MAN being, by nature, a social creature, it is natural for him to associate with his brethren and neigh­bours, for common defence against all unjust violence; and such association being just and reasonable, as well as natural, we have not only a right thus to associate, but are even bound to do it, by a branch of the common-law, which cannot legally be changed: for it is fixed upon all men, [Page 6] in their respective districts and countries, as an indispensable DUTY, by ‘THE LAW OF NATURE AND NATIONS, that we may become assisting’ (says Cowel, tit. 2.) ‘both to our parents and country; and REPELL FORCE AND IN­JURY: and from hence it comes,’ (says he,) ‘that whatsoever we do, for the de­fence of our own bodies, is adjudged legal.’ For which he cites Bracton, l. i. c. 6.^† [Page 7] num. 7. So the Author of Doctor and Student, in his second chapter, concern­ing the law of Nature and Nations, and the law of Reason, asserts, that, ‘by the law of reason, it is lawful to repell force with force; and that it is THE RIGHT OF EVERY ONE’ (fas est unicuique se tueri, &c.) ‘TO DEFEND HIMSELF [Page 8] AND HIS PROPERTY AGAINST UNJUST VIOLENCE.’ ^‡ And again, in his fifth chapter, concerning the first foundation of English law, Reason, he again repeats the maxim, that ‘it is lawful to repell force with force for the defence of the body, due circumstances being observed.’ ^* Now, as the Laws of reason and nature are immutable, ^† this natural right of as­sociating [Page 9] for common defence and peace, and the natural right of every individual to repel force with force, in defence of himself and property, can never be an­nulled by any act of parliament, but must ever be esteemed as immutable rights of the common law, and must always remain in force, unless the government should unhappily cease to be LEGAL, by setting aside the first foundations of the LAW! Ancient statutes, however, though not the foundation of these rights, yet bear ample testimony to the exercise or usage of them: for, what is ‘the power of the countie,’ so often mentioned in the an­cient law and statutes, but an armed as­sociation of the vicinage?—an association, from which no layman, from 15 to 60 years of age, was exempt. See Lam­bard's Eirenarcha, third book, p. 316, title, "Power of the Countie."— ‘That the Justices of the peace, Sherife, or [Page 10] Under-sherife, ought to have the aide and attendance of ALL the KNIGHTES, GEN­TLEMEN, YEOMEN, LABOURERS, SERVAUNTS, APPRENTICES, and VIL­LAINES: and likewise of WARDES: and of other YONG MEN that be above the age of xv. years; for ALL of that age are bound to have harnesse ^* by the [Page 11] statute of Winchester.’ See also, in page 479 of the Eirenarcha, a farther tes­timony that the law requires all laymen not only to have arms, but also to be well exercised therein. See title, "Archerie." "If any man, being the QUEEN's subject," (the author wrote in the reign of queen Elizabeth,) ‘and not have reasonable cause or impediment, and being within the age of 60 years, (except spirituall men, justices of one bench or other, [Page 12] justices of assise, and barons of the ex­chequer,) have not A LONG BOW AND ARROWES READIE IN HIS HOUSE, or have not USED SHOOTING THEREIN;’ (which is a clear command to be exercised in arms;) ‘or have not, for EVERY MAN-CHILD IN HIS HOUSE, (betweene 7 yeeres and 17 of age,) a bow and 2 shafts; and for every such, being a­bove 17 yeeres, a bow and 4 shafts; or have not BROUGHT THEM UP IN SHOOTING, &c. he loses 6s. 8d. for each month.’ And, under the same head, he informs us, that, if any man, above the age of 24 years, ‘have shot at any marke under eleven score yards,’ (viz. one furlong, or 220 yards,) ‘with any prick-shaft or flight,’ he shall "loose 6s. 8d. for every shot." Also, ‘if the inhabitants of any towne have not made and continued their Buts as they ought to do,’ — ‘lose 20s. for every 3 moneths;’ (Eirenarcha, 4 book, p. [Page 13] 478, 479;) for which he cites 33 Hen. VIII. c. 9. in which, indeed, the obli­gation for every man to have arms, and be exercised therein, is expressed still in stronger terms, viz. ‘— that butts be made, on this side the feast of St. Mi­chael the Archangel next coming, in e­very city, town, and place, by the inha­bitants of every such city, town, and place, ACCORDING TO THE LAW OF ANCIENT TIMES USED, and that the said inhabitants, and dwellers in every of them, be COMPELLED TO MAKE AND CONTINUE SUCH BUTTS, upon pain to forfeit, for every 3 months so lacking, 20s. And that THE SAID IN­HABITANTS SHALL EXERCISE THEM­SELVES WITH LONG-BOWS IN SHOOTING AT THE SAME, and else­where, in holy days and other times convenient. And, to the intent that EVERY PERSON may have bows of mean [Page 14] price, be it enacted, &c.’ § iv. and v. Thus the law not only permits, but ab­solutely requires, EVERY PERSON to have arms, and be EXERCISED in the use of them.

