The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1803-06-21 00:00:00

. .
suds a war as we
_are enrage& ip inen's apin;ons
ana prejudices ought to be attendlid.to. We eiyl
to take the heart and good-will o& Ole country if fit
us ; but distressing the agrictilti?v,t fur theft' Oa,.
pressure would be most felt, was not the best means
of securing that important object. Having added
several other observations, the Duke said, that tle
had risen when he did because he could niat sit out
a long debate, being a very old man, and very in-
firm. He concluded with declaring that he should
vote for the Address.
The Earl of LIMERICK rose, and lamented
that he did not see a Noble Earl, who had spoken
early' in the debate (the Earl of Caernarvon) as he
wished to make a few observations on some parts
of his speech, which he owned had a good deal
surprised him. The Noble Earl, he said, no man
could personally respect more than he did,buthecould
not bat take notice of one or two extraordinary things
which had fallen from him. He had complained
I strongly and 'warmly against the measure, the out-
line Of which hid loeengiven by the Noble Secretary
of State, and had sail, that raising more regiments
by ballet, was picking the pocket of individuals, in-
deed of paying for the force, ;ts it ought to be paid
for ont of the public purse. Ile could not agree
to that position, but what Most astonished him
was, to hear the Noble Earl declare, that if the
40,000 men proposed were raised by ballot, the
measure -would not be submitted to, and that both
in and out of that House, he would continue to op-
pose it. Surely the expression, the words of which
he (Lord Limerick) took down at. the time, must
have fallen from the Noble Earl in the warmth
and hurry of debate, and on cool refleEtion the
Noble Earl would regret that he had made use
of it. I-laving spoken to two or three other
poi ins in the Earl of Caernarvon's speech, his Lord-
ship proceeded to say a few words as to his own
opinion of the measure, to which the Address re•
ferred. He owned he thought Ministers entitled to
his thanks for having proposed it; he thought the
coming forward with such a measure, taken too-
ther with the various other measures of preparation,
which Ministers had brought forward within these
three months, was a series of ' proofs not of procras-
tination and delay, but of aCtivity, energy, and
vigour. With regard to recruiting the army, a sol-
dier, like a woman, felt a difficulty in prevailing on
himself to take the first step, and that having once
put on a red coat and become a soldier, he
would be always a soldier. He approved the rais-
ing the men by ballot. because our home defence
was necessarily the objeft first to he provided for.
He had risen, however, chiefly to take mace of
what had fallen from the Noble Earl, whom did
not now see in the House. He had only to add,
that he should vote for the Address.

Earl FI IZWILLIAM observed, that the effs...a of
raising so many Militia, exclusive of the disadvan-
tage of their not being applicable to general service,
put an end to the regular recruiting service
of the army ; it was impossible that the two service?,
should go on together ; and, upon the present oc-
casion, he should have thought it a much wiser and
effedual proceeding, to have suspended the corn-
pleting the Supplementary Militia, and applied
themselves wholly to adding to the regular army
by every possible means. The army was a sufficient
disposable force, and could be sent any whets. i
His Lordship took notice of what the Duke'"
Rid:amid had said, recroaing rho two hund
men being deficient in his,regiment of Militia ; '
same was the case, he said, in the regiments for
the North and West Ridings of the county of
York. The men held back in hopes that the price
of substitutes would be raised, and therefore they
would not come forward for the Militia. At any
rate it would, he was persuaded, be wiser to re-
peal the Aa for the Suplementary Militia, or sus-
pend it, and recruit the army. He rose, his Lord.
ship said, to state, that recruiting and raising the
Militia in greater numbers could not be done at one
and the same time.
Lord GRENVILLE agreed with the Noble and
Illustrious Duke, with his description of the real
and proper use of a Militia, a description which the
Illivarious Duke had given with the utmost accu-
racy and correftness. He could not but join with
those Noble Lords who had complained of the want
of aftivity of Ministers in not coming earlier forward
with this or some more efficient measure of de-
fence. The Noble and eloquent Lord below him
(Lord Rawdon)-had said, they knew of the ap-
proach of war on the Bth of March, and it was
now the latter end of June, but that was not all,
they knew ever since the signing of the peace
of Amiens, that every one aft of the French
Government had been an all of aggression and insult.
They knew this for a whole year, and yet they do not
preserve in existence a force, of which they might,
on the declaration of w. r, immediately have availed
themselves, but they contrive to call out the Militia, ,
at the very time that it was necessary to recruit the
army. The two services, as his Noble Friend had ,
well observed, could not go on together. With rea
Bard to the whole conduce of Ministers, it was of a
piece; it was all part of a system of neglect and
protraction. Without striking one blow themselves,
to annoy the enemy, since the Bth of March, they
have dune nothing, but suffered the enemy to seize
upon Hanover, and the next news that would arrive
would be the shutting up of Hambargh, the Elbe, the
Weser, and all the ports in the Noah of Germany.
With regard to the present measure, although he
thought recruiting the army would be preferable,
he would not oppose it, for tear that the Ministers
would not propose any other measure, if the present
were not received. He should, therefore, in the
future operation of passing the Bill through the
House, give them his assistance, as he would not;
under such circumstances of the country, do any
thing to embarrass or impede the measures of Go.
rumens.

