§ Lord Palmerstonagain rose to bring forward the Army Estimates. He commenced by referring to particulars; and first to the staff, on which he said there was a total saving of 13,701l. In the barrack department there was also 822 a saving of 4,800l.; and in the office of commander-in-chief, of 231l., in consequence of a change of the secretary. In the War-office the saving was 3,531l., the principal item in which was 2,557l. on arrear accounts. The House was probably aware that there had been a large arrear of unsettled accounts arising out of the war and other particular circumstances, provision not having been made for the accumulation of business. An addition of persons to bring up this arrear had received the sanction of the Treasury: the whole charge, including foreign correspondence, was formerly 56,812l.; but on the year 1820 there had been a reduction of 37,216l., of which 9,365l. had been wholly discontinued, and the expense of an establishment amounting to 10,000l. had been transferred to another department. It was also satisfactory to find that the arrangement had been effectual for the purpose for which it was destined. In 1811 only two accounts remained unsettled; in 1812 only eight; in 1813 only twelve; in 1814 only eleven; in 1815 only six; in 1816 the same number, and in 1817 only twenty-one. In the whole, 1399 accounts had been passed, and there were only sixty-six on which any question still subsisted, and those questions arising out of circumstances not within the control of the office. The effect of the arrear department had been to save the public a much larger amount than the whole expense of the War-office for the year; 69,276l. had been either recovered or saved, of which 7,929l. had actually been paid into the Bank of England, and the remainder deducted from accountants on the settlement of their balances. Under the head of hospital expenses there was an increase of 9,600l. which arose thus: at the end of the war there had been a large quantity of medecine in store; it had been consumed by degrees, and latterly it had been necessary to obtain a fresh supply. Under this head was also included a charge of 2,100l. for the Opthalmic hospital, of which so much had been said last year: the number of patients was 100, or only 21l. for each patient. The experience his lordship had since had of the advantage of this institution confirmed all the opinions he had formerly entertained and expressed. In the volunteer corps there had been an increase of 47,831l.; the British part of that increase arose from the establishment of new corps. 823 The total amount of volunteer corps in Great Britain was 25,000 cavalry and 4,950 infantry. In Ireland they were entirely infantry, and a reduction had been made there of 6,995 rank and file, and a saving in charge of 2,000l. effected. The present amount of Irish yeomanry might be stated at about 20,000 men. In the Royal Military College there had been a diminution of expense to the extent of 3,702l.; still further reductions were in progress; ths senior department, after the 24th of June, would be removed to Sandhurst, and the number of officers was to be lowered from 30 to 15, and a more rigid inquiry would be instituted into their competence, so that the public might be fully assured of the ability of those allowed to study there. The cadets in the junior department were reduced from 320 to 290, and the professors had been proportionably diminished. It had been ascertained that the charge for the effective part of the military college next year, would not exceed 15,900l., or about 3s. per day for each person. In the pay of general officers, there appeared from the estimates on the table an increase of 3,111l., arising from the reduction of certain regiments last year: by previous regulations certain general officers were allowed to fall back on these allowances. Under the head of garrisons there was also a small increase of 979l., arising from certain transferences that had been effected. In the article of full pay for retired allowances, a diminution would be noticed of 87,848l., arising out of the formation of the veteran battalions, the officers for which were taken out of those receiving such allowances. In the half-pay and military allowances there would be seen an increase of 49,837l., occasioned by a number of persons being placed upon half-pay by the disbandments of last year. In forming the veteran battalions it was found that some could not serve from age, wounds, and other causes, and their names were allowed to stand in this list; and such Officers as were taken upon full pay were in all cases deserving objects, whether from length of service or otherwise. Under the head of half-pay to officers in foreign corps there was a diminution of 4,161l. arising from casualties. In the in-pensioners of Chelsea and Kilmainham-hospitals, there was a small increase of 1,604l.; but in the out-pensioners there was a diminution of 85,967l., produced 824 in a great measure by the formation of the veteran battalions: there was also a balance of 20,000l. in the hands of the agent for Chelsea-hospital, for which credit was taken. In the Royal Military Asylum a diminution would be observed of 982l. In the widows' pensions there was an increase of 10,763l. Before he quitted the subject of Chelsea-hospital, the House might wish to know what had been the result of the examination of the pensioners for the veteran battalions. The total number that presented themselves was 15,026: of these 12,305 were found fit for duty: 1,862 did not attend, but the greater number made sufficient excuses. Such as were at first held fit for duty were again