The Sun.
London, England, 1808-03-09 00:00:00

was not' now the o'bjec‘l"-of consideration :hOw 1111
army erasto be raised, but how.-a- very flourishing
army already existence shilnld bimaituained.The
present regular iirtny of the line cbnsistd of ;.v.,900,
men, and he was sorry- to say,: that ofilies4_llfltidi
lag the .men enlisted under the Right l-ron:t;entle4,.
man's measure, full 70,000. were eug:ged i'or limited
service. The number raised under the Ili'lltn. Ho
Centleiunn'simasure %vas 26;000, and !11e ,ry _IIIPP,
for limited service. All the foreign-cOrpkwere, flout
their origin, ertg-aged for limited serviee';' thegarrt7
son battalions-were alsd fintZted ; and the volunteers
frun,the tlkiliti3, with the exception of b or 7000.
It was matt,erof very serious cowideration to think,
that. the 36,000 enlist,d last year would'. all en-
titled ito their diFeiiiirge at the. same perioc, 'seven
years hence. I r was .also .Very .material tocnitsider•
how-this.printiple-, if exclusively acted. upon,' -would
rout iltir -rpeaeu. establishteiiti,. Supposing a peace'
eo.ablisluneut .0000i000Avien,.,und 36,000 of these
to be' discharged in one year, and a war to follow i.Li,
that year or the next, what would be the state of the
country: He contended that the. Right Hon. pen.;
tictnan's measure, would not cover its own waste,
mid that of the army .in general. He maintained
that the enlistment:tbr life of those who, on liming
the option, should pitfer 'engaging for: life, would
not discoutage others frOm engaging', for years. He'
could not understand how good. faith_ was violated,
when no extension of an existing engagement fOr
limited service wrAs
.dtmanded ol..allowed, and when .
all that was intended was • to, allow a liberty of 'a
larger 'engagement 40 those .who' were 'free and
willing to :make. it.l , The
,Riglit. Honourable
Gentleman opposite7-may - • say that though': 'the
ordinary re/Tinting under: his measure was not'
equally prodUtßive
.as'ilie.tardinary recruiting before,
combined With the,Additional Force_ Ad, ie was
superior to' the previous -ordinary recruiting alone.
Certainly so it was; ,but then' the Additional Force
Ad was becoming every tiny more ploduCitive, when
it was repealed. The ordinary recruiting was made
more produtlivebnder the Right Hen. 'Gentleman!S
plan, by multiplying the-number of 'recrnitivw par-
ties beyond measure, 'and also•by the threat:oft re:-
tiu6tion held-out to the 54 additional hattaliOnuno,
less they should complete their.establishment t 014,00
men each betbre six months. One. part,only of,:thq
Light Hun. Gt.:ntlernants plan was not specolative,
r rust that was the Bert anent borthee of z450,000E
i • .11'yeall' which it imposed on the Country, in the
shape of additional pensions, an incuinbrance which
must increase continually. These reasons, .he con-
iceived, would he (Lilly suttcient to satisfythe House
of the propriety of net 4epriviog 5t..)(.4 111C11.as were
.. , inclined of a fair option. to enlist for life. He
there....
fore moved, that a -anise be introduced-allp‘Ving that
option. : " • . ..• .. - ).:34„,,
.; . 212 r. IFIN,DIL4M spoke :It great length a'gatnst
p..: the Clause, . the substance of which, .he contended, •
'.i,..: Was not only miSchielinis in- itself, but also asit was
Intended..to do away the system established tw.o,
H.- Years since with the full approbation of the flumeA
' •
after long and deliberate cousideration and -mature
discussion. He objected to the mode in which that
i.

. .
system was thus covertly undermined by those who
did not dare to make it the objea of open attack.—
, A Clause of this kind was rejected in 1800; because
' it went to counteraEt the general .efreCt Of the men.=
,sure ; and. a . great part of the House had declared
tbe same opinion since. He did-not complain that
' "kwproceeding was brought foiward in, the shape of
lelause in the Mutiny Bill,,but that it was brought
forward in so late a stage, withnut• any notice, and
at a. time when the Mutiny. Bill must be passed- with
40 little delay as to allow no adequate length of deli-,
beration 6r 'discussion. It was only on this day
se, 'unight that an indistinct declaration of his inten-
tions on this head was wrung from the Noble Lord •
by lilm, and only last night that lie had seen:the.
noble Lord's motion in the form in which it 3..V4 to
' be offered to the House.' His measure had been;
bke the present, brought forward in the shape .i)f ..a
Claue. in the Mutiny Bill. But the nature of Oat
Measure had .long before been detailed to the Hottlie
i at length; and:thb,Clause itself had been. printed and
I circulated among the Members, and repeatedly dis-
cussed, long before the LiPtlie was called to decide
Upon it. . The present proceeding was like prating ,a
Parcel into.the hands of the driver of .a stage-coach
lost as it was going to set OrT, .and thus .conveying
'a;tiose of poison without giving theOpportttilitk' of
seeing whither it was g-oing, much less,of7gUaldin3
against or counteraeling it.-, It Was a species of pro-
c"airig which hd gtippoaeti lietintst not call a trick,
"LA he would net hesitate: to call it. a fraud. I Mac
elanse now proposed,' by gradually changing the cii;(-!
bstment from limited to unlimited service, would ge
to.undertnine anddestrov the system introduced two
Yeara 'ago. The cifea of the 'Claoso would be most '
iraportant, 'and the House might to have the fullest ,
notice and the' faireat opportunity bf• considering it,,
'wall its bearings. tole reminded the House,. when'
g_9llle propolitions were made "with respea to the
Catholic soldiers, to Which no objection was fere-
, aeerlby those who moved thern-j ,and when O
tr t-ne
~
.1030tfrons-wera raised, the propositions were with-
drawn , from.the Mutiny Bill ;and put to the sense of
the
House in a distinCt form. ft was di:igrAccliii iliac
. the present measure should be brought forward. in
tl6 present form... Be was glad to find the No-
le Lord had so far corrected his. former sentiments;
t<s to allow that it Was material to the. army to allow
t
I?e liberty 9( engaging_for limited service. The No-
-, tile Lord had fornierly-contentled`thAt the men,
whti
, embraced 'the profession of arms were equally ready
. to enlist for Me as for a term of years. Did the No-
, ille*lord intend that the men engaged fot unlitnited
4ei‘'ice should be -kept in distinct bodies,. and
aPpropriated to foreign service ? It would be
easy to ,see the inco.ovenienCes t hat. would 'result
Item that course:: The discontents that would
Prevail 'in the army, and the injuries that Would
It:Ilone to discipline by hay.ing:'lnen enlisted in an
i . nl, considerate moment, for unlimited service; along.
°We Men ~yho :.were engaged only for a term. of
Years; were too striking to require elucidation. He
to4:td COWL. now to the statements. The Noble
• )ttl.denied hiM the credit of making any addition
t
/9,.the Army.. It was a credit that.lie did not claim,
11S measure. had been in fuil operation. but twelve:
Months instead-:'of-eighteen, •and in' those twelve.
,
months its operation had been progress ive. In the
til
vrt Mootrter, it had produced at the rate of 1.1,000;
r Aen a-yen; hi the set. ':)tici quarter, at the rate .4
`.000; in the third ganger, at the r;l-e. of 2 1 Aug;
1 liu in the fourth qua ter, at thetrate vi i.i.'d,900.--*