would be the means of giving a greater scope and effect to the operations of our fleets; and lastly, that they would diminish the ftanding army. With refpect to the neceffity of the measure, he said, that the board had fully established that point, by declaring, that neither any naval or military force, nor even both united, could afford fuch a degree of fecurity as was adequate to the importance of our dock-yards, but that paired, finished, and improved, would require a larger force for their defence, with which they would ftill be ineffectual for the purpose of fecuring this dockyard. Your majefty's land officers at Plymouth are unanimoufly of opinion, that a garrifon (of the numbers before specified, regulars and militia) appears fufficient, if the propofed new works and repair of old ones are executed; and that for the prefent works, even when repaired, a much larger garrifon would be ineffectual for the purpose of fecuring this dock-yard. Your majesty's land officers having taken into consideration the whole fituation of Plymouth, are unanimously of opinion, that the propofed new works, in addition to the old ones, when properly repaired, as fuggefted in our proceedings, (with a garrison of the numbers before fpecified, regulars and militia) will give a reasonable degree of fecurity for your majesty's dock-yard at Plymouth for the time and under the circumftances of the data. Your majesty's land officers, as far as they were respectively concerned at Portfmouth or Plymouth, do report to your majefty, that from the report of the committee of engineers at the Tower, which they have unanimously agreed to adopt, it appears, that the expence of the works propofed for fecuring your majesty's dockyards at Portsmouth and Plymouth, will be as follows: Note. This paper has been already delivered to the house. Your majesty's instructions under the 23d head, having required, what improvements or alterations, or what other system of defence, the board would fuggeft, the unanimous opinion of your majefty's fea officers is, that-(a certain number therein specified) of gun-boats at Portsmouth and Plymouth will form a great arm of defence against an invading enemy. And your majefty's land officers entirely concur in this opinion with the fea officers, confidering these gun-boats as a great improvement in the defence of these places. Your majesty's land and fea officers beg leave to recommend a fet of fignals to be established on the projecting head-lands-(of certain parts of the coaft therein fpecified) with intelligent mariners to make them, as of effential advantage in conveying early intelligence of the approach of an enemy, and for the protection of commerce. Your majefty's land and fea officers unanimously recommend-(an improvement in the fupply of fresh water at Plymouth, if to be had at a reasonable expence.) The board has no other improvement, or other fyftem of defence to suggest to your majesty. Laftly, your majefty's land and fea officers humbly beg leave to obferve, that they make this report to your majefty, in full confidence, that the providing an additional fecurity to the dock-yards at Portsmouth and Plymouth is in no respect inconfiftent with the neceflary exertions for the fupport of the navy; which they confider that fortifications were abfolutely neceffary in addition to both. Secondly, with refpect to the mode of fortification, they had declared the plan fuggefted by the mafter general of the ordnance to be the most eli gible, as being the moft adequate to the defence of the places in queftion, capable of being manned by the fmalleft force, requiring the leaft expence to erect, and particularly as affording an increasing degree confider as the first object of attention for the fafety and profperity of the king dom. Captain Macbride entered the following objection to the third datum, on the fubject of the enemy's force against which the board thought it neceffary to pro vide. I object to this datum, because it is founded upon a calculation of a large ima ginary force. My idea of a defcent goes only to the probability of an armament that may poffibly confift of-(a certain force which he specifies) which I think sufficient to provide against. To the queftion, What improvement or alterations, or what other system of defence the board would fuggeft? Lieutenant-generals Burgoyne and ear! Percy, vice-admiral Millbanke, and major-general Green, ftated, that they had none to suggest under the circum ftances of the data. Rear-admiral Graves stated, that he had none to suggest under the excess of the data. Vice-admiral Barrington, rear-admiral lord Hood, captains Hotham, Bowyer, fir Andrew Snape Hammond, and the honourable James Luttrell, ftated, that they thought it more properly belonged to the land officers of this board, than to them, as the minutes of their proceedings will fhew, to enter into any fyftem of defence or fortifications, except fuch parts as are intended for a defence against ships of war, and the proposals they have offered for gun-boats. Captain Macbride ftated, that he had no farther improvements to fuggeft; but entered his objections to the proposed system of defence. Note.