Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 7.djvu/460

 416 APPENDIX. When next this country shall be preparing a warlike expedition which may be thought to depend for success upon the observance of secrecy, it is to be hoped that tlie sovereign will prove so highly endued with a patriot spirit as to be able to make the small sacrifice of repressing curiosity, and will virtuously, wisely re- quest to be left, like the public, excluded from any dangerous confidence. NoTK S.—The Land-service strength of England in 1809, not including her Indian Establishments. — The tabulated statements of strength at this period are so specially and so variously aimed as to be wanting in comprehensiveness, and the simplest guidance to follow is that of Lord Liverpool, the War Minister, who stated the strength of the regular infantry at 210,000, and the strength of the cavalry at 27,000 (Aim. Reg., 1809, pp. 110, 111, 113). He omitted to give the numbers of the artillerymen and engineers, but these must have amounted to much more than 3000, so that the computation given j)ost, in Note 19, p. 417, is apparently under the mark. If to the number there stated there be added the Foot Volunteers, 300,000, the Yeomanry Cavalry between 00,000 and 70,000, the various bodies of troops called 'local,' and finally, the foreign troops in the pay of England, it becomes evident that the state- ment made in Parliament which (without counting Sepoys) put the whole strength of the land-service at 700,000 was well enough warranted (House of Commons, 2d May, Ann. Reg., 1809, p. 113). But what force could England despatch to a foreign shore ? This question was dealt with by Mr Windham, who had been Minister of War, and was master of his subject. He laid it down that England, without imprudence, could despatch to a distant shore (he was specially pointing to Cadiz) no less than 100,000 men (Hansard, vol. xii. p. 1111). The troops that England actually era- ployed upon foreign service in 1809 were much divided; but, added together, the numbers of the forces thus operating were so large as to show that there was nothing visionary in Mr Wind- ham's computation. One might easily, no doubt, attach undue significance to the following numbers, because some of the soldiers were transferred, it is believed, from one theatre of war to another, and might, therefore, if the fact were not known, be rashly counted twice over ; but duiing this year, 1 809, there were — In Walcheren, . . about 40,000 ,, Sicily. ... „ 15,000 „ Spain and Portugal, . ,, 45,000 —(Lord De (irey, Ann. Reg., 1810, p. 9.)