Star.
London, England, 1804-04-17 00:00:00

IRISH ►IILITIA BILL.

The Order of the Day being moved for the third
reading of the Bill for Augmenting the Militia of
Ireland,
Mr. CALCRAFT role to (misfire the Speaker's
leaving the Chair. He defended the Refolutions of
the Colonels of Militia who had affembled at the
Thatched Houfe, agamll the cenfure to which he un•
derftood they had been expofed. He thought they
were drawn fo clearly and explicitly, that it was not
poffible to mifunderfiand them. It was Rated in the&
Refolutions, that deliberation by armed Welles was
dangerous and unconftinitional ; that it was neither
more nor lets than the law of the land He con-
demned the plan of the Secretary at War for the
augmentation of the public force as impolitic and
imprafticable; and he principally objetled to it as
tending to raife that fpecies of competition in the
different branches of the recruiting fervice, as would
render it impoffible for us ever to acquire a confider-
able difpofabk force.
Sir WILLIAM ELFORD oppofed the Bill, and
principally that part of it which went to provide for
the creation of this force, by a bounty to be paid
out of the Exchequers of the United Kingdom. He
thought a Fencible force mach preferable to it, in-
afmuch as it was equally efficient, and wu sash*.
ble to the conilitutional objetions to which the Bill
before the Houfe was fabjeCt.
Mr. PITT obferved, that exclufive of any idea of
trenching on the independent character of the Mili-
tia, he thought that the very nature of the Army
of Referve was fuch as made it more eligible to be
increafed than any other branch of limited fervice,
particularly on account of its being, officered by re-
gular officers from the line. Yet it appeared that
the Army of Referve AEI was to be fufpended. He
thought that, while we had better means fur the
augmentation of our difpolable force, it would have
been fitter to refort to thole means. But lie defired
it to be exprefsly underftnod, that in voting againit
the Bill for the increafe of the Irilh Militia, he by
no means meant to objeet to any augmentation of
the force of the Empire in any other way.
Lord CASTLEREAGH obferved, that his Right
Honourable Friend attached more confequence to
the fulpention of the Army of Referve Aet than it
was entitled to. With refpett to the recruiting in
Ireland, he could affect from experience and local
knowledge that the frith people could not be induc-
ed to eater into regular regiments, at the fame time
that they would very readily agree to fcrve in Mi-
litia regiments commanded by Gentlemen belonging
to the county in which they lived, and to whom
they were frequently attached in the ftrongeft man-
ner ; arid when they were a little time in the Militia
fer rice, and became filed to a foldier's life, they would
have nu objeEtion to extend their fervices.
Mr. BA NKES argued with great force againft
the Bill. It was admitted on all bands that what
was now wanted was an augmentation of our dil•
potable force, and he could not help confidering it
as a moll extraordinary meafure to propole the aug-
mentation of that defcription of our force which was
nut even pretended to be difpolable, according to
the terms of their original agreement. He law no-
thing in the meafure which could have the effect of
facilitating the objea in view ; and looking at it in a
military light, he could not give it his approbation.
He (fleeted to it alto on the ground that it would
expole this country to an expence inconfillent with
the principles of the Union. By the principles of
the Union, this country was to pay twofevenths of
the whole expence if the empire ; bot he faw no
reafon why a meafure of thi, kind could be farm-
tioned, even on the idea of loch a proportion of ex-
pcnditurc.
Lord CASTLEREAGH explained, and fail, it
was intended to fulpend ihe operation or the Army
of Referve Ait, in a certain degree. and to take
from the counties which were deficient in their
quota,, a mod,rate fine in licit thereof ; but not to
Infpend the recruiting, even fur that fervice, at a
bounty inferior to that for the regiments of the line.
Mr. WINDHAM contended that no anfwer had
been given to the nbjeCtions urged againft the mea-
lure. It the Noble Lord who (poke Lilt (Lord Cal-
tlereagh) were allowed to have all the Net. and po-
fitions which lie had laid down admitted, it would

