The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1807-01-22 00:00:00

teed against me as he advances, and the increase and pay of the army are not the least consilerahle If, to grant allowances to veterans, worn out in the service of their King, after having spent the fl wet of youth and the vigour of manhood is the defence of the empire, be a reproach, it is a reproach fro:- which I shall, as far as I have been instrumental ever feel the strongest feelings of satisfaction ; end in the support of which, I freely consign myself to the constderat'on of the British empire—to the de cision of this House—to e'e judgment of posteriry-• and to the c•.:;nizartr , .! of any tribunal, human or divine. The N.,ble Lout has arraigned the system, which I thougbs it my duty :o sub nit, during the last Session, to the crms. aeration of Parliament, to I which was countenaticed by the approbation of the Legislature. He has arraigned it on the principle of a calculating economy ; an economy pArticillarly serviceable in any scheme wh ch had fort s object, the most praltLable and efficient method for stare ing a great prwpoi lion of our popula - ion. But it is not on the mere narrow ptinciple of an un due economy, that the question should be discussed; nor was there in the system I had the honour to ietro duce, that degree of novelty and rash experiment, so frequently attributed to it by the N ,ble Lord and los friends, ol the opposite side of the House. A pro vision was made in the reign of Charles the Second, regule•leg the pay and allowances fur the military force When we. therefore, almost everyday hear id as in ruse of salaries, in consequence of a enn s•leratite rise in the value of every necessary of life. And the very great dr;:reciatien of money, are, I say, these considerations, so justly proludive of an augm mania of allowance to every other class of the State, intirely to be overlook-d, with respect to those gallant med. who had passed their lives and • shed their blood, in supporting the credit, charader. and aro' , ity t: , e British mpire ? rhe Noble Lnrd has also as wed, that an increase of pay to the Navy, was the consequence of the system which made an additi in to the allowances ot the Army. Here he has Bert sinly been guilty of an enechrontsm ; because the increase of pay to the Navy was not only Iwo", in point of time, to that of the Army. bat the naval increase made a preportionete aug mentati n ot milt. try pay absolutely necessary. But was no such necessity in existence, and were boil myself and my Hnn. Friend ar 'h- head of the Ad mushy, each, individually, at different cornets of this House. to propose specific measures for incleiks ing the allnwance of the military and naval este idedinientS, 4 precedence must have taken place. rim fad ot the case was, that an efficient suh sisteace should be afforded. To say that the country was unable to afford such an efficient eobsistence, was to assume a proposition, to which the resources of the empire were the best refutation. Indeed, it was ritually idie to set up ouch a pica as it was inconsistent with benevolence And impartiality to rettsse tie increase. Inc increase in itself was warranted by the in:rii.sic merits of those to whom it imineffietely applied. bus the rite .uragement general s,erit of military pursuits was incidental. it ~perat-d a, a powerful inducement with all those w inclinations leaned towards the pro fession or ar ns Bin he Noble Lord has repre. ante' ill those wh., were allured to the military service by a consider itio.i of tie rime they would be obliged t-i serve, cad the cnosevent benefits 'hey woule derive by u.:a a service, as a tuick• ine bargaining people. allured by -so other induce men., .nd attuved by an other impulse, than the pi• sped nr mitres , merely ie,_ • use t icy fairly look ed t.r a retreat it. t sir old a. . r how widely dd.. t •- at are my views on the subjel. conceiving that e hjeet of all those w.. 0 ml. !ed Upthl the terms of At • Nceste L..rd. was to receive a i or4e bounty for t. parense of expendrig it in ti .t, drudlc.o..ess, and every species of ,ie•••whery. flie induce meats arisiag merely from the bounty were injurious to discipline, whilst those of a limited set - rice, wi'h the premised of a retreat in old age, wee calculated to preserve it in the most consptcuous manner. The hope men so enlisting entertained. was A pledge of their good and solder-i helve viour, du- ing the whole period of their anual ser vice. In truth, the more the system is considered, i. will be found to bring men into the military Fe o f .s.ion upon the hest term, and