Star. — London, England, 1803-07-23 00:00:00

but they refrainEd from doing fo,beeanfe they thodght fuch matters were better adapted fur the conlidera. Lion of the Executive Government of the Country, than for the Houfe of Commons. No practical good cat arife from bringit'g loch a matter at prefeut be tore the Houfe; and indeed I think the Hon. Offic:r has excluded himfelf from (hewing any ; having con felled that he had no charge of want of confidence in the Executive Government.—lf there had really been any charge againli it, the neceffity of this ledure might have been fomewhat greater. Many able Of ficers have indeed thought it better to give their mi litary lectures to the Government, than to Parlia ment. The Hon. Gentleman has Paid, that he was , convinced that the Qcarter-Mafter General's Office was greatly confuted in its arrangements, from the multiplicity of other important details. That I deny ; becaufe, although there is a great detail of ,:hufinefs, no confufion whatever take. place in that Of- 1 .'flee ; there being a great variety of officers appointed . to carry on the correfpondence and the daily detail of islifinefs ; sad others to attend to the particular ob kes to which be alludes. There is already a military depot, or board, fuch as the Hon. Member has de fcribed. Has he not heard of Colonel Lindendorf, to whom the country is much indebted ? and every man Ault lament that he has been difahled by the events of war. That Officer has put the whole of the mili tary fyßem on a footing which I hope will place this -country in the moll approved (late of military de fence. I (hall only advert to a few of the points flat ea by the Hon. Gentleman. He noticed an expref fibn of mine ufed upon a former occafion, which he feems rather to have mirconceived. He Pays, I Rated that our military fyflem ought to be corrected only in time of peace. I repeat it $ becaufe I think it really is better to make any material alterations or improve ments in there particulars, when the country is in a Rate of repofe. It is an old maxim, and I think a very tree one, as to military improvements, Tempura pads, Mom bdlo. do not mean to fay, that if our (Otero of military tonics is radically wrong, that we ought not, even in time of war, to adopt tome meafure towards its im provement. I believ: that Parliament has already laid the bafis of fuch improvements. There are many able and judicious hands which, when joined to the good fenfe of Government, may eflablith this country upon fuch a footing as to be proof againfl all alarm. I do not objea t.i the propriety of what the Hon. Gentleman has raid ; I only doubt the prallicability of the plan at this moment. There may be oecafions, and there may be times in which the adoption of loch plans may be necefary; but I am far from being-tn. clined to be raft. I am for trying the Militia, the regular army, and the other plans now fet on foot for the defence of the country. As to the regular alloy, the Honourable Gentleman has Paid, that the power given in the Bill is not fulficient for an ade qirate increafe; and has mentioned that many regi. meats are exceedingly weak. I am allonifhed that he has sot adverted more particularly to the Bill; for every encouragement is there held out to fill up all the deficiencies in the regular regiments, from the = de-referve. His Royal Ilighnefs, the Com er in Chief. has lately given orders, that ix regiments of the line, which are particularly deficient as to their complement of men, fliould be appointed for the purport of receiving recruits from the Army of Referee; as alto that a third battalion fhould be added to each of theft regiments. There have been fevers' regiments alto appointed in Ireland, for the purport of receiving men Out of the s chooo to be raifed in that country, in order that the great mats of the men may be thrown into the oldeß regiments. It would be the height of imprudence to diftribute tbek men equally among all the regiments, both thong and weak; I am far from thinking nayfelf fo completely wafter of the fulajoß as to follow the Hon. Gentleman through the whole of his fpeech; but I seas anxious that Inch a fpeech &add not go abroad into the world. without fomething beipg Paid in an (wee to it. The public would be apt to believe that there wai a great deficiency in exertion on the part of Government ; that there was no regular fyflem of niDitary defence l and that the miff able and &illsl officers had not been cortulted. The Hon. Member has not, however, gone to Inch a length as openly to Mil fault with the conduit of Government. He has poly Paid that he is