tachment to his perfon and Government, and of their patriotie zeal for the general intereft of the united kingdom; and conceiving that being enabled to avail himself of this patriotic offer might be attended with great advantage, his Majefty recommended it to his faithful Commons to adopt fuch regulations as might enable him to accept of the offers of fuch parts of the Irith militia as might be voluntarily difpofed to ferve in Great Britain, for fuch time and to fuch extent as to the wisdom of Parliament might feem expedient."

After the meffage had been read from the chair, the Chancellor of the Exchequer ftated that he would refrain from mak ing any comment at present, and content himself with moving, that his Majefty's most gracious meffage be taken into confideration on Wednesday next, when a right hon. Friend of his (Mr. Secretary Yorke) who was at prefent abfent by indifpofition, would fubmit a measure to the Houfe for the purpose of augmenting the force of the country. The meffage was then ordered to be taken into confideration on Wednesday

next.

Mr. Corry moved the order of the day for the recommitment of the Irish militia families bill.

On this a converfation arose between Mr. Fofter and Mr. Corry, respecting the operations of the prefent and the former laws refpecting the provifion to be made for the families of militiamen in Ireland. A claufe was presented by Mr. Fofter, to authorize the payment of arrears which may be due from the firft of November laft, up to the prefent period, in order to make up the deficiency of the allowance which militiamen's families have received fince that time. The claufe was agreed to with fome flight amendment.

The bill was paffed through a Committee, and the report was ordered to be received the next day.

Mr. Fofter faid, that he would be glad to know when it was likely that the Irish accounts, which had been ordered fome time fince, would be laid before the Houfe? There was fo much tardinefs and irregularity in the production of papers which related to that part of the empire, that he thould think it his duty to move, after the recefs, that the operation of the act, which regulates the delivery of public accounts relative to the affairs of England, fhould be extended to Ireland.

Mr. Corry affured the hon. Member that no pains were fpared in the making out and delivery of thofe accounts. Two officers were then waiting outfide of the door, for the purpose of delivering papers, and the others would be delivered with all poffible expedition.

Mr.

Mr. Kinnaird moved, that there be laid before the House, accounts of the difpofition of grants for the year 1803, ftating what fums remain in the Exchequer, and what fums are yet to be raised under the various heads of loan, lottery, war taxes, and the interest on the fums payable for the redemption of the land tax, diftinguifhing each, up to the latest period. A general refult of the furplus of 1,300,cool. was ftated in the accounts upon the table, but he did not think that that was sufficiently explicit.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer had no objection to the production of the papers which had been fpecified, but at the fame time affured the hon. Member, that he would not find the accuracy of the statements at prefent before the Houfe, in any degree affected by the accounts he now moved for.

Mr. Kinnaird faid, that in the prefent fome of the accounts appeared to him to be a delufion on the public.

Mr. Vanfittart declared, that they were drawn up according to the ufual method of framing fuch documents.

The accounts were then ordered to be laid before the House.

Accounts of the amount of falaries, which have been paid at par to officers on the Irish establishment refident in England. fince the union, were prefented, and ordered to lie on the table.

The Committees of Supply and Ways and Means were poftponed till Wednesday. Adjourned.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

TUESDAY, MARCH 27.

The bills upon the table were forwarded in their refpective ftages.

Lord Eliot was fworn and took his feat, on his acceffion to the peerage by the demife of his father, the late Lord.

An account of the falaries, penfions, &c. paid by order of the Irish Government at par, within a given period, were, in pursuance of a former motion of Lord King, laid before the Houfe. And the fame were, on the motion of the noble Lord, ordered to be printed.

On the motion of Lord Auckland, a Committee of their Lordships was appointed to inquire into the best means of lighting and warming the Houfe, improving the paffages 'thereto, and the accommodations of the Lord Chancellor and other officers of the House.

VOL. II. 1803-4•

M m

VOLUNTEER

VOLUNTEER REGULATIONS BILL.

The order of the day for the fecond reading of this bill being read,

Loid Hawkesbury rofe, and delivered his fentiments upon the measure. He fet out with calling the attention of their Lordships to what had tranfpired laft feffion upon the subject, and the measures adopted by the Legislature thereon, and on which the prefent bill was founded. In difcuffing the fubject, they were to confider the volunteer force merely in a relative point of view. With regard to the point which had been fo repeatedly urged, that his Majefty's Government depended chiefly upon the volunteer force for the defence of the country, he muft decidedly protest against it. The first general mode of defence, which they relied upon, was the regular established military force of the country. In viewing the state and preparation of this force at prefent, he would have to look comparatively at what it was in former periods of equal or nearly fimilar urgency; not in an invidious point of view, but merely to apprize their Lordfhips of the real facts of the cafe. There were at prefent not lefs than 180,000 regular troops in the united kingdom. The volunteer force, however, for general fervice, though it might be inferior to this, was, he contended, in fome points of view, more efficacious than any other species of defenfive force; it was intended to act, in general, as a fubfidiary force. In this part of his difcuffion, the noble Lord took a view of the comparative advantages and difadvantages which the invaders poffeffed: one permanent advantage and great fuperiority which the latter had over the former was, that they could have an armed nation at their fide, the manifold advantages of which could be more easily conceived than described. The known and established prerogative of the Crown, to call upon all the liege fubjects of the realm to come forward and arm in defence thereof, in cafe of actual invasion, was certainly a confolatory and important confideration; but the difficulty lay in rendering the force thus acquired adequately fuccefsful without previous preparation. This principle Government had in view when they propofed legislative meafures for arraying the national defence, and dividing the effective population of the country into diftin&t claffes, which could be regularly recurred to, as the exigency fhould require. At the fame time, with reference to measures connected with that under confideration, a fufpending power