of the best descrip tion. Even with respell to the principle ot eco nomy on which the Noble L rd so much enlarged. the . resell system has strong claims to preference; Int not only hiss the reel uiting under the present system, compared with the corresponding periods of the last year. aft tta ly inc:eastel in the propnr than of two to one, hut there on a comparison with respee to the boonties, between the same pe riod ant the present time, an adual redudion of five guineas in each bounty. it cannot be said that I have ewer been over sanguine as to the immediate effeds of this measure; hut, at the same time, I never did, or do I intend to confine the prim. vole to this reditetion ; tor I am fully mien - Iced, that when the measure is well known and :stied upon, when it is AS it were work. d into the observ,s 'ion and notoriety of the great body of the people, tie mom ot the bounty altogether will be the natural consequence. rie- Noble Lotd has taken great pities to .eparate the ••o t ty from the period of re-enlistment. and the condiiinn coupled with tee secocd engagement. In my opinion. or at least ins any view of the suojee, they ougot to be consi iered as emeaistent. For, observing the effect of the condition of re-enlistment, in t• e way the Noble Lord was pleased to pot it. let us suppose a cessation I imstiljtjes, and a rime of peace veiled, irrhen.it may be thought edviseaLle to disband a certain pro portion of our Military Log dish:ingot. He has ask ed, is it from the first eau. composing the yotith and !hirer et your Army, such a selection would be made? Certainly ni .t ; but from those other classes which, at she breaking out of a new vrar, w mid I Littlish you with a ready.disciplined force; soldiers enrolled, and a.eu• ally prepare' tor the pertormanceof any military duty. Such a system has been recognised by many state, ot l".urope, an! it has ben invattebly tided upon in the nave of France. I shall next advert to the alleged intfficiency of the present • ystem. and sisal take a more compendious meth 4 of refuting that charge, by &so isyieg the foundation, than in follow ing the Noble Lard into the variety of detail. The Nettle Lord has reverted to the opiitions of myself And a lamented Friend now no mote (of whom I can never either speak or think witnont my heart swelling with kindness at the teciii.lealon of toe insuudion which I maimed. and Use genuine fyiew. tire sly cost half a million (exclusive of the addi is tat pecitiliary grants to the navy), still he hoped it the Clause and that (;overnni.mt would con- Jn that the country was now placed in a situatifan ?bleb rendered it highly requisite that economy in As pecuniary circumstances ought to be consulted. However hale disposed he was to draw a gloamy view of the situation of the country ; yet, from dewing the increased power and extended con tests of the enemy, he must say, that present cir iurnstances were sufficient to rouse Government and t he House, to consider of some supplementary mea ate, rather Than to stiffer the army to languish un , r tha inefis-acy of this theoretical measure. The Sight Hon. Gentleman, before he came into office, thought that nut an hour was to be lost; whereas, after he came into office, tour months were suff•red to elapse, before he brought forward his theoretical measure. and four months more rolled on before the experen he emploed could be put upon its ; and im yet t now, with y all the collateral advan tages attending it, it had not disclosed those cacum- Stences which tended to recommend it to toe pre sent Parliament and to the country. tie could not help admit ing the taciturnity of the Right Hun. laientleman since the commencement of the new Par liament ; p. chaps, as he had g used • is pow. ne had been of opinion, since he stepped in o office, that The least said, the sooni.,t mended." Lord Castleresig:i then proceeded to accuse ,Ir. Wind ham and the rest of the !Amish:is of delaying to send timely succours to Puenos Ayres. — They knew by letters from St. H iena, early in June, of the attack which was i.,tended on tit/. place, and yet it was not till October, that a ri in fracement was sent out, whilst three teg.ments night have been detached within ten days after the first intelligence had been received. This re ieforcement might have been sent out tae middle et Ju'e, and (calculating the time the Nariiiaui took in coming home, which was between five and six weeks) might have reached Buenos Ayres about the middle of August. In a word, he thought that Ministers ought either to have recalled toe troops entirely horn that Settlement, if they consaleled to be untenable, or to have sent out an i ..mediate reinforcement ; but the real iiirt was, that no troops had been sent out, till Hie M a ) y's, Ministers knew of the failute of Lord I s tudersiale's neg ciatim at Paris. In short, Ministers appeared ,c him tie be as culpable in neglecting the economy of time, as to military measures, as they wee guilty of a want of economy. in p of ex peeic--, a., :i regd.