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

if ^ • ,"161 • • meats of last year. I mean the Estimate of t"te expence of the Out-l'ensionets af Oa!, the increase upon which• nfeat•nuturally be ' e mceived to be pretty *l ibsider able on account of the m...asures lately 1- adopted, amounting to ro less than 113,1711. The next Estimate I mention, is one upon which thire is a pretty considerable decrease. although a large sum re mains still to !,e provided—l mean the expence of Volunteer Co; ps, the decrease upon which Estimate amounts to 248,5001. for the Volunteers of Eng lund ; while there is art increase upon the same Estimate of no less than 36%0001. for those of 1r: land, occasioned by the circumstance of its having teen found necessary to maintain the Vo lunteer Establishment of that country, upon perma nent chaty for four months, instead of one month, which was formerly reckoned at 119,0001. Upon the Estimate of Foreign Corps, there is a decrease ap. p trendy, but not one which can be said to be saved altogether to the public. It arises from the trans- I•r of the Artillery of the German Legions from the o , 4lneace Department to the War-Office. Al. though. therefore, in peint of fact, a smaller sum has been stated, and appari ntly a decrease of 133,3591. yet it is not to be looked upon as an ac ute! !Awing The last Estimate is one which is entirely near ; I mein that of the Compassionate List. The funds originally aporApelaied to 't were those arising from a saving from the Halt.pay List, which, however, have been found inadequate. As no such sum h is thence arisen, and as the amount of a charity of that kind cannot he particularized, the most probable amount of it may be stated at no snore than 1211001. The Committei will consider alit there may be many eases where sttong motives occur for ex•ending the charity I allude to, towards Widows and Orphans of Soldiers who have (alien in their Country's cause, hut the utmost that has as yet been given, is 201 a year. The neat subject I shall allude to, is, the contingencies, which cannot be stated precisely ; but nore of them are of treat magnitude; and therefore cannot pro perly be enumerated upon the present occasion ; but should they afterwards appear No any g 'nee man ta rrquire explanation, 1 shall teal great sa• tisfatlion in affording it. On the whole of these Estimates, Sir, I may now observe, that they have been made up with the utmost attention, and in put. seance "f the strietr. regvd publi.: economy ; a fan which 1 have no doubt will he obvious to every one w o will read tnem over with deliberation. In stating the gross amount of them. I must allude to the sum contained in the Estimates of last year. and Wl7 l Ch have been already pr•i. id?ci for.— In nr•irr to give to the Cororni tee a comp:l,7'3[l\Y view M t;.e whole. I may stet, that the Est•m.ttes of lass sear amounted to 13 UJ:),SSII. exclthiee at additional pay and allowances, while the Estins.!es now to be voted, fur 1807, exclusive also of these 11.1144,F:a charges, amount, as newly as possi ble, to the sum of 14,160.9511. Is.. 4d making an increase. in 1807, to the amount of 224,60012 Here the Eight Hon. Secretary entered into a stat - went c.f the various additional espe,:ces which oc easwoned the above•difference betwixt the two tears, which it v. culci be tedious to enumerate. i• An )n. Member (cominusd the Right kion. General) has given tes notice, that he means t) follow these Estimates up with a charge against Ministers, of • wasting the public money ; but 1 have to observe. -tat if he takes into consideration what has ' been the raving upon the whole eolleOively, • sines the change of Administration. I believe he will find it extrem.ly difficult to 11x any each charge against them. I beg leave to state to that Hon. -Gentleman, that when his Majesty's Ministers •iame into office, the establishment then in (twee, if • provided tor, according to former ratos. would have °amounted to nn less than 14,900,0001. Had mat • tern continued as they were, Ministers must have tame to Parliament, with Estimates probably an mating to that sum. Upon the whole, I have no doubt but there will be found to have been a saving of nearly a million sterling. It may Fe expected Our I should say something in reg••d to the measures which were adopted last Sersi, , n. The Training Bill has been already adopted, and pat in a state of exectrion. as far es possible. As to the 1/4,l•.::.teets, it will be satisfac. tory to the House. and to the country at large, to