an was counted a better lawyer than
a politician, and shone more as an advocate at the bar than as an orator
in the house of commons. The last partisan of the ministry was sir
William Yonge, one of the lords commissioners in the treasury; a man
who rendered himself serviceable and necessary by stooping to all
compliances, running upon every scent, and haranguing on every subject,
with an even uninterrupted tedious flow of full declamation, composed
of assertions without veracity, conclusions from false premises, words
without meaning, and language without propriety. Lord Morpeth's motion
was espoused by Mr. Watkin Williams Wynne, a gentleman of an ancient
family and opulent fortune in Wales, brave, open, hospitable, and warmly
attached to the ancient constitution and hierarchy; he was supported by
Mr. Walter Plummer, who spoke with weight, precision, and severity;
by sir W, Wyndham, Mr. Shippen, Mr. W. Pulteney, and Mr. Barnard. The
courtiers argued that it was necessary to maintain such a number of
land-forces as might defeat the designs of malcontents, secure the
interior tranquillity of the kingdom, defend it from external assaults,
overawe its neighbours, and enable it to take vigorous measures in case
the peace of Europe should be re-embroiled. They affirmed, the science
of war was so much altered, and acquired so much attention, that no
dependance was to be placed upon a militia; that all nations were
obliged to maintain standing armies, for their security against the
encroachments of neighbouring powers; that the number of troops in Great
Britain was too inconsiderable to excite the jealousy of the people,
even under an ambitious monarch; that his majesty never entertained the
least thought of infringing the liberties of his subjects; that it could
not be supposed that the officers, among whom were many gentlemen of
family and fortune, would ever concur in a design to enslave their
country; and that the forces now in pay could not be properly deemed a
standing army, inasmuch as they were voted and maintained from year to
year by the parliament, which was the representative of the people. To
these arguments the members in the opposition replied, that a standing
force in time of peace was unconstitutional, and had been always thought
dangerous; that a militia was as capable of discipline as a standing
army, and would have more incentives to courage and perseverance; that
the civil magistrate was able to preserve the