1

pendent companies, that he fhould recommend it again whenever new levies fhould be required. He (the General) had now then a new claim upon the attention of the House, upon the character of that measure, (to ufe the honourable Secretary's own term) the renewal of which feemed to be imminent. He was at iffue with the honourable Secretary. 1f what he had to lay before the Houfe was ill founded in fact, or weak in argument, he fhould throw himself upon the candor of the Houfe, under the apology of an honeft intention : if, on the contrary, the measure, as now explained and defended, fhould appear to be as falfe in principle, and as pernicious in execution, as he had before flated it to be, he had no doubt of the honourable Secretary, however wedded to his former opinion, giving way, or being controlled, and the Public and the army being relieved from any apprehenfion of a repetition of fuch errors.

The General 'begged leave to re-ftate, very fhortly, the prominent points of his charge in the former debate, not one of which (as he conceived) had been fatisfactorily anfwered, after all the time taken for deliberation.

In forming the peace establishment, the point in confideration was, whether to maintain the number of men that were to compofe it, in as fmall a number of regiments as poffible, which would have been the more economical plan; or a far greater number of regiments, with a small proportion of private men to each, which was the more expedient plan, upon the principle, that having the officers, commiffion and non-commiffion, ready, an army of effective strength for war would be raised, upon an emergency, at very short notice. We had, therefore, during the peace, an army of officers; not a fingle new officer was neceffary for an augmentation of ten, or even of fifteen thousand men. That pofition would not be difputed. The ground of argument for the levy of new officers, on the former occafion, and on this day, was, that men were not to be had by common means, or the usual bounties and modes of recruiting. That judgement was precipitately formed; no fair trial was given to the recruiting of the old corps. Men, it was faid, did not come in fo faft as the service required, at five guineas a man. Suppofe ten had been given, (a bounty that will be proved far fhort of what thefe companies coft) was there a Colonel of an old regiment who would not have pledged himfelf to complete it at that price, if given without competition of new corps, at higher price?-But why were not other encouragements to the recruiting fervice tried-encouragements more efficacious than money? From the reign of Queen Anne, there had been more than twenty acts of Parlia

Parliament for this fpecial, temporary purpose: by fome, foldiers, after their difcharge, had the privilege of setting up trades in any town or city, without being a freeman, or ferving an apprenticeship; by others, they were exempted from burdenfome parifh offices, and ferving in the militia; but the greatest encouragement of all, one founded upon justice, humanity, and every other principle of found policy, was to enlift for a term of years, or to the end of the war. Many other encouragements of former times might have been tried. What an example was given, in a war within the remembrance of many men prefent, of perfons of high rank, property, and influence, taking old corps under their patronage, attending the recruiting drum in perfon, and filling up the ranks with the true ftuff for an army! Not the refuse of these streets, but the yeomanry of the country, ferving upon principle, upon fpirit, and upon attachment.Why was not this fpirit called for? While these means were neglected, Office had no right to fay men were not to be had. Would the Minifter fay, men were not to be had for the old regiments upon an exigency like the laft? If fo, would he juftify the having formed the prefent peace establishment exactly upon the model of the laft, viz. that of retaining officers fufficient for fifteen thousand men more than the peace complement? Knowing, from late experience, that they could not be raised by ordinary modes, but thinking it enough to fatisfy the Houfe that the Secretary at War might be depended upon for a conftancy in the measure to which he was wedded, and that he would be ready again to effect the levy, by adding three hundred officers to thofe already fupernumerary, at the expence to the nation of above two hundred thousand pounds.

The General next proceeded to confider the levy of the independent companies, upon military principle. What was the criterion of an officer's pretenfions -Money. At the opening of a war, with a half-pay lift that would fill a volame; with regiments abounding with officers of merit; with a complaint (for fuch, however unjustly, had been thrown out) of want of alacrity in the recruiting fervice; for a spur to military fpirit, a plan comes forth for destroying every claim of feniority, for fuppreffing every idea of emulation, except in expence; and money, money, is held out as the only poffible fpring of a foldier's promotion.What had been the natural confequence? Let gentlemen read the paper upon the table: they would find the offers of about an hundred and forty Lieutenants had been accepte.! for railing companies; about forty had retracted. They would find the oldeft Lieutenants fit for fervice in the military lift,

are of the year 1775; of which we fhall only find among thefe Captains, two;-from thence to 1778, there are three-of 1779, there is one-from thence to 1785, there are fifty-two; making in the whole, fifty-eight.

From this statement, perhaps fome attention to feniority might be pleaded; but mark the fequel. Of Lieutenants, from the year 1785, making above fourfcore in number, twelve are fo young as 1788, two years before the levy; fixteen fo young as 1789, one year before the levy; and eleven fo young as the year 1790, confequently not fix months before the levy. Add, Enfigns of the Guards, and Cornets of Dragoons, feven, and it became demonftration, that nearly an hundred officers were put over the heads of all the Lieutenants in the army older than 1785. Would the House know to what number thofe Lieutenants amounted-without counting invalids, artillery, engineers, marines, or half pay, they amount to no less than five hundred and fixty-fix. What a fuperceffion! and upon what an avowed principle! These had money; thofe had only services

The next thing to advert to, was the estimate of the expence, a very different one from that which the Secretary at War had stated, yet one not to be contradicted.