learn, that all these apprehensions and melancholy predictions, as to that respectable holy being resi • tiered discontented with the new azrangeuicnt which I. bad taken place. are now pet tectly groundless. No uneasiness of the kind appears to prevail amongst them. It is true, that durng these misreptesems atinns, some misunderstanding and discontent was treated amoagst that respectable body, but any apparent inactivity was more to he attributed to the state rd with ardour titottwhaeEtire,tinu an toa d sm any y e d nt is h i u nc i l a inatitffi to come in its defence. implibrion can he attributed to that patriotic body, merely because, at present, there is no apprehension of immediate invasion Should the enemy again thie.o.en to inv..de us, I have no doubt but the Volunteers will creme ler watd with the same spirit and alacrity. These has been only the number of i f ,elt6 Volunteers who have withdiawn themselves, in consequence of the new Regulations, and there still remains of them the numher of 303,000. Another mresute which I shall men - ion, is one which occasioned much discussion in this House-1 mean the Ate; ation 1.1 tie system :4 lectuitirg. Although Ido not wish to take lip the anew inn of the House,upen a measure which can be more ably explained by others; yet I may recall to the recollettion of the House, that about ten or twelve years ago. I urged such a measure, although unstieressfuily I never imagined, that the alter •anon of that system was to produce any great and -sudden change. I only locked to it as a gradual improvement in the meats i.f ..sling to the number of our army •, and I have teason to think, that as • far as it has hitherto heel, tried, it has not answered our utmost erprefttion ; but I do urst oral tat it has )et ir.dergone v et . ..per ;miff of its be:tell:lel efFeEts. It is. indeed, rather pr..mature to human accurate or precise estimate of its emcees. Ido not 'net. lid to say s that the imotoveutent in the recruitirs of the army, has ariscn solely fines the alteration; but this I c.in i 7 with safety, that the two great ohjeas whisk= I always ccusidered as meet material in tecruitiWg, have been attendid•with • the wished-foe asie::e4.••••zl mean 'bet of rho lower bounty iiAving produced a r: acre number of 'min ; s ad also, that a very cessitivtable dienitsurd:m has taken place in desertion. These alone, are two very great improvements ; the facilitating the recruiting, and the diminishing desertion ; and I shall be borne out in saying, that both these advantages have been occasioned by die alteration of the system." Gene ral Fitzpatrick then concluded with moving, as the first Res.alution. . . ... That 113,795 effevive men, including commiaieined and Otiose, W enployeel in the seorice of Hu Maj-stc, for Greet Britain amt Ireland, from the Tolt of De centhm, 1506, to the 25th Dftember, 1607, tucluitee. Immediate!, after the first Resolution was pro posed from the Chair. Lord CASTLEREAGH rise and said, that it WAS almost impossible fur any person, even aft-r having given the utmost attention to the subject. to state his opinion to the House, with accuracy and precision, up. in the point in discussion, it being a question so extensive, and involving so materially the general policy of the country ; and far less was it possible for any one to ascertain the degree of success expel ienced from the measures of last Ses sinn. He really thought, that Parliament were placed in a case of extraordinary difficulty, upon the present occasion. He certainly imagined, when Parliament was called upon rie me-t at an unusual period, that there was some great measure of public importance, tending to the secutity of the coun try, to he proposed. Up to the present moment, however, they had t been told, that any thing was in agitation. arther than the common routine of businev. etcepting the late cli.cusston upon Ote Negociation. Even that matter ought to have been discussed at a more convenient period than at if: Christmas Holidays, when a more general attendance of Mentoers soul have been ,xpefted. A Right Hon. Ge , tleman had lately given notice, that on Monday neat he should move • th • House to vote the atidttional aum' er of 10.000 seamen ; and although he was tar from disapprov ing of such a vme, yet he highly disapproved of the precipitancy with whit., it was proposed. He had to lament that Parliament should he under the necessity of voting the /army Estimates, under the circumstances in which the House was placed, in not being able. to