WHY SHOULD THE ARMY BE RECRUITED?
Weir has been said about the tranquillity of Ireland. The peaceful disposition of the " seven millions," under Lord Mut: GRAVE'S government, is a theme of endless exultation for the Downing Street organs. Behold how prosperous, happy, and quiescent is the Sister Isle, now that Whiggism has succeeded to Orangeism, and MULGRAYE and MORPETH to HADDINGTON and HARDINGE I Such is the constant reply of Ministerial partisans to charges of misrule by the Whigs anywhere but in Ireland. It is true, and has more than once been stated in this journal, on the authority chiefly of the Judges' charges at the Assizes in Ireland, that there have been fewer crimes. It is also notorious that the mass of the people are better disposed towards the pre- sent than to any preceding Government since the Union. Such being the case, it is a fair question, why the military force in Ire- land has not been very considerably lessened. If that country is so tranquil and so lose], a garrison of twenty thousand regular troops can no longer be necessary there. But it appears that the reinforcements to be sent across the Atlantic will be taken chiefly from troops stationed in England, or the West Indies, or are to be raised by recruiting in this country, while the Irish force will be little if at all reduced.
It is said that a very large addition is to be made to the regular Army ; and this notwithstanding a reduction in the revenue of nearly two millions on the financial year just closed. The follow- ing notice has appeared-
" The Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt hereby give notice, that no sum will be applied by them on account of the Sinking-fund, under the provisions of the said act between the 6th day of January 1838 and the 5th day of April 1838."
Thus, for the first time for several years, there is no excess of income over expenditure to justify the application of any sum to- wards the reduction of the National Debt : and yet this is pre- cisely the period when a large addition is to be made to a branch of the expenditure already amounting to upwards of Eno millions per annum. The consequence must be additional taxation.
We trust that when the Army Estimates are brought before the House of Commons, the Ministers, and Mr. O'CONNELL their sponsor, will at any rate be called upon to reconcile their state- ments of the unprecedented tranquillity of Ireland, with the neces- sity of continuing the same or nearly the same number of troops there as under the worst Tory rule.
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