any counsels which the right honourable secretary for the war de. partment was supposed to influence; be urged that gentleman in the strongest terms, to disclose what his intentions were in regard to the additional force bill. "On this and other questions connected with the military defence of the country, it was indispensible that an immediate determination should take place, and that the men of talents, of which the new administration was said to be composed, should hasten to exert those talents in a way calculated to be of advan. tage to the public. The patient might otherwise expire before the state physicians had made up their minds as to the prescriptions that ought to be adopted." Mr. Secretary Windham observed in reply, that the delay complained of by opposition, arose from difliculties which they had themselves created. Their military system had been so bad, that it naturally, produced those difficulties. The noble lord had very properly compared the present military system to a sick patient. But who had reduced the wretched patient to that languishing state? How came the patient to be in his present situation? Was it not the noble lord and his friends who had brought him to death's door? And yet they who had brought the country to that state, were now loud in their reproaches of their successors, for Lot restoring the patient instantly to health." After some observations on the questions put to him by the noble lord, he ended by saying, "that the subjects alluded to were now under the consideration of government, and would, in due time, be submitted to parliament." Mr. Canning then rose, and after denying that the inferences were just, which the last speaker had endeavoured to deduce from the noble lord's speech, expressed his surprise that an administration, combining, as had been asserted, and as they themselves had represented, all the talents, all the abilities, and all the experience and wisdom of the country, should require so much time to mature and bring forward their measures. He acknowledged "that if these questions were agitated with a view to draw from the right honourable gentleman a premature disclosure of his plans, opposition would ill discharge their duty to the public;" but he nevertheless went on, stating his reasons for wishing to have an answer on the subject of the volunteers and additional force bill, and expressing, in the course of his speech, his total want of confidence in the secretary for the war department, as a war minister, in which opinion he was sure that nine tenths of the nation coincided with him. Mr. Whitbread, after some remarks on the tone and spirit of Mr. Canning's and lord Castlereagh's speeches, observed, that the recent efficacy of the additional force bill, was not owing to its na tural operation, but to the activity of crimps and recruiting officers, in turning over to the parish levies, men under-sized for the line and militia. Mr. Fox, in reply to Mr. Canning, observed, that "that right honourable gentleman had stated, that the present ministry comprised all the talent in the country; and he had even stated it in such a manner as might lead to a supposition that they had so represented them selves. selves. He should be happy that the right honourable gentleman would state on what occasion he had heard them so represent themselves. It was impossible that they could have said so, when they saw the right honourable gentleman on the other side of the house. It would be ridiculous in any person to insinuate that ministry comprised all the talent of the country, when the right honourable gentleman was out of office. Not only the right honourable gentleman, but his colleagues on the same bench with him, had made such a representation impossible, particularly by the display of talent which they had already made in opposition. If some of the friends of the present administration, thinking too highly of their merits, had, from prejudice or partiality, so described them, he thought it was hardly for the friends of the right honourable gentleman, lately deceased (Mr. Pitt) and least of all for the gentleman opposite (Mr. Canning) to object to that species of panegyric." After pointing out the inconsistency of Mr. Canning, in first declaring that he had no confidence in the secretary for the war department, and then requiring that right honourable gentleman to make a premature disclosure to him of his plans, he proceeded to contrast the opinion now expressed of his right honourable friend, with the endeavours used to make him take a part in the late administration, when it was forming. He reminded the gentlemen opposite, that when Mr. Pitt came last into office, he did not, for four weeks after his return to power, bring in his additional force bill; though in that case a single act only was to be in troduced; here there was a new system to be founded. Then, how. ever, no objection of delay was started, neither were any premature enquiries made into the nature of the plan which he had in contem. plation to introduce. The right honourable secretary declared, he could figure no reason for putting a question like the present, but a wish to embarrass. "What good motive could the persisting in it proceed from, when his right honourable friend had stated, that he was not quite ready to bring forward his measure? What advantage could arise from a premature declaration, similar to that now required? From what good motive could the wish to procure such a declaration proceed? If his right honourable friend had begun by moving the repeal of the additional force act, would not the right honourable gentleman have argued, that till a substitute was provided in its stead, that act should be allowed to take its course? and, if his right honourable friend now said, that that act formed no part of his plan, did it not follow, that this was not the time to inves tigate or discuss its merits." We have been more diffuse in our account of these preliminary skirmishes, than their importance, perhaps, strictly merits, but we were desirous of enabling our readers, by these extracts from the parliamentary debates, to judge for themselves of the spirit of carping hostility which marked, on so many occasions, the conduct of opposition during the present session, particularly in discussions, where the secretary for the war department was in any manner concerned. On the 3d of April Mr. Windham introduced the subject of his new military arrangements, by stating. that the expectations enter tuned on the other side of the house, that some radical change in our military system, would be the consequence of the present ministers coming into power, were reasonable and just, and warranted by the language of himself and his friends when in opposition; but that the expectation of some immediate change following, without the smallest delay, his own appointment to office, was neither justified by his st declarations, nor countenanced by the nature of the proceedings he hd uniformly recommended; that it had never been his object to limit 66 force or choice.” our views to a temporary expedient Force, Mr. Windham