not fatisfied. may . add. that I sin not fatisfted either; but 1 would not wins that the public Iboold be Inspreffed with fare ideas. The Heneoprable Member is, however, lets fatis6ed with nor military preparations than I em; but be this as it may. I really believe that the enemy will be com pletely difatisfied with them when they save attemp ted to land." Mr. Purr begged the ind.dgence of the Houle while be offered a few obfervations on the llatements which the Hon. and Gallant Officer had introduced. He had no difficulty in raying, that with the greater part of the plans which be had fuggeßed, he mod cor dially concurred. He waked it, however. to be dif. underilood, that theft plans were not for the Lill time introduced. Though during the late war the danger of invafion had never prefented itfelf in fo for midable a fhape, though the enemy had for fo long a period an opportunity of looking folely to this (+ice, without being at all difiraeled bycontinental hollility, yet a moll valuable body of information relative to the moll effeenal means of defending she empire againfl invafion had, during tl:e late war, been collated.— That information, be was proud to perceive, had been inerealing from year to year, and he crafted that it would now increafe from month to month. and from hour to hour. During the late war, the danger was • anquellionably not h. evident, the plans of the enemy for our deßrudion were not fo elearlydevelope‘bat the extent of our preparations was fuch as Maed. that the defence of the country had engroffed Abe tuoft ferious attention of Comment. This was, • indeed, an objee °f inch incalculable Importance, that it could not have efcaped the ferious attention of his hlajeßy's civil fervent'', or of that &Anon& Perfon. age, who, at that 'period, and fortunately for. the , country. now preided over the military deprtment. He wi tt ed particularly to call the attention of the Hon. and Gallant Officer ' to the Reps which were , then taken foe the fecorityof the country. and to the great military characters to whom this ge gr ohi: was entrulla Tim Hon. and Gallant intifted on the importance of providing foe the fens 'it! of our navatarfenals, and pawed Got she lime of fortification, which he nosistriall the heft alludatid C. , that parpnfe. He hod eggeeded a wine that tlfie l•rie of cogitative fiload b, Wattled as I sr as the • • • • • Humber. His Majefly's former fervaott,he begged leave to remind the Hon. and Gallant Officer, were not at all inattentive to thefe objects. On the con trary, they were the fubjeas of the graven confide ration and the mon accurate pravilion. The Houfe could not recollect who were the Officers to whoa the command in various di ftritts was affigned,without perceiving that ih fuch hands it was utterly imponible that the belt means of providing for the national fe curity fhould not have been *Attired and arranged. If it were recolletted that in the northern part of the Ifland the country enjoyed the advantage of the ta lents and experience of Sir Charles Grey—that in the fouthern diltrit the Duke of Richmond fuperintended, of whole information and (kill on this fubjel, what ever opinion might be entertained of his fentirnents on other fubjeCts, there could exin only one knti ment ; that General Dundas bad opportunities of being prefent at the infpcaion of the (fate of the preparations in all different pans of the country) that an Officer, of whole merits he declined from perfonal conlideration to exprefs what his feelings fuggened, had leen and arranged the plan of defence againn invafion in Scotland. If all this was con fidered, he was lure that the Hon. and Gallant Offi cer would not now come forward and tell the Houle that now, for the firft time, plans of national defence were produced, that now, for the fire time, this great and intere fling fubjea had attrated the attention, and employed the cares of Governmcat. He was ready to admit that material improvements might be engraft ed on the original plans of national fecurity. He trolled that they would experience new improvements from day to day, that the fyttem would from day to day receive new form and confiftency, that it would not flop (port of that efficient fcheme of national fafety which would for ever let to reft all the vaunts and threats of a foe whole ambition knew no limits, and whole [pint of eggreffion acknowledged no end-- When he reftetted on the exertions which bad been already made for the accomplifhment of this interelt. ing objea—when he confidered what had been effea cd even in the prefent feffion combined with the seal and exertions