The exercise of the Long-bow was formerly esteemed the most effectual mi­litary discipline for the defence of the kingdom, and is so declared in another act of parliament of the same year, cap. 6.^* and, therefore, as the law, at that time, required EVERY MAN to be exer­cised in the use of the then fashionable weapons, the reason of the law holds e­qually [Page 15] good, to require the exercise of ALL MEN in the use of the present fashionable weapons, the musquet and bayonet.

But even at that time, the use of mus­quets, or guns, was allowed to the inha­bitants of all cities, boroughs, and mar­ket-towns, and for the very fame reason, (the defence of the realm,) by a provisio­nal clause of the last-mentioned act, § vi. ‘Provided alway, and be it enact­ed, &c. that it shall be lawful, from henceforth, to all gentlemen, yeomen, and serving-men of every lord, spiri­tual and temporal, and of all knights, esquires, and gentlemen, and to ALL THE INHABITANTS of cities, bo­roughs, and market-towns, of this realm of England, to shoot with any hand-gun, demihake, or hagbut, at any butt or bank of earth, only in place con­venient for the same,’ (whereby it ap­pears that proper places for exercise [Page 16] should be appointed in every town,) ‘so that every such hand-gun, &c. be of the several lengths aforesaid, and NOT UNDER. And that it shall be lawful, to every of the said lord and lords, knights, esquires, and gentlemen, and the INHABITANTS of EVERY CI­TY, BOROUGH, AND MARKET-TOWN, to have and keep in every of their houses any such hand-gun or hand-guns, of the length of one whole yard, &c. and NOT UNDER, to the intent to use and shoot in the same, at a butt or bank of earth only, as is above said, whereby they and EVERY OF THEM, BY THE EXERCISE THEREOF, in form above said, MAY THE BETTER AID AND ASSIST TO THE DEFENCE OF THIS REALM, WHEN NEED SHALL REQUIRE,’ &c. This statute is still in force.

[Page 17]Every temporal person was (formerly) liable to pecuniary penalties; ‘if he have not’ (says Lambard) ‘and keep not in readinesse, such horses, geldings, weapon, armour, or other furniture for the wars, as, after the proportion of his abilitie, he ought to have and keepe.’ (Eirenarcha, book iv. c. 4, p. 480.) Thus stood the law so late as the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, when the book last-cited was published; and the general tenor of the doctrine, respecting the right of Englishmen to have arms, hath since been confirmed, by the Declaration of Rights in the Act of Settlement, (1 Wm & Mary, st. 2, c. 2,) though it seems now to be limited to Protestant subjects, viz. ‘That the subjects which are Protes­tants MAY HAVE ARMS FOR THEIR DEFENCE, suitable to their conditions, and as allowed by law.’—This latter expression, "as allowed by law," respects the limitations in the above-mentioned act [Page 18] of 33 Hen. VIII. c. 6, which restrain the use of some particular sorts of arms, meaning only such arms as were liable to be concealed, or otherwise favour the designs of murderers, as ‘cross-bows, little short hand-guns, and little hag­buts,’ and all guns UNDER CERTAIN LENGTHS, specified in the act; but proper arms for defence (provided they are not shorter than the act directs) are so far from being forbidden by this statute, that they are clearly authorised, and "the exercise thereof" expressly re­commended by it, as I have already shewn. And indeed the laws of England always required the people to be armed, and not only to be armed, but to be ex­pert in arms; which last was particular­ly recommended by the learned chancel­lor Fortescue:— ‘et revera, non mini­me erit regno accommodum, ut incolae ejus in armis sint experti.’— ‘Indeed it will be of no small advantage to the [Page 19] kingdom, that the inhabitants be EX­PERT IN ARMS.’ (De Laudibus Legum Angliae, c. xliv. p. 106.) And, in the notes and remarks on this book, by the learned Mr. Justice Aland, we find the following observations to the same purpose. 'In the Confessor's laws' (says he) 'it is,' ‘DEBENT^* UNIVERSI LIBERI HOMINES, &c. ARMA HABE­RE, ET ILLA SEMPER PROMPTA CONSERVARE AD TUITIONEM REG­NI,’ &c. "See" (says he) ‘the laws of the Conqueror TO THE SAME PUR­POSE. The custom of the nation’ (con­tinues this learned judge) ‘has been, TO TRAIN UP THE FREEHOLDERS TO DISCIPLINE; v. 13 and 14. C. ii. c. iii. and ib. § 20. and title, WAR, in the table to the statutes.’

[Page 20]Among the ancient constitutions, or ordinances, of the kingdom, recorded in the Myrror of Justices, chap. i. § 3. we read that it was ordained, ‘that every one, of the age of 14 years and above, should prepare him’ (se apprestat) ‘to kill mortal offenders in their notorious crimes, or to follow them from town to town with hue and cry.’ &c.

