Star.
London, England, 1820-06-15 00:00:00

hire years of profound peace, we have an array of,
95,0(10 men, exclusive of 12,000 YeOmiary ad other
force! What did this fake mean? What was it
but a gigantic stride towards a Military Government?
--(Hear, hear) —He looked in vain, from what fell
from the Noble Lord in the recent debates in that
House, for anythiag that, in the state Of this coun-
try, in the temper and feelings of the people, could
justify this monstrous revolution in the constitu-
tional government of England—(Hear, hear).—
The Noble Lord seemed to rest the vindication of Mi-
nisters on the notoriety of the necessity for calling
out that force. He was not disposed to admit as a
postulate of the Noble Lord's, that anything which
had recently occurred in the country, did justify so,
great a change in the Councils and government. He
recollected that. apout four years ago, a set of Esti-
mates to a considerable amount was laid before the
House. He recollected that Ministers Or) that occa-

sion had stated, that those Estimates were reduced to
the lowest state to which they could be reduced con-
sistent with the public safety. Bat the Ministers lost
the Property Tax, and then they withdrew those Es-
timates, and brought forward Estimates of a very
reduced state. BUt reduced as it was—lower as it
was to 'that which Ministers had asserted before

Parliament was absolutely necessary fur the public
safety—yet the Military Establishment was found still
sufficient, and he had little doubt but thal even now
it might admit of a still further reduction. Looking
to the history of the past, and even in times of great,
public discontent, the Standing Army bore no pro-
portion to what was kept up at the present day. In
1817, a ComMittee of that House recommended
that the Military Establishment should approximate
as nearly as possible to the establishment of 1792;
and yet 1817 was supposed to be so full of discontent,
that Ministers felt themselves authorised to recom-
mend a Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act.—
He did not deny that then as now much 'discontent
did not prevail, but he was of opinion, that that dis-
content was aggravated by the means proposed to
remove it. Certainly baekruptcy, stagnation in trade,
and starvation amongst the people, was not best
remedied by a Standing Army--(Hear, hear): They
must reduce the expenditure, and find new commer-
cial relations, or else there could be no end to the
misery or distress of the country. He declared to
GOD he spoke from. his heart, and was incapable of
exaggeration on such a subject. In tune of profound
peace, and during the recess of Parliament, 11,000
men were raised, though the Bill of Rights declared
that no men should be raised in.time of peace; and
yet Parliament took no notice of it. When James
11. raised a few Regiments to oppose Argyle and
Monmouth, who were then in arms, the slavish Par-
liament of 1685 no sooner met than it declared, that
raising troops in time of peace was contrary to the
spirit of the Constitution, and subversive of the liber-
ties of the St..e. The reduction he now proposed in
the Army would effect a saving of half a million.
He intreated the House, as they felt for the distresses
of the People—as they valued the Constitution—as
they wished to check the present Ministers in their
attempts to establish a Military Tyranny, to support
the Amendment which he would have the honour to
move. The Noble Lord then moved," That instead
of 92,586 Officers and men, there be inserted 77,224
Officers and men."
The SPEAKER said, that before the Amendment was put,
the regular course of proceeding was to read the Bill a third
time.—The Bill was accordingly read a third time.
The question on the Amendment being put, _
Mr. BRIGHT said, he was anxious to have the
Army reduced to the lowest possible scale. In 1817
a Committee had recommended the reduction of the
Army to the scale of the Military Establishment of
1792. He did not see the necessity of increasing the
Army beyond the scale of 1792. It was quite true
that much uneasiness prevailed in the country—it
was quite true that many sad scenes had taken place
—that military execution had been inflicted on the
people !—( Hear, hear)—assembled, as they believed,
constitutionally, and certainly peaceably assembled,
to assert the rights of British subjects—(Hear, hear)
—to petition the Legislature of the Country for a
Reform, which they felt and believed to be necessary
for the salvation of the Empire—(Hear, hear). He
was convinced, that so far from being disaffected, the
great part of the people were sound in:their principles.
But the Ministers did not sympathise with them—they
did not feel for their wants—they did not treat them
with civility or with kindness. As an instance of the
manner in which Ministers treated the people, he need
only allude to the conduct of theßightHon.Gentlenran
' opposite (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) that night.
He need only allude to the cold-hearted manner in
which he treated the representation of a Member of
that House, who stated, that out of fourteen banks in,
the South"of Ireland, eleven had failed, and universal
misery and distress followed. He would not now
dispute the question, whether affording a temporary
relief to the People under severe affliction, was against
the principles of political economy ; but certainly
Ministers might find some other way to soothe the
public mind, besides calling forth an additionalmili-
tary force of eleven thousand men. He felt that,
with respect to that number, the objection of the
Noble Lord (Nugent) was unanswerable. As to the
remaining four thousand, he was not so well ac-
quainted with the matter as to give a positive opinion
—but if Ministers would reduce the force of eleven
thousand men, he, though disposed to vote for the
Amendment of the Noble Lord generally, would
support Ministers; bat in lack of their doing so, he
would vote for the Amendment of the Noble Lord. .
Lord PALMERSTON said, the speech of the
Noble Lord (Nugent) divided itself into two parts;
the first on the military force of the country, the
other on the recent measure of calling out the Veteran
Battalions. The Noble Lord stated, that he saw no
reason why the present force should not be reduced
to the force of 1792. But this has been so often
replied to—it was so often shewn that the increase
of our colonies, and the general circumstances of the
country, rendered it impossible to reduce the mili-
tary establishment to the scale of 1792, that be would
not now trouble the House with any observations on
the subject. As to the question of calling out the
Veteran Battalions, which the Noble Lord called a
violation of the Constitution, if he had consulted the
history of the country, he would find many instances
where the army had been augmented in time of peace,,
in apprehension of war (Hear, hear! fi on the Oppo•
sit ian).—He conceived the apprehensions .of internal
commotion as dangerous as the apprehensions of
foreign war—(Hear, hear).—When the Noble Lord