of the illu ltrious Commander in Chief, he had the molt linguine expeaations that our fyitem of national defence would at no very remote period be completed. Already had the foundation of inftruaion been laid ; that the hiher ranks in our army bad direaed their attestion f erioufly to the Cub- JcU that their [needs bad been equal to the warnieft hopes which could have been entertained. The randy of a few months had made many officers proficients in all the more difficnit details of warfare; and the Jets of this knowledge had been contemplated on the (bores of Egypt, that field of Britith glory. Poe feted of the foundation of inftruaion, we had the means of its pooh general diffuflon. We had the grounds of its molt general application. We had an army greater than we potted in any former war ; we had augmented it,by a new and extraordinary le vy ; we had to add to it the great macs of the artned population of the country. With all thefe varied means of protection, properly organized and effeaually, even the Hon. and Gallant Officer himfelf, who had 'hewn hinsfelf the moll cautions and the molt anxious for the fafety of the country, was ready to allow that we &mild be abfolutely fafe. He agreed with the Hen. and Gallant Officer, that we ought not for .a moment to relax our exertions. We had to maintain a great and arduous ftruggle, but if we fupported it with adequate energy and (pink, it would terminate in glory to this Country, anctlhaine and difappoint. meta to the enemy. He took occafion particularly to allude to what had been thrown out about the fil ling up the regular regiments by draughts from the Militia. He thought that this was a very ungracious meafure, and one to which at the prefent Moment it would be highly inetpedient to retort. The pri vates in the Militia, no doubt, feel in common with their countrymen , the value f the Cured objets fur which they were to contend, and were anxious to have an opportunity of (hewing that they would give place to no troops in the ferries of his Majefty in the ardour of their devotion to their Country. To call in the Militia Officers to atilt in breaking up thole Corps whole dittipline they had, by their affiduity and zeal, completed, would be to injure their fend. ments as men, and to wound their fleliags as foldiers. They, no doubt, hoped, as the reward of their la bours, to lead into the field a body of brave men ready to facrifice their lives in punilbing the temerity of an ambitious and unprincipled foe. He fhould thore fore refill nn y attempt to ditolve the prefent eftablilh. ment of the Militia. We had already made provilion for the fupply of the regular army, and it would be highly impolitic to refort to a medium of the nature to which he had referred. At the prefent moment generous emulation flould be encouraged. but any thing like rivallhip founded in conEderations of jesloufy, could not fail to be highly pernicious.— The Right Hon. Gentleman dmod, that he felt extremely happy at feeing that bon and ardent fpi rit of loyalty and of patrtotifm which was now evi dently pervading every rank of fociety throughout the kingdom. It was firft lit np in the North, from thence it was feat tai kladle inthe capital, and it was now 'etching from town to town, from village to village:and to every hamlet within the idea, and he had every reafon to hope that it would in a hart time manifett itfclf in one tiniverfal blaze throughout the empire in fuch brightnek of fplendoar as would not only dank apd delay the proud afurper and make him flake upon his throne, but that would alto be the admiration and the wonder of all furrotinding nations. Yet, much as he approved of the condo& and patrio. tiles of the Militia in general, and of the public at large for the difpofition which they had manifefled on the prafent occefion, he hill thought it would be advileaile that two or three Officers Wald be taken five the half pay, and added to every one Officer that Oiould be appointed for the new levies by virtue of other orders ; by that means we would be enabled to Orin fore and a large. Jolliet, and trtaable force, which wield, by adopting that method, be ready mach loaner, sad be more capable of oppoting with -daft any invader, than they poffibly could by say other mode. The Hon. Calomel, although he had drought peewit . apologife to the Heidi for craw bile( nilmbed termed it, with the obfervations Add* ha had jolt delivered. hod looft honourably as charted his duty—it was his ditty as an Engliaman, it wean duty which be owed to that Houk as one tiC its Members, to deliver whatever important thoughts might occult