recur to the old and regular method of ballot. The earl Fitzwilliam approved the bill, so far as it contained a provision for completing the deficiencies of the militia, by laying the expence of it not on the counties, but the public. But he regretted that the principle of the militia, in modern times, had been so much departed from, and, that the militia regiments should have been made a recruiting, or perhaps, if he might use the expression, a orimping fund for the supply of the regular army. It was not the bill before them alone, that he had in his eye on making these observations. He saw the militia more and more altered from those principles on which that force was first established.

Lord Harrowby took a view of the principle of the old militia acts, and argued that there was no alteration adopted in the present instance which did not accord with the prin ciple of past alterations. The marquis of Douglas said, the disposable force of the country, so much attended to, might be employed in expeditions, to end like that terminated by the Convention of Cintra, when the country might feel the great want of an effective internal force for its own preservation. The earl of Westmoreland said, that if the old principle had been attended to, and the men had served only for three, four, or seven years, and at that period returned from the service, the noble lords would have found themselves without those men, who had been so carefully taught their discipline, That army which had displayed its superiority on the Tagus, and afterwards amidst

the greatest difficulties, embarked with honour and glory at Corunna, was composed of men taken chiefly from the militia. The earl of Rosslyn conceived, that there was one objection to the present bill, which had not been mentioned in the course of the debate. It pretended to raise the men for the completion of the militia, by taking the burthen off from the counties, and laying it upon the public. This was a false pretence.. It would do no such thing. It provided, that men might be raised by enlistment, at a bounty of about 10 guineas, any time before June 1810. But if the quota should not be provided before that period, the old method of ballot was to be resorted to, so that all deficiencies should be provided for before the October following. It was well known, that there was a fine of £20 on the man ballotted. If he should not choose to serve in person, he gives the 10 guineas allowed to him by government. And if it should happen, that the substitute was not procured before October, there was an additional fine of £10 for each man deficient, on the county: so that the bounty, after June, would be from £30 to £70 a man; whereas before June, it could be no more than ten or twelve guineas. For, from the nature of human reasoning, every man would decline accepting the bounty for enlistment, knowing it would be much better for his interest to wait till that period should elapse. The most favourable point of view, in which the present measure was contemplated by the earl of Selkirk was, that it was not likely to effect its object.

For

For the present establishment of the local militia, was, in his mind, so radically wrong, that he had no desire to witness its completion. The bill was then read a second time, and afterwards finally passed. House of Commons, March 14. -Mr. R. Ward moved for leave to bring in the marine mutiny bill. Leave was given, and Mr. Ward brought in the bill. On the motion for its being read a first time,

Sir Charles Pole said, he was glad to have the opportunity which this bill gave him to say a few words on that valuable corps. It I was strange to say, that although it now amounted to more than a fourth of the infantry of the line, namely 32,000 men, its situation and importance were scarcely known in the house. He would first ask whether it was intended to continue the stoppage of one day's pay for Chelsea hospital? He believed the royal marine artillery to be in a very neglected state. It had been thought necessary to establish a corps of this nature in 1804; and most important it might be if properly attended to. He conceived it ought to be augmented, and that every squadron of his majesty's ships, on foreign stations, should be furnished with a company of these artillery men and officers. The advantages of such a measure to our colonial service must be obvious, whether for defensive or offensive operations. He regretted to learn, that this corps of marine artillery was not sufficiently instructed in the use of the field artillery, and recommended that a number of young men should be admitted to Woolwich academy. He next adverted to the slow progress of promotion in the marine

corps.

There were officers now serving as captains, who had entered the service in the American war. An increase of field officers seemed necessary as an encouragement to that meritorious class of men.

Mr. R.Ward, having declared his high opinion of the marine corps in general, said, with respect to the increase of the mere use of the marine artillery, that this could not take place without raising the force altogether, and converting the marines into a land army. As to the addition of field officers to the marine, it ought to be remembered, that marines on board of ships were not commanded by field officers; and as most of them were engaged in that species of service, it was not necessary to have so many field officers. As to the age of some of the captains, as it was a service in which the officers rose by seniority, that could depend only on the length of life of those who preceded them on the list. The bill was then read a first time. It had been stated, that in each division of the marines, the senior captains were appointed pay captains, who actually keep the accounts of 2,000 men without any increase of pay, or any kind of remuneration. Mr. Ward was sure that if, for any extraordinary labour, any recom pence could be made to them without injury to the service, it would be instantly afforded. The bill was then read a first time. The house having, on the 16th of March resolved itself into a committe on this bill. Mr. R. Ward rose to make some observations on what had fallen from an honourable baronet (sir C: Pole)

