formed a part of the effence of civil fociety. The thing that he objected to was this, that the bill, in carrying this principle into execution, gave the Crown a power, not to call upon the whole or any clafs of the people, but upon any individual, and to place him in any regiment of the line or militia.

The Lord Chancellor was glad the noble Lord had admitted fo much, as it narrowed the queftion very confiderably; but even that exercife of the prerogative, defined as it had been, to which the noble Lord objected, it would be difficult, he thought, to prove incompatible with the rights of the Crown.

Earl Spencer thought that the volunteer fyftem as it stood, could not meet the approbation of the Houfe. He was by no means an enemy to volunteer corps. He had had the ho nour of belonging to one fince the year 94, the period of their first formation; but he thought that Administration had begun at the wrong end, and instead of rendering the vo Junteers an auxiliary force as they were intended, had, by the exemptions introduced, crippled the regular fervice. So much was this the cafe, that the noble Lord (the Lord Chancellor), whofe ingenuity was generally acknowledged, had been obliged to have recourfe to old arguments to fupport the measure. He was no enemy in general to the argument ad hominem, but he thought it was introduced with a very bad grace on the prefent occafion. Whatever might be the principle of the provifionary cavalry under the former Administration, he could not fee the application of it in the prefent inftance. Of the provifionary cavalry act, his Lordthip faid, he himself had had the honour to approve, but un der circumftances and under regulations very different from the present act.

Lord Hobart was glad that, on the whole, the bill had met with fo little oppofition. The volunteer corps, as they stood at the end of the late war, had been brought under no positive fyftem, and fome provifions were abfolutely neceffary to render them more efficient. From the regulations propofed by the bill now before the Houfe, the greatest advantages, his Lordihip was confident, would be derived. The principle on which the bill proceeded was by no means new. The act of 1802 went not less than the present to encourage the volunteers. The noble Lord then drew a Comparison between the prefent force of the country, and that under the former Adminiftration, for whom he profeifed VOL. II. 1803-4

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the greatest respect. A greater force, it was true, was now neceffary, and therefore the means of raising that force were neceffarily more extended. From the returns of the office with which he was connected, there were at the end of the laft war, 175,000 regulars and militia, and upwards of 168,000 volunteers; whereas, now, there were above 628,000 effective men. The measures that had been taken were calculated to give confidence to the country, and to affure every man that there was nothing to be feared even from the loudeft threats of the enemy. The force of the country in fact was fuch as to enable every man to look forward with tranquillity and confidence to the enjoyment of the advantages of our happy conftitution.

The Duke of Montrofe thought that it had not been attempted to be denied that fuch a force as the volunteers was neceffary in the prefent exigency of the country, and fuch a force could not, he believed, be formed fo completely as to remove every objection. The principle of the volunteer eftablishment proceeded on the old fyftem which originated during the laft Administration. The prefent bill was only an attempt to improve it. Formerly he had known corps of five hundred men and upwards without either regular adjutants or ferjeants. The prefent bill remedied thefe defects, and had a tendency to introduce fuch difcipline among the volunteers, as to render them very little inferior to any regular corps. Any economy in this refpect the noble Duke regarded as very pitiful indeed. He ridiculed the idea of providing great coats, instead of the allowance being paid in money: most of the volunteers had great coats of their own. At any rate, if the two guineas were meant as an inducement, which the bill feemed to purport, they ought to be given in money to the individual. The prominent character of a good foldier, the noble Duke infifted, was not courage only, but a determination to fight against the enemy. His Grace delivered an eulogium on the Edinburgh volunteers, for whom he would venture to anfwer, and who in every respect he could pledge himself were equal to any defcription of force under the Crown, either in respect to the skill of the officers or the difcipline of men.-The noble Duke declared himself hoftile to exemptions. Honour, glory, and fafety ought to be the only reward of the volunteers. He approved of the principle of the bill, but thought the different claufes might admit of many alterations.

The Earl of WJtmoreland defended the principle of the

bill. His Lordship declared that it was far from his intention to hold our defponding language under the prefent circumstances; but, to fpeak fairly, the bravery and vaft force of the enemy must be admitted; it must alfo be admitted that the infular fituation of the country made it incumbent on the Government, to provide fuch means as would be equal to the task of defending the country at every point at which it might poffibly be attacked. The great extent of our coaft, in proportion to the, population of the country, was fuch as made it abfolutely necellary, that when we faw that coaft threatened, fome extraordinary measures should be reforted to, in order to apportion our means in fome degree to that which was oppofed to us. The commerce, the finances, and the industry of the country were unable to bear the preffure of the expence or other inconveniencies which might arife from the circumstance of the Government having recourfe to the ordinary. means of raifing a military body, if they raifed it to that extent which the circumstances of the cafe required. It was therefore evident that fomething like the prefent measure must be resorted to; in adopting it, his Majefty's Ministers had wifely followed the fteps of the late Administration, of which he was happy to fay he formed a part. He was fully convinced of the meafure being not only moft materially requifite for the defence of the country, but also that it did not in any degree interfere with the levy of other forces, and was as complete within itself as the nature of our fituation at prefent feemed to admit of; until fome noble Lord therefore fuggefted a better plan, the whole of the fyftem fhould have his moft cordial fupport.