distinguish the old hum the new system, owing to their ....e been taken collec tiv sly. He conceived the new system to be one which it was impossible for Parliament or the coun try to adhere to. This manner of proceeding was highly improper towards a new Parliament ; to call upon them, at the very moment of their assembling. to vote for a system which it WAS impossible they could thoroughly know the nature iif. It would, in his opinion, have been more proper to have adopted what was proposed upon a framer night, to vote a certain sum on account. He thought that the Right lion. Gentleman had taken too limited a view of the subjed. He (the Secretary at War) had said a great deal for the purpose cf sheaving the great economy adopted by the present Ministry ; but he had lint. in doing so, compared that supposed ecnnortoy with the real strength of the force esta blished. The House had not been indulged with a stateneent, with a comparative statement of the ex isting establishment, and the provision which Par- Latium were called upon t. vote for their subsist mica. There was no positive proof that there was any rational hope of having men to consume the provision which Parliament were calEd upon to supply. As to their boaste I economy, he need only state that the 240,0001. alluded to was a saving upon the establishment alone, and not a savior; upon the aaual strength of the Country, or upon the effellual means of defending ourselves against the eneroy. He thought it his duty to state, that the Right Hon. Gentleman had not -stated any case sufficiently strung to justify P ornament to vote to the extent proposed. There was nothing done since last Parliament, which could lead the Country to be lulled into a state of repose, although he might admir that the enemy were at present very remote from troubling our internal tranquillity, their great force being upon the Vis tula. When the House last discussed this subjea, the enemy were on the borders of Hungaty. Since that time, the prospeUs tat peace were no ways increased ; and, indeed, no steps had been taken towards it ; no means had been taken for carrying on offensive operations.— Lt was fu ly in the contemplation, and formed part of the plans of the late Ministry, to increase the army, by adding an effeCtive force of from 20 to 000 men ; end he had no hesitation to state to the Right Hon. Gentleman, the particular measures on which His Majesry's late Ministers relied ; at the same time that he must do justice to the memory of a Minister (M. Fox) now no more, to say, that he expressed a marked dissatisfaaion, and even indig nation, at the 410.4 of a diminution of the army, a iid that his ambition was to see the country maintain its wonted fame upon the Continent. He was justified, upon the aethority of that Right Hon. Gentleman, in staittir , that it was intended a great augmentation of the Army should take place beyond what it was last S scion, and that no praaicable means should be dispensed with, to carry that measure ii.tu execu tion. Het: ought, therefore, that the House had a right to expea much from His hl tjesty's present %li miters, in general, but particularly from one indivi dual among them ( Mr. Windham), who had attacked and maligned Lord Sidmouth's Administration, as well as Mr. Pitts, which succeeded it ; and who had even asserted, that they had disgraced them ',Otos by the inefficacy of their military mea sures, and that these two Governments should be displaced, in order to give way to a Go vernment, which should have his confidence ; and one, in which his pet tonal interference was expect ed. with a view of securing a military force, which Should be deemed sufficient for the permanent de fence of the Country. Lord Castlereagh thee pro , corded in state what the increase of the army had been under Mr Windham's manage newt, compar ed with that `gentleman's statement of what it should be I composing, at the same time, his state ment. with that of the pi:ceding government, which had inctured that Right H m. Gentleman's censures. The rank and file of the army, at the beginning of last March (when the change of Mi , musts took place,) amounted to 248,782 ; the gross amount no the Ist of January last WAS 54,6fia, making an increase in the mason of ten months, of a,88:3 men. The in crease, as far as respeard the Militia, was. during the came period. something better than 1000 men ; but this fell far short of what was proposed, aamely, an increase of between 20_aud 30,000 men. And even with respe& to the nature of this