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152

BRITAIN's ISLE.

A NEW SONG.

April

Writ the Day after the Demife of his Royal Highness FREDERICK Prince of Wales.

By the AUTHOR of ARNO'S VALE.

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Already fung Satur-nian days: Already Science,

hand in hand With art, had freedom's temple plann'd.

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153

17518 JOURNAL of the PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES in the POLITICAL CLUB, continued from p. 112.

In the Debate continued in your last, the next that spoke was C. Popilius Lenas, whofe Speech was in Subfance as follows.

Mr. Prefident,
SIR,

W

army are or may be houfeholders or freemen of fome of our cities or boroughs, we ought to make them as independent of their commanders as is confiftent with the nature of military difcipline in time of peace, A which certainly does not then stand in need of being fo ftrict as in time of war. Nay, if peace continues any long time, and this power which colonels have affumed over the staffofficers of their regiment be likewise continued, I do not in the leaft queftion but that a foldier having a vote for a member of parliament will be a more powerful recommendation for his being made a corporal or ferjeant, than any military qualifi cation he can acquire or be indued with ; and if this should ever be the Cconfequence, I am afraid, our army would make but a forry appearance in the next war the nation might be engaged in.

Hatever the noble lord who spoke last may think, I am far from being of opinion, that the punishment of this ferjeant and corporal proceeded purely from a regard for the freedom of our elections. On the con- g trary, when I confider what a number of the officers and foldiers of the guards have houfes in Westminfler, and confequently a right to vote for reprefentatives of that city in parliament, I am apt to think, that this fevere punishment was inflicted on purpose to fhew to all fuch officers and foldiers, what they were to expect if they voted for that candidate, in whole favour the poor foldier feemed wantonly to declare himself; therefore I must conclude, that the exercife of this power, at that particular time, proceeded not from a regard for the freedom, but from a defign to destroy the freedom of the Westminster election; and for the fame reason I am apt to fufpect, that if the whole party, with the ferjeant at their head, had joined in the oppofite cry, no report of it would have been made to the officer upon guard, nor would the omiffion have ever been termed a neglect of military duty.

I hall admit, Sir, that we cannot certainly judge of a man's motives for any action or any inftance of behaviDour, but from the action or inftance

itself, and from concurrent circumftances, we may pretty confidently guefs at them; and when the action appears in itself to be bad, or unjust, we must presume that the motives were not good, which prefumption E is fo ftrong, that it throws the burden of the proof upon the perfon guilty; for if he cannot fhew and prove, that his motives were good, he must ftand condemned in the eye of every impartial judge. Now the action under confideration, that is to say, F punishment inflicted upon this ferjeant and corporal, is, in my opinion, either wicked, or at least the punishment was too fevere, and confequently unjuft. If this punishment was inflicted, as I have already hinted, with a defign to influence the Westminster election, by directing all the officers and foldiers of the guards how to vote upon that occa

But, Sir, let this be as it will, it is evidently an affair that relates to the freedom of our elections, and as it does, we are in duty bound to inquire into it; for if foldiers fhould be guilty of any illegal practices at an election, they are to be punished by the civil magiftrate and not by their commanding officer; and as many of the staff officers of the G Ld S. -ge. April, 1751.

U

fion

154 PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &c.

fion, the action was wicked: If there was no fuch defign, if the punishment was inflicted only with a defign to make staff and other officers more exact in their report, and more obfervant of the behaviour of every foldier under their command, it was by much too fevere. But fays the noble lord, the men might have had relief by applying to a board of general officers: Sir, I have as good an opinion of the officers, especially the generals of our army, as of any fet of men whatever; but I have fome little knowledge of mankind and as all or most of our general officers are colonels of regiments, I muft from the nature of mankind fuppofe, that a flaff officer could hardly expect relief from them, upon a complaint against the rigour and feverity of his colonel, who had exercised no power but what was exprefsly given him by the articles of

war.