was

was vested in the Crown, on fuch occafions as a certain proportionate number of volunteers bould come forward in different parts of the kingdom. This fpecies of force, being deemed upon the whole decidedly preferable to the other, which it was felt would be productive of numerous inconveniences to individuals, it was thought beft to take advantage of that zeal and patriotic ardour which the volunteers manifested in freely coming forward in defence of their country; and under thofe confiderations, wherever a certain proportion of volunteers were embodied, it was held unneceffary to carry the general defence act into execution. The number of volunteers at prefent in Great Britain alone, he was happy to inform the Houfe, fell little thort of 330,000. A force of this immenfe number was in itself not only of the highest importance, and an acquifition the advantages of which were almoft incalculable; but it must neceffarily be fuppofed to confift of fuch a variety of materials, and to involve fo many various confiderations, that the ground for aftonishment fairly was, that fo few difficulties were found to intervene in its organization and advance to its prefent ftate of difcipline and efficacy. He then adverted to the idea of the utility of an armed peafantry, which had been infifted upon by fome as fo far preferable, as to juftify the cancelling and diforganizing that part of the national force then under confideration. He was aware, that in fome circumstances and fituations an armed peafantry might be used with effect; but it was held a matter of great doubt in fome of the most refpectable military opinions in the country, whether a force of that defcription were beft calculated for a conteft of the nature of that in which we were embarked, and whether in all its different bearings and relations the force to which the bill before their Lordihips referred was not far preferable. With respect to the conteft, generally speaking, in which we are engaged, the wifeft policy, especially with reference to the mealure under confideration, would be to confider it as likely to be protracted, and the force in queftion, as one of which we could avail ourfelves at any future period. Upon thefe general grounds, the fyftem of regulations which the bill went to enact would, he thought, be the most advisable. The confideration of difcipline fhould not be puthed to that extent as to render it inconvenient or harafling to individuals, or to interfere too much with their private or civil concerns. It had been contended that a third or a fourth part of the prefent amount, perfectly and regularly difciplined

and trained. would be preferable to the greater number moderately difciplined, and lefs trained to the ufe of arms; but this was very quefti nable. To take it in every point of view, in his eliimation the fyftem which the bill went to fanction was decidedly preferable. He then adverted to fome prominent regulations in the bill, and expreffed his opinion, that it was fair and proper that the conditions upon which the volunteers entered, thould be fcrupulously fulfilled on the part of Government, and fuch was certainly intended. With refpect to the idea held out of the right of volunteers to elect their own officers, nothing, he obferved, in the acts alluded to, tended to countenance fuch a pofition: the right in the cafe before them, was as abfolutely and incontrovertibly vested in the Crown, as was that right in every defcription of military force; the language of the acts was, that the officers fhould be perfons holding commiffions from his Majefty, which clearly implied a difcretionary power in the Crown. The noble Secretary then proceeded to defcribe the fubftance of the claufes and provifions of the bill, in which it is unneceffary for us to follow him. He admitted the measure unavoidably involved fome anomalies, which were infeparable from a fyftem of fo various and extensive a nature. It was however important, in viewing the fubject before them, their Lordships thould bear in mind, that when in cafe of invafion any part of those volunteer forces was called out, they would be fubject to the provisions of the mutiny bill and to martial law, which would tend, for the time, to perfect their efficacy, and to affimilate them to the regular troops. His Lordship fpoke in terms of the highest fatisfaction of the powerful military force which the exertions and policy of his Majefty's Government had established in the country, and which would be found to be numerous and effective beyond all former example. He inftanced the cafe of the year 1798, when thefe iflands, he faid, were held to be in danger of invafion, the Government of that day boafted their accumulated force of 250.000 men. At the prefent period there were ready to meet the attack no fewer than 450,000 men in arms. The real question, however, he admitted was not whether comparatively more or less had been done, but whether enough had been done towards perfecting the national means of defence. He had pointedly to urge the adoption of the regulations provided by the prefent bill for the volunteer force of the country. His Lord