compass their own nefarious designs; but Pitt's first proposals
passed without a division; that on the cavalry by 140 votes to 30.
Nevertheless, Pitt did nothing towards securing cohesion in these
diverse forces, except by a provision which obliged Volunteers to enrol
in the Supplementary Militia, to take the oath as such, and to train by
turns for twenty days at a time in any part of the country, instead of
training once or twice a week in their own towns. This must have been
beneficial where it was carried out; but, as the Militia was controlled
by the Home Office, it is doubtful whether enough energy was thrown into
the scheme to ensure success.

These arrangements are miserably inadequate in comparison with the
_levee en masse_ of Carnot, which baffled the calculations of foreign
statesmen, flung back the armies of the Coalition, and opened up the
path of glory for Bonaparte. Here the popular armament did not become in
any sense national until after the renewal of war in 1803. The
possibilities open to England, even in that trying year 1795, were set
forth by Major Cartwright in a suggestive pamphlet--"The Commonwealth in
Danger." After pointing out that, having been deserted by Prussia and
Spain, we must now depend on ourselves alone, he depicted the contrast
between England and France. The French Republic, relying on the
populace, had more than a million of men under arms. Great Britain was
"a disarmed, defenceless, unprepared people, scarcely more capable of
resisting a torrent of French invaders than the herds and flocks of
Smithfield." How, then, could the danger be averted? Solely (he replied)
by trusting the people and by reviving the ancient laws which compelled
householders to bear arms. But this implied the concession of the
franchise. Be bold, he said. Make the Kingdom a Commonwealth and the
nation will be saved. He continued in these noteworthy words: "The enemy
is at the gates, and we must be friends or perish. Adversity is a school
of the sublime virtues. Necessity is an eloquent reconciler of
differences.... By saying to Britain--Be an armed nation, she secures
her defence and seals her freedom. A million of armed men, supporting
the State with their purse, and defending it with their lives, will know
that none have so great a stake as themselves in the Government....
Arming the people and reforming Parliament are inseparable."

At first sight this seems mere rhetoric, but on reflection it will
appe