opinion refpecting an armed peafantry, he was not at all inclined to difpute it; but he would ask, how did the volunteers ftand in the way of an armed peafantry? (4 cry of hear! hear!) It did not appear to him that they did. On the contrary, he said that they might be of the highest advantage to prepare, to direct, and to render that peafantry effective. Nothing was more delufive, however, than the affertion, that we had not any means of employing our peafantry in the event of invafion; for the fact was, at least in the part of the country with which he was acquainted, that the name of almost every man who was capable of fervice was enrolled, and his part in fuch a cafe affigned to him. Some were appointed to be pioneers, fome to be guides, and others to convey provisions, &c. &c. He was confident, from the fpirit generally prevailing, that any of thofe men would be ready, in the hour of neceffity, to fill up any defalcations that might occur in the ranks of the volunteers, or the regular army. From this statement he maintained, that the opinion was incorrect, that our peafantry could not be ufeful when danger fhould approach us-that they would not know what to do.

Mr. T. Grenville vindicated himself from the charge of inconfiftency which feemed to have been thrown out against him by the learned Gentleman on the Treafury Bench. That he fhould not have attended all the stages of a measure which ftruck him to be fo radically bad that nothing could be extracted out of it, was perfectly natural. Indeed, the embarraffment, confufion, and wavering which even the framers of this bill feemed to feel about it, was, enough to forbid any difpaffionate man from fuppofing it probable that it would produce the good expected from it by fome Gentlemen; yet as these framers were determined to prefs the adoption of this bill, it was defirable to remove the defects pointed out by his honourable Friend (Mr. Fox), and to which no kind of reply had been made, and also to introduce the other amendments fuggefted; therefore he should vote for the motion for recommittal.

Mr. Sheridan, in explanation, ftated that if any Genticman had a clause to propofe which could not be introduced into the bill without going into a Committee, he would vote for the motion, but not otherwife.

Colonel Calcraft faid, that if the Houfe fhould go into the Committee he would there feel it his duty to propose a claufe respecting the grant of additional pay to the volunteers,

and

and alfo a further allowance for cloathing. This was a propofition which he thought the hon. Gentleman who spoke laft would approve of, and which, confiftently with his own declaration, would induce him to vote for the recommittal of the bill.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer obferved, that the recommittal of the bill was not neceffary, in order to enable the hon. Gentleman to propofe the claufe he alluded to, as he might bring it forward in the prefent ftage, and it might afterwards, if adopted, be referred to the confideration of a Committee of Supply.

The Houfe then proceeded to divide, when there appeared

For proceeding on the report immediately
Against it

173.

56

Majority 117

Sir J. Wrottefley, in purfuance of what he had stated, propofed the introduction of a claufe in the bill to the following effect: "That no member of any corps of yeomanry or volunteers who has been enrolled fubfequent to the 22d of. June, 1803, fhall be entitled to the exemptions under this act, unless he has engaged to march to any part of Great Britain, for the defence of the country in cafe of invasion, or the appearance of an enemy upon the coaft."

This propofition gave rife to a converfation, rather of a defultory and irregular kind.

An

Mr. Secretary Yorke felt it his duty to oppose such a provifion; it was however in fubftance by no means new. hon. Baronet, now abfent, had propofed one nearly to a fimilar effect, which had been very fully difcuffed, and the House had decided upon it. Added to this, he thought it would involve a ferious breach of parliamentary faith. He augured most favourably of the spirit and patriotifm of all the volunteers, who would readily come forward in the event. of an attack.

Mr. Pitt thought the provifion just propofed was not in any degree fimilar to that moved in another ftage of the bill by an hon. Baronet, as the former was a claufe referring to the time of offer of service only, without any reference to the extent of the fervice offered. His fentiments of thefe two propofitions were materially different: he believed the House had never an idea of holding out encouragements to the extent of those in the bill, to thofe whofe offers were for a li

mited fervice. He agreed with the right hon. Secretary, that there was little doubt of the eventual conduct of the volunteers in cafe of an immediate alarm; he thought they would all manfully come forward with offers of general fervice. But in framing an act for the regulation of these points, a diftinction should be made-they fhould go upon the actual state of things; by that means they would in reality know what they had to proceed upon; they would have certainty in the place of conjecture, and the principle of exemptions would be rendered more rational and diftinct. He thought the clause now proposed would be a confiderable improvement in the bill, and as fuch it fhould have his fupport.

Lord Temple obferved, that the fervice was too limited in many instances, but one he thought was particularly confined in its patriotic vote of fervice, that was the Somerset-house corps; the terms on which it was accepted by Government he understood to be for the defence of Somerset-house only.

