large peace establishment. The diminution of the infantry which then took place, was in the fmalleft poffible proportion; it confifted only of two regiments, which had been enlifted for a limited fervice, and the fame principle for difcharging as few as poffible, was adhered to in reducing the militia. It was next added, why did not his Majesty's Minifters take measures to keep up the volunteer force during the peace? Surely it could not be forgotten that he bad brought in a bill for that purpose after the peace. In point of fact, in confequence of that bill, nearly the whole of the yeomanry cavalry, amounting to about 10,000, and fome of the best volunteer corps in towns, were maintained entire. With regard to the difficulty of recruiting the army at the recommencement of hoftilities, that was not at all surpris ing, when it was confidered how much the men who were difbanded at the end of the peace must have been fatigued by the continuance of the laft war. The fame difficulty was felt in recruiting for the marines. The right honourable Gentleman (Mr. Pitt) had defcribed himself as the parent of the army of referve, and other meafures. taken for the defence of the country. If that was the fact, he was ready to admit that these measures had come from a very illuftrious fource. Doubtless fome ideas in the measures alluded to had been fuggefted by the hon. Gentleman; but with regard to the army of referve act, he must ftate, that the plan of it came from a different quarter: it was firft fubmitted to his Majefty's Minifters by a highly respectable general officer. The right hon. Gentleman had contended, that the fufpenfion of the army of referve act was an impolitic measure, and that was a queftion which the House would have other opportunities of difcuffing. All the reasoning of the right hon. Gentleman, however, tended to fhew the neceffity of rendering the army of referve a permanent measure; but the queftion on Wednesday would not be, whether it should be permanent or not, but merely whether it should not experience a temporary fufpenfion, in order to facilitate the raifing a new levy of regular troops? When the fubject came to be regularly difcuffed, he hoped he thould be able to fhew, that by fufpending the operation of this act for twelve months, it would be eafy to raife 18 or 20 battalions of regular infantry. But it was afked, how could any one expect to raise men at a bounty of 10l. for the army, when at prefent they got 30 and 50l. for the militia? All he could fay on this point was, that the best informed mili

tary

tary officers were of opinion that men could be fo raised for the army, provided the competition of the militia and army of referve did not exift. The allowance, to be given, was ten guineas to each man, and two guineas to the recruiting officer, and the plan to be adopted was very different from that of recruiting for rank which had formerly prevailed, and which the right hon. Gentleman very properly blamed. It was propofed, according to the prefent plan, that only one step of rank should be obtained by recruiting. For railing a certain number of men, a major might become a lieutenantcolonel, a captain a major, or a lieutenant a captain, and a gentleman who raised a certain proportion might on that account acquire an enligncy; but the moft pofitive injunctions were to be iffued, that no money above the bour y allowed by Government fhould be given for recruits. This order, rigorously enforced, would prevent an evil which had formerly prevailed to a great extent in recruiting. He lamented that it fhould have been fuppofed by the right hon. Gentleman, that a diftinguished naval officer had intended to throw any ridicule on his opinions. The expreffion used by that officer was one very common among naval people, and was employed to fhew their contempt of the enemy's force. When, therefore, the gun boats were called a Musquito fleet, he would venture to affure the right hon. Gentleman that no ridicule of his opinions was meant. He fubfcribed to the opinion of the naval officer alluded to, that fo long as the enemy had not more fhips of the line than us, it was of little confequence whether they had lefs or more fmall craft. It feemed to be the opinion of the right hon. Gentleman that the enemy's boats were to be fent out unprotected to make their way to this coaft, in the expectation that those which were not deftroved would be fufficiently numerous to effect the purpose on which they were fent. Might it not as well be fuppofed that it was the intention of the perfon who was collecting the gun-boats at Flushing and Boulogne, to follow a plan fimilar to thofe projected by Marshal Saxe and Tourville? Gun-boats might be very good to oppofe a landing, or to harass the enemy on the paffage, but the danger of the Country would be great indeed, if its protection depended on a competition of boat to boat. He protefted against the imputation thrown on the Admiralty by the right hon. Gentleman, in his obfervations on naval defence. The prefent Admiralty had done every thing in their power to probe the abules of the naval department to the bottom. It was remarkable,

4 F 2

markable, that during the Administration of Lord Temple and Lord Anfon, there had been built in the King's dockyards nearly feven thips of the line a year, the net average was fix three quarters. In the fucceeding years, however, the average number of fhips built in the royal dock-yards never exceeded four in the year, and the principal part of our navy was built in the merchants' yards; would it not then be fit for the Houfe to paufe before they proceeded to cenfure the Admiralty on this account? With regard to the fubject of fortifications, that prefented a question of great difficulty. Formerly it was regarded as a fubject not fit to be touched upon in that House; but he was glad to fee that this opinion no longer exifted. The fentiments of those beft informed on the fubject were not fo much in favour of fortifications as many who had fpoken in that Houfe. Even Martello towers, which had been fo ftrongly recommended, were confidered by many eminent military characters as totally unfit for the defence of this coaft. Having replied to the different points which had been urged against his Majesty's Minifters, he again recommended it to the hon. Gentlemen who had fpoken, to bring forward a direct motion against his Majesty's Minifters, if they really thought it their duty fo to do, and not to aim at their difmiffal by a fort of fide-wind measure, like that which they had now reforted to.

