54] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818. 



sent number of the lords of the 

 Admiralty, on which all the sug- 

 gestions of the committee of 

 finance had been attended to. 

 Nor would he attempt to follow 

 in the same vein the statement 

 which the hon. baronet had so 

 pleasantly employed in his former 

 debate on the Admiralty lords. 



A division then took place on 

 Sir M. W. Ridley's motion, when 

 there appeared, For the Amend- 

 ment, 58 ; Against it, 85 : Majo- 

 rity, 27. 



Sir G. Warrtnder next moved, 

 " That 1,787,18U. be granted 

 for defraying the charge of what 

 may be necessary for the build- 

 ing, rebuilding, and repairs of 

 ships of war in his majesty's and 

 the merchants' yards, and other 

 extra works over and above what 

 is proposed to be done upon the 

 heads of wear, tear, and ordinary, 

 for the year 1818." 



Sir M. W. Ridley regretted 

 that, notwithstanding the notice 

 which had been taken on a for- 

 mer occasion of a very merito- 

 rious class of individuals who 

 had served as pursers in the navy, 

 nothing had been done for their 

 relief. 



Mr. CrokeY said, that the per- 

 sons who had been named were 

 not pursers, but clerks who had 

 acted as such. The Admiralty- 

 board had found it impossible to 

 do any thing for them without 

 opening a door to many claims 

 with which it would be impossible 

 to comply. 



The resolution was then agreed 

 to. 



On March 2d the House of 

 Commons having resolved itself 

 into a committee of supply to 

 tyhich the army estimates were 



referretl. Lord Pahicrston rose to 

 propose the Army Estimates for 

 the year. He began with saying, 

 that the Appendix to the Seventh 

 Report of the Finance Committee 

 having fully explained all that re- 

 lated to the details of the military 

 expenditure, it was not necessary 

 for him to enter more at length 

 into the subject than to give a 

 statement of the reduction of ex- 

 pense under this head of the na- 

 tional service. This reduction, 

 comparing the present with the 

 last year, would amount to 

 188,027/. 19'. 3d. ; while the total 

 reduction of chargfe in all the de- 

 partments connected with our mi- 

 litary establishment was no less 

 than 4-1 8,000/. Upon the score of 

 numbers, the diminution of the 

 army in the present year compar- 

 ed with the last, would at home 

 amount to 1,995 effective men; 

 while throughout the empire, in- 

 cluding France, it would exceed 

 20,000, so that the total numbers 

 might be stated at 22,000 men. 

 In Ireland the reduction of our 

 forces was not so great as it ap- 

 peared, for it being impossible to 

 equalize the effective force of re- 

 giments with nominal strength, 

 the force ifl that country within 

 the last year did not amount to 

 the number actually voted. The 

 amount of the land forces for the 

 present year may be stated at 

 25,000 for England, Guernsey, 

 and Jersey ; 20,000 for Irelahd 

 33,000 for our old and new colo- 

 nies ; 17,360 for the territories of 

 the East India company, exclu- 

 sive of recruiting troops and com- 

 panies ; and 20,000 for our con- 

 tingent in France. The land 

 forces may therefore be stated at 

 a reduction of 71,000. The stalf 



is 



