Star.
London, England, 1805-04-03 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR.

Some months ago a cry went abroad that the
grievances of the army were to be looked into ; that
f ddi t ions were to be made to that pay which was
generally allowed to be grokly infufficient. I bend
the cry in my retirement, and rejoiced, not from
felfifh motives, for I am not perfonally interefted,
but I rejoiced through fympathy ; and all good men,
acquainted with the cafe, rejoiced with me. Now,,
I know not why, the. cry has ceafed, and our de-
fenders are forgotten ; perhaps, it may be laid, that
matters of more important confequence prefs upon
the Legdlature: that I deny—for it is impoffible.—
What can be of more important confequence than to
give cafe, at haft as much cafe as is confittent with
the profellion—Gon knows it admits but of little—
to them who even in times of tumult give peace,
fecurity, and tranquillity to us ? Would, that thole
members of the lower Houle, who have been fo cla-
morous in calling for papers upon the canfes of a war,
would be equally attentive to the wants of thofe who
are defined to fight its baffler ! Ido not mean to
accufe thole Gentlemen of doing wrong in making
thole enquiries, far from it, it is right they thould
be made ; I only with to direct their views to a
topic full as worthy of their eloquence, and full as
interefing to their feelings.
I will now, Mr. Editor, beg your indulgence,
whilft I explain as concifely as I can, the grounds
on which I ref my opinion, that the prefent pay of
the army is glaringly inadequate to its purpofe ; this
may ferve as well to inform tome who at prefent are
not familiar with the fiibjea, as to corral others, who
having lightly confidered it, think themfelves jufti.
fed in maintaining a contrary belief :—From the
days of Queen Amor e, when the great MARLBOROUGH
led our troops to battle and to victory, no addition
has been made to the pay of the Officers of the Army,
except the paltry one of a (billing to die daily pit-
tance of the fubaltern : no perfon can be ignorant of
the vett alteration which fince that time has taken
place in the value of money, compared with the ar-
ticles of neceffary confumption. Were I to fay that
money has loft two-thirds of the value it then had, I
believe I timid be within the mark In, that officers
'receiving now the fame amount in fpecie, in reality
only receive one-third of their then allowances—this
too on a fuppofition that the fame firrp!irity of man-
ners fill ; it does not, fociety has changed,
and officers to maintain the place they hold in it,
mull change with it : thus they fuffer in a double ra-
tio ; their wants are encreafed, and their means are
diminilhed. Granted, fay. my imaginary antagonift,
but what are arguments oppofed to fats? Officers
have lived upon their prefent pay ; officers do live
upon their prefent pay ; therefore officers may live
upon it—falfe reafoning.—Officers have lived upon
their prefent pay, becaufe at its fir( eftabliffirnent it
was no doubt fufficient to enable them to do fo ; and
as the known frugality of our anceßors forbids us to
fuppofe it went much beyond that point, we may
reafonably conclude that their ditlreffes have from
that time been continually encreafsng, till they are
sow arrived at their climax, and imperioufly call for
relief; yet, even now, they mull fubmit to necef-
fity ; they mull live upon their prefent pay—bat how
do they live? many upon their private formes :
others, who have no fuch refources, are expofed to
the mortification of poverty contratled with wealth;
they incur debts which they art unable to difcharge;
their regiment is ordered to other quarters ; they are
detained, thrown into prifon, die, and are forgotten.
Such has been the fate of many a gallant Veteran !
and were the contents of our dungeons now brought
to light, many a !car-marked officer, whole heart
burns with love for his country, and whole arm is
well able to wield the (word in her defence, many
Inch would be found amonglt the wretched captives.
Thefe are not the vifionary fictions of fancy, they
are fad truths; and this is not the work the profel-
fion fairs, and the uniform which ought to be re•
garded as the facred badge of honour, becomes a
mark for fnfpicion. There was a time when the cha-
reface of an officer was looked up to and refpeeted ;
when every houfe was open to him, and every fociety
anxious to receive him : there times are palt—and
why ? improper perfons fometimes occupy places
which gentlemen, and men of talents, will not ac-
cept of : they fill them unworthily.-and the vicinity
of a regiment is in confequence not unfrequently re-
garded as a misfortune; and military men are often
excluded from thofe focial meetings, of which they
once were the ornament and the pride, Such are the
confequences of an ill-judged economy
But, rejoir.s my adverfary, Officers in the Englifh
Grvice are better paid than any other : why fhould
they lay claim tomore than their Continentalbrcthren?
I Wight content myfelf with anfwering, by a maxim
as applicable to politics as to morals—that the pre
valepee- of a fault does not jullify its practice. But
I will do more ; I will deny the fact. England,
Mr. Editor, is a highly favoured country; the com-
merce of the world gives her the gold of the world :
the abundance of gold makes gold cheap. Candidus,
you know, difcov.ered a kingdom where diamonds
were as (tones with us; fo that in a companion of
the kind now before us, we are not to confider quan-
tity but quality; not the numerical fum, but the ne-
ceffaries and conveniencide the (urn will purchafe ;
in this point of view I deny the fail. Now, perhaps,
it is granted me that the pay of the officers of the ar-
my is leis than it ought to be ; but it is urged, that
the Government cannot do more ; that its finances
are deranged, and its means exhaulled. I will not
believe this ; and if I mat regard my country as a
Ihip becalmed upon the ocean—her (ores failing, and
her crew !tinted to the fcantiell morfel ; yet fill I
fay, let all Share equally in the common mifery ; let
not one be gorged to fatiety, whillt another feeds, or
rather flarves, upon the falling crumbs! but this is
not fa. Her fleets ride vidoiious on every lea, and
bear to her ports the tribute of the world. India,
conquered by the men ',lade caufe I plead, fends her
the produce of the Eaft ; the Weft is hers ; her ma.
nufaCtures sourith ; her Eons are vigorous ; her foil
is rich ; and cannot the withal reward thole men who
are the caufes, and the props of her profperity ? She