not, he agrees!, be eat), to deny his conelufinn. He,
however, felt it his duty to prowl againft the mode
in which the Noble Lord had rcaloned en the tub.
jea. It had been consended by tire Noble Lord that
there at prefent exiited no means of recruiting the
Regular Army, or filling lip the vacancies in the
Army of Referve. This was, therefore, the refort
of Milliner s to fupply the exilling deficiencies. With
this admirfron, two queilions naturally prefented
themfelvcs. Was it politic to augment the Militia
at all ; or, if the policy of fuch an augmentarion
was admitted, was the expediency of augmenting it
in Ireland allowed ? It really was not eafy to lee
what was the objeli of Mini tiers on thi; or any other
fobjat. They held nut as their great end by the
prefent nteafure to augment our ti:firnfable force ;
hut they hd this merely by angtner.ting the Militia.
They were vet y loud it: their prukitions of a with to
augment the troops of the lint. But how did they
attempt to verify the profellir•ns ? Why, by fending
user, poll bade, an order to Leland to increafe the
Mrlit:a, after they had declared that tlley wifhed to
rail.: in the fame country a certain number of new
tc;•:rlar regiments. This was not very liugular in
their mode of proceeding. They were ctitiltantly
their or.o antagottias. All their plans wet.: court
tetaaed liar awn exertions. %1 het ever they
aelcd, their own fpa:ites arm:led do ni. They ad.
nutted that our 1:c as alit- aly trio
great. %Ye had four Lc idied th:•nftnJ soluuteets.
ieveray thotaand AA v.,. or might base
had, racy thowand ut t:..! Ar try I'.. fet cc Bu.

