encouraged its
representatives to listen to his voice, by the knowledge that by
adopting his measures they would be carrying out the wish and
determination of the whole people.

A measure for the strengthening of the army, introduced by the Secretary
of State for War, Mr. Windham, though not one of perpetual force, since
it required to be renewed every year, claims a brief mention, from the
extent to which one of its clauses trenched on the freedom of the
subject, by making every man of military age (from sixteen years
old[164] to forty) liable to be compelled to submit to military training
for a certain period of each year. "Nothing," to quote the Secretary's
words, "was to exempt any man from the general training but his becoming
a volunteer at his own expense, the advantage of which would be that he
could train himself if he chose, and fight, if occasion required it, in
the corps to which he should belong, instead of being liable to fall in
among the regulars.... As out of the immense mass of the population some
selection must be made, those called on to be trained were to be
selected by lot, and he would have the people divided into three
classes, between the ages of sixteen and forty: the first class to
comprehend all from sixteen to twenty-four; the second, those between
twenty-four and thirty-two; and the third, all from thirty-two to forty.
The number of days for training he proposed to limit to twenty-six, with
an allowance of a shilling a day for each man." The result aimed at by
this part of his measure was the creation of a force different from and
unconnected with the militia; and he did not conceal his hope that the
military habits which it would implant in a large portion of the
population would lead many of those thus about to be trained to enlist
in the regular army. To the militia itself he paid a high but not
undeserved compliment, declaring it "for home service certainly equal to
any part of our regular forces, with the single exception that it had
never seen actual service." But the militia could not be called on to
serve out of the kingdom; and his object was to increase the force
available for foreign service--"to see the great mass of the population
of the country so far trained as to be able to recruit immediately
whatever losses the regular army might sustain in action." As yet, the
number of men yearly obtained by recruiting fell far short of the
requirements of the service. Wellington had not