The true purpose and advantage of ha­ving all the inhabitants of this kingdom trained to arms is farther manifested in our old law books and statutes; as in the Westminster Primer, cap. xvii. on the case when any cattle are unlawfully taken and driven into any castle or strong hold, &c.— ‘Le Visc^•. ou le Bailife prise ove luy POYAR DE SON COUNTIE, ou de sa Bail, et voile assaier de faire de ceo repl' des avers a celuy qui les aver prise,’ &c. ‘That the sheriff or the bailiff shall take with him THE POWER OF HIS COUNTY, or of his bailiwick, and [Page 21] shall endeavour to make replevin’ (or recovery) ‘of the cattle from him that hath taken them,’ &c. And lord Coke remarks on this: — ‘Nota, EVERY MAN is bound by the Common-Law to assist not only the Sherife in his Office for the Execution of the King's Writs, (which are the Commandments of the King,) ACCORDING TO LAW;^* but also his [Page 22] Baily, that hath the Sheriffe's Warrant in that Behalfe, hath the same Authori­ty,’ &c. (2 Inst. p. 193.)

[Page 23]The attack of a castle or place of arms must require disciplined troops; and therefore it was certainly necessary that "EVERY MAN," so bound by the common-law to assist, should be trained to arms, in order to fulfil his duty. And the learned Nathaniel Bacon, in his historical Dis­course of the Uniformity of the Govern­ment of England, (1st part, p. 64.) re­marks, that ‘the Strength consisted of the Freemen; and, though many were bound by Tenure to follow their Lords to the Wars, and many were Voluntiers, yet, it seems, ALL WERE BOUND UPON CALL, UNDER PERIL OF FINE, AND WERE BOUND TO KEEP ARMS, for the Preservation of the Kingdom, their Lords, and their own Persons; and these they might neither pawn nor sell, but leave them to descend to their Heirs,’ &c.

The common-law right of the people of England to have arms is also clearly ex­pressed [Page 24] by the great and learned judge Bracton, one of the most ancient writers of our common-law, who is justly es­teemed of unexceptionable authority.— ‘ei qui justè possidet, licitum erit cum ar­mis contra pacem venientem ut expellat, cum armis repellere, ut per ARMA TU­ITIONIS ET PACIS, quae sunt justitiae, repellat injuriam et vim injustam, et ar­ma injuriae,’ &c. (Bract. lib. iv. c. 4.) i. e.— ‘to him who justly possesses it SHALL BE LAWFUL with arms to re­pel him who cometh to expel, with arms against the peace, that, by ARMS OF DEFENCE AND PEACE, which are of justice, he may repel injury and unjust violence, and arms of injus­tice,’ &c.

The late unhappy tumults prove, that these principles of the English constitu­tion are as necessary to be enforced at pre­sent as ever they were; for, had they not been fatally neglected and disused, the [Page 25] abandoned rioters would have been quel­led and secured by the neighbouring in­habitants of Westminster, &c. in their first attempts; or, in case they had advan­ced towards the city, if the proper barriers had been reserved, the citizens would have had time to get under arms, to support their own magistrates in securing the peace of the city; for any attack upon the gates or posterns would have justified an im­mediate discharge of fire-arms, or other weapons, against the assailants, without waiting for the command of a peace-officer: and, as the inhabitants of each city and county are required to make good the damages sustained on such oc­casions by private individuals, it is plain that the inhabitants themselves, in their collective capacity, do form that proper POWER, from which the law requires the prevention of such damages, and the support and defence of the civil magis­trates: for, otherwise, the law ought to [Page 26] have directed the damages to be deduct­ed from the last preceding parliamentary grants to the army.

If it be alledged that there can be no occasion, in these modern times, to arm and train the inhabitants of England, because there is an ample military force, or standing army, to preserve the peace; yet let it be remembered, that, the great­er and more powerful the standing army is, so much more necessary is it that there should be a proper balance to that power, to prevent any ill effects from it: though there is one bad effect, which the balance (howsoever perfect and excellent) cannot prevent; and that is the enormous and ru­inous expence of maintaining a large num­ber of men, without any civil employment for their support; an expence, which nei­ther the land nor trade of this realm can possibly bear much longer, without pub­lic failure!

