473 comfortable as possible, as an inducement to him to enter. He desired gentlemen to recollect that this was not an emergency of a week, or of a month, or of a year, but one which would in all probability last for some time. If the House or the country therefore were content with a temporary remedy they deceived themselves. He did not see that the plan of the noble lord could do any good. Between the two he preferred that of the army of reserve, on this principle, that if they were to resort to a mode of compulsory service in the line of the regular recruiting, that mode would do least mischief, as it interfered with no other portion of our defensive force, but allowed every thing to remain settled and undisturbed. On the subject of making a diversion in favour of our allies, the right honourable gentleman had tauntingly said, that if such a thing had been thought of at an early period of the campaign by the late ministers, it might have been possible to have protracted the war. He hoped, however, gentlemen would recollect, that as on the one hand it might have been possible to protract the war by sending a British force to the assistance of our allies, so, on the other hand, it was equally possible, without benefiting our allies by such protracted warfare, that a considerable loss in British valour, British blood, and British lives, might have been the consequence. The first expedition under Lord Cathcart was not attended with any great success, not from any want of courage, skill or bravery in that gallant officer or his troops, but from what other cause he should not say. He hoped the second expedition under the command of his lordship would be more successful. The right honourable gentleman had said, that it was well known that the late ministers were to do nothing for the catholics of Ireland, but that they would have been glad to have remained in place at the expence of sacrificing every measure of conciliation towards them. This the noble lord denied. He had thought, that if any thing was more notorious than another, it was this, that they had refused to enter into any pledge not to advise his majesty to such acts as they might think to be for the interest of that body, and of the kingdom of Ireland in general. If there was any thing more notorious than another, it was this, that the late ministers had other measures besides the catholic officers bill, to propose for the good of that body. VOL. I.-1807. 3 P if If ministers really wished to provide effectually for the defence of the country, they would speedily, he knew they must sooner or later, do something to repair the lost state in Ireland. Lord Henniker supported the bill. The Chancellor of the Exchequer could not help, in justification of himself, alluding to the remark of the.noble lord as to the steps in agitation by the late ministers on the catholic claims. The Home might recollect that when this subject was formerly discussed, he had express"ed his belief that the catholic officers bill was not a solitary measure, only one of a train of measures which it had been in contemplation to bring forward. The answer which he then received was, that no further immunities to the catholics had then been in agitation, and that the bill which had been introduced being done away, an end was put to the business. It now seemed that there was nothing farther from the truth than supposing, that the plans in favour of the Roman catholics were then at an end. But, on the contrary, if they (the late ministers) had continued to conduct the affairs of this kingdom, still further concessions would by this time have been made to the Roman catholics. The right honourable gentleman then went into a defence of the measure, on the ground of emergency, and contended that nothing was asked or intended, but to ra se our army to the full complement voted by Parliament. This it was essential to do immediately, and not to wait till our enemy was ready on the opposite coast, lest the inconvenience alluded to by the honourable gentleman (Mr. Whitbread), of want of discipline should be found, as on the former instance, to apply to our newly raised force. That the plan of the right honourable gentleman (Mr. Windham) was not equal to this emergency, he said, would hardly be disputed. The documents on the table shewed that it had not even been in a progressive state of improvement; and, on the whole, it was not, as it had been represented, equally productive with the additional force act. The returns of it were, for April, 2,089 ; May, 2,025; June, 1,564; whereas the returns under the additional force act were, February, 2,213; March, 2,203; April, 9,957; May, 2,098. The only question then was, whether the ballot should be for the army of reserve, or for the militia. That there were advantages in enlisting out of the militia no man could deny. They must be at least as as good soldiers when joined to the regular army as they were while in the militia, and their being commanded by oflicers of the line could not render them worse disciplined; added to which, they would thus have extended their services, not only to Ireland, but to any place abroad where they might be required. There were besides second battalions, containing a handful of men cach, scattered up and down, and of no essential service in their detached state, amounting to about 16,000 men; by engrafting the 28,000 on this 16,000, it might in a manner be said, that an additional force would be thus produced of 44,000 men. This, however, was not all. If a peace were to take place in three months from this time, there would not be a militia-man in service. It was therefore not a matter of slight importance that the men should be thus raised, as the plan proposed held out an immediate and effectual mode, not only of strengthening the army, but of securing a militia. force, which in the event of peace was unquestionably both the most economical and most constitutional species of force. Lord Henry Petty explained that he did not say that the other measures