Legiftators, it rafts with you to thew the can ; it
reds with you to fatisfy thefe needy, but deferving
claimants. What ! thall they give their health,
their ilrengtb, their blood, and yet be grudged their
bread ? Let wilt this be faid. Legiftstorti Mgt them

what they once wet* ; give them not affluence, but
competence; give to the loweß rant fuch a (Upend
as may enable it to maintain its proper charaller :
and, proceeding from this as a minimum, make fuch
additions to it as may be neceffitry for each progref.
five Rep. Difcoveries, beneficial to mankind, are
made by ingenious men,-and you reward them ; you
hearken to the individual voice, and will you be deaf
to the cry of the many ? No ; I have too high a re-
verence for your wildoms to fuppofe it. You will hear
the cry, and you will redrefs the grievance ; you will
put your officers upon the footing they once were ;
then your army will thine in its original fpltndour :
the days of MAR LBOROUG H will be refloied, and vic-
tory, which has not yet forfaken us. will wait upon
its banners. PATRIOTICUS.
Cobham.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF CHANCERY, MARCH 30.

The CHANCELLOR proceeded with the farther
hearing of the Petition of Mrs. Fitzherbert, for the
goardianthip of the child of the late Lord Hugh and
Lady Seymour.
Mr. RODIILLY addretfed his Lordthip at great
length, and with confiderable force. He argued,
that if the child had been in want of a guardian, and
his Lordthip iiad to ppoint one, he could no where
have found a Ladyfo capable of fulfilling the duties
of that office as Mrs. Fitzherbert ; it would, there-
lore, be an aft of injutlice to take the child from un-
der her care, after the had been entru(ted to Mrs.F.
by her parents. He infifled that there could be no
danger of the religion of the child being fwayed by
the influence of Mrs. Fitzherbert. He obferved, that
the refidence with Mrs. Fitzherbert would not only
be the means of her fortune accumulating by the
time of her becoming of age, but that the would
derive peculiar advantage by the patronage and pro-
talion of the Prince of Wales.

Mr. FONSLANCLIII and Mr. Haar were alto heard.
They regretted, that at the prefent enlightened pe-
riod, an attempt fhould be made to remove a child
from that eußody in which its parents had enttußed
it, upon the worn-oat pretence, of danger arifing
from the profeffion of the Catholic religion. They
thought fuch unjull prejudices ought long fence to
have ceafed, and they trußed they would have no
weight with his Lordthip upon the prefeut °ocelots.
The Arroassy Grwszat. was heard on the part
of Lord Fulton and Lord Henry Seymour. He
commenced by Rating, that Mrs. Fitzherbert merited
every thing that could be laid in her praife ; lent
whatever amiable qualities flle might poffefs, the
religion fhe prnfefled excluded her from the right
to retain the cuttody of a Proteftant child. He in-
fined that if the Chancellor fuffered the young lady
to remain with a perfon of a Roman Catholic per.
fnafion, every Protellant parent in the country would
be juflly alarmed. He referred at great length to the
Mailer's report upon the fubjeti, and infifted there
was nothing in proof, that indicated the leaft inten-
tion on the part of Lord Hugh and Lady Seymour
to let Mrs. Fitzherbert have the guardianthip of their
child.

The Learned Counfel was proceeding to the fecond
point, when he was interrupted by the Lord Chan-
'cellos., who limed that he would hear the remainder
of the cafe after the Bankrupt Petitions.
No decition, therefore, may be expelled for force
time, as the farther hearing will not take place till
inert term.

The tank of NUTDROWIIt V. COL THORNTON in
Chancery, of which we have given reports in former
papers, was called on for judgment a few days fince.
After tome obiervations by the Lord Chancellor, his
Lordthip recommended to the parties to refer the
matters in difpute to the decifurn of tome refpeeable
Gentlemen of the Bar, and the Counfel on both fides
aequiefLing in ~is Lordihip's intimation, declared
their intention of recommending fuch a meafure to
their refpetive clients.