Since 1817, a farther and very large reduction has taken place, particularly in the course of 1818 and the present year. The peace establishment, exclusive of the troops of India, is at present fixed, at 8954 ca valry, 5760 foot guards, 55,090 infantry; making a to-. tal of 69,794. This is considerably beyond the peace establishment of 1792 ; and in consequence of the sums issued for the half-pay of officers and the pensions of privates, the expenditure is still very great, being computed by the Finance Committee (Second Report in 1819) at L.6,880,000 annually ; to which is to be added a charge, varying from year to year, but hitherto very heavy, under the head of" Army Extraordinaries." The infantry now consists of only 93 regiments ; the light dragoons of 19. During the war, there were 33 regiments of light dragoons, and 135 regiments of foot, many of them of two batta lions. An extra proportion of our military are at present stationed in Ireland, to prevent illicit distil lation and other frauds on the revenue. In India, our force consists of about 20,000 King's troops and 8000 Company's, all Europeans, and exclusive of 150,000 natives; the whole are in the pay of the East India Company.
The progressive increase of our naval force in- Navy spires no dread among the friends of constitutional liberty. In the war that followed the revolution of 1688, our navy consisted of about 30,000 seamen; that of Louis XIV. was not inferior until the battle of La Hogue in 1692. In the war of 1740, our force was carried to 40,000, and eventually to nearly 50,000 seamen. In the succeeding war, the vote in the year 1760 was for 70,000, a number till then unprecedented. Last war, when we had 140,000 seamen in service, and above 30,000 marines, there were in commission nearly 160 sail of the line, and 150 frigates. At present, the reduced state of the naval power of other countries has led to our peace establishment brought so low as 18,000 sea men and 6000 marines. There are thus only five sail of the line in full equipment; the guard-ships have only a fifth of the war complement; and the other vessels in commission are chiefly employed in the prevention of smuggling. Still the annual vote
for this department is large, in consequence of the great exertions made in peace for rebuilding our ship ping and improving our dock-yards. In 1817, the navy estimates were, In 1818, the navy estimates amounted to L.6,457,000 ; in 1819, to L.6,486,000. The num ber of seamen receiving pensions without living at Greenwich hospital exceeds 30,000, of whom near ly the half are capable of active service.
Admirals,183 13 . .
Post Captains,852 62 Commanders, . 789 56 Lieutenants,. 3928 404 Masters,643 142 . .
Pursers,. . 815 130 Physicians, .16 Surgeons,934 113 . .
Assistant-Surgeons, . 367 161 Of the fortified places of England, the principal are the Dock-yards. Chatham contains an arsenal on a large scale; our dismantled vessels lie there in great numbers, and in the naval warehouses the stores are arranged in the highest order. Sheerness has of late years been greatly improved; a change which required all the resources of ingenuity and finance; the ground on which the town stands having been progressively formed by alluvial deposits from the Medway, and wanting, in a great measure, the consistency of primitive soil. Portsmouth has the largest victualling establishment after Deptford, and the greatest store of artillery after Woolwich ; in point of edifices and works generally, it is our first naval station ; it is also the usual port for the equip ment of an armament. Plymouth possesses a road stead of great depth and extent ; and the anchorage has been lately much improved by the erection of the BREAKWATER, II great national work fully de scribed in this Supplement under that head. Milford. haven is a still more capacious road-stead than Ply. mouth, and would form a most valuable depot were its position less remote; as yet it has been used only for shipbuilding.
Variousparticulars relative to the government and economy of both army and navy will be found under the Articles Acsnamias,—MiLiTsitv ; BARRACKS;