[Page 27]No Englishman, therefore, can be truly LOYAL, who opposes these essential principles of the English LAW,^* whereby the people are required to have ‘arms of defence and peace,’ for mutual as well as private defence; for a stand­ing army of regular soldiers is entirely re­pugnant to the constitution of England, and the genius of its inhabitants. ^†

[Page 28]Standing armies were not unknown, indeed, to our ancestors in very early [Page 29] times, but they were happily opposed by them, and declared illegal. A remarka­ble instance of this is related by Sir Ed­ward Coke, in his 7th rep. p. 443, (Cal­vin's case,) but with a very erroneous ap­plication of the doctrine, (as there are in many other instances of that particular report,) for which the chancellor or judges, probably, who spoke, and not the reporter, must one day be answerable. ‘It appeareth, by Bracton, lib. iii. tract 2. c. 15. fol. 134. that Canutus, the Danish king, having settled himself in this kingdom in peace, kept notwith­standing (for the better continuance thereof) great armies within this realm.’ [Yet Bracton was more wise and honourable than to conceive or hint [Page 30] that great armies, so kept by the king, were proper instruments ‘for the better continuance of peace;’ for he says no such thing, this being only a disloyal conceit of some modern judge, concern­ed in the argument of Calvin's case: but to return to the words of the reporter.] ‘The peers and nobles of England distas­ting THIS GOVERNMENT, BY ARMES AND ARMIES,^* (ODIMUS ACCIPI­TREM, QUIA SEMPER VIVIT IN AR­MIS,) wisely and politiquely persuaded the king, that they would provide for the safety of him and his people, and yet his armies, carrying with them many incon­veniences, should be withdrawn,’ &c. (This would be a proper language and [Page 31] true policy for a free British parliament to adopt.) "Hereupon" (says the reporter) ‘Canutus presently withdrew his armies, and within a while after he lost his crown,’ &c.

Here again the judge, whoever he was that spoke, betrayed a most disloyal preju­dice in favour of ‘a government by arms and armies,’ which led him into a no­torious falsehood! for, though the former part of the sentence is true, that king Canute "withdrew his armies," yet the latter part, that, ‘within a while after, he lost his crown,’ is totally false; and the judge, by asserting that groundless circumstance, seemed inclined to insinu­ate, that the withdrawing the armies occa­sioned the (supposed) loss of the crown, which was far from being the case. The great and noble Canute reaped the bene­fit of his prudent and generous conformity to the free constitution of this limited mo­narchy; for he enjoyed a long and glori­ous reign, after he sent back his Danish [Page 32] soldiers; which, according to Matthew of Westminster, (p. 403,) was in the year 1018; and he held the crown with dignity and glory to the end of his life, in the year 1035, when he was buried at Winchester with royal pomp (regio more, ib. p. 409): and his two sons also, who separately succeeded him, died like­wise, kings of England; for they lost not the kingdom but by natural deaths, and the want of heirs.

Happy would it have been for Eng­land, had all succeeding kings been as wise and truly politic as the great Canute, who feared not to commit the care of his own person, and those of his foreign friends that attended him, to the free laws and limited constitution of this king­dom.

The old English maxim, however, against ‘a government by arms and ar­mies,’ ought never to be forgotten. — ‘Odimus accipitrem, quia semper vivit in armis.’

(June, 1780.)

THE establishment of standing armies is, perhaps, the most dan­gerous of all political expedients, and has been fatal to the liberty of every na­tion upon earth that has adopted it; and, therefore, though the doctrine of necessity is generally pleaded to excuse the mea­sure, [Page 36] yet there seems rather a necessity of absolutely rejecting it; and of forming the national defence upon some other less dangerous plan.

The service of a national militia may be divided into equal proportions of at­tendance, by rotation, so as to inculcate and diffuse a sufficient knowledge of arms and military discipline throughout the whole body of a nation or people; and thereby supersede the baneful necessity of keeping regular troops, or standing armies of mercenaries.

Whenever the public safety demands the assembling and continuance of a large body of troops in actual service, to watch and resist the motions of any powerful in­vader, a regular military ‘Roster of Service,’ from the whole national mi­litia, is the safest and best means of forming and continuing such an army in the field; because it would be, not only, the least burthensome to individuals, but [Page 37] also less dangerous to the community at large; for, if the regularity of rotation were duly observed, no man would be so long detained from his ordinary calling and occupation as to lose his civil capa­city and way of livelihood at home, nor be thereby unwarily drawn into a separate interest from his fellow-citizens; which was unhappily the case of the Parliament's army in 1647; for, after having bravely defended the national liberty for some years, this very army became the instru­ment of a most hateful national bondage, under a military tyrant!

