HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



15 



CHAP, II. 



ArmyEsthyiatcs — Debalc thereon — Speeches of Mr. JFindham — Yorkc — Gren- 

 xille — Lord Castlereagh — Mr. Fox — Addington — Yorke — Carry — and Co- 

 lonel Hutchinson — Resolutions on the Estimates put and carried. — Volun- 

 teer Exemption Bill brought in — supported by Mr. Yorke-^ Alderman, 

 Price — and Mr. Addington — opposed by Colonel Crawford — Mr. Wind- 

 ham — Sir IF. Young and Lord Levison Goicei — passes the House of Com- 

 mons — and Lordsy after a slight Opposition. 



was, ho\y- 

 , bound to inform the house, 



f\^ the 9th of December, the 

 ^^ secretary at war (Mr. Bragge) 

 brought forAvard the army estimates. 

 He said, that he should not have oc- 

 casion to trouble the house much at 

 length, in observing on the diflcrent 

 items of the estimate, as they dif- 

 fered very little from those of the 

 last year, with which it must be 

 supposed that the house was inti 

 raateiy acquainted. He 

 ever 



that the estimates he should no^v 

 bring forward would not include all 

 that would be wanting for the year. 

 As to the number of men to be 

 voted for the present year, he should 

 state it to be, under the usual 

 heads of service, 278,149, exclusive 

 of 22,897 for India. The total 

 cxpence of such an army, he esti- 

 mated at 10,904,7551. The diffe- 

 rence between the number now to 

 be voted for guards, garrisons, and 

 plantations, and that which was 

 voted in the last session, was 58,768 

 men ; but the greater part of this 

 difference would be supplied by the 

 army of reserve ; and the remain- 

 ing part of the augmentation intend- 

 ed would be in the dragoons and 



life guards. For the volunteer 

 corps he estimated an expence of 

 730,0001. besides the increased cx- 

 pence of the general staff, in conse- 

 quence of the number of brigade of- 

 licers employed to discipline and 

 train them. The estimated number 

 of volunteers in Ireland were 70jOOO 

 men, a number which could be con- 

 siderably increased, if necessary. 

 The accounts of the barrack de- 

 partments were not yet prepared, 

 but they would much exceed the ac- 

 counts of former years, on account 

 of the great expence of preparing 

 winter cantonments for the soldiers 

 on the coast. 



Mr. Windham said, that when the 

 subject for consideration, was, the 

 measures to be taken for the de- 

 fence of the country, at such a time 

 as the present, he could not lose 

 sight of the character of those men 

 to whom that defence was to be en- 

 trusted. He could not express his 

 opinion of ministers more apposite. 

 ly than by repeating the sentiment 

 of an excellent poet, who, compar- 

 ing the faults of men and women, 

 said : 



" Poor 