examined, and 3,348 of them were discharged, leaving in the whole 8,957 for the service for which they were intended. Although a great number did not attend pursuant to order, his lordship wished to rescue the men from any imputation that they wished to absent themselves from the call: they came with the greatest alacrity, and with much satisfaction entered upon their new duty with their increased allowances. Such as had two children likely to become liable to the parish were not received. In what was called the compassionate list, bounty for wounds, &c, an increase of 9,815l. would be found, and in the superannuation and retired allowances a similar increase of 1,898l. On the whole view of the subject, taking in all the smaller items, it appeared that there was a reduction of 11,745 men and of 224,000l. In reference to the veteran battalions it was fit to observe, that the charge made for them included 18,500l. as the expense of clothing them; but as they had been furnished from the stores of the war left on hand, credit had been elsewhere given to that amount. The House might wish to know the expense arising from this measure: including the clothing, it was 360,000l., increased by the charge for organization. Against this was to be set, the pensions of the men 85,000l., the saving of pay of retired officers 35,000l., and credit for half-pay to the amount of 12,000l., The sum saved was therefore in the whole 132,000l. and the charge upon the country, including clothing, 360,000l.: deducting the one from the other, together with 18,500l. for clothing, left an additional charge upon the public for the veteran battalions, of 210,000l. He had been blamed, on a former occasion, for 825 not entering more at large into the reasons which had induced ministers to think this addition to the force of the kingdom necessary: he could only repeat now what he had said before, that the reasons for this increase of force were so notorious to every person in the country, that he should consider any attempt on his part to argue the necessity, not only a waste of time in the House, but as trifling with the public understanding. If the justification of this measure were not sufficiently established by the events which had taken place since August last, he was certain that no argument he could use, and no eloquence ever heard within those walls, would carry conviction with it. The noble lord then moved his first resolution, "That a number of land forces, not exceeding 92,586 men, and also 676 men proposed to be disbanded (but exclusive of the men belonging to the regiments employed in the territorial possessions of the East India company, or ordered from thence to Great Britain), commissioned and non-commissioned officers included, be maintained for the service of Great Britain and Ireland, from 25th December 1819 to 24th December 1820."
§ Lord Nugentstated, that it was not his intention on the present occasion to go into all the objections which he entertained to the resolution now moved. One reason for his declining to do so was the evident indisposition of the noble lord. His objections, too, did not so much apply to the details embraced in the estimates now laid upon their table, as to the principle of maintaining so enormous a military establishment in time of peace. It was an establishment which he saw nothing to justify in the situation of Europe, or in our own domestic circumstances. The noble lord had not attempted to bring forward any argument to prove its necessity, but had rested its defence on the ground of public notoriety. Such a ground might appear satisfactory to the noble lord, but, in his opinion, a large military force was not a suitable remedy for popular discontent, arising from actual misery, and increased by the disastrous state of our finances. If complaints of taxation were to be met by enlarged establishments, it was obvious that we should move on in a circle till some final rupture took place between the Crown and the people, the issue of which must be either to confirm disaffection, or to establish a military government and a military police. Having made 826 these general observations, he wished to ask the noble lord one or two questions with regard to certain points in these estimates which he did not at present clearly understand. A sum of 406,000l. was charged to defray the expense of the veteran battalions embodied last year, but he had not succeeded in ascertaining whether the number of men included in those battalions was 11,745 or 8,957. He wished also to inquire, as it was generally believed that the militia would be embodied in August next, what number of men were to be raised by ballot, and also what increase had taken place during the last year in the yeomanry cavalry? He must repeat, however, that independently of these considerations, he thought the vote to which the House was called upon to agree was most alarming, and he should take another opportunity of stating the many objections to which he thought it open.
Mr. Fyshe Palmerwas anxious to draw the attention of the House to the subject of the driver corps, the skeleton of which was still kept up in Wales, but for what purpose of national utility he bad not been able to discover. He apprehended, likewise, that if the military college was still necessary, it ought to be placed on the most economical footing. He was far indeed from admitting that necessity, and was persuaded that one-half of what was laid out at Sandhurst would cover the entire expense of Marlow. It appeared to him that a most enormous sum had been expended in buildings, from which the public service could derive no adequate compensation.
