fafety of the country depended, he should move to adjourn the debate till Friday.

Sir Robert Buxton obferved, that the landed property bill ftood for confideration on that day. :

The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, it was his intention to move to confolidate the landed and the perfonal property bill; he hoped the Houfe would permit them to go into a Committee pro forma on Friday, for the purpose of making fome flight alterations which he meant to propose, it being underflood that they were to be printed, and undergo a full investigation.

The third reading of the woollen bill was then deferred till Friday following,

The order of the day for the further confideration of the report of the army of referve bill was then read.

The Secretary at War faid, he had fome verbal alterations. to make in the bill, which could be more conveniently done in a Committee; he should therefore move that the bill thould be re-committed: he fhould, after the bill had gone through the Committee, propofe that the report fhould be received that night, and that the bill fhould be read a third time the next day. He understood that fome Gentlemen intended to offer their obfervations on the principle of the bill, and he begged leave to fuggeft to them that it might be more convenient that the objections to the principle of the bill should be made on the third reading of the bill the next day, than on the report that night.

After a few words from Colonel Craufurd and General Gascoyne, it appeared to be understood that the difcuffion on the principle of the bill was to take place on the third reading the next day.

The House having refolved itself into a Committee,

The Secretary at War then proceeded to propofe his amendments, many of which were merely verbal. In the clause which empowered the deputy lieutenant to regulate the number of men to be raised by the hundred, he propofed an amendment, the purport of which was, that in making these regulations, due regard fhould be had to the number of volunteers raised by the hundred, which was adopted. He alfo propofed, among the exemptions granted to volunteer corps, to infert the honourable the artillery company of London, which was agreed to.

Mr. W. Wynne obferved, that he thought there was fomething unfair in the plan adopted refpeding the accepting of

the

the fervices of volunteer corps. Some time ago Government intimated their intention of accepting offers of fervice from volunteer corps. In confequence of that intimation, feveral offers of fervice had been made, fome of which had been ac cepted, and to others no answer had yet been given He thought that all thofe corps that offered their fervices upon the invitation of Government, and upon the terms that they should be exempt from ballots. were now entitled to thofe exemptions, provided their offer of service was previous to the 22d of June, and he accordingly propofed an amendment to that effect.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, it was unnecessary to repeat the arguments which had been urged to fhew the impropriety of extending the exemptions beyond those who had actually been enrolled before the 22d of June. In point of fact, the offers of fervice were fo numerous, that if they had all been accepted, the number of exemptions would have been enormous, and would have consequently thrown a great additional burden upon other perfons. It was to avoid throwing this additional burden upon the people, that many of thofe offers were not accepted, till the pleasure of Parliament was known upon the fubject. He therefore hoped that the Committee would adhere to its former refolutions on this fubject.

Dr. Laurence fupported the amendment which had been propofed, and faid it would be hard if those corps who had, upon the invitation of Government, made offers of fervice upon the terms held out by Government, should now have their fervices accepted upon very different and lefs advanta geous terms.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer denied that any offer of exemption from the prefent levy was held out when the offer was made to accept the fervices of volunteer corps, becaufe,, in point of fact, this meafure was not then altogether in contemplation.

General Gafcoyne difapproved of the amendment. and faid,that instead of extending the exemptions, he should wish to fee them narrowed.

Sir W. Geary stated the case of some perfons belonging to a corps under his command, who had offered their fervices before the time limited by this bill, though in fact they had not been regularly enrolled.

Mr. Pitt faid, that in his opinion, perfons whofe fervices had been accepted fince. this mealure had been announced,

were

were not intitled to exemption, more especially as the limitation had been extended to the 22d of June, instead of the 16th, which was originally propofed. He did not fee therefore any ground that could be urged for the exemption of thofe who had not been enrolled previous to the 22d of June. The zeal of the hon. Baronet for the corps under his command did him great honour, but he was fure he would not wish to extend exemptions in a way that would be productive of great inconvenience. He could not believe that any perfons entered into volunteer corps to fave themselves from the effect of this ballot; on the contrary, he was fure that the fame fpirit which led them to make an offer of their perfunal fervice, would induce them to contribute in every other way to the railing of a force neceffary for the fecurity of the kingdom. If the Houfe were to go on and give way to all the applications which might be made, and to keep adding, one by one, to the catalogue of exemptions, they would narrow the means of obtaining a large regular and trained force. He did not mean that the establishment of fuch a force would render the volunteers unnecessary, but they would be neceffary to form a point round which the others might rally. He hoped that offers of volunteer fervice would come in to a very great extent. He hoped they would now be invited to offer their fervices, and in obeying that call, he was fure they would be actuated by that feeling which muft govern the breast of every Englishnan, and not by any view to exemption. There was not a inan in the kingdom lefs inclined to undervalue the fervices of the volunteers than he was; they were, under Providence, fome time ago, the great inftrument of the falvation of this country.. A large proportion of volunteers, with lefs of regular military force, would be fufficient to guard against internal danger, but to meet a foreign enemy they must neceffarily act with a large trained army. He was inclined to hope that if any exemptions were to be given in future, it would not be till after the general ballot was over. It might then be advifable to exempt them from the ballots upon a smaller scale, which would be neceflary to fill up deficiencies; and even that exemption he hoped would not be given without an engagement more ftrict than those which were now entered into, and that the period of their fervice fhould be defined; not that he fuppofed any man would withdraw himself from the volunteers while his fervices were necellary, but he thought it would be proper to provide that perfons who had