B

April

For this reafon, Sir, I think, we cannot avoid making fome inquiry into this affair; but I agree with the noble lord who fpoke laft, in being of opinion, that we fhould not hear the complaint of any foldier against A his officer, without giving the officer at the fame time an opportunity to juftify himself; for tho' no one can fuppofe, that we fhould proceed to a cenfure upon any man's conduct, before we had given him time for his vindication, yet, I think, we fhould not proceed in any formal manner even to hear the accufation, without the prefence of the person accused, because an accufation leaves a fort of ftigma upon a man's character, which he muft labour under till he has an opportunity to wipe it off. I fhall therefore conclude with moving, that this debate may be adjourned but till Friday next; and when you have agreed to that, I fhall move, that these two foldiers and the commanding officer of the regiment, may then be ordered to attend; both which motions will, I hope, be agreeed to, as we need be in no hurry about paffing the bill now before us, having time enough for that purpose between this and Lady-day next, fo that two days delay can be of no manner of confequence with regard to the paffing of the bill; but a thorough infight into this af fair, is certainly of the greatest importance, with regard to the quefti. on, whether we should agree to the claufe now offered to be added to the bill.

C

D

Therefore, Sir, if these men have been injured, or too feverely punished, they can expect no relief but from the juftice of parliament, where, I hope, the oppreffed fhall never apply in vain ; and the uncertainty we may be under as to the motives which induced the colonel to reduce thefe two ftaff-officers, can be no reafon for our not inqui. E ring into this affair; for we may oblige the colonel to declare his motives, and to prove the facts upon which they were founded; and befides, it is in this cafe highly probable, that the caufes or motives for the punishment were declared, be- F

Spoke to this Effect:

Mr. Prefident,

fore the punishment was inflicted; Upon this Julius Florus food up and and we may discover that the true motive was, as I have fuggefted, to direct the vote of every man belonging to the army, with refpect to the election then depending, which would be a difcovery of the utmost

SIR,

T

HE queftion as to the claufe now offered to be added to

confequence to the freedom of elec- G this bill, I thought a question of fo

tions, and to the prefervation of our prefent happy conftitution.

little importance, that I was refolved

not

WP-t.

1751. PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &c. 155

not to have given you the trouble of
hearing my fentiments upon the oc-
cafion; but the debate has now taken
a different turn, and a turn which I
think of the utmost importance.
What! would you call officers and
foldiers to traduce and impeach one A
another at your bar? This, Sir,
might be of the most dangerous con-
fequence to the very exiftence of this
auguft affembly. I hope neither will
ever learn the way to this houfe. If
they fhould once learn the way of
coming here with their complaints, B
we may expect that they will foon
learn the way of coming here with
their petitions and remonftrances, as
they did about a century ago;
and
the confequence at that time I need
not defire gentlemen to recollect.

which would make them in a fhort time conceive a deteftation for parliament, and the officers would either conceive a contempt for it, or by being fo often put to trouble and expence by fuch inquiries, they would generally defire to get rid of it; which would make it easy for fome ambitious prince or general to put an end to the very being of parliament.

Therefore, Sir, whatever you may do with the claufe propofed to be added to this bill, I hope, you will not give yourself the trouble to make any inquiry into the complaint now laid before you; for there cannot, I think, be the leaft pretence for faying, that it any way relates to the freedom of elections, or to the election now depending for Weftminster. It relates wholly to the duty of a ferjeant fent out with a party upon a command, who certainly ought to be very minute and circumftantial in his report. It is not for him to judge, nor can he know what incidents may be worth or not worth reporting: He is to leave that to his commanding officer; therefore he ought to report every incident that happens, even tho' it may to him appear trifling; and as dangerous mutinies and feditions have often arofe from a very trifling circumftance, I must think, it was very impudent in a foldier under command to join in any popular cry he heard in the streets, it was negli gent in the ferjeant to take no notice of him, and a much more heinous neglect of duty to take no notice of this in his report, especially at a time when there was fuch mobbing in the ftreets, and fuch a feeming inclination in the populace to be riotous. But whether the punishment was too fevere, is a question which I fhall not take upon me to determine, and I must say, that I do not think G it a queftion proper for this houfe to determine: I think it belongs much more properly to a court martial, or to a board of general officers, and