*ttftta;llast to summon his Militia to be forthwiel
ballord# fur ; and the delay in bringing them for-
.w3rsl 'Alas not imputable to Ministers nor to Lord
but to the Aft of Parliament itself,
which rendered it necessary to summon so many
meetings to call for lists, to be produced, and to
take ag the necessary steps previous to forming the
regiments.
Lord GRENVILLE said, in answer to Lord
Bart, that he would stand the comparison of the
condition ill which Germany stood when he went out
of office, to the condition °feet-many at present, and
rest'the whole of that matter on the single case of
Hanover.
Lord HOBART again rose, and said, the Noble
Lord had no right to charge him with a loss, which
he well knew could not be avoided.
At length the question was put, and the Address
was agreed to.
CLERGY FARMING AND RESIDENCE BILL.

The House resolved itself into a Committee again
on this Bill. - •
The LORD CHANCELLOR then moved a
'variety of inseitionsinctomissions of a verbal nal
•ture, and introduced several new Clauses in dif.
ferent parts of toe Bill.
All his Amendments were agreed to,and the Report
*as immediately received, and the Bill ordered to
be printed. ...'
Mr. Alexander7ind others then brought up three
more Bills fronithe Gammons, which were present-
ed, and read a first time.
Adjourned at half-after ten.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
MONDAY, JUNE 20.
The House divided on a Report brought up Ur
Mr. Boller for introducing a clause into the Road
Bill, for the purpose of levying a new toll on the
bridge of the River Exe, at Exeter, on which
strangers were ordered to wildtaw;

•
DP FENCT OF 7rtliE eOUNTRY.
The SECRETARY at WAR moved, that the
House should, pursuant to the Order of the Day,
resolve itself into a Committee to consider of his Ma-
jesty's Message, respedling the Defence of the Coun-
try ; which having been complied with, he said,
that what he had at present to submit to them was
the mode 'proposed for raisin g an adlitional force
for offensive operations, as well as defensive, against
the enemy. There were two points to which the
subject was reducible : Ist, That the force provided
should be equal to an effeattal anti powerful defence ;
and 2dly, the disposanle force which we should have fin-
offensive operations. It was the duty of Parliament
to attend to both our defence naval and military,
and that must be done with reference to the exer-
cised stren.gth and resources of the enemy in various
quarters from which they might have an opportu-
nity of annoying us. Our preparations must also be
made with reference, not to the Government, but to
the singular charaFter of the present Governor, who
disposed desßotically of the immense power of
"'France, augmente-d as it was, by the operations of the
late war. In ordinary times, and under regular and
established governments, nay, even during the late
war, a force of 140,000 men was deemed sufficient,
with the strength of our immense navy cooperating,
to look with contempt on the threats of our enemies.
They would still be sufficient fur home defence;
for he made little doubt but the army which would
attempt to invade us would-6e sent to the bottom of
the sea before they could arrive, or be dashed to
pieces by the cannon of those who would be opposed
to them. When he looked to the promises made to
the First Consul by the different provinces of
France, and by his military coadjutors, he could
only smile at their audacity ; at the same time that
he made little from Bonaparte's charaaer, that the
attempt would not be made. The officers, how-
ever, who offered themselves for this service, and
wished to follow the triumphant banners, as they
called it, of their chief, N‘ Juld find the passage of
the British Channel far more tremendous than that
of the river Styx.