§ Mr. Humeconsidered that the House and the country were much indebted to an hon. and gallant officer (colonel Davies) who had recently called their attention to the subject of our military expenditure. It was undoubtedly a little singular to find, in the first place, so large an increase in the number of life-guards. That number, in the year 1792, was 695, and now amounted to 1,305. He was sure he was not exceeding the truth, when he estimated the cost of every individual in that corps, including horses and accoutrements, at 142l. per annum. In the accounts on the table it appeared to be no more than 70l. per annum, but this was exclusive of the charge for horses. With regard to the aggregate amount of our military establishments in this the sixth year of peace, he thought the House must feel deep re- 827 gret at the contemplation. These estimates, too, it must be recollected, did not comprehend more than half of the total charge for the year. It was very difficult, indeed, to get at the entire account; but by a statement in one of the reports of the finance committee, the whole military expenditure of the last year, including the ordnance service, was represented to be 9,991,000l. If to this were added the sum of 224,000l. for additional charges in the present year, the total amount would exceed 10,000,000l. He was satisfied that so large an establishment was out of all proportion to the exigencies of the country, that it was bad policy to attempt keeping down a population by an overwhelming military force, and that whilst corps of yeomanry were in a state of efficiency, a very great diminution might be made in the regular regiments. The charge for those regiments stationed at home was, 1,509,000l, and of those on foreign service 1,067,000l. One half of this expenditure arose in the colonies; and it was a question which he trusted would not escape the attention of his majesty's government, or of the legislature, whether the resources of these colonies might not be made available to their support and defence.—He hoped the House would indulge him whilst he now offered a few observations on some other branches of our military expenditure. In beginning with the staff he must express a decided opinion, that this would admit of more reduction than any other charge. If they looked only a few years back, indeed to the year 1814, it would be found that the personal allowance of the commander-in-chief was 9l. 9s. per diem, but it had subsequently been raised to 16l. 8s. 9d. The salaries and allowances of the secretary and other officers were also increased, and the ground upon which these additions were justified was, that the number of regiments had been increased from 100 to 265, and that the official labour of those individuals was augmented in the same proportion. Surely, then, the present state of the army afforded as strong a reason for now reducing those allowances. The charge for the whole staff was 30,353l. He was happy to see the right hon. the judge-advocate (Mr. Beckett) in his place, as he was about to make some allusion to the increased allowances which had been made for his office. He believed that in sir C. Morgan's time those allowances did not exceed 2,040l. per annum, since which 828 time they had been raised to 5,000l., as he presumed, on account of the increased business, during a war, carried on upon so extended a scale as the last. Was it too much, then, to ask, now that peace had arrived, and the right hon. gentleman had comparatively nothing to do, that the establishment of his office should be put upon its former footing? Agreeing that a liberal consideration ought to be paid for legal knowledge, it could not be denied that what was sufficient for services rendered to an establishment of 260 regiments, must be more than enough under circumstances so altered as the present.—He would now solicit their attention to what appeared to him an extraordinary transaction. On the face of these estimates there appeared a deduction from the charge on account of the Ionian Islands of 11,000l. He was surprised at tin's statement, because he held in his hand a return made by order of the House, and which return showed that the expense of the military staff in the Ionian Islands was 10,446l., and that only 2,680l. was paid out of the colonial funds. But it also appeared that Great Britain paid not only the expenses of the military, but of the civil government of those islands, amounting with contingencies, to 145,203l. The House would easily judge how far this was consistent with the treaty of Paris, or with the constitution which had been granted to them. By the 8th chapter of the constitution it was provided, "that all expenses incurred in supporting the military force, and expenses of every other kind, shall be paid out of the general treasury, as far as such expenses apply to the maintenance of 3,000l. men." The Ionian states were bound to support a military force of 3,000l. men, and if any addition were made to that force, the charge was to fall on Great Britain. But the force actually maintained did not exceed 3,000 men, and yet Great Britain was paying every farthing of the expense.