Daming 1805

Chapter 180 The Regency Act and the Act of Union of America
William Pitt suggested that the Prince of Wales supervise the country as regent, which aroused quite heated discussions in the cabinet.

In England, the king is the clear master of the whole country, but he has delegated a large amount of power to the parliament.

But this is not a transfer, but only a commission, the power still belongs to the king, and the parliament is equivalent to the agent.

The power of the British Parliament comes from the king, and when the parliament is in session, the king's scepter must be asked first.

Parliament is theoretically unable to function while the king is in a coma.

Including the dismissal of the prime minister or the dissolution of parliament and early general elections after the parliament proposes a motion of no confidence in the cabinet, all of which require the approval of the monarch before they can be implemented.

The new government formed after the general election also needs the king's appointment to form.

The king is offline, and theoretically the court should be paralyzed.

But since there is a risk of paralysis, there is a solution.

Britain also has a tradition of setting up a regency.

Especially as early as 16 years ago, in 1789, George III had a serious illness once.

At that time, after consultations between the upper and lower houses, a special Regency Act was formulated.

The Prince of Wales acts as Regent when the King is unable to perform his duties.

Although the spirit of George III returned to normal before the bill was passed, the Regency Act was not officially implemented.

However, after George III became sober, he expressed his approval of the behavior of the parliament at that time.

In the original history, George III fell ill again five years later, in 1810, and did not fully recover after that.

Parliament restarted the original regency act, and the Prince of Wales officially started his regency career.

It was not until the death of George III ten years later that the Prince of Wales officially succeeded to the throne.

If the Regency Act is implemented now, the Prince of Wales will only start the Regency five years earlier than in history.

The Prince of Wales was originally the crown prince, and he would have succeeded George III after his death. There is no legal risk in his regent.

So the Regency Act didn't even call for a Council of Regency.

The powers of the Prince of Wales during his regency are not significantly different from those of a real king.

But this decision may not be beneficial to Pete.

The British Foreign Secretary, William Wyndham Grenville, reminded his cousin quite cautiously:
"Peter, when His Majesty is unable to govern, no one can dismiss you.

"But with the Regent of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, there is a possibility that Parliament will put pressure on His Royal Highness.

"His Royal Highness should not be able to go against the opinions of the parliament and public opinion.

"You should have considered this situation?"

Grenwell's father is the former British Prime Minister, and his uncle is Pitt's father and former British Prime Minister.

Cousin Peter is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and he himself has served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in history.

Pete nodded directly and said:
"Of course I thought about it, but if they want me, who is not at fault, to assume the responsibility of the peace talks, they must also pay the price."

Pete said and turned to look at the somewhat confused Prince of Wales:

"Your Highness, I can debate, or rather negotiate with the opponents.

"We can use this opportunity to realize our plans in the Cape of Good Hope.

"Formally unite the United States of America with the United Kingdom."

The Prince of Wales remembered the conversation between the two at Cape West, and said with a little guilty conscience:

"Will this work?"

Pete said very decisively:

"Yes, definitely, the key is the degree of merger, the highest is complete merger and become a united empire.

"The minimum ... is a Commonwealth, like Ireland before the Act of Union.

"This process will not be too difficult, Your Highness need not worry."

Then Pete looked at Monroe:
"Your Excellency Monroe, this is an opportunity to fight for the interests of the United States. I hope you will contact all colleagues in the United States and give us the greatest support!"

Monroe attended the cabinet in the name of the Secretary of State for American Affairs, and was stunned after hearing the conversation between Monroe and the Prince of Wales.

Because during the peace talks, Pitt and other representatives abandoned the interests of the United States, Monroe had already had a dissonance.

Monroe had not spoken at a Cabinet meeting for a long time after his return to London.

As a result, Pete was directly shocked today.

Monroe was stunned for several seconds:

"Your Excellency, do you mean...to make America a part of the United Kingdom like Scotland?"

Pete shook his head and said:

"No, the ideal goal is to unite the British Isles as a whole with the United States of America into a united empire."

Monroe said directly:
"This is impossible, the local parliamentarians will not accept it... If it is pushed forcibly, it may even lead to a local independence war..."

The War of Independence refers to the outbreak of the War of Independence in the British mainland after the merger of Britain and the United States, and broke away from the United Empire.

Then the king or emperor can only run away to America.

Pete exhaled lightly:

"Native War of Independence is not the case, we and the American immigrants are British, and we can always find a compromise.

"However, this matter is still extremely difficult, so I need support and pressure from the United States."

