■WILLIAM THE THIRD.

21

much offence that he was hissed down, and did not venture chap.

, . . XXIII.

to demand a division.'" IC9J ,

The friends of the Government were greatly elated by Debate

on a

the proceedings of this day. During the following week peacehopes were entertained that the Parliament might be in- mcut -duced to vote a peace establishment of thirty thousand men.

But these hopes were delusive. The hum with which Wil-liam’s speech had been received, and the hiss which haddrowned the voice of Seymour, had been misunderstood.

The Commons were indeed warmly attached to the King’sperson and government, and quick to resent any disre-spectful mention of his name. But the members who weredisposed to let him have even half as many troops as hethought necessary were a minority. On the tenth of De-cember his speech was considered in a Committee of thewhole House; and Harley came forward as the chief of theopposition. He did not, like some hot headed men, amongboth the Whigs and the Tories, contend that there ought tobe no regular soldiers. But he maintained that it was un-necessary to keep up, after the-peace of Kyswick, a largerforce than had been kept up after the peace of Nimeguen.

He moved, therefore, that the military establishment shouldbe reduced to what it had been in the year 1680. The Minis-ters found that, on this occasion, neither their honest nor theirdishonest supporters could be trusted. For, in the minds ofthe most respectable men, the .prejudice against standing

Commons’ Journal, Dec. 3. 1G97. L’Hermitage, Dec.