this acknowledged &feet was to be remedied b y an
addition of ten thoufand to a fpccies of force allow-
ed on all fides to be larger than the eireumilances of
the country required. The Right Honourable Gen-
tleman added a variety of other obfervations, wilts
the view of (hewing that this plan of augmentation
was totally inconfiflent with the acknowledged de-
clarations of Minillers, that we ought to attend
chiefly to the improvement of our regular army.—
Minilier., however, fecrned to be totally abforbed in
the contemplation of the completion and increafe of'
the Militia. With the Militia they began, and
with the Militia they appeared determined to end.
Their condu.t in this intlance reminded him of a poet
of antiquity (Anacreon), who determined to over-
come his exchifive attachment to love.. He endea-
voured to celebrate the labours of heroes, but Rill his
lyre would found nothing but love. So it was with
Miniflers. They attempted to do fomething for a
regular army, but fill the Militia came in to difcos- •
eta all their fchemes. It was not cafy to find any
thing more ftrongly to exprefs his idea of the opinior s
of bEnillers, fo far as the military fyllem of the coun-
try was concerned. He bad heard of a lady who told
a perfon who vifited her, that he had loft all idea of
a Gentleman. Minifters appeared equally to hare
loft all idea of a regular army, and they were, in his
estimation, the only Minifters whofe opinions on thus
fubjeft were Co coefuled, heterogeneous, and abfurel.
Mr. Secretary YORKE laid, that Co far from his
!deletes Miniflus kerning to be determined not to
have a regular army, as the Right Hon. Gentleman
(Mr. Windhatn)bsd espregeritiitnielf in the conchs—
non of his fpeech, he fhonlesnly mention, what had
been often takes notice oflately is that Houfe, that
the army was greater at this moment than it ever
was at an equal period in any former war. In point
of feet, the regular army was never a popular met-
fare in this country. The plan which had been al-
ways adopted was to reduce it at the end of every
war. The force propofed to be railed by this Bill
Anwerskrissiledged by thofe who had experience of
Ireland, to be the belt that could be adopted in the
prefent lituat ion of the country, and would leaf of all
interfere with the regular army. Ireland had, as yet,
contributed lef4 to the augmentation of the army
than its proportion, when compared with Great Bri-
tain. Of xo,ooo Militia, 113,000 only were railed in
that country at this moment : of to,ooo men for the
Army of Referee, only 7,000 had been procured.--
Ireland had, therefore, a great number of men yet
to furnifh. There were a great many men of pro.
petty who would come fatal and endeavour to aug-
ment the Militia at the bounty propofed, who would
not enter into any other kind of ferviee. He was
convinced, that by the influence of fuch leading Gen-
tlemen in Ireland, the force propofed by the Bill
could be Coon railed without at all interfering with
the recruiting of our regular army,
Mr. FOX laid, he had. formerly given his opinion
of the general plan of defence which bad been adopt-
ed, and he had liltened with attention to all that had
been Paid by others upon the fu'oje4t. if 10.000 men
were actually propofed to be railed for a limited (cr-
ake, he would ask, why Giould it be for sbe tlfruort
poflible limited fervice ? We were placing otufelvee
in a very uhimfical fittration. Of 20.000 militia in
Ireland, we were to bring to,ooo to this country.
while. as to the other to,ooo, we were making rid
provifion or engagement at all. He wanted to know
on what principle it was not alto propofed to enter
into a fimilar engagement with die new lev".% la
had been anfwered that they could not be railed Co.
cheaply ; then why not raife them as Fencibles? The
mode of railing this propofed augmentation was by
making an addition of 3o men to each company.--
What was to become of the regiments which might
chance to be in this country ? Were their companies
of feventy men to be inereafed to one hundred ?
and were the thirty additional men to be left in
Ireland, or to join the others in England They
mull, undoubtedly, be railed on Come fpecific agree-
ment, in order to procure their voluntary acqui-
efcence. While it was laid that Fencibles could not
be procured to come to this country at a bounty of
four guineas, how were we to get the militia to extend
their fervites at that rate ? Notwithfteoding all the
briaft of voluntary Cervices, Minifters teemed afraid
to broach the fubjet to the new levies, and appear-
ed inclined to troll, that when men had been induced
to enlift into a regiment which had extended its (era
vice, they alto would not refufe an equal extenfion.
The foundation of the plan Teemed to be the propofed
furpenfion of the Army of Referee Aet ; and while
' Ishnitters thus took one fyfterri out of the market,
fo as not to interfere with the Regular Army, they
' immediately add to,bco men by a mode which will
1 interfere, more or lefs, with that very fervice, bt
preventing its rapid increafe.
1 The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER ob•
ferved, that the privates would molt probably be
difpofed to join their comrades, and tben the force
wnald fo far be augmented. tt had been afked,why
Fencibles were not railed inflead of Militia ? but it
should be recollelled, that during the hilt war the
Fencibles were i.ot railed for general fervice to all
parts of the kingdom. The mode of railing the Mi-
litia had a peculiar facility growing out of the natu-
ral influence polkaed by gentlemen in their own
vicinity, which was far greater than any other mode
that could be adopted, and it bad been partici:-
tarty found fo in Ireland. There was likewife a eery
conliderable difficulty in procuring officers for FeneZ.
ble Corps, which was by no means the cafe with the
Militia. The objeft of this Bill was to provide a
Militia equal to that provided during the Lill war ;
it created a force of ten thoufand men, to be mile,/
with far greater difpatch, and to be difciplined in
a much quicker way than any other defcription of
force. That an increafe of difpnfable force was ur-
gent no one could deny ; but it was alto urgent to
confider the facility of its application. The Hon.
Gentleman had dated. that this meafure would in.
terfere with the recruiting of the regulars; Co it
might be thought upon general reafoning, but thofe
Gentlemen who were moil ennverfant with Ireland
were of opinion, that it would operate upon different
difpofitions and claffes from thole upon whom the
recruiting frilem operated, and by a comparifon of
the levies of different years, it would appear that no
niatei variation was likely to take place. At the
end of the hit war, it would be blond, that of the
ae,c-,c) Militia, then difhanded. very few entered into
tl:c army. The prefumption, therefore, was, that it
WAS a ii.tlrrent clefs of the people on whom this Inca-
er . opetnte, from thole who (slated in the

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