—With regard to the military college at Sandhurst, he had been much misunderstood as to what had fallen from him respecting it on a late occasion. He was far from entertaining any wish to see it put down; but if kept up at all, it ought to be kept up in a state of efficiency. After the expense which had been incurred in erecting buildings, he should indeed be sorry to see it abandoned, but he thought a very limited sum would answer the purpose of maintaining its utility. It appeared that during 829 the years 1816, 1817, and 1818, there were 400 cadets qualified to receive commissions, and that in the following year there were 320, making an average on the four years of 390. Of these 100 ought to have received commissions, had government been disposed to avail themselves of the advantages arising from the system of education at the college. Commissions, however, had been granted only to 76 in the course of three years, the whole expense of the establishment for which period was 78,000l., being a charge of 1,040l. for the education of each individual thus called to an employment in the public service. If this education was as advantageous and useful as it was represented to be, he did not see indeed, why every officer should not receive it, being persuaded that its benefits might be communicated at a very reduced expense. Whether the commissions were obtained by purchase or without purchase, did not seem to be very material; and of the 76 persons to whom he had alluded, some had obtained them in the one way and some in the other. All he meant to contend was, that all the advantages of the institution might be derived at a much cheaper rate. It had been said that the expense was only 3s. per head, but the staff of the establishment alone amounted to 6,500l. At Woolwich, where the education was at least equally advantageous, the charge was infinitely less. But at Sandhurst there was a governor with 1,500l. a year, and a deputy-governor with 1,000l., besides allowances for horses. There were also 26 professors to instruct 290 young men, and to their salaries was to be added the charge for clerks and servants. He was making no exaggerated statement, but merely representing what appeared on the estimates themselves. If there was not a sufficient number of commissions for those who were educated with a view to them, he conceived that it would be proper to narrow the admission of cadets. He was aware that a great deal might be said as to the situation of many officers children, but they ought not to overlook the necessary distinction between a state of war and of peace. If bounty was all they had in view, objects would never be found wanting; in that respect the supply would always be found equal to the demand.—There was one other point which he conceived to be of very great importance—he meant the half-pay; and he would briefly state to the House the view he took of 830 that subject. By a return laid before the House last year, it appeared that there were no less than 1,665 captains, 3,663 lieutenants, and 12,000 cornets and ensigns, on the half-pay list, since which time near 600 had been added to that number. It was a matter of important consideration whether means should not be adopted to take those individuals from the half-pay list, and place them on full pay, by providing them with situations in the army. Every one must know that the greater part of those gentlemen would hail with pleasure any prospect of their being actively employed in the service; and by such an arrangement the half-pay, which amounted to a very large sum, would be saved. According to the return to which he had alluded, the commander-in-chief had granted commissions to 296 individuals without purchase, and in the same year they were placed on the half-pay list, thus adding an additional sum of 16,000l. to the list. If, instead of incurring an additional charge of 16,000l., the same number of individuals had been placed on the regular establishment, there would now have been a difference of 33,000l., which would have been saved to the country in the single class of cornets and ensigns. If that were the case how much greater must the saving have been, in the higher classes? Many of those individuals had been 20 or 25 years in the service, and were therefore entitled to be placed on the regular establishment, on full pay, instead of employing those who had not seen service. He trusted that every thing that could be done would be practised, to lessen the expenditure in general, and that next year the estimates would appear before them reduced to the amount of some hundreds of thousands. Without the intervention of a committee, the propriety of instituting which he had before suggested, this could not be done, unless by the intervention of the heads of the several offices; and he trusted that the illustrious individual at the head of the army, and all those who were now receiving salaries on the ratio of a war establishment, would see the necessity, for the general good, of returning to a peace establishment.
Colonel Daviesregretted that those individuals who took an active part in the discussion of a corn bill, or a commercial or agricultural measure, did not seem inclined to devote their talents to the important subject now under consideration. 831 When he recently introduced this vital question, he had regretted that it did not meet with due attention. He did not mean to enter into the subject now, but there were one or two questions which he was anxious to have answered. In the first place, he should be glad to know, as the late patentee for supplying the army with medicines was dead, what was the intention of government with respect to the necessary supply in future? Mr. Garnier, the late apothecary-general, had received a patent empowering him solely, to supply the army with medicines, which he did at the rate of about 50 per cent dearer than the ordnance department was supplied. The commissioners of military inquiry, in their fifth report, had recommended the purchase of the patent; or, if the patentee would not give it up, that on his death, the office should be abolished, and a more eligible mode of providing a supply of medicines be adopted. As the demise of the patentee had taken place, he wished to know what course had been selected for supplying the army with medicines, whether by contract or otherwise. He should also be glad to know, whether there were any militia embodied in the Ionian Islands, as he perceived there was a considerable staff there?
