When the affair came into the houfe, it was warmly de-. bated. But upon the question being put, the proposed aug→ mentation was loft by a majority of four.

The following is an abridgment of the arguments against the measure.

The motives, which actuated many, and must have weight with all, against an augmentation of our military establishment, arise from a conviction of its being a long-ftudied deeplaid plan, to engage us in a vaft, an endless, an intolerable expence, for a merely minifterial meafure; which, with re

gard

gard to us, and the circumftances of this kingdom, is unlawful and unreasonable, unneceflary and ufelefs, dangerous and difhonourable.

rate.

The expence calculated in the scheme prepared for the occafion, for raifing 3235 men additional to our present number, is 70000l. and for maintaining them 35,000l. a year; but perfons of skill and candour have proved, that the immediate expence cannot be less than 100,000l. nor the yearly charge than 40,000l. the interest of a million at a very low Were there no other exception to this propofal, but the difingenuity of the calculations it is founded on, that fingle circumstance, fo juft a ground for fufpicion, ought to create doubts fufficient to overthrow the whole; but fuppofing no fraud was intended, who will confent to encreafe a load, we are already unable to bear? Our annual military charge is now little fhort of 500,000 I. if to this be added the vast, the injurious, the hateful burthen, which befides we groan beneath, over and above the juft and neceffary supplies, will any friend of Ireland think we can afford to plunge into a debt of above 1,100,000l. for an addition of 3000 men to our prefent useless and offenfive army?

Our civil lift is now computed to ftand us in near 130,000l. a year; the military near 500,000 1. extraordinaries near 170,000l. total annual expence, near 800,000l. our whole revenue (exclufive of the loan duties, barely fufficient for the intereft of the national debt) is about 600,000 1. a year; and confequently there is an annual exceeding of near 200,000 1. The yearly fum of 200,000 l. is equal to the intereft of five million of money. Suppofing then our annual exceedings of expence were never to encreafe, as it conftantly does, and that it will always continue, as there is no hope of the contrary; we may confider the nation to be funk in fact, by those yearly exceedings, into an actual debt of five millions. Our acknowledged debt is 650,000 1. befides the 100,000 l. vote of credit laft feffion, and the like this winter; so that the whole debt of the nation may and ought to be computed to the prodigious amount of 5,850,000l. and, under thefe grievous circumstances, is it not intolerable to be driven into an immediate additional debt of 100,000 1. befides 40,000l. a year ? Our debt is already above our landed income, nor can our trade make up the deficiency; fo that we fhould inevitably be reduced, by the required augmentation, to a ftate of bankruptcy below beggary 1,100,000 1. worfe than nothing.

Upon extraordinary and alarming emergencies, the most parfimonious œconomist may not be unwilling to unlock his coffers: But the most liberal and generous, efpecially when

there

there is not the leaft appearance of any emergency or neceffity, should be very cautious in opening to extravagance a door, which, there is just cause to apprehend, could not be shut again, but would be constantly and continually widening; an endless and a growing evil. Our expences are yearly encreafing ; and the greatest strides, and groffeft abuses, are in our military eftablifhinent. The numbers fent abroad from us are every fummer greater than the former; and yet this drain of our ftrength and treasure, hitherto kindly winked at and overlooked, we are now commanded to confirm and augment, without any fecurity, though demanded, that it should not be a growing as well as lafting impofition. It is promised, that we fhall, on extraordinary emergencies, have at home, for our own defence, a number not less than 12000 men, over ' and above what may be abroad, on our establishment, if we 'will confent to keep 3235 always abroad.' But there is no fatisfactory afsurance, nor even a promise, that we shall certainly have 12000 always on the spot for our defence; or that we fhall certainly pay for no more than 3235 men abroad, at any time, for either the defence or oppreffion of others.

It has been alledged, that we ought to comply with this request, in return for the octennial law and the tax on penfions: We are fenfible of thofe gracious condefcenfions; and when we are out of debt, shall be no lefs ready than able to prove our gratitude. The reduction of the duty on tea has been also mentioned as a faving, which we ought to take into the account: But it happens, that we are obliged to the fmugglers for that; and, as no person will drink a drop less of that unwholesome foreign herb for the reduction, it must really be a reduction of our revenue, however justly intended for the encouragement of the fair trader.- -There has been also a strange kind of subtle arithmetic invented for this occafion, by which this argument is framed : Of 12000 we have now but 5000 at home, and confequently 7000 abroad; fo 'that, when we pay for only 3000 abroad, there will be a 'faving to the kingdom of the pay of 4000 men; a computation made with fophiftry, and contrived with no honest good defign; for if we now pay for 12000 only, and by the augmentation shall be at a vaft expence for 15235, what arithmetic can convince us that we fave? -Again, it is faid, we fhall have 3235 honest industrious tradesmen added to the number of proteftants of Ireland: But, if we may forin our opinion of those intended for the augmentation of our forces from the conduct of many in our army already, we should be glad to be delivered from a fet of lawless ruffians, the dregs of Britain, and the bane of this country.