Lord Auckland closed the debate. He faid he was defirous to have it understood that he did not vote for the fecond reading of the bill, on the ground of its being now too late to take any retrograde measure with refpect to the volunteer fyftem. Many of their Lordships had that night confidered it as a fyftem to be regretted perhaps in its origin, but now unavoidable to be mainta ned. He had confidered it with an unprejudiced mind; he could not regret it; he was not aware that it would have been prudent or even praicable to have adopted any other fyftem of defence commenfurate to the dangers with which we had been threatened. He had not been blind to the objections to which the measure was liable. To a certain degree it was conftitutionally dangerous; and it alfo had a tendency to change the temper and difpofition of the people, and to become injurious to our commercial industry

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and pre-eminency. But he thought it the leaft evil amidst the choice of evils. The calamitous deftinies of the prefent times, and the fudden rearing of a power which has defolated a large part of Europe, and overawes the remainder, required a force for our preservation beyond what the regular recruiting could give. We were obliged to have a great augmentation either by compulfory means, which would have been difficult and precarious, or by volunteers. The latter had offered themselves, even beyond what was wanted, and with a fpirit and generofity to which it was impoffible for language to do juftice. He lamented the neceffity of war; but furely our present situation was preferable to that in which we found ourselves during the fhort period of nominal peace. Fortunately for us the wickedeft of mankind was the most intemperate of mankind; and his imprudence had counteracted his malignity. He could not govern his domineering vanity; he had exhibited every vice but that of hypocrify. Inftead of lulling us into a falfe fecurity by proteftations and flattery, he had infolently apprized us of his intention to erafe us from the nations of the world, and to crush us: happily then he had forced us into war before his plans were ready for the explosion; and now without levity or prefumption we may boldly bid defiance to him. There could not be a doubt in any cool and unprejudiced mind, that with the combined force of our navy, army, militia, and volunteers, amounting together to about 700,000 men, we are more an object of dread and danger to France than France can be to us; and the only confideration which now gave any anxiety to his mind, was that of our expence. He knew that our resources were great; ftill, however, the duration of the struggle was uncertain; and it would be wise to reflect that due economy is an effential branch of fecurity. It had been painful to him to hear it faid in the debate, that the volunteers may quit the defence of the empire in the eve of danger. He had not the smalleft doubt on his mind that if the hour of danger fhould arrive, the alacrity and zeal of the volunteers would be redoubled; that fuch of them as might have retired at prefent, would then refort to their reffective corps; and in the refult, he had a well founded confidence that we fhould clofe this contest in a manner glorious to ourfelves, exemplary to our pofterity, and moft effenti to the permanent interefts and fafety of the British empire.

The bill was then read a fecond time.

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Lord Hawkesbury faid, as it seemed to be thought that the Committee could not be conveniently gone through before the recefs, he thould move that the bill fhould be committed on Thursday fe'nnight, which would be the first day of meeting after the recels which he intended to move for.

Lord Harrowby expreffed a with that the recefs thould be fhorter, in order to give their Lordships an opportunity of going through a bill of this importance with the utmost speed. Lord Hawkesbury opposed the idea of curtailing the intended re:efs, as it would be unufually thort.,

The bill was then ordered to be committed on Thursday fe'nnight.

Adjourned at half past eleven till the next day.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

TUESDAY, MARCH 27.

Petitions were prefented from Harwich, Gravesend, and Faversham, again the Marine Society fishery bill, and praying to be heard by counfel at the bar, in oppofition to the fame. Ordered to lie on the table,

MARINE SOCIETY FISHERY BILL.

On the question being put upon the fecond reading of the Marine Society fishery bill,

Colonel Calcraft rofe, and argued forcibly against the farther progrefs of the measure, which he conceived to have a tendency very materially to interfere with the interests of a meritorious clafs of men, by whom our fishery was now conducted, and from whom the Houfe had just received several petitions. This interference he thought the more deferving of oppofition, because no cafe whatever had been made out by the advocates of this bill to fhew that any neceffity exifted to call for it, or that any advantages were likely to refult from its adoption. No public benefit was held out to induce the House to grant the immunities which this bill proposed, to any company of fpeculators. It was not pretended, much lefs thewn, that this company could fupply the London market with fish at a cheaper rate than it now was fupplied ;' and had fuch a pretence been even advanced, he trusted that it could obtain but little credit with the Houfe, when he ftated, that the great bulk of the fith brought to Billingsgate,. was difpofed of by the fishermen at about 2d. per lb. To what had been aud might be faid, refpecting the tendency

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