vation, has thought proper to enlarge pretty fully in ftating his fentinents as to the time which has been loft; and states his opinion, that fome vigorous and ftrong measures of this prefent kind ought long ago to have been adopted. This, he fays, he is intitled to infer, in consequence of the words made tfe of in his Majefty's late declaration. That declaration he, no doubt, feems to have read, but at the fame time he seems mon grossly to have mistaken or mifapprehended that declaration In antwer to his obfervations on this head, however, I can fafely lay, that from the moment the definitive treaty was figned, every measure which could be adopted, confiftent with the ideas conceived by all, relative to the fituation of the coun try at the time, was reforted to in order to maintain our army and navy upon a proper footing: I mean upon fuch a footing as the then exigencies of the ftate fee.ned to require, and upon a footing as extenfive as we could poffibly be justified in aspiring to. Thofe who could think the measures which have ever fince been adopted relative to thefe particulars, impolitic and imprudent, ought undoubtedly to have come forth, and stated their real fentiments and reafons for thinking that a military fyftem, or large military establishment, ought to have been reforted to. I would not have expected the hon. Gentleman to have come forth in this House and ftate his measures at that time, but he might at leaft have ventured to fay that Government did not go far enough. He might thus have endeavoured to enlighten the public mind, by ftating what we had omitted to do. After having thus taken notice of two of his moft general topics, I will now advert to another, I mean as to his obfervations relative to the fuperiority of a regular army over that of any other defeription. I muft undoubtedly unite with that hon. Gentleman in that opinion, when I fay, that there is no perfon who can doubt of the juftice of his remark. It is, I think, infinitely preferable to any other kind, but the hon. Gentleman did not advert to fome of the caufes why this country could not have a regular and difpofable army, equal to the real neceflitics of the state, upon every occafion. That circumftance may, I think, be attributable to various causesthe infular fituation of the country, the civil and commereial occupation of its inhabitants, and their extreme opulence. Thefe, and other like circumftances, all tend to exempt them from turning their attention continually to a state of warfare. Now, Sir, the hon. Gentleman fays, that the recruiting fervice has never been actually and fairly tried. I am perfectly perfuaded that the contrary is the fact. A great deal has been done, done, and indeed as much as poffibly could be done on that point. He has argued that it was the mere competition of bounty, which prevented the regular army from being carried to a greater extent. I deny it. It is the want of experience alone that makes men form fuch a judgment upon this parti cular topic. It is not money alone which procures foldiers for the regular fervice, to that extent which the generality of people fuppofe. Those who enter into the army are fuch as generally feel a ftrong propensity towards the fervice, who entertain a violent defire to go abroad, and to change entirely their tituation of life. In fhort, there are many other weighty reafons which hold out to men a greater incentive to their inlifting in the regular army of their country, than the mere acquifition of the money which is paid them by government, It will be found, Sir, in point of fact, that in the courfe of laft year, a very great number of recruits were procured. There were, I may fay, much more than the average number on any former occafion. During the last five or fix months, the acquifition of men to ferve in the regular army increafed in a very peculiar degree. I only ftate thefe circumstances to fhew, that the recruiting of the army is not in any measure ftopped during the very period of the raifing of the militia. I do not know whether or not the hon. Gentleman may be better informed upon the subject than I am, but from what I know, I can pofitively aver, that the regular army is greater at this moment than at any period fince the fignature of the definitive treaty. You have obtained, Sir, an acquifition of men to join your army to the rate of 1000 or 1200 a month, against which you may fet certain cafualties and defertion. If Gentlemen can fuppofe that the recruiting of the army can be carried to a greater extent by any other means, 1 suspect they will find themfelves much miflaken. With every refpect which I may entertain for the Gentlemen who compofed the Government of the country, at the commencement of laft war, I must fay, that I believe the British army was nog at that period in fuch a flourishing ftate as it is at this very moment. I would beg to know, what were the number of regular regiments in the year 1796, when the army was under the command of his Royal Highnefs the Duke of York? it was at that time found expedient to make an intire change in the military fyftem, and to cut down the regular army to about ninety-fix regiments. At that time there was not a man who was not put into the regular fervice, and it became neceffary to take every man who could be induced to offer himself, how ever improper for the purpose, and a great number were dif charged on account of their unfitnefs. It was with the utmost difficulty that the army which was fent to Egypt under the command of the brave and renowned Sir Ralph Abercromby was compleated. Under all thefe circumftances, Sir, it appears furprifing how Gentlemen can conceive, that this prefent bill offers an improper measure for the adoption of this House. We have a great army at prefent on foot; but, Sir, we are at the fame time very hard preffed at this moment, and it therefore becomes indifpenfably neceffary, to form a much more confiderable force than on any former occafion. I deny that one fingle individual will in the end be loft to your regular army, by any of the means now propofed for raifing this fupplementary force. The hon. Gentleman has faid, that the ftrongest and most energetic meafures ought, on this occafion, to be adopted. I heartily agree with him in that par ticular, and highly applaud him for teftifying that opinion. He has faid, go on with your ballot for your militia, but you fuft either admit fubftitutes, or impofe a heavy fine to recruit your army. What are the principles on which you proceed in forming your militia? It is furely on this principle that every man is bound to ferve his country. He must either ferve