Star.
London, England, 1803-12-13 00:00:00

time he was Peeking the difiinflion of a command in
a volunteer corps in Norfolk—a ditimEtion he argued
againft chi, evening as In mifchievous. But as to de-
mocracy, he could not help laying, that this was the
queeitil part of the Right Hon. Gentleman's charge
upon the volunteers, for he appealed to the Houle 1
j whether there was one other man in the country ex-
cept himfelf, who would accufe the Right Hon.
Gentleman, or Isliniflers, of being likely to favour
democracy? What, he would afk, would the Right
Hon. Gentleman propofe to do with the Volunteers ?
Would he have them quit being volunteers in order
to make pealantry of them (a laugh) ? and how
would he provide a force for the defence of the coun-
try? But really the Right Hon. Gentleman, who was
bimfelf an officer in a volunteer corps, and afpiring
i to the rank of Colonel, could not be ferious in the
objeaions he made to the volunteer inflitution. If he
was, inilead of applying to him the quotation—
.. His own exunpkiirvirbened all his laws ;"
i fhould be—
. His own example utaintedall his laws."
But no doubt, as a military man, he would Coon
have to" change his pofition," which he had contriv-
ed to do as a politician. " However, (obferved the
Hon. Member) let the Right Honourable Gentleman
change as he may, I (hall continue to efleem the To.
lunteers, among whom I fhould be happy to enrol
c myfelf;—and, as the ißght Honourable Gentleman
1 under the gallery has fo well trained a corps under
his command, I would be glad to enter into his ler-
vice. I have ferved for many years as a private in
the ranks, and now I am ready, if the French fhould
r .
attempt to approach our (bores, I will offer him my
lervices, and hope he will accept of them (a laugh).
t Dr. Lawataca fupported the arguments of Mr.
I , Windham. On the fubjettof changing fides, no perfon,
he laid, had veered fo much as his Hon. Friend,
' (Mr. Erfkine), who now (poke in a (train quite op-
i,
polite from what he had ufed left war. He con-
' demned the idea of military obedience recognifed by
the Volunteer fyftem. He did not diftruft Britifh
valour, but thought half difcipline a dangerous thing.
He regarded the prefent enormous bounties as the
1
greateft check which the regular recruiting could
experience, and to them did he attribute the decay
of the regular army.
Lord CASTIAILIAGH thought it neceffary to fate,
that comparing the ordinary recruiting fince the
war, taking it from laft May, with the ordinary
recruiting for the fame time in the' preceding year,
it would be found that 6791 men had been railed
r for general fervice, exelufive of 7500 from the re-
. ferve, which together made a grofs amount of
l 4,291. The (even months of the preceding year
li was a very fair.ground of comparifon, as there was
no fort of recruiting going on for the militia, or any
other body but the army, and confequently the re-
enticing market was quite open, and Government
the only bidder. They amounted then only to 7294,
slaking a difference of only 503, notwithftanding all
the prefent difficulties in the way of the fervice. The
seat point was, whether the Volunteer fyftem had
*dually locked up men from recruiting ? He had
tot looked into the Ad, to afeertain the point whe-
ther Volunteers could leave their corps to go into
a more efficient fervice, namely, the Army ; but that
was a point that fhould be cleared up, and would be
fo is the Bill about to be introduced. As to the
' *ate of fads. it did not appear that volunteering
I *nice* had afraid the regulars.
Dr. Lavalieres meant to take the effect of the
Volunteer Inftitutions, not from the beginning of the
I War, but from the operation of the Bill.
,1 The ATTORNILY Gsneeat commented with great
14 aentenefs and confiderable feverity on the conduit
it sad language of Mr. Windham. He was convinced
. that Gentleman had no bad views, but he thought
ibis obfervitions very difadvantageous to the interefts
oP the country. Now had the Volunteer fy Item been
quite new, there could have been hardly any limit
of criticifm to be Pet to the animadverfinns of any
Member who dated it. But being adopted as a
. great (ounce of national defence. and being afted
upon fo estenfively, fo far indeed as to make it in
'1 vain to think of materially altering, far lefs of aban-
doning it, it was Pure to do mifehief when Gentle-
men treated it as it had been done that nthr.—
I If the fyftem were not Co flrong as could be with-
., ed, hill we muff rely upon it, and Curdy it was
more to our advantage to teach the Volunteers to
hold themfelves high, to think nobly of their In(li-
• tution; to tell them they are not to be led to ufelefs
1 !laughter, but to fuecefsful exploits. He could not
help here comparing the Right Hon. Gentleman op.
;Hite him with the Right Hon. Gentleman under
the gallery. The latter would ameliorate and improve
and flrengthen the Volunteers; the former endeavour-
-1 ed to vilify and degrade them in their own eyes. But
really if the Volunteers are treated in this manner,
' whit is to become of the Right Hon. Gentleman's
I own Corps ?He is certainly very well calculated to
be a Commander; but if he, following his opi
Dion' here, or any other perfun imbibing, his opi-
nions, fhould tell a Corps—" I can exiled to do
nothing with you ; you are little better than a
rabble ; you cannot be relied on to any extent."
what would be the eonfequence ? what could any
rational man taped from fuch language ? The fyi.
tem would fall, when men were thus taught to fink
in their own eftimation. ' The Hon. Member had
otafervetl, that the Right Hon. Gentleman under the
gallery was prejudiced in favour of the Corps horn
Tome local circumftances ' • and then the Learned
Gentleman tells the Houle of more faults or fillies
of Come individuals in corps. But nothing could be
judged of in this way. Thefe (pots were to be view-
ed as they were, very fcarce and few. Such per.
inns were diftinguithed by their difgrace ; and a
man might as well go to the cells of Newgate to form
a charade,- of mankind, as to take the eharader of
the Vi lunteers from fueh inflances. The Mull.-

nTy General then made feveral obfervations on the
corps to which he himfclf belonged, which had exiii•
ed daring the lan admiuillration, and which was
under the kind of regulatu,ns Gentlemen had fo
mu' h nhjelied to, hot in which no figns of ti.fsibor-
dination ever arpearel He then (hewed the dif
tintlion between the powers of the Committee, who
in the field were nothing, and the author:ty of the
Office's. Whit 'civet to what had been laid rf the
want of Martial Law, he contended that it was as
much as e' iii he expeded, that they ihotild he tinder
Martial I iv:, ss hen a:Nally cal!cd i.ut to fervice.—
rls to Officers in the Army thtn;)ing the V,.lunteer
fy Una burtild to rank and :Jruzqucucc,irthutthl