The Sun.
London, England, 1816-03-05 00:00:00

.irbrierrertnne, , they wouid,,
other year, ?old themselves Under accumulated
difileo:ies ; .ant} thus, -thringh they might err IA
imignlCllty it Might to be believed that they had an'
interelt in performing their duty,- though they
Would- never be found seeking- to captivate the
ipnblie n1,1.114)11 by holding forth prospects Which
1,1;1 no einence of being realised. This deoar7.-
titan, trusted, tend to dispel that cloud
of ;s.rejediecso. attij istl and ungenerously raised
against his Majesty's Goveroment, by endeavour-
ing to establish. a sort of case egainst theinon the
ground of ecrimony, 'as to what they have, or what
they have net done in the present .Session. In the,
course of last year the House had certainly coo-
tided to Ministers a greater amount of pecuniary
supplies than was ever before granted at any
time,' or in any country. rri. toto,attiopp.t, in-
cluding the extent of debt, was about 128 trillions
sterling.-- At-that time it ',vas not merelyin oat,
but in elmo-st every part of the world that we were
engaged in war our prospects were therefore
looked to, not only as difficulties to be overcome,
but as such, the end, of whieb• could not be pre-
dicted. These wars, however, bad been all glo-
riously terminated by. Treaties, which sore at
least as great kit appearance of permanency as
any which had been made at former perimk, 'and
the almost immediate result had been that a re-
duction of the expenses from last year had not been
less than 43 million,. We overt:, from the nature
of. our situation, incapable of applyieg reduction;
as a system; except by small degrees. :.Howittany
years elapsed, after the American War. before
we recovered from time dist! es 4 iu Whieli it left
Ili! The contrast, how.ever, at present Was most
t
trotrophent ; we had provided for our digit:tildes
as we'went al:mg. awl therefore he (rested we
should come noire to our eettleti•Peace Es-
tablishment than we ever did. before, could
.by no means be Considered that the l'enee Esta-
blishment now proposed was likely, to be pernia-
nent ; there would he realty .reductions :effected
ley time .and circumnstances. The E3tablishmeet
for the preterit year would only cost about 29.
millions, instead of 80. There could be no prey
stoription that Government had not. accelerated
every possible rednetion as for ns 'possible. It
bad even been made a sort of reproach in some
quarters, that the. retlut;tion in the Navy had
been too rapid.. There was every proof .to
be seen that the reduction in the Army was
going—on its rapidly as possible : to insiniiate
otherwise was not giving the Executive. Go-
: verument that credit they deserved, for doing.
what their own interest, as well as their duty,
impesed an then'. As tit the • qttestioti of the
amount of our Army, we must' look to the." na-
tore of its Seat ices and, its constitution. It Could
not now be Maintain(' ot the same expense at a
proportionate number was before the great •tit ra
tions took' place in it which has made it what it
is. it was necessary, tin .compsaring the Peace
establishment with that of any former time, to
'take in the charge given to every b,ranch of it, awl
w
take into consideration the great eight and dte!d'
expenseestablished byGentlemen opposite. 'lie did
not blame them for having raised, the Propertylax
to double what they foetid it—(llear !)—for it wry
fOund a necessary impost; but he begged them
not to. torte re .his feelings by speaking of it-
on all occasions, as a horrible, infamous; and ink
yuisitorial
.meAsure, which no mito could• impose
on the country, without committing ms crime.----
(Hear, hear !), Be- Admitted a' cpmestion
between Ministers.: itud.their opponeuts,' whether
a tax in rearis, to, ha is, tax in peace. He. would
net contend that it was, but lie would take the
intermediatelimpasitiont,and contend, that whiel
we were pressed ttown-by the remains. ,at nt war
expenditure, if-the community-could be relieved
from its operation.by,the ailment- of one half, and
those who were least able to bear it were relieved
from 'it altogether, it required more nerve than •
welpossessed by any set of ineolie had met with
before, to come end clamour, it down before :the.
war expetolitore was closed, as an intolerable and
inhuman imposition. (Hear, hear !) By -Suet,
conduct, he must say, that they not.only turned
their backs on. consistency of orpiment, but eVen
On, ilstoeuey, lf the' reduction in the atory-Ti
proposed by the Gentlemen opposite were, to be
made., we should have to pay back mr great pro.'
portion of the half-pay and pensions ; instead Of'
two millions, the 56,00 a-men would cost - three
millions, and thus we hllollld reptite n larger ,Vote
for no service than Mr. Pitt had illy service.- Out
of the 20 millions- there were' wt less than two
~millions for dead expensei'Of the army, and' one
million. for the navyT siettlrat there was lesi than
17 millions, iestead of 20, .for. the support sir, it.-
It could- notr hoc he kno,vn, that the pay ued
every .other, expenditure of the artily had neat-k
doebled of late years. He then entered into
ti -
tailsof.improvernents made in the army,which Heide
them more efficient for home, but not so compe•
tent for eolonial service, to the abolition of
the former system of :drafting. lie called on time
House to divest theuseives of the delusion that '
time scale of expeose was as weal' in proportion to,,
numbers as it Was in 1792'. Unjustified the reten-.
titan of British troops iii France on several grounds,
one of Which was, thief if they- were at home and'
dishandeq, weeshoold have to find money for the
half-pay ond pensions. - When such an establish
anent as one hundred mind ten thonsaA COM Was
voted; ivmms • utterly impossible for arty hotly to
conc4ve that. this nun wits put into the hands
of the. Exectitivf Government. It would he no-
thinglike skit a' nainbu; es it would be reduced
by easeulties nod other circumstances atlettiat one
tenth.. -Of thisn relief of 7000; a.year would be
annually going ethroad to replace those whose time
of set-vice 'had expired, While those who returned,
instead- of .riving back that-number to the cents-
blistment, were mere skeletons, not fit-for any,
service. He their repeated all that Irtul been said
on a forMee evening by the Secretary' for Ireland,
on the absolute necessity of 25,000-men for that part
of the Empire, .though he was not. without san-
guine hOpys,ttiat Jrciana wouldsoon .return to a
state of order, when this establishment might be
redueed.- The 'number of troops necessary-for colo-
servieeewas the next-topic on which the-No-
ble Lard descanted et considerable length, stating,'
the amount of force in every one of our possessions
ehroO, and contending that each had as small e•
number 142. WIIEL-CO 'mitt ant' with their Secnrity; The
eettfltrt had teat to leo4 at any other danger tb-att
„..