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in fact the effect of this fortifying operation would be,
that the fate of London would not depend upon the event
of a fingle battle. In addition to all this, he added, that
by the fame great national effort, it would not require a
great deal more time to fortify the coaft from the Downs
to Portfmouth. The fortification he propofed from the
Downs to Yarmouth was not, in one cafe, the fame thing
as arming one fide of a fortrefs; for, by fecuring ourselves
in that impregnable quarter, we should have an opportunity
of turning our whole force to the defence of every other.
The point we had to confider was, that of impeding the
enemy's march to the metropolis. The enemy would take
feveral lines, by which they might advance to London as a
centre Against this he would propofe to interfere a prin-
cipal femicircular line, and behind that draw lines of com-
munication, which would enable us to manœuvre with
more rapidity behind our principal line, and to cross that
of the enemy.
All the principal points in thefe lines fhould
be immediately fortified, which would caufe the enemy the
trouble and delay of affaulting and taking them before they
could proceed. Accurate plans fhould be drawn and pre-
ferved of all thefe pofitions for a variety of reasons. He
was far from faying, that the military affairs of this coun-
try were mifconducted, but in that House he must speak
very freely as a Member of Parliament. He would have
the plan fo minute as to point out every hedge which might
be cut down for the purpofe of giving fcope to the expe-
ditions of our cavalry. To obviate any objection to his
plan, he said, that if it came too late, he had only to ob-
ferve, that the other plan would be too late alfo. If the
enemy fhould come before the plan fhould be carried into
effect, we should lofe nothing but fome money, by making
the attempt; fhould it be adopted, he should have the hopes
of doing much good; thould it be rejected, he had the
confolation to reflect that he had done his duty. Should he
be afked why he did not propofe it before, he should answer
that he was too infignificant, and did not fuppofe Govern-
ment would pay any attention to his fuggeftions; but had
he obferved fuch a measure propofed in that House, he
should then very readily have given his opinion on it. He
thought it would be of the higheft confequence to this
country that in the prefent crifis a Military Council fhould
be established for the direction of the most important, ope-
tations at this arduous crifis. He paid many compliments

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to the illustrious Commander-in-Chief, and the excellent officers by whom he was furrounded; but they were too inuch occupied in their official fituations to examine every plan that should be laid before them; and, if they did not approve it altogether, take fuch ideas as were good, and out of a number of plans, make out one which might approach perfection. In juftification of fuch a measure, he reprefented the great advantage which the French had in the Military Council, confifting of Carnot, and other scientific men, who directed most of the fuccefsful operations in the course of the last war. He had himself, he faid, prepared a military memoir, which he fhould be very glad to fubmit to fuch a council as he defcribed, and he knew that many other officers were in a fimilar fituation. But were he to deliver it now, none of the prefent officers, though excellent judges, he confeffed, could poffibly spare fufficient time to examine it. A right hon. Gentleman (the Secretary at War) had faid on a former occafion,. that any military changes fhould be deferred to more quiet times; but he on the contrary maintained, that if they were good for any thing this was the very time to adopt them. The only military objection he ever heard against fortifications was, that they abforbed a greater number of troops than could be fpared for them; but if there was any thing in that objection, it must be removed by the measure lately relorted to; for every one acquainted with fortifications muft know, that if there were men enough, they require but very few regular troops to defend them, as the greatest part of the works could be as well performed by peasants, as far as merely regarded the defence of them.

The Secretary at War replied, that he was neither able nor willing to follow the right hon. Gentleman through the whole range of his military defcription; but though he was no military man, he fhould think himself highly blameable if he had not, at leaft, made fome inquiries into the fubject. He was glad to hear the honourable Officer fpeak in fuch high commendation of the character of the Commander in Chief and the Officers by whom he was furrounded, which was the more neceffary, as his fpeech betrayed fo much want of confidence, and feemed to accuse them before Parliament of a neglect of their duty. He perfectly agreed with him, he faid, in moft, but not all of his obfervations, and lamented that fo little attention was paid in this country to the art of fortification; though, fince the year 1796 or 1797,

