UNION. 



cognizable by two courts of judicature, n/lz. the college of 

 juitice, or the court of feflion, and the judiciary court, 

 under the direAion of the lord juftice general, the lord 

 juftice clerk, iive commiffioners, his majefty's advocate, 

 three deputy advocates, a folicitor-general, &c. Befides 

 thefe two great courts of law, the Scots, by the articles of 

 union, have a court of exchequer, under the direftion of a 

 lord chief baron, and four barons. The court of admiralty 

 in Scotland is a fupreme court in all cafes competent to its 

 jurifdidtion, and under the direftion of the lord vice-admiral, 

 a judge, procurator fifcal, &c. The courts of commiffaries 

 in Scotland anfwer to thofe of the Englifh diocefan chan- 

 cellors ; the higheft of which is kept at Edinburgh, in 

 which, before four judges, aftions are pleaded concerning 

 wills, the right of patronage to ecclefiaftical benefices, tithes, 

 divorces, and fuch caufes. The office of privy feal is under 

 the direftion of the lord privy feal, a deputy writer to the 

 privy feal, and his deputy. The great feal office is under 

 the direftion of the lord keeper, and deputy and king's 

 writer. The lord regifter's office is under the fuperin- 

 tendance of the lord regifter, and fix deputies. The chan- 

 cery is under the adminiftration of a direftor, deputy, 

 *nd principal clerk. See College of Heralds, and Uni- 



VERSITV. 



Under this article of union we may obferve, with refpeft 

 to Wales, that very early in our hiftory, we find its princes 

 doing homage to the crown of England ; till at length, in 

 the reign of Edward I. the line of its ancient princes was 

 abolifhed ; and the king of England's eldefl. fon became, as 

 a matter of courfe, their titular prince ; the territory of 

 Wales being then entirely annexed (by a kind of feudal 

 refumption) to the dominion of the crown of England. 

 ( 10 Edw. I.) By 12 Edw. I. and other fubfequent ftatutes, 

 their provincial immunities were farther abridged ; but the 

 finiihing ftroke to their independency was given by the fta- 

 tute 27 Hen. VIII. cap. 26. which at the fame time ad- 

 mitted them to a thorough communication of laws with the 

 fubjefts of England. By this ftatute it is enafted, i. That 

 the dominion of Wales fhall be for ever united to the king- 

 dom of England. 2. That all WeKhmen born Ihall have 

 the fame liberties as the other king's fubjefts. 3. That 

 lands in Wales (hall be inheritable according to the Englifh 

 tenures and rules of defcent. 4. That the laws of England, 

 and no other, fhall be ufed in Wales ; befides many other 

 regulations of the police of the principality. And the lla- 

 tute 34 & 35 Hen. VIII. cap. 26. confirms the fame, adds 

 farther regulations, divides it into twelve fhires, and, in 

 fhort, reduces it into the fame order in which it Hands at 

 this day ; differing from the kingdom of England in only a 

 few particulars, and thofe too of the nature of privileges 

 (fuch as having courts within itfelf, independent of the pro- 

 cefs of Weflraintler-hall), and fome other immaterial pecu- 

 liarities, hardly more than are to be found in many counties 

 of England itfelf. 



The town of Berwick-upon-Tweed was originally part 

 of the kingdom of Scotland ; and as fuch was for a time 

 reduced by king Edward I. into the pofTeffion of the crown 

 of England ; and during its fubjeftion, it received from 

 that prince a chartei", which (after its fubfequent ceflion by 

 Edward Baliol, to be for ever united to the crown and 

 realm of England) was confirmed by king Edward III. 

 with fome additions, pai-ticularly that it (hould be governed 

 by the laws and ufages which it enjoyed before its reduftion 

 by Edward I. Its conftitution was new-modelled, and put 

 on an Englifh footing by a charter of king James I. ; and aU 

 its liberties, franchifes, and cufloms, were confirmed in par- 



liament by the ftatutes 22 Edw. IV. cap. 8. and 2 Jac. I. 

