sent number of the lords of the Admiralty, on which all the suggestions 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: Majority, 27.

Sir G. Warrender next moved, "That 1,787,1811. 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 former occasion of a very meritorious class of individuals who had served as pursers in the navy, nothing had been done for their

relief.

referred, Lord Palmerston 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 related 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 expense under this head of the national service. This reduction, comparing the present with the last year, would amount to 188,0277.19s. 3d.; while the total reduction of charge in all the departments connected with our military establishment was no less than 418,000 Upon the score of numbers, the diminution of the army in the present year compared with the fast, would at home amount to 1,995 effective men; while throughout the empire, including 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 appeared, for it being impossible to equalize the effective force of regiments with nominal strength, the force in 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 Ireland 33,000 for our old and new colonies; 17,360 for the territories of the East India company, exclu sive of recruiting troops and companies; and 20,000 for our contingent in France. The land forces may therefore be stated at a reduction of 74,000. The staff

is considerably decreased, the sum being about 3,7541. In the West Indies, a diminution will be found of 16,5577. in the item of public departments. In the office of commander in chief a diminution had taken place of 1,300l.; and in the war office, of 6,436/.; but in this year a smaller sum was required on account of the cessation of some of their expenses. A most important change was the muster-master-general's office having been abolished, and the duties transferred to other offices. The reduction by that was 2,918/.; and the whole of the reductions in the other offices amounted to upwards of 16,550l. There was an increase in the charge of medicines amounting to 11,265.; but this, it may be observed, was not an increase in the supply of medicines, but an additional quan. tity bought and paid for beyond the service of the year. In the item of volunteer corps would be found an increase of 16,8761. ; and the recruiting of the East India troops produces an addition of 3,451. The Royal Military College establishment has a diminution of 2,640l. After various other reductions and additions (of which the particulars have been stated) it appears that there is a saving in the total charge of troops &c. in 1818, of the sum of 188,0271. 19s. 3d.; that the whole charge, including the troops in France, India, &c. is diminished by 418,000l.; and the whole number in the estimate, compared, with the estimate of last year, was less by upwards of 21,000 men. The noble lord concluded by moving his first resolution :

"That a number of land

forces, not exceeding 113,640 men (including the forces stationed in France) and also 4,200 men proposed to be disbanded in 1818, but exclusive of the men belonging to the regiments now employed in the territorial possessions of the East India Company, or ordered from thence to Great Britain, commissioned and non-commissioned officers included, be maintained for the service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, from 25th December 1817 to 24th December 1818."

Mr. Calcraft expressed his conviction, that a still greater diminution might take place in our military establishment, than the noble lord's statement. He brought several instances in proof of this assertion; but finally said, that he would not then enter into the discussion of all the topics which were naturally connected with this subject; but upon the bringing up of the report, he would move for a further reduction of the proposed establishment to the extent of 8 or 9,000

objections which he had previously produced against the peace establishment. The arguments, indeed, were chiefly of the same kind as those already employed; and it will be sufficient to notice the motion with which the hon. baronet concluded, which was, the leaving out of 113,640 men, and inserting in their stead 103,640

men.

Lord Palmerston remarked, that if what had passed that night in the House was calculated to show the necessity of a reform in parliament, he presumed it was the very scanty attendance which the opposite benches displayed on the discussion of so important a subject. He should think himself fully justified were he to abstain from making any reply to the so often repeated arguments of the hon. baronet, whose speech was entirely made up of threadbare references to the establish ments of 1792. He could recognize no one point by which any identity could be established between the circumstances of the two periods. The additional charge upon the revenue created by the increased pay and allowances: and he had not understood that any hon. member was prepared to recommend a reduction in those branches of expenditure.

was

Mr. Calcraft regretted as much as the noble lord the thin attendance given on all sides to a question of so much interest as the army estimates. He must contend that no satisfactory answer had been made to the objections to the amount of the estimates for the service of England and Ireland, and he had no hesitation in

declaring his belief that the reduction of 10,000 men was practicable. When measuring the extent of an establishment, how could they proceed without adopting some basis, and what better one could they select than the peace establishment of 1792 ? But to this the noble lord replied in a declamatory way, that the year 1792 was not the year 1818, and that therefore there could be no similitude or point of comparison between the two periodsextraordinary logic for the representative of the university of Cambridge! He observed that the security we derived from the army of occupation in France had never been adverted to, and yet he supposed it would gradually return, and could not be disbanded immediately upon that event. The situation of Ireland was now one of complete tranquillity; but in 1792 a large body of United Irishmen were in correspondence with the French government. He had himself proposed reductions in a former year, which had not been assented to. In one instance he had recommended a diminution of 3,000 men on a foreign station, for which he was described as an ignorant prejudiced person, who entirely misconceived the matter; but a short time after, his counsel was adopted, and the reduction took place. He trusted, therefore, that similar recommen. dations of retrenchment, though opposed in the House, would be attended to out of it.

Mr. Peel accused the hon. gentleman of misrepresenting what he had said last night respecting the state of Ireland. For although he had stated it to be a source of satisfaction

satisfaction to the House that the internal condition of that country was much improved, yet he had given it as his decided opinion that no force of a less amount than that proposed was compatible with the safety of Ireland.

Some other gentlemen spoke on the subject; and the question being put, that 113,640 men stand part of the question, the House divided: Ayes, 51; Noes, 21; Majority, 30.

In the House of Lords, on

March 18th, when the order of the day stood for the third reading of the Mutiny Bill, Earl Grosvenor rose to move, in pursuance of notice given, for an alteration in the preamble of the bill. It was to this effect; that instead of the words "113,640 men," there should be substituted "100,000 men."

He was replied to by Earl Bathurst; and the Amendment being negatived, the bill was read a third time, and passed.

CHAPTER

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 superintended the various duties of the district staffs; a paymaster, who attended to the accounts; a surgeon to inspect 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 officer, 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 estimates 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 neither 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 present 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. gentleman 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 consequence of which, government were enabled to make a reduction

both in the regular and yeomanry force of the country, and measures 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 Estimates were referred,

Mr. Lyttleton 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 discussion, and against which the secretary at war appeared to him to adduce very inadequate grounds of objection. This related to the affidavit which a half-pay officer was compelled to make, to entitle him to receive his halfpay; namely, that he had no other emolument from, or employment under, the Crown. This he could not help considering as a restriction equally inconsistent with liberality and justice. He thought all officers were entitled to their half-pay as a matter of right in remuneration for their

services;