The Sun.
London, England, 1850-07-27 00:00:00

under them, still he could not refuse to admit that it was
a recog-aition of the protection to which the soldier
should always look up (Mir, hear) and
soldiers were none the worse IT having a uleszing
open them.—(Hear, hear.) With reference to the
prayer the Hon. Meml-,er had read, he saw nothing in
it that either could be found fault with, or no expression
in it that could be improved.—(Hear.) The chaplain of
the garrison of Dublin, from whom that prayer W 23
stated to have emanated, no doubt expressed the inte-
rest which he felt for the soldiers over whom ho had
pastoral charge sincerely and cordially ; and he believed
there was no act which attracted so much the respect
of the soldiers of the regiment, or one with which so
little fault had been found, either by the public press or
by any individual, complaining of a public department,
as the observance of a religious ceremony at tit-, p-e-
-sentation of new colours.—(hear.) It was established
by no order or regulation of the army, that he was
aware of. It was a custom that had come down from
the earliest times. It was one which might be dispensed
with at the ple isure of the army or the wish of that
House ; bat it was one which he saw no grounds to in-
terfere with. Therefore, with all respect for the reli-
gious feelings and conscientious opinions of the various
classes of the country, he must say he had never be-
fore heard it stated that such a proceeding—whilst he
knew it to be acceptable to the army at large—was at
al! offensive to the religious feelings of the public.

Captain BOLDERO thought [hat the prayer com-
plaincd of by the Hon. Member did honour to the clergy-
man. From the manner of the Hon. Member for Man-
chester a stranger would imagine that he was as well
acquainted with matters pertaining to the army as he
was with looms and spinning jennies.—(Hear hear.)
To do away with the practice would be considered as a
gross insult to the army.
The vote was then agreed to; as also were the votes-
-54,9164 charges and expenses of general staff officers;
and,
46,6841. charges and allowances for the officers of the
several public military departments.
The following votes were also agreed to:-
8,8954, being part of the charge for the Royal Military
College.
9,657/. for the Royal Military Asylum.
On the vote of 41,0004, part of the charge of the
volunteer corps,
Mr. H. BERKELEY moved, pursuant to notice, the
rejection of this vote. He looked upon it as a most un-
constitutional force—it was only a mummery of noble
war—a playboy of the nobility. He had no doubt he
should be strenuously opposed, as there were a troop
—if not a whole squadron—of yeomanry officers in
that House. He approached the subject with
no hostility whatever--(Hear, hear)—to the regular
army—(Laughter.) He contended that the yeomanry
had never adequately fulfilled the duties for which they
were originally constituted. lie contended that no
armed force could be of utility unless it was strictly
amenable to discipline, and unless it was amenable to
the Government and authority. It was because the yeo-
manry had of late shown itself disorderly aad disobedient
that he bad come to the conclusion that they were no

longer fit to be entrusted with the preservation of the
public peace. He would refer to the proceedings in
which they bad been engaged for the last thirty years.—
(Oh, and great laughter.) He would show that they
were in the pernicious habit of reasoning upon the
orders they received instead of carrying them out. He
would remind the House of the occasion of the corona-
tion of George IV. The Queen had just arri►ed from
the continent, and had expressed her intention of taking
her place in the ceremony. The Life Guards were
called out, as great rioting was apprehended, and so
als ) were the yeomanry, who, after their kind, pro-
ceeded to reason upon those orders, and preserved the
peace by cheering for the Queen and Alderman Wood.
He admitted that no loss of life took place, the mob con
tenting themselves with smashing the windows of those
who who were supposed to be opposed to the Queen. He
would now remind the House of another ease of insubor-
dination on the pin of the yeomanry—the Manchester
massacre of 1819 at Peterloo. The yeomanry were
called on to disperse an unarmed mob, and brutally slew
men, women, and children. Both these were cases of
gross insubordination. He came next to the Swing riots.
The yeomanry were called out to assist the civil power,
but they would not come.—[ An Honourable Member—
" Where?"] It was a general complaint throughout
the country. The lord-lieutenants reported in many
parts of the west of England the total inefficiency of the
yeomanry corps. In 1838 he found that Lord Mel-
bour❑ reduced the yeomanry corps, and thereby gave
great umbrage to that body. The yeomanry in those
riots behaved in the worst possible manner, having been
ineffivient, disorderly, and undisciplined. The opinion of
all lord-lieutenants was that yeomanry were unfit for the
purposes of police; a couple of guns and a regiment of
soldiers could be taken from London to Leicester before
a body of local yeomanry could be got together. It took
48 hours to concentrate a body of yeomanry on any
given point of a county; and the lord-lieutenant of
Gloucester had said that he could take the staff of his
own militia regiment to any part of that county in wag-
gons several hours before he could get together the
local yeomanry. He would show what good the
yeomanry were on an emergency. All persons remem-
bered the Bristol riots.—(Hear, and laughter.) Well,
Bristol stood in two counties which abounded in yec-
manry, well-dressed and moustachiod gentlemen, bat
that tows was three days in the hands of a lawless
mob, and the yeomanry were no more good than so many
old apple-women. In the course of the riots ten Somer-
s, t yeomen marched into Bristol, but they had to bo
locked up by the mayor in the riding-school, for fear
the mob would do them any harm—(Laughter.) This
was stated in the Bristol Gazette of 9th of May last;
th at was his authority. So much for the gallant corps
of Somerset yeomen—so much for Somersetshire. But
what aid had Bristol from the heroes of Gloucestershire?
Captain Codrington certainly appeared at the head of
the Doddington and Marshfield troop of yeomen; but
he only marched into Bristol at the request of the ma-
gistrates, but he marched out again to the light of the
incendiary fires. Yet this was the force which the people
of Bristol was compelled to pay for; but they could not
be compelled to respect them or to confide in their
prowess, when, as old John Dryden said, the yeomen
were—