Monroe calmed down quickly, and immediately understood Pete's thoughts.

At the same time, I felt gratitude and admiration for Pete, and felt that I had misunderstood Pete before.

From Pete's point of view, ceding Florida is an option.

Pete himself was not prepared to give up on America, and even supported giving America a higher status.

"Your Excellency's character is admirable, and I will mobilize the power of the United States!"

The tendency to separate in the United States already exists, but it is still undecided about independence.

The thirteen colonies of the United States are very complex.

There are colonies actively developed by the British court, and there are royal territories of the British king.

There are also frustrated people from the British mainland who went to the New World and opened up colonies, which were recognized by the British court.

There are radical independent republicans, as well as conservative royalists.

At the same time, among immigrants in the United States, there is still a widespread perception of "Britishness".

The vast majority of Americans still consider themselves British and are proud of it.

Before the independence of the United States in history, it was actually in a similar state.

The true independence of the United States actually has a certain element of chance.

The obstinacy of Mad King George III played a part, as did the incitement of Britain's hostile states.

The American colonies in this world have gained a higher status than in history.

There is a special minister of affairs in the cabinet.

The current United States is similar to that before the independence of the United States. The purpose of making troubles is to get the attention of the local people and improve their status in the local area.

They didn't aim for independence from the start.

If Pete fights for the interests of the United States, of course Monroe, who represents the interests of the United States, cannot disagree.

The point is that Pete made it clear to Monroe that he was going to make Monroe the new prime minister.

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, whose glory and status is almost the pinnacle of his political career that Monroe can imagine.

So Monroe personally accepted it as a matter of course.

Peter still has a high degree of control over his cabinet at this time, and it is not difficult to persuade the Prince of Wales on his own territory.

So the relevant plans were quickly finalized, and Pitt and the cabinet members began to promote the Prince of Wales to be regent.

Monroe contacted important civil opinion leaders in the United States, adding fuel to the already contradictory situation in the United States.

They published articles in newspapers reiterating the view that no taxation without representation.

Organize non-governmental representatives in the United States, sign a formal statement of opinion and submit it to the British government, again requesting the right to elect members.

Others called for the establishment of a broad local American parliament to independently decide on American affairs.

Some people even turned the tables, claiming that if the United Kingdom cannot protect the interests of the American region, the United States should separate from the United Kingdom and become independent!
Some radical or grandstanding newspapers even analyzed the feasibility of inviting a Ming prince to be king.

This is an idea that has been considered in the American region, and of course it has won the approval of a large number of Americans.

When these topics were deliberately promoted, it immediately triggered a new round of public opinion in the United States.

Party parades broke out again on the streets of several cities led by New York.

The US rights issue, which was already very hot, has once again been brought to the forefront.

British local newspapers also summarized and conveyed relevant public opinion.

Existing members of parliament are once again feeling the pinch.

Pitt's cabinet was also taken aback by the scale of America's response.

This further convinced Pete's idea that the American issue could not be dragged on any longer.

The news from the United States has put enormous pressure on the parliament, making the promotion of the Regency Bill extremely smooth.

There needs to be a king to make decisions and deal with things in America.

A large number of representatives hope that Pete will come out and take the blame, and hope that the king can depose Pete.

Coupled with the precedent of the Regency Act of 1789, the majority of MPs quickly accepted the Regent Act with little change.

The Regent's Bill passed both Houses, and the Lord Chancellor stamped it.

The content of the bill is very simple. During the period when King George III of the United Kingdom is unable to govern, the Prince of Wales will represent his father and perform the corresponding functions of the King of England.

The process of promoting the entire bill lasted more than ten days, but King George III's state did not improve.

So much so that the Prince of Wales' regent became an established fact.

As soon as the regency plan was passed, some congressmen immediately called for the removal of Pete.

Due to pressure from the United States and the unstable situation in the UK, most MPs do not want to dissolve Parliament and re-election.

I still hope that the king will depose Peter directly.

At the suggestion of Pitt, the Prince of Wales held another questioning session on Pitt.

The venue was still the House of Lords, but the host was King George III, who became the Prince of Wales.

As soon as the interrogation started, Pete didn't wait for the judge to ask, and directly opened his mouth to lift the roof:

"The matter has come to this point, we might as well 'open the skylight and speak out', I know what many people are thinking right now.

"I can cooperate, and I can take the initiative to assume all the responsibilities of this peace talk and all the public opinion crisis this time.

"But all of us understand that I am not at fault in this peace talks, I should have credit.

"So my voluntary resignation must be conditional.