in contemplation by the late ministers for conciliating the people of Ireland, were of the same description with the catholic officers' bill. Mr. Vindham said that the object of the right honourable gentleman was to produce a sudden and great present defence. The plan which he proposed for doing so, however, seemed to be one completely calculated to cut up our security in future. It was necessary in such a case to compare the dangers of the present and of the future, and on the whole to adopt that plan which might seem most suited to preserve, not only our present, bat our permanent advantage. He did not say that the present moment was not to be regarded. If we did not take care of the present, we might not have the future. We must no‘, how ever, allow ourselves to be so contracted, as, in the contemplation of the present moment, to become insensible of future prospects. The right honourable gentleman proceeded to take a review of the army of reserve and additional force acts, to the former of which he gave a decided preference. This, however, was only by comparison; for he did not altogether approve even of it, although the best of the measures of the kind. There was a complexity in all these measures, of which he did not pprove. it was impossible impossible to say, within many thousands, what was the actual number of men they produced, as they interfered with the regular mode of recruiting for the army. He had himself proposed a plan which he could not conceive a reason for laying aside even for a moment, or what was worse, throwing impediments in the way of its progress, which were calculated completely to undermine it, and render it of non-effect. This plan, he contended, had done a great deal. It had raised nine thousand men more than the annual contingencies of the army, and under every disadvantage, it had done more than both the additional force act, and the ordinary recruiting put together. The plan now proposed by the noble lord (Castlereagh) was nothing more than a revival and mixture of those plans which had already more than once exhausted themselves, and created enormous expence to the country, by way of bounties, It was said by some gentlemen to be a major in the first instance. If so, he was afraid it would speedily turn a minor; or rather that it would not do much at first, and absolutely nothing hereafter. His plan had done as much as had been expected for the time it had been in existence. It must naturally have gone on and increased, the more the knowledge of it extended and was felt by the country. As a right honourable gentleman (Mr. Addington) had said, he probably was to blame in not promulgating it more generally through the country. This, however, only went to shew, that the beneficial effects it was calculated to produce were not yet sufficiently felt. He was accused of, cculiar fondness for the measure. haps this might be excused on account of the hostility shewn to it by gentlemen on the other side. They seemed, however, to be afraid that it should establish itself, and disappoint their predictions, and now sought, therefore, to impede its further progress. He was of opinion, that no additional system was necessary for increasing our regular army, but that the one now proposed, instead of answering that end, must impede the means already employe' for that purpo e. Per The right honourable gentleman stated the reluctance. he felt in recommending the abolition of the inspecting field officers of the volunteers, because he knew it involved a reduction of the subsistence of several meritorious officers. But that reluctance his sense of duty obliged him kim to assume, and that duty he begged to observe, he was particularly urged to follow by the sentiments of several volunteer officers who were very anxious for the interest of the volunteer establishment, but who were unanimous in stating, that the existence of those inspecting field officers were not only useless, but peculiarly disagreeable to the volunteer officers in general. Referring to the remarks made by the noble lord upon the success of the system which he had the honour to bring forward last year, the right honourable gentleman mentioned, that that system was far more productive than the noble lord seemed disposed to admit. For although the noble lord had broadly asserted, that the produce of this system was not more than sufficient to supply the casualties of the army; the fact was, that within the period of its operation, namely, for the last year, its produce not only supplied these casualties, but furnished a surplus of no less than 9,000 The right honourable gentleman concluded with deprecating, as he had uniformly done, such sudden calls upon the population of the country as this bill had in view, because, while they offered a temporary aid, they cut up the source of our permanent military supply. Mr. Bathurst disapproved of the measure, because he thought it calculated to take away from the efficiency of the militia, particularly in the transfer of the oflicers, in which that body was already so deficient, without adding any thing material to the efficiency of our means of defence. The militia he considered as competent to our home defence as any other description of force, and with a view to any objectat present in our contemplation, he did not see the propriety of the proposed transfer. Lord Castlereagh, in replying to the objections urged against his measure, animadverted upon the different grounds on which those objections rested. One party exceeding him in the assertion of necessity, but recommended another mode of providing against it; and another denying the necessity for any further provision beyond that already existing. Among the latter he was surprised, he must confess, at the tone of the right honourable gentleman on the opposite side (Mr. Windham). That right honourable gentleman professed to think our means completely adequate to meet all that danger which he had so often pictured in such hideous terms, merely with the aid of his 1 |