" Fata obstant, tristique pales inarnabilis unde
d' Alligat, Se novtes Styx tnterfusa coercet "

The nmergeanct which the First Consul meditates
against this country was now clearly and distin&ly
traced, and nothing would ultimately satisfy him
than the degradation of England, to enable him,
by the destruCtion of the power and the interests of
this country, easily to effal that of the slavery of
Europe. 'The First Consul possessed these pro-
perties that would never suffer him to be at rest,
possessing, as he did, " vartut animus, et incredibile
loniser aliquid evnans." But however violent his ani-
mosity, and ferocious his conduit, ready as he pro-
fessed himself to be to sacrifice fleet after fleet, and
the thousands after thousands, to his views of am.
bition and vain glory, and however we might de-
spise his threats, it was not the less necessary to
make additional reinforcements, to convince him
that his ent,nprize would be more arduous and pe-
rilous than he might have conceived it. In this
case, what he meant to propose to the Committee
was, that there be raised an army of reserve of
5(1,000 men, of which :".4,000 should be levied in
England, 10,000 in Ireland, and 6,000 in Scotland.
That army of reserve would leave a disposable re-
gular fore?, and place the country in the most com-
plete state of security. From our present situation,
it must inevitably happen that we should have
great naval success ; but it must be confessed that
tile Military system hitherto pursued was by no
means proportioned to the power, strength, a
grandeur of the country. It was therefore necessary
that a new system should be adopted, but that
would be best resorted to in a tine of quiet and tran.
quality. The first consideration was, that the force
proposed should be levied as speedily and made as
efficient as possible. The second was, that the army
reserve should., English,
Kingdom

TIM Incas. • emcieot as possible. The second was, that the army
Lord HOBART rose again to explain several of reserve should serve, whether English, Scotch, or
points that had been adverted to by several Noble Irish,lirt any pats of the United Kingdom to which
Lords, in the course of the debate. With regard to they may be ordered, and also thq islands of the
what the Noble Lord had said about the Militia, Channel, such as Jersey and Guernsey. As to
did not every Noble Lord know, that the Militia, the arrangements, there were three points to
tinder the Ad of Parliament, was always obliged which he wished to dired the attention of the Com.
to be disbanded at the end of the wart And ae.te mittee. tit. That all persons should be liable to
their not being called out sooner, he would appeal serve, from the age.of la so 45 years, who were to
to every Lord Lieutenantof a county, to say who. he Officered by persons properly qualified frost
thor he did not write a circular War b 3 every one • knowledge and experience. lidly, 'rim their extent
of them, in autumn het,. to ansurocos the Militia of 4. 'of service should be Great Britain, Ireland, and the
his county forthwith.. , With •r
dto she loss of ;steads of die Channel. Lad sdir, That, hum*llaaorer, ationr, that Lao, mope ' , had iiell ' .ef during the war, their time of service should be
cr e42l4ny. migthvgajoid lift hoes aeshAtfill, act.litnited to foe, years. The grounds GE the pin
had. they used any matimaryisiloy.
..,
.. were difereat from -those pursued at 17114 ,tots
Ty Doke of AwbuitoND atheitted. okt 0
.were the toaopS to he.considered oti the saosetoeSiog
Lard Linnenaai id** asustr of Sersist;l4 144 ;With the valornteeriotee Oleo raised and alp nt hr •
seesaw tube Maki bap" of &OWL lessrlik liabralus a!saseartiat ?raise to Amnia ma