The nature of a Roster is well descri­bed by General Bland, in his Treatise of military Discipline, from p. 287 to 312. When a great army is formed by several nations in alliance, which send into the field, each of them, a different number of battalions, a Roster is esteemed the best expedient for regulating and dividing the general service into due proportions [Page 38] amongst them all: and General Bland has given, in p. 290 of the above-men­tioned Treatise, the form of such ‘a Roster general for the detaching of bat­talions, according to that in Flanders, in 1708.’ He has also given ‘Tables of Proportion for detaching private men,’ that is, for detaching them from the seve­ral battalions in the field, that the dan­ger and fatigue of the service (especially at sieges) may be equally divided among them. And, nearly on the same plan, tables might be formed, for detaching the individuals of a national militia from the several parishes, or districts, to which they belong, in due proportion to the number of males enrolled in each of them; whereby the hardship and inconveniences of mili­tary duty for the common safety would be equally divided among the whole na­tion; and, of course, the time of actual service would be most profitably diminish­ed [Page 39] to each individual, whilst the know­ledge of arms and discipline would be re­gularly circulated into all parts of the country; and with it also such a sensible perception, to each individual, of his fel­lowship, or incorporation, with the whole national community, as would plainly tend to prevent all partial and undue emu­lation of particular counties or districts a­gainst their neighbours: for, by such provincial jealousies, the ancient states of Greece were unhappily disunited, and their attention withdrawn from that true mutual interest and defence of each other, without which none of them could long subsist in freedom: whereas, if (on the contrary) they had been inured to the so­cial duty of serving in one common army, drawn equally from each confederate state, by a proper "Table of Proportion," and duly changed by rotation, (to pre­vent them from becoming mere soldiers,) there would have been no just cause to [Page 40] be jealous of each other's power (as be­tween the Athenians and Lacedaemoni­ans, &c.); for all successes, as well as losses, would have been equally divided among them; so that no particular state could have acquired, by victory, any en­viable advantages, peculiar to itself, to in­cite the jealousy of the rest; but every individual, in every part, would, by these means, have been led to consider himself, not merely as a member of a sin­gle petty state or district, but (with a more enlarged idea of his own social cha­racter) as a member, rather, of the whole community of free citizens throughout all Greece: for the circulation^* of the [Page 41] Roster would have been a most effectual bond of union to secure the connexion and communication of the most distant branches of the confederacy; and, by preserving the general body of the peo­ple in their civil capacity and ordinary occupations, it would also have rendered them less liable to be drawn from the common interest of the state at large, partially to favour the arbitrary designs of any usurping commander in chief or pet­ty tyrant: for no general-officer (had such a confederacy of national union been [Page 42] duly established) would have been able to assume more power and authority, than what was fairly delegated by the ma­jority of suffrages, in one great united general council of chosen citizens from e­very part.

The general body of individuals, in such a case, indeed, submit themselves to serve, by rotation, the humble station of private soldiers; but the time of ser­vice being limited, and equal to all men in duration, it would be no great hard­ship, especially if each freeman that bears arms was allowed his natural right of suffrage in the state, his due share of legislative influence, to controul the commanders, and regulate the service.

In a nation consisting of six millions of souls, (which number England is com­monly said to contain,) the number of males capable of bearing arms (and who, according to natural right, are justly en­titled also to a share in the legislature) [Page 43] would be estimated at a fourth part of that number, according to the most ge­neral mode of estimation, viz. 1,500,000 men; from which number a Roster of ac­tual service from home, only for one month each man in the space of a whole year, would supply a constant army in the field of 125,000 men, if so many were necessary. A continual change every month, or every fourteen days, of half a battalion at a time out of each district, or still in smaller proportions, viz. a few companies at a time (or even by half-companies, from smaller divisions or pa­rishes) would be most adviseable, that every part of the country might always re­tain nearly the proportion of eleven parts out of twelve of its own militia, as well for the purposes of guarding it, as to carry on the ordinary culti­vation, and other necessary local occupa­tions, without interruption. Persons a­bove the common rank might serve in squadrons of horse, (if they preferred [Page 44] that kind of service,) as equites, or es­quires. Those men whose time of service approached, as being next upon the es­tablished Roster, should be more carefully exercised at home, after the hours of la­bour, for one month at least before their time of marching. By these means they would be prepared for the service; and the very march, if properly conducted, would add to their discipline. The cer­tainty of returning, when relieved by companies of their neighbours, in so short a time as one month, (if they lived so long,) or two months, allowing for the march out and home, would much reduce the anxiety of parting from their families and friends.

It will probably be objected, that a national militia, which has been exercised only in small bodies, is incapable of ef­fectual service against an enemy: but for this a remedy may be found. Let the army be first formed in a separate en­campment, [Page 45] at such convenient distance from the enemy, that they may not be liable to an immediate attack.

