HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



93 



^n», tliat if we were to abandon the 

 I ado, there was no other country 

 that had the caphal, or the means, 

 of taking it up. 



Lord Castli-reagh, thought it was 

 in vain to argue it as a question of 

 humanity, b'lt rather as one of prac- 

 ticability. Unless we could find out 

 i a modi*, in which other powers 

 r would engage to co-operate with 

 us, he thought the measure would 

 do infinitely more harm than good 

 in every point of view in which it 

 could be taken. 



I\Ir. Fox, thought the abolition 

 was certainly pra(5ticable, if parlia- 

 . luent chose to enact the measure. 

 . lie did consider it as a question of 

 f humanity, justice, and m-oraiitv : 

 i) and thought it was most disgraceful 

 t» this country, that we should visit 

 Africa for the purpose of adding 

 ii oppression, and aggravating the mi- 

 series of slavery, to all those whom 

 we should find already oppressed 

 and enslaved. 



Mr. Windham oppo":cd the bill, 

 from fearing, that other nations 

 would take up the trade. 



He was replied to by Mr. Whit- 

 bread and ]Mr. Wilberforce. 



Upon the division, the question 

 of the second reading was carried 

 by a majority of 58 ; the ayes being 

 100, and tht noes -42. 



On the next day, upon the ques- 

 tion of the second reading " the 

 additional force" bill, (Mr^ Pitt's), 

 Colonel Calcraft was surprised, 

 that the right honourable geutle- 

 man, who had talked so much about 

 vigour and energy, should Jiave pro- 

 ' duced a plan in which there appear- 

 I ed so little of either quality. Bv rc- 

 1 moving the ballot, he had taken 

 ! away the only means there was of 

 raising men with expedition and 

 «ffc6t. The mode of otBcering Mas 



extremely unjust, for, as it was 

 proposed, that the senior ofilcers io 

 tiie second battalion, should be pro- 

 moted to the vacancies in the first, 

 it would often happen, that when 

 the first battalions had been bravely 

 serving abroad, their otSccrs would 

 find their chance of promotion taken 

 from them by others who had been 

 living comfortably at houie. Ii« 

 then suggested, that if the West In- 

 dia service was a separate establish- 

 ment, the public force might be 

 very rapidly increased. 



Mr. Yorke declared, that, in hia 

 opposition to this measure, ho 

 should ab.stain from any thing like 

 a faftious opposition ; he could not 

 see how, at present, it was possi- 

 ble, without a ballot, to afford a 

 regular supply of recruits to tbs 

 army. In all the military countries 

 ef Europe, couipulsory modes of 

 recruiting were resorted tOy and it 

 appeared to him impossible to raLs« 

 sufricient armies without havjng re- 

 course to some degree of compul- 

 sion. The principle of the ballot 

 had been the foundation of the mi- 

 litia, which was always considered 

 as a constitutional force ; and, 

 therefore, was that sort of compul- 

 sion vvliich was recogTiised as legal 

 ai.d constitutional. We had no%v 

 500,000 nun in arms; if they Mere 

 not sufficient to defend the country, 

 it was not worth defending : the 

 grand object, at present, therefore, 

 was to increase the regular dispos- 

 able force. The former admini. 

 stration had presented a plan for 

 forming second battalions, and vais- 

 ing ton new battalions in Ireland 

 and Scotland. Those plans, he sup. 

 posed, were now to be abandoned, 

 and it did not appear to him, that 

 tke present bill was lik.'y to pro- 

 duce the objeft so much desired, of 



speedily 



