HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



53 



mined to meet it with direct nega- 

 tiye. His lordship then entered 

 into a review of the different species 

 of force now possessed by the coun- 

 try, and, from a number ot" state- 

 ments and calculations, thought 

 himself warranted in concluding tliat 

 he had proved, that we were, ac- 

 cording to our population, much 

 more than equal in military power 

 to France, or any other country in 

 the world ; that, therefore, the mi- 

 nisters had done every thing that it 

 was possible to do, and there was 

 no specific nor sufficient parliamen- 

 tary ground made out for tlie pre- 

 sent motion. — The earls of Suffolk, 

 Darnlcy, and Carysfort were for 

 the motion ; and the duke of Alon- 

 trose and the earl of Westmoreland 

 against it. 



Lord Grenville was glad to hear 

 that it was intended to alter and 

 amend the defence act; for he 

 thought no alteration could make it 

 •worse, though he must say, at the 

 same time, that no amendment 

 would be so good as its repeal. — 

 Lord Mulgrave was against entering 

 into a course of enquiry, which 

 would tend rather to obstruct than 

 promote the public safety. — The 

 lord chancellor directed his argu- 

 ments principally to the latter part 

 of tlic motion, which proposed the 

 institution of measures, by a com- 

 mittee of that house, which should 

 more properly be left to the ex- 

 ecutive government. lie did not 

 deny the right of the house to do so, 

 but it should only be in the case of 

 an overbearing necessity, which he 

 did not conceive to exist at the pre- 

 sent moment. 



The duke of Clarence thought 

 every part of oar military estab- 

 lisliment deserving of a serious re- 

 ilskoo, aud bolicr«d tkat, if the 



noble lords spoke their minds, thej 

 would agree that to trust to this 

 bill, as the means of recruiting our 

 army, was no more than perfect 

 trilling, lie thought the noble vis- 

 count (Sidmouth) and his friends, 

 bound, in consistency, to vote for 

 this measure now, as they had 

 done so last year. His royal high- 

 ness said, that if the committee 

 should be appointed, he hoped one 

 object of thtir enquiry would ba 

 the plan to employ scapoys as 

 troops in the West India colonies. 



Ivord Sidmouth said, he never en- 

 tertained any sanguine expectationf 

 of the effect of the bill, whicb 

 formed the principle topic of the pre- 

 sent debate, and if he now wished to 

 give it a longer trial, it was chiefly 

 in deferenc* to the legislature, 

 which had adopted it. As to the op- 

 probrious epithets bestowed on the 

 administration to which he lately be- 

 longed, he insisted that, with a re- 

 ference to any of its measures, no 

 such character could properly ap. 



ply- 

 Lord Melville observed, that 

 most of the arguments used this 

 night, had priuc!i)ally applied to the 

 repeal of the additional force bill, 

 a direct motion for which was ne- 

 gatived about a fortnight ago. 



Lord Spencer denied that the ar- 

 guments adduced, on his side of tho 

 house, applied so much to the re- 

 peal of tliL' additional force bii I, au- 

 to the opporlunify it might afloi-d of 

 devising other means which might 

 prove more effectual. 



On a division there appeared, for 

 the motion 52, — against it, 127, — 

 majority, 75. 



In consequence of a report made 



by the committee on the Middlesex 



election, setting forth that, on the 



13th, litb, aud iStii, days of tii» 



E i pall, 