shewed, was to meet the present exigency, but peculiarly unfitted for England, to provide a permanent security where its operation would be at gainst a permanent danger; that once less efficacious and more opin the measures he was about to pressive, than in countries subject recommend, care was of more to arbitrary government. But, importance than time, and it was force being excluded, choice, or vobetter that whatever was done luntary enlistment, was the only should be done rightly, than that it means left us for procuring soldiers, should be done speedily." After and we were then to consider, how some sarcastic and ludicrous observa- it might be made effectual for that tions on the conduct of the gentlemen purpose. If we inquired why, of opposite, who after having clubbed late years, this instrument had the battalion," or, in other words, failed in England (for it used not thrown every thing into disorder, formerly to be inefficacious) we seemed to exult in the confusion should find that the military prothey had made, he proceeded to his fession in this country was not suf main argument, the purport of ficiently rewarded, when compared which was to shew, that the de- with the other occupations open to fence and security of civilized na- the lower orders, and was, theretions must depend entirely on the fore, considered by the body of the excellence of their regular armies; people as less eligible than other that no species of irregular force callings. The necessity for bouncould be employed with any chance ties to procure soldiers, shewed that with regular battalions, volunteers with troops of the line, would expose to certain destruction the army where such an expedient was resorted to; and that, consequently, the great object to which our attention should be directed for permanent security against invasion, was the increase and improvement of our regular army. The superiority of an army over every spe. cies of irregular force being esta blished, the next question was, how were we to recruit that army, and augment it to the number necessary for defence. There were only two modes by which an army could be recruited of success except in against regular troops, the service of the army did not stand very peculiar circum- upon its true footing; for there stances, which were totally inappli- was no other profession to which it cable to the warfare between France was necessary to allure men by and England; that to mix irregular such means. Comparing govern ments becomes ments to manufacturers, and the in proportion as the army licentious, a severity of discipline To reduce these principles to practice it behoved us to consider what was the most eligible mode of improving the condition of the soldiery, so as to render the military profession an object of general desire a mong the people. The most sim. ple and obvious expedient was to raise the pay of the army, and no doubt we might carry that principle so far as to ensure an abundant supply of soldiers. But besides the objections on the score of expence, the pay of an army y cannot be in. creased to a great extent without rendering the troops licentious, and He proposed therefore, that the term of military service should b divided into three periods, of sever years each for the infantry; and for the cavalry and artillery the first period to be of ten years, the second of six years, and the third of five years. At the end of every period the soldier should have a right to claim his discharge. If he left the army at the end of the firs period, he should be entitled to ex ercise his trade or calling in any town of Great Britain or Ireland if at the end of the second period, he should be entitled, besides, to a pension for life; and at the end of the third period, after a service of twen ty. ty-one years, he should be discharged from the army, with the full allowance of Chelsea, which by jalicious regulations might be raised to a shilling a day. If he was rounded or disabled in the service, he should receive the same pension as if he had served out the full term. During the second period he should also receive sixpence a week of additional pay, and during the third period a shilling a week. Desertion might be punished by the loss of so many years service, and though corporal punishments could not be banished entirely from the army, they might be diminished both in number and in severity. By these means a better description of men would be induced to enter the army; the profession of a soldier would rise in the estimation of the country; desertion would become less frequent; and, though the necessity for bounties could not be expected to cease immediately, the bounties would begin soon,in the language of Change Alley, to be looking down;" and if the system, now recommended, was steadily pursued and faithfully adhered to, the army would be placed in a situation, where its own attractions would be the only bounty required for recruiting its ranks and procuring for it any number of men, which the exigencies of the state might require. After explaining the principles and defending the expediency of these measures with equal force of argument and felicity and copiousBess of illustration, Mr. Windham proceeded to anticipate some of the objections, and remove some of the dificulties, that stood in the way of his plan. The additional expence, to which it would lead, had been greatly over rated, on the false prin. VOL. XLVIII. ciple, that the present high bounties would always continue, and that at the conclusion of every term of service it would be necessary to repeat them. Expence at any rate was a secondary object when placed in competition with security and the only fair question was, whether the end could be attained by cheaper means. It had been erroneously stated, that according to the provisions of this plan, we should be liable to lose at once a seventh part of our whole army. But they who made that calculation had forgotten to take casualties into the account; and, besides, it was unreasonable to suppose, that of those entitled to their discharge, none would enlist again for another period. A discretionary power, however, might be given to government, in time of war, to retain men for six months in the service,after the term of their engagement was expired. A more serious difficulty had been started with respect to the embarrassments, which this change of system might occasion in our foreign and colonial service; but expedients would be found to remedy this objection, and we had proof at any rate, from the example of the East India Company, whose troops are enlisted for a term of years, that the inconvenience is less in practice than it appears to be in theory. To the question put to him, what he intended to do with our present army, Mr. Windham replied, that in strict justice the existing army was entitled to no other conditions than those on which the soldiers composing it had engaged to serve; but that he meant to make an increase, in their favour, of the Chelsea allowance, and to extend to those who had served seven years, the addition of sixpence, and E |