A central situation must, of course, be chosen for this camp of discipline, where the several companies from the whole nation may be regimented under proper general-officers, and be daily ex­ercised, in large bodies, for a whole month (or six weeks, if necessary) be­fore they are brought to face the enemy. And, for this reason, it would be expe­dient to require from each individual (I mean the first time he is entered on the Roster) one month or six weeks atten­dance, more than the generally esta­blished proportion of time on the Roster, (which would be only once in his whole life-time, and therefore no great hard­ship,) in order to be exercised with a large body of troops in some of the principal and most necessary movements and evolutions for the field; and, after the month or six weeks training in the camp of discipline, [Page 46] an army of 125,000 men might be marched to the camp or camps of actual service, to do duty for the time allotted to each upon the Roster against the com­mon enemy; and the number might be continually kept up by monthly detach­ments of battalions from the first camp of discipline, in proportion as the time of service (allotted to each of the former companies upon the Roster) should ex­pire. The country would also be guard­ed by the returning disciplined compa­nies dispersed in every part; and the knowledge of arms and discipline, by the time a single circulation of the Roster was completed, (viz. in one year,) would be diffused throughout the whole nation; which would thereby be enabled after­wards to exert itself gloriously upon any sudden emergency; for it might afford to bear even the loss of six such capital ar­mies of 125,000, viz. in all, 750,000, men, before it would be necessary to in­crease the time of service from one month [Page 47] to two months actual service, for each disciplined man, in a whole year. With so small a portion of time employed in military service, every man might pre­serve his ordinary occupation, either in trade or husbandry, and maintain his rank and situation in life with his family, as a free citizen, in his own district, at all other times, when the Roster of public service did not demand his personal at­tendance from home. But when, by a contrary method, a national militia is so long continued in actual service, without rotation, as to inure the individuals to a neglect and disuse of their ordinary em­ployments, in their respective counties and districts, they gradually lose their civil capacity, and, from free citizens, are apt to become mere sold-iers, depen­dent on their military Sold, or sti­pend, and the favour of superiors; where­by they acquire such a slavish submission to COMMAND, be it just or unjust, that [Page 48] they readily undertake to execute those very measures and designs, which they themselves, perhaps, have previously condemned; alledging, that ‘a soldier has no right to judge for himself,’ (thus indiscriminately applying, to the general propriety or impropriety of any military undertaking, a principle, which proper­ly relates only to the necessary discipline and mode of conducting it in the field, after a man has absolutely consented and engaged to serve in it,) ‘and that a sol­dier must go’ (say they) ‘wherever he is ordered, without any demur about the propriety or injustice of the service.’ So that they establish not only a passive, but an active, obedience to the will of others, which makes the profession dis­honourable! — dishonourable, I mean, in those who admit this doctrine of unlimi­ted obedience, which is derogatory to their natural dignity, as men; for they give up an indispensible quality of human nature, [Page 49] the right of discerning between good and evil, (which is nothing less than a deser­tion, or apostatising, from the duty which every man owes to God and his eternal laws!) and thereby render themselves and their profession the bane of every state where they are established, and a disgrace to human nature!

THE Militia, or Trained Bands, of London have never been known to misbehave in actual service, however despicable they may appear in their annual musters.

Citizens of London, from the most ancient times, were required to keep arms in their houses. The annual mus­ter is rather a muster of the arms than of the men, who would probably go out to [Page 54] actual service, if there should be really occasion for them; but even the meanest of the men, as they now are generally sent out, (being for the most part substitutes,) if they were exercised for a few hours three times a week, only for one month, and restrained from the use of strong li­quors during the time of exercise, would be found more serviceable (if there was any real occasion of public defence) than is generally conceived.

Of this real facts afford the best proof: the irregularity of the Trained Bands and want of discipline were as conspicuous and notorious, it seems, in the year 1642, as at present: for, when Capt. Skippon (afterwards Major-General) was directed by the parliament to attend them, as a guard, with two companies of the Trained Bands of London, Lord Clarendon's account of that matter is expressed in the folloWing contemptuous terms; ‘This man’ (says he, meaning Skippon) [Page 55] ‘marched that day in the head of their TUMULTUARY ARMY to the parlia­ment-house.’ ^* Yet Lord Clarendon himself makes ample reparation to the Trained Bands for this contempt, when he speaks of their unexpected behaviour at the battle of Newbery; for, though he allows their inexperience both of danger and service, he expressly attributes to the steadiness of the Trained Bands the preser­vation of the parliament's army. No troops in the kingdom had at that time been able to withstand the spirited char­ges of Prince Rupert's well-disciplined horse, till this tumultuary army, (which seems to be an exact description also of their present musters,) for the first time, compelled them to wheel about.

Rapin speaks of the brave defence of the infantry on that day in very high terms, but without mentioning what par­ticular troops they were; so that no rea­der would suspect that he described the [Page 56] actions of the "tumultuary army" of the city.

‘After the Prince had routed the ca­valry of the enemy,’ (says Rapin, meaning the parliament's cavalry,) ‘he fell upon their infantry, which, though deprived of the help of the cavalry, received him with so much intrepidity, that he was repulsed several times, without being able ever to penetrate.’ ^* But Lord Clarendon candidly attributes the glory of the day to those whom he before despised as a tumultuary army.

"The London Trained Bands" (says he) ‘and auxiliary regiments (of whose IN­EXPERIENCE of DANGER, or ANY KIND OF SERVICE, beyond the easy practice of their postures in the Artil­lery-garden, men had till then TOO [Page 57] CHEAP AN ESTIMATION) behaved themselves to wonder; and were, in truth, the preservation of that army that day. For they stood as a BULWARK AND RAMPIRE TO DEFEND THE REST;’ (whereby he attributes to them the chief resistance;) ‘and, when their wings of horse were scattered and dispersed, kept their ground SO STEA­DILY, that, though Prince Rupert him­self led up THE CHOICE HORSE to charge them, and endured their storm of small shot, he could make no impression upon their stand of pikes, BUT WAS FORCED TO WHEEL ABOUT: of so sovereign be­nefit and use is that readiness, order, and dexterity, in the use of their arms, which hath been so much neglected.’ Bk. VII. p. 347.

