Star.
London, England, 1816-02-27 00:00:00

- , -11Pr777

daces! them in a very different manner tostlie House.
(Hear, ker.)•
Mr. WILBERFORCE, although not unprepard
to agree with what had fallen from a Noble Lord
(Folkaone), as to the pr-priety of printing the Yeti •
tons more fully in their Vexes, could not but remark
t:rat he had very recently observed the practice pure
sued bi an Him. B tr4wt (Sir I'. Acland) in pre-
, , senting 26 petitions. pursued a short time since by
one of the4flrldeit M. intrel's, Who had many petitions
to present, he presenting the whole of them at tlx
same time.
Mr. lIARING, on moving that the'Dorking Peti-
tiol lie on the table, observed, that from the way in
sv:l;cli Petitions were now received, and them inner
••••' .7h M, i %ter, were pressing on every subject,
tit it dime \finisters were decidedly against giving
time for the rece pt of Pctitions-L ;ear.)
Petition ordered to lie o the table.
FURTHEK CALL OF THE IMUIE.
The CHANCELLOR of the t XCHEQUER
bavy.g in•lved clic Order of the Day, for the House
to resolve itself inv. a Committee of Supply—
Mr. LA NIIITON row and gave notice, that on
Friday nex:, w:wp this Conimitt..e would be resum-
ed, he should move to have the House coiled over
again, and that be would do the same on every occa,
:ion when pecuniary grants were the subject of con-
sideratiln.

Mr. BROUGHAM, in cousequenee of the proba-
bility that the debate would be prolonged beyond
the present evening, prstponed his u+•itaon which
stood for to-morrow, relative to the LiLerty of the
Press, till *Vintrstlay se'insight.

PEACR ESTABLISH:4INT.

The CHANCELLOR. of the EXCHEQUER
repeated his motion for the Committee, and that the
A• my Estimates be referred to its consideration.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, he had come down
resolved to oppote this motion, but if he had not be-
fore riade up hi; mind, the number of Petitions he
had heat d this night would
.have fixed his determina-
tion to decide against the establishment of so enor.,
(nous army, at a time when nothing but the sighs
and groans of distress were to he heard all over the
country. Tt was a constitutional part of the duty of
every Member to vppose, in times like thee, a vote
for an army of JAM* men, as unnecessary and
unreasonable, while they knew that the great danger
wai the battle= it would give the Crown. There
might come a time when the majority of Members
of Parliament might feel it their own personal inte-
rest to keep up a large standing army and navy ; but
whenever this might be the case, he would say, that
there was no longer. any liberty in the country. It
wort therefore not only his intention to oppose the
measure in centemplation, but, it he should succeed,
he meant to propose an address to the Crown, pray-
for.the adoption of other measures. It had been
said th..t such an army was necessary for our own
secu-ity ? What I were not the people of this coun-
try old for the last twelve years, that the war bad
beer: kept up in order to avoid such an establishment
%...4.n peace should arrive ? Yet they were now told ;
theft is w..s necessary to keep up the establishment to
evJid a new war. It was a great breach of faith,
then, on the part of Government towards the people
to propose such an army, fur which they had no real
groa:.ds whatever. It had been asserted, that the
army foi the establishment at the time of the Peace
of A.iniens was greater than that now proposed but
even if this were the fact, it ought to be Remembered,
that the Chaticea.ir of the Exchequer at that time,
baJ said that it would only be necessary to keep it up
for six months, after which it was to be reduced.—
We were now at peace under circumetanccs more
eminently favourable, than those at the time of the
peace of A miens, therefore the situation of our own
country must either be such as to create alarm, or
the proposed establishment must be unnecessary. It
would be a much greater question against Ministers,
to prove, that with all the means in their hands whieft
the country had so profusely granted them, with all
the blood . they had caused to be shed, and all the

victories they 1-4a,1 gained, they had not been able to
procure a peace which requited to be juaintained by
less than 150,000 men. He must say, that great
'lad been their victories, but much greater the shame
on the councils of the nation that had led to such a
reselr. It was aspeace which left upon us the main
burdens of war, and was even worse than war, for
it consumed those resources which _could only be
formed in time of peace to enable us to encounter
war, whenever it might become unavoidable. The
Noble Lord then adverted to the speech made by his
present Majesty soon after he ascended the throne,
when, congratulating the Houses on having attained
a secure peace, the first wish of his heart, he only
recommended to their notice the propriety of keeping
up a respectable Navy. Bat now, instead of that
policywhich put us in the situation of a great island,
*e had dwindled down to the state of a small Couti.
nental Power, and were obliged to keep up a large
standing army for our protection. To :educe our
fend forces to the lowest poss Pale amount, even in
times when the country had no caose for such com-
plaints as prevail at present, was always considered
sound policy at every fornser period of peace. He
would only allude to the peace of Ryswyck, when
it was contended that the Bourbons bad designs
against the family on the throne, whom they bad
formed a project for overthrowing, in order to place
the Stuarts in their stead ; earn then Parliament
trusted to the loyalty of the country to defend its
succession, and proposed the lowest possible establish-
',tient of regular force; but now we are to have this
lurthen imposed upon us, when there is not the re-'
Moult prospect of danger from any designs of
Fr ince. It was understood that a portion of this
5u,i)00 men was to be kept in France, for the pur-
pose of keeping down revolutionary principles. It
vla possible then, that the people Of France might
begin a sort of tyranny over themselves, and then
that portion of the people who were brought up to
English notions, would employ British soldiers in
the task of quelling their internal riots: but it there
Was any possible way to quench the spirit of the
English people, it would be by employing them on.
such a duty as this in France. It was making them
become what chi emissaries of Fouihe were in the
mile of Bonaparte. Another objection was, that
these troops, kept in case of the necessitfof employ-
ing them for 'such a purpose, were to be supported
by contributions from France. It would have bein
Lir better t 4.11, we slatiolsi Wye ltA a itneign force in,