In this context we desire to notice a very curious
little pamphlet of the year 1803 which has fallen in our way. Its title is as follows : Serious Thoughts and Observations upon the Late Decision of Lord Ellenborough respecting the Right of the Volunteers to Resign, having been sworn in under the Act of the 27th of July, 1803, to Defend the Nation upon Actual Invasion, Rebellion or Insurrection or the appearance of an Enemy upon the Coast. This title gives an almost uncanny sense of how impossible it is for us to get away from our past even if we should desire to do so. Here is the right of Volun- teers to resign, which most of us, including the writer, thought quite a new problem, reaching back to 1803 and able now to parade in our columns without a scratch on its uniform, so to speak. The writer of the pamphlet was Mr. Richard Whitworth, of Batchacre Park, Magistrate for the counties of both Staffordshire and Salop. He describes himself as "commanding the Batchacre Legion of Cavalry and Infantry," a corps which apparently, like the 10th Legion of Caesar, and indeed all Roman legions, consisted of all arms and was a, little army in itself.
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