The Sun.
London, England, 1803-06-07 00:00:00

public, but it, was by no Megng right to Confound
the strength and duration of France-together. Her
power was unquestioned at present, but how long
that power would exist was 'a different question.
That we wished and hoped to see an end to that
power, it was impossible form to deny, notwith.
standing all the mean, base, couching language we
had held. That prospeft was at. the bottom of all
-ourihopea. Every thing which he saw was only
calculated to throw him into despair, but he begged
not to be misunderstood, he had great confidence in
the strength and resources of the Country, provided
they were in proper hands and judiciously applied.
He was one of those who had never-treated the idea
of Invasion with contempt., We had to deal with
an enemy who would not do things by halves. The
storm with which we were threatened might burst
suddenly upon us—we might then ,be 'thrown into,
consternation, .and put in danger of losing every
thing that,was valuable taus,: we werefike a Ship in
a Storm, if the Vessel was a good one, is the Crew
were brave and obedient, if the Officers were skil-
ful and experienced, . they had little to fear from the
elements, but if the Crew was disunited, if the
Officers were incapable olditeCting them either from
drunkenness or incapacity, then, indeed, their dan. •
ger would be inevitable. He confessed the did look
upon an inVasion with dread, and could never con
cur with those who thought lightly of it. In con.
versing upon this subjea with men the most
likely to form a corral judgment upon it, Officers
who had' seen much service, and were really tic:.
quainted with War, he found, that not one of them
treated it lightly. But who were those who treated
the idea of Invasion with ridicule ? Why, men who
had no means of knowing any thing upon the sub.
,men who

In the division of a Battle,

Knew no more than a spinster—
men who would be. of no service in a con.
test, but who . would add to the confusion of
.a rout—men who .never saw a gon
,fired in
anger, . but yet talked with great ease of de-
stroying whole Armies of Frenchmen. Such were
ate kind of men who' talked with contempt of an
invasion, and to the weight of. such authorities he
was not disposed to how with great reverence. lint
while lie was not disposed 'to 'treat an Invasion
lightly, lie did not look at it with apprehension, be.
cause lie..had the most unbounded, confidence in the
strength and resources of the Cauntry, if properly
applied and skilfully direted;
Mr. PITT said, he should say only a very few
words upon this stsbjt.d, he merely wished -to ask
whether the Force which it was now proposed to
vote, ioeluded the whole of the regular Force that
was to'he proposed, or whether they were to,expc6l
in the present Session, any more substantial aug.:
meotation to that which certainly was an unusually
large Peace Establishment? He was averse to discus-
sing in that Hotise any questioo respeting the aimiunt
of the Force necessary for the. public safety. That
ought certainly.to rest iii the first Instance. with Mini.
steri, under the responsibility of their situation. It
was a. confidence that Parliatnentought. to place- in
them, and if they did not possess that confidence
they ought not to. retain their situation. But he
really did not apprehend that it was. proper to
discuss in
,that House the distribution of the Public
Force, lie therefore would not. enter into any detail
upon the sobjca. If however he heard from Mini.
sters, that this was all the- Force- they meant to
.provide, it, Would- give him real uneasiness ; how-
ever, he would not say a word more upon that sub.
jei, until he knent.whether that was the case or
not.

The SECRETARY at WAR observed, that al.
though what the Right Hon., Gentleman had stated
was very able in itself, and, in a political point of
view, yet there were many of the topics into the
detail' of which he should not at present enter, be.
taitse this did-not appear to 'lila to be. the, season
for so doing; he should rather apply himself to the
answer which he had'. to give to the question of his
Right HMS: Friend Mr. Pitt, and he had the saris.
loan:4 of saying,. that the attention of Ministers
had been applied in order to prepare a plan which
appeared to them. to be essential for securing, not
only the domestic defence of the country, but also
to enable us to put forth our arms in a'maisner that
might be, efredual for other objets ; and here he
could non help thinking that the Right Hon. Gen.
tleman opposite to hitu had in some- measure raised
a phantom which he was afterwards 'to, combat, for
he had said that ail-our force waslo be purely a de.
lensive war. , Where he found that out, and hOw
he came to that conclusion, he did not know. He
had also stated, that every effort should he nruic
for.'our defence at this important crisis ; this was an
assertion the truth of which. nobody doubted ; nor
.was this all, for it was proper that. we should rut
ourselves in a situation. that may become offensive
as opportunity may occur abroad ; he did not think
that we should confine ourselves to strid MONCLI,
but that we shoUld look at this war in a diErent
'vieW, to consider its nature and its charader, and
that we' were not to he content' with dere 'stli.de,
fence or domestic safety, but that the rather we
should consider hoW, and-to hold ourselves in Ceadi.
ness to avail ourselves of the best opportunity which
mightoccur to strike on the enemy •the severest and
-the most effedual blow we may be able ; these were
the feelings 'of His Majesty's Ministers, upon this
most important Matter ;, but when vigour was talk.
ed of, he would observe, that vigotix did not ,con.
sist in the use of high.sounding words, hitt on What
may adually be done,. and much had 30uolly been
done. He spoke of arrangements subsevent to the
Treaty of Amiens ;• we had been in that short ipe.
riod of peace Rain in many reipeds; we had been
put on a much stronger footing than we had been in
any former period of peace. Our regular army was
much more considerable now titan it had been at the
commencement of any :war.; our Militia in like
manner was in a much better state for military pUr«
poses than it had been at any former period of the
commencement of a war ; we had in every respeo
a much greater force than we, ever had before at ,the
beginning of hostilities ; but was 'he saying that
this was therefore sufficient ? No, he was not ; but
the energy of the Country: must be called forth, and
there must be Orli a disposal of that fade as,:to
shew - oar enemies, ignorant -as tiwy lire of this
Country, of the disposition of.iti' Peolde, of its
ternal. vigour, 4,)1 its resources,
,and almost cvery