lii 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1804. 



stated, that not a single firelock had 

 been given by government to the 

 Tjluntocrs of Staffordshire, so late 

 as three weeks ago. 



Mr. Yorke, in reply, said, that it 

 was necessary first to arm the vo- 

 lunteers of the maritime counties. 



Mr. Giles seemed to consider, 

 that an alteration of the laws, with 

 respeft to the volunteers, ^as a 

 breach of good faith to that body. 

 ' He was replied to by Mr. secre- 

 tary Yorke, and the chancellor of 

 the exchequer. 



After several observations from 

 different gentlemen, the bill went 

 ^ through the committee, and was or- 

 dered to be reported tlie next day ; 

 when, the question being put for 

 the third residing of the bill, 



Mr. Windham complained of the 

 hurry with which ministers proceed- 

 ed in this business, which certainly 

 was not a question of urgency. It 

 was their constant mode of proceed- 

 ing. Their crude ideas appeared 

 first in the shape of an aft of parlia- 

 ment, and the legislature were to be 

 afterwards occupied in considering 

 how their afts were to be made tole- 

 rably correft. They seemed like 

 authors who composed in public ; 

 they wished for full credit not only 

 for their first conceptions, but for 

 the various changes and alterations 

 which afterwards took place in their 

 ideas on the subjeft. As it -was al- 

 lowed that many of the exemptions 

 now claimed, had got into the vo. 

 hmteer laws by mistake, and con- 

 trary to the intention of its authors, 

 he saw no rational motive for push- 

 ing the mistake further. Good faith 

 required that exemptions should be 

 given to those volunteers, who, by 

 the subsisting laws, should be en- 

 titled to claim them, but there was 

 no occasion for giving those exemp- 



9 



tions in future to other vohmteers, 

 who might offer their services. If 

 these exemptions continued in fu- 

 ture, the connnandant of a volun- 

 teer corps, when the constitution of 

 it was monarchical, or the committee 

 a sub-committee when it was de- 

 mocratical, by the power of admit- 

 ting or rejefting whom they pleased, 

 had the power of imposing or re- 

 lieving from the burden of the bal- 

 lot, which, to many, would be ab- 

 solute ruin. He thought either they 

 should do away the exemptions, or 

 else do away the volunteers. He 

 concluded by strongly contending, 

 that the high bounties given for the 

 army of reserve, must operate 

 powerfully against the general re- 

 cruiting service. 



Mr. Hiley Addington, denied 

 that the bounty to substitutes was 

 501. as had been stated by the right 

 honourable gentleman. In his part 

 of the country it was not more than 

 half that sum. He expressed his as- 

 tonishment that the right honour- 

 able gentleman should, without any 

 adequate reason, set himself against 

 the universal opinion, and never 

 speak of the volunteers but in dis- 

 paragement of their exertions. 



Mr. alderman Price said, that the 

 average of the bounty paid in the 

 city of London, for substitutes to 

 the army of reserve, did not exceed 

 261. he believed 26 guineas was the 

 highest bounty ever given. 



Colonel Crawford defended the 

 opinions of Mr. Windham, with re- 

 spect to the injury the volunteer 

 system did to the generial recruiting 

 for the army. He objefted altoge- 

 ther to the exemptions, which he 

 believed were only granted through 

 mistake. 



His right honourable friend, how- 

 ever, had been much misunderstood, 



when 