(' to the Right lionourahas Gentlemeu's mi litary system of expeii nent. Mr. WINUHAM spoke to the following effeet— " Reluctant, Sir, as 1 feel to obtruae n.yee if up. n the attention of the House, I feel myself imperiously calle I upon to rise, and to tepei some of tat per tuna: observations of toe Noble Lord. Not lot 'list I have been willing to in-u: thee •arg- 01 taci turnity, when upon a variety of su yeEt_ during the pre .eat Session. I have been willing to give sway Li• caner gentlemen, whom I considered inure proper t • take a share in such discussions; alai, pe•-aps, I may even run the rise of having thi. c age cost tined against me, by endeavourioa to oe AS short as possible on the present occasion; as I feel on willing to trespass on the time of the House, owe the Noble Loid has imposed upon the . tots a short speech of only three fell haws in continuance ; and still more especially. as the Noule L iid that another day he intends to speak wagth. when he enters into farther detail. 0.• Innately urea Wires. I shell begin, ttarefore, with with.' in the first place, the last part of the Noble Liar speech, as being f sivest its retnembran.e, I me.s. a charge against Gavernineet, faro .t s lading ar tier reinforcements so Buenos Ayres. and in .tits. 1 think, the Midst will see a tan spicaaeu of the whole strain if the N -ole Lard'. reasuniug. cat culated to lea I the House to the wildest in ferences. Thu Noble Lord states, that Ministers re ceived inn lligettce earl) .n t e month of June; but Ministers did not even t ceive any notice or idea of the intended attack, until the 24th of that month, and for which they were tarn unpre pared. The Noble Lord then talks of fitting out , expeditions in` ten days; but when an expedition is to he prepared to go to such a de tent hemisphere, it is suiely necessaiy to pay attenti n to the quality both of the vessels and troops ; it was necessary that they should go prepared to exited the ex pedition repulsed, if they set sail prior to any intelligence having been received of tile capture of the place; and if so, that they should *e a condition to re-cross the Atlantic. N-isv. it fleet had been fitted out with the greatest pus sihle expedition, it could no', at any rate, have Ar rived at Buenos Ayres before the l2th of August (the day when it is reported to have neon reecep turesi). With regard to the Awnings, this is not exaeLy a case in point. The NOTISINS is a single ship-s.a fast sailer—coming home witii intelligense of good news, not likely to he d vetted out it us course, and yet this vessel did not arrive under a passage of eight weeks. Now the incorrect state ments of the Noble Lord upon this p may bi Considered as a specimen of his laborious, and yet in curred statemeotkupon other points. Indeed, Sit, nothing can be morefallacious than toe Noble la d't calculations, and which cocas... at the same time, gross inconsistence; between his former calculation those of to-night. the basis on whicu the Nat& Lord founds his arguments rei-peaing the Txpence of the militai y pensions, is, that a soldier's site is to be calculated like the lite of any other man; and this, alter the fatigues of twenty-one years' service ; and the Noble Lord argues, that the life of a soldier, at that age, is like that of another man. Give the Noble Lord his datens, and 'hen he triumphs ; but take away that, as I Anl bauou to do, mid then all his couclusiiins fall to the ground, alth-•u4h I doubt whetner even his own data onuad beat him out in the interene s be draws from them. l't.e Noble Lord calculates abstrattediy upon the expellee ; hut l consider that ea pence ought always to be proportioned to the ob- Jed ; and, I consider also, that it is an important utaarart to encourage the soldier, by contriboung to ease and comfort. "the volunteer ',pence', the Noble Lord cannot forget, have been reduced above 300 A-Oat. stetling, and this chiefly by equeiising the 'silences en these cot ps, instead of buffering some tavonitte or particul it corps to put the comas y to a uch larger expellee than others. But the Noble Laid has not tested here, his aecusatioas pro- a ... i . . • ..hip which stietshipestied his