"My condition is that the new Prime Minister be a colonial James Monroe.

"The new government should unite Great Britain and Ireland with America to form the United British and American Empire.

"This is the single best solution to America's problems!"

As soon as Pete said this, the whole scene was in an uproar.

The Prince of Wales and the cabinet members, as well as a small number of MPs who were notified by Pete and still stood by Pete, got the news in advance. The shocking thoughts have passed, and they are still relatively calm now.

But most of the other congressmen who didn't know were stunned.

Immediately, a group of people came out to refute that it was absolutely impossible to allow the merger with the United States, and it was impossible to establish any United Empire.

With the exception of Monroe, the current MPs are all native British origin, and of course it is impossible to stand on the side of the United States.

It is impossible to allow Americans to compete with themselves for parliamentary seats and share the power and interests of the United Kingdom.

The crowd at the scene was furious for a while, and Pete seemed to take a weak step back in the face of this situation:
"Then refer to the Act of Union to elevate America to the status of Scotland and Ireland as part of the United Kingdom.

"We have solved Scotland and Ireland with similar solutions, and I should do the same with America.

"Other than that, I don't think there's any way, anyone can solve the current problems in America.

"If we fail to solve the American problem, the immediate result will undoubtedly be American independence.

"We can choose to suppress, but the United Kingdom, as it is now, is incapable of engaging in a new war, a war across the ocean.

"If the United States is allowed to become independent or become a vassal state of Ming Dynasty, then we, the United Kingdom, will forever lose the opportunity to lead Europa.

"We will always be under the French in matters of Europa and we should not allow this to happen!
"We need America, the United Kingdom cannot live without America, so at least give America the status of Scotland!"

The question meeting turned into a speech meeting by Pete, and many representatives were convinced by Pete in their hearts.

Losing territory is actually a trivial matter, and the reduction of Britain's international status is not a big deal. It is a big deal to completely fall behind the French.

Most of these representatives can be regarded as shrewd people, and of course they understand the significance of America to the United Kingdom.

But their immediate interests determine that they cannot easily support such a motion.

It is even more impossible for Monroe, who was born in the United States, to serve as prime minister.

So even though what Pete said made sense, congressmen came out to object and question one after another.

Pete was fully prepared, stood at the commanding heights of national interests, and gave responses and rhetorical questions one by one.

Members came out one by one, but they were all refuted by Pete one after another.

But they continue to question and question tirelessly, and they don't even care whether their doubts are justified.

After the questioning lasted for nearly an hour, Pitt looked at the Prince of Wales on the stage after refuting a MP and said:
"Your Highness, I believe you have seen that my suggestion is really reasonable, and it is really correct and beneficial to the United Kingdom.

"But why can't I get the approval of the MPs?
"Because apart from Mr. Monroe, there was no representative from the United States present.

"So the decision made by our entire parliament on the ground will not really consider the interests of the United States.

"The United States is an integral part of the United Kingdom, and the interests of the United Kingdom cannot be fully protected without taking into account the interests of the United States.

"Therefore, giving the United States the status of Scotland and giving it the right to participate in parliamentary elections is an imperative choice."

Of course the Prince of Wales understood what Pete meant, and he had long understood the logic introduced by Pete, but he couldn't make a final decision.

Even when George III was sober, it was impossible to directly decide on such a matter, and he would even directly reject it on the spot.

The weak Prince of Wales delayed instinctively, opening his mouth a few times and not knowing what to say.

Before the Prince of Wales made a decision, other MPs at the scene continued to stand up to refute and question Peter.

This time, multiple people came out together, making it impossible for Pete to respond carefully.

Pete simply ignored their questions, and opened his voice to unilaterally output his views.

With the scene about to become chaotic, the speaker suggested that the Prince of Wales temporarily adjourn the meeting.

The Prince of Wales, who had already had a big head, agreed directly, so the consultation meeting that day was once again nothing.

After the two question sessions were over, the thinking of many congressmen began to change.

Everyone has realized that there is still a long way to go before the real settlement of the American affairs.

Many congressmen began to think in their hearts that Pete would be more acceptable than Monroe, who was born in the United States, as prime minister.

The point is that no one is willing to take over the mess of American affairs now.

Especially when the king can't be a director and the regent Prince of Wales has no opinion.

Since Pete is willing to take the blame, why not take the blame for the American affairs and settle it together.

Ever since, the tendency to dismiss Pete slowly decreased after two consultation meetings.

There is a chance that Pitt's prime ministership will continue for some time.

Britain needs a strong prime minister now.

(End of this chapter)