per to extend to him, he had been forward to abufe. It was impoffible for parliament to fubmit to fo open an attack upon their declared fentiments, and they were called upon to relift it in the most peremptory manner. Such being apparently the fenfe of the houfe of commons, Mr. Fox expreffed his moft earnest hope, that the minifler would in future pay more refpect to the opinion of the legislature, and not attempt to force an obnoxious meafure upon the country. The motion of Mr. Pitt was withdrawn, and an addrefs to the fovereign was voted, requesting him to order an estimate to be prefented to the houfe relatively to the fortifications. At length on the feventh of June, the fum of 59,780l. was voted for the entire completion of the new works already begun at Portsmouth and Plymouth.

fair, open and fuitable manner, than Mr. Pitt. This was the genuine fentiment of his heart, or he would not have uttered it; and no man, he flattered himfelf, could charge him with having pursued a conduct in that houfe that was not direct and fincere.

A measure of fome confequence, and which engaged a confiderable degree of the attention of parliament during the prefent feffion, was a bill that was introduced for amending and reducing all the laws relatively to the militia, into one act of parliament. The outline of this bill had been the work of a committee, chofen by the officers, who had ferved in the militia during the laft war, of which the prefident had been Mr. Charles Marfham, who was deputed upon this occafion to prefent the bill, and conduct it in its progrefs through the houfe of commons. He accordingly moved for leave for its introduction on the thirty-first of January. He prefaced his motion with fome compliments to the minifter. He declared, that he did not believe that a minister could poffibly be found, who would receive a propofal for improving the condition of the militia in a more

Mr. Marfham called to the recollection of members the origin of the militia, and the manner in which its fervices had been received. at the conclufion of the late war, and of the war that had preceded it. In the year 1757, a body of Hanoverians and Heffians were brought into this kingdom for its internal fecurity. Their introduction, at once impolitic and unconftitutional, ex cited confiderable odium. Englishe men revolted at the unmerited idea of their not being capable of de fending themselves and their coun◄ try; and it was upon this occafion that the militia was inftituted. So agreeable did the circumttance prove to that houfe, that in the courfe of one feffion they countenanced, recognised and established the scheme as a national measure; and fuch were the benefits which the country derived from the militia, that at the conclufion of the war, the offcers who had ferved in it received the fpecial thanks of the king, and of that houfe. After the peace of Paris, the militia was called out, embodied and trained once a year; a circumftance, from which the kingdom had derived the most effen, tial advantage. It was well known that the hoftilities between Great Britain and France had taken place in a manner extremely fudden and unexpected, in the middle of March 1778. The militia were in confequence called out; and it was remarkable, that they were encamp. ed as early in that year, as in any one year during the war. The

practicability of this could only be imputed to the difcipline and habits of duty, in which the militia had constantly been exercifed. How different had been the conduct of government at the end of the last war? Notwithstanding that they had acted in the most commendable manner, and though many gentlemen had dedicated their whole attention to the fervice, it was not thought that the militia deserved the thanks of their country. He meant not to give offence, and perhaps he had ufed too harsh an expreflion: but the fact was, that no thanks had been given to the militia by the crown, no thanks had been voted by that houfe, and for three years together they had never been once called into exercife.

Mr. Marsham ftated, that the point, upon which himself and the perfons with whom he had acted laid the most confiderable ftrefs, was that of calling out and embodying the militia once every year. Another material object they propofed to themfelves, was to change the duration of the fervice from three, which had hitherto been its specified term, to five years. Various objections were commonly made to the militia, its great expence to the kingdom, the prejudice it did to the recruiting fervice of the army, and the heavy burthen which it entailed upon individuals. The alteration which he propofed, was calculated to encounter all thefe objections. It would occafion lefs expence in clothing and other articles; it would interfere lefs with the recruiting fervice; and, as the drawing would lefs frequently occur, individuals would find the provifion of fubftitutes lefs burthenfome.

Mr. Pitt thought proper to embrace this occafion of acquainting

the friends of the meafure, and the houfe in general, with his fentiments upon the fubject. The interval of peace was undoubtedly the fittest moment for them to unite in endeavouring to put the great and conftitutional defence of the kingdom upon a refpectable footing; and, much as he profeffed to be the friend of oeconomy, he was not fo much the flave of his opinion, as to with by any means to leffen the advantages, which the country had ever derived from fo falutary an establishment. How far the means fuggefted for attaining fo defirable a purpofe, might be thought the beit means that could be adopted, was a matter, which would regularly fall under difcution when the bill fhould be brought before the house. If it fhould appear poffible to preferve the militia on a refpectable footing, without putting the public to the heavy expence of calling them out every year, he owned, he fhould be glad to adopt whatever method might be fuggefted for that purpofe. Waiting for the pleasure of hearing the future ample, judicious, and impartial investigation of the fubject, he fhould content himself at prefeat with offering to the mover of the bill and his refpectable colleagues in the bufinefs, his warmest and most fincere ac knowledgements.

