But with refpect to Britain, and every free nation, there is an objection ftill more formidable; which is, that a standing army is dangerous to liberty. It avails very little to be fecure against foreign enemies, fuppofing a standing army to afford fecurity, if we have no fecurity against an enemy at home. If a warlike king, heading hisown troops, be ambitious to render himself abfolute, there are no means to evade the impending blow; for what avail the greatest number of effeminate cowards against a disciplined army, devoted to their prince, and ready implicitly to execute his commands ? In a word, by relying entirely on a ftanding army, and by trufting the fword in the hands of men who abhor the restraint of civil laws, a folid foundation is laid for military government. Thus a standing army is dangerous to liberty, and yet no fufficient bulwark against powerful neighbours.

Deeply fenfible of the foregoing objections, Harrington propofes a plan for a militia, which he holds to be unexceptionable. Every male between eighteen and thirty, is to be trained to military exercifes, by frequent meetings, where the youth are excited by premiums to contend in running, wrestling, fhooting at a mark, &c. &c. But Harrington did not advert, that fuch meetings, enflaming the military spirit, muft create an averfion in the people to dull and fatiguing labour. His plan evidently is inconfiftent with industry and manufactures: it would be fo at least in Britain. A most successful plan it would be, were defence our fole object; and not the lefs fuccefsful, by rendering Britain fo poor as fcarce to be a tempting conqueft. Our late war with France is a confpicuous inftance of the power that can be exerted by a commercial state, entire in its credit; a power that amaz'd all the world, and ourselves no lefs than others. Politicians begin to confider Britain, and not France, to be the formidable power that threatens univerfal monarchy. Had Harrington's plan been adopted, Britain, like Sweden or Denmark, must have been contented with an

inferior

inferior station, having no ambition but to draw fubfidies from its more potent neighbours.

In Switzerland, it is true, boys are, from the age of twelve, exercised in running, wrestling, and fhooting. Every male who can bear arms is regimented, and fubjected to military difcipline. Here is a militia in perfection upon Harrington's plan, a militia neither forc'd nor mercenary; invincible when fighting for their country and as the Swifs are by no means an idle people, we learn from this inftance, that the martial spirit is not an invincible obstruction to industry. But the original barrenness of Switzerland, compelled the inhabitants to be fober and industrious and industry hath among them become a fecond nature, there scarcely being a child above fix years of age but who is employ'd, not excepting children of opulent families. England differs widely in the nature of its foil, and of its people. At the fame time, there is little occafion to infift upon that difference; as Switzerland affords no clear evidence, that a militia gives no obftruction to a spirit of industry: the Swiss, it is true, may be termed industrious; but their industry is confined to neceffaries and conveniencies: they are lefs ambitious of wealth than of military glory; and they have few arts or manufactures, either to fupport foreign commerce, or to excite luxury.

Fletcher of Salton's plan of a militia, differs little from that of Harrington. Three camps are to be constantly kept up in England, and a fourth in Scotland; into one or other of which, every man must enter upon completing his one and twentieth year. In these camps the art of war is to be acquired and practifed: those who can maintain themselves must continue there two years, others but a fingle year. Secondly, Those who have been thus educated, fhall for ever after have fifty yearly meetings, and shall exercife four hours every meeting. It is not faid, by what means young men are compelled to refort to the camp;

nor is any

exception

exception mentioned of perfons deftin'd for the church, for liberal fciences, or for the fine arts. The weak and the fickly must be exempted; and yet no regulation is propofed against those who abfent themselves on a falfe pretext. But waving thefe, the capital objection against Harrington's plan ftrikes equally against Fletcher's, That by roufing a military fpirit, it would alienate the minds of our people from arts and manufactures, and from any conftant and uniform occupation. The author himself remarks, that the use and exercife of arms, would make the youth place their honour upon that art, and would enflame them with love of military glory; not adverting, that love of military glory, diffused through the whole mass of the people, would unqualify Britain for being a manufacturing and commercial ing it of little weight or confideration in Europe.

country, render

The military branch is effential to every fpecies of government : the Quakers are the only people who ever doubted of it. Is it not then mortifying, that a capital branch of government, should to this day remain in a state so imperfect? One would fufpect fome inherent vice in the nature of government, that counteracts every effort of genius to produce a more perfect mode. I am not difpofed to admit any defect of Providence, especially in an article essential to the well-being of fociety; and rather than yield to the charge, I venture to propose the following plan, even at the hazard of being thought an idle projector. And what animates me greatly to make the attempt is, a firm conviction, that a military and an industrious fpirit are of equal importance to Britain; and that if either of them be loft, we are undone. To reconcile thefe feeming antagonists, is my chief view in the following plan; to which I fhall proceed, after paving the way by fome preliminary confiderations.

