The National Register.
London, England, 1808-06-27 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER,

paysese:(o% Will any man who loves his country, after a
coesideration of their circumstances, venture to assert,
that this emany is net awfoll formidable? Can any eaer-
tion be too strentows, can any anxiety be too great re-
spectiog the contest with suck a foe.
The 4reat natural advantage of our insular sititatioa.
and the proud superiority of our navy, have hitherto been
• considered. by the bulk of the nation, as fences against
invasioin ;warty impossthle to be surmounted. Under coin-
moa times and circalas:auces, and against a common ene-
my, it might have been reasonable to think so, but op-
posed as %le iiow are, to a combination of physical manes,
• with superlative ability, almost; unprecedented in the hiy-
• to •r of mankind, ii is prudent to set some hounds to our
cote'tlenee. Our most able admirals have ail declared,
that !in in% noon s‘;.,s hi,' no means ualikely or impractira-
No. Lord Ostia, Lord st. Vincent, Lord Howe, Sir Sid-
Ley Smith, have all said so. And if this be true, of
which there can he no doubt, we ought, undoubtedly, to
be as much prepared to meet the French, as if we had not
- a stn le ship at sea.
- Far this purpose, some more comprehensive measures
than any yet adopted, should be immediately resorted to.
Our regular army, though excellent, is scarcely suflicieo:
in number to !.;.itactl the whole extent of 'our coasts. The
lachle, the laudable., Ihe honourable spiilt, which origivall
animated one volunteers, has, owing to various causes,
which ne shall not now stop to enumerate, almost totall
evaporated. Oar army of reserve has decayed; the re•
eroding system is less productive than formerly ; and the
local nelilia plan is drew:4llly inferior to the magnitude
of our danger. A plan sintilitc to that recently propos.
by Lord Selkirk, is strenuously evilest for by the preset:,
filar ueng toedutely occeslarit for the preiCrYilileqk
of our national existence. l.et CVery tours g nom in the
country able to carry arms, he instructed in the most es-
: sential pari of the tactics of niodvrn warfare. Let the
people be made duly sensible of the extent of their &la-
ger, and the necessity of their cmlli:v.ls. Let the 001%
strife among our great men be. who shall most benefit, and
• advance the interests of the comitry. Let all ranks enthit-
. siastically and permanently unite in preparimu to repel the
approaching enemy. In this way, and in this way alone,
. can the safety of the country be sally secured.
And if we he prudent enough to do so, we shall. (,'e under
no necessity of lookina: with eagerness and anxiety to the
brave, honourable, but fruitless, exertions of the Patriots
of Spain; we shall be fully able to defend ours!,ives rgaiest
the whole world ; we may contemn the threats and aitaeL
. of the Master of the Continent; and transmit a glorious les-
son to posterity of the brave and successful iosistance
free people, to the greatest, the most formidahle tyrant,
that the world ever saw ; and may hand down to fotare
Feuerations, our liherties, our equal laws, oar attainment:.
• m siletice, our acquirements in knowleda:e end civiliviltioo,
and every thing that is valuable and iuteresting• to society.

REVIEW OF PoI4TICAL PAMPHLETEERS.

u. xK L

THE EARL OF cELK I RR'S PAMPHLET ON THE Nrccssrry or
AMORE Et: I:t", U t SVSTI: \I I, NNIiON or N 4. r.
AND THE mr.tiNs or EST USLISHINU THE Pk.RMANEN't
SECURITY OF TEE Kl'i(tl OM.
( ('onthidedfroos our ltu.d.)

On t!'e third ooetion or Lord Selkirk's Panip'llet, the sert'o,t,
in ul,h fle-0,0,,:r::te, the act‘atit:ws.s that hi; propo-ei
woo•: ue tikeiv to produce for the weutit3, 1)1
i! i 4 oloiere•-.11.♦ for is to in-J!:e any observation;. lii•
Lords',iv't.4 ri•-ro are all opfni I I ini!i ry Operation-
. heof eakotnte:t for the aim lima lint, :unl athitirahlv Olt
rel4oitiogi s!.e.ot titled to provide agaiost the ilailgeri that
Coon Hteh r-vent.

11 the f!l..iri!l ,•ei• in %t Yoh a•to-ri npnla :L comparFor
hii own pl4O. of Local w '4O thc. Valiant/NT Sratetn,

and ►rith the scheme propo,cd for gcneral nrru:v, his arzum
•ire. for the most par:, eq it;:lly vsfaclory. e wills
;'•a w finis upon the cowslip!' of this compariboni and funit ul
Y~►lanteer S stein.

