by the increase of the volunteers as some gentlemen seemed anxious to impress on the minds of the House; while he thought, on the contrary, that the volunteer system would, by proper modifications, tend to the regular maintenance and progressive augmentation of our public force. The complained-of slowness in the ballot for the army of reserve and militia might be easily accounted for, from the circumstance of the great number to be ballotted for in the first year of the war; and this, independently of the volunteer system, was sufficient to produce a considerable difficulty in recruiting for the army. To provide a resource to recruit the regular army he would propose that a system, somewhat modelled on the principle of the army of reserve, should be kept up, and that from that body any that should volunteer for general service should be supplied by fresh ballot. One reason for this plan was, that the army should not altogether depend on the contingency of an ordinary recruiting; and another, that the militia should be held sacred, and that no volunteers for general service should be sought for from that body in future. The proportion between this army of reserve and the militia to be fixed, and that the militia should be gradually reduced from its present establishment to its old standard, and that, according as vacancies may occur in that body, a ballot should take place for an equal number, not to fill up such vacancies, but to go to the army of reserve. Thus, as the one body was reduced, the other would be augmented, that the change having a gradual operation would not be likely to produce confusion in any branch of our public force.

He was aware, however, that this proposed change would incur some unpopularity, and some pressure on the parishes; but to this he would say, that such pressure ought to be softened, if a remedy could be found, and, if it could not be remedied, it ought to be endured. To this he had no doubt the people would submit cheerfully, when they reflected on the value of the object for which they had to contend, and that nothing could diminish their devout gratitude to Providence upon a comparison of their situations with those countries which, neglecting timely precau

tion, and refusing perhaps to suffer small losses in the first instance, committed themselves to the will of that power which now employed all its resources to assail this country. He particularly urged the introduction of a plan to limit the bounties to be given to substitutes, that it should be always less than that to recruits for the regular army; the bounties to which also should be limited, in order to put a stop to the proceedings of those pests of society called crimps. He thought it would be wise to allot a certain number of regiments to be recruited in certain counties; and that the recruiting officers should be stationary in such counties. Thus, he conceived, the recruits. would be more easily obtained, through the connection that would grow up between the people, the recruiting officers, and the regiments to which they might belong; and the consequence of the system would produce an esprit de corps that would be highly advantageous.

Mr. Pitt took notice of the propriety of attending somewhat more to the system of fortifications, and also improving our naval defence, which he stated from his own knowledge to be very defective. While our danger was greater, and our resources also, than at any former period, he complained that our state of naval preparation was much lower. He declared, that in this statement he was not influenced by the slightest prejudice against any man; on the contrary, in the whole of his observations he wished to keep aloof from every description of asperity, which he thought ought not, upon any account, to be introduced in the course of this discussion. This was not a time for the operation of any party-spirit. Every mind should be engaged, every heart should be devoted to the consideration of the public defence; and in the prosecution of it he hoped that ministers would weigh well the sacred duty they had to perform, the awful responsibility of their situation. It would not be enough for them to say that our preparations were great-they ought to be complete. He might be told that the danger was not so great as he imagined, and that the state of our preparations was much

which all appearances, among which were the declarations of ministers themselves, fully justified.

He concluded with stating that he had many other observations to make on the several projects he had mentioned, but should wave them till a future opportunity. In the mean time he declared that he was not so obstinately attached to any opinion of hi own as to decline, upon such an important subject, giving the utmost attention to the suggestion of others.

The bill was read a second time, and committed.

March 15. 1804.

MR. PITT this day brought forward his promised motion on the present state of the naval defence of the country.

In introducing the subject to the House, he spoke to the following purport:

Sir-As I have reason to believe that a part, and I must confess a very important part, of the information which it is my wish the House should be in possession of, with respect to the state and means of our naval defence, is not likely to meet with any opposition on the part of His Majesty's ministers, I shall not detain the time of the House with any details or observations which do not apply, as closely as possible, to the papers which constitute the object of my enquiry. I shall, therefore, state generally the grounds and ends of the different motions I have to bring forward, but I beg leave to add, that if they are, as it will appear to me, unexpectedly objected to, I shall claim the indulgence of the House in explaining more fully, and calling their attention to the importance of the information in detail, which I conceive essentially necessary to the safety of the country.

The object of the first motion I shall have the honour of making, will be an humble address to His Majesty, "That he may be pleased to give directions to have laid before the House,

an account of the number of ships of the line, ships of 50 guns, frigates, sloops of war, bombs, hired armed vessels, &c. in commission on the 31st of December 1793, on the 30th of September 1801, and on the 31st of December 1803, specifying the service in which they were respectively employed." Gentlemen will perceive that this motion calls for the production of papers, distinguishing what is absolutely necessary for their information, the state of three different periods, in which the naval means of the country's defence were called into action. When the question is properly considered, with respect to the necessity of making great preparations, in order to meet with vigour and efficacy those carrying on by the enemy, and openly avowed to be intended against the existence of this nation, I believe it will be found that the number of that description of our naval force, fit to repel the actual attempts of the enemy, is at the present moment much inferior, and less adequate to the exigency of the danger, than at any period in former times. Shall I, Sir, detain the House with a tedious recital of the great and extraordinary changes which have taken place, and which call for increased activity and exertion? Such an appeal is rendered unnecessary by the actual state of things, and by facts which cannot be controverted. If, on former occasions, we have been called upon to make preparations of de fence in their magnitude superior to preceding cases, it does not require from me any arguments to convince the House, that, in our present situation, our means of security should be much greater in a comparative point of view, and that, in proportion as we are threatened, not only with the acknowledged determination of the enemy, but with his increased power of effecting an invasion, we should redouble our efforts, and be ready to guard against every possible risk which may be hazarded against our independence and happiness.

The next point to which I shall beg leave to call the attention of the House, is that species of naval force which is best calculated to meet and defeat that preparing by the enemy, to

that at the commencement of the last year, it occurred to the lords of the admiralty, that the kind of force best calculated to act against the attempts which might be made to effect a descent, was that more peculiarly fitted to display itself in shoal water, and I have good grounds to believe, that the lords of the admiralty, thinking so, were of opinion that it ought to be considerably augmented. But although they were of that opinion in the month of January 1803, yet I can state to the House without the fear of contradiction, that only twenty-three gun-vessels were provided for, as an augmentation to this species of naval force, five of which were to be completed in three, and the remainder in six months. I mean, Sir, that this provision against invasion was undertaken to be carried into effect in the month of January 1804. Yet of all the vessels likely to be employed with success, this craft was, of all others, the most eligible, whether its means of defence and annoyance are to be considered, or the water on which it is destined to act. The lords of the admiralty, convinced, however, of the necessity of employing it, took some measures for an establishment of that nature; and I am naturally led to enquire into the steps which they pursued to complete so desirable an object. They determined to have five gun-boats ready in three months, and the whole, constituting twenty-three, finished for actual service in six months. It is undoubtedly a very material point to enquire why this augmentation was not thought of at an earlier period. Am I, Sir, to recapitulate the various motives which should have accelerated increased exertion? Were 1 to do so, I should merely restate what has been obvious to every man of common sense and common observation. In the month of August, when we saw the necessity of augmented efforts; when we saw transports for the conveyance of troops collecting daily in the port of Boulogne; when we saw them gaining new strength and new additions, during the fine weather, to the months of November and December, and when we knew that they had increased to upwards of 1000 in the same port, independent of the armaments in Helvoet, in the Texel, in Brest, and other points of