violated; not only on the last election, but on former occasions. The outrages, committed at the last, were of such peculiar atrocity, as to call for a special report from the cmmittee. The object of this ll, however, was neither to disanchise, nor to punish; but to preserve the peace of that town, in fature elections, by giving the magistrates of the county a concurrent Jurisdiction with those of the city of Nottingham. Mr. Pierrepoint stated, that he was in the town of Nottingham, daring the election; and thought the present bill absolutely necesry; it was impossible to describe the confusion and riot, which daily terrupted the election; and which was owing, in a great measure, to the negligence of the magistrates. Mr. Fox did not oppose the being in the bill, but felt himconvinced, from the most atente examination of the minutes, Bat Mr. Davison, the mayor, was ast guilty of negligence; he had e every thing in his power to preserve the peace, except calling ate military, and surrounding the booth, with armed men. This was at, he believed, the magistrates of the county would be as incapae of proposing, as those of the He hoped this country wald never witness such an electon as had been described, by a taral officer, (Sir Sidney Smith) to have taken place, at Brussels, in hollow square, of the French ay. He did not deny, however, That a remedy might be necessary, and as a remedial measure, he ould not oppose it. Mr. Bond stated, some shameoutrages, which had come to his knowledge; and, after some conversation, leave was given to bring in the bill; and it was ordered, that a new writ should not be issued, sooner than three weeks. Previously to the second reading of the bill, Mr. Fox presented a petition against it, from the mayor and corporation of Nottingham, who stated, that such a bill would be a virtual censure upon, and degradation of, the corporation, without any imputation of delinquency: and a violation, in the persons of the magistrates, of those rights and privileges, which Nottingham had now enjoyed for nearly 400 years. This petition was ordered to lie upon the table, till the second reading of the bill. The next day a debate took place, upon the report of the committee, upon the Irish militia bill. Mr. Windham rose, to protest against the mischief, with which it appeared to him, that the present measure was fraught: he avowed, candidly, that he was not a friend to the militia system: he had a sort of prepossession for it in his early years; but he had none at present. He gave every credit to the patriotism of the militia officers, and the courage of the soldiers; but, from want of experience in real danger, he thought the militia would always be inferior to troops of the line. Even the bravery of the militia, might operate as a mischief, when not regulated by that prudence and discretion, which is only to be got by experience; he thought, it was highly dangerous, to rely upon them for the defence of the empire; and that they never could be equal to regular troops. He said, the constitution TUS ie nested at the present The secretory a var. was astonish honorable gentle1. Vindham) had now er complain of the Arce, which when he rasa fica, de bad increas must inprecedented degree y me mica of England strzuca increased under hi Jammeramen. but the militia o en in de believed of Irelan auren formed on the sam 12, in tren ese occasions h nie zeenon. As to the mi 24 : must be allowed, that the vere ut utcgether equal to regula pm, ut they had rendered grea ences, a 90 they saved th in Ireland, the Iris In conjunction with th Sr Siam Pulteney, was st th Brit attaci favor of the militia force, namely, that they were incomparably less expensive than regulars, and in the present situation of the country, he would recommend it to gentlemen, not to despise economy. General Tarleton, thought it imprudent to compare the merits of the militia and troops of the line; but of this he was sure, that there was Do officer in the house who would not prefer 15,000 militia to 10,000 troops of the line for any service; and such a body as 18,000 Irish militia, must, with the 25,000 regular troops in that country, be a powerful means of securing it from the attempts of the enemy. Sir Lawrence Parsons, said the entire question at present was, whether when Ireland possessed all the materials of an army, it should or should not be allowed to use them, in the only manner that it was posble to apply them? The Irish militia had, in the course of last war, conducted itself uncommonly well, not only in their own country, but in volunteering their services abroad, and in garrisoning the isle of Guernsey. Mr. Addington, in defending the militia system from the objections of Mr. Windham, took an opportuLity to compliment Colonel Vereker, (who was then sitting in the house dressed in his militia uniArm): that honourable gentleman had. at the head of a small corps, ea that establishment, checked and decated French troops in Ireland, when in the full career of their success. Mr. Wilberforce strongly supported the motion: he said, if any political principle was more strongly impressed on his mind than another, it was his attachment to the constitutional defence of a militia. It was a force, which none but a free country could enjoy; while a standing army was a sort of force, to which every one must look with constitutional jealousy. He thought it likely, that it was from his love of expeditions, that, that right honorable gentleman (Mr. Windham) was so attached to standing armies, and so averse from militia. Mr. Elliot, approved of the principle of the militia system, and wished that a militia should always be kept up, but on a very reduced scale; he considered that the militia principle was abandoned in the present bill, as it went to raise a force by bounties, instead of by ballot; in the place of a militia force, he would consider this as a fencible force of the worst species, which was not to serve out of Ireland. The Irish militia had been completely disbanded, and the system dissolved at the conclusion of the last war; the question now was, whether it should be revived, in a manner the most likely to impede the general recruiting service? He thought, a board of French general officers, could not contrive a measure, more likely to sap the military strength of the empire, than what was contained in the resolution now before the house! Lord Castlereagh, Mr. Hiley Addington, and Mr. Dawson supported it: the resolution was then agreed to, and a Lill ordered pursuant thereto. This dereliction of the only mode of raising a militia force known to the law and the constitution, was a sufficient, but melancholy proof, that the confidence, so often and so recently H 4 recently expressed by ministers, in the peaceable disposition, and attachment to the government, of the bulk of the people in Ireland; was either not believed by themselves, or that they acted under the influence of the grossest deception. To all thinking minds, this abandonment, both in letter and spirit, of the law, by which this constitutional force had hitherto been raised, and the substitution of an army of mercenaries, (from the impossibility of enforcing the original act in Ireland) was a source of the most serious and well founded alarm. CHA CHAP. IX. Debate in the House of Lords, on the Earl of Carlisle's motion for nasal enquiry-In the Commons on the militia officers' bill—and on India fairs-King's message, to reward Sir James Saumarez.--Lord Ellenbrough's chalking bill.-Debate on the punishment of Trotter for contempt of the orders of the House.-General Gascoyne moves for a bill, to eqralize the measure of foreign salt.-Proceedings on the clergy residence bill-Debate on the Pancras work-house-and on the coroners' bill.Grenada loan bill.—Easter recess. N the house of lords, on the eighteenth day of March, the arl of Carlisle, called their lordps' attention, to a motion he should have made had he seen miisters in their places; the motion which he had intended to make, respected the artificers in the dock yards; and at which he particularly shed the noble earl at the head of the admiralty to be present. He came down as an independent per of parliament, unconnected th parties, and perfectly unbiassed; he was happily, "L'aplac'd, unpension'd, no man's heir or slave;" He was unsolicitous whom his pub- the noble earl, would always be guided by fair and honorable motives; yet he should recollect that others had feelings as well as himself, and felt wounded at unfavourable imputations thrown out against them. He was convinced, that those with whom he acted, had the confidence of the country, as expressed by its constitutional organ, the parliament. After some mutual explanations between the earl of Carlisle and the chancellor, the conversation dropped. On the same day there was a debate in the house of commons, upon the second reading of the militia officers' completion bill. Lord Folkstone, considered this bill would be the death blow of the militia. The constitutional principle of the militia, rested almost entirely on its being officered by men of property; and therefore highly disapproved of giving commissions in the militia to unqualified persons. He thought the halfpay officers, ought to get commissions in the line. The |