doubt, exempt himself from the service. He disliked the bill for its compulsory principle, and was convinced that the yeomanry of this country would, at any time of public danger, be more ready to act under the direction of their Iandlord, and the gentlemen of the country, than under any compulsive system like this, the effect of which would be to render them sulky and discontented. The honourable colonel took occasion highly to commend the spirit and liberality of the Duke of Northumberland, in arming and training, at his own expence, the tenantry on his estate, who, he was convinced, would be found to act in the day of danger, under an illustrious branch of the house of Percy, as a "Theban band :" and he verily believed, like their brave ancestors, the fifteen hundred valiant bowmen at Chevy-chace, should they come to encounter any enemy in their native land

"That children yet unborn would ruc

"The fighting of that day." General Loftus was convinced of the necessity of the bill, and only wished it had gone much farther. It was necessary to use every exertion which the physical force of the country afforded for security at home, in order to enable us to act with effect abroad. Our chief danger from invasion lay in the vast extent of our coasts; and he would venture to assert, that if our armies were double or treble their present numbers, they would not be sufficient to ensure our security without such a measure as this. Let it be recollected, that though our fleets at present command the seas, (and he hoped ever would do so) yet it might happen not always to be the case; and even with all the force and vigilance by which we were guarded, yet one night might waft to our shores a formidable enemy. To encounter such an enemy on the first alarm, he could wish to see the population of every town, village, and district, in the realm ready trained, and fit to march at a moment's warning. He could wish to see them properly classed for the purpose, and he considered such a plan perfectly practicable, from what he had seen of the populace in Ireland at the time of the rebellion, and how formidable a force they composed, and only with pikes. The same might be done with the po palace here, or a great portion of them. When he recollected the important services performed by the volunteers of Ireland in that rebellion, and that they had, by their loyalty and valour, saved the country to England, he could

never

never be supposed to undervalue the services of volunteers, in recommending the training of such a force as he described. But these men everywhere armed, and ready to form on any part of the coast against an enemy, aided by detachments of artillery, before volunteers, quartered in towns, conld. be got in force, must be of important service. As to the practicability of a formidable invasion suddenly, and in ships of war, he had a proof before his eyes; for being quartered at Yarmouth some years since, when Admiral Duncan commanded a fleet in the North sca, that gallant commander came into port, and swept the sea of all the Dutch fishing-boats in his way, to prevent their giving intelligence of his return to port. By desire of the admiral, he had marched down his garrison to the water's edge, in order to try how many men each of those schuyts were capable of conveying; and he found that each boat could conveniently carry fifty-five fighting men, with their arms, ammunition, and knapsacks. Of such boats the Dutch have many thousands in their ports, employed in the fisheries or in smuggling to our coasts, of which they know every creek where a landing might be effected, and every shoal and sand-bank over which their boats would float, at any given time of the tide, with perfect safety. Seeing this to be the case, and knowing it to be the firm opinion of Admiral Duncan, that the landing of an enemy in such a way was practicable, he could not feel, the country secure against danger, even with all the protection of our formi dable fleets at sea; and, therefore, he thought our force at home could not be too formidable; for this reason, he highly approved of the bill.

Mr. Mathews considered the measure before the House as unnecessary and injurious. It was singular, he observed, that gentlemen on the other side talked of the expenditure of millions as of a matter of insignificance, and yet they rested upon economy as the great recommendation of their course of proceeding with respect to the volunteers. The honourable gentleman remarked upon the facility with which the present ministers contrived to change their principles with their places.

Mr. Giles contended, that the bill occasioned no breach of faith with the country, or any of those districts which had formerly raised a number of volunteers as an alternative to avoid the immediate operation of the last training bill, in which there was really no such pledge held out. It

SH2

merely

merely enabled his Majesty to dispense with the operation of the bill for the time, upon certain conditions. If there was any such condition, it must be looked for in the secre tary of state's letter to the lord lieutenants of counties, and in that letter no such pledge was held out; on the contrary, it was obvious, from the tenour of that letter, that the pro posed suspension of the training bill was only meant at the time to be temporary. He also denied that the bill was a measure of severity, when compared with the former training bill, which stipulated no definitive period of service; whereas the present bill specified only twenty-four days in a year, in which service he who took his turn this year would be succeeded by his neighbour in the next.

Mr. Ryder opposed the bill, and considered it wholly unnecessary at present, on a comparison with the period and circumstances under which the former training bill was brought forward by his right honourable friend; for, at that time our regiments of the line were reduced to skeletons, our militia but just called out, after having been disbanded, and the regiments not one-third full, or disciplined; our volunteer corps but just forming, and scarcely initi ated in their drills; and invasion threatening us every hour, But though he was by no means disposed to undervalue our danger, or the force of the enemy, yet he could not forget the vast difference of our comparative situation. The naval force of that enemy had been since destroyed by our fleets, while our army was increased above 100,000 men, and our volunteer force amounted now to 300,000 disciplined troops able to act with any corps in the field.