§ Lord Milton,in reference to 11,000 discharged men that had been called out in the course of the last year, wished to know whether that was done without any vote of parliament. As far as he recollected, no vote had been agreed to on the subject. The number of the army on the 25th of March last exceeded, by 11,000 men, the number voted by the Mutiny bill in 1819. The number of men was stated annually in the preamble of the Mutiny bill, and these 11,000 men were arrayed when parliament was not sitting. No notice had been taken of this circumstance during the last session; at least no official notice. The noble lord might perhaps have mentioned it, incidentally, in his speech, but no vote of that House had taken place with reference to this subject. He could not conceive why it had been thus passed over.
§ Colonel Trenchwas anxious to offer a few observations in defence of the establishment at Sandhurst. It was described as unfitted and unsuited for the purpose contemplated; observations were made on the extent of the fund appropriated to its support; and reflexions were also cast on the mode of education pursued in that 832 seminary. As to this last point, he would leave it entirely in the hands of the board of general officers, to whom it was intrusted, and who were so well calculated to regulate the system of education. As to the policy of the establishment, he had no doubt of it. War, he admitted, was an evil, and he had heard it said, that institutions of this kind induced young people to imbibe a strong predilection for arms. Evils of this nature might subsist; but if they did, he thought they were more than counterbalanced by the solid substantial benefits derived from a good education. It must be evident to every person, that our troops, both at home, and abroad, must be more useful, and less likely to give offence, if instead of being commanded by boys not inured to discipline or well grounded in military science, they were placed under the guidance of those who had been regularly reared to the service, who possessed those attainments and acquirements that were necessary for a military life. These advantages, it appeared to him, were to be found in this institution; and therefore he wished to see it supported. He need not panegyrise the talents, the integrity, the justice and impartiality of that distinguished personage who had so long presided over our military institutions, and who gave his utmost support to this establishment. Every soldier knew, that to eradicate bad habits, and to implant good ones, was a most difficult task, and from the commander, who was the right hand of war, to the lowest soldier who took part in the battle, all admitted that their gratitude and esteem were due to the founder of an institution which was calculated to produce the best moral effects on the army. When he considered the arduous situation which that illustrious individual filled, and the various important duties which he had to perform, he could assure those who thought otherwise, that he was by no means overpaid for his exertions. With respect to the education of the young gentlemen, it comprised fortification, mathematics, drawing, and the modern languages. But what afforded him, in the course of his observations, the greatest degree of pleasure, was the infinite pains which appeared to him to be taken to perfect them in ancient and modern history, particularly the history of England. They were also furnished with works which were the best calculated to teach them the nature of British liberty, 833 and to give them an insight into the principles of the British constitution. They were allowed for their amusement the perusal of the daily newspapers, and of various periodical publications; so that they were not kept in ignorance of the prevailing political opinions of the times. And yet he had heard individuals say that this establishment was nothing but a nursery to rear up janisaries for future despots. He looked also to the institution as a monument of national gratitude erected to those heroes who had fallen in the service of their country—who had exalted the glory of the British name, and ensured the security of the British empire. He could quote more than one instance of a brave soldier dying on the field of battle, and while drawing his latest breath, reflecting with pleasure that this institution was open to receive his children. To those who thought that the children of soldiers who had thus fallen should be provided for, it would be pleasing to learn, that from nine hundred to one thousand had been educated in this institution since its establishment. It was not too much to say that they had been rescued from vice and ignorance. He looked upon them as the children of the nation, and trusted that their welfare would never be neglected by their country.