Thus the City Pike-men are commend­ed as a standard pattern of military disci­pline, (viz. for their ‘readiness, order, and dexterity, in the use of arms,’) by [Page 58] the very same historian who had entitled them a tumultuary army a very short time before this occasion which extorted his commendation. A moderate and suffi­cient discipline, for real service, is more easily and sooner acquired than people generally conceive; and nothing is want­ing to the present establishment of City Trained Bands but more frequent mus­ters, for about an hour or an hour and a half at a time, after the hours of labour: for, if they were allowed this advantage, they would be nearly upon the same foot­ing as the Militia of New England, Con­necticut, &c. which lately conquered the well-disciplined army of General Bur­goyne: they would be nearly upon the same footing, I say, except in one point; which is, that the New England Militia have always maintained the ancient con­stitutional right of choosing their own officers in the public Folkmotes: which the learned Judge Atkins, by the best autho­rities, [Page 59] has proved to be the original consti­tution of our national Militia. Polit. Tracts, p. 254.

The present establishment of the county regiments of Militia savours too much of a standing army, both in disci­pline, and the effect of the service upon the common men; who, by being absent too long a time from their families and ordinary occupations, are apt to become mere soldiers, despising their former trades and employments, and consequently cea­sing to be citizens.

Nothing, surely, can be more dange­rous to a free state than such an effect as this; for the professed soldier generally gives up to superior COMMAND ^* that indis­pensible [Page 60] human right of judging between good and evil, which alone constitutes [Page 61] the distinction between men and brutes; and, through a false notion of military [Page 62] honour, the soldier is apt to think that his duty requires an implicit active obedi­ence [Page 63] on all occasions; whereby the standing armies of all nations are con­stantly [Page 64] and regularly the tools of despo­tism, and the bane of all good and limi­ted government.

[Page 65]A national militia, therefore, ought to be constituted upon principles as op­posite [Page 66] to those of standing armies as pos­sible; and no rules or arrangements [Page 67] whatever, that may tend to detach men from their ordinary callings and employ­ments, [Page 68] as free citizens, ought, on any account, to be admitted.

[Page 69]The City-Militia, even upon its pre­sent establishment, was always respecta­ble, when real service was wanted.

AS the sole purpose of Military As­sociations is to support the Civil Magistrate, and to join ‘the power of the countie,’ when legally summoned by sheriffs, &c. for common defence, it is ne­cessary that each associated company be formed, upon principles as opposite to those of standing armies (valour and good discipline excepted) as can possibly be devised.

[Page 74]The freedom and equal natural rights of individuals, and the preservation of their civil capacity, must therefore be considered as objects of the utmost impor­tance and consideration; in order to which the freedom of election in the ap­pointment of officers, and a frequent re­newal of choice therein, are absolutely necessary to be maintained.

Let the whole corps of Associators in every neighbourhood, or vicinage, di­vide themselves into small bodies, of ten persons each, in their respective districts; and let each ten, or decennary, choose from among themselves a tithing-man, or serjeant, to superintend the discipline of the ten, and to receive and communi­cate to them all summonses from the Ci­vil Magistrate, or orders from the Com­mittee of Association, and to transact such other business as the nature of the Associ­ation may require: the power of the ser­jeants, nevertheless, to be subject to the con­troul [Page 75] of a majority of the ten, who choose them respectively; and no other military of­ficers should be appointed, except officers of Platoons for a single day; viz. when the corps is divided into Platoons for exercise (agreeable to the mode recommended by General Bland, p. 66): at which time each platoon ought to choose its own leader, whose power should cease with that day's exercise. An experienced per­son must, however, be chosen at a pre­vious general meeting, to instruct and di­rect the corps in the general manoeuvres and evolutions of the field, who should, from time to time, be appointed Com­manding-officer of the day. In times of actual service, the Lord-Mayor, or ei­ther of the sheriffs that are present, must be considered as the legal commander of the association.

As three decennaries, or serjeants guards, will be the proper complement for a pla­toon, so two platoons, or six decennaries, [Page 76] (being sixty men,) will be a convenient number for a company, and ten such com­panies a sufficient number for a battalion, or ward division; as it will be equal to two townships or two county hundreds.

There should be, within each ward, se­veral places appointed for drilling, or teach­ing the common exercise to small parties; and also one place, more spacious, for those that are become expert in handling their arms, to be taught the platoon ex­ercise, to form themselves into compa­nies, to march, wheel, &c. But, if a place cannot be found within the ward, sufficiently spacious for such a general ex­ercise of the whole body, it is probable that two or three places may be found therein sufficient for the exercise of single companies, or at least of single platoons, which should be appropriated accordingly; and none of these places of exercise should be open to the inspection of strangers, as it must be irksome to gentlemen to be over­looked, [Page 77] before they have acquired some tolerable knowledge of the military disci­pline. One place of general rendezvous should likewise be appointed within each ward, for the neighbours to assemble in case of any sudden alarm.