to hit mind at this momentous end., and was Abase all molt particularly his duty arbilii4 he boa is that fueszaa. tb make the *are so quainte3 with what were the opinions entertained by, and what :he modes of remedying the threatened danger,. which occurred to the mind of fo able an Officer as the Hon. Gentleman himfelf undoubtedly was,and who had had fuch great and repeated oppor. tunities of acquiring a knowledge of the powers, the praCtice, and the ideas of the enemy, and who had alto fuch frequent opportunities of hearing tile opi nions of the first military men on other parts of the Continent. With refpetft to the.propiiety of our hay ing field fortifications, he however could not fee it to i the extent which had been mentioned by the Hon. Gentleman; but in that particular he confened that he was not as capable of judging of the propriety of • military plans as the Hon. Gentleman was of defign ing them. And as to the fituation of our naval arfe nals, he imagined that no perfon could, in any the (lighten degree, miaake the Hon. Gentleman, at leaft in fuch a manner as to fuppofe that, when he fpoke of the means of their defence, he meant to convey an idea that they were totally defencelefs, and that they re quiredhmething like the plan which he had foggefted to snake them capable of making any Rand at all againft an enemy. No ; he conceived that the Hon. Gentleman mull mean to warn us, left we fhould be led away by a groundiefs hope, by a falfe idea of ho nour ; not that we (hould be parfimonious, and avoid building fortifications on account of the expence, for no man could be fo filly as to hippo& that Govern ment would for a moment lietitate atantit the cull in an ()Ned of fuch great,fuch national importance,but that we fhould not be lavifh of the blood of Englifh men ; that we ffictuld not wage the bravery and the lives of our countrymen, in a manner that would be avoided by a little previous trouble and expence.— When (peaking of the defence of our coats alto, it was pollible, though in a diftant degree, that the Honourable Gentleman Might be liabl e to be 'Taut). derftood. He had faid that fume parts of our cosine were more convenient or more affailable than others, and exprelfed a with that the former fhould be de fended by fortification; bat it molt certainly could never be the opinion of the Honourable Gentleman that we were to fortify an extent of fifty miles of coall without any intervention; no, the Hon. Gentleman knew there were many points, many diltances of our coat that were for miles together fortified by na ture in fuch a manner as to preclude the neceffity of any artificial fortification whatever. But there were many points at which we might at a very fmallexpetsce very confiderably improve the ftrcngth of our fron tier. There were two objefts to be taken into eon ftderation in attending to the obferrations of the Hon. Gentleman ; the one was, that we might collet% our forces in fuch a compiaft manner as almon to enfure the fafety of particular places; the other was, that we fisould not fritter them away by fpruding them too wide, or in detached bodies, without forma a proper train of connezion to draw them at any moment of alarm or danger. To the tter part of the Hon. Gentleman's Tpeech, he muft ferve, that while the people of England Co honoura bly and fo bravely deice to (pare themfelves, he troll ed the Government of the country or the Legitiature would never be found deficient an what was their duty, but that they :vould let the people be convinced that it was the with, that it was the molt anxious defire of their fuperiors to (pare them, by exerting every power which their lunation intrefted them with, in avoiding the wanton wane of the bravery of their countrymen, or an y random or unavoidable efufion of their blood. He trailed that the means which had beta entrufted to the hands ofGovertment would be employed to the bell palpate poffibk for the de fence of the nation and the honour and dignity of his Majefty's Crown. But fill be waited to fee things in the plaice!! point of view; be winsed to fee the affairs of the country in filch a fituation that no man could poffibly be fo blind or fo peeved, as to fay that be did not fee them to a demonfiration, is the fame manner as he might fee a propofitios in the mathematics when it was explained to him, Wes, indeed, be were to fay. 44 I walloot fee thelatter, be caufe I have not learned it," or 44 I will not fee the former, beeaufe I am not a prole anal man." He then relied on the (pignuts courage and in the feelings of Englithmen, that they would not loe l n to brook the