tions on the table can difguife to himself, that if ten years leafe (as a noble Earl termed it in a former debate) of Malta and the reverfion of Lampedofa had been conceded to the ultimatum of Minifters, we thould not now be at war; they leave us indeed to fight in imagination for any of the infults or encroachments we please; but when we have bled and paid for our own imaginary wars, they will, if they act up to their own fenfe of their duty and of the public intereft, make peace when the objects of their war are obtained. Whether the caufe for which they have plunged the country into war is an adequate caufe, or whether the infults and encroachments which Minifters, by conceffions, fubmiffions, and feeble remonftrances, have encouraged, are better grounds, is not a matter at prefent of material difcuffion; the laft is certainly not the war which Minifters, under his Majesty's prerogative, have engaged us in. But whatever may be the cause of the war, we must be the victims if we do not prepare to profecute it with vigour; inftead of which, the noble Secretary has opened his plan of defence, which is highly objectionable in its limited object, and in its fource. is an unjust and oppreffive levy by requifition, falling unequally, cruelly burthenfome on fome individuals, and exempting large claffes, equally, or more able to take their hare of the public burthens. A ballot is a tax to raise money under the pretence of railing men; it is calculated only to difcharge the public purfe from the expence of the levy, and throw it on any individual, rich or poor, without any confideration of juftice, without attention to any principle of equitable diftribution of public burthens, according to the abilities to bear them; it is a tax founded on no found principle of taxation. The pretence is, that men, not money, is fought; this is a fraudulent artifice. A ballot has no peculiar advantages in railing men; on the contrary, it is not in any view comparable for that purpose to the old mode of raifing recruits by what the illuftrious perfon who lately fpoke, calls the King's bounty. Is it the fcarcity of men which has forced Government to this mode, which, contrary to their wifh, involves an unjust tax? The Scarcity equally exists to the former, if it in fast exifts, notwit ftanding the increased population. The farmer can no more find the non-existing man than Government can; but it will be faid, I fuppofe, that the ballotted man, who would not be tempted to become a recruit and ferve in the ranks, from cafy Gg 2

fortune

fortune and repugnant habits of life, will, by a ballot, be forced to ferve himself if no fubftitute can be found, and the fcarcity will by this means be removed. Do the authors of this plan mean feriously, or expect, that men whom education, fortune, and habit in life, render unfit for the ftation, will fubmit to ferve in the ranks and do the duty of a common foldier, mixed with them, liable to the fame treatment of every fort, and fubject to the fame coercion? If they do expect this, they will involve the country in the utmost confufion, in the most difficult and preffing moments; for no legiflative authority, or common courfe of legal coercion, can produce fuch fubmiffion; men may be compelled by a fine to purchase a fubftitute, if he is to be found within the amount of the fine: this I have heard called a voluntary tax, because chofen by the party in preference to a greater evil impofed. Money extorted by the piftol of a highwayman is as voluntary. The argument is infult added to the oppreflion: a greater evil redeemable by a fine, is a tax.(and meant as fuch) enforced by a heavy penal coercion; it is a tax in intention as well as effect, and the most oppreffive because the most unequal that can be devifed: it is a tax which ought to be levied in proportion to the pecuniary abilities of the country at large, without partial exemptions; it is a tax which does not affect the wealthy body of the clergy; it reaches no property poffeffed by perfons above 45 and under 15; it exempts the univerfities, women, and all perfons, whom the ballot, under the pretence of raising soldiers, does not fubject to the pecuniary fine; to those who are too poor to pay the fine, it is a mere prefs warrant, except, perhaps, that the parith may, as in the militia ballot (to which the noble Secretary affimilates it) be called upon to give a pecuniary gratification to fuch paupers as are drawn, in which cafe the operation of the tax is more extenfively unjuft and unequal; for then not only the above lift of exemptions from the ballot, but the lift of exemptions from the payment of this pecuniary gratification, is moft oppreffively increafed, as it includes all the monied interefts of the kingdom, ftock-holders, merchants, tradefmen, placemen, penfioners, and the numerous claffes of wealthy perfons who have efcaped the operation of the poor rates. Will any noble Lord venture to affert that this exemption from the pecuniary burthen for the defence of the country is reafonable? Will they venture to fay that thofe who will be more grievously oppreffed by thofe