Mr. Tierney stated, that whatever might have been the original foundation of the corps, it was now very generally understood that the young men had long fince agreed to go to any part of the kingdom where their fervices might be thought neceffary. In cafe of an invafion, he believed the only difficulty would be to keep them within the walls of Somerfet House.

Mr. Dent thought that it would have been more regular for fuch bodies of men as were appointed to defend a particular building, if they had been fworn in as conftables. The right hon. Colonel (Mr. Tierney), he understood, had also the command of a corps in the borough of Southwark. If the fervice of that corps was limited alfo, he would be glad to know what the right hon. Gentleman would do with his corps in the borough at the time that he was locked up in Somerfet-houfe for its defence-how would he divide himfelf?

Mr. Tierney explained to the Houfe what was the nature of his fituation with respect to the Southwark volunteers. He had been first appointed to the command of the Somerset-house volunteers. He had afterwards accepted of the command of the corps in the borough only as a matter of form, that he might have power to affift in its foundation, and whenever his prefence was necellary with the Somerset-house corps, he would refign his command in the other.

Mr. Sheridan noticed the fpecies of indoor fervice which

the

the clerks of the Navy Office had voted; it plainly fhewed that they were determined on keeping poffeffion of Somerfethouse as long as they could. In this laudable intention of theirs he had good reafon to hope they would not meet with any difcouragement from the example of their colonel, as there could not poffibly be any doubt of his fincere defire to keep the public office committed to his charge from falling into the hands of any enemy.

Mr. Fox adverted to the original design of Ministers to proportion the number of volunteers by a regular system of fix times the amount of the old militia. That measure would operate very differently in the inland counties from what it would in the counties of Kent, Effex, &c. The Somerfet-house corps he thought it perfectly ridiculous to call volunteers, under fuch a limited agreement of fervice, particularly as they were fervants of the Crown; he thought that more fhould be expected from their loyalty than a bare defence of the particular building by which they got their bread.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer enumerated several counties in which the return of the volunteers accepted by his Majefty, far exceeded the quota which had been mentioned by an hon. Gentleman oppofite him.

Mr. Canning obferved, that that was an additional proof, if any could be wanting, of the indecifion and inconfiftency of his Majesty's present Ministers, as he knew it to be a fact, that the first proportion of 6 to 1 was rigidly adhered to, un til by repeated applications from people in these counties, Minifters were prevailed on to alter the plan they had origi nally adopted; but even then the numbers which they accepted of, were confiderably fhort of what might be raised. After a few other obfervations, the queftion was put, and there were

For the amendment
Against it

37

79

The report was ordered to be brought up again the next day.

Mr. Pitt faid that as he understood it was the intention of fome of his Majesty's Ministers to bring forward a measure that would have a fimilar tendency to that of which he had given notice, he would, with leave of the House, agree to wait for any reasonable length of time, in order to fee how far their measure would go.

The

The other orders of the day were disposed of, and the House adjourned at half past two in the morning.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

TUESDAY, MARCH 20.

The Houfe refolved itfelf into a Committee of Privileges, and Lord Walfingham having taken the chair, the confideration of the claim of Lady (Henry) Fitzgerald to the barony of Roos or Rofs was refumed, when counsel and evidence were again heard on behalf of the claimant. The further confideration of the cafe was adjourned till Thurfday.

The Houfe then refumed; and the Exchequer bills bill, the neutral fhips bill, and a canal bill, were brought up from the Commons. They were feverally read a fift time.

The bills before the Houfe were forwarded in their refpective ftages: thefe were chiefly in Committees, through which ftage the Irish revenue, the Irish malt duty, the Irish countervailing duties, and the hides and tallow importation bills went, and were afterwards reported to the House, without amendiment.

Some private bufinefs was then difpofed of, and the House adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

TUESDAY, MARCH 20.

The Exchequer bills bill was read a third time and paffed.

Sir Jacob Aftley moved for the following accounts, which were leverally ordered:

An account of the quantity of malt exported from Great Britain to Ireland, and from Ireland to Great Britain, for fix years, ending the 5th of Jan. 1804, and the duties paid

thereon.

An account of the quantity of malt carried coaftwife from England to Scotland, and from Scotland to England, for the fame period, and the duties paid thereon.

An account of the quantity of beer exported from Great Britain to Ireland, and from Ireland to Great Britain, for the fame period, and the duties paid thereon.

An account of the quantity of malt charged with duty in England and Scotland for the fame period. Bb

VOL. II. 1803-4.

An