To prevent the individuals of the Asso­ciation from being injured in their civil ca­pacity, care must be taken, that the times of drilling and private exercise be appoint­ed both before and after the usual hours of labour; and that an option be given to the learners of attending either at the mor­ning or evening exercise, as shall be most convenient to themselves, that no man may be induced to neglect or injure his ordi­nary calling or occupation, by which his civil capacity is maintained: and, for the same reason, the times of public exercise in larger bodies should not be more fre­quent than is absolutely necessary for ac­quiring a moderate and useful discipline, rather than a critical nicety in the military [Page 78] manoeuvres; which latter would take up more time than men of business can usu­ally spare; and which must finally have the bad effect of tiring out many of the most useful members of society: and, therefore, it is not only necessary to re­strain the too great frequency of such meet­ings, but also the duration of each meet­ing, that as little time may be lost to the individuals as possible; and that those who attend may not incur the necessity of taking any refreshment whatsoever while they are out on exercise, or in going or re­turning, which would otherwise occa­sion many inconveniences too obvious to be mentioned, besides an unnecessary ex­pence to individuals, which ought cer­tainly to be avoided in large promiscuous societies, because all cannot equally afford it. But, if any man has acquired so de­praved an appetite, that he cannot endure four or six hours exercise (and a general review, if properly conducted, will not [Page 79] require more time) without taking food or liquor, he ought to be esteemed totally unqualified for the Association, till he can cure himself of such an unmanly and disgraceful habit, which is entirely in­consistent with the military duty even of a citizen.

Single decennaries, single platoons, or even single companies, should not be per­mitted to march into the country, with their arms and uniforms, by way of ex­ercise or amusement to themselves, without an express leave, given by a general meeting of the associators, nor without due caution to be taken for preserving good order, by the attendance of a suffi­cient number of peace-officers, to prevent any disputes or affrays with strangers, lest the indiscretion of a few individuals of the corps, on such an excursion, should injure the reputation of the whole body of associators. And the third rule, given by a very ingenious and learned [Page 80] writer, in a tract, entitled ‘An Inquiry into the legal Mode of suppressing Riots,’ should be strictly observed; that the As­sociation should ‘not, UNNECESSARILY, march through streets or highroads, nor make any the least MILITARY PARADE, but consider themselves entirely as a part of the CIVIL STATE.’ And they ought also carefully to observe the caution referred to by his fifth rule, respecting the use of arms in suppressing RIOTS, viz. ‘that it is extremely hazardous for pri­vate persons to proceed to those extremi­ties in common cases;’ and that they should not attend to any private person that shall ‘PRESUME to raise the power of the county, which is the province of the sheriff, under-sheriff, or magistrate,’ but let them wait for a legal summons from those that have the proper authority, before they take their arms to assist in keeping the peace; though they have [Page 81] certainly a right to assemble as neighbours, without their arms, to consult, and use all peaceable endeavours to allay or pre­vent the ill consequences of any sudden commotion that has occasioned an alarm.

By the constitution of this kingdom, as well as by many express laws still in force, apprentices, wards, and indeed lay­men, of all ranks and conditions, from fifteen to sixty years of age, are required to have arms, and be duly exercised in the use of them, for the national defence. (See p. 9-24.) It would therefore well become the housekeepers of every ward, and par­ticularly those who are members of any ward-association, to encourage their ap­prentices, servants, and dependents, to learn their military exercise, (with the common militia-arms belonging to each house,) at such places in the ward as may be appointed for that purpose; the ex­pence of which should first be defrayed [Page 82] by the respective ward-associations, until the utility of the measure is rendered ob­vious to the wards at large, that the house-keepers at each wardmote maybe induced to adopt it. For, by these means, the house-keepers might always have a sufficient number of able and well-instructed substi­tutes, to serve for them in the militia, which would thereby be rescued from the oppro­brium of incapacity, with which it has so frequently of late been charged; and the necessity of any new reform of the City-Militia (which might be attended with very dangerous consequences to the rights and liberties of citizens) would be there­by precluded. And if, in case of any more tumults or riots, an armed City-watch should again be thought necessary, these disciplined Militia-substitutes in each ward might be enrolled in a Roster for that particular service, under the proper Militia-officers; and their attendance might be so divided and diminished, by [Page 83] a due Roster, as to be very little burthen­some to the individuals enrolled; where­by a small stipend to each, for the time of his actual attendance, would be suffi­cient to render the service voluntary. ^*

The appearance, also, of the City Mi­litia might be rendered more respectable, by the addition of drill-jackets, with some proper distinction of uniform facings, to denote the ward or district of each com­pany.