The Volunteer System bas t he advantage of being already
Idislted ; but of v. lint value is the temporary establishme/
that, which in its ow n nature admits of no establishment
can he' durable ? The privilege that every individual posses•
of quitting hi.; corps at pieasure, is an intuperuble- obstacle
lids to the acquisition of' military habits, but to the per
nenev of the sysiew itflif. For though the sudden danger 4)1
country, or the tear of a 4eneral array. or some other part':
temporary cause, may for one year well the Volunteer fort
a power amply sufficient for every purpose of defence, yt
each man is at liberty to quit his corps w lawyer he please:
is to be expected that the vigour and fullnes of the system
ce:oe, when the stimulus ceases (hat urged that system.
-ides, we fear that pernmeent duty, n ith all its atischiefs, i
evil absolutely necessaryAt and the Volunteer Plan of drill-41
and half drill-days, can never be of any real practical her
The Volunwers, too, are indiscriminately men of all age:, 4.
great proptirt ion of them are persons in the higher ranks or
so that to put them upou permanent duty would ta-casiost a v
v;•ry heavy ioconvenience to business of cyan kind : vhe
among men, and men in the lower classes of life, oce:vion
-Itch serious mischiefs, by ()Ong absent for a few weeks
!heir regular occupations.
Lord Selkirk very justly apprehend:, that some persons may
abject to the dissolution of for Volunteer System, lest it slmuld
.dlend the numerous both, of the °Mincers. But he ennui
tail objection unfounded; beetia-e, says he,
" There may be individuals oho have entered ameng the Vos
" luntecrs for the mere purpose of obtaining exemption i'ront
ballots, or similar privileges, and who may be reln;•:::tit to
•‘ lose these advantages. But the great body of the V olonteet,;,
" the men who, four or five years ago, came forward a ith so
' • mica zeal at the call of their country, can have no a i,;t
continue their laborious: e.sertioas :IV longer than they arf!
necessary. Front patriotic ;notives They undertook severe
•' to-k, in a season of great pubiie alarm : and from fecliaAs of
•` honour they have thought themselves bound not to ii ithdraw,
" while.tioyerunent continued to demand their serv.ices. But
" the perb;rin,ree is a personal burden, from u hick it is most
" natural that they should wish, and most proper that they
`• oisght to be relieved. hen they ace every purpose al their
" iastit ation answered in a perm;omat and etfrctual foamier, can
they have any reluctance in y I.lding to their successors, the
•1 burdensome post which they. have 30 long and houtairahly
" maiutained ?"

We are afraid that his Lordship's opinion of the metives that
induced the Volunteers to enrol themselves, is of a natuit! 100
:011111 exalted. If, however, the liable age were from eighteen
Ito meaty-one, as tine prepo,ed in our last Number, instead of
being from eigiiteen to In ert:.-fo.v, the number of Volunteers
lial•!* to the w!.w enrolu'at, %%mild he 59 sniall, that this ol!-
feetion could ra longer i7t. 1n e::emption is propo•c,l by
Iris Lordship in favoar of the voinawry CavalrN. 11, ho from
their personal stake in the country, and their locni Loon ledge,
aro in f,ikine r.•!ivects preferable even to Regular Troops.
As to ; tie plan of a general :irray. to int-bide the ns hale male
population of a (nature :I,x, its pdvantaws are hardly stliliCient
10 entitle it to a coatpar'iiun tv ith Lord Selkirk's st boner. I,Ver7.-
t)1:11::must ;ee,'con much better lie ,afetv of the limo! in n ill
corap!rte aml etl'ectual training, niiplied to an
adegpaite body of men, tim,l by extonaing an imperfect and i-
perficiil instroi !ion over u wre.iter number. 4de, it 11ni-St
revor t'or.,:a:eti, that upon Lord ',.elkirk's plao all the 11"11
kita:tiotoi will, in the course of another generni lr yr
_.we throiteh series of miliwry dkcipline, at the p'ro'd of
life beat
.cor rectplion of durable imprc..-lens.
the t, t ens ion e: a military instruction at once over all the men
if:di ;fires, %1 on hl he attereed with au enurmoas and a',solutely
uoproikte;ive e:pectee. Ilo:vever, there is another kind ot co-
rdne•nt. ertln the whole population, which Lord SclkirK
10.1;4;'t itiivar.tneons, not for services strictly mill-
t out ftii• o:jects of a ,übsidiar,- nature : such as the 01)-
-tructiou of no enemy, by cattia~r up road..
''rulgre'• de-f log provender, con:grueling Cl
,ithei useful opti.ations.
There is t.o rrzsen, says he, to doubt, that
'le ready voluntarily to render every ,zert'ii.e
these spontaneous services 'nil! rot it.-%
tF real use. It 111USI. IX' ever hurtle in mind,

land hi Ertgiancl, very short perhritoult dcc

Is, brt-aking dolt a
:ntrerichmetits,
nit rople
' k i;ifl ;
(•!)t! t' volopt t•) be
that ii t Enemy
lit• come-t. in