that they could not forbear a mo ment from refenting the affront which would be given them by a body of Frenchmen even having it to fay that they had come here to fight us for our country. (Heir, hear, /marl) Some people, be naderhood, bad endeavoured to calculate upon the pedirolity or the amount of the chances there were gala* their hazarding or even fucceediug in filch o . enterprife, at lean fo far as to ace a landing on ear bores; this, he thought, was beyond all powers of Wade • tion, for there were certain alike' of furl a nature that, according to the Laws of war, were deemed Co isnporible that every General who attempted them was liable to be broke throughout &epera! part of Europe, and therefore be did not atm* thins and pft thee very points a Trench Geeeral weld be lia ble to be broke if be didnet attempt, and therefore be would undertake filch enterprises, and hazard what another General elotAd not venture to do. &fide that.Gentlemea were to confider what esertions were likely to be made by the proud Defpot'of France to fupport his tiforped thrust. If we were to look it what he bad done oo former occafiess, we mut plain ly perceive that it was mot probable that be would ,facrifice4o at yo coo Frenchmen, if it had say chance Of promoting his ambition, with as little feeling as that with which be would minims el liegiilbenee, at the altar of his pride. The Hon. Gentleaum them, he was ferry to hear it. had been blamed for his fE • Ring any idea of fort*ing Loodpo, t Hos. the Mary at War bad referred biotite Iv our 1111CORINI woad have faid if they were is have heard fuck a hint &ewe out. The Koehn. or the opinions of oar arniellars, however, bed Ito woksy to the prefent moment. The Right lion. Secretary had alto alluded to the number el our naval force ; we had, no doubt. as he had Rated. about lo err go.cooo femora, bat thefi cavil net be fairly takes into the calculation at the prelate period; there were dtasfands of them di4ierferl at difint pasta of the world. and of courfe they could be elf no delay* fervice forborne defence at any tithe emagatity. Bat even W they could. it snot be arniesteeithat else powers required would be of a dliferent Name Sam that of r a great pert cif use naval fem. We would have aa iseemeh leas. which would cover miles of our , 'coal!. to contend with, mad bow far the Navy was prepared to ISM t farce &that wan in hob a "sae . nor as totally to difosak than, be emit see take Von him to fay. TI they wen completely equal !O the talk, where was then the ufe for that Bin, it w the fubjed of debate, which he hoped would be f9.in in another Houfe.aacl no.doubt would in a very little time be prefented to his Majefly that it might waive his Royal Atfent ? When the Right Hun. Secretary made a reference to our ancellors, he fhould have re colleded that it was not in their power to call out a force of 400,000 men, as we did now, as one chtls of an additional force ; he fhould confider all, that the circumilances in which they were placed did not re quire fuch exertions ; the means of the enemy, the power of all furrounding nations was then In limited. and the mode of warfare Will fo different, that a perfon might as well fay," Let us look athvhat wasthe practice of our ancellors; we will then '..ee that our bows and Ar rows fhould he our only weapons,our corselets and out helmets Ihouli be our only means of defence, a nd that we fhould not iafult the people of England by giving ' them artillery. with which they might more power- i fully Annoy the enemy, or by fortifying Portfmouth or Plymouth as a means of defence." In the hillory of Ireland it would be found that fortifications were • much more numerous in former times than thole now propofed by the Hon. Gentleman for this country. Under all the eircumflances of the prefent times, he would therefore fay that fomething of that bolt ought to be done. He did not mean to fay that we were to endeavour to creed fortifications as if they were the mo dels of fame great mallets ; neither did he think we required it. A vet army could not fit down regularly before it, to beflege it with artillery, a ith bombs, and all the implements of war,land with a large covering army to prated it, as it was before Lille or Tournay. We had an illußrious fovereign, whole memory the prefent fittiation of our affairs brought to his recol ledion—he meant Qeen Elizabeth, and he called her illuftrious, as being particularly In by her grs'at genius and the illußriousadions that were done under her aufpices ; a Spanilb fleet had been fitted our, ex• , prefsly for the deftrudion a - England, and was