men, who hardly knows the butt from the muzzle of the musket, instruct another of them in the use of his arms? How is one single company to be formed? How can any one act be done preparatory even to the bringing of any ten men of this army upon parade? When the militia is called out, the soldiers find the skeleton ready to receive them their adjutant, their serjeants and drummers are always in pay, and always ready to set instantly at work to train and discipline the men, as fast as they arrive ; but, in the present instance, though you should find officers enough incinding adjutants, where are you to find 6.000 non commisioned officers, including 100 gerjeants major and the same number of quarter-master serjeants? The thing is im possible; not to appoint non-commissioned officers; not to call this footman a corporal and that tapster a serjeant; this is by no means difficult; but to find men qualified to perform the duties of these officers, duties absolutely indispensable, duties without the performance of which a corps cannot be held together for a single day, to find such men, in the number and in the time, necessary to carry your plan into effect, is utterly impos sible. Shall I be reminded of the atchieve. ments of the now levies in France and America? These were, in the debate of the 6th instant, brought forward by you, in opposition to the opinion then given by Mr. Windham. Upon this subject, sir (as I cannor impute to you a wilful fallacy), I must regard you as totally ignorant. The new levies in France, those I mean who were opposed to the Duke of Brunswick's army, were very few indeed in proportion to the regular troops engaged in the same service; and, observe, that, by the regulations of the national guard, the whole of the French people capable of bearing arms, had been armed, and partly disciplined, for I believe more than three years, previous to the invasion of the Prussian army. During these years, the people, at all times of a military turn, had been gradually growing into soldiers. Every municipality had its mayor, who was at the head of the national guard, who supplied his men with arms and ammunition, and who generally went to see them parade, to march, and to shoot at a mark, which was the employment of the sundays and holidays. The people found themselves military cloths, not under any volunteer or yeomanry regulation, not by any sort of compulsion; but every one bought himself a coat as he wanted and could afford a new coat, and, it soon became to be regarded as a mark of dishonour in a young man not to be clothed à la militaire. There was not a village, there was no spot of importance enough to have a church, which had not its place of arms and its drummer, a personage by no means of little consideration when the object is to stir the spirits of a people and to give to those spirits a war-like direction. Thus, Sir, was the whole active population of France became soldiers, long before the Duke of Brunswick entered the country; and, as to later epochs, the taste and spirit have been growing every day, more and more military: the young men of 1803, were only from 4 to 10 years old, when the national guard began; they have been raised up from their infancy amidst the clangour of arms, and have never heard any thing but military deeds stated as being worthy of emulation. They are, in a word, all real effective soldiers. This, Sir, is the nursery, from which Buonaparté draws his conscripts: how different is that from which yours are to be drawn! Then, Sir, as to the American army, the men composing it were, as you state, beaten at first, but that they finally triumphed. First, let me observe, that the militia of America, though, as I shall presently show, composed of men used to arms, never met the enemy except at the battle which terminated in the defeat of Burgoyne. On no other occasion could they be brought to the striking place; and, in several instances, they absolutely ran away. After the end of the American war, General Sinclair, in a battle against the Indians, was totally defeated, through the misbehaviour of the militia, of whom his army principally consisted, and who ran away, leaving not only their arms and their knapsacks, but even their coats, behind them!-But, the American army, you will say," must have "been made up of raw and undisciplined men, whether they were called militia or "not." It was; but the men were, as to their state of preparation for military service, very different, very much superior to those whom you will be able to collect by conscription. In London, it is said of a good man, that is to say, of a rich man, that he was "born with a silver spoon in his mouth," no unapt emblem, by the by, of the strange mixture of childishness, gluttony, and avarice, which prevails in that emporium of commerce; in America, they say of an active, sprightly, lucky man, that he was "born with an ax in one hand and a gun "in the other;" and, every one who has been in America knows, that, in the whole country, there is scarcely a man to be found, who has not, from the age of twelve years, or thereabouts, been in the almost daily babit of shooting. I never saw a farm house, I never saw even a labouring man's house, without a gun in it, and I have much more frequently seen three guns in a house than one. Part of every countryman's business is to shoot. During the winter months the labouring man does, in great part, maintain his family by shooting; and, in fact, it is extremely rare to meet with an American, either in town or country, who would not, in England, be regarded as an excellent shooter at a mark.