teenrotlnications) Meth* r ft nitiltetook to raise front 40 000 to 60,000 men onpriety if increasing the ovlitory esita-oistonent no .y. lo the co .15- , t t:n.rt , tn in. - too, t e .f this empire. It is tour', !het no a inn coosi let. nu 'nits taised a• i toyed to 9 (AV effe Jive men. tion of the present state of the world, an rtnore • diorite it is. that 'I- N Isle Lord should wet he too mmediotely of Europe, if, mum a legitim ornersti. liaosoil biseondeoriotions. But he has toia us, that :fusion of what the fussing eveios on M. Continent - othe. It Dirt was radar,' and inc. ',sing. ; his ii, appeared to hissico, and on ens br ad priiilple of • indeed. tonteibing like ago d areaniew ; here he anticipation, we comely:ft/it the tit • poli yof Gtrat , Nish!: 1,114 ors onoohte lied ; hth lie shoaW have Brita nto acqo se a great military retaelishmmt, recollecie ft that we never . timplaitied of the Paton and t , ) Apt Reel, military means; it was, at the i BA 'as. nut calrulo orl to motion, mots , No, wt' sometime, rem ate from crir intentimis, to . led such cemplaired of it as a violation of justice and i.redtt • objeds by aiiy sudden ex rtion of fore-, iir any I as subj eting the p inches of England to en". moos unc mgeniol and unnecessary system of compute fines, to the amount of 500.0001. an tas rendieg to sion. frac strictures on the preceding Admi• pervert and corrupt the moan of the people--m at nistrations, which have been so often attributed I particularly of that era s elOch was generally -e -to rue, were certainly the resorts of my cotot c- tented to perform p 'rot:hi:Al daises. Our tiojeenons tom ; and it surely was my duty tan onimodoert on were to the impr,per moans for carrying it into what I telt to he wrong. I !lid, certainly, condemn effect. and the ronbery it praelis•-d on tie ordiitor y the Army of Reserve measure, aitd afterwards the and proper mode of recruiting. It carrihl within Parish Bill—the first I conceived to be whit all itself the seeds of des:roar:or ; and though it foiied, measures, calculated for an irnmediote pressure most by not producing the men, however poradoxical it be, oppressive ; net less so were the violent hands i may appear, it would have faired Ii .d it even suc lard o,4in the Militia. Such measures may be i ight i seeded. An annual supply .1 90011 men was pri. II in tle breaking out of a new war, but 't now. mist Iby this measure ; from these it is to be ore. With respell to the Army of Reserve, it certainly sensed the greater proportion would not volunteer was a measure of compulsion ; but it had the mint for general service. Thus you would have on of being .-frolual. InJeed, compare the whole con- army totally ..t reserve, perhaps with a certain duet of the Administration with whom tli s measure nortion of V lunteers to supply the casuoiries. originated, with Or conctild of the Admi Ostration When, tlicretore, tliis plan faik.f. the gr mud has that succeeded it, and the Committee will find, that certainly open, and the bope was, that the inca the intire dependence and best resources of the tat- sure which I then ha-I toe oonour to ittrocroce. ter. rested on the plans of their predecessors al- would ultimately suceee,f,, a hope which by rood though the object of this Litter Administrotioa was ticoce I feel my elf jusuned in indolgicg the to cooed the errors of the military pions, and to- 'WM& Loot sometime. j notes by results. and s .sne. sally to change the imbecile system of that Minis- times fiats on details, too ft • tam tiequrn ly plays try to which they succeeded. DeJuet tom the fast and loose. .his measure si ouid c!rtainly military measures of that las. Admini.'ra ion, tne be judged by details, because from its ma en 000 men raised by the Army of Reserve, the tute it was intended to be graded, arid tor 13,000 drafted from the Militia, and the Amount of that reason was 1 induced to give at a markel the force obtained, by raising men for rank. every preterence. atdit i. this experisnce at an ilicieo i g species of which, although I cannot Approve of aoy, projeft, toot vitiorees to• 'he corredness of toe was still the result of the rota urea of the former principle. For, -tom tf - e returns of the bispedor- Government ; t iking, 1 say, such a ,leittdion firm General' office. moons ',inert sbly corm& and , their effe&ive military amount, in the year 1805. which in a great Jegre- embrore the recruiting ' and there is no cause of apprehersico. upon oronch, I find not only, that as the Om • goes on that suhjed, fro any future Administration.