increase, ' it appeared from the Accounts on the Table, that betwixt the beginning of January and the middle of ' June last. 5,854 men had been raised under the Ad ditional Force Al ; so that, had it not been for the increasing opera::' - in of the Aft of that lamented statesman, Mr. ntt, Anil that at a time when this Aft was suffering under the r-rated attacks of the Right Hon. Ge.itleasass opposite, the Army wiiuld be ailnally found sot to have receive I any in crease whatever since Parliament last deliberated on the subjelt of the Army; and had not the Right Honcurable Gentleman consented to the Motion of an Honourable Friend of his, in relation to the re cruiting the Army in Ireland, he would at this time have appeued before Parliament under the humi liating circumstances of an a:my decreased. Go vernment, in the mean time, had been diverted from the idea of naive operations on the Continent, whilst they had been diverted .by the enemy in a protrafted neyociation. row, however, the coun try was called on to aft on a more enlarged sc ale than during the earlier part of the war ; hence Renter casualties must be expeeed, causing greater deficiencies in the net amount of our forces ; and it would then be a difficult question to decide, as to the comparative d.flerence betwixt a state of peace, without a prosped of its continuance, or a war lan guishing through a species of philo.;ophic military system, unoperative as to any atglive, vigorous, or offensive measures. He trusted, however, that the public zeal, and the ardent mind of the Right Hon. Gentleman, not to mention the regard he must en . Certain for fits own name and character, would suf ficiently stimulate him, and that in these the country would find its best pledge of the Right Honcurable Gentlemen's exertions. IVlren the Right Honour. able Gentleman was in opposition, he had stated, that such was the state of the country, that not a mom,nt was to be lost to repair the mistakes of the former Administrations. The growth of the Army, however, under these Administrations, must lead a new Parliament to parse and doubt the policy cif that measure, as it respeaed the Army, which the pro luaion of the Estimates now called upon the House to consider; and he hoped, also, that it would even excite a distrust in the mind of the Right Honourable Gentleman opposite, with re. sped to the tendency and effea of his own measures, and render him more candid in appreciating the measures of others. From the Ist of July, 1803, to 1404, during Lord Sidmouth's Administration, the attacks of the Right Hon. Gentleman had been almost incessant on the military measures of that Administration. and yet the result of one single effort of Lord Sidmonth's Admininration, had been to raise the a• my from Ist July 1803. to Ist July, 1804, from 99 342 men, to 110,199, making au i crease of 40, 777 men. Still, however, the mi litary criticisms of the Right Hon Gentleman were not exhausted, so that till the very close of that Administration, he continued spurring the House on to the adoption of new measures. That Adminis tration continued in office till February, 1806, when the military force actually amounted to 173,600 men, making an additional increase of 35,481 men; whereas, from the middle of Feb. last, to the present time, being the petiod of the Military Administra tion of the Right Hon Gentleman, an increase, amounting to scarcely 5000 men, was to be found; and but for the existence and operation of Mr. Pitt's Additional Force Act, he could not have shown the inc • of a man ; but must have con fessed the present army to be either stationary, or wasting. The two preceding Governments bad been overturned by the Kight Hon. Gentleman, and made to give way to the introduction of his ex tended military schemes, at the same time, express ing himself disposed to carry the military glory of the country upon the Continent, and beyond the plan broug'lt forward by Mr. Pitt. Lord Castlereagh declared he anticipated the failure of Mr. Wind ham's plan, from the absurdity of the object that was aimed at, which was the reverse of adopting a sober praaicable system of military policy. The Right Hon. Gentleman had in effect called upon the House to look to the effect of his recruiting system, after it was disincumbered of the disadvantages of Mr. Pitt's system. The produce of 1805 did not differ beyond 10110, or from 1 to 2000 above the average produce of for mer years ; and with regard to the an nual produce nt 1806, it amounted to I I ,8:10, includ ing