HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



105 



jiVc, and, therefore, felt himself 

 obliged to oppose it. 



Lord Mulgrave contended that 

 this bill was much less opjiressiye 

 than the system of raising men by 

 ballot, which it destroyed; and that 

 it was likely to produce the objed^s 

 it professed. He was as sorry as 

 any man, that such an administra- 

 tion could not be formed as had 

 been expected, but that was no ob- 

 jection to the present bill. 



The carl of Moira said, it was 

 almost universally allowed that the 

 measure now proposed fell infinitely 

 short of what liad been generally 

 expected, and which, in the pre- 

 sent circumstances, appeared to be 

 necessary. On the very face of the 

 bill, it appeared that the measure was 

 likely to be so very slow in its opera- 

 tion, as not to raise any consider- 

 able reinforcements for our regular 

 army, for a length of time ; and 

 yet it was an object of the first im- 

 portance, that they should be rais- 

 ed without delay. Until we had a 

 regular force fit to enter into the 

 field, wc could not expect any in- 

 terference or co-operation of the 

 continental powers in our behalf. — 

 It was because the bill did not go 

 to the speedy creation of a dis- 

 posable force, that he should find 

 it his duty to oppose it. It was his 

 decided opinion, that the recruit- 

 ing service of this country could 

 never go on with proper spirit, while 

 the custom prevailed of enlisting 

 men for life. His lordship, in the 

 course of his speech, took an op- 

 portunity of paying a high comjili- 

 ment to the volunteers of Scotland, 

 who were men whom he would be 

 proud to lead against any enemy, 

 with the fu I lest confidence of success. 



Lord Melville strongly sujiported 

 the principle of raising men first for 



a limited service, in order to tempt 

 them afterwards to enter into gene- 

 ral service. He said, that experi- 

 ence had always shewn the case of 

 prevailing on men to extend their 

 services. If the present bill only 

 assembled a considerable force for 

 home defence, it would do a great 

 deal ; but there could be little doubt 

 that, when the men were colle6led, 

 many of them would enter for gene» 

 ral service. 



The duke of Richmond thought 

 the measure much too feeble to op- 

 pose so mighty a danger as threaten- 

 ed us from our Gallic foe, who had 

 an army of 400,000 regulars under 

 his command, and an immense po- 

 pidalion of fifty millions to recruit 

 from. 



The earl of Limerick complained 

 of the noble duke, for over-rating 

 the power and resources of the ene- 

 my, and under-rating that of his 

 own country. The population of 

 France was well known not to ba 

 fifty millions, nor any thing like it. 

 Lord Hobart opposed the bill, be- 

 cause he thought it went to perpe- 

 tuate the principle of the army of 

 reserve, which could only be justi- 

 fied as a temporary expedient. — 

 The army of reserve was grievous, 

 but it produced men : this would 

 be equally grievous, and would pro- 

 duce none. 



Lord Suffolk also opposed the 

 bill, and thought that a large regu- 

 lar army, assisted by an armed po- 

 pulation, was the only system of 

 ])ermancnt safety for the country. 



LordGrenvilie disapproved high- 

 ly of the reflexions that were thrown 

 out by some noble lords, on what 

 they supposed to be the motives of 

 those who opposed the bill : he 

 thought that he might safely say, 

 that he had bccu actuated by no 



H 4 per- 



