JUNE 23.1 poned, after a fhort converfation from Mr. Brook and Admiral Berkeley, until Wednesday next. The Houfe proceeded in a Committee on the bill for advancing money towards improving the roads in the Highlands of Scotland, and the report was ordered to be brought up the next day. MILITIA OFFICERS. The Secretary at War stated to the Houfe, that it was requifite to increase the number of officers for the militia, and he fhould therefore, pufuant to his notice, move the House for a bill to that effect; as the meafure was, however, nothing differing from that of a fimilar nature adopted during the late war, he would not trouble the Houfe with enlarging upon it, but content himself with moving, "That leave be given to bring in a bill for increafing the number of field and other officers for the mililia." Leave was accordingly given; and the bill being brought in, was read a first time, and ordered for a fecond reading the next day. ARMY OF RESERVE. On the order of the day being read for the fecond reading of the bill to enable his Majefly to raife 40,000 men in Great Britain, and 10,000 in Ireland, by ballot, Mr. Calcraft rofe and faid, that whatever might fall from him upon the fubject of this armament, he trufted i would at least be believed, that nothing was farther from his thoughts, than to be the means of impeding, even if he could, the efforts of Government, in the great object which they were fo anxious to accomplish, as that of defeating the infidious or defperate defigns of France at this important crifis. At the fame time, jealous as he certainly was for the honour and fafety of his country, he should indeed be guilty of a breach of his duty to that country, which, in common with all others of his fellow fubjects, he was bound to feel for it, and of a dereliction of his duty as a Member of that Houfe, if he did not declare, that the meafure now propofed by his Majefty's Minifters was inadequate to the end de fired. It was understood, at least he hoped fo, that this was but the part of a more general plan and fyftem. If that were the cafe, he contended, that the Chancellor of the Exchequer fhould have fubmitted to the Houfe the whole of the plan he hád arranged or had in contemplation; when the country is told that defence is the object, he feared that defence would be of little avail, unless it was capable of acting offenfively. For wife that reafon, he thought it would have been infinitely more VOL. IV. 1802-3. wife and prudent, to have filled up the regiments of the line, and provided each of them with that complement of men that belongs to them firft, and then turned the refources of the country towards fupplying it with this augmented militia. In fact this 50,000 fo given to the militia he confidered were fo many taken from the line. The very fame complaint prevailed during the late war, when the fencible regiments were raifed; and Government ought to have profited by experience, and not have recourfe to means which would ultimately, he was fully perfuaded, produce fimilar effects. Men, it was true, may be go:, but he was very apprehenfive that officers would not and could not be obtained in the period fuppofed by Minifters, to command, at least to difcipline them. The fituation of the country will therefore be fuch, if this bill paffes in its prefent fhape, that it will have regiments of the line not poffeffing their full complement of men, and regiments of militia poffeffing men without officers. He concluded by vindicating the conduct of Mr. Windham, ard those who acted with him, from the charge of factious oppofition. They were above all fuch mean confiderations, and acted from motives of the most honourable nature. Mr. Sheridan confidered this difcuffion as premature. He obferved that, until the feveral blanks in the bill were filled up in a Committee, it would be altogether unfair and unparliamentary to difcufs them by anticipation, the more especially, as Gentlemen could not, without fome time to reflect upon them, rightly understand the true purport, extent, or force of the measure propofed; to enable Gentlemen to do that, it was intended to fill the blanks in the Committee, have the bill printed, and appoint a convenient day for its further confideration. He was as anxious as the honourable Gentleman who had juft fat down, to act with vigour, with bolunefs, and with manlinefs and he was alfo as earnest for ftrong measures as any man in the Houfe. But when that Gentleman talks of fupplying the regiments of the line by ballot and by compulfion, he muft ftand up in his place, and at once raife his voice against it. He appealed to the candour of the Houfe whether it was the fame to compel a man to go to foreign parts, and be a foldier for life, and to call upon him to defend his fire-fide in the moment of imminent danger? There was no kind of comparifon in the cafe. No man would hesitate a moment when his country was in danger; but in the defence of the realm, the King, by the proclamation of the theriff of the county, can call on all the inhabitants, inhabitants, by Royal prerogative, to arm, and they must obey; but, then, their arming and their fervice has its finite termination; whereas the man who is forced into the line against his confent has no alternative, and must remain a foldier for life. With respect to the measure now before the House, he would referve till the proper feafon what he had to offer, and give it such aid as he could afford. Mr. Calcraft, in explanation, faid, that he only reforted to the vindication of ballotting for men, because he heard it ftated on the other fide of the Houfe, that men could not be obtained by bounty. Sir Gilbert Heathcote fupported the plan which Ministers fubmitted to the Houfe, and complimented them upon the prudence of it, as well as on its efficacy. Mr. IV. Elliott began by stating his opinion, that this meafure was not of a kind calculated to meet the end proposed. If the country were in danger, and in a ftate that required extraordinary exertions, then he expreffed his decifive fentiments on the neceffity of having a large army; but it should be fuch an army as was calculated to act on general fervice, and become an efficient difpofable force. In the prefent awful and momentous crifis, fomething more was required than force; skill was an adjunct of weighty import, and without it all our force would be confufed, and all our exertions