 cap. 28. Though, therefore, it has fome local peculiarities, 

 derived from the ancient laws of Scotland, yet it is clearly 

 part of the realm of England, being reprefented by bur- 

 geffes in the houfe of commons, and bound by all afts of 

 the British parliament, whether fpecially named or other- 

 wife. Accordingly it was declared by ftatute 20 Geo. II. 

 cap. 24. that, where England is only mentioned in any aft 

 ot parliament, the fame notwithftanding hath and ftiall be 

 deemed to comprehend the dominion of Wales, and town of 

 Berwick-upon-Tweed. And though certain of the king's 

 writs or procefles of the courts of Weftminfter do not 

 ufuallyrun into Berwick, anymore than the principality of 

 Wales, yet it hath been folemnly adjudged, that all preroga- 

 tive writs (as thofe of mandamus, prohibition, habeas cor- 

 pus, certiorari, &c.) may ifTue to Berwick, as well as to 

 every other of the dominions of the crown of England ; 

 and that indiftments, and other local matters arifing in the 

 town of Berwick, may be tried by a jury in the county of 

 Northumberland. 



Union, LegiJIalive, between Great Britain and Ireland. 

 Amongft the important events which will in future timet 

 diftinguifh the reign of George III. and the adminiftration 

 of William Pitt, is the legifiative union which this ftatefman 

 eflFefted between Great Britain and Ireland ; a meafure 

 which, in the opinion of its advocates, has confolidated the 

 ftrength of the empire, and thus contributed to its pro- 

 fperity ; wliilft by others it is fuppofed to have deftroyed the 

 independence of one country, and to have added to the in- 

 fluence of the crown or its minifters in the other. To pafs 

 over fuch a meafure without fome account of the circum- 

 flances which attended it, would be a defeft in a work of 

 tliis nature ; yet to treat it fo as to give general fatisfaftion 

 cannot be expefted, whilft many who took an aftive part in 

 promoting or oppofing it are flill alive, and whilft all the 

 meafures likely to refult from it have not yet taken effeft. 



The firft confideration in forming an opinion on this quef- 

 tion, is the previsus ftate of legiflation in Ireland, and the 

 nature of the conneftion between the two countries. Under 

 the article Ireland there is a brief hiftorical detail of the 

 manner in which Ireland became connefted with England, 

 and of the fucceeding events, to which the reader is referred. 

 From this account it is evident that Ireland was always con- 

 fidered as a dependent country ; and whether the right was 

 derived from voluntary fubmiffion, from conqueft, or from 

 colonization, it has been long regarded as an axiom in Irifh 

 politics, that whofoever is king of England, the fame is 

 ipfofaHo king of Ireland. It was entitled the dominion, or 

 lordfhip of Ireland, ftat. Hiberniae, 14 Hen. III. and the 

 king's ftyle was no other than dominus Hibernitt, lord of 

 Ireland, till the 33d year of king Henry VIII. when he 

 affumed the title of king, which is recognized by aft of par- 

 liament 35 Hen. VIII. cap. 3. With a view to fecure this 

 authority in its fulleft extent, Poynings' law was eftablifhed 

 in the reign of Henry VII. by which no law could be enafted 

 in Ireland, which had not been previoully fubmitted to the 

 king and his council in England, approved by them, and 

 certified under the great feal of the realm. ( See Poynings' 

 Law.) This was found necelfary at firft to check the 

 king's reprefentatives, who had often a private intcreft at 

 variance with that of their matter ; and it was afterwards 

 thought expedient to prevent the defcendants of the Englifh 

 colonifts from purfuing their own intereft at the expence of 

 that of the mother-country. But though the dependance 

 of Ireland, in a political point of view, was thus apparent, 

 it was referved for the reign of George I. to alTcrt legifiative 



authority, 