Mr. George Vanfittart thought, if objections were made to the general conduct of his Majefty's Minifters, the regular way would be to addrefs the Sovereign on their incompe

tence.

Sir William Pu'teney was of opinion there was no ground to justify the motion before the Houfe, because on all those points where an attempt had been made to throw blame on his Majefty's Minifters, it appeared to him they had done right. They were, however, but men, and must not be expected to be perfect. To human nature allowance must be made for fome faults, from which they could not be wholly free any more than their predeceffors, in whofe conduct there were many faults, and grofs ones too, which he could easily point out. When the prefent Minifters came into office, the country was engaged in profecuting a long, arduous, expenfive, and unpopular war, which had been fo long carried on by their predeceffors, and with fuch enormous expence, that the right hon. Gentleman who had that night joined so heartily in the cenfure of Ministers, could not have carried it on for three months longer. He must have been forced from

his fituation, by the fpirit and fenfe of the country, had he longer perfifted in it; and he had no difficulty in allerting that he could not have made peace with an enemy implacable against his administration. In that critical and arduous moment, his Majefty's prefent Minifters came forward and concluded a peace, fo welcome to the wishes of the people. But if, unhappily, thofe Minifters had fince found that the revival of the war was unavoidable, was there a man within or without those walls, was there a power in Europe who was not convinced that the fault lay folely in the reftlefs ambition and infulting aggreffions of the enemy, and was by no means juftly attributable to his Majesty's Minifters, for whofe conduct on that occafion the country owed them indelible obligations? for by that conduct they manifested their fincerity in the wish of peace, and their readiness to make every conceffion, not dishonourable to the country, for its maintenance; and by that means, under the dire and inevitable neceffity of renewing the war, they justified themselves in the eyes of their country and of all Europe; and excited that unanimous and glorious, fpirit, in which the nation ftood ready to vindicate its honour and fecurity, and to hurl defiance to the foe. (Hear! hear! hear!) When war was found inevitable, they adopted with the utmoft promptitude, the meafures beft calculated to call forth the military ftrength of the country.

Sir H. Popham held in his hand a printed paper, laid on the table of the Houfe, relative to the navy, in which, he said, different inaccuracies were to be found. The number of veffels in fervice were rated at 1874; on calculating them up, however, he faw that they only amounted to 1652, being an error to the amount of 222. The number of feamen, marines, &c. was taken from the returns on the 30th of November, amounting to 77,894, and no deduction was made for deaths, defertions, &c. between that time and the 15th March, when the lift was made up. Were the returns from the different fleets, &c. laid on the table, the Houfe would fee that this was not a correct statement.

Captain Markham confidered the firft inaccuracy alluded to by the hon. Officer as merely an error in calculation. As to the other, fo far from being an exaggerated ftatement of the number of seamen and marines, it was very much underrated, as it contained none of the returns of impressed men, or of those who had entered fince the 30th of November. With refpect to defertion, that was a very uncommon circumftance, and the hofpitals were in fo complete a state

that

that not a tenth part fo many men died as during the last war. The right hon. Gentleman (Mr. Pitt) had laid great ftrefs on the preparations on the other fide the Channel, and feemed to think that the flotilla at Boulogne ought to be met by a fimilar flotilla. This, however, was an erroneous opi nion. The beft mode of oppofing them was by larger fhips, which would be like men oppofing boys. It was impoffible to prevent the enemy's boats coming along thore, and our fmaller veffels could not keep their pofition on the enemy's coaft. The hon. Captain vindicated Sir Edward Pellew from any wish to ridicule Mr. Pitt, which he could affure the right hon. Gentleman would be far from the intention of his gallant Friend. He alfo afferted the propriety of the conduct of the Admiralty in every particular.

The Attorney General-Sir, I beg to exprefs my humble reliance that the Houfe will indulge me with their attention to a few obfervations on the fubject now before them, and in vindication of his Majesty's Minifters, whofe difmiffal from their fituations is the avowed object of the motion this night brought forward by the hon. Gentleman over against me (Mr. Fox); and I should not feel that I had done my duty to my King and Country, if I fhould omit to exprefs my aftonishment at the manner in which the question has been opened by that hon. Gentleman. If the question be carried this night in favour of that motion, and especially upon the arguments of the right hon. Gentleman under the gallery (Mr. Pitt), there can be no queftion of its being followed by the refignation of the Ministry, who can no longer confent to retain their fituations under fo obvious a declaration, that they have loft the confidence of the Houfe of Commons. But I would ask the hon. Gentleman, if this is the fpecies of conduct I am to expect from his candour and liberality? Is it on a motion of this fort, containing no direct charge of any criminal act or omiffion on the part of his Majefty's Minifters, that I am to expect a decifion, in which is infidiously involved the queftion, whether or not they fhall any longer retain the confidence of this House, or continue to fill thofe fituations in which they have acted with fo much zeal and integrity, and I will add, with fuch fignal effect for the fervice and fecurity of their King and Country? Is this a fpecies of conduct confiftent with the candour and manlinefs of his character, or the dignity which I have on fo many occafions admired, though on so many others I have had reafon to cenfure? Could I have expected from him, to chufe fuch a mode or such a subject, to

colle&