"Mouths without arms maintained at vast expense,
In peace a charge, in war a weak defence.
Stout once a year you march, a blustering band,
And ever but in time of need at hand."
It might be said they could not find a magistrate; and
he was perfectly aware a magistrate could not be
found; but it must be remembered that this was in the
time of the old corporation; and it was laid down by the
judges of the land and the president of the court-
martial, that soldiers might act for the protec-
tion of life and property without a magistrate. One
mare instance of yeomanry valour, obedience, and mili-
tary qualification. It was a rare instance in which the
yeomanry was under fire. This was in Glamorgan-
shire, and his authority was Mr. Franklin, a magis-
trate at Bridgend, is that county. It was is the time
of the Merthyr riots, in 1831, which that gentleman had
hoped, were wholly forgotten—(Laughter)—as they did
no credit to any party. A whole regiment of yeomanry,
consisting of three divisions, were ordered to assemble
and march on Merthyr. The western division, com-
manded by an old Peninsular officer, never reached
Merthyr, having been disarmed in a bloodless encounter
with the mob. The centre division marched to Merthyr
where it found the eastern division. A party was
ordered to escort some powder to Brecon, and about two
miles from the town they encountered numbers of people
who obstructed the road, and threatened to attack them
if they did not retire. After some delay the major in
command gave the word " threes about, march—retire,"
which they did accordingly. The mob then fired on
then, and the march became a run.—(Laughter.) The
writer said he attempted to cut down some of the pri-
soners, but his sword being blunt—(Bursts of laughter)
—he was thrown back on the crupper of his horse, and
did not recover his seat until he reached the barracks.
When it was reflected that the yeomanry jacket scarcely
reached down to the os sacrum, it could scarcely be said
they turned tail.—(Laughter.) Mr. F. concluded his
letter by saying that was the consequence of making bad
farmers worse soldiers.—(Laughter.) Humanity for-
bade the employment of such a force, as the results of
excitement on the part of an infuriated mob could not be
calculated on such a force. If Newport had been de-
fended by this regiment of yeomen, and not by half a
company of the 45th, what would have become of it?—
(Hear, bear.) So much for the past; but for the future,
what? The yeomanry declared that if certain measures
were not carried they would fight—they would not draw
their swords except for their own interests 'This
was stated at public meetings—at the great Crown
and Anchor meeting, for instance, in the Strand. At
York again they had Mr. Ferrand flinging up the
hatchet. What would they say of a cavalry officer who
should say what mob his regiment should charge and
what it should not? Would they not call that insubor-
dination? The Right Hon. Chancellor of the Exchequer
had said, in a late debate, thatall this ought to be treated
with contempt—that the contemptibility of the threatener
excused the threat. But they had to deal now with the
people's purse; and to pay those who resorted to such
threats, and maintained a sort of private Horse Guards
of their own, would be a measure of which he appre-
hended they would disapprove. The Right Hon. Secre-
tary of War might tell him that some force was neces-
sary to support the military. Then increase the civil
force, and instead of maintaining a rabble of 300 or 400
yeomanry, who were never found when wanted, and
when found were of no use, substitute a mounted police,
with well-trained men, with well-broken horses. The
magistrates and the people at large would have infinitely
more confidence in such a body of men than in three or
four times the number of yeomen.—(Hear.) One word
on the subject of discipline. All cavalry officers of ex-
perience preferred being without raw recruits, who had
been entrusted with arms in their hands; and what could
yeomanry cavalry be but raw recruits? Distinguished
infantry officers were of the same opinion. He had read
an account of a speech delivered by the llon. and Gal-
lant Member for Frome, in returning thanks for the
army, in which ho said he trusted the army would not
be reduced in number, for a soldier was not made in a
day.—(Hear.) What could a rabble do who met only
once a year to go through what was called a drill ?
Cavalry officers had their portfolios crammed with cari-
catures of yeomanry at drill. He had shown that, for a
long series of years, the yeomanry had been insubordi-
nate and useless, and that at the present moment they
theMvro.teEh.
had added the additional characteristic of being disobe-
dient and dangerous. On these grounds he thought a
to the present
sufficient case was made out for rejecting this vote.
three instances in 'which the
aMd Ah
de:
yL notE,
t h saidfee
Hon,
he
convinced
Gentleman
wouldn e
e d
that
theha v e
yeomanry proposed
corps was a good and a constitutional force. From 1831
hayed otherwisethan they
yeomanry force than might
m havr have
onlyhaeedoerepee xh
expected.
edeeo:
be-
haved
office of Under•Secretaryi'xoPf
He bad had a little esriteentecefeorf
sitxheyehaarbsi:senofdthhee
is Hon. Friend, having held the
knew from the report of the.Commander-in•Chief the