-To find men thus selftrained to a very essential part of military duty was a great advantage; and, then, Sir, I beg you to observe, that even these men were not taken by force, and enrolled, all at once, by thousands and tens of thousands. They were first called out, by mere invitation, to join in military exercise, in their several townships, or parishes, under the instruction of those officers and soldiers who had served in the war against the French; and, the very first out-set of GENERAL WASHINGTON, in the work of rebellion, was, a subscription of twenty guineas towards furnishing a drum and a drill serjeant to the inhabitants of his own parish in Virginia. When, therefore, the requisitions for the line (for the American army was composed of troops of the line) came to be made by Congress, to the several colonies, they found men already tolerably well prepared. They found them in as good a state, Sir, as your conscripts can possibly be in, at the end of a year or eighteen months drilling, even supposing that you should be so fortunate as to find persons capable of drilling them.-Leaving you now, Sir, to reconsider whatever part of your confidence has arisen from the examples of France and America, give me leave to advert to the new clause, which, it seems, it is your intention to weave into the Conscript Bill, and, in virtue of which the Conscripts are to be allowed to volunteer for the regular service. The gloomy prospect, which this qualification must give to the gentlemen, who will have the misfortune to command the Conscripts, Mr. Pitt attempted to brighten by suggesting a regulation that would prevent the men from leav ing their officers at any moment they might choose. His plan was, to suffer the transfer to take place, only on three or four days in the year, and those days not to be the same in every year, not to be at stated distances, but to come upon the men like a thief in the night, to take them by surprize, and never to give them any certain intima tion as to the precise time when they would be able to take vengeance on their officers. These days of transter are not, in their recurrence, to resemble either fixed or moveable feasts; they are to be regulated by neither the Sun nor the Moon; but are to be a sort of Saturnalia, the times for cele. brating which are to be determined by a newly-discovered species of State Lottery. But, did it not occur to Mr. Pitt, that, as the Conscript would know that four Saturnalia must take place in the course of one year, he would not fail, at all times, to calculate the average? Upon this average, he never could be more than three months from the day of revenge, and, do you, Sir, who know something of a military life, think, that those three months would, on the part of the discontented Conscript, be spent much to the advantage of his corps? -Never, no never, was there so mad a scheme! The battalions, if they should ever be got together at all, and should exist for a time under a provision like this, will present a scene, such, I venture to predict, as no man on earth ever yet set his eyes on.-No, if the Conscripts are to have leave to transfer their service, let them be under no shackles as to the time of doing it. Let them go whenever they please, or not at all; for, by keeping them three months after they are inclined to go into the line, you either make them unwilling and bad soldiers during that time, or you altogether do away the very inclination, of which it is your object to avail yourself. And now, Sir, give me leave to say a word or two on the dangers of our situation. You, Sir, are not one of those, who hide their heads onder the bed-cloths when they hear thieves breaking into the house; you do, indeed, talk largely, but your heart is in unison with your tongue; you are not one of those whose hectoring arises from a feeling similar to that which produces the noisy and incoherent song of the plough-boy, as he passes through the church yard at the witching time of night; you are not a Castlereagh, aHawkesbury, an Addington, or a Wilberforce, and, therefore, I venture to state to you, as an opinion, resulting from long consideration united with the utmost anxiety for the preservation of my King and Country, that if the present system of defence be persevered in, this country will be subjugated by France. This, Sir, is no new opinion of mine: so long ago as the 9th of November last (6), when you and your colleagues were singing hymas of peace and security, I pointed out, and even detailed, the dangers, which at this moment exist. The words I then wrote I have only to refer you to, and when you have read them, I do not think, that, in the bottom of your heart, you will despise the observations (6) See Register, Vol. II, p. 598. 