— :he ploporiii • increases; hut. Chit in in- mast week, At present, I deem it unnecessary to trouble compared soon the eorrespon in.g A eels of toe east the House with any further deto.i, other op. year, th- proport on is tat of two to one in forester . portunities will went- foe that purphise ; and on of the present system. So that it n t forty exceeds di se occasions, will lie met or me, •ith the moo ''re nuinem raised by the parish bill, but also perfect rea iiness and pr imptitude. I i all views o . •he number cosi Pony raised by she means recruiting, there are two closs•s of measures to to: rt re di nary rev us. init. I have been unable: to pursued; the first is, when a great supply is to be compare this increase with the returns from (Mow ed in a short time ; t nit is, where the vrhoi era :quarters. or rigim-frol reeruiting, and the opetatinn of the system is do-&d to procure a tens- t: aeon for that iaauility is, 1 presume, that, porary advantage, at the certain exoence of a per- at the corre ponding period last year, ma, e was no manent evil. It may b. compared to a sort of recruiting ..t head-quarters, in cony-To-act of the Mom, whirr), whilst it gives a momentary tone to piefetecce riven to the Parish Bill. from the large toe nerves, and a partial elevation to the soitits, :it b iii.t.es given under it. 'there were many other the same time relaxes the strength and debilitates obsei yahoos of use Noble Lord, certainly wry , triy of the system. The other class of measures is, where reply or explanation; but, at present. they do not the One& is to provide a constant, progressive, and occur to stir, and there will he other opportunities for copious fund of supply for your army—where the discussing them. I have now only to remark on mat best means are adopted for continuing and nourish- otovision, which, to him, appeared so very faulty; ing the incentives to enlisting, and insuring their namely, that the private soldier s not sufficiently de. gradual and permanent inflnence. But the Noble pendant on his t ommaioling Offizer, relative to the Lord has contounded these r opediyeeifferences be- obtaining of his discharge at the proper time, or the tween the two classes, by ascribing the merits of remuneration provided by the law for a stated period the one, as imperfeetions of the other. Thus, of service. Indeed, I can rot see any impropriety in when he tells me, that the system I had the honour prey-sting a gallant votteron e who.had passed a life to introduce, has not considerably augmented the of fourteen years in the service of his county, who 'somber of our military effective force, I answer, had endured many hardships, arid saved in all sli. that it was never intended so produce any such nu- mates, from being made the vietim of a capricious. mediate effed. Its pined was to put your military oestinate, and splenetic individual ; for such Oa. service on a great and general footing—to intro- rafters will Ise equally found in the army. as in the duce into its organization, those leading principles ot er classes of society. NO , can I suescrtbe to the and strong inducements, which, when properly un- probability ot feeble and improper persons, patch derstood by the country, would have a strong in- Mg themselves up, and imposing on the ser vice, toe Auence on that part of your population, which lie pension int , nl-ct tor vie worn-out aii dis bad a willingness and leaning towards the pro- Wed. The surgeon would sullied himself to pu. secution of a military life. It the population nishment tor permitting such a fraud upon the did not yield a number sufficient to the demand, country ; and when the attention and diligence of it was an evil by no means attributable to the the Inspedino Officers are considered. the hypo system introduced. But this mode of recruit- thesis is impossible, under all the circornstonces of ing, by impressing.' p.m of your population, with the case. I can conclu le, wi h this c I..vidion :a Mt. advantages of a military life, which gives them my mind. the the more frequently the gentleme las a fair cousultation of their own feelings, is still fur- the opposite side caU for proof-, the oftener they will ther applicable to any other plan you may propose na disappointed " 1 to adopt ; for inoance, should you resort to the Mr. PERCEVAL ohserved, there were many principle of the Army of Reserve, or even to a olnovotions ot his No le Friend. to wiich tie principle of compunion, a great deal has been done. • Right Hon Gentlmnan opposite trawl any ad- You get men on better terms, without cruelty or I vetted, whilst there were others which he totally any extreme degree of force. Now, with resoect