Star.
London, England, 1804-02-09 00:00:00

tnnehed on thefe points for the porpore of calling his
Majefty's Minifiers attention to them. lam lorry to
fay, that on the 1116)01 of the defence.of the country,
they teem to me to have been going &Otrom error
to error. Perhaps the Supplementary Militia was
going too far. 1 remember that my opinion on that
point was a little arengthcned by a fubfequent mea-
fore of the Adminiftration, of which a Right Hon.
Gentleman now in my eye (Mr. Windham). formed
a part. I mean the inciting the Militia to enter into
the Army. Since this we have had the prefent Vo-
lunteer fyftem, which has been carried to fo greatan
eztent. It is, Sir, for that Right Hon. Gentleman.
to whom his Majefty is pleated to intrun the manage.
ment and direCtion of the affairs of this kingdom' to
devife fuch meafures as are for its fecurity and ho-
nour. It is for me, as a Member of Parliament, to
point out any objeftions to what I confider faulty. I
imagine, Sir, th st as things are, we mutt depend in a
great degree upon the Volunteer fyftem. I therefore
with Minifters to conlid,r every thing conneBed with
it. I would recommend to them to confider the fob.
kin of pay. The former Alf fpecified only twenty
days, but this Mt fpecifies twenty four days. I Ihould
be forty to fee any Gentlemen compelled to pay for
all this entirely at his own ezpence."
Mr. WINDHAM remarked on the profeffions of
Come Gentlemen who had gone before him, that the
recommendation of the Right Honourable mover of
the queftion before the Houle ought to be attended
to, namely. that the difeuffion of the quell;on Ihould
be refereed for a future Rage. Although thefe Gen-
tlemen had thought proper to difcard their own pre-
cepts, he Ihould adhere to the recommendation of the
Right Honourable mover, and fhnuld referee his re-
marks upon the fubjeCt till a future opportunity, be-
caufe he felt that to be the proper mode of proceed-
ing. There were to be lure many topics upon which
he meant to animadvert, many obfervations to which
he (bouts! be lorry not to reply ; and upon thefe
points he fhould not now be fluent, if that filence
could be confidered any thing like acquiefcence in
any of thole parts of the queilioa which were worthy
of remark. His remarks, he repeated, he would poll.
pone in purfitance of the recommendation of the
Right Hon mover, but it would not be incontinent
with that refolution to oblerve upon the exhortation
of the Right Hon. Gentleman, that Gentlemen fhould
come to this difeuffion with temperance—that they
fhnuld avoid heat and violence ; that, indeed, they
Ihould attend to all the old precepts of moral phi's+.
((why. The propriety of this exhortdion he would
not difpute, becaufe he really could not underlland
it. nor at whom it was pointed : nor had he any dif-
pofition at all at prefent to difpute with the Right
Hon. Gentleman. for the reafons he had Rated, and
alto becaufe he really thought it would be ungener-
ous to attack him now—he had enemies enough about
him, for he had the opinion of the King's Attorney
General, the decifinn of the Court of King's Bench,
and his own Aet of Parliament. With thefe foes he
was engaged in a kind of running fight, not filch a
ene, however, as the naval officer in the lag Gazette,
who terminated the fight by a triumph over his ad-
verlarics. It was grange to hear the Right Hon.
mover talk of the evils infeparable from the Volun-
teer fyttem ; all thefe topics, however, he would fuf.
pond ; but yet he could not help giving vent to his
furprife. not at what was propoled by the Right
Hon. mover, but at what was not propnfed. He
would for the prefent content himfelf with ftrnngly
recommending to the Right Hon. Gentlemen to
confider. before the next Rage of the debate, whether
what they had pi-minted were really adequate to the
public exigency ; whether by Inch tempritifing ex-
pedients, by loch connivances, by fetch mere 'craps
and fhreds, they could promote the obje& they pro-
feffed to have fh view ; they could appeafe the eager
expeftations of the country t—whether lornething
more fubßantial was not looked for, and ought not
to be deviled 3 He adjured the Right Hon. Gentle-
man and his colleagues to confider the real fituation
of the county ; and whether its greatt-I danger does
not refult from the inefficiency of the Volunteer Of.
tern, from its ambiguities, amendments, explana-
tions, &c. Sic. all confiding, And joining with each
other—whether the failure of this their fundamental
fyftem of our defence. is not certain—whether this,
their great edifice of Itrength, is not conitrufted of
materials fo %intuitable, that a few months, perhaps a
new weeks, mull complete its ruin. It is now almon
evident to any man, that the downfal of this fabric
is near, and that merely putting a few bricks here and
there, or plailering it a little in front, cannot put
this crazy maidinn into a tenantable !late. The
Right Honourable Gentleman, in forcible terms, urg-
ed Minifters to take an enlarged view of the fubjeet,
and conjured the Houfe to come to the confideration
of it. fully prepared for a folemn and deliberate dif-
cliflion—with their minds fitted calmly to invettigate
and correaly to udge upon the important (plenum,
which the meafure fiibmittcd by the Right Hon.
mover, will naturally bring before them.
Colonel EYRE expreffed himfelf fully fatisfied
with the principles of the propofcd Bill, as explained
liy the Secretary of State ; and thought, that fo fat
would it be from being confidered by the Volunteers
as a breach of faith, or a meafure to damp their
generous ardour in the fervice of their country, that
it would operate as a meafura of confolidatimi to
their ftrength, and give a new and mote effeftnal
Itimulus to their military and patriotic exertions.
He was convinced, that innead of tendering the Vo-
lunteer fyftem that crazy and tottering ftrufture de.
fcribed by the Right Hon. Gentleman on the floor
(Mr. Windham), it would bind and cement it into ,
a glorious and impregnable bulwark for the defence
of the coortry.
Sir JOIN WROTTESLEY rote, not to enter
generally into the queftion of the principle of the Bill,
but to exprefs his hope that in the future application
of the Volunteer fyftem, the diftribution would be
mere equal. In one part of the country where he
!elided, the Volunteers Corps railed and armed were
numerous and effeftive ; while in other parts, the
numbers were extremely few. But with rept& to
the queftion of exemption from other branches of the
public fervice nn account of having entered as Voltm-
leer:, he verily believed there was tint a (Ingle man in
that part of the country where he, lived, who had vo-
lunteered under any idea of exemption, or who would
not be ready and willing to come forward in any way
which the erigenfies of the public )fervicc might :e-
-t:vire for the gen:ral defence of the country.
Mr. YORKE rote to reply to tome ebtervatirms
which had bees offered in ditapprubaLica of the