s^ 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 18C5. 



corps, lie said, raeasurcs were no^ 

 taking for the amelioration of tliat 

 part of tlie serTJcc, and, in the selec- 

 tion of troops for the West Indies, 

 care was taken that those sent 

 should be such as were least likely 

 to be injured by the cliniatc. 



Rarl Stanhope thought the motion 

 necessary, as tending to the repeal 

 of the additional force act, the 

 eficcts of which v.ere alarmingly 

 oppressive to the people. It cn- 

 iicted that, in levying the penalties, 

 they should not he ])aid out of the 

 poor rates. It must then fall upon 

 the farmers, who could only pay it 

 by raising the price of corn, and 

 other provisions of the first necessity, 

 Bpon the people, 'i'his would ine- 

 Titably load to an increase in the 

 price of labour. It was founded on 

 a Tnischievous, faminc-niongering 

 system, and if it raised the men (irst, 

 it would starve tiiem alternards. By 

 helpinij to starve thcjioor, it would 

 raise the price of wages ; that again 

 would raise the price of maniifac- 

 iures, and so injure their sale in 

 foreign markets; from which ■would 

 spring the ruin of commerce, the 

 navy, and the whole of our military 

 Kjstcm.Heexpressed himself friendly 

 to a general armament of the people, 

 and his apprehensions from the 

 present state of indiscipline of our 

 force, which, however, was the less 

 to be wondered at, when they rc- 

 collected,'that, under the administra- 

 tion of the present noble secretary 

 cf state, (lord Camden,) in Ireland, 

 In 1798, the thc;i commander in 

 chief (general Abercrombie) stated, 

 " that the army there, from its in- 

 discipline, was only formidable to 

 Itself, and not to the enemy." 

 Our state of defence was worse now 

 than before. The present minister 

 did not kcruple to call his predeces- 



sor and present colleague a fool 

 and simpleton, and yet that nobl« 

 lord had more sense in his littla 

 finger, than the present minister in 

 his whole body ; and that was not 

 saying much. Upon the whole, h« 

 reprobated the defence bill, a* 

 founded ou wickedness, and that 

 wickedness, founded on fraud. 



J^ord Romney defended the con- 

 duct of lord Camden, in Ireland, to 

 which, he thought, we were indebt- 

 ed for the preservation of the coun. 

 try. As to the bill ailuded to, h« 

 understood it was to receive many 

 amendments and alterations, from 

 the right honourable gentleman who 

 proposed it, whicli he hoped would 

 materially assist its efficacy. With 

 respect to what was mentioned of 

 the people being starved, the 

 distress was occasioned by tha 

 failure of <Tic harvest, notwith- 

 standing which, they must feel . 

 themselves happy, compared with 

 the situation of any other people i« 

 the world. 



Lord Carlisle supported the mo- 

 tion of enquiry, in order to as- 

 certain the point of limited and un- 

 limited service, on which military 

 opinions seemed to be at variance, 

 and to determine the reliance that 

 should be placed on our varioua- 

 lines of service. 



Lord Ilawkesbury objected to », 

 motion, a compliance with which 

 would devolve the military admini- ' 

 Iu^>tration of the country on a 

 committee of that house, and which 

 would imply want of contidence in 

 his majesty's present ministers, 

 which, if entertained, would b« 

 more properly the ground of an ad- 

 dress for their removal. As such a 

 motion, therefore, could have ii9 ' 

 other object than the censure er re« ■ 

 moral of miiu»t«rs, he was deter- 

 mined 