66 66 and the forebodings with which his mind which I have now presumed to make. All Correspondents next week. Printed by Cox and Baylis, No. 75, Great Queen Street, and published by R. Bagshaw, Bow Street, Covent Garden, where former Numbers may be had; sold also by E. Harding, Crown and Mitre, Pall-Mall. VOL. III. No. 26.] London, Thursday, 30th June, 1803. [Price 10D "This peace has rendered France a thousand times more dangerous than ever, by adding so immensely "to the length of her sea coast. She had, before, but one port that was formidable to us, and that "was opposite a part of our island, far distant from the seat of our riches; but the peace furnishes her "with ports in abundance opposite the mouth of the Thames. From the masts of her vessels, riding at anchor "in these ports, she can see the shore whereon she wishes to disembark; nor is this shore, for above, "120 miles along the coast, more than 60, and, in some places, not more than 40 miles from Lon"don.... Under what auspices shall we, then, my lord, begin a new war? Not a single ally "shall we find on the Continent. Those powers, who will be most favourably disposed towards us, in' secret, will deem themselves happy, if France will suffer them to remain neutral. The moment war shall be "declared, the whole Continent, except, perhaps, the ports in the Baltic, will be shut against us...... "As to military operations, our attention will, in all human probability, be limited to the defence of our, "own Island, our own homes, our own existence, threatened, at every peint, by that manstrous power, whose "whole malice and whose whole force will be directed against Great-Britain herself. Intent only on "averting present destruction, all our cares, all our efforts, will be confined to the field of battle, on "which our fate must be decided."-COBBETT'S LETTERS ON THE PEACE, p. 122, 137, and 139 ;* published in October, 1801.. 961] EXTRACT FROM THE MONITEUR, of 19th of June, 1803. [It is of importance, at all times, and particuJarly at the present time, to know something of the sentiments of our enemy. The following article, translated from the French Official Paper, gives us, as to some very important points, that very useful knowledge, and, therefore, we beg leave to recommend it to the attentive perusal of our Readers.] The only events which, at this time, merit great attention are the occupation of Hanover by the French troops, and two long debates in the British Parliament, the one relative to the conduct of ministers, and the other to the mediation of Russia. The question upon the conduct of the ministry has been decided, in a manner which acquired no difficulty to foresee. If we except the attitude taken by Mr. Pitt, who has not scrupled to avow his disapprobation of his right honourable friends, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the indignation, or rather the pain which Lord Hawkesbury felt, and which he so clearly manifested to the House, we cannot discover that the true question was in any way entered upon.-Was it upon the good faith of the ministry that they were occupied? Was it upon their fidelity to their engagements that they were questioned? And upon the care with which they so scrupulously and religiously observed the treaty of Amiens? Upon this point not question was proposed, not one word was uttered. The debate was remarkable only for the ingenuity of Col. Bastard; we want time to recruit our strength. These words, which excited no animadversion, completely [962 explain the conduct of the British government. Formerly, it was considered as an honour to be faithful to engagements. Firma pasis fœdera was formerly the greatest homage which the French nation acquired in Europe. It is true that some ancient nations became subject to the quality of fædifraga.-Punic faith appears to have been bequeathed by the merchants of Car thage to the merchants of England.-That England had no other object in the treaty of Amiens than to gain time, is not the only avowal which was made in those debates." Lord Hawkesbury told us in the discussion of the motion on the mediation of Russia, that war was not the time for forming coalitions with convenience and advantage, and that one object of the treaty of Amiens was to prepare a barrier against the aggrandisement of France (1). He informed us, that since the signing of the treaty, to the present moment, no effort had been spared to form a strict alliance with Russia, which should have for its object no views of hostility towards any other power, but only measures necessary for a proper defence (2). Unfortunately they found that Russia would not consent to this innocent proposition, and war has therefore arisen.