HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



59 



and hardship that were produced by 

 those exemptions, was very great 

 iijjon those who were not fortunate 

 enough to enjoy them. He did not 

 conceive, that, even if the whole 

 volunteer force were to be dissolved 

 the next day, that any very serious 

 mischief would result from it. The 

 same men would remain in the coun- 

 try, aud the same zeal and ability 

 to serve it, although it might bcdi- 

 refted in another channel. He 

 thought there was no example in 

 history to justify the experiment of 

 bringing the volunteers to fight 

 against regular troops. The king- 

 dom was once conquered by a si- 

 milar experiment under Harold. 

 The Vendean peasants never did 

 fight regular battles against tlie ene- 

 my, ' except in one or two instances, 

 wherein they were completely de- 

 feated. They were obliged to let 

 their towns and villages be burnt. 

 He did not suppose that any species 

 of irregular troops could ever j^re- 

 tend to engage in pitched battles 

 with regulars ; he thought, how- 

 ever, that a numerous and well-or- 

 ganised irregular army would be a 

 powerful auxiliary to a large regular 

 force. The volunteers of France, 

 who fought at Jemappe, were rais- 

 ed on a footing totally different. 

 He considered the entire system as 

 a barren moor, from which it was 

 idle to expefl: a good crop, aud 

 which it was ridiculous to resort to, 

 when M (• had such an abundant 

 field to (ill as the regular army. 

 He, therefore, decidedly protested 

 against the whole system. 



The Chancellor of the Exchequer 

 considered, that this strain of argu- 

 ment, from the riijht honourable 

 gentleman who spoke last, was en- 

 •tirely inconsistent with his former 

 •cntimcnts and conduft. He now 



found fault with the militia, and yet, 

 when he was secretary at Avar, he 

 carried it to a much higher pitch 

 than it is at present. He now 

 found fault with the volunteers, 

 and yet it was und' " his administra- 

 tion that the vohintoer system was 

 introduced. He found fault with 

 it now, as injuring the regular army, 

 aiul yet it Avas a fatt, that the re- 

 gular army had increased faster 

 since the commencement of the pre- 

 sent war, than at any former pe- 

 riod. Although the right honour- 

 able gentleman had a poor opinion 

 of the ethcacy of the volunteers, 

 jet, in opposition to his mere as- 

 sertion, there was the decided opi- 

 nion of lord Moira, lord Cathcart, 

 and general Simcoe. He consider- 

 ed the allusion, Avhich the right hon. 

 gentleman had made to the Ven- 

 deans, as particularly unfavourable 

 to his OAvn argument, as thos» 

 troops bore the nearest possible re- 

 semblance, or rather Avore the mo- 

 del of that force, lie so much recom- 

 mended, an armed peasantry. 

 There was no experience, or no 

 sound reasoning, to induce a pre- 

 ference of an armed peasantry to 

 such a body as our volunteers. 

 There had been already more re- 

 cruits raised for the regular army, 

 than were raised for the seven first 

 years of the last Avar, under an ad- 

 ministration that the right honour- 

 able gentleman so properly extolled. 

 As to irregularities committed by 

 volunteers, it Avas impossible that 

 there should not be some Avhere the 

 body AAas so numerous ; but, it 

 must be recollei^ed, that the periiod 

 Avhcn dissatisfaction Avas at the high- 

 est, Avas, when a number of oilers 

 had been rejected. He thanked 

 God, that Ave had now a numcroms 

 regular army, a numerous militia, 



and 



