should have the benefit of religion, free from the abuses of the former institution. If soldiers went to the parochial church, they often found there was no accommodation for them; and as to saying prayers for them at a different hour, it was depriving the parish church of what was most interesting in public worship, when all ranks and degrees assembled together to worship their common Father and Benefactor. It was of the utmost importance, he thought, that armies going on foreign service should have proper clergymen to administer the consolations of religion to the wounded and the dying. There ought also to be some religious instruction for the many black regiments in his Majesty's service in the West Indies." The secretary at war replied, that considerable improvements had already taken place in the appointment of chaplains, and still farther improvements were intended. This is a subject which well deserves farther attention from Mr Wilberforce. The great Gustavus derived as much advantage from the moral and religious discipline of his army, as from his improvements in the art of war.

For recruiting the army, Lord Castlereagh had recourse to the militia; this, in fact, being the chief, if not the only real use of that expensive and burthensome estaJan. 25. blishment. "It was now ascertained," his lordship said, "that there was no mode by which the disposable force of the country could be so rapidly and easily increased. He proposed that no militia regiment should be reduced below three-fifths of its full establishment, and to fill up the transfer by raising 24,000 men. It was, he fear ed, impossible to get rid of the ballot altogether; but, to relieve the coun

ties from the heavy burthens to which they had formerly been exposed, he should propose a bounty, to be paid by the public, for enlisting, not altogether as high as would be given for general service, but about ten gui neas, which he thought would be sufficient. If the voluntary enlistment should not succeed, and the country should be compelled to have recourse to the ballot, then the ten guineas should be given to the ballotted men, either as bounty, if he served in person, or to assist him in procuring a substitute." The measure was opposed by Mr Tierney and his electioneering opponent, Sir T. Turton, upon the same strange ground, that they could not consent to increase our disposable force, till they understood how the force which we already possessed had been managed, and what was the nature of the foreign service in which they might be employed. Lord Milton opposed it upon the genuine opposition princi ple, that he could not consent to increase the burdens of the country for the sake of putting a large disposable force in the hands of the present ministers! But never was there a time in which it was of so much importance that this country should possess a strong disposable force; the manner in which it was squandered, even those who thought. most contemptuously of the existing administration could not have foreseen, so grievously did the impru dence of the Walcheren expedition surpass all that could be expected or feared.

Lord Milton could not see to what part of the world British troops could be sent with advantage. This was the common cry of the husbanding politicians. He objected also to the mischievous effect which the proposed

measure would have upon the discipline and morality of the militia regiments, by exposing the privates to be tampered with by intoxication, and other means equally destructive to morals and discipline, in order to induce them to enlist; "even if it were objectionable upon no other ground," he said, "it was highly so upon this." But when a man is taken from his agricultural or handicraft pursuits to be made a soldier, it matters little for his morals whether he be in the militia or the regulars, except indeed that in the former he cannot attain that dignity of character which grows out of a daily familiarity with danger, while all the vices which spring from ignorance and idleness ripen to their full perfection. It was objected to Lord Castlereagh upon better grounds, that the sum which he proposed towards a bounty for substitutes, would only raise the price, and increase the public burthens. And in the Upper House, Lord Sidmouth regretted, with some reason, "that ministers had not availed themselves of the popular feeling to recruit the army; had that been done, the present measure would have been wholly unnecessary. But as the army must be kept up, he would not," he said, "oppose the bill."

Feb. 20.

The plan for filling up the militia met with greater opposition when the bill for the purpose was brought forward. Lord Archibald Mar. 24. Hamilton, saying that it militated against the principle of all the statutes upon which that body was founded, moved that the bill should be read that day six months. Mr Giles said, "that the men who were transferred into the line by this process of Lord Castlereagh's, in the last year cost the

country 726,000l., calculating the bounty originally paid for substitutes, and that which was paid for the transfer. One-third of this sum only came from the fund of general taxes, while one-third was extracted from the pockets of such individuals as were subjected to the ballot, and the other from the landed interest-from the poor-rates. Was this an equitable or a judicious way of providing for the defence of the country? Every man obtained for the line in this manner cost 281.; and was it not practicable, under wise regulations, to procure men for that bounty by ordinary recruiting, without having resort to the circuitous, expensive, and op pressive progress of the ballot "" It was forcibly argued also, both by Mr Giles and Mr Windham, that it was absurd to suppose the recruiting could proceed successfully with a small bounty, while the men who were willing to enlist knew that the ballot must necessarily cause a great augmentation of it. Lord Castlereagh's address to them was, " Come, come, my lads, make haste, take ten guineas; for if you do not, you will be soon compelled to take forty." In the Upper House, Earl Fitzwilliam regretted that May 9. the militia should be made a crimping fund for the supply of the regular army. There were not wanting, however, members who pointed out, that it was the only way in which the militia was made of any real service to the country. Far better, indeed, would it be to abolish the militia altogether, and apply the sum which it annually costs to the augmentation of the regular army. Till this is done, it is better thus indi rectly to make it of some use, than to let it remain useless as well as burthensome to the country,-heavily

and oppressively burthensome, not for the amount of the expence, but for the manner in which it is raised.