the new regiment of Yagers, whilst the annual prodna of 1805 was 11,677, exclusive of that new re giment ; so that it appeared, te last yenr was a less productive year, even when the recruiting was dis incumbered (as the Right I lon. Gentleman stated it), from former incumbrauces and difficulties ; and when he had also, during the last five months, the advantage of men coming direaly into the service, instead of the circuitous manner formerly ; and if it did not appear that any had entered into the army under the impressicn of the Righ Hon. Gentleman's system, but that the recruiting went on much in the usual ratio, the unavoidable inference is, that the Right lion. Gentleman's system had failed. This, ' though in one repel a melancholy refleaion, yet would be consolatory in another, if it served to rouse the Right Hon. Gentleman to new exertions. In 1803 there were obtained, cn the exploded system, above 93,000 men, exclusive of above 9900 Fo reigners ; whilst the whole amount of the system of the Right Honourable Gentleman, with all the advantages attending the military ♦olunteering in Ireland, was betwixt 13 and 14.000 men.— Thus, upon comparing the old and new systems, it appears, that the Law experiment has totally failed, and that it has been attended with the large increased caprice of 493,0001. without pro ducing to the country one single man. Nor was this the whole expence, for the Noble Lord (Ilowick) then at the head of the Admit ratty, found the necessity of carrying forward the additional expellees of the Navy, in a correspondence with the increased pay to the Army; so that this unfortunate experiment may he computed at 500,0001.and,includ ing the additional expenses of the Navy, between 7 and 8(0,0001. without its producing any praftic.zi advantages to the Country And under what cir cumstances was this extraordinary experiment press ed upon the hue Parliament ? It was at a time when the ordinary recruiting amounted to between and !)000 men annually ; and whe , in the four months immediately preceding, the rocrui , ing was higher Irian it had been during any corresponding pe riod, since March 1803. It was at a time when Mr. I'itt's Additional Force Bill was continuing to pro• p iari t nyi u orsa. c tgnp : mnrct, u.teten:ra above,7,nl,lr e) e r 7set: rco: a .ahnspl ellore v ero:ed e p r iusrLpveel i o m :kanlvtin p hyfi e ,ya: turortfireits;soerria:pefntrn experiment, ttt s ), th t ,mi r et 0 2 ,et t i cl o 0 oeb ep Gemce fyye t. eca of the Right Hon. die Secretary at War. that 87ee men wear proposed, above the present efee„ strcr.gth of the army. !Ministers, he thought, ought to bring forward such an auxiliary measure up, a gond grotiuds, instead of discovering a fuod a , mental weakness by such abortive attempts. 13„, no such auxiliary measure has as yet been at. tempted tote produced. although credit is soen t. ed to be taken in the Estimate to that amount.... Here a new Parliament wns bounce to make 4 stele and not to commit themselves to the difadvantager, mischiefs, and dangers, of such a system, trots especially when accompanied with a new code an d set of regulations. He thought he perceived ti e Right Hon. Gentlem,ii discovered a scant of ce e fidence in his own system, and that he could Ile safely discharge the number of men as first propusel by his plan. Since the new code if regulations, %me et His Majesty's warrant. had been laid upon t h e ta b le. every idea of daneer which the Rt. Hon.Gentlemar'r system had created in his mind, appeared to tie full filled. He felt himself bound by that sense of public duty, which he owed his country, to warn and cautice the House ; and he should therefore endeavour is embrace some future opportunity of bringing the subject into detailed discussion, either when tee Mutiny ala ssas br-ught forward, or else hymnis t some specific zezolvriens on these points, in whin, as appeared to him, the plans of the Right Re. Gentleman were likely to involve the country is military ruin. His Lordship siad, he wished shcnly to call the attention of the Hiause to the circles. stances of these new regulations, to which His Ma jesty's warrant had been affixed. In his opinion, ter 7 went not only to produce a materiel additional es. pence, but even to subvert all that military suber. dinatinn, so essential to form the charaEter of a sel. diet. This code went se far as to aihiw the alike to put in his claim to a pension. on the footing of ak. gal demand, instead of being introduced by atter!. sentation from his superior