HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
favor of the militia force, namely, 
that they were incomparably: less 
expensive than regulars, and in the 
present situation of the country, he 
would recommend it to gentlemen, 
not to despise economy. 
General Tarleton, thought it im- 
prudent to compare the merits of 
the militia and troops of the line; 
but of this he was sure, that there was 
» no officer in the house who would 
not prefer 15,000 militia to 10,000 
troops of the line for any service ; 
and such a body as 18,000 Irish 
militia, must, with the 25,000 regu- 
lar troops in that country, be a 
powerful means of securing it from 
the attempts of the enemy. 
Sir Lawrence Parsons, said the 
entire question at present was, whe- 
‘ther when Ireland possessed ail the 
materials of an army, it should or 
should not be allowed to use them, 
in the cnly manner that it was pos- 
sible to apply them? The Irish 
militia had, in the course of last 
war, conducted itself uncommonly 
well, not only in their own country, 
but in volunteering their services 
abroad, and in garrisoning the isle 
of Guernsey. 
Mr. Addington, in defending the 
militia system from the objections 
of Mr. Windham, took an opportu- 
nity to compliment Colonel Vere- 
ker, (who was then sitting in the 
house dressed in his militia uni- 
form): that honourable gentleman 
had, at the head ofa small corps, 
on that establishment, checked and 
defeated French troops in Ireland, 
when in the full career of their 
success, 
Mr, Wilberforce strongly sup- 
ported the motion: he said, ifany 
political principle was more strongly 
mpressed on his mind than arether, 
103 
it was his attachment to the consti- 
tutional defence of a militia. It 
was a force, which none but a free 
country could enjoy ; -while a 
standing army was a sort of force, 
to which every one must look with 
constitutional jealousy. He thought 
it likely, that it was from his love 
of expeditions, that, that right ho- 
norable gentleman (Mr. Windham) 
was so attached to standing armies, 
and so averse from militia. 
Mr. Elliot, approved of the prin- 
ciple of the militia system, and 
wished that a militia should always 
be kept up, but on a very reduced 
scale; he considered that the mili- 
tia principle was abandoned in the 
present bill, as it went to raise a 
force by bounties, instead of by 
ballot; in the place of a militia 
force, he would consider this as a 
fencible force of the worst species, 
which was not to serve out of IJre- 
land. The Irish militia had been 
completely disbanded, and the sys- 
tem dissolved at the conclusion of 
the last war ; the question now was, 
whether it should be revived, in a 
manner the most likely to impede 
the general recruiting service? He 
thought, a board of French general 
officers, could not contrive a mea- 
sure, more likely to sap the military 
strength of the empire, than what 
was contained in the resolution now 
before the house ! 
Lord Castlereagh, Mr. Hiley 
Addington, and Mr. Dawson sup- 
ported it: the resolution was then 
agreed to, and abill ordered pur- 
suant thereto. 
This dereliction of the only mode 
of raising a militia force known to 
the law and the constitution, was a 
sufficient, but melancholy proof, that 
the contidence, so often and so 
H 4 recently 
