HISTORY 



OF EUROPE. 



79 



the suspending the operation of the 

 army of reserve. 



The secretary at war (Mr. 

 Bragge) considered the bill now 

 proposed, as merely a temporary 

 measure, arising from the present 

 circumstances, and that it would be 

 wrong to postpone it until a new 

 plan, so full of details, should be 

 discussed. 



]Mr. Fox conceiving, that the 

 army of reserve bill had been com- 

 pletely abandoned by its authors, 

 and that they had now no other 

 measure to propose, thought it 

 would be absolutely necessary to 

 take Mr. Pitt's plan into conside- 

 ration, before the suspension of the 

 army of reserve bill was adopted. 

 Ministers themselves confest that 

 Mr. Pitt's plan was wortliy of con- 

 sideration. If so, they ought not 

 to strike off the army of reserve 

 which was the very foundation of it, 

 without first having considered, that 

 which they allowed to be worthy 

 • of consideration. J£e was astoaish- 

 ed that ministers could expect any 

 thing from the present bill ; when 

 it was found impossible to get men, 

 for limited service, at a very high 

 bounty, how could it be expected 

 that they would find recruits for 

 unlimited service at a much smaller 

 premium ? 



Jjord Castlereagh said, it was now 

 fully proved, that the army of re- 

 serve act, which liad, at the begin- 

 ning, produced considerable advan- 

 tages, had now, in a great measure, 

 ceased to be operative, and there- 

 fore it became the duty of ministers- 

 to propose its suspension, lie cer- 

 tainly so far agreed witii the general 

 principle of ]Mr. Pitt's plan, as to 

 prefer a force, constituted like the 

 army of reserve, to the militia; and 

 that he Hould have no objection to 



a diminution of the militia, aiitl an 

 increase of the army of rtserve, if 

 the thing were practicable. But 

 AvhateveV he might think of tiic plan 

 in general, it was evident, that it 

 could not be brought into operation 

 in less than three or four months, 

 and, in the mean time, consequences, 

 much to be deprecated, might fol- 

 low from not suspending this act. — 

 He had no objection to the recruit- 

 ing by parishes, but he always 

 wished to have two strixgs to 

 HIS BOW, in case one should fail. 



jMr. Windham declared, that, he 

 was extremely glad to find the opi- 

 nion, he had so often delivered, of 

 the propriety of reducing the mili- 

 tia, at length supported by the 

 powerful abilities of a right honour- 

 able gentleman (Mr. Pitt.) He 

 now found, that many of his ideas, 

 which were so violently censured 

 when first proposed, were in a fair 

 way of being adopted. In some 

 instances, ministers seemed to wish 

 to accommodate themselves to the 

 opinions of all parties, and some- 

 times to take advice. But in this 

 business of the army of reserve, they 

 did not seem to know, how thejr 

 should proceed, and would neither 

 sufler it to live nor to die ; but kept 

 it like a. ghostin terrorem, for the 

 mere purpo.se of extorting money. 

 If the army of reserve act had com- 

 pletely failed (as ministers had con- 

 fest) it was by no means because 

 the country was exhausted, and men 

 could not be had. If that were the 

 case, there would be no hope left 

 for the recruiting the regular armv. 

 The real reason that it had failed, 

 was, that the measure was so tyran- 

 nical, the stomach of the country 

 loathed it; and no officer could be, 

 found to put it into execution. It 

 was like tho^c penal laws, which, 



M hpii 