called the Invincible Armada 1 but that fleet had been not only defeated, but difiterfed. crippled, and dettroyed in fuch a manner-by a new invention of that day, as made them ever fine give over any hope of rowers by any expedition againfl England. In like man. net he bad every reafon to hope, that, if an invinei. ble legion was now fent agai9ll us from Fraocs, for - a iimilar purport of defiruaion, the valour pf our conntrymen, when aided by the execution of the plan now propofed (though he hsid no doubt of their Inc. t cefs at any rate) would almolt immediately repel them, fcattered, confounded, and dirmayed to their own ihores--that is, the few that might by chance • have the good fortune to drape from more rummary ' vengeance. He was well convinced that thore few wood return with trembling, to inform their haughty and arrogant Chief of the coofulion they had met with. and the bounds which had thereby been fit to • his inordinate ambition. The idesi of building forti. fieations in this country, however, had long beets entertained by military nien. It was an idea which had long been afloat in his own mind alto. Military men had, in tae, deliberated in the plan many years fince ; he indeed recolleded to bear the opinions of Ow prefas Earl Howe of Mr. Dundee, the Fmk= Quarter. Gene ral, and of another perks, to (peak of whom might be deemed fonsetbing, of a dif. tent fort of perforuil vanity. or elf, Comedies like a, partial bias, fuch as friendlkip may not eaftequendy . give to the minds of real MM Of . him,' tbeterdes, be Ewald fay nothing. General Howe was SIM known as as excellent amkal, and be bad fa the different pens of the country that were At= to be soft likely to be attacked by the enemy c liger: is, be bad fureeyedit In a military vtilw. CreeMse. dos bad even drawn a plan. He did not preiskiter ' his own part, any knowledge of military aldre , se from the high repute, the eateefree Imeoletit, the well-known experience ofthit Clothed. win sow the whole of the ileatiseisdliresathr hied* mend, be ettprelfed in fill thatilks; that i a :a great would. be achieved it any sounisrai within that dieriolt. Hr was such shitilitfel there bad not been fame coammealcatioe with his Mojeltre °liars is the Civil Depress* et that Able& not, ottbe hew time that We ramerised tans the idea was not subtly new, though the pies might craw in detail sits indeed every Om met do that was formed by two diahrent per font; (Wi he thaight it smeary to obferve, that it was not founded *ha is this idat of a diatiootith of the pima of the ' essay, or en a faith sodas of our own Miry. be the contrary, be bdithed that then would be stew &Scully in rellthishig the people lees too eagerly truuhng for a iharelts th e honours of the anted 6 his awful fear, of the' &loser was fads as led Wee asi. thee to defpire the enemy, not over-rate the danger. , There was the amok rodeo to rely es the hxlfe4 trench of oar regales army. which be ssdsrfiaod she Wilma C.osissestisr is Chid woe earths every method so augment. The Radiate and difeiplbe of our Militia hid bees proved is away secedes, don tog the last war, and, from 'the ardour of the pith* fpni!, the eathudafis ha sight fay. - of loyalty and petnotife which was new mold in every rask, of beim, he had the sod Moen hope, she mow perfil geoids**, that ea upsides from Fiume at the priest distheat told tinniest* in be haeraw, the glory, apd is eternally eitablithimg, the Iva . of this powerful natiotl, in hods a *west ISO -- the nations d the earth * 4 6W lthefek air theirett efolissit power as a ataiau as y people, well as wrfor many years bees coodeleard to own oar' y as a naval power. A far greater ponies the fox* dye hatch oral algid elver neck Air Mtne bas, bet that testier* 1101411 he &Seises to appeal that Mode who bat MU his hood above his M. lows in atrocity , W's feasidentabuth o a Cat& ap =of the 6 age meth of liberty—it would he faf. to hat Nth _with dudes sad $ eel perhaps fish a idiot. fo complete a di iraes af his form, might "lousily tend to the overthisw of that prowl Weeper sod his miiiiithad At ail awash k would he lie weans of Main o poses ur_ *diger death for spa to cent, by hails the teselM whoa an army of 7riswe amid do is *kw fish* aeon• try and their iseheshis witilliatioa, and la AA* big:ha lms of am hinder I a. ... ileaurraav at Woo hellowed hoe ....i. ' tame an Mr. Pitt fee the Wilsey ibis 4watill a:prated foes SISOMOOO 01 epleien wish reset to fortification. Idr.Cooarestv,afier payiag hoe Waist deur Ohmage to ilarehainseice eadpealode fethisiste of Mt. PM, replied to the @Mentions af chi liathetery ri