Our bufinefs, Sir, is to confider C what number of regular forces may be neceffary for the defence of the nation, and to grant money for maintaining that number; but we have no bufinefs with the conduct of the army, or with their complaints against one another, which belongs to the D king alone, or fuch as fhall be commiflioned by him. If we ever give ear to any fuch complaints, it will certainly produce one of these two confequences: It will either destroy all manner of difcipline and fubordi. nation in the army, or it will render E this houfe defpifed by the officers, and detefted by the common foldiers of the army; and either of these confequences would be fatal to the nation. If the common foldiers should be encouraged to come here with their complaints against their officers, and fhould, upon every occafion, find redrefs, it would foon put an end to their having any dependence upon, or regard for their commanding officers, without which no difcipline can be preserved. On the other hand, if the foldiers should come here with their complaints, most of them would be found to be unjuft, fo that they would very feldom find the redrefs they expected,

F

156 PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &c.

to them we ought to leave the de-
termination therefore I hope this
affair will be entirely dropt, and the
queftion put upon the claufe now
before us, which, I think, has no-
thing to do with this affair; for
whether the power which the colo- A
nel has over the ftaff officers of his
regiment, was made a good or a bad
ufe of upon any particular occafion,
is not furely to determine our judg-
ment as to the continuance or abo-
lition of that power, but whether
it is a power that is neceflary even B
in time of peace for preferving dif-
cipline in our army, and rendering
it useful in time of war.

April who favour the motion are never put to prove an abuse: It has always been deemed fufficient for them to fhew, that the power is liable to be abused, in order to induce the house to abolish that power, or to put it upon fome fuch new eftablishment as may prevent, as much as poffible, its being any longer liable to be abused. For this reafon I do not think the complaint now before us of any very great importance to the principal queftion under confideration; but at the fame time I must declare against the principle laid down, that this house is never to take notice of the complaints made by the army, or by any man, or any fort of men, in the army. I hope both the officers and foldiers of the army are all fubjects Cof Great-Britain; and it is our duty to take notice of every complaint made to us by any British fubject, unless upon the face of it, it appears to be frivolous or unjuft. Nay farther, as we are the great inqueft of the nation, it is our duty to inquire diligently if any of the fubjects of Great Britain be expofed to, or labouring under any, and what oppreffions, and to take the maft effectual method for procuring them relief.

If for thefe purposes, Sir, the continuance of this power be thought neceffary, I am fure, we have no Occafion to frighten ourfelves with the influence that ftaff officers may have in elections; for unless it be in Westminster, I hardly believe there is any place in the kingdom where a ftaff officer has a vote for members of parliament; and in Weftminster, where there are foD many thousand electors, furely the votes of three or four fcore ferjeants can never be of any great weight in either fcale. To this I must add, Sir, that as a colonel's life as well as character very often in time of war depends upon the behaviour of his E regiment, I believe, every colonel will chufe to have a regiment of brave and well difciplined foldiers, father than a regiment of voters at any election.

The loft Speech 1 shall give you in this Debate, was that made by M. Ogulnius, the Purport of which was as follows, viz.

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This, I fay, Sir, is our duty, and I wifh we would attend to this part of our duty more frequently than we do, efpecially with regard to that part of the British fubjects who ferve in our armies either by fea or land; for they are by the nature of the fervice more exposed to oppreffion, than any other part of his majefty's fubjects, and it is likewife much more dangerous for them to complain. I am far from apprehending, Sir, that our giving ear to complaints, or inquiring into oppreffions, will ever bring parliaments inta contempt or deteftation with any part of the people; but if we entirely neglect this part of our duty, parliaments may become contemptible, and, on account of the taxes

they

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