6S 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1804. 



CHAP. V. 



Meeting of Parliament after the Ecis/er Recess — I'olunteer Cousojidaticn 

 Bill much <khaled ut both Houses — Passed — DebaU-s on the Irish Mililia 

 Offer ^ and Irish Militia Augmentalion Bills — in the Commons — and Lords. 

 Mr. Fo.i's Motion for an Enquiry into the State of th<^ Defence of the 

 Country. — Lost — Debate on the Motion for the Suspension of the ArMy of 

 liesercc Act. — Small Majority of Ministers npon a Division — The Euriof 

 Carlisle's Motion for\Fapcrs respecting Admiral Rainier's Conduct - carried 

 against Government — Increasing Weakness of Administration — Marquis 

 of Stafford moves for a similar Enquiry in the House of Lords, zcith Mr. 

 Fox's in the Commons — suspended at the Request of Ministers — Resignation 

 of Mr. Addington — succeeded as Minister by Mr. F/'ft. — Volunteer Con- 

 solidation Act passed. 



I> OTII houses of I'arliainent met 

 ^ again on tlic 5th day of April : 

 in the house of lords, the volun- 

 teer consolidation bill v/ent through 

 the committee, Avhicli was occupied 

 several days in tlie consideration of 

 its various clauses. 



There were several amendments 

 proposed, by noble lords in the op- 

 position, wiiicli were mostly nega- 

 tived without a division. The bill 

 was then read a third time, passed, 

 and ordered to (he lower house. 



On the 10th of April a motion of 

 the earl of Sufl'olk, " that a com- 

 mittee be appointed to provide for 

 the defence of the country, and to 

 enquire into the preparations which 

 had been made to meet the meuiiccd 

 danger," was negatived without a 

 division. 



On the same day, in the house of 

 commons, upon the question for the 

 liouse resolving itself info a com- 

 mittee on the " Irish militia oiler 

 I)J1I." 



Mr. Elliot objected to the mea- 



sure, as he considered, that it was 

 not consistent witli good faith or 

 discipline to encourage those sort of 

 offers, and the deliberations which 

 must have preceded them. lie dis- 

 approved of it also both as a mea- 

 sure that would reduce the defen- 

 sive strength of Ireland, and that 

 would increase the number of those 

 absentees, that drain so much mo- 

 ney from that country already. 



Mr. secretary Yorke observed, 

 that in the year 17D9, when that 

 gentleman was in ollicc, and Mr. 

 SVindham a cabinet minister, both 

 of them supported a bill exactly si- 

 milar to the present. This measure 

 originated in the spontaneous gal- 

 lantry of the regiments which had 

 volunteered their services, and as 

 for the mighty danger which was 

 apprehended from military bodies 

 deliberating, he must say, that it 

 had not as yet been found, that 

 those deliberations had hurt the dis- 

 cipline of the regiments which had 

 volunteerefl, ia the course of the last 



war, 



