358 Police of the Metropolis. [ APRIL, 



(India excepted) is about 10,000. Of these, some are men who have 

 been sentenced from other regiments, to West India service, for miscon- 

 duct : but the offences of such soldiers are often slight, and they might 

 very well be dealt with (if such a course were desirable) and retained in 

 their own corps : besides which, this source does not furnish any thing 

 like the whole supply, and troops are regularly raised, in the ordinary 

 way, for colonial service. Then it certainly does not appear to us to be 

 very well ordered, that free and unattainted subjects or men very nearly 

 in that situation should be employed in this dangerous and unthankful 

 duty, while convicted thieves nay thieves for life convicted half a 

 dozen times over enjoy the highly preferable lot of being retained as 

 labourers in England, or of being transported to the admirable climate, 

 and every way desirable locality of Botany Bay. If it be objected that 

 these enlistments still (upon the principle we have above described) carry 

 off a number of persons who would probably be burthensome to the 

 country, then we answer that those persons are good enough for the 

 average service of the army : to the worst men although this principle 

 is lately a good deal overruled we would assign the worst duty. 



A soldier in a West India regiment, being under orders to embark 

 for Jamaica, absolutely by committing a felony, would raise his fortune, 

 as the law stands, two hundred per cent. For the worst that could happen 

 to him, would be that, in a few years, he would have the means of becom- 

 ing a free settler in Van Diemen's Land. It is difficult certainly to under- 

 stand the policy of this arrangement, which allows the better man to be 

 visited with incomparably the worse lot ; and we do believe, that, with 

 advantage, it might be changed. We repeat that we are not afraid of 

 bringing degradation upon the army : such a result is no necessary con- 

 sequence of the course which we propose. The same men who would 

 only be mischievous and dangerous, entrusted with the freedom belong- 

 ing to a civil condition of society, under the prompt and severe discipline 

 of military law, would, in three instances out of four, become active and 

 effective soldiers. To restrain them from error, and keep them in the 

 way that they should go, they require a degree of coercion, which, as 

 free subjects, cannot be maintained over them : subject to that coercion 

 (which the law of the army is in the habit of exercising) there is no 

 reason why they should not become useful members of society. 



Our object is not at present to enter into any of the details which 

 would be connected with the execution of a scheme like this : all we 

 wish is to enforce, as a principle, the utility of clearing England of 

 characters who, at home, can only be burthensome ; and who, by the 

 course that we propose, would, not only be removed from the scene where 

 they are a danger and an offence, but enjoy the chance of redeeming them- 

 selves elsewhere. It would be easy to form those offenders, who, under 

 the provisions of the law, should become subject to such a penalty, into 

 select corps for the service of the colonies, allowing them the privilege, 

 after seven years of good behaviour, to volunteer into regiments of the 

 line. There could be slight danger of insubordination from such troops, 

 as they need only be employed in conjunction with regular regiments ; 

 and of difficulty in dealing with the individuals, we have no apprehen- 

 sion ; we believe that the major part would become smart soldiers ; and 

 for those who proved incorrigible, punishments would be provided by 

 the rules of military service, which, however painful such a resource 

 might be, there could be no hesitation as to carrying into execution. < 