overly ked. With rem old to the remark his N .410 to the failure upon which the Noble Lord and his i Friend ma le, relative t • the intend •n•e to th- lb- Friends so loudly vaunt ; it is to b- recoueded, that 1 sisters in not sending opt rein orce neins to lie line the best and only c: iterion of failure. is a compari- • Ayie- in a proper time, utter they were octmein ea son ,of what is lilt undone, with that whicn was won the intention of the att. k, ih.t Kik,' 1-1.4. intended or promeed. I never did say, t :at .he i Gentieman had given no answer, or at least no system would biing a great aaJ immediate inflox into i proper explanation . l'he calculations made by the Army. On the contrary, I contended , that its his Noble Friend were •isi. thinotoed by that progess would be gradiial, that hom little in the c on- Right Honourable Gentleman. sinless in the gene mencement, it would ultimately rise to a great v.lue. rah avowal that all colculatinns were fallaciims, I now ask the question. does it not give evidence of and, in order to avoid fallacy. he steered clear this promise ? And du not the circumstanc s fully 1 of calogotioin But the Right Hon. G.•ntl. man had justify the int •re ce I had -drawn, and the pred c- i conclud d, teat, by ms present system, in point of tion I had hazarded ? Let it be recollected, that I economy, a r-dueti w his talon place in the II Antos though in great questions, which involve our agri- to the AMOUtIt of five guineas on ca. h man. Now. cultural, commercial, and manitfoduring concerns. to ascertain this het he should have n,ade his com the people interested are speedily acquainted with ; portion. oot with the general establishment, but with the merits ot the case. yet, in a great measure of , the sidles -lit aid &stunt degrees ot reciiihing. Had this kind, in its operation intended for the lower , he done so, tote couclusion woold appear to be, that, classes ot society, as its oromulgotion it slow, so is i by lir. Putt's Bill, for twenty-one guineas bounty. it tardy in the progress ot its diens. The I twenty years of service were obtained; whilst. lan . Committee should also beor in mind, that I der the system ot the Right Honourable Gen -1 it it not yet complete in all its parte; Out tirman. the errantry paid, tar seven years sere there are various subordinate circumstances not tykes. the sum of seveteen pounds sevenieen shil tairly tried; not even was the increase to the pay of , lingo But it is now said, that it never was ob- Chelsea Pensioners known, until the present order ; honed to toe Bill of Mr. Pitt. that it woul-i not pro was published, because the measure had passed , duce men, but that the objections eatendeJ to the during the intermediate time between one payment las ins of raising them. Now, it must be in the re. and another. Thu such a knowledge through the e nl_etioci of many Members in the House. and it country will operate as a powerful aid aad sumo. did even then ding in his ears, toot the lontrunge Imo is what every man must allow, who relleas on and txclannation of the Right Hon. Gent. and nu the effeet which the communication from these friends, ww, that the parish, as they termed it, was men must produce in the various 'villages and intended to prosioce money, not men. Ine ltioht counties where they reside. The language will Hon. Gentleman has suddenly become the panegy naturally beei-We did not understand your Ads rist of the Army of Reserve nieasuie. W••erce of Parliament 1 We were unacquainted with your his conversion nos arises). it is impossible to say, proclamations and military regulstiono but we unless as an nair of friendship to his new comet. ore now no longer in suspcase ; we see your tion—the Noble Lord who pissiJed over the Ade munificence to out acquaintance; we see the an ministtation in which th t rweasuie originated. done in downright e ar ne s t. But it oi really - shim- But It is now Asserted. that the pie- use system was wool to hear the Noble Lord talk of failure.— never intended as UM means of rapidly and *name seinat, I ash, was the progress of the Additionai diately governing the military too.'; why tion it orce B 11, the fivounte measate on the Ad- was it ushered into this Howe, with a speech Ye ministration to which he belonged t Why. Sirs plate wits the strong ticcenity of a large regular uttor Use leEsS Of two MOAttos, it Fond:iced sia min I arms. A •el s•lrihatmo nwr• ~,`"•• "•••••• -- I alre 631 tout sid: whi its Ho vie; cie; "It cut the stir di It; ate th tri to bt, hi to ti C 'F • • • f t •. 1. I r. IL ■ \ r. 0 10 • K of Is cr ti- o7 eh Is Its as us Ise I eld t it