THE No. 16. PHILANTHROPIST. MONDAY, JULY 13, 1795. LONDON: Printed for and fold by DANIEL ISAAC EATON, Printer and Bookfeller to the Supreme Majefty of the People, at the Cock and SwINE, No. 74, Newgate street. When the convention met, they refolved upon twenty-eight articles, as the preliminaries upon which they would dispose of the crown; but this defign dwindled into a declaration of our rights, which was in thirteen articles, and the most confiderable; viz. That the rifing and keeping up a standing army in times of peace is contrary to law, had tagged to it these words, without authority of parliament; as if their confent would make it lefs dangerous, or parliament could make an act legal if fubverfive of the conftitution. This made the Jacobites fay in thofe early days, that fome evil counfellors defigned to play the same game again of a standing army. But in Ireland, though our army could do nothing, yet the militia of the country, almoft without arms or cloaths, performed miracles, witness that memorable fiege of Londonderry, the the defeat of general Mackarty, who was entrenched in a bog with ten thousand regular troops, and attacked by fifteen hundred Inniskilling men, defeated, himself made prifoner, and three thousand of his men killed; and a great many other gal, lant actions they performed, for which they were dismissed by Kirk with fcorn and ignominy, and most of their officers left to ftarve. It not being the purpose of this discourse, I shall omit giving any account of the conduct of our fleet during this war, how few advantages we reaped by it, and how many opportunities we lost of destroying the French; only thus much I will obferve, that though a great part of it may be attributed to the negligence, ignorance, or treachery of inferior officers, yet it could not fo univerfally happen through the whole course of the war, and unpunished too, notwithstanding the clamours of the merchants, and repeated complaints in parliament, unless the caufe had laid deeper: what that is, I fhall not prefume to enquire; but I am fure there has been a very ill argument drawn from it; viz. That a fleet is no fecurity to us. As foon as the peace was made, his majefty discharged a great part of the foreign forces; and an advertisement was published in the Gazette, that ten regiments should be forthwith difbanded; and we are told, as foon as it was done, that more fhould follow their example. But thefe refolutions, it feems, were altered, and the modish language was, that we must keep up a standing army. The house had not fat a week but this matter came to be debated; and the question in the committee was, Whether all forces raifed fince the year 80 fhould be dishanded? which was carried in the affirmative, the court being not able to bring it to a divifion; and the next day when it was reported, they did not attempt to set afide the vote, but to recommit it, upon pretence it tied the king to the old Tory regiments (though by the way none of those regiments have been fince disbanded) and fome faid they thought the forces in 80 too many. But let what will be their reafons, it was carried against them by a majority ! (3 majority of 37, the affirmatives being 185, and the negatives 148.' This was a thorough victory, and required great skill and address to retrieve; fince by the rules of the house they could not fet afide the former vote directly, they would try to do it by a fide wind, which was by moving, that directions might be given to the committee of ways and means to confider of a fupply for guards and garrifons; but the other fide, to obviate this, offered thefe words as an amendment; viz. According to the vote of the 11th of December. This matter was much laboured, and the gentlemen that were against the army explained ⚫ themselves, and declared they were not for obliging the king to the regiments in 80, but that they infifted only on the number, and he might choose what regiments he pleased. By this means they carried it, but not without great oppofition. But all this advantage would not fatisfy the army-gentlemen; for in the committee they endeavoured again to set aside the vote, by moving for a fum of 500,000 pounds per annum for guards and garrifons, without naming any certain number (which would have maintained above 20,000) but this could not be carried; therefore they came to a fort of compofition to have but 10,000, whereof a great number were to be horse and dragoons; and the fum given to maintain them was 350,000l. but notwithftanding this they moved afterwards for 3000 marines (alledging that these were not a land-force, but a water-force) which was carried. Here I will beg leave to obferve one thing, that nothing would fatisfy the courtiers at the beginning of the winter but to have the forces established by the parliament, and upon other terms they would not accept them; and in all companies said, that any minifter that advised the king to keep them up otherwife, or any officer that continued his commiffion, ought to be attainted of high treason. Thus what our courts for above a thousand years together had never effrontery enough to ask; what the penfioner parliament could not think of without astonishment; what king James's James's parliament (that was almoft chofen by himself) could not hear debated with patience; we are likely to have the honour of establishing in our own age, even under a deliverance. Now we will examine how far they have complied with the refolutions of the house of commons. Having fo far gained upon the first vote by the means before-related, it was not easy to be imagined but they would nicely perform the reft, without any art or evafion; but instead of this, they reformed a certain number of men out of every troop and company, and kept up all the officers, who are the most effential and chargeable part of an army, the private foldiers being to be raised again in a few days whenever they please. This is fuch a disbanding as every officer would have made in his company for his private advantage, and always did in Charles the fecond's time, and even in this reign when they were not in action: fo that all the effect of fuch a reform is to hinder the officers from falfe musters, and fave the pay of a few common foldiers. But this would not fatisfy the people, and therefore they difbanded fome regiments of horse, foot, and dragoons, and thought of that profound, expedient of fending a great many more to Ireland; as if our grievance was not the fear of being enflaved by them, but left they should spend their money among us. I am forry the nation is grown fo contemptible in thefe gentlemens opinions, as to think that they can remove our fears of a standing army, by fending them threefcore miles off, from whence they may recall them upon a few days notice. It is a common policy among arbitrary princes often to shift their foldiers quarters, left they should contract friendship among the natives, and by degrees fall into their interest. This project offending men to Ireland was fo transparent, that they durft not rely upon it; and therefore they told us, that as faft as money could be got, they would difband more regiments. The people were in great expectation when it would be done, and several times it was taken notice of in parliament; and the courtiers always affured them that nothing hindered it but the want of money to pay them off, At At laft the parliament rose, and instead of difbanding they brought over a great many foreign regiments, and fent them to Ireland, as well as three more English ones. But even all this would not bring their army in England down to ten thousand men; fo that they made another reform, and fince have incorporated the officers of the disbanded regiments in Ireland into the standing troops, by which means they have got an army of officers: whereas if thefe gentlemen defign their army to defend us against a fudden invafion, in my poor opinion they should have kept up the private soldiers, and disbanded all the officers but fuch as are just neceffary to exercise them; for officers will be always ready to accept good employments, whereas the private foldiers will be very difficultly lifted again in a new war, though we all know they are eafily to be got together when they are only to infult their countrymen. One good effect of this army has already appeared; for I presume every body has heard how prevailing an argument it was in the late elections, That if we chofe fuch a man, we fhall be free from quarters: and I wish this argument does not every day grow stronger. Nay, who knows but in another reign the corporations may be told, that his majesty expects they will choose the officers of the army, and the parliament be told, that he expects they will maintain them? If the Prince of Orange, in his declaration, instead of telling us that we shall be fettled upon such a foundation that there fhall be no danger of our falling again into slavery, and that he would fend back all his forces as foon as that was done, had promised us, that after an eight years war (which would leave us in debt near twenty millions) we should have a standing army established, a great many of which should be foreigners, I believe few men would have thought fuch a revolution worth the hazard of their lives and eftates: but his mighty foul was above such abject thoughts as these; his declaration, was his own, these paltry defigns are our undertakers, who would fhelter their own oppreffion under his facred name. I would willingly know, whether the late king James could have |