-Although Lord Hawkesbury has thus had a moment of (1) He must candidly admir, that one circumstance weighed particularly on his mind with respect to the conclusion of the last peace, which was that of forming a barrier to the aggrandisement of France. (2) From the signing of the treaty to the present time, no efforts have been wanting on the part of his Majesty's government to form a cisse, connexion with Russia, having for its basis no hostility towards any power, and having only in view the necessary means of defence. Those means, have, however, failed; otherwise it is highly probable that the present crisis would not have arisen. candour, we may believe that it was not in the Parliament, but in the interior of the Cabinet that he has manifested all his views. the language of all those famous statesmen. One wishes for a war vigorous and short; it must be directed towards one single point, another does not deny that the war should nte of long duration. One regards it as mere sport to chastise France; another does not conceal that it will cost his country long and painful sacrifices. One minister wishes to defend the whole country with Militia, another sees safety in nothing but troops. of the line. Mr. Pitt is convinced that England can do nothing offensive; according to Mr. Windham, that nation alone is capable of defence, who is able to attack. There is no Englishman of any sense who is not astonished at the chaos of contradictory views and opposite plans. To every reasonable man, whether friend or enemy, the projects in agitation must appear nothing more than the conceptions of despair.-It is strange, that, amongst the numerous friends of liberty, there are none who are alarmed at the increase of the troops of the line! Formerly, the whole country was ready to rise in arms respecting the simple construction of barracks, now an immense army is voted and placed at the disposal of the Crown. The Secretary of War cited the example of the American militia, and of the French militia during their revolutions. He might also have cited La Vendée, and, in times more ancient, the example of the Swiss, and of the United Provinces. When the people are set in motion, when their most ardent and most powerful passions are roused, they are capable not only of great efforts, but of miracles; but when a people naturally sluggish and indolent, accustomed to all the convenience of opulence, and to all the luxuries of civilization, is forcibly thrown out of all its habits, to support the In engaging in the war,' he would have said, we give other nations a great example of provocation which they may be tempted to imitate. We weaken, towards France, that sentiment of admiration. which her victories have created, and we reduce her from that high rank to which her valour and her successes have eleva ted her. Our boldness may awaken recollection, open wounds, sharpen resentments, and, perhaps, revive hopes. That we may not fail in the attainment of this great object, we will be in readiness to listen to the propositions of Russia: this is not the moment. Let us begin by of'fering to our sailors an easy prize of four or five millions, which France and her allies have trusted, in full security, upon the sea, millions which it will be easy for us to squeeze out of them by a loan when they have effected the great object of making the war popular; and then, whilst the gazettes are filled with accounts of our glory, we shall have all the time that will be necessary for listening to the propositions of Russia, to excite, if it be necessary, the interposition of some other great power, and thus, at the end of such an agreeable career of depredation and capture, make such a new treaty as may be convenient. It makes little difference to us in this new arrangement, whether we retain Malta or give it to Russia. We shall have made war against France with boldness, and have made her < pay the cost. We shall have clipped the rising wings of her commerce; we shall, for a long time, have paralysed her in-whims of ministers; when a people of merchants is dustry; her commercial cities torn by the wounds which we shall have inflict ed, will not for a long time dare again to hazard their industry and their capital upon the sea. Our preponderating activity will then be able to insult their timidity. We shall have established a supremacy upon the seas, which • France, in the first moment of her pros perity will dispute with us.'Lord Hawkesbury and the British Cabinet may amuse themselves as long as they please with these illusions. We are sorry to draw them out from such security. They must know, however, as Mr. Burke once told them, that war, that Gorgon bristling with darts and serpents, is not a coquette to be sported with with impunity. When France wanted peace, you wanted war; now fear lest France should wish for war when it may be agreeable for you to wish for peace.-Nothing is more singular than invited to leave their counters, and lead for whole years, the life of an hussar or a pandour, merely for the honour of possessing a reck, and of breaking a treaty solemnly ratified, we have some difficulty in believing that the ministers will attain the end which they propose. The deputies from the Electorate of Hanover can now teach them what sort of confidence is to be reposed in hasty levies. How foolish are they who pretend to draw from the clouds of their brains that electric fire which sometimes forms great popular commotions. The insurrections which they are now provoking, may perhaps, be too effectually realised, but it will be to destroy those who by a foolish war, have reduced them to the necessity of asking an ignominious peace. Whilst these great events are unfolding themselves, the occupation of Hanover will serve as a balance to the losses which our commerce must necessarily sustain at the commencement of the war. It must be |