of Orleans has been called to the Throne by the title of King of the French.
§ "Having received from the new So- 9 vereign a declaration of his earnest desire to cultivate the good understanding, and to maintain inviolate all the engagements subsisting with this country, I did not hesitate to continue my diplomatic relations and friendly intercourse with the French Court.
§ "I have witnessed, with deep regret, the state of affairs in the Low Countries.
§ "I lament that the enlightened Administration of the King should not have preserved his dominions from revolt; and that the wise and prudent measure of submitting the desires and the complaints of his people to the deliberations of an Extraordinary Meeting of the States General should have led to no satisfactory result. I am endeavouring, in concert with my Allies, to devise such means of restoring tranquillity as may be compatible with the welfare and good government of the Netherlands, and with the future security of other States.
§ "Appearances of tumult and disorder have produced uneasiness in different parts of Europe; but the assurances of a friendly disposition, which I continue to receive from all Foreign Powers, justify the expectation that I shall be enabled to preserve for my people the blessings of peace.
§ "Impressed at all times with the necessity of respecting the faith of national engagements, I am persuaded that my determination to maintain, in conjunction with my Allies, those general Treaties by which the political system of Europe has been established, will offer the best security for the repose of the world.
§ "I have not yet accredited my Ambassador to the Court of Lisbon; but the Portuguese Government having determined to perform a great act of justice and humanity, by the grant of a general amnesty, I think that the time may shortly arrive when the interests of my subjects will demand a renewal of those relations which had so long existed between the two countries.
10§ "I am impelled, by the deep solicitude which I feel for the welfare of my people, to recommend to your immediate consideration the provisions which it may be advisable to make for the exercise of the Royal Authority, in case that it should please Almighty God to terminate my life before my successor shall have arrived at years of maturity.
§ "I shall be prepared to concur with you in the adoption of those measures which may appear best calculated to maintain, unimpaired the stability and dignity of the Crown, and thereby to strengthen the securities by which the Civil and Religious Liberties of my People are guarded.
§ "Gentlemen of the House of Commons,
§ "I have ordered the Estimates for those Services of the present year, for which the last Parliament did not fully provide, to be forthwith laid before you. The Estimates for the ensuing year will be prepared with that strict regard to economy which I am determined to enforce in every branch of the Public Expenditure.
§ "By the demise of my lamented brother, the late King, the Civil List Revenue has expired.
§ "I place without reserve at your disposal my interest in the Hereditary Revenues, and in those funds which may be derived from any Droits of the Crown or Admiralty, from the West-India Duties, or from any casual revenues, either in my foreign possessions or in the United Kingdom.
§ "In surrendering to you my interest in revenues which have in former settlements of the Civil List been reserved to the Crown, I rejoice in the opportunity of evincing my entire reliance on your dutiful attachment, and my confidence that you will cheerfully provide all that may be necessary for the support of the Civil Government, and the honour and dignity of my Crown.
§ "My Lords and Gentlemen,
§ "I deeply lament that in some districts 11 of the country the property of my subjects has been endangered by combinations for the destruction of machinery; and that serious losses have been sustained through the acts of wicked incendiaries.
§ "I cannot view without grief and indignation the efforts which are industriously made to excite among my people a spirit of discontent and disaffection, and to disturb the concord which happily prevails between those parts of my dominions, the union of which is essential to their common strength and common happiness.
§ "I am determined to exert to the utmost of my power all the means which the Law and the Constitution have placed at my disposal, for the punishment of sedition, and for the prompt suppression of outrage and disorder.
§ "Amidst all the difficulties of the present conjuncture, I reflect with the highest satisfaction on the loyalty and affectionate attachment of the great body of my people.
§ "I am confident that they justly appreciate the full advantage of that happy form of Government, under which, through the favour of Divine Providence, this country has enjoyed, for a long succession of years, a greater share of internal peace, of commercial prosperity, of true liberty, of all that constitutes social happiness, than has fallen to the lot of any other country of the world. It is the great object of my life to preserve these blessings to my people, and to transmit them unimpaired to posterity; and I am animated in the discharge of the sacred duty which is committed to me, by the firmest reliance on the wisdom of Parliament, and on the cordial support of my faithful and loyal subjects."