exemptions, voluntarily acquiefce in the operation of this tax, fo circumftanced? No perfon will, I am fure, affert it; but it is wished that it should pass unobferved that it is a pecuniary levy, and be supposed a levy of men from the neceffity of getting men fpeedily. If expedition in raising the men is the motive, fine inftead of ferving, defeats the purpose, and forced fervice in the ranks, of all claffes, is impracticable; and I with the reafon for fuppofing a ballot the most expeditious mode of getting men was ftated-it is certainly past my comprehenfion. The delay in forming the plan, which has wafted the whole fpace between the King's meffage till the prefent moment; the production and difcuffion of the bill in both houfes before it paffes, the preparation for the ballot, the ballot and appeals, must all produce a neceffary lofs of time, before the farmer, the agent of the gentleman, of the tradesman, &c. on whom the ballot falls, begins his attempt to recruit. The recruiting ferjeant would have begun on the King's meffage of expected war; but let the farmer, parish officer, or gentleman's agent, start at the fame moment with recruiting ferjeants, does any noble Lord really perfuade himself that this laft clafs of people are better calculated for the purpose of tempting recruits to the fervice than a ferjeant? The theatre of the ferjeant is the alehoufe; his drefs, figure, the ftory of the deeds he had done, of his fuccefsful amours, work powerfully on all the paffions of youth, aided by liquor, and the ferjeant has no competitor in his object: the other recruiting clafs is not the alehouse affociate of the man he is to tempt; he has neither the feducing drefs and improved figure, nor can he raise the tempting image of profperous heroifm and gallantry; he cannot be fuppofed to have equal means to allure, and he has in every corner of the market a competitor in his diftreffed neighbour. The recruit foon finds that he is bid for, and withholds himself for a higher price. In the ferjeant's negotiation money is not the object; for that is fixed, and the inclination for the fervice is alone to be excited; but if any perfon could fuppofe that the farmer and ferjeant with equal levy money, hadequal talents for the bufinefs, the farmer must make up for the long loft time, before the ballot has called him into action; fo that the ferjeant has, under thefe circumstances, greatly the advantage in fpeedily completing his levy of men. But admitting his fuperior fkill and addrefs, which cannot be doubted, the expedition with which he will have com

pleted

pleted his levy will bear no comparison with the flower progrefs of any other man; and no imaginary advantage can be fuppofed in the balloted man, if the farmer's fine and the recruiting ferjeant's bounty is the fame. But, instead of fpecific fines, the farmer, the opulent tradefman, and gentleinan are to be dragged from their domeftic occupations, to endure the unaccustomed feverities of fervice in the ranks; unless they can on any terms find a fubstitute within a limited time, it reverts to the cafe of an oppreffive tax enforced by torture. Minifters feem ignorant of the principle of taxation, or that the refources of the country, which they have fo often in their mouths, lay in the equitable diftribution of the burthens of the ftate, in proportion to the abilities of each perfon to bear them. Where thefe equitable rules are obferved, the country may deteft the rulers who involve them in the hard neceffity of diminishing their comforts; but if they felt perfect juftice and equality in the diftribution of the burthens, they would acquiefce with more readiness and patriotifm in the neceflities of the times; but called upon with most palpable and obvious contempt of every equitable principle; as when an unequal levy of money is called a levy of men; a land tax, to avoid its oppreffive and partial weight, and to caft a veil on the breach of faith to Scotland, is called an income tax; or a grofs act of public bankruptcy is to be fanctified by the equitable name of an equal tax on income, whilst the commercial interefts efcape through channels art fully provided by themselves. When Minifters, unfit for

their stations, harass the country with these abfurd projects, the interests of the nation mult suffer, and difcontents, and probably refiftance to their measures, may arife when nothing but unanimity ought to prevail. Indeed, from the obfervations which my mind has been led to on the conduct of his Majefty's Minifters in the negotiation of the Treaty of Amiens, and on all their fubfequent adminiftration of the public interefts to this moment, it seems that much more danger is to be apprehended to the nation, from those in whofe hands the direction of the public interefts is placed, than from the rancour, malevolence, and power of the enemy who affails us.

The Earl of Suffolk faid, he was perfectly fenfible that at the prefent crisis men must be railed whether the prefent mode of railing them was the best, he did not know. What

he

he rose to state was, merely as a military man, his opinion as to the application of the force to be raised. First of all, he wished to afk whether his Majefty's Ministers had any military plan. A Roman general was never fent to command a province, without having a military plan with him, containing the roads, rivers, and bridges. He was confident every thing had been done by his Majefty's Ministers that ought to have been done; but he withed to know whether their plan embraced the whole country, and whether it embraced Ireland. It ought to go to the whole extent of the country. He had propofed five years ago, that there should be a military furvey of the country, and that 20,000 men fhould be raised and placed in the centre of the country. He was of opinion, a force fhould be affembled, which, by means of carriages, might be at any point of attack in 30 hours. If this plan was adopted, we might always have a greater force than France could bring together at any one time. He had stated, that plans fhould be arranged for enabling Lords Lieutenants to raise troops, and that an efficient Deputy Lieutenant fhould be appointed, who should give orders for every thing neceffary to be done. His LordThip obferved, that the accidents of war were not in our power, Providence directed them; but it was our duty to adopt the best means in our power. He hoped there would be an army of referve commanded by an officer of whom the country had an high opinion. He would name that officer -it was Lord Grey. He knew he might be trusted with the command of the army of referve. He could name another noble Lord near him (Moira) whofe military conduct equally qualified him. It was a reflection on the country not to make use of the talents of fuch men. He could men

tion another gallant officer who had faved the country by gaining poffeffion of Egypt from the French. His Majesty's Minifters, fince the peace, had been tearing the laureis from his brows; they had not given him any feparate command.

Earl Grosvenor called the noble Lord to order. He did not think it regular, when the object of their Lordships' difcuffion was to fend up an addrefs to his Majefty, for any noble Lord to enter into the merits of any other part of the conduct of his Majesty's Ministers.

The Duke of Clarence defended the line of argument which had been adopted by the noble Lord; and said, that, if his fpeech had been irregular, the mode of arguing which

had