53 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



ingham opposed that part of one of 

 the clauses, which required the ad- 

 ministration of oaths to witnesses, 

 »pon regimental courts martial, and 

 subjected them to the usual penalties 

 for perjury. The grounds he took 

 were, that he never heard the old 

 and usual practice complained of,and 

 that soldiers rery ieldom appealed 

 from regimental to general courts 

 martial ; when it was otherwise, the 

 decisions of the former were gene- 

 rally confirmed, and the punishments 

 increased. He also objected to 

 persons being made liable to the 

 penalties of perjury, upon vague 

 and loose recollection of their tesfi. 

 mony, by those who may be pre- 

 sent, as the bill made no provision 

 for the attendance of a proper per- 

 son, to take an account of the pro- 

 ceedings. 



Lord Camden supported the pro- 

 visions, as calculated to give a greater 

 degree of solemnity to such pro- 

 ceedings, and more security for the 

 correctness of the witnesses. 



The duke of Cumberland ob- 

 jected to the clause, as tending to 

 induce a belief, that the long estab- 

 lished practice was complained of, 

 and to introduce an increased se- 

 Terity, by shackling that discre- 

 tionary power, which inclined the 

 Eiembers of these courts to lenity, 

 whenever it was consistent with 

 propriety. 



The duke of Clarence expressed 

 himself to be of a similar opinion. 

 After a few word ; from Loids 

 Havvkesbury and Mulgrave, in 

 favour of the clause, it was agreed 

 to, on a division, in which the nurii- 

 ters were, for it 22, — against it 15, 

 — majority 7. 



On the ^Ist of March, the Chan- 

 cellor of the Exchequer statud, in 

 the house of commons, the outlines 



of a measure he had to propose, for 

 a direct reduction of the militia oi 

 England and Scotland, to its origi- 

 nal establishment of 40,000 for 

 England, and 8000 for Scotland, 

 by allowing the supernumeraries 

 above, to volunteer into the line, 

 instead of the gradual reduction, 

 before intended, that all vacancies 

 occurring till the militia was re- 

 duced to the old establishment, 

 should not be filled up. From the 

 returns, it appeared that the dif- 

 ference between that establishment 

 and (he present force, afforded 

 something about 17,000 men, to be 

 applied to the augmentation of our 

 disposable force. The value of 

 such an .addition of men, in a higher 

 s(atc of discipline than even the 

 regulars were some years ago, must 

 be universally admitted : and it was 

 the more expedient, as the most res- 

 pectable militia commanders were 

 agreed that the number of otliccri 

 could no longer be kept up, con. 

 sistently with the constitution of 

 the militia, which was proved by 

 there being no less than 600 vacan- 

 cies amongst them. Added to this, 

 he knew, from particular authority, 

 that there never was a period, when 

 the militia were more desirous to 

 give their fullest services, if per- 

 mitted, to their country's cause ; 

 and he believed there never was a 

 time, nor were there any circum- 

 stances under which the acceptance 

 of them could be more desirable. 

 The mode he proposed for regula- 

 ting the volunte'^ring, would be, 

 that when (he quotas of the coun- 

 ties should be fixed, and the order 

 specifying the quotas they were res- 

 pectively to furnish, a short time 

 should be allowed to each officer, to 

 select those of hisj men disposed to 

 Tolunteer, with whom he was most 



willinff 