en a former evening, respecting the increase of emolument to paycaptains of marines, and some new naval regulations. The honourable baronet, perhaps, did not know, that the persons selected for such situations, were generally men who were unfit for other service. Their duties were by no means burthensome. It was not required that a pay-captain of marines should serve afloat, or even aboard, except when courts martial took place. With respect to the deductions from the pay of marine officers, Mr. Ward shewed that they were, in every respect, on the same footing with those in the army. Sir C. Pole expressed his satisfaction on this last . point by Mr. Ward's explanation. But he still held the same opinion with regard to the situation of the pay-captains. They had a regular ledger account with every man and boy in the marine service, for which they had no remuneration, although the captains of marine artillery, for only paying their own companies, had two shillings per day, additional pay. Besides, those old officers, in any other branch of the service, would have been entitled to majorities, and many of them would have now been old field officers.

Mr. Wellesley Pole said, it was the intention of the present board of admiralty to afford to the marine corps every practicable and reasonable indulgence. With respect to the situation of the paycaptains, he referred the honourable baronet to a petition present

ed by those very officers to the admiralty, when he himself was at that board, praying for this very allowance, which. the honourable baronet now sought to obtain for them. The answer then given to their petition, was, that their birth was a pretty good one, and that it was very desirable that it should continue to exist. But, if they did not like it, with full pay, and an exemption from all other duty, they might take their turns of ser. vice. Ever since, they had been pretty well satisfied to remain as they were. With respect to the compassionate list, for which there was a bill now in progress, it was only for such widows and orphans as were not entitled to any provision otherwise; nor was it ever thought of before the establishment of the present admiralty board. And it was his intention, in the committee on that bill, to place the widows of marine officers on the same footing in this respect, with those of the officers of the navy and army.

Sir Charles Pole denied any recollection of such an application as that which had been alluded to by Mr. Wellesley Pole. At all events, he was perfectly certain that, during the whole time he was at the admiralty, he never did give an offensive answer to any applica tion, made either by an individual, or by any description of persons. The bill then went through the committee, and was afterwards, through the usual stages, passed into a law.

СНАР

which was an establishment under the direction of the present com. mander-in-chief. This fund arose out of the sale of commissions vacant by death-by the promotion of officers not allowed to sell-or by dismissions from the service. The power of the commander-in-chief over this fund was constituted and intended for the reward of merit, either by the appointment of meritorious officers to the commissions which so became vacant, or by selling them, and applying the produce of such sales to the redemption of half-pay commissions, or to the compassionate fund. Here the power of the commander-in-chief over such produce ceased. If the commissions he had described were otherwise disposed of, the authority vested in the commander-in-chief was abused, and the objects of the half-pay fund abandoned. Now, if he could shew that those commissions were appropriated to very different purposes, it would, of course, appear, that such abuse and abandonment did take place that merit was not rewarded-that the halfpay list was not reduced--that the compassionate fund was not assist ed. For the purpose of shewing this, it was necessary to call the attention of the house to another establishment of the commanderin-chief's, which was quite of a different complexion from that which he had just mentioned. This establishment, which consisted of a splendid house in Gloucesterplace, a variety of carriages, and a long retinue of servants, commenced in the year 1803, and at the head of it was placed a lady of the name of Clarke. As this lady formed a principal party in several of the facts which he had to cite,

he was under the necessity, however reluctantly, to mention her name, as well as that of others, in order to make out a fair parliamentary basis for his motion, and to satisfy the house, that he had not brought it forward upon light grounds.

The first case to which Colonel Wardle called the attention of the house,was that of captain Tonyn, of the 48th regiment of foot, who had been promoted to a majority in the 31st regiment: to which promotion he was indebted to the influence of Mrs. Clarke. The terms of agreement were, that Mrs. Clarke should be paid £500 upon captain Tonyn's being gazetted. Major Tonyn was gazetted on the 2d of August, 1804, and the £500 was paid to Mrs. Clarke. Here it became necessary for colonel Wardle to observe to the house, that the regulated difference between a company and a majority, was £1,100, which should have been appropriated to the purposes above mentioned. But how did the af fair stand? Mrs. Clarke gained £500, and the sum of £1,100 was lost to the half-pay fund. This sum of £500 was paid by Mrs. Clarke to a Mr. Birkett, a silversmith, in part payment for a service of plate, for the establishment in Gloucester-place: the balance for which plate was afterwards paid by his royal highness the commander-in-chief. The positions that colonel Wardle held to be clearly deducible from this case were, first, that Mrs. Clarke possessed the power of military promotion. Secondly, that she received pecuniary consideration. And, thirdly, that the commanderin-chief was a partaker in the benefit arising from such pecuniary

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