" But the militia could not be called on to
serve out of the kingdom; and his object was to increase the force
available for foreign service--"to see the great mass of the population
of the country so far trained as to be able to recruit immediately
whatever losses the regular army might sustain in action." As yet, the
number of men yearly obtained by recruiting fell far short of the
requirements of the service. Wellington had not yet begun that career of
victory which created a national enthusiasm for war, and filled our
ranks with willing soldiers. And another clause of the same bill was
framed in the hope of making the service more acceptable to the
peasantry, by limiting the time for which recruits were to be enlisted,
and entering men, at first, in the infantry for seven years, or in the
cavalry (as that branch of the service required a longer apprenticeship)
for ten; then allowing them the option of renewing their engagement for
two periods--in the infantry of seven years each, in the cavalry of six
and five, with increased pay during each of the two periods, and a small
pension for life, if the soldier retired after the second period; and
"the full allowance of Chelsea," which was to be farther raised to a
shilling a day, for those who elected to serve the whole twenty-one
years.
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