Having

Having thus ftated the nature of the expence of this military AUGMENTATION, I fhall not hesitate to fay, that this longschemed, hard-pushed augmentation was not only abominably expenfive, but illegal and unreafonable, useless and unneceffary, dangerous and difhonourable, and not to be countenanced or admitted by any true friend of

IRELA N D.

P. S. One thing very remarkable appeared, viz. that in the year 1700, there were twenty-five regiments only of cavalry and infantry upon the eftablishment, which contained nevertheless twelve thoufand men; but that the present establishment, though containing no greater number of fifts of forty-two regiments, which exceeds the establishment of 1700 by feventeen regiments, and is more by fix regiments. than was ever before kept up in that kingdom in time of peace. This is the firft fruit of octennial parliaments in that king

dom.

men, con

A

To the EDITOR of the POLITICAL REGISTER.

Thoughts on the Augmentation of the Army.

ND fo, fir, thanks to God! and thanks to the fpirited conduct of the Irish parliament, the fcheme for augmenting the army is at laft happily defeated, or rather indeed crufhed in embryo. Upon the mifcarriage of this fcheme, I fincerely congratulate the public; as, had it fucceeded, it might juftly have been confidered as a very large ftride towards the accomplishment of that defign, which, there is but too much reafon to fufpect, the miniftry have fecretly formed, and intend, as foon as poffible, to carry into execution. What I mean, is, the deftroying of our free and legal conftitution, and the fubjecting us to a military and defpotic government. For, to what other end fhould the miniftry defire an augmentation of the army, particularly at this time, when all Europe is in a state of the most profound tranquility; and when there is not even the most diftant likelihood of that tranquility being very foon difturbed? O! but I had forgot, there are fome commotions in Poland; and it is not improbable, that the miniftry may have a defigh of carrying over a body of troops into that kingdom, in order to fettle the differences between the Proteftants and the Papifts. This fuppofition is the lefs unnatural, inafmuch as it is well known, that English minifters have frequently adopted fchemes of a more romantic and quixotical complexion.

But

But the plain truth, I believe, is, that the ministry, confcious of their own unpopularity, and of the unpopularity of the government, which they have contributed, by their many acts of tyranny and oppreffion, to render completely odious, are fenfible of the neceffity of having a larger body of troops, to fupport them in the poffeffion of their places and their penfions. But if this be their motive in defiring an augmentation of the army, they are likely, I apprehend, to find themselves difappointed. The Irish parliament has already told them, that they fhall not have one foldier more from them; and the English parliament, if applied to on the fame fubject, will, I hope, give them the fame answer. The rather, when they obferve to what humane and conftitutional purposes the regular forces, we already have, are employed, viz. murdering and maiming his majesty's liege fubjects. In good earneft, if our own army is to be employed against ourselves, it ought not only, not to be increased; it ought immediately to be difbanded, and not fo much as a fingle foldier left in the kingdom. For if the miniftry have really laid a scheme for fubjecting us to the galling yoke, a military and difpotic government, the regular troops, which they already have, are more than fufficient for the purpose. The English army, including alfo, that upon the Irish establishment, amounts, if I rightly remember, to forty-fix or forty-feven thoufand men. But it is well known, that Julius Cæfar feized Rome itself with five thousand, and gained the battle of Pharfalia, and of confequence, the fovereignty of the world with twenty-two thousand; and that moft of the revolutions of the Roman and Ottoman em- → pires in latter periods were effected by the Pretorian Bands, and the Court Janizaries; the former of which never exceeded eight, nor the latter twelve thousand men. And if fuch inconfiderable armies could execute fuch disturbances in those vaft empires, what may not double, or triple, or even quadruple the numbers do in this finall kingdom?

In fober fadnefs, if our minifters be feriously bent upon the ruin of our free government, its ruin, I am afraid, is altogether unavoidable: Actum eft de Republicâ. Our only hopes of fafety lie not in the virtue of our minifters, but in the patriotifm of our foldiers; who probably would, in fuch a cafe, act like the foldiers of king James the fecond; who deferted him in numbers, boldly, and even virtuously broke their military oath, and preferred the prefervation of their religion and liberties, to the gratifying the ambitious or VOL. III, tyrannical

D