The experiment of the Mar. 27. local militia, Lord Castlereagh informed Parliament, had been eminently successful; 125,000 volunteers in Great Britain had transferred their services, and the whole number exceeded 195,000; when the yeomanry cavalry were add ed, the force then amounted to 200,000 of such fine athletic troops as no other country ever did or could produce; prime men, inferior no doubt in discipline to the troops of the line, but in equipment every way equal to them. This provoked the satire of Mr Windham. "Prime men!" he repeated: "No doubt the men were good, as men; but the question was, what sort of soldiers they would make under this measure, and whether they would be of more value in this situation than another. Here was an army, his lordship said, such as no other country could produce; they had more money in their pockets, better clothes on their backs, and officers of greater property than any other country could produce-respectable shopkeepers, and attornies in great business. He spoke of an army which might say, like Cloten in the play, Don't you know me by my clothes?' as if he thought that its greatest merit belonged to the taifors. He spoke also of the feeling of the regular army, in case of invasion, when thus supported; but the feeling of the regular army, seeing troops so organized and so officered, would be terror. The whole measure was only an augmentation of the militia upon a very bad plan, and

the noble lord had put the country to great expence, for which he had got worse than nothing, inasmuch as he had only locked up the men who would otherwise have been disposa ble."

When the navy estimates were brought forward, 130,000 seamen, including 31,400 Feb. 3. marines, were voted for the service of the year. Mr Ward then stated, "that the estimates for this number were precisely the same in amount as they had been last year, though some alterations had been made in the comparative amount of some of the branches. The allowance for wear and tear was then taken at 31. per man, while the provision for victual was estimated only at 11. 19s. monthly per man. The latter fell greatly short of the actual expenditure, the former allowance was considerably above it; both would be brought nearer the mark by taking a guinea from the one allowance and adding it to the other." He therefore moved for wages for 130,000 men for thirteen months, at 11. 17s. per man per month, 3,126,500l.; for wear and tear of ships during the same period, at 11. 19s. per man per month, 3,295,5001.; for victuals during the same, at 21. 19s. per man per month, 4,985,5001. and for ordnance for the same number of men, 591,6001. The estimates exceeded those of last year by a million and a half, of which 1,275,000l. was for transports.

Sir C. Pole took this opportunity of expressing his hope, that minis ters would regulate the proceedings at Doctors Commons, giving it as his opinion that the offices of King's

Advocate and King's Proctor should be divided. He did not object to the vote of any sum for the navy; but he must add, that he should like to see those who were to manage the expenditure of it, such as the commissioners of the navy and of victualling, selected from among naval men. The whole system of selecting officers of the army for such offices he deemed altogether improper; for the appointment of persons not acquainted with naval affairs must necessarily be most mischievous. He lamented also that he did not see in these estimates any provision made for the orphans of marine officers, and hoped that before the end of the session some establishment, correspondent to the Compassionate Fund for the army, would be instituted for the navy. This, he said, he looked upon as a proper time for mention ing the subject; and if it should not be taken up by his Majesty's ministers, in whose hands it most properly ought to be left, he should feel it his duty to submit the matter to the House.

The next business relaFeb. 28. tive to the navy was a motion of Mr W. Wellesley Pole for leave to bring in a bill for the more convenient payment of the annuities and other allowances to the widows of naval and marine officers, and those on the Compassionate List. "About the year 1732," he said, "a fund was established for the relief of officers' widows, towards which a deduction of three-pence in the pound was levied upon the pay of all commissioned and warrant officers, and an allowance from all ships in the service established, under the denomination of widows men; that is, the payment of one man out of every hundred was appropriated in aid of

pay

this fund. After some years, the of an additional widows man was added. Occasionally, of latter years, the fund had been inadequate; but it was now rich, having a stock of 170,000l. in the 3 per cents., and the number of widows relieved in the last year was no less than 1800. The rate of allowance began with 801. to captains' widows, and descended in proportionate gradation to those of warrant officers. But great inconvenience and distress arose, in consequence of their being obliged to apply annually in London for their alfowance. One object of the bill, therefore, was to enable them to receive it at their own houses, whereever resident. The Board of Admiralty had addressed his Majesty, praying he would be graciously pleased to order that the donations to persons upon the Compassionate Fund should in like manner be paid to them quarterly. His Majesty was pleased to approve of this: and it was another purpose of the bill to enable the Board of Admiralty to select such objects as were properly entitled to aid from that fund, to allow them such sums as they should think fit, and transmit their allowance quarterly: these sums to be charged yearly in the ordinary estimates of the navy. He thought it fair that he should at the same time abolish the allowance called in-doors men, which were now regularly charged in the accounts of every vessel in the service. It was also intended to transmit the half-pay of the marine officers to them, in the same manner as to those of the army.

Leave was also given to bring in a bill for establish- Mar. 3. ing a new police for Plymouth Dock, for the purpose of preventing depredations upon the King's