Levy money of each company, at 31. 3s.

a man, 99 men rank and file Half pay of Captain, Lieutenant, and Enfign, at about 10s. a day, valued at 10 years purchase

S.

d.

311 17

1,825 0 0

2,136 17

213,685 O

623 14 O

But to admit, for the fake of argument, even the calculations of the Secretary at War himfelf, in point of expence, were no offers inade to Government more economical than

even

even thofe The Secretary at War will not deny the propofal of a Nobleman, as eminent in his military capacity, as in every other point of character that adorns public and private life, and ought to create attention and refpect in Government. He meant Lord Rawdon. The propofal from that noble Lord was, to raife a regiment, without levy money, or other expence to Government, and to take very nearly, if not the whole, of the officers from the half pay. The objects of the noble Lord did honour to his heart. After the object of ferving the Public at an exigency, by a levy, upon true military principle, was that of restoring to effective fervice the officers of his late regiment, reduced at the peace, men of tried and confirmed merit, whom he could no otherwife affift. The non commiffion officers, and great part of the private men of the fame regiment, equally attached to the noble Lord, were ready, in the north of Ireland, to flock to their old colours. The regiment would have been immediately complete, without any future increafe to the half pay, without danger or impediment to the recruiting fervice. in England. Let the Houle reflect upon what poffible principle fuch a propofal could be rejected; let them then compare the measure that took place inftead of it. One circumftance of it, and a very paradoxical one, has not been obferved upon, viz. that the contract, fo injurious to the Public, was at the fame time fo hard upon the contractors, that above forty of them relinquished the undertaking foon after the outfet, and many of those who continued, had to complain of partiality and injuftice. The time given to the Captains for the levy was three months; and upon condition of their refpective companies being completed, and approved, within that space, they became entitled to twenty months off-reckonings for cloathing, &c. The heavy contingent expences of the levy accrued at the outlet, viz. hiring drummers, fifers, and feveral other neceffary perfons of the recruiting trade, and conveying them to their feveral ftations; making up jackets, and other articles of what is called flop-cloathing, &c. all this the Captains undertook, upon the faith of being indemnified by the receipt of the off reckonings. The recruiting was flopt in one month; and from all prefent appearances, the lofs of preparation in all the companies, not fufficiently advanced in numbers to come within the new reguJation for being accepted, will fall upon the Captains.

In regard to partiality and favour in the raifing men, the General faid he should be happy, if the honourable Secretary could refute many of the ftories that were in circulation. He fhould mention fuch circumftances only as he could affert to be true. By the letter of fervice, "no man was to be enlisted "under five feet five inches high; nor under fixteen years of VOL. XXIX. 66 age,

E

D

age, nor above thirty." Many gentlemen who adhered ftrictly to these orders, were the dupes of their obedience : the more encouraged, or the better informed, (from whence their information came he did not pretend to fay) certainly broke through all restrictions, but particularly that refpecting thirty years of age. The General affirmed he would undertake to prove there were Captains who were permitted to enlift invalids; invalids actually belonging to companies upon garrison duty, and who had neceffarily been difcharged from the army as unfit for fervice.

The General next adverted to the cafe of the fubalterns. Why were the Lieutenants and Enfigns who fpiritedly, induftriously, and honourably, had completed their quota, to be turned over to the pitiful indemnification of selling their men to the Captains? Why had they not the commiffions to which, by the contract, they had a right? It was to fave appearances, this miferable money traffic was fubftituted; to keep down the half pay, at the expence of juftice.

The General faid he fhould forbear to dwell upon the fcene with which the execution of the contracts ended. It was a race between crimps, falefmen of flesh, drivers of human cattle, fpeculators, and jobbers; a difgrace to the army, and a reproach to the State.

The General hoped that nothing he had faid would be conftrued to convey the fmalleft reflection upon the officers concerned; he knew fome of great merit; he was not informed of demerit in any. The grievance upon fenior officers, and the practices he had ftated in recruiting, were the evils of the plan, and not imputable to the contractors. On the contrary, many of them, fubalterns in particular, were moft undefervedly fufferers.

The General then called the attention of the Houfe particularly to the unprecedented meafure which had been adopted, under the colour of faving, viz. that of felling the military patronage of the Crown. The honourable Secretary had avowed, that the prior commiffions of officers who fucceeded to rank in thefe independent companies were to be fold, and the money brought to the public account; and applaufe to Minifters was expected, no doubt, not only in point of economy, but also of difintereftedness, in relinquishing fo much patronage as the gift of thefe commiffions would have left in their hands. Such a pat onage, he owned, would have been enormous; the money traffic he had already ftated was abominable; but all the evil refulting, or that could have refulted, from one or the other, was trivial, and as nothing, when compared to the precedent of fetting vacant commiffions up to fale, for the benefit of the Crown or of the Public. It was alike fubverfive of military and conftitutional