inefficacious. An army well calculated for this country fhould be fuch a difpofable army. The army which is moft beneficial in defence is most capable of offenfive operations, and this was fo plain, that it was impoffible for a Tyro in tactics to mifunderstand it. With refpect to the matter of recruiting, it was a circumftance exceedingly fingular, that it bore no comparison whatever to the population of the country, and that its progreís in times of the greatest emergency made little or no difference to its progrefs and fuc.cefs in times of the most profound peace. But when it was - confidered how much the marine detracts from it, how much -the agriculture of the country, its commerce and its arts, operate as a drawback against it, the difficulty of accounting for it is confiderably diminished. So many inducements to civil life proceeded from these fources, that lefs encouragement is prefented to enter into a military life in this country, and these account for the prevailing deficiency of the army recruiting, and have, in a confiderable degree, counteracted it; particularly when it is confidered, that the extent of the bounty for militia fubftitutes has been increafed from ten guineas to fif teen guineas a man. The great inconvenience arifing from this is, that we have taught the people to look for large bounties, and the difficulty hence to procure recruits of the line increafes in proportion. He profeffed himself a friend to the militia fyftem upon its original feale, and in that, although he differed fomewhat from his hon. Friend near him (Mr. Wiadham), yet he by no means confidered it as an effective force, calculated for hazardous, fkilful, and, .at the fame time, important enterprizes. By ballot a force of 70 or 70,000 could eafily be raited; but he was perfuaded fuch a force could not be raited by bounty, without exhautting the recruiting refources of the line. He contended, there fhould be fair competition in that refpect, or the line would never have juftice done it. The line is our beft hope, and if this meafuie be put into effect, recourfe must be had to compulfory means to complete the line. It was his firm opinion, that unlels by regular forces, correatly and faithfully difciplined, we meet an invading enemy, fuch an ene my as France prefents heifelf at this moment, the ruin that will follow cannot be calculated. A militia force may be animated with as much courage as the boldeft veterans, but when it is found to be but a raw undifciplined mafs, it is not their courage on the day of trial that will fail them; it will be by their capacity, joined, it is true, with a fuperior mafs of regular troops, that their efficacy may be manifefted. Young men, with old and experienced officers, will do much. We have ample proofs of that, from the militia of America, who, by conttant fervice, were at laft confitituted re, gular troops. But if this country be left without a difpofable force to employ the enemy on his own fhores, we fhall have nothing to keep them from our own. To thofe, if any there be, who are defirous of an army without aim or end-to thofe he spoke, and, he trufted, not ufelefsly. Having glanced then at the injury the militia fyftem of Scotland and of Ireland did to the recruiting fyftem in general throughout the empire, the hon. Gentleman next proceeded to ftate his objection to the abufe that crept into the fervice by raifing men for rank, for young men detirous of rank will not comply with the regulated prices, but extend to haften their promotion. This gives precedence to wealth in preference to merit, and conftitutes thofe who are the principals in it little better than crimps. In all he faw it was evident that Minifters were but retracing paft errors; a dull fyftem of defence was fubftituted alfo for the bold bold spirit of enterprize; and when he beheld this, he could not, with fincerity of heart, look up to any happy iffue from the contest Minitters ought to have been prepared before now; they ought to have been ready now to meet an enemy. When his Majefty's meffage on the 1st of March was delivered to this Houfe, they ought, on that moment to have commenced their prep rations. Nay, when they were apprifed that the bulineis of thofe fpies called "Commercial agents" waş detected in December last, they ought to have armed then; they knew the temper of the man with whom we had to contend, and they might have anticipated his defigns. If, instead of the high founding accounts they reported of the flourishing ftate of our arts, manufactures, commerce, and agriculture, they had devifed a formidable plan to check the common foe, they would have acted more conformably to their rẹfpective duties, and to their country's advantage, than by the conduct they have pursued. The Secretary at War faid, I rife, Sir, to ftate to the House a few oblervations which occur to me in regard to objections which I have heard this evening urged against the plan of the prefent bill, and with reference to those in particular which have juft now fallen from the hon. Gentleman who has juft fat down. I am inclined to think that many of his objections and obfervations might have been entirely avoided, had that hon. Member thought proper to wait till the bill was printed, for then I conceive he would have met with fome confiderable fatisfaction upon looking into it, relative to the particular points on which he has touched. He is, however, at prefent perfectly justified in fome of the obfervations which he has made, but I am particularly defirous of giving my opinion as to thofe which appear to have arifen from mere mifconception or mistake. I thall afterwards have a further opportunity of convincing him of his erroneous view of the fubject, when on fome future, but early occation, I extend yet more my statement of the general outlines of the plan about to be adopted. I mult, in the firm place, advert to what he has faid relative to our now treading back, ftep by step, all our former errors. I am ready to admit that, in the militia fyftem of this country, there have really been fome errors allowed to creep in, but fo far, Sir, from treading back upon thofe errors, ep by step, as the hon. Gentleman has been pleafed to fay, I think I am justified, from the very words of the bill itfelf, in averring that it has been framed en rely with a view to avoid thofe errors The hon. Gentleman, after making that obfer yation, |