56] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818. 



a part was employed on the 

 Military Canal ; and another part 

 was at Hilsea. There was no 

 greater number than was required 

 for the public service. For the 

 recruiting stafF, it consisted of 

 inspecting field officers, who su- 

 perintended the various duties of 

 the district staffs ; a paymaster, 

 who attended to the accounts ; a 

 surgeon to nispect the recruits ; 

 and Serjeants to escort them to 

 their respective depots. With 

 respect to the grant of a pension 

 to the Military College, it arose 

 from the warrant to a retired offi- 

 cer, after 15 years service, by 

 which these appointments were 

 made. An hon. gentleman had 

 stated, that on a future occasion 

 he should feel it his duty to move 

 a farther reduction in the present 

 estimates. As, however, he did 

 not go into the reasons for this 

 reduction, he would abstain from 

 any premature discussion. But 

 he must be allowed to say, that 

 the 26,000 men taken in the esti- 

 mates could [not be considered as 

 wholly, applicable to the home 

 service : a portion of it must be 

 applied to the relief of the foreign 

 garrisons, which it would be nei- 

 ther humane nor constitutional to 

 condemn to perpetual banishment. 

 Of this necessity the noble lord 

 gave an exemplification. 



Mr. Warre remarked, that the 

 noble lord, in his statements as 

 to the necessity of our home 

 force, seemed wholly to throw 

 out of his contemplation our large 

 army in France. 



Mr. Peel desired the hon. gen- 

 tleman to recollect that the pre- 

 sent estimates were only required 

 for a year, in which the country 

 was bound by treaty to keep up, 



for a time specified, an army in 

 France. The right hon. gentle- 

 man then digressed to the army 

 in Ireland, and attempted to show 

 that a proposed reduction for 

 that country would hitherto have 

 been impolitic. He had, however, 

 to congratulate the House on the 

 improved state of the internal 

 circumstances of Ireland, in con- 

 sequence of which, government 

 were enabled to make a reduction 

 both in the regular and yeomanry 

 force of the country, and mea- 

 sures were in operation to reduce 

 still farther the latter description 

 of force. 



After some other gentlemen 

 had delivered their opinions, the 

 several resolutions founded upon 

 the Army Estimates were put, 

 and agreed to. 



March 3rd. On the order of 

 the day being read, for bringing 

 up the report of the committee 

 of supply to which the Army Es- 

 timates were referred, 



Mr. Lyltleton took occasion to 

 call the attention of the House to 

 a subject which, in the course of 

 the last session, he had thought 

 it his duty to bring into discus- 

 sion, and against which the secre- 

 tary at war appeared to him to 

 adduce very inadequate grounds 

 of objection. Thi# related to 

 the affidavit which a half-pay 

 officer was compelled to make, to 

 entitle him to receive his half- 

 pay; namely, that he had no 

 other emolument from, or em- 

 ployment under, the Crown. This 

 he could not help considering as 

 a restriction equally inconsistent 

 with liberality and justice. He 

 thousrht all officers were entitled 

 to their half pay as a matter of 

 right in remuneration for their 



services ; 