great

great improvements had been made upon that fyftem, and he hoped would be continued. What had been done had fatisfied many perfons, but it did not fatisfy the honourable Gentleman, nor was he furprifed at it. He had the honour of knowing him a long time, and was well enough acquainted with his character to be fatisfied that what one great Officer faid of another may be well applied to him"Magnum refert non quod vult, fed ut quod vult valeat." He then proceeded to defcribe the conftitution of the QuarterMaster General's office, which he said was fo diftributed as to embrace every thing connected with the military service. If the honourable Officer went to that office, he would find that there were departments in it where all plans of the nature he alluded to were minutely drawn out, and accurately confidered, and that enquiries would, perhaps, have faved the honourable Officer the trouble of giving the Houfe fuch an able military lecture. He agreed with him, that the French were very well acquainted with this country; but by no means fo well as with other countries of Europe, and very little, as it appeared, with the character of the people. The hon. Gentleman advifed to fortify London; he, on the contrary would fay, "You ought not to fortify London." When we had a fleet, containing eighty thousand men, and fuch an army as never before was heard of in this country, it would be a libel and difgrace to the people to think of fortifying their metropolis. Before they talked of fortifying London, they ought to wait till fome of the enemies' boats actually made their appearance in our roads, though he did not abfolutely deny the poffibility, or practicability, of their coming over in confiderable force. But as to the effect of fuch an attempt, though he fincerely esteemed the high profeffional abilities of the honourable Officer, he did not know that, in the English fervice, he had ever been engaged in any combined operations of the army and navy, fo as to give him any fuperior means of judging of the dangers of debarkations. There were three reafons why he thould not attempt to follow the arguments of the honourable Gentlemen: ift, Because not being a military man, he was not able to do it; 2d, Because the hon. Officer did not difapprove of the bill; and 3d. Because he approved of many of his obfervations. Though difcuffions of this kind were not very ufual in Parliament, he would make fome allowances for them at a time when men's minds were fo much occupied by fuch fubjects; but he must re

mind the honourable Gentleman, that there had been many other great military Officers, who abftained always from fuch difcuffions, as thinking them better fubjects for reprefentation to the Executive Government, than for parliamentary lectures; and the more fo, as in that House they could have no practical effect whatever. He then contended that several parts of the former fpeech went upon misconceptions, that there was a depot in the Quarter-Master General's office for the preferving and examining of memoirs and military plans, &c. He ftill infifted that quiet times were the fittest for making changes-" in pace para bellum," and not when the hoftile armies were, as it were, drawn up in the face of each other.

Mr. Pitt begged the indulgence of the Houfe while he offered a few obfervations on the statements which the hon. and gallant Officer had introduced. He had no difficulty in faying, that with the greater part of the plans which he had fuggested, he moft cordially concurred. He wished it, however, to be diftinctly understood, that thefe plans were not for the first time introduced. Though, during the late war, the danger of invafion had never prefented itself in fu formidable a shape, though the enemy had for fo long a period an opportunity for looking folely to this object, without being at all distracted by continental hoftility, yet a most valuable body of information relative to the most effectual means of defending the empire against invasion had, during the late war, been collected. That information, he was proud to perceive, had been increasing from year to year, and he trufted that it would now increase from month to month, and from hour to hour. During the late war, the danger was unquestionably not fo evident, the plans of the enemy for our destruction were not fo clearly developed, but the extent of our preparations was fuch as thewed, that the defence of the country had engroffed the moft ferious attention of Government. This was, indeed, an object of fuch incalculable importance, that it could not have escaped the serious attention of his Majefty's civil fervants, or of that illustrious perfonage who at that period, and fortunately for the country, how prefided over the military department. He wished to call particularly the attention of the honourable and gallant Officer to the steps which were then taken for the fecurity of the country, and to the great military characters to whom this great object was intrufted. The honourable and gillant Officer had infifted on the importance of providing for the

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fecurity of our naval arfenals, and pointed out the line of fore tification which he conceived to be the beft calculated for that purpofe. He had expreffed à with that this line of for tification fhould be extended as far as the Humber. His Majefty's former fervants, he begged leave to remind the honourable and gallant Officer, were hot at all inattentive to thefe objects. On the contrary, they were the fubjects of the greatest confideration, and the moft accurate provifion. The Houfe could not recollect who were the Officers to whom the cominand in various diftricts was affigned, withi out perceiving that, in fuch hands, it was utterly impoffible that the best means of providing for the national fecurity fhould not have been difcuffed and arranged. If it were res collected that in the northern part of the island the country enjoyed the advantage of the talents and experience of Sif Charles Grey-that in the fouthern diftrict the Duke of Richmond fuperintended, of whofe information and skill on this fubject, whatever opinion might be entertained of his fentiments on other fubjects, there could exift only one fentiment; that General Dundas had opportunities of being prefent at the infpeélion of the ftate of the preparations in all different parts of the country; that an Officer of whofe merits he declined froin perfonal confideration to exprefs what his feelings fuggefted, had feen and arranged the plan of defence against invafion in Scotland. If all this was con fidered, he was fure that the honourable and gallant Officer ivould not now come forward and tell the Houfe that now; for the first time, plans of national defence were produced; that now, for the fift time, this great and interefting fubject had attracted the attention, and employed the cares of Government. He was ready to admit that material improvements might be engrafted on the original plans of national fecurity. He trusted that they would experience new improvements from day to day, that the fyftem would from day to day receive new form and confiftency, that it would not flop fhort of that efficient fcheme of national fafety, which would for ever fet to reft all the vadints and threats of a foe whofe ambition knew no limits, and whofe fpirit of aggreffion acknowledged no end. When he reflected on the exertions which had been already made for the accomplishment of this interefting object-when he confidered what had been effected even in the prefent feffion, combined with the zeal and exertions of the illuftrious Commmander in Chief, he had the moft fanguine expectations that 4 N

VOL. IV. 1802-3.

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