§ Mr. T. Duncombewished to put a question to the right hon. Baronet the Secretary at War, respecting the bill which was read a second time last night, and which he considered a bill to augment the standing army. He begged to ask how many men this bill would enable the Government to place under arms?
§ Sir Henry Hardingesaid, he conceived that the bill would only enable the pensioners to be called out in the different localities, and he believed that the number which might be armed were about 5,000 for England, 2,000 for Scotland, and between 1,000 and 2,000 for Ireland, making in all between 8,000 and 9,000. He repeated that these persons would merely act in case of a local demand for their services, in the towns where they reside.