it perfonally or procure another. The prefent mode I conceive to be founded on fuch principles. The prefent emergency of affairs calls on us to provide an army immediately, in order to defend Great Britain and Ireland, and you are bound to call upon the people to furnish that armament. It is therefore, by the prefent laws, the duty of every man in the united kingdom to come forth; and I cannot prevail upon myself to go beyond thefe laws, for I would think it unconflitutional. The bill contains no provifion for the purpose of enlifting the men afterwards into the regular army. In 1799 we were obliged to have an act for that purpose, because the exifting acts did not permit you to extend their fervices. If it be the opinion of the Houfe, that fuch a claufe thould be introduced into the prefent bill, I have no objection, as it will enable any of these men about to be raised, to enter into the regular corps, when they are inclined, but I would with it to be under fuch reftriction as thould prevent too many from leaving the militia, Such a claufe as that would, I think, remove the hon. Gentleman's objection on that point. He has ob ferved, among other things, that Scotland may be ftyled the officini militum, and that the government of the country do not reap that advantage which they ought, in raifing foldiers from amongst amongst men who are fo well adapted for the fervice. I agree with the hon. Gentleman, that Scotland might really at one time have been ftyled fo; but many circumstances have now contributed to create difficulties in that part of the country. It is now reduced much to a par with the other parts of the kingdom by means of its opulence and manufactures. There are now a great many Scotch Highlanders in London, and, without any degradation to that country, as many Englishmen and Irishmen in the Scotch militia; and, I think, it was a wife measure when adopted. On the whole, Sir, as I wifhed only to advert to the leading obfervations of the hon. Gentleman, I fhall now conclude with hoping, under all the circumftances of the cafe, the Houfe will fee the propriety and eligibility of the measure propofed by this bill; that there is in it nothing which can at all be looked on as detrimental to the recruiting of our regular army; that it is the only means, by which such a neceffary force could poffibly be raised in the fhorteft fpace of time, and that he could not be juftified, in the prefent fituation of affairs, in adopting any other meafure for the fecurity of the realm. Mr. Pitt then rofe, and moft ably stated the grounds n which he had, after the matureft confideration, determined to give his decided approbation to the principle of the bill. It was generally on the fame principles on which opposition to the measure had been founded by his right hon. Friend on the other fide (Mr. Elliott) that he felt himfelf called on to give it his warm fupport; and all his previous motives for this fupport had been materially frengthened and confirmed by what had just fallen from his right hon. Friend, the Secretary at War. No one was more ready than he was to admit the importance of having a large difpofable force for offenfive operations; but there was one grand confideration which took precedence of all others, and that was an adequate provifion for the immediate defence of the country againit thofe meRaces of invafion which the enemy had to openly avowed. After this great obj was provided for effectually, no one would be more ready than himfelf to fupport any measure for forming fuch a regular force as might lead to the vigorous and fuccefsful profecution of the war; for establishing fuch a difpofable force as might furnifh us with the means, whenever a fair opening prefented itfelf, of ftriking an effectual blow against the affling enemy. He would go as far as any one in his wifhes to fee the infolence which gave rife to these threats of invafion checked, the attacks of the enemy effectually repelled, and his mad ambition reVOL. IV. 1802-3. preffed; Rr preffed; but he thought that, in the principle of the meafure, there would be found the only means of accomplishing thefe great objects. Important, however, as thefe confiderations were, there was one to which we were called upon to give paramount attention, and that was, as he had already faid, the effectual defence of the country. What we had in the first instance to attend to, was the beft mode of giving tis complete fecurity against any fudden attack; we had to collect all the refources and the energies of the country, and then we might think of the means of moft fignally inflicting on the enemy the vengeance which his unprovoked aggreffion deferved. It would be ftrange, however, that fituated as we how were, we fhould think it a task too humble to look our fituation fully in the face, to think lightly of the menaces of a power by whom one half of Europe had already been fubdued, and to refort to no measures by which alone our fafety could be obtained. If, indeed, we were willing to fwell the lift of degraded vaffals of the conqueror, we might hold fuch a language, but it was utterly inconfiftent with every principle of proper refpect for the national fecurity and honour. Pufhed, however, to the extent in which the objections to the bill might be carried, though he was perfectly convinced that nothing was farther from the intention of his hon. Friends, they would defeat all effectual meafures for accomplishing the grand object of immediate confideration, the defence of the country. If it were the object of Minifters, or if it could be the effect of the bill, to withhold the means of offenfive operations, arifing from a large difpofable force for general purpofes, then indeed the objections of his right hon. Friend might have applied with great force. The bill, however, had no fuch effect. The fact was, it was defigned to provide for the effectual fecurity of the country, to raise, more fpeedily than could be effected in any other way, a large force for limited fervice, which force might at no very diftant period be capable of being applied to general purposes. If within two months the enemy might actually attempt an invafion, and within that period a force adequate to the protection of the country might be raised; and if within the fame period an equal number of troops for general fervice could not by any poffible exertions be procured, he left it to every reflecting man to confider, whether he could hefitate a moment in adopting the first in preference to the last of thefe plans, however much he might be a friend to the ppriety of establishing, with all poffible expedition, a large -force |