1S ANNUAL REGISTER, 
‘Mr. Bastard thought, the last 
parliament had disgraced the ‘cha- 
racter of the militia, by their inno- 
vations, on the original principles 
of the establishment: he conceived 
that it was this conduct, which had 
produced the many resignations, 
of which ministers complained. 
The chancellor of the exchequer 
contended, that the militia had not 
been ill treated by the former mi- 
nisters 3 nor had they been insulted, 
or degraded by the last parliament. 
Who was it that conquered in 
Egypt? The militia—Who was it 
that fought jacobinism and treason 
in Ireland? The militia.—He felt 
so proud of the conduct of the mi- 
litia, last war, that he could not 
bear to hear it said, that the militia 
had been degraded. 
Lord Folkstone insisted, that 
they had been degraded, and their 
officers much disgusted, by having 
their men taken from them. 
General Tarleton thought, that 
the officers fgom the line, which the 
present bill alluded to, might well 
associate with any description of 
men in the country; he did not 
know whether the noble lord meant, 
that they were unfit company for 
the landed interest, or the landed 
interest for them? 
The resolutions were then agreed 
to, in the committee; but, upon 
the report being brought up, the 
next day, 
Mr. Windham said, he should 
certainly rather see the militia ofti- 
cered, by officers from the line, than 
not ofiicered at all; and, on that 
consideration only, he should vote 
fora nasure,. which appeared to 
him subversive of the fundamental 
principles of the-militia system. In- 
deed he thought it ludicrous, to give 
1803. 
the term. Militia, to a force like 
this, composed of officers without 
qualification, and men without bal- 
lot. For his part, instead, of wish= 
ing to assimilate the militia to the 
army, he would much rather as- 
similate the army to the. militias 
He wished, that drafting from the 
militia, should be entirely abolish- 
ed; -and that soldiers should be 
raised for the regular army, only 
for a'term of years. He thought, 
the effect of the present bill, would 
be this: that it would rob the re- 
gular army of officers, by intros 
ducing them into the militia; and 
as for soldiers, it was pretty well 
robbed already. If he then voted 
for the present bill, it was merely 
for want of a better. 
The secretary at war said, that 
in order, as much as possible, to 
reconcile the measure to the feel- 
ings of the gentlemen, who opposed 
it, he should imtroduee a clause, 
by which it should be declared, 
that the power of the lord lieute- 
nant, might not go farther, than 
to introduce, unqualified officers, 
as high as the rank of captain. 
Lord Stanley, suggested the pro- 
priety of admiting, Roman Catho- 
lics, who should be qualified as of- 
ficers of the militia. 
The amendments were then 
agreed to, and, a few days after, 
the bill was read a third time, with 
out any farther opposition. 
On the 24th of March, the ehan- 
cellor of the exchequer, brought 
down a message from his majesty, 
which, in consequence of the emi- 
nent services, performed on various 
occasions, by Sir James Saumarez, 
and particulaily by his spirited and 
successiul attack, upon a superior 
fleet of French and Spanish ships, 
mn 