The firft is, that as military force is effential to every state, no man is exempted from bearing arms for his country: all are bound;

bound; becaufe none can be bound, if every one be not bound. Were any difference to be made, perfons of figure and fortune ought first to be called to that fervice, as being the most interested in the welfare of their country. Listen to a good foldier delivering his opinion on that subject. "Les levées qui fe font par fupercherie font tout auffi odieufes; on met de l'argent dans la "pochette d'un homme, et on lui dit qu'il eft foldat. Celles qui "fe font par force, le font encore plus ; c'eft une defolation pu"blique, dont le bourgeois et l'habitant ne se fauvent qu'à “force d'argent, et dont le fond est toujours un moyen odieux. "Ne voudroit-il pas mieux établer, par une loi, que tout homme, "de de quelque condition qu'il fût, feroit obligé de fervir fon prince et fa patrie pendant cinq ans ? Cette loi ne fçauroit être defapprouvée, parce qu'il est naturel et jufte que les citoyens s'emploient pour la défenfe de l'état. Cette methode de lever "des troupes feroit un fond inépuifable de belles et bonnes recrues, qui ne feroient pas fujetes a déferter. L'on fe feroit même, par la fuite, un honneur et un devoir de ferver fa tâche. Mais, pour y parvenir, il faudroit n'en excepter aucune condition, " être sévére fur ce point, et s'attacher a faire exécuter cette loi "de préférence aux nobles et aux riches. Personne n'en mur"mureroit. Alors ceux qui auroient fervi leur temps, verroient

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avec mépris ceux qui repugneroient à cette loi, et infenfible'ment on fe feroit un honneur de fervir: le pauvre bourgeois fe"roit confolé par l'example du riche; et celui-ci n'oferoit fe plaindre, voyant fervir le noble (a) *.”

(a) Les reveries du Comte de Saxe.

Take

"The method of inlisting men, by putting a trick upon them, is fully as o"dious. They flip a piece of money into a man's pocket, and then tell him he is "a foldier. Inlifting by force is still more odious. It is a public calamity, from "which the citizen has no means of faving himself but by money; and it is confe"quently the worst of all the refources of government. Would it not be more "expedient

Take another preliminary confideration. While there remained any portion of our original martial spirit, the difficulty was not great of recruiting the army. But that talk hath of late years become extremely troublesome; and more difagreeable still than troublesome, by the neceffity of ufing deceitful arts for trepanning the unwary youth. Nor are fuch arts always fuccefsful: in our late war with France, we were neceffitated to give up even the appearance of voluntary service, and to recruit the army on the folid principle of obliging every man to fight for his country: the justices of peace were empowered by the legislature, to force into the service fuch as could be best spared from civil occupation. If a single clause had been added, limiting the service to five or seven years, the measure would have been unexceptionable, even in a land of liberty. To relieve officers of the army from practising deceitful arts for recruiting their corps, by substituting a fair and conftitutional mode, was a valuable improvement. It was of importance with respect to its direct intendment; but of much greater with refpect to its confequences. One of the

"expedient to enact a law, obliging every man, whatever be his rank, to serve his King and country for five years? This law could not be difapproved of, be"cause it is confiftent both with nature and justice, that every citizen should be "employed in the defence of the ftate. Here would be an inexhaustible fund of "good and able foldiers, who would not be apt to defert, as every man would "reckon it both his honour and his duty to have ferved his time. But to effect "this, it must be a fixed principle, That there fhall be no exception of ranks. This point must be rigorously attended to, and the law must be enforced, by way of "preference, first among the nobility and the men of wealth. There would not "be a fingle man who would complain of it. A perfon who had ferved his time, "would treat with contempt another who should show reluctance to comply with "the law; and thus, by degrees, it would become a task of honour.. The poor "citizen would be comforted and infpirited by the example of his rich neighbour; "and he again would have nothing to complain of, when he faw that the nobleman was not exempted from fervice."

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