Mr. Marfham appeared to be not a little mortified with the fentiments Mr. Pitt had expreffed, and immediately declared, that the calling out the militia every year was in his opinion fo indifpenfibly ne ceffary, that, if the minister had determined to oppofe it, he should fcarcely think it worth his while to bring the fubject forward to the decifion of the houfe. In the fubfequent week he took an opportu nity of repeating thefe fentiments, F 3

and

prefenting and that of voting the eftimates, whereas in the prefent cate, only five days were allowed. But miniftry appeared refolute to push forward, in defiance of the admonition of the speaker, and of the conftant practice of the house. Mr. Sheridan remarked, that Mr. Pitt had thought proper to impute blame to Mr. Marfham, who, he faid, ought not to have fhrunk from his intention of bringing in the bill for regulating the militia, becaufe he, a fingle individual, had declared, that he had not made up his mind with regard to one of its provifions. Mr. Sheridan was of the fame opinion, and he hoped, notwithstanding what had paffed, that the bill would fill be introduced; fince, whatever were its fate, it would be attended wth this good confequence, that it would bring the fubject fairly under difcuffion, that it would open the eyes of the public, and enable them to afcertain who were, and who were not the friends of the militia, as well as whether any defign had been conceived of annihilating the inftitution.

his place was fupplied by Mr. Pye, member for Berkshire. In the com mittee on the 10th of March it was observed by Mr. Pitt, that he had made every enquiry in his power upon the fubject, from gentlemen much better qualified to judge of it than himself, and had found that it was the general opi nion that the militia ought to be called out every year. The only mode therefore, that fuggelied itfelf to him, by which to obtain that compliance with economy, of which he conceived they should never lofe fight, was by moving as an amendment, that the whole number of men fhould be ballotted for and enrolled, but that only two thirds of them fhould be actually employed. The faving, which would refult from this provifion in the two articles of clothing and of pay, he calculated at about 40,000l. The amendment was op pofed by Mr. Marfham and Mr. Sheridan; but it was carried in the first instance without a divition, and upon the report the numbers appeared, ayes 49, noes 13. The idea of the annual embodying the militia in any manner was opposed by Mr. Rolle and Mr. Jolliffe. By the former it was obferved, that this practice had been found prejudicial to the morals of the people, that it gave them habits of debauchery and idlenes, and that they always became much worfe members of fociety than they were before. The latter oppofed the meature merely upon the ground of œconomy. He did not believe that there was one man out of that houfe, who did not think that the militia might be rendered as uteful by the muter of a day, as by the exercife of a month; and he afterted, that, when they had been ärit encamped upon Coxheata, they exhi

The motion of adjournment was fupported with confiderable earneftneis by lord North, Mr. Fox and Mr. Courtenay. The fupply was however voted, and on the following day feveral precedents were difcovered by Mr. Steele, tending to juftify the conduct of administration, and to fhow, that both the peaker and the members in oppofition had been mistaken in their ideas refpecting the practice of the house.

The bill for the regulation of the militia was not given up in the houfe of commons in confequence of Mr. Martham's having declined to take the led, which he had originally propofca to have done, and

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bited

bited an appearance the most irregular and undifciplined; though by the end of the fummer they were a tolerable army, and became equal to fome of the established

corps.

The militia bill did not pafs without debate in the houfe of lords. The house being in a committee on the fubject, on the nineteenth of June, the establishment in general was fpoken of with the highest applaufe, by the duke of Manchef ter and lord viscount Townfhend. The latter of thefe, who had been the original mover of the establishment in the houfe of commons thirty years before, enlarged confiderably upon the fubject. He fpoke of the militia of France, of Spain, of the king of Pruffia, and of the emperor, and fhowed how much inferior was Great Britain to any of these powers in this import ant article. He treated with contempt the faving, that was to be made in confequence of Mr. Pitt's amendment. He fpoke with warmth of the zeal, that had been difplayed by the late earl of Chatham in behalf of the militia, and he loudly condemned the penurioufnefs of administration with regard to this invaluable establishment, while the erection of Somerfet Houfe, the additions to the Admiralty, and the buildings for the ordnance engroffed fo much of the public expenditure. Office must be accommodated and gratified at all events: a permanent national provition can always fuffer amputation. The duke of Mancheiter, and lord vifcount Mahon, who had lately fucceeded to the title of earl Stanhope upon the death of his father, were pointed in their condemnation of the unneceffary expence, which would be incurred by enrolling the whole of the militia when only two thirds

of them were to be trained and exercifed. The latter of thefe noblemen fuggefted an amendment to the attention of the house, which he conceived likely to be productive of the most beneficial confequences without making any addition to the national expence. Ballot, faid he, one and twenty thoufand militia, and instead of five let the term of their fervice be fix years. At the end of three years, as had been hitherto the practice, ballot one and twenty thousand more. Of this number, call out, train and exercife only feven thousand every year. Let this be done in rotation, till the whole amount of two and forty thousand men has been difciplined. Thus you will have double the number of foldiers that are afforded by Mr. Pitt's plan, to be called out upon any emergency, and that of a defcription of force the most defirable to be preferved, and which was the best defence not only of the country but of the conftitution. No fpecific objection was urged to lord Stanhope's propofal but by the duke of Richmond, who obferved, that it was now too late in the feffion to debate the principle of the bill, and that, if it were altered in that houfe, the confequence might be, that it would be totally loft. Earl Stanhope treated this objection with great contempt. The bill, in his opinion, was of very great importance. The amendment that he had propofed was incontrovertible by reafon, and was only to be fet afide by obferving that it was too late to enter into its merits. It was truly unwife and ridiculous to pafs a bill which we are told is abfurd, and fuperfede all debate upon it by faying that it may be amended next year. The motion of lord Stanhope was rejected without a divifion.

A motion