Mr. Wynne replied to many of the objections which had been made to the bill, and pointed out many inconsistencies in the arguments of those who opposed it. He considered that the real discontent which prevailed in the volunteer corps remained principally with the officers of those corps that drew for eighty-five days pay, when other corps were entitled but to twenty-six. He considered the successes of our armies in the days of our Henrys' and our Edwards', as not so much owing to the valour of the knights, or the goodness of the cavalry, as to the excellence which the English yeomanry had acquired by the constant habits of exercising, in a manner similar to that pointed out by the present bill.

Sir R. Lawley had some clauses to propose, which he had no doubt would be very agreeable to the volunteers, as

they

they had in view the arrangement and improvement of their discipline.

The Speaker suggested to the honourable baronet, that this was not the proper time to propose such clauses.

Lord Kirkwall asserted, that the opinion which the vo lunteers had been naturally induced to form, as to the views of the right honourable author of this bill, had served materially to damp their zeal and diminish their numbers. In support of this assertion the noble lord stated, that he had the honour to command a corp of volunteers, which consisted of 460 strong and effective men, twelve months ago, but which at the last muster returned no more than eighty. A similar reduction was, he apprehended, to be generally looked for, from the language and projects of the right honourable secretary.

Lord De Blaquiere could not imagine any thing more absurd than the proposition of an efficient levy, for which neither officers nor adequate instruction was provided.

Lord Binning called upon the learned lord on the ministerial bench (the Lord Advocate of Scotland) who was not present on a former evening when this measure was under discussion, to state his opinion upon the propriety of extending it to Scotland. If there was any benefit in the measure, the noble lord could not conceive that, upon any principle of fairness, Scotland should be refused a participation of it; and if it were a burthen, he did not think it fair that it should be confined altogether to England. There were many parts of Scotland to which this bill would be as applicable as to this country, and there was no danger of its meeting any such opposition as the execution of the militia law formerly did. But that opposition was not, in fact, the effect of the militia, but of that disaffection to the government which, he was happy to think, was now no more.

The Lord Advocate was surprised at the line and tone adopted by his noble relation, who had just sat down, and those who acted with him. They maintained that this measure would involve a breach of faith, and an invasion of the King's prerogative; would be productive of great ex-pence and oppression; and yet, said they, " give a share of this abomination to Scotland." (A laugh). They had been abusing the bill for some weeks, asserting that it would lead to confusion, and pull down the volunteers; and yet, with all their professed regard for Scotland and the volunteers, they would have the scope of its operation extended.

As

As to the opposition to the militia law, which had been alluded to by his noble relation, and which had been asserted to proceed from disaffection, he was not disposed to come into that opinion. He was aware that disaffection was often stated to prevail very generally in Scotland, and that he himself was described as one of the disaffected. But if he was disaffected then, he was so still. For he held no principles at that time, which now, in the King's service, did not remain perfectly unchanged, and they should ever con tinne so. But to return to the opposition which at the out-set the militia law met in Scotland; that opposition did in fact arise from the general misconception prevailing of that. law, and the pride and arrogance of some persons in that country, who would not condescend to communicate with the lower orders, and explain to them its object and provisions. If that law had been properly understood, he ventured to say that it would have experienced no resistance whatever. In the district where he resided, the law was fully explained to the lower orders, and therefore is was carried into execution without any attempt even at opposition. With regard to the bill under consideration, the learned lord confessed himself anxions that its principle should be extended to Scotland, and this opinion he had already commu nicated to its right honourable author. But yet he would not desire the present bill to be so extended, as in many of its parts it was inapplicable to that country. He would rather wish to bring in a separate bill upon the subject, and he, would pledge himself to prepare such a bill in forty-eighthours as should be perfectly adapted to Scotland. The learned lord asserted that the former levy en masse act was quite impracticable in Scotland; and he concluded with. pronouncing a high eulogium upon the conduct, disposi-. tion, character, and efficiency, of the volunteers of that conatry.

Mr. Canning hoped, the honourable and learned lord: would redeem the pledge he had given, and shew the English ministers that he could, in forty-eight hours, frame a better bill than that which had been produced in four months, by the united labour of this wonderful government, from whom so much was expected, and who were said to possess a concentration of all the talents and worth of the empire. Those men had, however, legislated strangely for England, and he hoped

the