-Captain Macbride's objections are omitted, because they contain detailed defcriptions of the coaft, roadfteads, currents, tides, and bottoms, and an chorage, by no means proper to be divulged. Captain Macbride concludes his objections with these words: gree of fecurity in the courfe of their erection, in fo much as that, if any given portion of them was compleated, and the remainder unfinished, yet even that part fo compleated would afford a great deal of additional ftrength. In fupport of his third pofition, he urged, that the dock-yards being thus protected, the navy would confequently be unfettered, and left at liberty to act as occafion might require, in whatever part I am therefore of opinion that no new works are at prefent neceffary to be erected at Plymouth. (Signed) J. Macbride. On the board having declared it to be their unanimous opinion, that no member is precluded, by the data agreed to by the board, from fuggefting any other fyftem of defence, on thofe or any other data, for the confideration of the board, in anfwer to the question contained in the 23d head under his majesty's instructions; The following provifo was added: But we do not think ourselves required, as individuals, by his majesty's inftructions, or any questions under them, to produce any other fyftem, or other data. (Signed) S. Barrington, J. Burgoyne, Percy, M. Millbanke, Tho. Graves, Will. Green, Geo. Bowyer. Rear-admiral Graves, in affenting to the article of the report expreffing the full confidence of the board, that the providing an additional fecurity to the dock-yard at Plymouth is in no refpect inconfiftent with the neceffary fupport of the navy; to avoid being misunderstood, defired to explain himself by the following provifo: I perfectly agree with the reft of the board, as to the importance of the royal navy towards the fafety and profperity of this maritime and infular kingdom; but would not have it implied, that I think any new fyftem of additional land fortifi cations for the fecurity of Plymouth neceffary. (Signed) T. Graves. Lieutenant-generals Burgoyne and earl Percy, vice-admiral Millbanke, rearadmiral Graves, and captain fir John Jarvis, on figning the report, beg leave to reprefent to your majefty as follows: That our proceedings have been founded upon the fuppofition of the whole fleet being abfent (for a certain time) as mentioned in the fecond datum, and therefore that the enemy may bring over an army (of the force mentioned in the third datum) with an artillery proportionate to an attack on Portsmouth or Plymouth, having (a certain time) to act in, uninterrupted by the British fleet, as mentioned in the third datum: the bare poffibility of fuch an event we do not pretend to deny; but how far it is probable that the whole British fleet may be fent on any fervice requiring fo long an absence, at a time when the enemy is prepared to invade this country with (a force as that mentioned in the third datum) we must humbly leave to your majefty's fuperior wifdom; and therefore, whether it is necessary, in confequence of fuch a fuppofition, to erect works of so expenfive a nature as thofe propofed, and which require fuch large garrifons to defend them. J. Burgoyne, Percy, (Signed) M. Millbanke, T. Graves, Lieutenant fending and relieving Gibraltar would have been loft, but for fome accidental circumstances that luckily at that moment fecured us from the danger of an attack at home, and enabled the fleet under lord Howe to fail on that important fervice. In proof of his laft pofition, that the fortifications in question would reduce our standing army, he part of the world their prefence might be most neceffary. Whoever, he faid, turned in his mind the events of the last war, would, he was fure, be convinced of the great benefit that might be drawn from our fleets being enabled to act in fuch a manner; and he particularly alluded to that period when the French were hovering upon Our coafts, and when the renown of de- faid, that if, in cafe of a threatened Lieutenant-generals Burgoyne and earl Percy, on agreeing to the erection of new works, and to the fyftem of detached forts being the moft proper for the prefervation of the dock-yard at Portsmouth, entered the following provifo : We approve of the fyftem of detached works, and we agree to