Union
Under a provision of the Act of Union 1800 he retained his seat in the 1st Parliament of the United Kingdom 1801-02 without a fresh election, and in the Union Parliament he was a supporter of William Pitt the younger and later Henry Addington; he had to give up his Irish business interests in order to play a full part in Parliamentary business. He was re-elected at the general election of 1802, being top of the poll.
On 3 June 1803 Beresford was the only previous supporter of the government to desert them and support a censure motion moved by Peter Patten, making a speech in support which was regarded as "absurd" by the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant for Ireland. In March 1804, Beresford was appointed to the Irish currency committee, and therefore resigned his seat by accepting the Escheatorship of Ulster, a sinecure office of profit under the Crown (see Resignation from the British House of Commons for details of the procedure).
Read more about this topic: John Claudius Beresford
Famous quotes containing the word union:
“Castro couldn’t even go to the bathroom unless the Soviet Union put the nickel in the toilet.”
—Richard M. Nixon (1913–1995)
“The union of hands and hearts.”
—Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667)
“In externals we advance with lightening express speed, in modes of thought and sympathy we lumber on in stage-coach fashion.”
—Frances E. Willard 1839–1898, U.S. president of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union 1879-1891, author, activist. The Woman’s Magazine, pp. 137-40 (January 1887)