Mr. Bennetsaid, the noble lord had stated that the Ophthalmic establishment cost the country about 2,000l. a year. He had heard that it was extremely well conducted—that the patients were well treated—and that the whole establishment was carried on in a highly creditable manner. Of this, however, he had no knowledge himself. But he had also heard of a board of medical gentlemen whom his royal highness the commander-in-chief, had called on to examine it, and who gave a very different view of the establishment. After what the noble lord had said, he was at a loss to state the matters contained in the report of those gentlemen. Amongst these were Dr. Macgregor and Dr. Franklin, men of acknowledged judgment; and when he found that these persons, so instructed by the commander-in-chief, had performed the duty allotted to them, and had given a very different account of the institution from that which he had heard, he thought it was a subject that deserved to be inquired into. These gentlemen, in their report, stated, that so far from success, there had been great failure—that so far 834 from there being great novelty, the system was almost entirely old. Many of the objections contained in the report, if well founded, were in his mind decisive. It had been said, that a combination of medical men connected with the army was formed against sir William Adams, who was at the head of this establishment. This, he thought, was not a fair way of treating individuals who held opinions different from those maintained by that gentleman. If they had entered into a conspiracy to destroy the fair fame of sir W. Adams, it would be a good reason for removing them from their situations. The truth was, that in his opinion they had entered into no such conspiracy: they appeared to be warranted by facts in the conclusion at which they had arrived t they had indeed made out a case of almost entire failure. The noble lord said, that new and successful means had been resorted to for restoring the sight of patients in this establishment, while the medical gentlemen declared that there was no novelty and no success. How, then, were they to judge between the noble lord and the gentlemen whom he had mentioned? For his own part, he thought that in cases of opacity of the cornea, and other diseases of the eye, Dr. Macgregor, Dr. Franklin, and other medical men were better judges than the noble lord. If he thought that the disabled soldier would obtain relief from this new system, as it was called, he would willingly vote a much larger sum than 2,000l.; but he very much doubted that any such benefit would be derived from it. In one of the abstracts, giving an account of 15 persons who had been examined, the classification was as follows:—One was improved; six improved in part; three in the same situation: four said they were better; and one had the right eye rendered blind by the operation. There was a rule in the army, that no operation should be performed on a soldier in an hospital without the concurrence of a board of surgeons. Sir William Adams, it appeared, had not proceeded on this principle, and the report very properly recommended, that he should not be allowed to perform operations, or, as the gentlemen expressed it, to put out the eyes of people under his care, unless another surgeon were present to give his opinion on the particular case. This recommendation, he trusted, would be attended to. It was alleged, that the failure was in many cases to be attributed 835 to the number of desertions that took place from the establishment. He did hot wonder that desertions should occur; for those who saw the eyes of their companions injured, would naturally be anxious to get away to preserve their own.
§ Mr. Goulburnstated, that there was a militia set on foot in the Ionian islands, the drilling and superintending of whom had devolved on the staff. Whether they were so occupied at present he could not say. The hon. gentleman, in answer to the observation made by Mr. Hume, observed, that that there was a saving of upwards of 11,000l. on the staff in the Ionian islands, which he conceived to be a very considerable diminution of the expense. It was under this head a deduction from the military expenditure; and to that extent the country must be a gainer, even admitting that the general scale of expense in these islands was not a decreasing one.
§ Mr. Barhamsaid, his hon. friend had taken an erroneous view of the Ophthalmic establishment. He had got hold of a pamphlet, entitled "A Report submitted to the commander-in-chief on Ophthalmia;" and he seemed to conclude that it contained the judgment of a board of persons, to whom it was referred to decide on the disputes relative to this establishment. This was entirely a mistake: it was a private publication, printed by themselves, and was merely the reply of one party to the statement of the other. The hon. gentleman stated the number of pensions granted for diseases in the eye before the appointment of the Ophthalmic institution, and the number of persons pronounced incurable by army-surgeons cured at the Ophthalmic institution, in order to prove the utility of that institution.
Mr. Pricesaid, he had conversed with many persons who had relations in the hospital, all of whom concurred in speaking of it in terms of the highest praise. There were some who, after having been three or four years in other places under the army surgeons, and discharged at length as incurables, were restored to sight by sir William Adams.
Mr. Hutchinsonsaid, that the respectable individual at the head of the establishment now under consideration, had been hardly dealt with in many instances, and regretted that his hon. friend, the member for Shrewsbury, should have spoken as he had, under a misconception 836 of the services which that individual had rendered to thousands afflicted with the most distressing malady. His hon. friend seemed not to be aware that the experiment had proved successful after a trial of ten years. He did not impute to him any improper motive, but he was satisfied in his own mind that a conspiracy was formed against sir W. Adams by other persons, and that the most satisfactory evidence could be produced on the subject, if the House should deem it expedient to refer it to a committee. It was not his intention to attack the army medical board, but in his soul he believed that a conspiracy existed somewhere, the object of which was not only to injure sir W. Adams, but, if possible, to annihilate his professional reputation and practice. This hostility appeared to have originated in the ophthalmic controversy which was brought upon that gentleman by his having undertaken to cure the opthalmic in the army, at the solicitation of government, after application had been made to every other quarter without success. The House and the public at large ought to be made acquainted with this most disgraceful combination, and the more so as some persons of influence with the public had lent themselves to the purpose, by which means the public had been deprived in too many instances of the benefit of his skill and experience. The weapons employed by this confederacy were not those of fair competition. The adversaries of sir W. Adams had resorted to means more disgraceful, but far more effective. They had falsely and maliciously misrepresented his character and professional conduct; they had worked upon the fears of the timid, misled the judgment of the cautious, and attempted to prejudice all those who had not the means of ascertaining the truth. It was therefore to be hoped that the House and the country would protect a greatly injured individual, for it was impossible but that he must have been seriously injured in his professional practice by the efforts of so extended a conspiracy as had existed against him for the last five years. The whole offence of sir William Adams was, that he had successfully combated a most destructive disease, which had previously resisted the utmost efforts of the medical profession. It was a melancholy fact, that upwards of 6,000 soldiers had been dismissed from the service blind with opthhalmia. He had gone through the whole establishment himself, 837 and seen several soldiers who bad been blind for four, and some of them ten years, restored to sight by his skill."