the above, under the circumstances fettled in the data, provided the expence to be incurred fhall not exceed fuch fums as the ftate can afford to grant for these purposes, and that the number of troops fuppofed to be allotted by the fourth datum, can be spared for the defence of Portsmouth, confiftently with the general defence of the king, dom. To which provifo the rest of the land officers, members of this board, think it their duty to add: That we the under-written humbly defire that it may be understood by your majefty, that we never entertained an idea that any expence to be incurred should exceed fuch fums as the state could afford for these purposes, as we apprehend was fully stated in our second datum; or that we meant to recommend works requiring a greater number of troops to defend than could be fpared for the defence of Portsmouth, confiftently with the general defence of the kingdom. On the contrary, the works we recommend appear to us to be calculated upon the most œconomical principles, and to require the fmalleft number of troops pof fible to answer the purpose of effectually fecuring your majesty's dock-yards at Portfimouth and Plymouth, We conceive that fuch numbers can be fpared for this purpofe; we confider fuch protection to be an effential object for the fafety of the ftate, and intimately connected with the general defence of the kingdom; but we do not confider it to be our province minutely to enter into a confideration of the abilities of the state to provide the neceflary fupplies for this purpose. (Signed) invafion, we fhould truft only to our ftanding army, and remain without fortifications, there would be a neceffity of augmenting to a moft enormous degree that army, on which the whole fafety of the kingdom was to reft; whereas, if it was affifted with fortifications, a much fmaller force would be fufficient, it being abfurd to contend that any number of troops, independent of fortifications, were able to defend a place better than the fame number, affifted by fortifications. But it had been, he said, already proved, that the plan proposed for the fecurity of the dock-yards was the best that could be devifed, and was capable of defence by the fmalleft number of troops; it would therefore follow of courfe, that the fortifications in queftion would reduce the ftanding army to the loweft poffible number that the circumstances of the cafe would admit of. This last argument he hoped would compleatly remove thofe alarms that prevailed both within and beyond the walls of the house, from a mistaken idea that the measure was unconftitutional in its tendency, by laying the foundation for a ftanding army, and diverting into an ufelefs and dangerous channel those refources which fhould ftrengthen our navy. He concluded with declaring, that he viewed it as a naval queftion, and as fuch it ought to be confidered, because while it gave fecurity to the vital fprings and fources of our marine, by protecting the dock-yards, fo far from rendering an increase of the military force of the kingdom neceffary, as fome gentlemen, from a laudable jealoufy of the ftanding army, and from a natural and zeaJous regard for the conftitution, had been led to imagine, it would actu 10 ally tend to remove the neceffity of keeping up fo large a military eftablifhment as otherwife muft be maintained. Such were the leading arguments by which the refolution was fupported. The other speakers in favour of it were lord Hood, the honourable captain Berkeley, the honourable James Luttrell, captain Bowyer, Sir C. Middleton, Mr. J. Hawkins Browne, and lord Mahon. In oppofition to the measure, it was moved as an amendment, by Mr. Baftard, and feconded by Sir W. Lemon, one of the members for the county of Cornwall, to leave out of the refolution all the words from the word "houfe" to the end of the queftion; and to infert," that "fortifications on fo extenfive à "plan as propofed by the board, are inexpedient." This amendment was defended by Mr. Wallwyn, general Burgoyne, captain Macbride, colonel Barré,Mr. Courtenay, the honourable Charles Marfham, Mr. Windham, Mr. Fox, lord North, and Mr. Sheridan. The fpeech of the laft-mentioned gentleman on this occafion was the fubject of much admiration; and indeed, independent of fuch arguments as were peculiar to itself, it appears to have comprehended eve ry other which was made use of in contradiction to the propofed plan of fortifications. His objections to the fyftem were of a two-fold nature-firft, fuch as went to fhew that it was in itself, and in its confequences, dangerous and inimical to the conftitution ;-and fecondly, that fuch were the nature and circumftances of the report made by the board of officers, that the report itfelf |