62 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1804. 



other, and the volunteer system 

 was in opposition to both. 



The Bishop of Laiulaff thought 

 the volunteer system noble in its 

 principle; and he trusted it MOuId 

 be successful in its ctlects. The vo- 

 lunteer army was composed of all 

 ranks, and contained whatever was 

 respectable in society. The ques- 

 tion was not now upc^n the princi- 

 ple, for that had be a adopted. It 

 ■was upon a bill which proposed for 

 its object the improvement of the 

 volunteer system. He thought, in 

 times like the present, the govern- 

 ment had not on\y a right to call 

 npon the services of every man, but 

 that every coach or saddle horse in 

 the kingdom should be put in re- 

 quisition, if necessary. He declar- 

 ed that, for his part, he should pre- 

 fer living on oaten bread aiul water, 

 to enjoying every luxury which af- 

 fluence coild purchase in a subju- 

 gated country, that had the misfor- 

 tune to groan under French domi- 

 nation. 



Lord Darnlcy thought it improper 

 to apply the word system to such a 

 mass of incongruous regulations as 

 ministers had made respecting the 

 volunteers. He saw nothing in them 

 but the incapacity and inconsistency 

 of those Mho framed them. 



Lord Fife supported the bill, and 

 spoke highly of the efficiency of the 

 voiuntCLTs. 



Lord Romney thought that if the 

 day of trial should come, the volun- 

 teers would be found equal to en- 

 counter the troops of France ; they 

 ought most certainly to be superior 

 to the forced conscript-, in the French 

 army. He wished to see officers 

 that had seen servic*. mix more a- 

 mong them. General Harris (who 

 commanded at the taking of Serin- 

 gapatam) had not thought it beneath 



bim to accept the commission of 

 lieutenant colonel of a voluntocr 

 corps. 



Lord Grenville professed to feel 

 as high a respect as any man for the 

 courage and zeal of the volunteers, 

 Li the present circumstances of the 

 country, no one could entertain the 

 idea of disbanding 400,000 volun- 

 tary defenders of the country, or 

 deny that they might render impor- 

 tant service. When it was, how- 

 ever, considered that those troops 

 which threatened to invade us were 

 also of undisputed courage, and 

 had gained great military experience 

 during twelve campaigns that they 

 had fought against the best disci- 

 plined troops in Europe : he thought 

 it was evident that ministers had 

 been shamefidly negligent, in not 

 proYiding a sufficient force of that 

 description which was proper for 

 combating such troops. He consi- 

 dered that the regular army had 

 been sacrificed for establishments of 

 less importance, and every measure 

 which had been taken for increasing 

 it Avas thwarted and counteracted, 

 by the effect of the exemptions given 

 to the volunteers. When the noble 

 secretary (lord HaMksbury) talked 

 of the number of our army, he 

 should have distinguished what por- 

 tion of it was militia. As to the 

 army of reserve, it could be only 

 considered a depui for recruits at 

 present : and it was hardly fair to 

 reckon those that have been so re- 

 cently balloted for that c irps, as 

 regular troops. He could not agree 

 with a learned lord (lord Ellen- 

 borough), that the crown had the 

 prerogative of ordering the subjefls 

 of the realm on military duty, with- 

 out the sanction of parliament. — 

 This formed the most tyrannical 

 feature of the French government, 



and 