Mr. Bennetread an extract from the report of the three medical gentlemen appointed by the board, in which they stated, that the appearances were still more unfavourable than before. He did not mean to deny that sir W. Adams had performed great cures, but that they were not so numerous as to justify the continuance of the establishment.
A Member, whose name we could not learn, asked whether it was the intention to keep up the volunteer infantry, as the cavalry alone, he thought, should be retained? Another item was 30,000l. for the local militia, which was a useless expenditure, as that force was never likely to be called out again.
§ Lord Palmerstonreplied, that there were no charges for infantry, and that it was the temporary and superseded character of the local militia which occasioned the expense now charged under that head. What were called skeleton waggons, were in perfect repair, and it would be against every principle of economy to sell or destroy them. The art of driving them was not to be acquired at once by a peasant or a ploughman. He thought Sandhurst preferable to Marlow for the situation of the military college. The commander-in-chief had had an increased allowance since 1814, but it was in lieu of other allowances previously given to field-marshals. The duke of Wellington got the same, the fluctuating allowances of field-marshals having been exchanged for a fixed sum. He then proceeded to defend the salary assigned to the judge-advocate, which he maintained was deserved by the services of that officer, who was in constant communication with the military commanders at Ceylon, the Cape, the Ionian islands, and also in Ireland, now that the office of judge advocate was abolished in that country. With respect to the observations which had been made on the Military College, they did not appear to him to be well founded; and really as to the calculations of the hon. gentleman regarding it, he confessed his inability to follow them. He maintained, that not more than a proper number of commissions had been granted to the cadets educated there, and those only upon a full conviction of the merit of those to 838 whom they were assigned. He must maintain, that due regard had been paid to the officers on half-pay, in giving them a preference to vacant commissions; they succeeded to them as often as was consistent with the interests of the army, but certainly not on all occasions; for if none but they were thought fit to succeed to them, there would be an end of all emulation in the army as there would he an end of all promotion. A noble lord had asked him how he reconciled with the constitution and the articles of the Mutiny act, the levying of 11,000 men without the consent of parliament, which had been ordered by the Crown in October last. To this he would answer, that the circumstances of the times were so pressing as to require the assemblage of such a force, and that it had been communicated formally to parliament as soon as it met, and had received its consent and ratification. In conclusion, he defended the Ophthalmic establishment; and stated that though sir W. Adams, whom he highly eulogised, had been severely attacked by several medical men in the army, their censure had never been formally communicated to him, and indeed was only; known to the public by report. He himself had the highest opinion of his skill; for he could say, from his own personal knowledge of the fact, that he had cured many individuals who had been blind for a long series of years.
§ Lord Nugentmaintained, that the answer which the noble lord had just given to a question proposed to him by a nobles lord was by no means satisfactory. Those 11,000 veterans were certainly levied in a manner contrary both to the Bill of Rights and to the articles of the Mutiny act.
The Chancellor of the Exchequersaid, that he could never be brought to believe that there was any thing blameable in the transaction alluded to. The Crown had called those troops into existence, it was true, in October last; but no sooner had parliament assembled, than this fact was made known to it.
§ Lord Palmerstonmaintained, that, according to the argument of the noble lord, the Crown could not, in any emergency, however great, levy a number of men without the consent of parliament. If this were the case, in what a dangerous situation would the country be placed, if a foreign foe were to land in the country during a dissolution of parliament!
§ Lord Nugentwas ready to admit, that 839 in case of actual insurrection, or the landing of a foreign force in the country, such a privilege might be allowed to the Crown as had been recently assumed by it.
§ The resolution was agreed to; as were the votes of the various sums to meet the expenses of the army.