offered

offered their fervices fhould not be allowed to withdraw them, except upon change of refidence, ficknefs, or fome other good caufe. It was upon thefe grounds, and feeing that exemptions were fpreading, that he thought it neceffary to make these observations. With regard to the cafe stated by his hon. relation (Mr. Wynne) he thought thofe corps to whole offers of fervice no answer had been returned, fhould not now be held to thofe offers, but that they should be at liberty to make their offer again.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, he perfectly concur red in the propriety of what had fallen from his right hon. Friend. He was of opinion that thofe corps alluded to fhould not be held to their former offers of fervice, that an opportunity fhould be given to them to renew thofe offers if they thought proper, but without the fmalleft imputation upon them if they fhould not think it right to renew their offers.

A thort converfation then took place refpecting the exact terms upon which exemption was granted to volunteer corps.

The Secretary at War faid, the exemptions were as follows: First, with regard to the corps; that they extended to thofe corps whofe fervices had been regularly accepted by his Majefty before the 22d of June; with regard to individuals, he propofed that they should extend to those who had offered their fervices, and had been accepted and actually inrolled before the 22d of June, which was agreed to.

The Secretary at War took an opportunity of giving notice, that he would very foon move for leave to bring in a bill to make fome regulations refpecting volunteer and yeomanry corps, and for the purpose of billeting them,

&c.

Mr. Sturges faid, he did not think that those who offered their fervices in cafe of invafion were intitled to exemption, because in cafe of invafon the King could by law command the fervices of every man.

The Secretary at War propofed to infert the words, Invafion, or appearance of Invafion.' He alfo obferved, that although he was fure, in cafe of invafion, the volunteers would be anxious to be led forward to meet the enemy, yet it would be fufficient if thofe, particularly in large towns, would form the garrifons of thofe towns, because if the volunteers were marched out, it would be neceffary to re-place them with other troops.

General Tarlton faid, the volunteers would be of the most

effential

effential fervice in the way alluded to by the Secretary at -War, because it would enable his Majesty to employ the whole of the regular and militia force against the

enemy.

The Secretary at War obferved, that it was neceffary to mark diftin&ly that the men raised by virtue of this act, and drafted into any of the old regiments, fhould not be sent out of the limits of the fervice prefcribed by the act, unless they chofe to volunteer. He therefore propofed an amendment, to the effect that his Majefty fhould be empowered to draft them into any exifting regiments appointed to serve within the prefcribed limits.

Col. Craufurd urged the neceffity of filling up the regi ments of the line.

The Secretary at War obferved, that thefe men could only be placed in regiments whofe fervices were limited to Great Britain and Ireland, Guernsey and Jersey.

Mr. Sheridan objected to any question being put to men thus difpofed of, as to whether they were willing to volunteer for general fervice.

Mr. Pitt faid, it was neceffary that it should be distinctly understood that whilft any regiments remained, of which any of the perfons enrolled under this act for limited fervice form. ed a part, thofe regiments could not be fent upon general fervice. He wished, however, that in cafe his Majesty wanted any of those regiments for general fervice, that his Majefty might have the option of either taking out from fuch regiments the regular foldiers, and placing them in another, or taking out the new levies. Perhaps it was better to complete our home defence, in preference to having any foreign force, and if fo it would be perhaps better to fill up all the regiments of the line, even at the rifk of chaining. them down to limited service for a certain time. He was justified in fuppofing that measures would fhortly be brought forward for the better recruiting of the regular service. Recruiting was not neceffarily impeded by the continuance of a ballot, as experience had fhewn, and particularly with refpect to the guards and the cavalry, the latter of which he did not think was at the prefent moment proportionably ade quate to the number of our infantry. He had the most fanguine hopes that by thus augmenting our force, the foun dation would be laid for the most vigorous efforts abroad, by which he hoped, after repelling the immediate attempts of the enemy, that we fhould make that return which the prefumption of that enemy deferved. In reference to

what