the question before us, my lords, have only convinced
me, that the greatest abilities may be sometimes betrayed into errour,
and the most candid disposition be vitiated by accidental prejudices.
For his own arguments neither appear just, nor his representation
impartial, of those advanced in favour of the motion.

With regard to the number of officers necessary in time of war, his
lordship asserted nothing from his own knowledge, nor do I believe that
any other lord will imagine himself qualified to dispute with the noble
duke upon questions purely military. His experience entitles him to the
highest authority, in debates of this kind; and if every man has a claim
to credit in his own profession, surely, he who has given evidence of
his proficiency in the art of war in the eyes of the whole world, will
not be denied, in this house, that superiority which would readily be
allowed him in any other part of the universe.

And yet less, my lords, can it be suspected, that he intends to deceive
us, than that he can be deceived himself; for not only his probity, his
love of his country, and his fidelity to the crown, concur to secure him
from any temptations to make an ill use of his credit, but his own
interest obliges him to offer that scheme for the regulation of our
forces, which, in his own opinion, will most certainly contribute to
their success. For it is not to be doubted, my lords, that when we shall
be engaged in war too far for negotiations and conventions, when we
shall be surrounded by enemies, and terrified at the near approach of
danger, he will be called upon to lead our armies to battle, and attack,
once more, those enemies that have fled so often before him.

Then, my lords, if he has contributed to form a weak plan of our
military constitution, must he atone for it with the loss of his
reputation; that reputation, for which he has undergone so many
fatigues, and been exposed to so many dangers.

But, my lords, it is ridiculous to suspect where nothing appears to
provoke suspicion, and I am very far from imagining that the dangers of
innovation, however artfully magnified, or the apprehensions of the
soldiers, however rhetorically represented, will be thought of any
weight.

The establishment of the army, my lords, is an innovation, and, as the
noble lord has justly represented it, an innovation that threatens
nothing less than the destruction of our liberties, and the dissolution
of our government. Our