The 27th, Mr. Fox in the committee proposed the same army as last year, as there was no alteration of circumstances; Sir John Cotton to reduce it to fifteen thousand; and was seconded by Northey, Beckford, Prowse, Thornton, Norris, Bertie, and Robinson. Cotton was answered by William Lyttelton; as Beckford (who had wished that the Army had committed outrages, in order to have the nation sensible of the dangers from it) was by Dr. Lee, who, to palliate the change of his style, was so injudicious as to insist that the situation of affairs was highly altered by the deaths of the Prince and the Prince of Orange, and the birth of the Duke of Burgundy. Lord Egmont, who found himself almost alone in opposition, made a very artful speech; said, “He had hoped to have heard some answer from the Ministry to Sir John Cotton’s arguments; that for his own part, he should be very gentle, as it was not a time to provoke a power that nothing could resist, but should coolly ask for an answer. He ridiculed Dr. Lee with great delicacy and compliments; knew that he had reason for what he did; and that he had great views, and overlooked small ones, and that such principles would justify little deviations. Yet if the dreaded event of a possible minority should come to pass, it would always be easy to call troops from Ireland, where, and by the number of officers, you always have the root of an Army. That to facilitate the assembly of one, the Parliament will be sitting: that the Ministry ought to affect to show the good disposition of Government, now everything is so quiet; and that such a display of tenderness to the subject would produce real security. He made a strong panegyric on the King, but said those good principles of his Majesty were prevented from being exerted by his Ministers, who govern by force in a reign that has given no pretence for it. That if any one of them would act constitutionally, he would support that man in spite of little reflections; and would extend his hand in defence, where he had never extended it, if once the Government would quit this road of rigour. That the death of the Prince of Orange could be no argument for maintaining so large an Army; we cannot govern Holland; that indeed were the Dutch strong, and in a more flourishing situation, it might be a reason, when we might give and receive mutual assistance. But for the pretence of the birth of a Duke of Burgundy, nothing could be more ridiculous; no argument more absurd than the birth of Foreign Princes; or than our increasing our Army whenever there is an heir to the Crown of France.”
He asked, “in what period of our history the Crown had so much power? That in 1646, when the Army had conquered King and Parliament, they voted but 6000 men necessary. Yet, treble as the present Army is desired, he would offer a composition, which, if accepted, he would vote for the present plan within 900 men: he would offer it to one (Mr. Pelham) not used to negotiate in public; would make a treaty, without one secret article; and would promise peace for one year,—a term as long as any modern treaty is likely to last. The condition was, that the Ministry should consent to reduce the Cavalry, and omit the Staff, which would create a saving of 143,000l. He urged that the King had shown by a former reduction, that, though he ought not to be without Guards and marks of sovereignty, he despises show. That the Grenadiers may still be kept up to attend on the King’s person; but he wished to break the Guards and the regiment of Blues. And he concluded with saying, that though he had no hopes of delivering the nation from the danger, yet he wished to rescue it from the expense of the Army, which cost very near as much as that immense one of the King of Prussia.”
Mr. Pelham replied in a very dull speech, “That he had seen no force exerted by the Administration; and attempted to defend Dr. Lee: that if the King dies, you have already provided for the strength of the Government: will you now weaken it? that, whenever the Army has been much reduced, tumults have immediately arisen. France may be tempted to disturb you, without meaning to fix the Pretender here: that she might even mean that; and that some who heard him knew that there had been Jacobite meetings within the last six months. That his fears from that quarter made him always more earnest on the question of the Army, than upon any other; and that he desired no overt act to convince him of the still real existence of Jacobitism. That the reduction proposed was a poor pittance if meant for economy. That, indeed, if it were worth while, the Blues might be changed; he had not much objection to it, though they had always had the title of Guards. That seventy men are as much as one officer can command; that the Army had already been reformed; a further reduction would be useless or dangerous, and will be a heavier burthen where quartered, from want of more officers.” The House divided at five, and voted the same Army by 180 to 43. Only Lord Middlesex and Martyn, of the late Prince’s faction, voting with Lord Egmont and the Speaker.
About this time, France seemed threatened with a cloud of intestine troubles. Louis the well-beloved had outlived the flattery of even French subjects. Verses,[188] recommending the assassination of him, were pasted up on the Louvre and the Pont-Neuf. Yet, though marked for destruction by his priests, it was with great difficulty that Madame de Pompadour, his mistress, could divert the melancholy cast of his mind from sinking into a habit of devotion. She perpetually varied his pleasures, and carried him from one palace and hunting seat to another,—journeys which cost immense sums, and made the people join in the clamour which the Clergy had conjured up. Gunpowder and some treasonable papers were found in the cradle of the Duke of Burgundy. The Dauphin, a dull, bigoted Prince, was zealously attached to his mother, and had hazarded brutalities to the mistress, which the King bore with great indulgence. It did not break out into factions, as the domestic quarrels of the Royal Family had done for two generations here in England, but appeared in little marks and distinctions, such as different manners of wearing the Cordon, &c. among the creatures of either Court. In the midst of these uneasinesses, a new flame broke out. The Archbishop of Paris was a favourite, having made his court even at the expense of his brethren the clergy. The hospitals had always been managed with so much integrity as to become the most creditable fund for charity; the Parliament directed them. The Archbishop endeavoured to arrogate the sole command of them to himself: the King supported his pretensions. The Parliament having in vain remonstrated, concurred to throw up their employments; and though they submitted to resume their functions, it was not without having inspired the Court with a temper of moderation, which is as seldom learnt by despotic Kings, as such firmness is seldom practised by Parliaments renowned for far greater liberties.
December 4th.—Mr. Pelham opened the Land Tax of three shillings in the pound; and recommended as his maxim to preserve and improve our situation, seldom to gain, and then our enemies will not be offended. Lord Harley and Beckford, with Vyner, Oglethorpe, Robinson, Admiral Vernon, Sydenham, Thornton, and Cooke, (the sad refuse of all the last Oppositions,) opposed it. So did Sir John Barnard, who said, “He had declared two years ago, that, if the peace continued, he would vote no more for three shillings; that the peace was made because our Allies had not contributed equally to the expense of the war; and he proposed a wild scheme of tying down 600,000l. a year, out of the Sinking Fund, to pay the National Debt, by which means, in fifty years, we should be able to carry on as extensive a war as ever we ought to wage.” A scheme by which, if strictly pursued, and a new war should intervene, we should be paying off money borrowed at three per cent., while obliged to borrow other money at five, six, or whatever interest extortion should find it a proper season to demand. Lord Strange spoke for the question. Sir John Cotton answered, “That country gentlemen would indeed have very little ease,[189] if three shillings land tax was thought necessary till our debts were paid, as Lord Strange had said, and nobody had contradicted.” Mr. Pelham said, “Lands sell better now than ever they had done, and that luxury and election contests between neighbouring gentlemen occasion the change of property.” Cotton replied, “The country gentlemen had learnt from the report of the Secret Committee, that the Court supports one side, and therefore they would grow more wary.” They divided for two shillings, but it was carried for three, by 176 to 50.
The next day, on the report, Sydenham made a lamentable speech, affected to cry, and asked pardon for quoting a ludicrous epitaph on so melancholy an occasion, but which he could not help thinking applicable to the great Minister of these times, who has so burthened land:—
Lie heavy on him, Land; for he
Laid many a heavy load on thee.
The 10th, the Mutiny Bill was read in the Committee. Lord Egmont made some faint opposition on the old points; but not finding himself supported, went away before the division, which was but 19 to 118. Sir Harry Erskine voted for the Bill, without mentioning the clauses he had last year promised to bring in.