Officer. Claims were also to be established on the part of the sold er atm should be found to be unfit for service, of from Ct. to Is, bd. a dey (so far a discretion was to he leh with the Board at Kilmainham, as to the specific amount of these pensions) ; and by this order, every soldier disabled, and whose disability does not arise from vice or misconduet, has a legal right to a pen sion, without any difference as to the time of service, and shy without the a.cessity of obtaining a recommendation from a superior offirer. It was impossible to say to what extent, in point either of number or sixpence, such a measure as this might be carried. Again, there was found in the code a regulation, that all soldiers above 21 years in the service. were to be entitled to a pension of me shilling a day. Allowing the soldier to be then .3 years of age, upon a calculation of life insurances. his age afterwards would be 17 years, daring whits he would be entitled to 121 a-year more, with &nth crease according to additional years. Thus the Right lion. Gentleman created a difficulty so great, that he could not but dread the precipice to which it led him, whilst he put his hands into the public purse, by a great and burdensome bounty to the soldier. Thus he found himself reduced to this dilemma, whether at a certain perind he would divest the country of the soldiers' services, or eetaia them at an expence of about 84,000). a-year, or about three-fourths of their eau.' existing pay? Another point to be noticed in the Right Hen. Gentleman's experiment. was that of altering the time of service, and asserting that two years service in some parts, should be Considered as equal to three years in others. Now it was well known, that though the climate of the Wen Indies was reckoned unwholesome, yet in the East Indies no material difference was found in point of health between that country and this, yet the Right Hon. Gentleman had put both these services on the same footing ; so that a soldier who had served 14 years in the East Indies, was deemed equal with one who had served 21 years in this country, and, as soch, entitled to the same pension. Now, suppos ing such a soldier went out to India at 18, he then becomes a Veteran at 32, and entitled to retire en a pension of 131. ss. a year. Ae equal chance re nt:Ant (agreeably to the calculation of life insete antes) that his life will remain 28 years longer, which would entail an expence on the comatiy, for every so! tier in these circumstances, of above 5001. Now, how, he would ask. c(eild the country contend for any length of time against a system of such an expensive nature ? Or, supposing that the soldier ehotild choose to coniiiiiie in India fur eight years longer (aud he believed there were but few in stances of soldiers, after being such a lengeh cf time in that country, being desirous of returning) these eight additional years would he reckoned as equivalent to twelve years. This would entitle him to a pension of Is. 6J. a day. or 271. 76. 6d. a year. The probable duration of such a man's life, after this period, would be 22 years, and this 271. 7s. bd. would be allotted him for each year's past service; so that, in point of fait, you give him that sum annually, in addition to all his pay as a soldier. la short, there was no end to the expence which such a system as this would bring upon the country. Again, looking to the - retrenchment of a future Peace Establishment, when a great part of the Army must be disbanded, perhaps of 60 or 70,000 out of the three classes, it must be determined to which of these classes to give their discharge. For the sake of economy, it would be requisite th re the discharge should be made from amongst those of the first class ; but then this would he to discharge the Q ewer of the Army. To obviate this difficulty. the Right Hon. Gentlemen attempts, in await! part of his system, to coned this pare of it, by sue pulating that soldiers of the second chess should obey the regulations of the Board of Officers, and ini bMk to be recalled into service, ind.ed Govern ment could not fail to cell on t'.e services of such men between thirty anti forty years of age. In shor t, Rigt 111elocnoomurpellaile ined Gentleman's the general tlemin,s,y te sirni r re not ,::tuflythatts being buit upon the ground of thew y, but on ac count of the infelliLle mixture twins the face of it, which appeared frem the document s.ll the table. li the Right HOW ureble Gentternar) email not be induced to desist from this plan, which Lea al ti ti si